Hero
by yasha012
Summary: "Why do you fight? Why do you not give in?" "Because... If I don't fight... who will?" A story of how one young man went from being a lone hero without a name to the protector of the universe, and his and his friends' adventures in between. Includes stories of how Sonic met Tails and co., the rise and fall of Dark Gaia and Iblis, and the origins of the mysterious Chaos Emeralds.
1. Enter the Hero

**IMPORTANT NOTE! As of 03-16-16, this story is M rated. This is due to mentions of child abuse and torture that have occurred in the story, strong swearing (the F-bomb is not present, but the word "Bastard" has shown up once and words such as "shit", "damn", and "hell" are frequently used), strong themes of death and suffering (heavy detail not provided on these subjects at any point, but still), and violent combat where there are many injuries (i.e. a character gets stabbed (though excessive details are not given)). This is just a fair warning. For the most part, this story is generally suitable for a T rating. There are no "lemons", "limes" or other, shall we say, "intimate" interactions beyond kissing, things such as torture aren't described, merely mentioned, and so on. If you aren't bothered by what mature content _is_ here, I hope you enjoy the story.**

**~ソニック~**

It was a cloudy day. The sky was gray. The cold, bitter wind smelled of water, promised rain in the coming hours. Animals took refuge in their homes, seeking to escape the cold. The dismal atmosphere did nothing to improve the young pilot's mood, nor did the clouds pressing around him on all sides. No matter how high he flew, he couldn't escape them. He didn't dare go down; there were mountains in this area. He had no intentions of wrecking his plane. …Again. He glanced to his side, then his other side, then quickly looked up before chancing a look over his shoulder. Unless his pursuers were beneath him, it seemed as though he was finally alone. Still, he didn't let his guard down.

He continued to look around as he expertly piloted his small plane, searching for any sign of the eerie red lights from before. The propeller on the front of his plane, coupled with the rather loud noises from the engine, drowned out the faint sounds he had once heard from the machines from which he was trying to escape. Or perhaps he had already escaped them? However, he was wary of that hope, and for good reason. They were clearly after him, so what reason would they have to turn back unless he'd lost them completely? Even then, he wasn't sure their programming would allow them to give up. He doubted they even knew what the phrase "give up" meant.

A furry ear twitched as he picked up a sound. It was quiet at first, but quickly growing louder, a faint whir that turned into a buzz which made his heart speed up. That buzz quickly grew louder, and he tensed. The robots had returned… and they had friends. He barely had time to react before a bright red laser shot through the left wing of his plane, leaving a burning circle where it had hit. If he hadn't turned the plane when he had… Hesitating for only a moment, he cast that thought aside. Thinking about how he _could_ have died wouldn't do him any good. He _wasn't_ dead, so thinking about what could have been was pointless.

By now, he was surrounded by circular red lights. A few of the robots were close enough for him to get a good look at them for the first time as he sped up his plane. The robots themselves were almost spherical in shape, each with a red light in the center of what he guessed to be their front sides. Those lights almost looked like eyes. It was… creepy. Then, as if in reprimand for his staring, one of the robots shot at him again. He was thankful for his quick reflexes as he managed to lift the nose of the plane out of harm's way just in time. Glancing around, he silently counted. There were seventeen of them, twelve more than last time, and they each had lasers and, more likely than not, other weapons that he wasn't aware of. He had nothing. Just a pathetic excuse for a plane with an engine that was probably going to die any day now. Considering what it had been through, he supposed that was being optimistic. And he was never very optimistic.

More lasers shot past him, one of them singeing his right ear. He flinched and reflexively ducked his head, a motion that he regretted an instant later when he realized he had taken his eyes away from the sky. He crashed forcefully into one of the robots, noticing as it started smoking that they were bigger than he had originally thought. They were about as big as he was, in fact. The robot exploded a second later and he threw his arms up to cover his face. As soon as the fireball receded, he grabbed the controls again and started to lift the plane out of its nosedive. ...Except it wouldn't lift. Cursing softly, he tried everything he could think of to right his smoking plane, but nothing was working. Finally, he settled for just pulling hard at the controls in a last ditch effort to save himself. He glanced down and noticed a small, flat stretch of land not far from him. Although it was covered in forests, he was pretty sure he could land there. If only he could get out of this nosedive…

"Come _on_… you… stupid… _plane_…" he muttered through tightly clenched teeth. He watched as the ground raced upward to meet him and gave the controls one last desperate pull. Then, the engine roared to life. The propeller began to turn again. Knowing now was no time to celebrate, he quickly straightened the plane just in time to crash into the ground.

He held on tightly to the sides of the plane as it skidded and bumped and crashed until finally coming to a halt by slamming into an over-sized rock. Leaping out without a second thought, he dove behind a tree. Moments later, there was an explosion. Crouched low behind the tree, he peered into the sky, frowning as he saw the distant red lights in the clouds slowly fade away as though they had never been. Deciding to just be thankful they were gone for now, he stood. He'd worry about _where_ they went later. He turned back around and walked to his plane. Or rather, what was left of it. Somehow nothing, not even the plane, was on fire. He chalked it up to pure dumb luck and kicked the side of the plane and sighed. It was beyond totaled. As he'd expected. Luckily though, he knew where he was. If he was careful, he could probably haul the smoking heap home. It wasn't far. Summoning up his strength, he began pushing.

**~ソニック~**

He supposed this was no surprise really. He'd been alone, vulnerable, and the robots from the day before had gotten away. Really, he should have expected another attack. Granted, he hadn't expected there to be so _many_, but it didn't matter. He'd just destroy them like always. But… Why _were _there so many? He jumped up and curled himself into a ball before launching himself at the nearest opponents. Tearing through them with ease, he watched with a sense of unease as still more came to take their place. _Why are there so many? _Glancing up for a second time, he began to suspect that the strange dark shaped he'd spotted in the sky a few minutes ago had something to do with it.

He glanced to the wreckage of his plane, which still lay in a heap not far away. There was _no _way it would fly right now, or anytime soon for that matter. So he decided he would have to do this the hard way. Using his great agility, he jumped up and landed on top of one of the robots before leaping up and landing on another, all the while avoided the burning lasers being shot at him from all around. He frowned as one such laser took out his next stepping-stone and, thinking quickly, he grabbed onto a robot that was above his head. Swinging himself forward, he landed on top of another bot that immediately began to shake when he landed on it. Fearing that it was about to self-destruct, he leapt off of it. The explosion that followed hurled him forward a good distance and he landed precariously on the edge of some metal platform. His eyes widened as he steadied himself. The platform he stood on was attached to a huge airship; one with many, many robots both on and around it.

Dodging a hailstorm of bullets from above, he raced inside the nearest doorway he could find. The turrets mounting the walls were easily destroyed and the cameras easily avoided, but he doubted that luck would remain on his side. He was badly outnumbered… even if the robots were easily destroyed, he would eventually tire while they simply would not. It wasn't _fair_. Making a quick turn, he found himself outside again. He started to go back inside but was forced to stop when he heard the heavy metal footsteps of some sort of robot coming toward him from down the hall. Cursing, he did the only thing he could do; he fled, and prayed for a miracle. But then again, he'd never really believed in miracles.

A series of explosions knocked him off of his feet and sent him flying into a group of robots with large arms that grabbed him, hauled him up so that his feet were no longer on the ground, and carried him away. He struggled, but he knew it would do him no good. He was hurt. He was tired. He was hungry. The constant attacks gave him no time to recuperate. He'd been through a lot these past few months and his recent plane crash had done nothing to help things. Gritting his teeth, he finally stopped struggling, determined to save his energy. If a chance came for him to escape, he needed to be able to seize it, since it was obvious he wasn't strong enough to simply break free right now.

He watched silently as he was carried back inside, through colorless steel hallways, past rows of sleeping robots, by walls of computers, and under security cameras that followed his every movement, watching the progression silently. Everything seemed to have a gun trained on him; even some of the computers had guns mounted on them. Still, he didn't let his concern show. He couldn't afford to be afraid. After what seemed like endless hours, he was carried through an automatic door that slid into the ground with a soft hiss when approached. Not far from the doorway sat a cage pathetic in it's size but obviously strong and high-tech. Its bars were made out of some strange machine-generated green energy that instantly killed a small fly that flew into it. His mood soured further.

"Now, now, don't put him in there. That's no way to treat our guest, is it?" With that, he was dropped unceremoniously onto the ground. He landed on his stomach and, just as quickly as he'd fallen, he was on his feet again. Bunching up his tired, sore muscles for an attack, he faltered at the highly comical appearance of his enemy. Even ignoring his odd bright red and yellow outfit and large shoes, he looked ridiculous. He was almost… egg shaped. To top it off, he wore tiny glasses and bore a large mustache that was just... too long. It was truly hilarious. The young boy suppressed his urge to laugh, concealing his amusement well as the man (egg?) spoke again. "Hello. My name is Robotnik. _Doctor_Robotnik, that is." The supposed doctor frowned down at him from where he sat in some strange hovering vehicle that may or may not have been a chair. "You've been quite a thorn in my side lately."

The boy blinked. _What?_

"Though how a mere child has managed to destroy legions of my robots on his own escapes me… I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen the footage with my own eyes."

Okay, now it made sense. He'd suspected that his mechanical enemies were all coming from the same source, he'd just never had any way of proving it, had had no tangible evidence to help him know for sure. This was the first confirmation he'd had since his battles with the robots had first begun those few months ago.

"I expected you to be better… to be more," the man continued. "I must say, I'm disappointed in you."

The boy ignored the egg-man and scanned the area for anything, anything at all, that could help him. A button or a switch to shut down the robots would be nice, he decided. As his enemy prattled on about who knew what, eyes bright with intelligence beyond their years locked onto a small console with a dark green screen and a dull gray keyboard. The data scrolling down across the screen was complex and went by fast, but he gleaned enough information to decide what he needed to do. He started to edge toward the computer, all the while feigning attention to the supposed doctor's words.

"…bot was very difficult to construct, you know. And yet you, a child, destroyed it in seconds. Where does your strength come from? Perhaps I should dissect your little body to learn how you can smash through solid steel without injuring yourself."

The boy bit back his revulsion and edged a little closer. When the man seemed to grow distracted as he monologued, his would-be prisoner reached over to the keyboard and pressed the large "Enter" key. A small window appeared in front of the rapidly scrolling text and, with one last glance at his captor, he began typing in commands.

He had hoped to have a little while longer to work, but it seemed that today was not his day. "Hey! Get away from there!"

Ducking, he intentionally let one robot's large metal fist smash the computer to bits. Now his work couldn't be undone. He ducked again and skirted around the robots, fleeing into the corridor as Robotnik loudly ordered the robots to capture him. There was no time to waste as he reached behind him and pulled a brown bag off his shoulders. Reaching inside, he withdrew a fistful of small metal objects and began tossing them wherever he could; down halls, into rooms and vents, and everywhere else he manage to reach. Having a rather innate sense of direction (he was rarely truly lost) he quickly found his way back outside. After he scattered the remaining devices, he clutched a special one in his hands. He would only have one shot. Straining his ears, he struggled to hear over the wail of countless alarms and the roar of the wind all around him, but he couldn't hear anything that hinted at approaching danger. Had he succeeded? Then, without any warning, there was a blast behind him that singed his fur and something rose rapidly out of the ground, carrying him with it. Suppressing his alarm, he relinquished his hold on his device, listening as it attached itself, and sprung free, landing neatly in a crouch on the ground. He faced his enemy without fear despite Robotnik's obvious rage.

"You would _dare_ put a virus into _my _robots?" he bellowed. Several explosions went off and the doctor's face visibly reddened. "And you placed _bombs _on my _ship_?" Personally, the boy thought that this was a good lesson for the doctor. He hated being underestimated. Besides, he saw nothing wrong with this. After all, Robotnik had destroyed his plane. An eye for an eye, right? Several more explosions went off, shaking the ship violently and forcing both man and boy to dodge debris and flames. Robotnik glared hard at him from his hovering chair. His voice trembled with fury. "Who do you think you _are_?!"

He glared back, emerald eyes flashing. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. And now, we're even." Robtonik followed his gaze and stared in mute horror at the bomb that had attached itself to his machine. Sonic didn't wait; he turned and ran to the edge of the ship, jumping off just as the rest of the ship went up in flames as one by one his bombs did what they were designed to do. As he sailed down to the water far below, he couldn't help but wonder if his enemy had died, uncertain what to do if he hadn't.

**~ソニック~**

**Edited 07-20-15. 2,285 words.**


	2. Accelerate

"This is low, even for you." Sonic glared at the mostly destroyed robot at his feet, knowing that Robotnik could probably hear him through some device or another either in the room or the robot itself. "Using such powerful weapons on harmless animals... You're a bigger idiot than I thought." Without further ado, the young hedgehog smashed through the robot. He took great satisfaction in the way that it exploded. That thing had been giving him trouble all day. Turning, he broke open the cage that had the animals trapped, allowing himself a small smile when a few birds fluttered happily around his head before taking off. With his job done for now, he sped off through the trees, eager to get home. He was exhausted. _That was the fourth cage today. _As much as he wanted to know what his enemy was up to, he understood the need for rest.

When he finally reached his home, Sonic skidded to a stop on the beach in front of his house. He couldn't help but smile for the second time that day. Out of every location on the floating land mass known as South Island, this was the place he liked the best. The fact that there was a large wreckage he could live in was just a nice bonus. After all, he didn't mind sleeping outside, and it wasn't like he owned much. Arms stretched up high and back toward the setting sun, he began walking home, scavenging all the while. A few minutes later, he went inside, his arms laden with round orange fruit he had gathered from the trees surrounded his home. He ate quickly before crawling gratefully into bed and letting darkness take him.

When he awoke the next morning, he was pleased to note that it was nearly noon. Maybe Robotnik would leave him alone today. Despite his lingering aches and pains, as well the exhaustion that still weighed down heavily on his mind as it always did, he decided to enjoy the warm day while he could. Heading outside, Sonic dashed through the trees, going faster and faster until he didn't think his legs could take it anymore. He let out a small laugh. It wasn't often he got to run for fun like this anymore. It was an amazing feeling. The wind surrounded him, the sound of it drowning out all other noise. The scenery became countless lines. The world flew below his feet. He loved this. While he was running, he had no cares, no worries, no responsibilities. He was free.

**~ソニック~**

**This is short, but I liked it and wanted to include it in the story. Edited 07-20-15.**


	3. Rue the Day

Sonic sped through the wreckage from his latest fight. As he ran, the young hedgehog mentally went over the tidbits of information he'd gathered from the robots he'd destroyed over the last few weeks. Robotnik was still capturing animals. Why the man went to so much trouble to do so was beyond him. The animals were harmless. What use were they to him? _Knowing Robotnik... It could be anything. ...Just great. _Sonic knew he needed to find out what Robotnik's plan was, even if he didn't really _want_ to. _Guess it's time to go. _With that in mind, he changed directions significantly. He knew exactly where he was going: Oil Ocean. It didn't used to be called that, he knew. However, Robotnik had been creating unspeakable amounts of pollution there. Once, the water had sparkled. The pale sand on the beaches had shone. The plants and animals had thrived. How much had that all changed? The possibilities were nearly endless and bothered him greatly.

Sonic skidded to a stop on what had once been a beautiful beach with white sand. Once blue skies had turned into a hazy orange that dimmed the afternoon sun. The sand was slick with oil and grime. Even from a distance enormous metal structures could be seen towering over the water. Sonic ran into the jungle of steel by crossing a large bridge, pointedly ignoring the fetid blackish-purple water far below. He reached the end of the bridge and ran ahead for several long minutes before turning a corner and continuing on. Except, he wasn't going anywhere. Looking down, he saw that he had stepped into a large puddle of shiny, disgusting oil. Quickly growing frustrated with his predicament, he sped up the motion of his feet in the hope that the extra movement would somehow help free him.

The next thing he knew, he was laying flat on his back with the breath knocked out of him. Rolling to the side, he carefully stood, grimacing at the filth that now covered him. Just as he slipped again, a strange green robot with sickles for arms jumped off a ledge somewhere above and slashed the ground just centimeters away from him, spraying him with yet more oil. He leapt away in disgust and swiped furiously at his eyelids. By the time he had succeeded in opening his eyes again, the robot was already before him. It kicked him with a large foot and sent him flying, causing him to hit the ground so hard that he had to force himself not to cry out in pain. He sat up, nursing his injured elbow, and glared almost murderously at the bot. It started walking toward him and Sonic decided he'd had enough. Curling himself into a ball, he launched himself at his opponent, taking a great deal of satisfaction in the way it shattered as though made of glass. The young hedgehog skidded to a slippery stop a short distance away and looked over his shoulder at the heap of metal behind him. _Good riddance. _He gingerly extended his arm and winced at the pain that action had earned. Seeking to distract himself, he looked around slowly, his eyes reflecting a mixture of anger, disgust, and dismay. _Oil Ocean. Hmph. _He had to admit, the name fit, as awful as that truth was. Taking a deep breath, he groaned internally at the burning stench that filled his nose. Gagging a bit against his will, he trudged on through the haze.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic hadn't meant to go sliding through the clearing like that. He'd forgotten how slippery everything was, including his own shoes, and he _hated_ the way he was being laughed at. "How nice of you to join me," Robotnik sneered as Sonic's arms pin wheeled, struggling to help maintain his balance from where he stood precariously close the edge of very high metal platform.

He heaved a heavy sigh of relief when he finally fell on his butt. He had a no desire to fall to his imminent death to the ground far below. Doing his best to calm his erratic heartbeat, he stood and turned to face Robotnik who, as per usual, was sitting in his hovering chair. Sonic glanced around with his eyes at the many robots that formed a tight circle around the two of them. "Someone's been busy," he remarked casually. "If only you'd put this much effort into exercising." Robotnik seemed to ignore the barb and, grinning, hovered out of the circle. Sonic watched with narrowed eyes, suspicion and wariness making him tense. _What is he...?_

In a tone of supreme unconcern, Robotnik waved his hand and ordered his robots, "Kill him."

There was a sudden flurry of movement from the robots, ending with each and every one of them firing some sort of laser, missile, bomb, beam, or bullet at him. Alarmed, he ducked just in time to dodge a laser that still managed to singe some of the fur atop his head. Opening his eyes, barely noticing the sting (he didn't have time to care about it) he dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding twin missiles that exploded by his feet. He yelped as he was sent flying for the second time that day and slammed into a wall, causing him to cry out a little when his injured elbow knocked into the wall with painful force. Sliding to the ground, he once again cradled his injured appendage. _Stupid robots...!_ he thought furiously. Blinking back a pained tear that had threatened to fall, he quickly regained his feet and dodged and weaved until there was finally enough room above him to jump to safety. He landed on a missile first and, fighting for balance, he jumped again, unintentionally altering its course. It crashed into a group of five or six orange robots, destroying them in a ball of fire, and he winced at the sight.

"What's the matter, Sonic?" Robotnik called merrily as the boy landed on a ledge a fairly safe distance away. "Not fond of the destruction? It's a shame, really, since you're the one who's caused it."

Sonic winced again. It wasn't destroying the robots that bothered him. It was what was _inside_... "Why are you using the animals?" he demanded, using the bravest voice he could managed in the current circumstances.

Robotnik frowned at him and waved a hand dismissively. "It's too complicated to explain to a child," he said in disdain. "Your little brain could never comprehend my plans." Sonic returned the doctor's frown. He was sick and tired of being called a child. Yes, he _was_ a child, but he'd been taking care of himself for years. Didn't that count for anything? "Besides," the man continued, "why would I waste my breath on you?"

At this, Sonic smirked. "You already have." He'd managed to keep the man talking long enough to catch his breath. It wasn't a big victory or anything, but it would help. Then, obeying some silent cue, the robots began their assault anew, and Sonic was forced to covered his face protectively when the ledge he stood on exploded, sending him through the window at his back. He landed inside a large building that almost looked like a factory, unintentionally hitting a lever with one of his shoulder blades. The lever shifted, then snapped. A vaguely female-sounding and oddly mechanical voice echoed through the room.

**"Detonation in T minus ten seconds."**

Sonic didn't generally swear, but a string of colorful curses flitted through his mind at that moment. He hurried to his feet as the robots, their leader among them, broke through a solid steel wall and began marching toward him. Sonic stiffened as the voice spoke again.

**"...T minus eight seconds."**

Not knowing what else to do, Sonic ran, desperately hoping that there was another way out because there was no way he was getting past all of those robots, and certainly not in so little time. A loud sound reached his ears and he dove behind a sizable machine, barely avoiding a blast that probably could have killed him. Fear gave way to anger. _I won't die here._

**"...T minus six seconds."**

Sonic stood and ran deeper into the building, which he now suspected _was_, in fact, a factory of sorts. Still, he had no desire to find out what was being built here, he decided as he pushed himself to go faster.

"Get him!" Robotnik bellowed from somewhere behind him. "Get him _now_!"

Then, for the third time that day, Sonic was knocked off of his feet and sent flying. A robot caught him by the ankle before he hit the ground.

**"...T minus four seconds."**

Near panic, his courage from moments before gone, Sonic struggled fiercely. He wrenched his ankle free, unable to stop the sharp cry of pain from escaping his lips, and landed hard on his stomach. Immediately curling into a ball, desperate to escape, he propelled himself forward at top speed, aiming for what he prayed was a window not far ahead of him. He only had one chance. Picking up speed, he prepared himself for the jump. As he pushed off the ground, he turned his head to look miserably over his shoulder at the robots behind him and the animals within. He couldn't save them. Even if there was more time... he knew he could never save all of them. Despair filled his heart. Guilt tore at his conscience. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

**"...one second."**

**~ソニック~**

**Edited on 05-16-15.**


	4. What's In a Name

People were learning his name. They whispered it in the ears of friends as though it were some special secret. They called it out when they needed help. They spat it in the face of the one who was the cause of all their pain. They shouted it in praise for all their hero had done, all he had yet to do.

"Did you hear?! He destroyed the factory at Oil Ocean!"

"I heard he's been freeing the animals!"

"Is it true that he saved Little Planet?"

"He rescued my daughter!"

"I saw him kick Robotnik's butt the other day!"

"He's tough as nails!"

The people needed a hero. In this time of sadness and suffering, hope was scarce. It was a ray if light at the end of the tunnel they had been trapped in for so long and could never seem to escape from. But he had captured that light and, with his extraordinary speed, was spreading it around for all to see. He had given people a reason to fight back. He had given them a reason to believe that, even if they died, their enemy would still be defeated some day. But more than that, he had given people a reason to _live_ again.

But as the people sang his praises to the heavens, the young hero, unaware of the joy and love around him, trudged home through the wet and dripping trees. Around him he saw only darkness. The fear and hatred his enemy had brought upon this world clouded his mind and damped his spirit. In his heart he prayed that no one would ever know of him, would never know how much he had failed.

* * *

**A/N Another short one, but I hope you enjoyed anyway. Edited on 05-16-15.**


	5. Chemicals React

The apprehension he felt was understandable, he supposed. The water was pink and glowed unnaturally. Everything stank. The whole place was hot and muggy. Robots patrolled everywhere. Sonic stood atop a large blue and yellow pipe high above his enemies and the source of his anxiety, the unnatural water that may or may not actually have actually _been_ water. Crossing his arms, he sighed. "So this is the Chemical Plant... huh?" He looked around. Beyond the massive size of the facility, he didn't think it was that great. "Well, it isn't much to look at." He clamped his mouth shut then, feeling stupid for talking to himself. _Only crazy people do that. And besides, anything could be listening._

Sonic was feeling unmotivated today. Not that he ever wanted to be out chasing some evil maniac around the world, but he really hadn't wanted to get up today. He certainly didn't want to be _here_. Wrinkled his nose, he began running nimbly along the top of the pipe, paying no heed to the distance separating him from the ground. He was just glad to not be above that water anymore. Sliding under another pipe that crossed above the one he was on, he leaped over a hedgehog-sized hole not far beyond it. After a few more minutes, he jumped off the pipe and landed on another. A wall to his right had a circular opening in it that released a burst of steam hot enough to scald. The foul odor made him gag as he slid underneath it. Much to his surprise, he continued to slide against his will as the pipe began to slope steeply downward. Sonic's feet worked furiously to try to stop his descent, but it was to no avail. Then, suddenly, the pipe veered off in an entirely different direction, leaving him to free-fall off the edge. It was only then that he realized he was no longer above solid ground.

As much as it would have hurt, he would have much preferred to hit the ground. The pain would be worth it if it meant he could avoid touching any water, and especially _this_ water. There was just something... _wrong_ with it. But even if it had been normal, he wouldn't have wanted to touch it or be anywhere _near _it. He had never liked water. At least, not large bodies of it. Ponds he could handle. Streams he could handle. This was more like a lake. A deep, putrid, glowing lake with who knew _what_ hiding in its depths. That thought nearly made him panic as he hit the water. When he breached the surface, he had to force himself to breath normally as he paddled as quickly as he could to the nearest shore. As he hauled himself out of the water (or whatever it was), he fought back memories from when he was younger. Those memories usually only haunted him at night, but they always came back full-force when he wet. He didn't like getting wet. Sonic was shivering when he stood. His heart pounded. But he refused to let his fear conquer him; he couldn't afford to. He was responsible for the lives of others. He was the only one who could take this place down, maybe even destroy it forever. He couldn't fail. He wouldn't _let_ himself.

A loud cackle gave away the position of the one he was looking for. Sonic drew himself up and, feigning confidence he didn't feel, he marched up to the man responsible for bringing his fears back from the grave he'd attempted to bury them in. "So nice of you to join me," Robotnik sneered from the controls of the metal behemoth that he flew above the hedgehog's head. "I was beginning to worry you weren't going to come." Without waiting for a response, he fired a strange gun and an odd blue blob sailed toward the lighter blue hedgehog.

Sonic dodged to the side and watched with horrified interest as the goo squished onto the ground and began to quickly eat away at the metal, causing then tendrils of steam to rise up from the ground. He didn't know exactly what to think of it, beyond the fact that it was very bad, so he turned away and did his best _not_ to think abut it. Robotnik laughed like a madman and fired more goo at him in rapid succession, forcing Sonic to jump for his life. As he dodged the last one for the moment, Sonic slipped on a puddle and landed on his back with a thud, nearly sliding back into the lake in the process.

Robotnik seemed to enjoy his distress. "What's the matter, _Sonic_? Don't like getting _wet_?" The last word was punctuated by a loud metallic sound as two robots grabbed Sonic's arms and pinned them painfully behind his back. They paid no attention to his struggles as they carried him quickly to the edge of the water.

"Let me go!" he demanded furiously. The robots, of course, ignored him, coming to a stop right in the water. It was just deep enough there that he could stand straight up on the bottom and still not reach the surface.

"Let this be a lesson to you, hedgehog!" Robotnik shouted. "No one defies _me_!" And with that, they pushed his head under the surface and held it there.

* * *

**Edited on 05-16-15.**


	6. Fateful Encounter

"Hey, kid. Are you okay? Kid? Kid!"

Sonic blinked blearily from where he lay curled beneath a tree and stared uncomprehendingly at the stranger's face. "Wha...?"

"Good, you're awake. I was getting worried for a minute there."

Sonic sat up and rubbed his eyes before looking once more at the stranger before him. The man stood with his fists on his hips. His red fur was bright and a white crescent decorated his chest. On his head he wore a sort of brown cowboy hat. Sonic briefly wondered why the man was wearing a hat on a cloudy day like this when there was no sun to block before reminding himself that he didn't care. He stood and brushed himself off.

"What's your name, kid?" the man asked, revealing sharp teeth when he opened his mouth.

Sonic crossed his arms moodily. "When asking someone's name, aren't you s'pposed to give yours first?" He was briefly surprised when the man barked out a laugh.

"You're right about that!" the man exclaimed. Then, more calmly, he added, "I'm just a wanderer. My name doesn't really matter. But I guess you can call me by my nickname, Knuckles."

Sonic thought the name was fitting, considering the spikes each of the red man's fists bore. He met Knuckles's gaze almost challengingly. "My name's Sonic."

Knuckles blinked and scratched his head under his hat with one finger. "Sonic, huh? Don't think I've ever heard that name before."

"Good."

Knuckles seemed to ignore this muttered comment. "What are you doing sleeping so close to Robotnik's base?"

Sonic glared. "None of your business."

Knuckles also crossed his arms. "Maybe it's not my business why you're here, but Robotnik himself _is_ my business."

"What are you talking about?" Sonic asked in genuine surprise.

"I'm going to stop that lunatic before he destroys everything," Knuckles practically growled. "He's after something precious of mine, and I won't let him have it."

"What is it?" Sonic couldn't stop himself from asking, curious in spite of his caution.

"Let's just say it's something powerful and leave it at that," Knuckles replied. He glanced around, and then, changing the subject entirely, asked, "Where are your parents?"

Sonic looked away, suddenly finding the grass very interesting. "What's it matter?"

"Every kid needs their parents."

"I'm fine without 'em."

"You say that, but look at yourself. You're dirty, hurt, exhausted, and you look like you'd be willing to eat a rock you're so hungry."

Sonic finally looked at him again. "Why do _you_ care?"

"I care because, in this world, people can't afford not to care for one another," Knuckles replied solemnly. "The moment we stop caring for each other is the moment evil wins. I won't let that happen."

Sonic stared at Knuckles in shock. _He... He's just like... _He searched violet eyes for any hint of deception. _...me. _He had never thought that there was someone else out there who wanted what he wanted, believed in the same things he did, had the same dreams as he had, and who was also willing to fight for those things no matter how hard it was. _I'm not... alone? _Quickly, he pushed that thought away. Of _course_ he was alone. Just... maybe not as much as he'd once believed.

"Why don't you come with me?" Knuckles's voice pierced his thoughts, pulling his mind back to reality. "If nothing else, I can get you something to eat." If his next words were any indication, he must have read the suspicion in Sonic's eyes. "If I were really going to hurt you, don't you think I would've tried something by now?"

_I guess so. _Unsure what else to do and feeling so hungry that it hurt, Sonic decided to take a chance and trust Knuckles. They began walking away from the base that Sonic had attacked the night before. For the most part, his endeavor had been a success. Most of the robots were destroyed and the base itself was barely standing. But, on the other hand, Robotnik had escaped with a good hundred or so robots. Sonic mentally cursed himself for his failure. _Why can I never win?_

"I didn't expect to see you here," Knuckles commented suddenly, breaking the silence that had settled between them. "I didn't expect to see anyone here, really."

Sonic thought the feeling was mutual. "Why are _you_ here?"

Knuckles shrugged. "Looking for treasure, mostly. I was looking for Robotnik for a while, but I decided not to run myself ragged and take a break. That was just a few days ago, actually."

"Oh."

"Besides, with that hero on the loose, I doubt Robotnik will be causing too much trouble."

Sonic looked at him sharply. "Hero?"

"Yeah, I heard someone's been kicking Robotnik's butt these past few months," Knuckles said with a smirk. "He destroyed the factories at Oil Ocean, blew up a large portion of the chemical plant, and even drove a bunch of robots out of Green Hill. He's really helping people."

Sonic looked away and frowned deeply at the ground. _I did all those things. But... I'm no hero. A hero would be able to save everyone. A hero would be anyone but me. _He decided he didn't want to talk about this anymore and posed another question. "Did you find anything?" Knuckles gave him a confused look. "Treasure, I mean."

Knuckles smirked. "Nah, not really. I think I'm losing my touch. All I've managed to find is a rusted hunk of metal, a few shiny rocks, and an old key chain."

_Some treasure hunter._

"But, then again, I've been thinking that Robotnik might be stealing all the treasure he can find."

"Why would he do that?"

"To get rich, I suppose. Not like he needs funding for all his projects, though, since he just does whatever he wants." While that may have been true, Sonic still wasn't convinced that Robotnik was stealing treasure. He'd been all over Robotnik's bases and he'd never seen any hint of treasure. And he doubted the man had a base just for treasure. "Say, how old are you, anyway?" Knuckles asked, abruptly changing the subject.

Sonic blinked. As if it really mattered... "Ten."

"You're only ten?" Knuckled sounded surprised, though not quite shocked.

"Yeah. So?" Sonic replied sourly.

"You just act older than that, I guess," Knuckled replied. "You're pretty mature for a ten year old. ...Not that I have enough experience with kids to really be a good judge of that." Sonic didn't reply, so he continued. "So you're only ten in your years, right?"

"Yeah."

Knuckles scratched his head thoughtfully as they passed through a clearing in the woods. "Hedgehogs live a long time, right?"

Sonic thought that over. "I guess."

"So how old are you in just... you know, years?"

"I don't know." After a moment of silence Sonic asked, "How long do echidnas live?"

Knuckled laughed. "Oh, we live a long time, too. Most species do."

"Really?" Sonic hated being curious. Curiosity had put him in danger more times than he would have liked to admit.

"Yup," Knuckles said with a nod. "Some don't though. Like the flickies, for example. They have the shortest lifespan." They reentered the woods at a slow pace. "From what I understand, your species lives the longest. Funny thing is though, each breed within a species has a different lifespan."

"Breed?" Sonic questioned in confusion, eyeing a group of three flickies flying over head. One was pink, one was yellow, and one was blue. He smiled a little when one of them waved its wing at him.

"In your case, a different fur color means a different breed," Knuckles explained. "But for some species, it's a different scale color, or feather color, or, you know, things like that." Sonic nodded his understanding. "Halfbreeds are a little more complicated, though. They can either have a mixture of the colors of their parents, or just the coloring of one parent. Makes it kind of hard to tell sometimes."

Sonic decided not to ask about halfbreeds. "How do you know so much?"

Knuckles laughed sheepishly. "I read a lot. When I can."

Silence fell between them again for a while before Sonic broke it. "I've never even _seen_ another hedgehog," he admitted.

"Except for your parents, right?" When the question went unanswered, Knuckles spoke again. "To be honest, you're the first hedgehog I've seen in a long time."

Sonic glanced at him. "How do you know so much about us? I doubt a book could tell you that much."

"Well, you're wrong about that," Knuckles answered. He stopped suddenly and picked a fruit off a tree and tossed it to Sonic. Sonic bit into it immediately, instantly forgetting all about their conversation as he ate what almost seemed like the greatest meal of his life.

* * *

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! Each and every one of them has made me smile! Edited on 05-18-15.**


	7. The Pure Light

"Don't tell me you've never seen a photograph before."

"Well I haven't."

"Do you live under a rock or something?"

"No." Sonic glared at Knuckles irritably.

The echidna raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "It was a joke, I promise," he said placatingly. "Anyway, do you at least know what a photograph _is_?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. I've heard of 'em before. Videos, too. Robotnik uses 'em a lot."

Knuckles seemed to decide not to ask how he knew that and instead pulled out a small rectangular piece of paper. Its edges were worn and the entire thing was bent and scratched. It seemed to have been straightened out several times. "This is a photo of my son." Sonic looked at the picture with interest. There was a small baby wrapped in a blanket. Beyond the difference in size and the distinct lack of a hat on the baby's head, he looked just like his dad. "My wife always teases me about naming him Knuckles," the echidna chuckled, "but I think it's fitting. Those little spikes are lethal!"

Sonic couldn't help but smile a bit. "How old is he?"

"Well, echidnas age quicker than hedgehogs, so he's technically older than you by about two years. Realistically, though, he's quite a bit younger than you, I'm sure." Knuckles carefully replaced the photo in his bag; it was an old brown cylindrical thing that he always seemed to have with him. "This is the only photo I have of him, since he broke my camera."

Sonic's smile widened as he imagined the baby punching Robotnik's lights out. _I wish I could do that. _That single ability would have saved him so much trouble... He looked around, his thoughts drifting elsewhere. _I can't believe it's been three months already. _It seemed like so long ago that he'd met Knuckles and now... they were friends. It was a wonderful feeling, knowing that he was no longer alone. At least, not completely. _I'll always be alone. Just... maybe not __so_ _alone. _Realizing that he'd begun to lag behind, he picked up the pace a bit and returned to Knuckles's side. "Why do you keep such an old photo with you?"

"I haven't seen him since a few weeks after this picture was taken," Knuckles replied sadly. "With Robotnik constantly after me, it was too dangerous to stay. It's all I've got to remember him by."

"Oh." Silence followed for several minutes. "So _where_ are we going?"

"I told you, you'll see when we get there." Knuckles winked at him. "Think of it as a surprise."

"I _hate_ surprises," Sonic grumped.

"Well this one will be good, I promise."

"You can't make promises about things you don't know."

"I'm pretty sure you'll like it."

"Assumptions are stupid."

"They can be."

"...Are we there yet?"

"Nope. Not yet."

"... ... ...Now?"

"Be patient."

Sonic crossed his arms, a small pout appearing on his lips. "I suck at that."

"Then this will be good practice," Knuckles replied with a smile.

Sonic let out a small "hmph" but otherwise didn't reply. As the minutes slowly ticked by, he tried to entertain himself by watching the small animals around them go about their business. A small white rabbit nibbled on a root. Some birds chirruped in the trees, seeming engrossed in their conversation. A squirrel fell out of a small tree. He winced sympathetically before turning his gaze up to the sky and watching as a few puffy white clouds drifted lazily by. The sun shone brightly between them. A gentle breeze picked up, causing the plants to shift and sway. ...Sonic's right ear twitched. He frowned minutely and listened hard, trying to determine what he'd heard. When all he heard was the sounds of nature, he allowed himself to relax. _I'm just being paranoid. ...or something. _Still, he was wary. Robotnik had been quiet for nearly a week, and that didn't bode well. _Whatever he's got planned, it's going to be big. _A bird chirped loudly by his head then, causing him to start. Knuckles noticed and laughed even as Sonic's heart pounded.

"You okay there, kid?"

Sonic greatly disapproved of the echidna's nickname for him, but he said nothing about it. "Yeah... I'm fine. Just startled me, that's all."

Silence fell between the two again, and Sonic glanced around. Something pulled at the edges of his senses, screaming that there was danger. And yet... he found nothing. Everything still seemed normal. The sun still shone. It wasn't being blotted out by some huge airship. The breeze still picked up at regular intervals, uninterrupted as it would have been if some large metal structure were blocking its way. The animals were still fine. _Wait. _He looked around. _Where did they go? _The birdsong had stopped. The chatter of the squirrels had ceased. The small squeaks of the forest rodents could no longer be heard. ...His ear twitched again.

Sonic was just about to shout a warning when something slammed into him from behind. He flew forward and crashed into a large tree, crying out in pain when his forehead hit the rough bark. He landed on his butt and clutched his head. For a moment, black spots appeared in his vision. Cold metal hands hauled him to his feet and tossed him away as though he were little more than a ragdoll. He hit the ground hard and rolled several times before coming to a stop in a cloud of dirt. Coughing, though only partially because of the dust, he sat up and quickly dodged a third attack, leaping high enough into the air that he was able to land in a tree. From this vantage point, he could see that his friend was going toe-to-toe with his own robot, this one exactly identical to the one Sonic was fighting. Sonic looked down just in time to see his enemy jump up toward him. He fell back in alarm, unintentionally toppling off of his branch, and hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of him, but quickly regained his feet. The robot landed in front of him with such force that the ground vibrated.

Sonic curled into a ball and launched himself at the bright yellow-orange robot and was shocked when he bounced right off of it. _I can't break through? _Landing on his feet a short distance away, Sonic thought quickly. The answer came to him just moments later when the robot fired several missiles at him from it's fists. Sonic took a leap of faith and landed on one missile. He stood precariously, struggling to maintain his balance. _I can do this. If I can ride a skateboard on a telephone wire, I can stand on a missile. _Internal pep talk aside, Sonic called upon his limited knowledge of skateboarding and shifted in a way he hoped would make the missile turn. It did, but in entirely the wrong direction. His eyes widened when he saw Knuckles's red form rapidly growing closer and closer. "Uh oh- _Incoming_!" Knuckles turned and shouted in alarm when he saw Sonic coming. He dove to the side just in time and the missile crashed into the ground and exploded. Sonic disembarked seconds before impact and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that his plan had worked, if only somewhat. _At least that__ robot's destroyed, _he thought as he landed.

"Hey, watch where you're aiming, kid!" Knuckles shouted, shaking a fist at him.

"_You_ try steering it next time!" Sonic shouted back. There was no real anger in either male's words, and they quickly returned their focus to the fight. _Come on, shoot some more missiles already...! _Sonic was getting antsy. He just wanted this fight to be over with. Obviously this wasn't Robotnik's big plan, and Sonic had no interest in little skirmishes. _What's taking you so long?!_

"Look out!" Knuckles shouted when the robot suddenly lunged forward.

Sonic cried out when it suddenly appeared before him and punched him hard in the stomach. He sailed backward and slammed into a tree for the second time that day. He clutched his head again. As he slid down to the ground, everything went black.

* * *

"Cripes, Sonic. You had me worried."

"So why'd you hit me on the head?!"

"It woke you up, didn't it?"

Sonic glared at Knuckles from where he sat on the ground. The echidna stood next to him with his fists in his hips. "My head already hurts, you jerk."

Knuckles didn't reply to that and instead watched silently as Sonic stood. "Still feel up for that surprise?"

Sonic rubbed the top of his head. "I guess," he mumbled.

Knuckles grinned. "Come on, then."

"Okay."

Night was falling by the time they emerged from the woods and entered a large cave system. Knuckles grabbed a torch off the wall some way in and lit it. Without a word, he led the way down a long, dark tunnel. It was cool and wet and Sonic slipped more than once on the slick stone floor. Just before the end of the tunnel, Knuckles stopped and turned to him. "You're always bugging me to see some treasure, right?" he asked with a toothy grin. Sonic nodded. "Well go on, then," Knuckles said, jerking his head in invitation. "Go take a look."

Sonic hesitantly walked into the large chamber beyond the glow of the torch and his eyes widened in awe. "Wow..." he breathed. "Did _you_ find all of this?"

Knuckles stepped up beside him. "Yep. I'm not called a master treasure hunter for nothing."

Sonic walked around slowly, taking in everything he could. There were piles and piles of shiny coins, most of them gold, but some were also silver and even bronze. There were gems and jewels galore, as well as rare minerals, cups fashioned out of gold, jewelry of all kinds, shiny rocks, small objects that seemed to have little monetary value but still _looked _really cool, and _so_ much more. One particular thing caught his eye; a decent sized gem shaped like a diamond. It glowed from within with a heavenly white light. _I have one just like this at home. _He really had no idea what it was, but he sensed that there was something special about it.

"You can have that, if you'd like." Sonic jumped at the sound of Knuckles's voice. Knuckles nodded. "Go ahead. Take it. I won't miss it." With a smile, he added, "I think I might have a little too much treasure, anyway."

Sonic tried and failed to suppress his happiness and he returned his friend's smile. Though no words of thanks were offered, Knuckles seemed to understand. Sonic turned and picked the gem up, blinking in surprise when the glow intensified briefly before fading back. He and knuckles exchanged a bemused glance and Sonic looked down at the jewel in his hands. _The green one did that too... What are these things?_ Holding his precious jewel close to his chest, Sonic followed Knuckles out of the cave.

* * *

**Posted 02-02-15. Edited on 05-18-15.**


	8. Lost Treasures

"Are you _sure_ we're going the right way?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I've been here before."

"When?"

"I dunno. A few months ago, I guess."

"And you've only been here _once_?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So there's no way you can possibly have memorized the exact route."

"Yes there is."

"I don't believe it."

"Will you just shut up and keep crawling?" Sonic was thankful when Knuckles didn't bother replying to him as he lead the way through an air duct. It was cold and dark and dusty and Sonic hated it. Still, they really didn't have any other choice. This was the only safe way to their destination. Neither had any intention of getting into a fight. They couldn't risk getting caught before they'd gotten their prize. They reached a vent cover and Sonic glanced down to make sure no robots were beneath them before passing over it. He continued forward for several feet before making a sudden right. Knuckles glanced down the other passage to the left but didn't question Sonic's choice. They continued on in relative silence until Sonic finally couldn't take it anymore. He had to know. "So what did Robotnik steal?"

"A book," answered Knuckles.

Sonic stopped and turned around. "We're risking our butts for a _book_?"

"Trust me, Sonic," Knuckles replied seriously, "it's really important."

"_How_ important?"

"Ancient knowledge is not something just everyone should have access to."

"That doesn't tell me anything."

"In other words, if Robotnnik reads it, everyone will be in far more danger than ever before."

Sonic rolled his eyes and turned back around, resuming his slow crawl. "Why couldn't you have just said that the _first_ time?" he muttered. Knuckles didn't deign to respond to that and silence fell between the two once more. Sonic didn't mind. He wasn't exactly in a conversational mood. He never really was. He preferred to keep to himself, though he could be outgoing and talkative when he wanted to. Still, silence was preferable for him.

His ears pricked suddenly, a strange sound pulling him from his thoughts. Knuckles must have noticed, too, for he whispered, "What is it?"

Sonic listened hard. A slight frown appeared on his face. "I... I don't know," he replied. "Can you hear it?"

Knuckles was quiet for a moment before shaking his head, the sound of his hair shifting giving away his actions. "No, your ears are far more sensitive than mine. I can't hear a thing."

Sonic frowned deeper. "It's like... It's almost like a..." He hesitated, trying to figure out how to put it into words. "It almost sounds like the air is... _moving_ nearby, like there's wind or something."

"That's impossible. We're inside."

"It didn't say it actually _was_ wind, just that it sounded like it." Before Knuckles had a chance to reply, a fierce burst of air from some indiscernible point ahead of them blew them backward. They sailed down the passage and down the left side where Knuckles had glanced earlier. After several feet, they fell down a vertical shaft, hitting the sides and bumping each other all the way down. Sonic landed first, hitting the ground hard on his stomach. Seconds later, Knuckles landed on his back... on top of Sonic. "_Ow_! Get off of me, you great lump!"

He shoved the older male off and stood, brushing dust off of himself as best as he could. That was the _last_ time he traveled through a vent. Knuckles stood beside him. "Great. Now where are we?"

"I don't know," Sonic replied, glancing around. "I haven't been in this part of the base before." He looked back to the shaft they'd fallen through. "What the heck happened?"

"My guess would be that we were blasted by a robot of some kind," Knuckles answered with a shrug.

"But the alarms aren't going off," Sonic pointed out. Knuckles answered with another shrug and Sonic sighed. "Whatever. Let's just get going."

"Yeah, yeah." They walked quickly down the dark corridor in which they'd landed. Both of them were on their guard. After checking a third room and finding it abandoned, Knuckles placed his fists on his hips. "I don't get it. Does he not use this place anymore?"

Sonic tapped a severed robot head with his foot. "I guess not. It looks pretty run down."

"Yeah. It's weird, though," Knuckles popped his head into another room for a brief moment. "You'd think he'd destroy it or something."

"Maybe he's going to." Sonic looked around warily. "Either way, I'm not complaining. At least we won't have to worry about any robots for a while."

"At least not any _live_ ones."

"Yeah."

The pair walked in silence for a while, every so often stopping to check a room. Sonic suppressed a sigh when Knuckles seemed to decide to lighten the mood by talking some more. "So... any particular reason why you insisted on coming along with me?"

"'Cause I knew you'd get lost." Sonic examined an old notebook. The pages had long since been destroyed by water. He dropped it carelessly on the ground.

"I doubt that's the only reason," Knuckles replied, though not accusingly, as he tried to turn on some computer. After several tries, he gave it up.

"What's it matter why I came?" Sonic asked. He knelt beneath a desk and began sifting through some yellowing papers that had been scattered on the floor some time ago.

"Because it puts you in unnecessary danger," Knuckles answered, tilting a large metal fragment this way and that in front of his face.

"I'd be in danger anyway. Robotnik knows where I live." Sonic shoved aside a pile of useless papers.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that." The echidna opened a drawer in the filing cabinet beside the desk. "Still, though, you're in more danger here."

"It's not like you tried to stop me from coming," Sonic retorted. He picked up a piece of paper that had caught his interest and began examining it closely.

"True," Knuckles replied with a sigh. "Not my wisest of choices."

Sonic ignored him and carefully folded the paper so that it was small enough to fit into the side pocket of the backpack he'd brought with him. _Robotnik might have more of those gems, and this is proof. _The paper had been covered in diagrams and whatnot, describing the madman's attempts create gems that could house power for his machines. _But does this mean that the gems I have were created by him? _He pushed that thought away to be contemplated later. _No use worrying about it. _They exited the room and continued walking down the corridor. Scarce minutes had passed before both Sonic and Knuckles froze. A wobbly, nervous smile spread across both of their faces, and Sonic gulped. "Please tell me you heard _that_."

Knuckles clenched his fists minutely. "Yep... I sure did..." They both turned around slowly and locked gazes with a very large, very frightening robot that looked like a black spider with four glowing red eyes. "_Run_!"

Sonic needed no further invitation. He tore off down the hall, making sure to go slow enough that he didn't lose his friend. _I hate spiders... Why does it have to be a spider? _He made a sharp turn, the sound of pounding feet indicating that Knuckles was not far behind.

"We need to get to a more open area!" The mechanical beast decided to let out an ear-piercing screech right after Knuckles closed his mouth.

Sonic forced himself not to wince. "No _duh_!" The ground shook then as the spider jumped over his head and landed in front of him with a crash. He backpedaled rapidly and, casting a horrified glance into the behemoth's maw, abruptly changed direction.

Knuckles also skidded to a halt before running after him. Seconds later, the echidna's shout reached his ears. "Sonic, take a left!"

Sonic obeyed without thinking, throwing himself through a giant, open door. Seconds later, Knuckles joined him and slammed the door shut. With a slew of well-aimed punches, he jammed the door to the point where it hopefully couldn't be reopened. Sonic glared at the door as the Spider slammed into it from the other side. "I _hate_ spiders," he muttered.

"Agreed."

Sonic turned away from the door and looked around and, seconds later, he scowled irritably and slapped his forehead. "I don't believe this." Knuckles frowned at him questioningly and Sonic pointed forward. "We're right where we need to be."

Knuckles let out a weary sort of chuckle. "Of course we are." He sighed heavily. "That explains the spider."

"Some guard dog," Sonic muttered. He followed knuckles through the well-lit cavernous room. It was filled with shelves and boxes and baskets and crates and many other forms of storage, all full of items that Robotnik had stolen. _This_ was why Sonic was here.

"Remember not to take anything that isn't yours," Knuckles warned over his shoulder as they parted ways.

"Obviously." Sonic began rummaging through the contents of a cardboard box for Knuckles's book while simultaneously keeping an eye out for his own lost treasure. Finding nothing of interest, he moved the box and looked through the one beneath it. He opened it up... and instantly started laughing. "Oh my god, Knuckles, you've gotta come see this!"

Kuckles hurried over, a concerned frown on his face. "What?"

Still laughing, Sonic lifted a very large, bright purple dress out of the box. Stitched into its chest in fancy cursive was Robotnik's full name. Knuckles busted up laughing at the sight of it. Sonic grinned at him. "Who knew Egghead wore a dress?"

Knuckles wiped a tear from his eye and smiled at Sonic's ridiculous nickname for the man. "Maybe someone made that to insult him."

"I really hope so. I bet it ticked him off."

"I bet. The opportunity to see him in a dress would be too great to pass up."

"Got that right."

After that brief interlude, Sonic tossed the dress behind him and they resumed their search. He emptied a third box, then a fourth, then a fifth. _All junk. _Picking up a small white plastic basket, he dumped it out. _Not one book. _He tossed the basket aside and peeked into yet another box, then sighed. _Of course this one's full of 'em, _he thought as he pulled the books out one by one. Most of them were school books, he realized with a deep frown. _Robotnik doesn't want people to get smart. That's why he shut down the schools. Ignorance makes it easier for him to control people. _He piled the books back into the box. _I've gotta return these, _he thought seriously as he scooted the box across the floor to a place where he could find it later. With that, he continued on.

Half an hour later, Knuckles's voice carried over to him from the other side of the room. "Find anything?"

"No!" Sonic called back. "It's mostly junk over here!"

"Yeah, same here!"

Sonic sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day and glanced around. Boredom had him increasingly disinclined to keep searching. He stood and his eyes began to wander. They traveled slowly toward the far back of the room, landing on a tarp-covered bulk that looked suspiciously like... _No way... I found it! _He clambered over a small mountain of boxes and crates that were in his way and ran over to the tarp, yanking it off as soon as he reached it. _Yes__!_

Knuckles stood nearby with his rear in the air, the entire upper half of his body buried in a pile of miscellaneous garbage. At the sound of the tarp flowing to the ground, his head popped up and whipped to the side. His eyes widened. "Whoa, what is _that_?"

Sonic turned and beamed at him. "My plane. Robotnik used some big, stupid claw machine to carry it away last week."

Knuckles walked over to him with upraised eyebrows. "This plane is _nice_! Where in the world did you get it?"

"I didn't _get_ it," Sonic corrected. "Where would I have gotten the money?" Knuckles shrugged and Sonic laid a hand fondly on the side of the plane. "I built it."

The echidna's eyebrows climbed farther up his forehead until Sonic thought for sure that they might jump off of his face. "You _built _it?"

"Yeah. It's pretty cool huh?" Sonic hadn't seen many planes in his lifetime, but he knew that his was quite a bit better than most others. He'd designed it that way.

Knuckles didn't get a chance to reply when, in an unexpected turn of events, the door was blasted forcefully into the room. The spider had returned. Sonic watched as the box of school books was sent flying. A beam of yellow energy sailed over his head, blasting a hole in the ceiling and unintentionally giving them a way out. "Sonic, start the plane!

Sonic nodded and dove into the cockpit, shouting, "Grab that box!" as he did so.

Knuckles followed his pointing finger and frowned deeply. He spun back around to face Sonic. "There's no time!"

"Just do it!" Knuckles swore under his breath, but did as he was told. Sonic stored a few of those words away for later use. Moments later, just as he got the engine going, Knuckles returned with the box in his arms. He jumped onto the left wing of the plane without hesitation. Sonic didn't take the time to worry about his friends choice of seating as the spider finally forced it's way into the room (the doorway was too small for it) and came barreling toward them. He lifted the plane and, with a great deal of luck and just a touch of skill, managed to fly the it in a tight circle so that it faced their exit. Once they were high enough, they shot out of the roof and into the sky.

It was sunset by the time the duo reached the nearest village, the one Sonic was sure Robotnik had taken the books from. As they flew toward the nearest houses, Knuckles frowned down at the box. "Why in the world was this so important?"

Sonic glanced back at him. "Those are kids' school books." No further explanation was offered, nor was it needed. Sonic had said enough. He landed the plane carefully in the center of the village, successfully gaining the attention of all its inhabitants. Without a word, the young hedgehog took the box from his friend and jumped down to the ground. He set the box down and pulled out a book while a wary face approached him. Smiling, he handed the child the book. "Read it and get real smart, 'kay?" At his wink, the small boy returned his smile.

"Okay!"

After that, the other kids didn't hesitate. Knuckles jumped down beside him and they began passing out books. After a few minutes, they were finished and Knuckles took over the task of responding to people's warm expressions of gratitude. Sonic wasn't really good at that. He picked up the box with the intention of throwing it away when he heard something shift inside of it. Confused, he set it down and peered inside. Moments later, he extracted an old book with a hard, dark purple cover. On the cover's center was a large diamond-shaped jewel that seemed to have been expertly engraved into it. Beautiful writing in a language he'd never seen before decorated the top of the cover where a normal book's title would be.

Knuckles happened to glance at him then and he and let out an exclamation of surprise. "My book!" He rushed over and Sonic handed it to him, his eyes lingering on the words.

"Why does it say 'the protector'?"

Knuckles's eyes snapped to his face, fixing him with a sharp look. "You can read it?"

"I guess," Sonic shrugged. "It kinda looks familiar."

Knuckles frowned deeply. After a moments of thought he said very seriously, "Come with me. There's something we need to do."

* * *

**Posted 02-04-15. Edited on 05-18-15.**


	9. Hiding Place

"Knuckles, how much farther is it?" Sonic asked as he adjusted the angle of the plane slightly. They had been flying northeast for hours. It was late. He was tired. Curiosity was the only thing keeping him from just landing and calling it a night. Well, that and Knuckles insistence that this was very, _very_important.

"About another hour," answered his red-furred companion. "Think you can make it that long?"

Sonic suppressed a yawn. "Yeah. I'll be fine," he replied. "But where are we going?"

"To my home."

Sonic perked up a little at that. "Is it big?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Do you have lots of stuff?"

"No, not really."

"What's it look like?"

"You'll see when we get there."

Sonic groaned internally. It wasn't like his friend to be so serious. _Why's he making such a big deal out of the fact that I was able to read that stuff on his stupid book? _An especially strong gust of wind hit the plane, causing it to rattle a bit. He forced himself out of his thoughts and began paying more attention to what was around him. It was then that he noticed something pulling at the edge of his senses. It was like a a thread had been attached to his mind and was being tugged faintly, though insistently. He turned his head slightly to the left and frowned down at the woods below. The tug was definitely coming from that direction. He strained his senses for danger but came up with nothing. And yet, the tug was still there. He couldn't account for the sensation, and that in itself was disturbing.

Knuckles must have noticed his distraction. "You okay? What's wrong?"

Sonic shook his head firmly and returned his gaze forward. "It's nothing."

"You sure? We can land for the night if you're tired."

"No, I'm fine."

"Okay. If you're sure."

They fell into silence again. Sonic was surprised when he realized that, somehow, in his distraction, more than twenty minutes had passed. He was more tired than he'd thought._How long was I spacing out? _He sighed and forced his heavy eyelids to remain open. Maybe he was so tired he was imagining things. Maybe that was why he'd thought he'd felt something earlier. Whatever the reason, the feeling was gone now. Still, it continued to bother him.

After around a half hour had passed, Knuckles pointed forward. "There, see that? That's where we're going."

Sonic squinted and followed his finger. His eyes widened a little in wonder. All of South Island was floating. That was common knowledge. But he'd never once suspected that there would be other floating islands. This one was quite a bit smaller and was attached to the continent by thick, brown vines in all sides. Below it was a gaping hole; one of the entrances to the Land of Darkness. The hole was almost twice as wide as the island itself. The dark clouds below the island swirled ominously. "What _is _this place?" he breathed.

"Angel Island," was the soft reply. "My family has lived here for centuries, even back before it was mostly separated from the continent."

"Wow..." The island grew rapidly closer and Sonic took in as much as he could. There were around five mountains on it, most of them toward the island's middle. One peak stood taller than the rest. The entire island was covered in forests. Waterfalls flowed off the edge of the island on several sides. Ruins dotted the landscape here and there. Some were small, others very big, some hidden, some in plain sight, some mostly destroyed, some still standing. It was incredible, and Sonic wanted to explore every inch of it.

Several minutes later, they landed at the base of the tallest mountain. Sonic climbed out and stretched while Knuckles hopped off the wing. Knuckles jerked his head in invitation. "Come on, I know a place where we can rest for the night."

Sonic didn't protest as he was lead through the trees and up a short rise, nor did he fight it when Knuckles had him lay down on a cushy pile of leaves beneath an overhang that sheltered them from some of the chill of the night. He yawned and closed his eyes as a question made its way into his mind. He opened his eyes a bit. "Will I get to meet your family now?" he murmured sleepily.

Knuckles's smile seemed sad, his eyes not holding any of their usual cheer. "Not this time."

"Why not?'" he mumbled.

"They're someplace safer right now. Don't worry about it. Just go to sleep."

And with that, exhaustion won over and everything went black.

* * *

Sonic stumbled on some loose rocks, cursing softly as he stubbed his toe through his shoe for the third time. He'd never expected hiking up a mountain to be so difficult, and he didn't like it one bit. In fact, he was pretty sure he hated it. He scowled at the rocks beneath his feet as though they were at fault for his troubles and trudged on after Knuckles, who walked with ease a good distance ahead of him. The echidna seemed on edge; he didn't wait no matter how many times Sonic slipped, and the young hedgehog was reluctant to say anything. _H__e's angry... The last thing I need is for that to turn on me. _He stumbled yet again and, out of frustration, he kicked the rock he had slipped on. Knuckles cast him a somewhat withering look over his shoulder as the rock clattered down the side of the mountain and Sonic sighed inwardly. _What's his problem?_

They reached the peak of the mountain by midday and began following a narrow ridge that connected to the tallest mountain. Sonic glanced down at one point, only to instantly regret it. He gulped hard. It was one thing to be so high up when he was safe in his plane, but it was an entirely different story when he was on his feet. It was during times like this when he seriously wished he could fly. He picked up the pace a bit when he realized he'd begun to fall behind. He resisted the urge to look down again. His heart was already pounding. _This is stupid. I've fallen from places higher than this. I'm being stupid. This is nothing. It's not high at all. _His bravado quickly faltered and he quickened his steps so that he walked more closely to Knuckles. _I'm being stupid._

As they walked, Sonic attempted to distract himself to pass the time and to keep his mind off their current altitude. First he wondered what Robotnik was up to before deciding that it didn't really matter right now. _Whatever he's planning, I'll be there to stop him__. Besides, it's always the same stuff every time. He sends out a bunch of robots to do something, I smash them, and he goes back to plotting. You'd think he'd come up with a new hobby by now. Or at least a better plan. _Sonic then tried to entertain himself by watching the animals. Except, this high up, there weren't really any animals to watch, save for a few birds. Other than that, the only thing to watch were the clouds, and those weren't interesting at all. He had just about resorted to singing songs in his head when Knuckles finally stopped walking.

"We're here."

Sonic leaned to the side and peered around him, confused when all he saw were a bunch of low-hanging clouds, But then, as if on command, the clouds parted, revealing a small cave opening in the side of the tall mountain he'd thought they were going to end up climbing. Not that he was complaining. "Um... _Where_, exactly?"

Knuckles didn't respond and instead resumed walking, heading inside the dark hole without a moment's hesitation. Sonic suppressed his annoyance for now and followed. They walked for a long time, and Sonic didn't pay much attention to the tunnels themselves, beyond the fact that they were dark and cold but somehow dry. It wasn't until they reached a small room at the end of the tunnel that Sonic came out of his thoughts. His eyes widened in wonder and awe. "What is _that_...?" Knuckles walked straight ahead and placed a hand on a light green gem as tall as the echidna himself. It glowed lightly, illuminating the room. The glow increased in response to his touch. _It looks like the gems I have... Is this that gem from the book cover?'_

"This is the Master Emerald," Knuckles murmured. "My tribe has guarded it for over a millennium."

"Why are you keeping it in this awful place?"

"To keep Robotnik from finding it. This jewel holds the world's greatest power: the power of pure chaos. It's existence is a mystery. No one knows how it was created or why."

"How did your tribe get it?" Sonic asked as he cautiously approached.

"They found it, completely on accident," Knuckles answered. "But, back then, it was just a dark, shiny rock. It wasn't until a couple hundred years ago that it suddenly came to life, filled to the brim with power." He turned to look at Sonic. "Place your hand on it."

"Why?"

"Just trust me."

Swallowing hard, Sonic hesitantly reached out and did as he was bid. The jewel glowed brightly; so brightly that they each were forced to squeeze their eyes shut as tightly as they could to keep from going blind. When Sonic opened his eyes again, he quickly removed his hand.

Knuckles was silent for a long moment before speaking, his eyes locked on the Master Emerald. "For generations, one person in the tribe was designated the jewel's guardian. They were chosen by the jewel itself. Every guardian is always able to communicate with the jewel and, to a point, control its power. When spoken to, it always responds in its own way. But... I've never heard of it responding to anyone like _that_."

"But... I didn't speak to it."

"Not consciously, no. The jewel can read into your heart and your mind, especially when you touch it. When you make physical contact with it, it's able to see your desires, your fears, your thoughts, everything about you in a moment."

That was... He didn't even know. "So... We came all the way down here for me to... touch it?"

"Yes," Knuckles replied, looking thoughtful. "And to see if I was right."

"Right about... what?" Sonic asked, more confused than ever.

Knuckles sighed heavily. "It doesn't matter. Come on. Let's get out of here. It's about time you had something to eat."

* * *

**Posted 02-04-15.**


	10. It Was Waiting

It had been weeks since the strange day at Angel Island. He and Knuckles had gone their separate ways, not for the first time, and honestly, Sonic was a little relieved. He didn't know what Knuckles's deal was, and he wasn't sure he wanted to. It was easier to just pretend it had never happened.

Sonic constantly felt drawn back to the forest they'd flown over on the way to the island. This was the second time in the last three days that he'd come back here. He stood just outside the woods and clenched his fists. He resisted the insistent tugs he felt, defied them, denied them, tried to leave. He clenched his teeth. His feet wouldn't move even a millimeter away from the trees. He let out a soft growl, a sound he rarely made, and fought to move any direction but forward. A scowl on his face, he growled again, irritably, and allowed himself to take a step forward. Of course he could move this way. Of course.

He wasn't in the mood for this. Robotnik had ticked him off yesterday, and he was still steaming. He couldn't believe the fat man had had the gall to insinuate such an aggravating thing. He pushed the thought away, having no desire to remember the conversation, and looked around to see where his feet were carrying him. The woods were still dripping after last night's rain and the clouds still darkened the sky. The forest continued on for miles in all directions, even going up the mountains he'd seen in the distance. As he walked, his feet squished in mud and mush, creating disgusting squelching sounds with every step. Water seeped into his shoes and soaked his sock-covered feet. Rivulets of water flowed off of leaves and branches and onto his head, further worsening his mood. Small streams and brooks that had formed because of the rain flowed long distances to his left and right. He couldn't force himself to go around. Straight ahead was his only option. He muttered crossly to himself as he trudged through the icy-cold water. He shook his feet ineffectively one at a time as though he thought it would help dry them, all the while continuing on his path. More water poured onto his head from a large, almost bowl-shaped leaf. He glared up at it, lasers practically shooting from his eyes. He was _not_ in the mood for this.

Sonic pressed on, forcing his way through a thicket and wincing when a thorny branch scraped against his arm. Tendrils snagged his feet and caused him to trip, and he face-planted in the mud outside the bushes. He spat and wiped fiercely at his tongue in an attempt to banish the horrible taste that remained in his mouth. He pushed himself to his feet and resumed his slow walk. He walked through a cluster of trees, forced to climb over abnormally growing roots that hindered his process. Just as he was nearly free, his foot got caught again and he fell for the second time. Then, as if to add to his misery, the skies opened up and the rain returned. He bit back the loud verbal outburst that threatened to escape his lips, wary of potential dangers, though he allowed a small growl to bubble forth. Today was just not his day.

Lightning flashed in the sky and illuminated the area for a brief moment as Sonic stood once again. He was somewhat thankful for the rain. At least it cleared the mud off of him. Still, it was cold and he hated getting wet. He ignored the urge to curse at the heavens and continued onward. The pull felt stronger now, the object at its source seeming closer than before. As he stepped over a rock, he prayed this wasn't some sort of a trap. If it was, he decided it wasn't a very good one. He doubted that any robots would last long in this weather. If they were even there in the first place. But what if Robotnik _didn't_ have something to do with this? Then who or what was leading him through the trees?

Another flash, and Sonic glanced at the sky. A storm was coming, and it was going to be big. And worse yet, at this rate, he was going to get caught in it. Lovely. A second flash gave him pause when he noticed something reflect the light on the ground. He stopped walking and searched the ground intently. When he saw nothing on the dark ground, he waited for another lightning strike. It came moments later and he quickly located the area in which the object he'd seen before was located. He knelt near the spot where he was sure he'd seen it and began sifting reluctantly through the mud. Whatever this was, he didn't want it. But, for some odd reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that _i__t_ wanted _him_. When his fingers brushed against something hard, he grabbed it and pulled it free of the filth. As the rain washed away all traces of mud from it and his hands, yet another lightning bolt struck. The light reflected brightly off the shiny surface. In his hands was a dark blue gem that was otherwise exactly identical to the green and white gems he already had. As he stared in wide-eyed wonder at it, a strange thought entered his mind. _It was waiting for me._

* * *

**Posted 02-06-15.**


	11. The Early Bird

**A/N Maybe I didn't explain it well enough? Allow me to clarify. The Knuckles in my story is not the Knuckles from, say, the anime. This is his father. I believe his name was Locke in the comics. I wasn't sure what his name was until yesterday, so I gave him the nickname "Knuckles". I tried to make it clear that it was his nickname. I hope this helps any confusion there may have been. On another note, thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate it! They always make me smile.**

* * *

Sonic awoke with a start, a short cry escaping his lips as he jolted up into a sitting position. It was still dark out; it was so early even the birds were still asleep. His sheet was entangled around the lower half of his body and and his pillow was on the floor. His heart pounded painfully hard in his chest. His breath came in ragged pants. His body shook. His limbs trembled. He kicked fiercely at the sheet to free himself and leaped out of bed, rushing over to his three-drawer dresser beside it. He tore open the top drawer, relief making him nearly go limp. They were still there; the three gems he'd been guarding so closely. And really, why would they be gone? He'd know it if Robotnik attempted to visit him during the night. The man wasn't exactly quiet. He had no idea how to be sneaky. The word silence probably wasn't even in his vocabulary. So why was Sonic so overcome with fear, then? He was so afraid that they were going to go missing somehow. He didn't know what to do. He had no idea how to handle the feeling.

He gently picked up the green gem and, feeling calmer now, he sat down on the edge of his bed. He'd had this gem since he was little; for as long as he could remember. He considered it his most valuable possession. He sat there in silence and, after a few minutes of absent contemplation, a connection was made in his mind for the first time. He stared down into the green glow of the gem in his hand. _It kinda looks like the Master Emerald. _As he turned the smaller gem around in his hands, he tried to remember everything he'd been told about the Master Emerald. _Knuckles said his tribe has been guarding for a long time. Like... a thousand years or something? ...I didn't even know there were any tribes left. _He pondered that for a while before remembering another tidbit of information. _He said that it was just a a dark, shiny rock when he tribe found it, but that it suddenly "came to life" one day. How in the world does something like that even happen? _Then, another thought occurred to him. _It came to life... filled with power. That power... kind of feels like the power in these smaller gems. ...The power of pure chaos... _He turned the gem around in his hand again. _An emerald, _he reminded himself. _That's what Knuckles said the big one is. These ones look and feel just like it. So they must be emeralds, too. _He looked at his reflection in the shiny surface. _An emerald... with the power of chaos... __...A chaos... emerald. _A slow smirk spread across his face and he tossed the newly named emerald up in the air and caught in his right hand. _A Chaos Emerald. Sounds cool._

* * *

**A/N This one was real short, but I like it. Posted 02-06-15.**


	12. Unnecessary

Sonic was not at the top of his game today. Something was off. A hard metal foot connected with his side and sent him careening through the air. He slammed into the side of a building so hard he coughed up a bit of blood. He slid down the wall and landed on his knees, slumping to the side enough that he had to catch himself on a hand. His head spun. Swallowing hard, he stood, trying to ignore how dizzy the action made him feel. He glared at Robotnik, who sat at the controls of a tall robot. His glare grew harder when Robotnik laughed. _Asshole. _He normally refrained from swearing, but he just couldn't bring himself to care right now.

"What's the matter, Sonic?" Robotnik asked in mock concern. "You don't look like you're feeling well. Got caught up in that storm, did we?"

Sonic's expression soured at the memory of the storm from a few days ago, back when he'd found the dark blue Chaos Emerald. He prayed Robotnik didn't know the emerald even existed. He couldn't even begin to imagine the ramifications if Robotnik got ahold of even a sliver of that power. "None of your business."

"Don't mouth off, _hedgehog_. You forget that my robot can kill you as soon as I desire."

"Don't tell me what to do, _Eggman_," Sonic retorted, loving the way Robotnik's face reddened in anger at the new nickname. "_You _forget that I always destroy your robots, no matter how tough you think they are."

"Which is precisely why I created this." The man held up an odd stone that looked to be some crude imitation of a gem. It glowed faintly. Whatever power it held was too weak for Sonic to sense.

"Whatever _'this' _is, it's pathetic," Sonic said, crossing his arms. "What is it, a ball of melted plastic?"

Robotnik's face reddened further, much to Sonic's supreme amusement. He looked like a bloated cherry. "_This_ is a vessel for high levels of energy which I can now use to power any robot I desire." He grinned wickedly. "And today I finally have my chance to test it... on you."

Sonic leaped away just in time for the robot to stomp on the spot he'd been standing on. He barely had time to land before he was once again forced to take to the air to avoid getting kicked. The next time he jumped, however, he didn't react fast enough to avoid the foot. He crashed through a wall of crates and landed hard under piles of splintered wood. Seconds later, a large metal hand dug him out and lifted him by the foot before tossing him like a rag doll into the waiting arms of another robot that he hadn't seen. _Crap...!_

"Good, A-41 Delta!" Robotnik praised. Sonic didn't think it was necessary. It was a robot. The sentience of the animal inside of it had long since been destroyed. It was a mindless machine now. "Hold him still so I can kill him."

The arms around him tightened, so Sonic did the only thing he could do; he curled into a ball and spun as fast as he could. Finally, the arms broke and he was launched forward into Robotnik's other robot. His attack failed to destroy it, but it did leave a sizable dent. This seemed to trouble the man. "You didn't seriously think you were invincible, did you?" Sonic asked incredulously. "_Wow_, you're stupid." Despite his attitude, Sonic wasn't feeling brave at all. Not that he felt afraid, either. He mostly just felt... bad. He swayed a little on his feet.

"You'll pay dearly for your insolence," Robotnik practically growled. He pressed a button and the false gem glowed a little brighter.

"Give it up, Robotnik. Your stupid gem will never work."

"We'll see."

Sonic swayed a little again. Black spots appeared in his vision. He felt really bad. He thought he might puke. He tried to ignore the way he was shaking. When the time came to move again, he almost couldn't find the will to do it. Moving made him feel worse. The foot swiped through the air beneath him and Sonic curled up again, hoping strongly that this last attack would be enough. The blow knocked the robot back, sent it stumbling dangerously. The opportunity had presented itself, so Sonic took it. Curling into a ball one last time, he soared forward and his body tore through steel.

There was a mighty explosion that sent him flying to the side. He landed hard on his stomach, effectively knocking the wind out of him, and rolled a good distance before finally coming to a stop. His stomach churned. Nausea blotted out all other feeling. He almost couldn't roll over fast enough for his insides to empty themselves on the ground before him. Throat burning and head pounding, Sonic forced himself to his feet. Robotnik may have fled, as he usually did, but the young hedgehog was far from safe. Even as he looked, Robots were emerging from everywhere. He did have something to be thankful for, though. Most were leaving, blindly following their master to whatever hole he'd crawled into. Sonic coughed a little. _Good riddance. _In the end, only around ten or so robots stayed behind to fight. Sonic tried to remain standing, but a dizzy spell robbed him of all senses. The next thing he knew, he was on his hands and knees on he ground and the robots were quickly closing in. He flinched reflexively when a fist neared his face, his eyes pinching shut.

A loud metallic clang rang through the equally metallic clearing, the sound making his head pound.

His eyes snapped open.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. He watched motionlessly as his rescuer's fist knocked the robot's head clean off of its shoulders. He landed neatly on both feet and spun rapidly, allowing a fist to pass just centimeters in front of his face. Then his own fist shot out and smashed the bot's gut. It fell to it's knees before collapsing entirely. The third and fourth attacked together, each attempting vicious left hooks that would have knocked anyone unconscious. Another smooth dodge and he grabbed one's arm, spinning it around so that it smashed through its partner and one other as well. He then cast the hostage aside. It landed in a sparking heap not far away. The next one also tried a direct approach. Fist met fist in a bone-jarring collision that looked so painful Sonic couldn't help but wince. He tried to stand again but quickly fell once more. His vision swam. He nearly puked again. Seemingly only seconds later, a heavy hand came to rest on his shoulder. Glassy emerald eyes opened to look into worried violet ones.

"You okay, kid?"

"I... I don't feel good," he quavered, feeling stupid and childish as soon as the words were past his lips.

"Yeah, I can tell. Come on. Up you go."

Though he hated it, Sonic allowed himself to be carried. He rested his head on a hard shoulder and slowly closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Knuckles..."

"For what?" came the surprised reply.

"For making you mad before," he mumbled. It had been over a month since they'd last seen each other, but Sonic still felt guilty. He didn't know what he'd said or done that had upset his friend so much, but he regretted it immensely. The loneliness he'd felt since that day had been almost unbearable.

Knuckles sighed heavily. "It was nothing you did, Sonic," he said.

"You promise?"

"I promise. Now try to rest. I'm taking you home."

"Okay." So Sonic closed his eyes.

* * *

**Posted 02-07-15.**


	13. Nightmare

**A/N Thanks for the reviews! I really do appreciate hearing everyone's thoughts on my story. Thanks for all the support!**

* * *

Sonic hated being sick. He'd felt like death all day. Worse yet, he wasn't allowed to get up and do anything. He was just supposed to lay there. Knuckles wouldn't allow anything else. Sonic hated being told what to do, but he hesitated to fight with his friend. He didn't want him to leave. He didn't want to be alone again. So Sonic did as he was told and stayed in bed. His sleep was suddenly ended by a wave of nausea and he quickly leaned over the edge of the bed. He'd never been more grateful to own a bucket than he was in that moment. A painful cough escaped his lips when it was over and he rolled back over, panting for breath. He'd never felt more horrible in his life. A knock sounded on his bedroom door and it opened moments later. He opened his eyes and turned his head to see Knuckles walk into the room with a bowl in his hands.

"Hey, kid. I brought you some soup." The steaming liquid smelled tantalizing but also made him feel a bit more ill. He didn't think he could eat if he tried.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

"Not hungry?"

"No."

"That's alright. You can have some later. It'll give it a chance to cool off, anyway." Sonic nodded and Knuckles placed the bowl on the dresser. "Now, care to explain what you were doing out in that storm?"

"How'd you know?" Sonic asked in surprise.

"I doubt you could have gotten sick by being around people," Knuckles smirked. "You and I both know you're not that social."

Sonic allowed himself a small smile. "Yeah, I guess." He bit back a cough. "I dunno," he said in response to the question. "I was just running." He prayed Knuckles wouldn't see through his lie.

"You have terrible timing," Knuckles sighed. "Couldn't you tell a storm was coming?"

"I didn't think it would come so fast," Sonic muttered. That part was true, at least.

"Jeez, Sonic... You've gotta learn to read the skies better."

"It's not _my_ fault."

"Didn't say it was."

"You implied it."

"If you say so."

"Well, I do."

"Just go to sleep." Knuckles ruffled the fur atop his head and walked out of the room with the smirk still firmly in place on his face. Feeling childish, Sonic stuck his tongue out at the echidna's back before pulling the covers up and closing his eyes.

* * *

Sonic tossed and turned restlessly in his sleep as some fever-induced nightmare took hold of his mind. A distressed frown appeared on his face.

_"Now, Sonic. Don't struggle so much. You're only hurting yourself."  
_

_"What do you care, Robotnik?" Sonic snarled._

_The reply was oddly muted and Sonic struggled futilely at restraints that he couldn't seem to see. Seven glowing lights suddenly filled his vision. He squinted against the painful brightness. He recognized green, white and dark blue, but the others were new to him. Red, light blue, purple, and yellow. Each ray of brilliant light emitted from an equally bright gem of matching color. They were Chaos Emeralds. And Robotnik had them all._

_"What's the matter, Sonic?" Robotnik laughed loudly. "You seem scared!"_

_"No way! I'd never be afraid of you!" Sonic shouted back. In truth, however, Sonic was terrified. Robotnik now held the power of the universe in his hands._

_"PREPARE TO WITNESS THE END, SONIC!"_

* * *

Sonic awoke with a sharp cry and bolted upright. Seconds later, Knuckles burst into the room. "What is it? What's wrong?" He rushed over to the bed. "Are you okay?" Normally, Sonic wasn't one for physical contact. He hated being touched and initiating touch wasn't something he enjoyed either. However, in these circumstances, he needed the comfort. Without a word, he quickly turned and clutched tightly at red fur. The echidna stiffened at the contact as tears started to slip from tightly closed emerald eyes. After a long moment of hesitation, strong arms slowly wrapped around him. "Don't worry, kid," he murmured. "You'll be okay. I promise you'll be okay."

Sonic fought to stop the flow of tears, but fear overwhelmed all other feeling. _It will never be okay. If Robotnik gets ahold of even one emerald, it'll all be over. And it'll be all my fault._

* * *

**Posted 02-08-15.**


	14. On the Horizon

**A/N Thanks for again for all the reviews! I always love seeing a new review on my story. I never expected people to enjoy it so much!**

* * *

Sonic skidded to a halt just inches away from Knuckles, who was smirking at him. "Guess you're feeling better, huh?"

Sonic grinned and replied dramatically, "Nah, I _totally _feel like I'm gonna die."

"Gee, I guess you'd better go lay down again!"

"Not a chance!" Sonic zipped away before his friend could try anything, and Knuckles smirked even more widely at the energetic display. When Sonic returned again, his expression was a bit more serious. "Hey, Knuckles?"

"Yeah?" Knuckles asked, his eyebrows uplifted slightly in question.

"There's something I need to talk to you about... It's kinda important."

"Okay. What is it?"

"Well... I've kinda gotta _show_ you, first." He led the way back inside. They walked down the short hall to his room and he opened the top drawer to his dresser, carefully extracting the three emeralds from it and turning to face his red-furred friend.

Knuckles's eyes immediately latched onto the white emerald, seemingly recognizing it as the gem he'd given the young hedgehog. Still, he apparently needed confirmation. "Is that the gem I...?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah."

"And... there are more like it?"

"Yeah."

Knuckles looked them over for a moment longer before glancing back up at Sonic. "Why is this so important?"

Honestly, Sonic was more than surprised. _He can't sense it? _He'd assumed that, with his connection to the Master Emerald, Knuckles would be able to sense the immense power housed inside them. "These... Well, they're not regular gems. They... They're like the Master Emerald. They have the same power. I can feel it."

Knuckles's scrutiny of the emeralds intensified. He glanced back up sharply. "You're sure?"

"Yes."

Knuckles sighed heavily, one hand on his hip while the other ran across his head in such a way that it pushed his hat back. "I can't believe it. I'd heard rumors, but... I never suspected that they might be true." Sonic looked at him questioningly and Knuckles continued, answering the unspoken inquiry. "My tribe has long suspected that there existed a group of smaller gems similar to the Master Emerald, even going so far as to guess that they were as powerful as it, or at least close. There was just never any proof of it..." His gaze returned to the emeralds and their glow intensified infinitesimally. "...until now."

Sonic carefully shifted the trio in his arms. "So... what do we do with them?" He prayed Knuckles wouldn't try to take them away. He didn't know why he felt so connected to them, but he just felt... _wrong_ without them. Empty. He especially prayed that no one would ever take the green one from him. He'd be hard pressed to explain why it was so important to him, but the fact of the matter was that it _was_ important to him. Very important.

"For now? Keep them here. They're safe with you. Robotnik wouldn't think to look here for something like this. And with him scouring Angel Island for the Master Emerald from time to time, the Master Emerald may have to be moved as well."

Sonic nodded, his heart pounding painfully. Robotnik was getting bolder, more confident, more aggressive. This did not bode well. Sonic had suspected for some time now that Robotnik was planning something big, and that feeling had only grown stronger since he'd discovered the power of the Chaos Emeralds. A storm was coming; Sonic just prayed that this time, he didn't get caught in it.

* * *

**I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this, but I got excited. Posted 02-08-15.**


	15. Recovery Mission

**A/N This chapter is incredibly long, and there's a reason for that. After careful contemplation, I decided that I didn't want to break this up and do it in bits and pieces. So I made one big chapter. Don't worry, the story's not ending any time soon. Enjoy!**

* * *

_In my dream, there were seven. I only have three. Which means there are four others. So where are they? _For the first time, Sonic searched for the pull, that insistent tug in his mind he'd felt when he'd discovered the dark blue emerald. He'd thought for sure that the feeling would come back, but it didn't. _Maybe I'm not close enough? _It seemed likely. Last time, the feeling had only been present once he'd entered the general area where the emerald was located. That wasn't helpful. _That means I'll have to run around all over the place to find them. Great. _He was reluctant to acknowledge it, but this meant that Robotnik had about an equal chance of finding the emeralds first. Sonic just prayed that the man wasn't even looking for them. _If I'm lucky... he might not even know they exist. _But, then again, Robotnik had already attempted to create his own gems of power. So maybe he _did_ know about them? Sonic didn't even want to think about it.

Red sneakers pounded on the stone beneath them as their wearer increased his speed until he nearly reached his limit. He always went fast and did things quickly, but he'd never been in such a desperate rush to accomplish something ever in his life. Time was of the essence, and it was not on his side. Something big was going to happen, and soon. Whatever Robotnik had planned could mean the end of everything if Sonic didn't succeed. _I can't let that happen. ...No pressure. _His eyes narrowed intently as he vaulted over a boulder and up a path through the mountains. The rocky landscape was gray and unassuming, but something was here. He could tell. _The feeling's back. _He raced over a dried up stream and through a small cluster of short trees before leaping straight up onto a rocky ledge above him. He repeated the action several more times until he found himself nearly at the top of the mountain. _This is so much easier than walking like we did on Angel Island. _Half a mile straight down he spotted a flying robot of some kind. Cursing his luck, he dropped onto his belly near the edge of the cliff he stood on, eyes scanning the skies for any other dangers. Finding none, he allowed himself a small sigh of relief. If the robot was patrolling, it would be a bad idea to destroy it, even if it would be easy to destroy it when it was by itself like this. Robotnik always kept a close eye on his patrolling robots. The last thing Sonic needed was for his enemy to discover what he was doing. With that thought in mind, Sonic carefully scooted away from the ledge before returning to his feet.

Allowing the pull to lead him, Sonic soon found himself at a thicket. He got down on his hand and knees and pushed his way through the bushes at a slow pace, not really knowing what to expect. Several moments later, he found himself at the small entrance to what appeared to be a tunnel. He leaned forward a bit to peer inside... then fell in. Tumbling over and over himself, he rolled down the tunnel so fast that, for a moment, he lost all sense of direction. Which way was up? He had no idea. By the time he finally came to a stop, he was so dizzy he thought he might hurl. Swallowing his nausea, Sonic got back up on his hands and knees. The area he was in was too short to go up any higher than that. It was so dark that, even with his extraordinary night vision, he couldn't see a thing. He did his best to suppress the slight apprehension he felt and began to crawl straight ahead. Before long, the seemingly wide room began to get narrower and narrower. He was soon glad that he'd come alone; he was pretty small considering his age, but even he could barely fit through the narrow confines of the tunnel. If he didn't have claustrophobia before, he felt certain that he would soon if this kept up.

The ceiling grew lower than before and Sonic was forced to crawl on his belly at an agonizingly slow pace in order to continue on. _If it's much farther, I might die before I get there, _he thought irritably. He'd never been more uncomfortable in his life. _And I thought vents were bad... _He didn't even want to know what else might be living down here. Still, several options flitted through his mind. _Snakes, rodents, bugs... _Not wanting to be part of a housewarming party involving any of those hosts, he pushed himself to go faster than was really comfortable, considering his current position. Thankfully, the tug felt much stronger now. A faint light soon entered his vision. _There! _He reached forward and his hand closed around the yellow emerald. _Yes! _Without a moment's hesitation, he began crawling backward, eager to escape the darkness.

He had scarcely exited the tunnel before a device on his wrist began to beep. It was a sort of brown watch with a equally brown leather strap. It's square screen was green with a yellow grid on it. It was suppose to show him where the owner of the other watch was, but they were too far apart. He pressed a red button on the side. The voice on the other end was slightly muffled by static. _"Hey, did you find one?"_

"Yeah, I got the yellow one. You?"

_"No, nothing. I don't have that special sense like you do, so it's harder for me."_

Sonic had done his best to explain the tug he felt when he was near an emerald the night before. Despite his poor wording, the echidna had understood. He even felt the same thing, just for the Master Emerald. "I don't see how it's so special."

_"It is, trust me. Anyway, where are you?"_

"On some mountain. Why?"

_"I figured, since you let me borrow the Tornado, I could come pick you up."_

"Okay. Hang on a sec." He check the grid on his watch and quickly relayed his coordinates to his friend. A few more words were exchanged before they dropped the call. Nothing of supreme importance was discussed for fear that Robotnik might be eavesdropping. Anything important they had learned could be discussed later, and in person.

An hour later, the distinct sound of a propeller reached Sonic's ears, and he stood. He'd been sitting with his legs dangling over the ledge he'd been on earlier that day, keeping a close watch on the sky for anymore robots. So far, it was just the one. He prayed it hadn't seen or heard anything important. Another ten minutes passed and the Tornado emerged from the clouds not far below him. Sonic jumped without hesitation, landing in a crouch with one hand on the wing he'd landed on. Neither spoke as they quickly flew out of the area. Just because Sonic hadn't seen anything did _not_ mean that nothing was there. Anything could be listening. Heart pounding hard in his chest, the young hedgehog scanned the skies.

Once they were far enough away, Knuckles spoke. "Where do you want me to drop you off?"

"As near to Marble Hill as you can."

"Right." Sonic was thankful when Knuckles didn't question him. Truthfully, there was no logical reason for him to go there. It was just a place he hadn't checked yet. When they landed, Knuckles stopped him before the young hedgehog could take off. "Hey, call me when you're done. I'll try to stay close."

"Right." With that, Sonic turned and dashed into the steam-filled air not far away.

It didn't take long to discover the first pool of lava, as he nearly ran right through it. A split-second decision to jump had probably saved his life. Sonic landed precariously on a small grassy hill only to be shocked when it sank down and started to catch fire. A small cry of alarm escaped his lips before he could suppress it and he ran away from the flames that licked at the ground beneath his feet. The second, third, and fourth hill all did the same thing, and Sonic poured on the speed. Before long, he found himself inside some underground base. He kept running; he wasn't to keen on the idea of getting crushed, which is exactly what would have happened if he slowed. The strange green cylinders never stopped moving, so he didn't either. After bypassing the first danger and running down a flight of purple stone steps, Sonic found himself facing another, worse danger. In order to continue, he would have to cross a giant pool of lava. And there was no way around. He did his best not to swear and took a leap of faith. The eyes he'd squeezed shut hesitantly opened when he realized that, by some miracle, he'd landed on a stone of some kind. And more had fallen ahead of him, creating a path. A very dangerous path, but a path nonetheless. He sighed heavily in relief and continued on. Just minutes after escaping the lava, a metal block of some sort attached to a chain dropped down from the ceiling, nearly hitting him on the head. With the force in which it had come down, it probably could have killed him. Not knowing what else to do, he jumped up onto the block and rode it up. Seconds later, he boarded another one. This one took him back outside.

Taking a moment to breathe, Sonic took in the lava ahead of him. He let out a gusty breath and continued on, doing his best to ignore how the smoky air burned his throat, his eyes, his lungs. He crossed the lava and, after bypassing another burning hill, he rode a green cylindrical device back underground. He cursed his luck when he discovered he would have to ride a block of floating stone across the lava, but found that it was unavoidable. Steeling his nerves, he jumped on... only to recoil when a waterfall of lava suddenly poured into the pool not far ahead of him. He quickly righted his upset balance and, just a second before the valve the lava had escaped from could open again, he disembarked onto solid ground.

A yelp escaped his lips before he could stop it when a small fireball was shot at him from above. He ducked and rolled away from it, only to have to jump when a second fireball was shot at him from a wall in front of him. He landed badly and tumbled down a few large steps, narrowly avoiding a third fireball in the process. He stood, wincing in pain when he realized he'd twisted his ankle a bit. He gingerly placed it on the ground and tried putting some weight on it. Finding it bearable, he pushed the minor injury to the back of his mind. He blinked when he realized that in front of him was just a plain stone wall. Upon turning around, he discovered a row of green stone blocks that appeared to have been welded together. He wasn't sure, but he thought he might be able to move them. Lacking any better ideas, he decided to give it a shot and began pushing with all his might. At first, nothing happened. Then, with a loud grinding sound that echoed painfully all around him, the blocks began to move.

Sonic hadn't realized he'd run out of ground until he suddenly dropped straight down a good ten feet or so. He shook his head a little dazedly and stood. His ears pricked. A deafening roar filled his ears, drowning out all other sound. A wave of intense heat hot enough to scald rushed up from behind with such force it blew his fur and forced him to take a step forward. He swallowed hard and turned slowly around. His eyes widened in horror. A tidal wave of lava rushed forward, every drop of it eager to claim his life. Terror filled his heart. Without a thought, he did the only thing he could do: he ran. His progress was hindered significantly by low walls, traps, and even a few robots. But Sonic's indomitable will to live refused to allow him to give up. So he kept running. Finally, he reached a high wall and, bunching up his muscles as tight as they could go, he jumped. He didn't wait to see if the wall would hold the lava back and instead jumped to the even higher wall behind the one he had landed on. There he destroyed a caterpillar-like robot before leaping onto a swing that quickly passed him to another, then another, then another. He jumped off at the last second and landed neatly on the ground below. A few nimble leaps and he found himself face-to-face with two more caterpillar bots. He destroyed them with ease and continued on.

Sonic stepped on a button heedless of any possible consequences, and waited impatiently as yet another green cylinder lowered itself out of his way. He jumped up onto the ledge above it and quickly pushed a block into the lava before him. _I've already done this once... I can do it again. _His thoughts didn't instill much confidence into him as he stepped carefully onto the block before it had the chance to float away. It moved slowly forward as the last one had. He had just started tapping his foot when something unexpected happened: the block, with him on it, suddenly shot straight up out of the lava. Looking down, he discovered that a lava geyser or something of the sort was responsible for this new development. He landed safely and almost allowed himself a sigh of relief. However, celebration of his continued survival would have to wait. He gasped and jumped high into the air, landing on a large block of stone that his ride passed easily underneath. Cursing softly, he rushed forward and dropped back down onto the smaller block in the lava. This was repeated twice more until, finally, he found a way out. When he was lifted into the air for a third time on his block, he took a chance and made a leap that could either save him or kill him. Words could not describe how immensely grateful he was when his feet met solid ground moments later.

Several minutes later, he was outside once more. It took nearly ten minutes of jumping and ducking to get past all the fireballs and lava pits that stood in his path, and his reward was simply finding himself inside once more. He muttered crossly to himself and, after traversing yet another pool of lava, he rode a series of metal blocks attached to chains back outside yet again. The labyrinth of corridors, stairs, sheer drops, and lava pools seemed to go on forever. It didn't help that every conceivable place to put a trap, of course, had a trap in it. When he finally made it outside for the last time, Sonic sighed heavily in defeat and raised his watch to his lips. "Knuckles... come get me. There's nothing here."

* * *

"Where to next, Sonic?"

Sonic thought about it hard. "Aquatic Ruin," he decided.

Knuckles glanced at him in surprise. "How do you even know about that place?"

Sonic watched the ground below with interest. "I borrowed some of your books once."

Knuckles grinned. "You actually read a book?"

"Yeah," Sonic replied defensively. "So?"

"I'm proud of you."

Sonic tried his best to ignore how pleased he felt when those words passed his friends lips. "Whatever. Let's just go." He glanced to the side where Knuckles was smiling. Knowingly. Sonic glared at him and returned his attention forward. They landed barely an hour later. "You'll stay close again, right?"

"Why don't I come with you?"

Sonic weighed the benefits against the risks before giving a curt nod. Once that was decided, they began to head to their destination, leaving the plane behind. Sonic was momentarily surprised by his companion's speed before deciding to just be thankful for it. Of course, Sonic wasn't going full speed, but he refused to speed up. He didn't want to worry about Knuckles getting left behind.

They ran over marshy grass and waded through shallow pools of cool greenish water. They ran up a hill and continued on, heading up a cliff and through a long hollow log that rested before a huge waterfall. The inside of the log was slick, but neither managed to lose their footing. The log extended over a deep lake quite a distance below the duo and ended on the precipice of another cliff. Robots with drills covering most of their faces attempted to run Knuckles through, but he batted them away as though they were nothing. Sonic, meanwhile, did his level best to avoid being skewered by countless arrows being shot out of the pillars surrounding them.

Knuckles raced to catch back up. "Faster than a speeding arrow, huh?"

Sonic laughed nervously. "Yeah, I guess."

Knuckles opened his mouth to reply but was cut short when they both found themselves attempting to run on air. "Oh..." Knuckles started.

"Crap." Sonic finished. Then they fell. Just as they hit the water, Sonic looked up. There had been a swing and they'd missed it. He would have sworn, had he not had to worry about saving his breath.

Knuckles pointed urgently ahead and Sonic nodded. Not far away was a group of robots that created the perfect staircase. Sonic didn't hesitate; using the metal heads as leverage, he propelled himself out of the water. Knuckles followed not far behind. "That could have been bad," Knuckles panted once they were once again on mostly dry land.

Sonic nodded his agreement. "Yeah... Very bad." He flinched and ducked just in time for an arrow to fly over his head, trimming a slim amount of fur as it went.

Seconds later, Knuckles ducked as well, barely saving his hat from having a hole put through it. "_Whoa_!"

"Run!"

Neither needed encouragement. They took off through the maze of pillars, dodging arrows all the while. Occasionally, they were forced to multitask as robots began to show up. Sonic was always thankful when an arrow did his job for him. Knuckles shouted a warning of some kind, but the sound of a robot exploding drowned out his words. The next thing the young hedgehog knew, a fish robot of some kind had leaped out of the water and clamped its teeth down onto his ankle, dragging him off a cliff and down into the water below. By the time he freed himself, he was so far underwater he couldn't even see dry land anymore. He swam upward as quickly as he could, but was stopped when a current dragged him roughly to the right. No matter what he tried to grab onto, he couldn't escape the fearsome water. He was starting to remember why he hated it so much.

Sonic was running out of breath. He tried to keep a hand over his mouth to eliminate the urge to try to breath in water, but he'd swallowed a lot already. Black spots were appearing in his vision. Then, just when he thought he might drown, he was shot out of the water and landed flat in his back on stone pavement. He coughed painfully and spat out the disgusting, algae-filled water that remained in his mouth, gasping for breath all the while. Mere minutes later, Knuckles landed beside him. Sonic couldn't be sure, but he thought Knuckles might have been... gliding.

"You okay, kid?" his friend demanded urgently.

Sonic coughed again without meaning to. "Yeah... I'm fine." He stood shakily and was about to say something else when something gave him pause. His eyes widened. "Knuckles, I-I feel it!" he exclaimed.

Knuckles sighed heavily. "Finally," he replied, though there was no hint of the anger or impatience his words may have implied. "Where?"

Sonic hesitated for just a moment before pointing the way they were facing. "That way... about a mile."

Knuckles nodded. "Let's go, then." Sonic returned his nod and they resumed their earlier run.

This emerald proved nowhere near as difficult to locate as the yellow one had been. However, due to it's color, it was a bit harder to spot than they would have liked. Sonic dove reluctantly into the first body of clean water he'd seen since coming here and swam quickly to the bottom. Once there, he reached out one hand and grabbed the light blue emerald, which glowed brightly in response to his touch. Despite being way out of his element and not to mention his comfort zone, Sonic smiled. _Just two more to go. _

* * *

Knuckles would have accompanied Sonic to find the other emeralds. Sonic was certain of this. However, the echidna sensed that the Master Emerald was in danger. It was quickly decided that they needed to split up. Protecting the Master Emerald was just as important as finding the Chaos Emeralds, if not more so. So the two went their separate ways.

Sonic swore silently to himself for wasting so much time in Casino Night. The flashy lights and countless attractions had held no interest to him, but the sheer size of the area had kept him occupied for far too long. It was nearing evening-time. He wanted to have all the emeralds before the day was over. He would sleep so much better then. Emerald Hill was his next option. He ran there as fast as he could, doing what he could to avoid Robotnik's robots all the way. He did _not_ need a confrontation right now. Sonic quickly made a choice and decided to go through as much of the area underground as possible. It was less likely that he would be spotted that way. He ducked through an earthen tunnel and raced by a row of waterfalls, pointedly ignoring the spray that misted his fur. When he found no hint of the feeling he was searching for, he continued on. Soon, Sonic found himself in a nondescript forest just outside of Spring Yard. That base was heavily fortified, he knew, so he carefully avoided it. Running with all his might, he headed north. He had no real reason for it; just a hunch that could lead to nothing.

The snow didn't bother him, nor did the cold. Sonic actually enjoyed the cold. He hated it when it was hot. He much preferred snow to a hot day. Although, he had to admit, warm sunny days were very nice too. They were perfect for relaxation, something he didn't usually have time for. He did his best to enjoy those days when he could. Pushing his thoughts aside, he strained his senses for any hint of the pull he sought. He was incredibly pleased when his luck seemed to return and he changed direction, heading to a lake that had frozen over some time ago. He skidded to a slippery halt at the edge of it and carefully place one foot on the icy surface. _Just because it's been frozen for years doesn't mean it will stay frozen forever. It could break if I'm not careful. _Swallowing nervously, he moved so that he stood entirely on the ice. Nothing happened. Refusing to let down his guard, he walked slowly forward, taking it just one step at a time. It wasn't until he was nearly halfway across the lake that a loud sound beneath him caused him to freeze. He looked down fearfully as a large crack split the ice between his legs.

There was no time to think; he just did. He jumped to the side just as the ice split apart. A quick look around showed that the entire sheet of ice had split apart, revealing the water it had been so covetously hiding for all these years. This was the first time since he was little that he'd seen water flow freely here. He jumped nimbly from one slippery platform to another until he reached the center of the lake. Dropping onto his belly, he swiped a hand through the water as though he were a cat trying to catch a fish. He grinned at the purple emerald he now held in his hand. _One more. _

* * *

Sonic, for once, knew exactly where he was going. He didn't know how, but he didn't question it. An image had appeared in his mind of another place he'd been before, so he headed there as quickly as his legs could carry him. Even with his speed, it was dark by the time he reached the place. _It was so close all along. No wonder I couldn't resist coming here before. _It was the same forest he'd come to when he'd first felt the tug. It was no longer drenched, something he was incredibly thankful for, but it was dark and almost ominous.

Refusing to be conquered by unnamed fears, he raced through the trees and to the heart of the forest, not far from where he'd located the dark blue emerald. This emerald proved to be by far the easiest to find. There, nestled securely in the roots of a tree, was the red emerald. It was the final one. He was sure of it. He had taken to carrying the three first emeralds with him wherever he went so as to never leave them vulnerable, so he simply added the red one to the collection. He didn't understand why he felt so complete now, but he did his best to ignore it. Still, a lingering sense of emptiness remained, as though something were still missing. He glanced to the sky in the direction he knew Angel Island to be, puzzled as to why he suddenly felt the need to go there. Before he had a chance to decide whether or not to act on this impulse, something hit him in the back of the head so hard he was sent flying and everything went black.

* * *

**A/N I know it's called Marble Zone not Marble Hill Zone, but since I'm leaving out the word "zone" in these names, I thought Marble by itself just sounded weird. Also, in case you can't tell, a lot of this chapter was based strongly off of the level designs for the Marble Zone, all three acts. I actually used the pictures of the level designs as a reference while writing. This is one of my favorite zones. Posted 02-09-15.**


	16. The Beginning of the End

**A/N Aaaand... it's back. Though slightly altered.**

* * *

Mere seconds had passed before Sonic woke up on the ground. He pushed himself up off his stomach and looked around, gasping in alarm when he realized that one of the seven emeralds he'd been carrying was now on the ground as well. He quickly scooted forward and grabbed it, only to have it immediately knocked out of his hand when a fearsome punch threw him off to the side. He landed hard on his right side, the impact causing his shoulder to nearly go numb. He rolled away just milliseconds before a giant metal fist could crush him into the ground. Following the length of the grey arm with his eyes, Sonic's eyes came to rest on the hovering chair responsible for controlling this new robot. He glared heatedly at Robotnik. "So you finally crawled out of your hole, huh? It's been a while. Been shopping for more dresses?"

The man's face reddened quite nicely. "You'll be punished for your mouth, boy. You and everyone else will either bow down before me or die in the flames."

Sonic tried not to let his confusion show. _What is he talking about? _It was then that he remembered his nightmares and his gaze swung to the left where the Chaos Emerald still rested. Its white light shone with such purity that it almost seemed impossible to imagine that someone as evil as Robotnik could ever touch it.

Robotnik followed his gaze and laughed. "Oh-ho! What's this? You've made your own power gem, have you?"

_Made it? I'm not some mad scientist like you. _Sonic lunged for it, doing a neat flip to avoid getting punched again. His fingers grazed the smooth surface and the ground shook, causing it to clatter away on a large stone embedded in the earth. He turned to see that Robotnik's robot had punched the ground. It was faster than it seemed._ Damn. _There was no other option but to try to outrun it.

"Where are you going, hedgehog? I'm not finished with you yet!" An arsenal of projectiles were fired in rapid succession and Sonic watched in dismay as the impacts caused the emerald to roll farther out of his reach. As he jumped and ducked and dodged and weaved, Robotnik laughed. "Having _fun_ yet, Sonic?! I know I am!"

Sonic bit back a growl. "That's because you're a lunatic, Eggman!"

Just like that, Robotnik's humor vanished. Sonic could have sworn the man was having chronic mood swings or something. It was getting ridiculous. Sonic leaped over what seemed to be the last missile and yelped when the large metal hand closed around him. Before he had a chance to react, it lifted him high in the air before slamming him into the ground so hard he coughed up blood. Twice more, and he lost consciousness for the second time that day.

* * *

Sonic hung limply in the giant metal fist responsible for the pounding in his head. Emerald eyes opened slowly and he frowned in confusion when he saw that he was no longer in the forest he'd been in before. It was difficult to tell at first where he was. But when his vision cleared, he immediately realized he was looking at a cloud. And he was inside of it. Seconds later, the fist that was holding him shot out of the damp haze and into a patch of clear sky. His eyes widened significantly when they saw what Robotnik held in his hand at the controls of the machine the arm was attached to: the Chaos Emerald. "That isn't yours!" Sonic shouted. "Give it back!" He struggled against his restraints only to be electrocuted fiercely in reprimand for his actions. As if in response to his pain, the white gem flashed brightly.

"You think you can make demands of me, _hedgehog_?" Robotnik spat. "This gem belongs to _me_ now, and there's nothing you can do about it, you pathetic little vermin!" He lifted Sonic higher in the air. The fist that held him tightened painfully. "You should consider yourself lucky. You'll be here to witness history in the making."

Sonic renewed his struggles, ignoring the pain of electricity coursing through his body. "Give it _back_, Robotnik! You don't now what you're _doing_!" The wind roared around them as the robot slowly stopped its ascent.

"I know more than you ever will," Robotnik replied with uncharacteristic calm. "It will power my armies, and that's all that matters." He then inserted the gem into a slot in his machine. The emerald flashed again, almost as if it were fighting not to allow the machine to work.

"You don't know what you're _doing_!" Sonic repeated desperately as the legions of robots around him started to come to life. "You'll destroy everything!"

Robotnik laughed like the madman Sonic knew that he was. "That's what I'm counting on, _Sonic_!" He pushed a button and the machine drained even more power from the gem, channeling it to his armies. Robots began to spread out across the land. Even from so high up in the sky, Sonic could see as they began attacking settlements, destroying forests, leveling mountains, burning fields...

"Stop it!" Righteous rage coursed through him and the gem flashed brightly in response. His sensitive ears picked up on the screams of terror and pain far below, the sounds of destruction surrounding them, the cries of the people he'd always fought so hard to protect...

Robotnik laughed maniacally and sent more and more robots farther and farther away. Various screens showed what was happening around the world. Sonic didn't need to look to know that people were dying. "Today is a glorious day... The start of a new empire..." Robotnik had never seemed more insane than he did now, nor as dangerous.

Sonic had never truly thought of him as a real threat before, but that was changing, and quickly. He fought back tears. _This is why I never wanted to be a hero...! I never asked for this...! Now matter what I do, I can never save everyone! I'm not a hero!_

"Don't worry, Sonic," Robotnik said in a tone of mocking gentility. "You'll join them soon enough."

More screams pierced the air, and Sonic lowered his head. A single tear slid down his cheek. "Cut it out." Robotnik didn't reply, distracted as he was by watching the progress of his armies onscreen. He pressed a button that allowed him to communicate with his robotic generals and began giving orders. The word "kill" passed his lips more than three times. Sonic's head was still lowered, his eyes shadowed. "I said cut it out."

The increased light emitted from the jewel seemed to catch Robotnik's attention more than Sonic's words. "Give it up, hedgehog," he frowned. "I've won. You were never a challenge, never a threat. The only reason you're even _here_ right now is because I've allowed you to live so far."

More screams sounded from all around. Explosions decimated entire villages all at once. Lasers tore up the ground. People fled for their lives. Rivers and lakes were turning red. Smoke billowed into the sky. Somewhere below, there was a sickening shriek as yet another innocent person's life was ended. He sensed the power of the emeralds increase drastically, including the one Robotnik held. It was no small miracle that SOnic still had the remaining six. In such close proximity, the seven emeralds almost felt as if they were one. _"Dammit, Robotnik! CUT IT OUT!" _Pure, raw emotion overtook him. There was a blinding flash of golden light and suddenly, Sonic was falling. He didn't know what had happened. All he knew was that he was suddenly tired. Very, very tired. Unable to fight it, he let his eyes drift shut.

* * *

**Posted 02-10-15.**


	17. Protect

**So I screwed up and accidentally posted the latest chapter (the one directly after this, whichever that is) over this one, so I had to retype it. I didn't have the original saved anywhere, so I typed it up as best as I could from memory. However, I did change it quite a bit. It actually sounds better to me now than it did before.**

* * *

When Sonic woke, he had no idea where he was. At least, not at first. He stood shakily and looked around. Slowly, recognition set it. _I'm near the Mystic Caves. _The cloudiness of his mind muddled his thoughts and slowed his reaction time, and he was momentarily confused when he found suddenly himself on his back on the ground. A hard metal foot pressed painfully on his chest. In a panic, he curled into a ball and destroyed it, along with the body attached to it. When he landed, his eyes fell on a pool of red by his feet. A wave of nausea hit him and he turned away.

A shriek sounded from somewhere behind him and drew his attention to the the forest behind him. He was grateful to be distracted. Moments later, a mother carrying her young son burst out of foliage. They were both bunnies, one of the most populous species on the planet. There was probably an entire village of them nearby, maybe even several. He tensed when he saw that they were being pursued by a pack of robots that were quickly gaining on them. Emotion fueled his response far more than did rationale, and he attacked them fiercely. The first fell easily, almost too easily, and he was equally surprised and confused. However, there was no time to question it. The other robots were soon demolished and he skidded as he landed. He turned to look at the pair, who was watching him with no small amount of relief in their eyes, though there was also a measure of fear. He supposed it was probably due to the robots.

"It's _you_," the woman breathed. "_You're _the one everyone has been talking about."

He gritted his teeth so hard it almost hurt. "Never mind that," he bit out. "Are there any others?"

She nodded slowly. "In my village, yes. The others have been decimated."

"But there _are_ survivors?" he pressed, not liking how long this was taking.

"Yes, but.. the survivors in my village... they're trapped. There was no way for them to escape. The robots... there were so many..." He prayed she wouldn't start to cry. He hated it when people cried. "I only managed to escape because I was outside the village when the attack started."

"Where?" he demanded.

"It's about a mile upriver," she replied. "You can't miss it." She looked away and added more quietly, "Just follow the smoke."

He looked upward and quickly spotted it. He watched as the thick, heavy cloud billowed out of the trees. He imagined that, if not for the fire, the smoke would have cast the area into an impenetrable darkness. Of course, being night-time, it was dark anyway. He lowered his gaze again and nodded. "Right. I'll go get them." She opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off. "Go to the Mystic Caves. There's a tunnel there covered by a false door. It looks like a boulder against the cliff face where all the entrances to the caves are. Robotnik doesn't know it's hiding a tunnel. You should be safe enough there."

"But those caves are dangerous!" she exclaimed, hugging her child closer to her in an unnecessary show of protectiveness. They didn't have time for this.

"And you think it's any safer out here?" Sonoc snapped. "No matter what's in _there_, it's far safer than anything out _here_!" He took a deep breath, tried to calm. "Look, this tunnel isn't dangerous. I've been in there before. There's a room at the end of it that's big enough to shelter a few hundred people, maybe. It's the only chance you've got!"

At first, it didn't seem like she would respond. But, after a long moment, she nodded. "Okay. I'll go." She took a step back. "Thank you, Sonic the Hedgehog."

Sonic watched silently as she turned and began running in the direction of the caves before returning his gaze to the smoke. _I can't save them all... I never can. _Following the woman's example, he began running.

* * *

Sonic slowed to a walk just outside the smoking ruins of the village. All around him buildings burned. Doors were busted in and barely attached. Some were ripped off their hinges entirely. Windows were shattered. Peoples' belongings were strewn about all over the place. As he walked, he stepped over he stepped over a bowl with someone's half-eaten food spilling out of it. Nearby was an old top hat, a book, some papers, and even a child's toy. The dirt path squished and squelched disgustingly under his feet, and the sound nearly made him sick. He was just glad that most of the filth was oil. He didn't bother checking any of the houses he passed; he knew no one was in them. The entire place seemed abandoned. It felt like a ghost town. He was initially confused by the distinct lack of robots, but the confusion vanished when it occurred to him that not that many robots were _needed_, considering how few people remained here.

A loud sound caught his attention and, swearing softly, he broke out into a run, racing to the source. What he found was a lonely house on a hill with three large robots attempting to force their way through the doorway. The door itself lay in pieces on the ground behind one of them. Screams of terror pierced the air, filled his ears, his heart. Without a moment to lose, he launched himself at the nearest robot and knocked it off its feet. The others soon followed and he placed himself in the doorway, barring a robot's way as it tried to regain its feet, though it seemed unable to do so. Its companions were in a similar state for now. Not bothering to turn around, he spoke to the gathered villagers, telling whoever would listen the same information he'd given the woman. "Someone from your village is already there. It's not far."

"What if a robot finds us before we get there?" a man asked.

"Run," he replied curtly. "Run as fast as you can. Don't try to fight."

"If a kid like you can fight, then so can we!" another man declared boldly.

"No!" Sonic shouted hotly. He whirled on the people at his back. "Don't _ever _try to fight! Don't you _get_ it?! These robots aren't _like _the ones Robotnik usually uses! He's made them stronger than ever!" His heart pounded when he barely caught a metal fist just seconds before it hit one of the villagers. "Just _run_!"

Cries of alarm answered him as the group _finally _listened to him and began to flee. This was one of the biggest reasons why he hated being a kid; no one ever listened to a child, and certainly not about anything important. No one, save for a select few. Finally able to fight freely, Sonic vented his rage. Fists dented steel, heedless of the bloodied knuckles such actions earned. When he spoke, each word was punctuated by a punch, the last one harder and louder than the rest. "Don't. You. Touch. Them. _Ever_!" He pummeled the bot until it simply fell over, no longer able to function. The others soon met a similar fate. He stood there for a moment, panting harshly and staring at the remains of his enemies before turning and running toward the next village. _I can't do much, but I'll do what I can._

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**Originally posted 02-10-15. Re-posted 02-11-15.**


	18. Brave

**A/N Thanks for the amazing reviews! I know I say it a lot, but they really do always make me smile! Also, in response to a review I meant to answer some time ago, I definitely do plan on adding Shadow at some point. Eventually.**

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The cavernous space of the room at the end of the secret tunnel seemed oddly small with so many people in it. The piles and piles of treasure did little to help create more space. People were starting to have to stand in the tunnel connected to the room. As awfully cramped as it was, Sonic was relieved that there were so many people here. He was _happy_. Though many were injured, everyone here was alive. _Maybe we'll make it through this. _Sonic shook his head immediately after that thought crossed his mind. He knew that there was no chance of that. There was no chance everyone was going to survive this day.

Sonic ran out of the tunnel for the fifth or sixth time that day. Moments later, the ground shook violently as the emerald's power continued to go out of control. He gritted his teeth tightly together as he regained his footing and looked to the sky. _I have to get that emerald back. _He had accused Robotnik of not knowing what the emeralds were capable of, and, while that was true, he was honestly no better. They were even on that count. However, there was one thing Sonic _did_ know that Robotnik didn't; the power of chaos flowed through those emeralds. Robotnik couldn't be allowed to utilize that power. _I have to get it back._ The ground shook again. In the distance, several trees fell. Rocks tumbled off the cliff face above._ At this rate, the entire island will be destroyed. _He couldn't allow that to happen. With one last glance at the hundreds of people he had saved so far, Sonic replaced the false door and ran toward the next village, intent on doing what he could.

* * *

It had been hours since the initial attack and Sonic stumbled on heavy feet. He was exhausted. Everything hurt. Cuts, bruises, scrapes and burns covered him from head to toe. He almost wished he could just die already. At least that way the pain would stop. His responsibility would be over. He wouldn't have to worry anymore. He wouldn't be afraid any longer. But he knew he could never do that. People were _counting_ on him. _I can't stop fighting. _He put his right foot forward. _I can't. _His left. _I have to keep going. _He moved slowly forward, his eyes locking with a tall robot whose mouth was one large speaker. Several tiny audio receivers rested in the sides of its head. Its eyes were cameras. "I know you can here, me Robotnik." He came to a stop several feet away, clutching one arm in his opposite hand. "You listen to _me_, Egg-head. No matter what you do, I won't give up. Not ever."

Robotnik's voice sounded clearly from the robot's mouth, almost as though Robotnik himself was the robot. "Then suffer and die along with everyone else."

Sonic glared heatedly at the robot's cold, emotionless eyes. "I won't die." With that simple sentence, he ran by the robot and slapped a slim device onto its stomach. The explosion that followed satisfied him greatly. It had been some time since he'd been able to use one of his bombs.

A second explosion nearly knocked him off his feet and he whirled around to see what in the world had caused it. His answer came just moments later when a dozen or so missiles rained down from the heavens. Around the same number of robots slowly flew toward the ground as they continued to fire. Sonic shielded his face with his arms protectively but none of the missiles seemed to be aimed at him, a fact that confused him greatly. It wasn't until a robot deliberately aimed at a large tree and fired that realization struck. _They're going to level the forest! _Panic rose up inside of him and he began to run. Walls of fire rose up all around as more explosions destroyed whatever had remained of the area's past peacefulness, effectively stopping his flight. He turned around in a slow circle. He was surrounded. Heat closed in on him from all sides. His heart pounded. With no other options forthcoming, Sonic took a step back before making a desperate bid for freedom by leaping over the lowest flames he could see. He landed on the side of a hill and tumbled over himself through a patch of woodland that, thankfully, was not yet on fire. When he finally came to a stop, he stood and quickly moved away from a pile of embers by him feet.

A loud crack drew his attention and his eyes widened when a smoldering tree swayed precariously then began to fall toward him. He dove forward, landing on his stomach in the dirt, just as the tree crashed to the ground by his feet. The sound was painfully loud and he winced at the sheer volume of the noise. As if the roar of the flames wasn't enough... He stood again and immediately found himself face-to-face with a familiar landmark. His eyes widened again. _Oh no. _His eyes drifted down the dirt path he stood on and he began walking slowly forward, his speed gradually increasing as panic once again filled his heart. _Oh no... No... No! No, no, no, no, no! _Before long, he was running at full speed, paying little to no attention to the burns he received as he went. There was a house at the end of the path. A little girl and her mother lived here. He'd saved that girl from Robotnik's clutches once before. He reached the small yellow home in seconds, but it didn't feel fast enough. _Too long. _They could be dead by now. Still, he had to look. He had to be sure.

Fire ate away at the home and trapped its occupants, dead or alive, inside. His heart pounded painfully as he raced to the door and, heedless of the flames, forced it open with his hands. He coughed as smoke billowed out of the doorway. "Merry!" he called, his throat already feeling scratchy and dry. He didn't hesitate to step and inside. His head turned this way and that as he struggled to see through the dark haze. "Merry!" he called again. "Where are you?!"

A small voice answered him just moments later. "I-I'm up here...!"

"Hang on! I'm coming!" Sonic ran up a flight of stairs and strained his ears to try to determine where she was. A small cough gave away her position. He grabbed a large vase off of a table and used the water inside it to put out the flames trapping the child in her room. He ripped the door open and rushed inside, kneeling before her. "Are you okay?" he demanded.

The young bunny's deep blue eyes were wide with fear and her ruffled purple dress was filthy from the smoke, but she nodded bravely. "I... I'm okay."

He returned her nod and glanced around. A frown appeared on his face. "Where's your mom?"

Merry sniffled. "She was out back... in the garden."

He bit back the swear that threatened to escape and instead just stood, picking the girl up as he did so. Unlike the last time he had saved her, he didn't need to tell her to hold on; she already knew. Small arms wrapped around his neck. He failed to suppress his anger as she sniffled again, a few tears slipping from her tightly closed eyes. She couldn't have been older than six. She shouldn't have been experiencing this. She didn't deserve it. No one did. Except maybe Robotnik himself.

Trying to walk through smoke was highly disorienting, he discovered. When he stepped out of the room, he had no idea where the stairs were for a long moment. Once he located them, he carefully felt his way down one step at a time. He tried not to take too long; if he did, smoke inhalation would kill them both before they ever reached the outside. A terrible crash echoed painfully throughout the house as he took his foot off the last step. He winced and was sent into a coughing fit as the cause of the crash sent more smoke blowing into his face. Seconds later, Merry began to cough as well. He forced his watering eyes open and stared in dismay at the tree that had blocked the front doorway. Merry coughed harder, and, gritting his teeth, Sonic made a decision and turned to the back door. By some miracle, the flames there were low enough that he could get through them without injuring the girl he was trying to save. He didn't care if he himself was injured further.

A swift kick was all it took to force the irreparably damaged door open. It flew off its hinges and landed forcefully in the grass outside. Sonic jumped over it easily, gratefully breathing in the somewhat cleaner air. Once he felt like there was enough air his lungs again, he opened his eyes and looked around. The garden was already destroyed; there was no sign of Merry's mother. He refused to believe that she was dead. He couldn't give up hope. He glanced down to Merry, who cried softly in his arms. _I can't do that to her. _Mind made, he began to run. As awful as it was, he prayed that her mother had been kidnapped. At least then there was a chance that she was still alive. At least then he could still save her. Unless, of course, the robots had killed her already. Sonic bit back a growl and ruthlessly shoved that thought away. He refused to think like that. _I have to be strong... for her... for everyone._

* * *

Sonic ran incredibly fast through a portion of the forest that was as of yet still clear of the flames. The air here was clean and fresh. It smelled like leaves and trees and grass. Compared to the smoke and ash he'd been breathing in before, even these musty scents were like heaven. A small cough drew his attention down and he glanced worriedly to Merry's face. She needed water; more than that, she needed her mother. But there was no sign of the older bunny anywhere. It was as though she'd simply vanished. Whatever evidence there had been in the garden had long since been destroyed by the fire.

Sonic skidded to a halt and threw himself to the side as a ten-ton robot appeared in front of him out of nowhere, its fist raised to throw a lethal punch. Or at least, it would have been lethal to the child in his arms. Sonic himself probably would have survived, albeit with severe injuries. _She doesn't deserve this._ She whimpered softly and he struggled to bite back a growl. _Damn robots! _He jumped high as smaller robots dropped down from the canopy above. He landed on one's head and used it as leverage to propel himself into the trees. Once there, he ran across the branches and continued on. With any luck, the leaves would act as a cover and prevent more robots from spotting them. He looked down at Merry once more. _I need to get her out of here. _It was too dangerous to keep searching for her mother with her in his arms. He couldn't fight while he was carrying her, and she couldn't fight period. _The robots won't hesitate to kill either of us. I don't care if I get hurt; she should be allowed to live. _He picked up speed and suddenly catapulted out of the trees. He landed hard and winced slightly when the ankle he'd twisted in Marble Hill not long ago gave a small throb. _I've gotta stop jumping around like that. _He walked briskly forward and, sighing at how full his arms were, pressed his back against a large stone and began pushing. It wasn't very heavy, but it was big enough to be difficult to move. Inside, the wary faces of countless people turned toward him, only to relax when they realized who he was. He set Merry down on her feet by the entrance.

She held onto his hand pleadingly. "I don't want you to go."

"I have to," he replied simply.

"But... I'm sacred," she whispered, looking down at her feet.

Sonic knelt down in front of her. It had been hours since he'd saved her. They were nearing the second day of terror by now. "Don't be. I can't promise everything will be okay, but... if nothing else, I can promise that I won't stop fighting. I'm going to keep doing what I can. I won't stop looking for your mom, either. Okay?"

Merry blinked tears out of her eyes and nodded. "Okay."

Satisfied, he returned her nod as he stood and turned to leave. A firm hand on his arm stopped him before he could go anywhere. He looked back over his shoulder. An old bird stood behind him. He looked desperate. "Please... You have to save my village. It's in the foothills a few miles from here. I was only in this area to visit a friend. Please, my entire family lives there! You have to save them!"

Sonic gritted his teeth and jerked his arm away. Giving a curt nod, he ran out of the tunnel and replaced the door.

* * *

Sonic raced to the village in the foothills. He hadn't known this village had even _existed_ until the old bird in the caves had mentioned it to him. Sonic had never felt more pressure in his life. Not for anything. It was awful. It made him feel sick. It was a terrible feeling of stress that weighed him down and slowed his actions and his thoughts. He was exhausted. He wanted nothing more than to curl up and go to sleep and forget that this day had ever happened. But he knew that that could never happen. If he didn't fight, no one would. Then everyone would perish.

He ran onward and through a cloud of smoke. He coughed and gagged and was nearly forced to stop. The cloud was so thick that he couldn't see. Breathing became an unnaturally painful chore. He coughed and retched when he finally broke free, leaning over on his knees as he struggled to fill his lungs with air. After several minutes, he straightened and, still wheezing, he ran to the village nestled in the foothills. What he saw next caused him to freeze. He skidded to a halt on slick stone, his eyes wide. The ground was so red that it almost looked black. Bodies lay everywhere, as commonplace as the trees surrounding their settlement. Everything was so still it was like looking at a photograph rather than the real thing. Death and Destruction had struck this place hard. The village had been slaughtered. His heart started to pound. His breath began to quicken. Unable to think, unable to move, almost unable to breath, he stared in mute horror at the terrible scene before him. Then, panic started to rise in his chest. Terror soon followed. Not knowing what else to do, he turned, and he ran.

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**A/N I wanted (very badly) to post this yesterday, but I forced myself to wait. Posted 02-11-15.**


	19. The End of All He Knew

**This one is pretty short(ish) but it's really important. Enjoy!**

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Sonic ran as fast as he could, not really knowing or caring where he was going. He just ran. With each moment, his horror grew. The sky was red. Dark, ominous clouds helped to further darken the ground below. Entire villages had been decimated. People were dead._ I-It's all because of me... It's all my fault...! If I was stronger then none of this would have happened!_ Tears streamed down his face as he poured on the speed, purposefully changing direction as he did so, finally deciding where to go. He was headed to the one place where he knew he could be safe, to the home of the one person he knew he could turn to now that it was all over. He had only been there once, but he knew the way.

Sonic ran as fast as he could to the small floating island that his friend had taken him to so long ago. He was wasting time; precious time that could be used to try to save more lives, but he couldn't bring himself to think about that. None of that mattered right now. A gasp escaped his lips unbidden and he quickly lowered his body backward, sliding between the legs of a fairly large robot that tried to lop his head off as he went. His panic increased when he realized that it wasn't alone. Curling into a ball, he tore across the landscape, no longer bothering to try to fight and paying no attention to anything but his desperate need to get _away_. It didn't take very long to reach his destination at the speed he was going, racing across the terrain so fast that time seemed to move in slow motion. He straightened so that he was no longer in a ball and ran nimbly across a vine and slammed full-force into a red body near the edge of the island. He grabbed on without thinking, no longer able to restrain his sobs. "Knuckles- It's- It's awful- All- All my _fault_!"

Strong arms wrapped tightly around him. "Hey, no tears. None of that." The voice was gentle and soothing, so unlike the light, carefree tone it usually held. "None of this is your fault, Sonic."

"But- I-I let him get the Chaos Emerald!" Sonic cried.

Knuckles knelt before him and grabbed his shoulders. He seemed to know without explanation what Sonic was talking about, despite the fact that Sonic had never told him what he'd named of the emeralds. "Now you listen to me. Don't you _ever_ blame yourself for this, do you understand?" Sonic flinched at the sudden stern tone in his friend's voice. "This is _not_ your fault. People ask too much of you. Like it or not, you're just a kid. This whole thing, this war that Robotnik's trying to start, this is an adult fight. This was _never_ your fight. You got dragged into because Robotnik has no remorse; he doesn't care who he hurts. Now like it or not, you're going to stay here until this is over, _got_ it?!"

"But Knuckles, I-" Sonic tried to argue.

"_No_, Sonic! This is where I draw the line!" Knuckles interrupted harshly. "I've stood on the sidelines long enough! Your parents aren't here to protect you so it's about time I stepped in and did it for them!"

Sonic grew angry then. "I can take care of myself! _I'm not your kid_!"

"Yes, you _are_!" Knuckles shouted furiously. Sonic froze. "I may not be your real dad, but I'm the closest thing you've _got_, Sonic! " The echidna took several calming breaths before speaking again. "We've stuck together for a long time now, right?" Sonic nodded and several tears slid down his face. "Well I plan to keep adding to that number. That's why you have to stay here. I won't let you die. I'd never forgive myself." He stood then and took his hat off, shoving it down onto Sonic's head, further shocking the boy. "Take care of this, okay?"

Sonic hesitantly reached up and gripped the rim of the soft brown hat as he watched Knuckles run across the vines and onto the mainland. Fresh tears spilled down his cheeks. "_Yeah_!" he shouted in a wobbly voice while the only friend he'd ever known disappeared into the woods in the distance.

Then, there was a deafening roar. A terrible white light emitted from some indiscernible point in the distance, spreading slowly ever and ever outward in a giant all-consuming sphere. Sonic's eyes widened in horror as winds more powerful than that of a hurricane snapped the vines holding the small island in place and flung it back nearly a mile away from the larger island that had been his home. The white light soon engulfed all of South Island. Seconds later, cataclysmic explosions tore apart the mainland. Even from so far away, the intense heat burned him. More explosions shook the air. Shock waves knocked him off his feet and sent him hurtling off the edge of Angel Island. The Land of Darkness was still completely concealed by swarming clouds beneath the island, as it always was. Fierce winds tossed him this way and that as he plummeted through the clouds.

The hat was ripped off of his head.

"_No_!" In desperate fear, Sonic reached out for it. His fingers grazed the rim for only a second before the winds snatched it away from him forever and dragged it beneath the clouds. Then, as yet more explosions lit up the darkness, lightning struck him and everything went completely black.

* * *

**Don't kill me for destroying the island, please. Also, the story's not over yet (not by a long shot), so don't worry. Posted 02-12-15.**


	20. Aftermath

**So, I edited this from the original. Enjoy.**

* * *

In the aftermath of the destruction of South Island, the majority of those who survived were the innocent prisoners who had been trapped in the Land of Darkness. Very few of the people actually on the island were still alive. He was one of the few.

Sonic woke slowly. He was laying flat on his stomach with his arms by his head. Not bothering to open his eyes, he did a quick self-assessment. Despite having been struck by lightning, he didn't feel any of the pain he should have felt (though he was in pain from other things), nor did he feel numb. Now that he thought about it, the lightning hadn't hurt at all. It was strange, but he knew it to be true. He very slowly opened his eyes and stood, wondering as he did so why he'd been struck by lightning in the first place. There seemed to be a bit of a gap in his memory. His eyes drifted to the sky, blinking in muted surprise when he saw robot parts of all kinds raining down from the sky at irregular intervals. A large metal head landed in front of his feet; he didn't even flinch. Staring down at it, it occurred to him that he must have hit his own head pretty hard if he couldn't remember what had happened to him. He blinked and continued to stare. This robot looked familiar. A flash of memory hit him, leaving him dazed and confused. He remembered a robot much like this one blocking his was as he attempted to save a little girl... Then, in a painful rush, everything came back to him. The terror, the screams, the cave, the villages, the destruction, the _death_...

His breathing started to quicken and he backed away, shaking his head slowly. His eyes began to water dangerously. Panic, fear, pain, despair, hopelessness and disbelief all reared their ugly heads inside of him. Turning suddenly, he ran as fast as he could, tears streaming down his cheeks as he struggled to drown out the wails of the people around him, struggled not to remember what had happened in the sky just scarce hours ago. Everything was gone. Everything he'd ever known, everything he had ever tried to protect was gone. People were _dead_, and it was all his fault. He had failed to save them. He had failed. He squeezed his eyes shut tight as he once again relived his final moments on South Island. He saw once again the bright red fur of the only friend he'd ever known disappearing into the woods in the distance just moments before the explosion had destroyed everything. _He can't be dead! He can't! He can't...! _It was over. It was all over.

The sun didn't shine. Not in his eyes. Not anymore.

Pouring on the speed, Sonic ran until he simply couldn't anymore. He fell down on his hands and knees, barely noticing the scrapes he earned for doing so, and let out a small sob. The pain he felt was far beyond just physical in nature. It hurt far worse than any wound he had ever received, worse than anything he could have ever imagined. Tears spilled off his face and splattered on the dirt below. No longer able to restrain himself, Sonic cried, screaming his pain so that all the world could hear. Now everyone would know how much he had failed. Many thoughts raced like a whirlwind through his mind, but one thought sang louder than all the rest. _I don't deserve to be alive._

* * *

**Really short, but really important. Posted 02-13-15.**


	21. Lost

**Um... The writer's a "she", everybody. And no, Sonic won't kill himself, I swear. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Sonic leaned against a tree, panting for breath as he slowly slid down the trunk so that he sat in the dirt at its roots. How there were even trees down here was beyond him, but it wasn't something he took the time to ponder. He sucked in more air, wincing at how dry and painful his throat was. He was so exhausted. His body hurt. His heart ached. And yet, as soon as he could breathe normally again, he forced himself to stand. _I can't give up. _Knuckles was still out there. Sonic was sure of it. The fact that he hadn't seen any hint of his friend meant nothing. He just hadn't searched in the right places yet, that was all. That had to be it. What other reason could there possibly be? There was no way Knuckles was dead. It just wasn't possible.

However, Sonic readily acknowledged the fact that Robotnik could be dead. In fact, he very much hoped that the man _was_ dead. _This is all his fault. _The young hedgehog did his best to drown out the small voice in the back of his mind that reminded him that it was _his_ emerald that had caused all of this. When he'd begun thinking of the Emeralds as his, he honestly had no idea. But they certainly weren't Robotnik's. Still, the fact remained that _he_ himself had found them, thus allowing Robotnik to get ahold of one. His gaze drifted to the hazy sky, which was still filled with ash and smoke and dust, giving it a dull orangeish-brown color. The air near the ground was little better. It was almost painful to breathe. Despite it being mid-morning by now, it was dark. Behind the thick clouds, the sun was little more than a dim yellow-orange ball. Looking down, Sonic wondered if he would ever truly see the sun again, shining down in a blue sky like it had always done before now, like it was always supposed to do.

It was then that he thought to wonder _where_ the Chaos Emerald Robotnik had stolen was now. He stretched his senses to the limit to try to locate it, only to find that he couldn't feel _any_ of the Emeralds. _They're all gone, then? _He frowned down at the ground. _I'll have to find them all over again. _Or... maybe not. As he lifted his eyes and gazed off into the horizon, he found himself feeling... _relieved_ that they were gone. He considered the damage they had caused, the destruction they had wrought, the lives they had taken, the evil they had empowered. His frown deepened. Perhaps it would be better if they remained lost.

* * *

**SUPER short, but I feel it's fairly important. Posted 02-14-15.**


	22. Doubt

**So I decided to spoil you all today and post a second chapter. Also, I accidentally left a large chunk of the previous chapter out, so I added it earlier. In case you hadn't noticed. Enjoy!**

* * *

Pain had become a constant companion as Sonic rushed to avoid a series of well-aimed kicks and punches. The consternation he felt was by no means diminished by the laugh that filled his ears as he skidded on his feet before jumping again, narrowly avoiding yet another potentially lethal blow. When he landed again, he winced, a reaction that his enemy seemed to mistake as an emotional response to his circumstances. "What's the matter, _Sonic_? Did you actually think I was _dead_?"

Sonic didn't dignify that with a response. Of course he had _hoped_ that his enemy was dead, but, realistically, he'd doubted the possibility. Although... he was pleased to note that the man hadn't escaped unscathed, either. Unless he was mistaken, Sonic was almost certain that his enemy was in even worse condition than he was. _That's what he gets for messing with stuff he doesn't know anything about. __Being in the center of that blast probably didn't help. _Sonic ignored the part of his mind that oh-so-helpfully reminded him of the fact that he knew next to nothing about the Emeralds, either. Instead, he watched as the robot before him shifted to face him more fully. Its bright red and yellow colors were in stark contrast to the dull browns and grays surrounding them. He did his best to conceal his dismay. _Why isn't he dead? _He'd been so _sure_... so certain that it was finally over...

The barrel of a gun as large as his own head swung into his face. "Don't worry. You'll join your friend soon enough."

Sonic stared, distraught, before anger bloomed like a dark flower in his chest, replacing all other feelings. "He's not dead!"

"Oh? And what makes you so sure?"

"_You're _alive, aren't you?"

"Ha! You're nothing more than a stupid child, after all! And I had thought you might actually be somewhat intelligent!"

"What the hell are you talking about, Robotnik?!" For a moment, Sonic swore he saw red. He didn't think he had ever been so angry.

"You'll just have to find out, then, won't you?!" Then, with a painfully loud flash, it was over.

* * *

Sonic awoke with a terrible gasp and sat bolt upright on the forest floor. Powerful emotions welled up inside of him and he buried his face in his hands. _He's not dead. He's not. He can't be... _

* * *

**Posted 02-14-15.**


	23. A Flicker of Hope

Several days had passed since the cataclysm when Sonic stumbled accidentally upon a group of survivors. Guilt welled up inside of him as he looked over them. Beaten, hungry, despairing, cold, alone... He'd abandoned them, and he couldn't forgive himself for that, no matter what his reasons were for doing it were. He walked over the crest of the hill he was standing on and slowly approached the large group. The response was instantaneous. His very presence seemed to have a profound effect on them. Ripples of movement statring on the outside and moving in created a strange visual effect and a chorus of whispered heralded his approach.

"Is that really him?"

"It is! I don't believe it! He's alive!"

"Did you guys here? He managed to save almost six whole villages from the robots!"

" But he's so young!"

"He's the real deal! A hero!"

"A hero? Him?"

Sonic did his best not to wince. _I'm no hero. _He fought to stay calm as memories of the destruction not long ago surfaced in his mind. He stopped walking and took a deep breath and let it out slowly, watching somewhat warily as an older man, a raccoon in a tattered brown robe with a thin rope tied around his waist, walked over to him. Every other step was punctuated by a small tap from the man's tall walking stick.

"Is it you, then?" When Sonic didn't reply, he continued. "Are you Sonic the 'Edge'og?"

Sonic bit his tongue to hold back the sarcastic remark that sat on the tip of his tongue, waiting to be let loose. _Knuckles always said to be respectful to my elders. _"Yes." Though his response was somewhat curt, he at least _tried_ to be polite.

"Well, you're a sight for sore eyes," the raccoon commented, glancing up and down his small form.

"Like you're any better, yourself," Sonic replied before he could censor himself.

When the old man barked out a laugh, Sonic jumped a bit in surprise. "Ah, so 'e's got a mouth, eh? Mighty tough for one so young! Though 'e sure don't look it!"

Sonic didn't know whether to feel gratified... or insulted. "Who are you?"

"Name's Buck,'" the man replied. "I was the 'ead of a large village down south, not far from Marble Garden. Mighty 'ot there, it was."

Sonic frowned deeply. He'd run all over that place several times before. "I never saw a village there."

"That's because we were hidden," answered a woman who approached from behind Buck, "in the thick clouds of steam near where the lava met the ocean." The woman, also a raccoon, came to a stop beside the older man.

Sonic didn't even bother to ask who _she_ was. So long as she wasn't a threat, he couldn't have cared less at the moment. He nodded in response to the information she had supplied and glanced around the crowd. Many faces watched him with varying degrees of suspicion, anxiety, hope, relief, joy, and fear. He returned his gaze to Buck and the woman. "When was the last time anyone ate?"

"Before the explosion. We haven't been able to go look for food. It's too dangerous. Almost everyone is either too young, too old, or too badly injured." The woman looked back over her shoulder to all the people at her back.

Sonic thought quickly. _They need to eat, and soon. But... I can't get that much food by myself. _"Can_ anyone _help search for food?"

The woman seemed surprised. "You're going?"

"Obviously."

"But-"

Buck cut her off before she could argue. "Eh, let 'im go. There'll be no convincin' this one; not when his 'eart's leadin' him so true."

Sonic raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing. Moments later, a man, a young rabbit with light orange fur, approached. "I'll go, too."

A strong-looking green bird with a yellow beak stepped forward. "Same," he said.

A purple cat with piercing yellow eyes also stepped forward. "Me too," she announced. "I'm fast. I can help deliver whatever you guys find."

Sonic nodded, satisfied with the selection, and turned, heading back to the woods he'd been in not long ago. It wasn't far, and there was plenty of fruit growing high in the trees. He just hoped it would be enough. No attempts at small talk were made as the group headed quickly to the north. Though they ran, Sonic made sure to go slow enough so as not to lose them. He was mildly surprised at how well they were keeping up despite that fact. _They really are fast. ...That cat especially. _Her speed would be useful. Her idea was a good one; having the fastest members of the group deliver the food was actually a great idea. It would still be a lot of work, feeding that many people, but at least it would take less time.

When they reached the forest, they stayed at the edge of the trees and immediately began picking fruit. Once his arms were full, Sonic ran back as fast as he could and handed out what he had. He passed the cat on the return trip. Back at the forest, the two males had started a small pile of food. Sonic knelt and gathered up as much as he could and, his arms laden once again, he returned to the starving people. This was repeated many times, over and over again, until finally, everyone had had enough to eat.

Sonic grabbed one last fruit off a tree, the last one in sight, before following the other three back. Once there, he presented his find to Buck. At the raccoon's surprised expression, Sonic huffed. "Don't play dumb. I saw you weren't eating. It's so everyone else can have more, right?" He handed the old man the fruit without waiting for a reply. "Just eat it. No one will thank you if you starve to death," he grumbled, arms crossed and gaze drifting to the side.

A small laugh escaped Buck's lips. "Thank you m'boy. Young or not, you truly are a good lad. One of a kind."

Sonic didn't know how to respond, so he opted for the easiest solution of not responding at all. The soft crunch of the fruit nearly made his stomach rumble, but he ignored it. He also ignored the fact that he had just finished chastising the old man for exactly what he himself was doing. _I go without eating all the time. I'll be fine. They need the food more than I do._

Buck finished eating rather quickly and fixed him with a speculative look. "So, m'boy, care to explain 'ow you got 'ere?" Sonic stared at him in confusion. "'Ow'd you survive?"

The memories that threatened to surface hurt, but he suppressed them by sheer force of will. "I was on Angel Island," he replied almost neutrally, looking away.

"Angel Island? Why, I 'aven't 'eard that name in years! Been there once, m'self."

Sonic's gaze swung back to his face. "You have?"

"Aye, when I was but a lad 'bout your size. The guardian there gave me a mighty scare, 'e did!"

"Guardian?" Sonic asked in confusion.

"Aye, a red fellow with a brown 'at on top of 'is 'ead. Mighty tough, that one was. Threatened to punch me off the side of the island if I didn't leave!" He tapped his walking stick on the ground for no apparent reason, a large nostalgic smile on his face. "Ah, but that was many years ago," he sighed. "Though, come to think of it, I could've sworn I saw a fellow that looked just like him not long ago. Missing 'is 'at, though... Din't look much bigger'n you. Hair was mighty short, it was, too."

Sonic frowned minutely. _But... Knuckles is an adult. He's taller than me. And his hair's long. It goes to the middle of his back. _Still, hope blossomed in his chest, a feeling that was a feeling far more painful than the grief he'd been struggling to deal with for the past few days. "Where?" he demanded sharply.

"Beyond those 'ills o'er yonder," Buck replied pointing to a different set of hills than the ones Sonic had traversed earlier that day. "Saw 'im while we was on our way 'ere. Too crowded there for so many people. 'E was flying through the sky all wobbly-like, 'ad me worried 'e would fall. Didn't 'ear me when I called. Too 'igh up, I s'ppose."

Sonic stared at the hills, hardly daring to hope. He was torn between his need to find his friend and his need to stay here and help. But an unexpected voice startled him out of his internal conflict, proving the solution he needed. "Go; we'll be fine on out own for a few days." It was the raccoon woman. "And if you find him, your friend, I mean, you can bring him back here."

Sonic nodded and, hesitating only a second longer, turned and ran as fast as he could into the distance.

* * *

**Posted 02-15-15.**


	24. Continued Search

**Sorry this wasn't uploaded yesterday! I was in San Francisco until around 6:30 P.M. last night, and then I was just too busy to post it. I took lots of pictures while I was there. If you want to see them, they're on my Flickr (username KymmaRaven).**

* * *

There were few leads, and almost no evidence. Still, Sonic had hoped to find _something _by now. But... _N__othing. Not a trace. _He raced across the terrain back to the survivors he had helped feed several days before. As much as his heart ached, he had to stop searching for his friend for now. Wherever Knuckles was, he would have to wait. _They need me. _He did his best not to think of the fact that Knuckles might be hurt and in need of help, too. Sonic leaped over a rock... and froze. His eyes grew wide. _Oh, no... __They survived...?! _He did a magnificent flip and a missile soared beneath his feet. _How are they here? _He ducked between large orange legs and kicked out, sending the behemoth sprawling. A fist neared his head and he ducked before grabbing the arm of the second opponent and flipping it over. As soon as they were both down, he curled into a ball and smashed them ruthlessly to pieces. Metal flew everywhere. _Robots. But how? Shouldn't the explosion have destroyed them? _He noticed the red stains decorating them and his heart pounded. Fear replaced the anger and confusion he had been feeling. His head whipped around to face the horizon in the direction he'd been running before he'd stumbled upon these bots. _The villagers...! _Without another thought, he tore across the valley. Barely a few minutes later, he came upon the makeshift camp where the villagers had been staying. _Right where I left them. _He heaved a heavy sigh of relief and, doing his best to banish his panic, he approached the raccoon woman he'd met before.

She smiled at him, joy causing her dark black eyes to brighten. "You're back!"

"Yeah," he muttered. "Is everyone okay?"

She nodded. "Yes, we're all fine."

He took in the preparations that had obviously been underway since his departure. Baskets woven out of long blades of dead and yellowed grass held piles of fruit. Blankets woven in a similar fashion covered only some people, but more blankets seemed to be being made. Tightly woven bowls held fresh water from nearby streams. He nodded his satisfaction and looked around. "Where's Buck?"

She pointed to a spot about ten feet away where a large blanket slowly rose and fell on the ground. "He's sleeping."

Sonic nodded again. _Good. _Buck needed the sleep more than most everyone else. Sonic was no fool; he could tell the old man was exhausted. _How long has he been staying awake to watch over everyone else? _

"My name is Rosaline, by the way."

Sonic nearly jumped and quickly looked back at her. She was smiling at him again. "...My name's Sonic."

"That's a nice name," she said with sincerity. "It suits you." When he looked confused, she clarified. "Sonic makes you sound fast. It's fitting." Not knowing how else to respond, he shrugged. "Did you find your friend?"

Suddenly finding the tiny new blades of grass beneath his feet very interesting, Sonic looked down. With South Island no longer blocking the sun. the Land of Darkness was coming alive. He was incredibly thankful for it; they would never survive down here otherwise. "No. No matter where I looked, he wasn't anywhere."

"You're friend, Buck said he was red, right?"

"Yeah."

"And he also said he saw him in the sky?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, unless I'm mistaken, I saw that guy, too. He looked an awful lot like Locke."

Sonic frowned in confusion. "Who?"

She giggled. "That's right, I always forget that he usually goes by his nickname, Knuckles, instead of his real name."

Sonic grew suspicious. _Who is she? _And, more importantly, how in the world did she know Knuckles?

She must have read the question in his eyes. "Locke, I mean Knuckles, and I used to be good friends. I haven't seen him in quite some time, though. He used to come to my village to buy books. We had such a large bookstore, and he absolutely loved it." Sonic grew even more confused. That sounded just like Knuckles. But... he had never mentioned knowing anyone named Rosaline. Or knowing any raccoons in general. Her expression grew even more serious. "Sonic, I honestly have no idea where Locke, Knuckles, is. But, with the way he was flying, I think it's safe to assume he's hurt pretty badly."

Sonic glanced around the camp, conflicted once again. He wanted to save his friend. He wanted, even needed, to protect the villagers. _I can't do both. _

Rosaline's voice broke into his thoughts, soft and serious. "Go. We'll be fine. You need to find him."

Sonic gritted his teeth and, with one last glance at all the people he felt like he was abandoning, he turned and ran into the hills.

* * *

**Posted 02-16-15.**


	25. Bright Tomorrow

**Nothing important to impart this time. Enjoy.**

* * *

Weeks of fruitless search caused his misery to increase to the point where he swore he didn't remember what happiness felt like. Despair made his heart ache. Hopelessness made his feet heavy. No longer able to bear it, Sonic collapsed out of sheer exhaustion. Feeling completely and utterly alone, more so then he had ever felt before, he allowed his eyes to drift shut as tears slid down his face against his will.

A soft but insistent tapping roused him from his slumber. Sonic frowned and forced his tired eyes open, immediately finding himself face-to-face with a small purple bird. And it was... _pecking_ him. Growling softly, he shooed it angrily away with a few waves of his hand. He nearly swatted it before it chirped and retreated into a tree not far away. As he sat up, several other chirps reached his ears. He moved into a sitting position and looked up. The tree was mostly bare, but a few sparse clumps of dry, brown leaves decorated some of its branches. Amidst the dying clusters, a few green leaves grew hesitantly toward the sun, which was finally becoming visible now that the thick haze in the sky was clearing. A quick glance around him revealed that the other trees in this small area, all of which had once been dead or dying, were beginning to grow again. Young bushes and ferns did their best to fill up the large spaces between each tree. Another soft chirp drew his attention back to the tree before him. Looking carefully, he soon spotted a nest carefully built within the leaves. Nestled safely in its depths were three baby birds. He shifted slightly and looked down. Equally tiny blades of lush green grass, each blade like a baby itself, poked up out of the ground at irregular intervals. Not far away, a soft white rabbit nibbled on a root. A brown squirrel scampered up a tree trunk, its cheeks full. Life was returning here. Or, perhaps, coming for the first time. Sonic didn't think that anything had ever lived down here in the Land of Darkness before, save for the few forests that had somehow bent the rules and grown without the aid of the sun.

Looking around, it occurred to him that, despite everything that had happened, despite everything he was feeling right now, _this_ was a reminder that there was _always _something worth fighting for, worth hoping for. This was a reminder that not all was lost. This was a reminder not to give up. This was a reminder that, no matter what, the sun would always shine, even if he couldn't always see it. All he had to do was look for a brighter tomorrow.

* * *

**Posted 02-18-15.**


	26. Blissful Ignorance

**Nothing important to impart this time. Enjoy.**

* * *

Sonic did his best to ignore how hungry he was as he raced through a valley covered in sprawling fields. He couldn't believe how much grass was here. It had obviously been here for quite some time, as there was no way it could have grown this much in just a month, which was about how long it had been since the cataclysm. However, he had no idea _how _it could have already been here. _South Island used to block the sun from reaching down here, _he reminded himself. _So how is this possible? _The smell of the fresh food in his arms made his stomach rumble, successfully pulling him from his ruminations. He willfully resisted resisted the urge to stop and eat. _These aren't for me. _Not long afterward, he skidded to a halt in a very large, familiar clearing surrounded by mountains and hills which he suspected were responsible, at least in part, for the sense of security that the residents of this area had been lulled into. Equally familiar faces filled a portion of the clearing. One such face turned to him as he approached.

"'Ello, Sonic."

"Hey, Buck," he replied with a tired sigh.

"Brought some food, eh?"

"Told you I would."

"That you did. Come on, then. Let's get to it."

Sonic, Buck, and several others had been working hard all day long to bring back enough food for all the people here. There were more than before; quite a bit more. Every time Sonic stumbled across a group of survivors, he did his best to bring them back here, that way no one was alone. They were safer together. Besides, it made it easier for him to take care of them if they were all in one place instead of spread across the land. He walked around slowly, passing out the food he had gathered as he went. As he handed a fruit to a small boy with an injured leg and wide brown eyes, a sound made his ears prick. He straightened and turned around, squinting to a set of hills in the distance that he had crossed over earlier that day. The orange rabbit who had helped him gather fruit the day he had found this group soon came into view, leading a small group behind him. _More survivors?_As overwhelming as it was to have to care for so many people, Sonic couldn't suppress the surge of happiness that swelled up inside of him. _So many people lived..._Granted many more had died than could have ever survived, but he did his best not to think about that terrible fact. He jogged quickly over to the group. "Talbot!" he called by way of greeting.

"Heya, Sonic," Talbot, the group's leader, replied. "I brought more mouths to feed."

"I can see that," Sonic said, glancing to a few of the new faces. There were around twelve of them. "Where did you find them?"

"By that huge lake Ross discovered last week."

Sonic's mood soured a bit at the mention of the tall green bird who had also helped feed the group that first time. As much as he had helped, as useful as his strength was, Sonic still considered him to be a huge jerk. He spoke rudely to all, showed no sympathy, and only cared for himself. _He's too much like Robotnik. _Not that Sonic thought he was a killer, but the bird's personality was undoubtedly similar. "Were there any others?" he asked, hoping to divert his attention from such awful thoughts.

"Not that I'm aware of," Talbot replied thoughtfully, "but it couldn't hurt to check. I could be wrong."

Sonic nodded his agreement and, without a moment's hesitation, began running to the lake which rested several miles away. Sonic hoped with all his might that Knuckles, Locke, apparently (he still couldn't figure out why he'd never been told his friend's real name before), was with them. As much as he wanted to find his friend, he couldn't bring himself to leave these people alone, as he had done several times before, to fend for themselves. Having fended for himself his entire life, he knew how terrible it was, how hard it was. He couldn't do that to them. Not again.

Soon the lake came into view and he pushed his thoughts aside for now, focusing instead on listening for any hint of life, however slight those signs may have been. He wrinkled his nose at the foul odor emanating for the lake. The stench grew stronger as the lake grew closer. The water had been blackened by the oil leaking from the many various robot parts that had fallen into it from the sky above. The filth had even reached the shore, making the dirt and rocks slick and unnaturally shiny. He came to a careful stop, not eager to slip and fall, and glared at a severed arm resting only halfway in the water. The metal was scratched and dented and it's once vibrant paint was chipped and smeared with a disgusting mixture of oil and mud. His eyes drifted back to the water. _It's Oil Ocean all over again. _He shook his head with a small sigh and closed his eyes in an attempt to focus again.

Faint birdsong reached his ears from some distance away but, as pleasant as this sound was, he tuned it out. It wasn't what he was looking for, nor was the sound of the breeze shuffling the leaves of the few trees dotting the landscape in this area. A few small animal noises sounded from those same trees, but he ignored it, listening intently for something, _anything_ that would tell him if there were people anywhere in this vicinity. Finally, his ears pricked and his eyes snapped open. _Found them! _Their whispers had been difficult to distinguish from the whisper of the wind, but a child's voice had given away their position. The wail spurred him into action and he raced to its source, desperately hoping that they were okay. _Please don't let there be another robot. _By the time he reached the scene, the wailing had ceased and the child was sniffling quietly as her wrist was wrapped tightly in a strip of cloth. There were five people here but, with the exception of the girl and her father, no one seemed to know each other. However, one of them did recognize him. Almost instantly, in fact.

"Hey, look! It's Sonic the Hedgehog!"

Sonic did his best not to glare at the bear that now stood there pointing at him with a shocked expression. As much as he hated being so well-known, he acknowledged the fact that it helped put people at ease. It even seemed to give them a measure of hope. _So be it. _He approached at a steady pace, his eyes flicking over their painfully thin forms. He gritted his teeth together so tightly it hurt, but his expression remained the same, calm yet serious. With a jerk of his head, he made the invitation general. "Come with me." They followed obediently, no one offering even a single word of resistance. They seemed glad to be led, and even gladder that they had been found to begin with. All but one.

The scowling feline did little, if anything, to conceal her attitude. He forced himself not to take her foul mood personally. There was nothing he could have done to arouse her ire in such little time. Besides, it wasn't like he cared what she thought. Even if her anger _was_ for whatever reason directed at him, her opinion of him held as little value to him as the dirt on which they trod. He was surprised when the woman moved to his side and spoke, her voice reminding him oddly of a weasel. "You're that kid who used to travel with Locke." Though she said this as a statement, she managed to make it sound like a question.

"Yes," he answered. "So?"

"You aren't looking for him are you?" she asked, almost accusingly.

"And if I am?" he replied calmly, refusing to reply in kind to her sour mood.

"Than you're a damn idiot," she replied matter-of-factly.

He turned his head to glare at her. "What are you talking about?"

"I saw it myself," she said vaguely, looking almost proud of the fact that she had seen whatever it was she was talking about.

"Saw what?" he demanded with an air of suspicion coloring his voice.

"Saw Locke running through the trees before the cataclysm," she said. "He'd just left that weird floating rock he was on all the time."

"And?" he pressed impatiently. _Does she know where he is? _The hope he had started to feel was quickly replaced by icy fear that clawed at his heart like a rabid animal.

"He's dead, kid. Locke died during the explosion."

* * *

**Posted 2-19-15.**


	27. More Than a River

**Nothing important to impart this time. Enjoy. **

* * *

"He's not dead!" Sonic completely ignored the many people around him who turned to watch the growing confrontation. They looked on with a variety of different facial expressions ranging from annoyance and irritation to wariness and surprise, and even... pity. He didn't want their pity. Didn't need it. It made him angrier, in a way. But, as far as he was concerned, these people didn't exist right now, anyway. The only person who did was the smug-looking cat standing before him with her hands on her hips. He'd managed to keep his cool until they reached they valley where the larger group of survivors was, but the woman's constant comments had finally driven him over the edge and caused him to snap.

"I told you, I saw it myself," she said simply, as if that resolved everything.

"I don't believe you!" he exclaimed heatedly.

"Well you should. I'm older than you. Smarter, too." She looked as though she firmly believed these supposed facts.

Sonic _hated _it when adults pulled that one. Saying they were smarter because they were older... He hated it. And they just _loved_ reminding him of the fact that he was a child. He hated that, too. "That's got nothing to do with this!"

"But it's true," she replied calmly.

"Stop changing the subject!" he yelled.

"I'm telling you, he's _dead_, kid!" she yelled back, finally seeming to get angry as well.

"No he's not! He _can't_ be!" he shouted.

"How do you figure?!" she demanded.

"People saw him flying around after the explosion!"

"That wasn't _him_! That was his kid! And I _know_ you know that!"

"He's alive!"

"Tell me how, then! How could he possibly be alive?!"

Sonic opened his mouth to reply but soon closed it. The more he though about it, the more he realized that he had no logical reason for so stubbornly refusing to believe what was being told to him. Nothing, save for his own desperate need and desire not to believe it, compelled him to argue with her so avidly. Anger gave way to fear. The tiny shred of hope he'd been clinging to turned to dust. _Knuckles would never abandon me. It's been over a month. That explosion killed thousands of people. He was right there in the blast. Could... could it... be true? _Feeling his breathing start to quicken and his heart start to pound, he turned and ran away, as far away as he could get from everything he was thinking and feeling.

Tears streamed down his face only to be ripped away by the wind as he ran. He squeezed his eyes shut, no longer caring to pay attention to where he was going. _It can't be true! It can't be! It can't! _A cloud of dirt was kicked up by his feet as he ran, the cloud causing him to cough as he sobbed. Sharp branches and thorns from the various plants he was apparently running through caught his fur, cut his skin, hindered his progress even as he tried to go faster. Finally, a root stopped his panicked flight and he fell face-first into the hard, unforgiving ground. His arms spread before him, Sonic rested his forehead on his wrists and cried. Even if it could never truly be confirmed, Sonic realized now that he had known all along. Somewhere in the back of his mind he had known, but he had done everything he could to drown out those whispers. Locke was dead. He was gone, and he was never coming back. This evoke a fresh wave of tears and yet another sob. Still reeling from the loss, he stumbled to his feet and walked until he was so exhausted and hungry that he couldn't continue on any longer. Having cried so much that his eyes were as dry as desert, he sat curled against a tree, buried his face in his knees, and tried to go to sleep. At least then he could escape, if only for a little while.

* * *

**Not quite as emotional and dramatic as you may have hoped, but I feel that it was alright, anyway. Posted 02-20-15.**


	28. Conflicting

**Nothing important to impart this time. Enjoy. **

* * *

Sonic fought to drown out the emotions warring inside of him, but no matter what he did, nothing seemed to banish their voices from his mind. He cradled his head in his hands, his elbows resting in his knees which were pressed against his chest, and squeezed his eyes shut.

Guilt spoke first. _If I was stronger, none of this would have happened. Robotnik never would have gotten the emerald. Those robots never would have killed those people. South Island would never have been destroyed. Knuckles would still be alive. This is all my fault._

Anger spoke next. _Robotnik's a lunatic! This is all his fault! If he hadn't taken that stupid emerald...!_

Reason spoke next, adding a third voice to the turmoil in an attempt to calm it. _I'm just a kid. No matter what I could have tried, it wouldn't have made much of a difference. Robotnik would have learned of the emeralds eventually, and then he never would have stopped looking for them. Either that, or he would have made more of his own gems, maybe some that would have even worked. I would have just been delaying the inevitable._

Reason paused and Misery filled in the silence. _I don't want to be alone again._

Reason decided to speak up again then. _But... I'm not really alone. I mean, there are all these people here with me... Maybe some of the people I knew on South Island are still here._

Realization added its voice to the mix. _Wait... Knuckles said that his family was someplace safe. Even people who were out in the open survived. Does that... does that mean that his family's alive?_

Hope, as painful as the grief he was feeling, rose tentatively in his chest. It spoke softly, hesitantly. _Maybe they're alive._

Sonic opened his eyes and stood, still shaking from the weight of the emotions that had nearly crippled him. Swallowing hard, he turned and began walking slowly back to the group he had left behind. Whether or not Knuckles's family was alive, he couldn't search for them right now. He had other things to care care of, most of them people. Forcing himself to be strong even if he felt as weak as grass, he lifted his head kept walking.

* * *

**Posted 02-21-15.**


	29. Beautiful Dream

**There has been a slight time skip since the last chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Sonic raced over a hill and jumped a narrow ravine, skinning his shin when it hit the edge on the landing. He winced but kept going. A missile soared overhead. _More survivors...__Just not the good kind. _He ducked and a fist sailed over his ears. "Get _away _from me, you lunkheads! I don't have time for this!" He'd gotten word a few days ago that there were people living in the mountains not far from here. _I have to get to them. _He'd been doing his best to find everyone and get them all in one place so it would be easier to take care of them all, but he knew that it was highly unlikely that he'd found everyone. _No one's safe while these guys are around. _Then, in the distance, a fireball raised itself above the trees. Sonic's eyes widened a bit. _Crap...! There's more?! _He poured on the speed, hoping and praying that there wasn't a group of people there as began to slow and waited until just the right moment to leap on one robot's back. He grabbed it's shoulders and pulled hard until it finally stumbled and turned, shooting all the while. Its bullets tore through several of its companions, making the robots explode into painfully hot balls of fire. The searing brightness forced him to cover his eyes with one arm, the other still holding onto the bot.

The appearance of fire, as well as the smell of its smoke and the feel of its heat, brought back nightmarish memories and he did his best to drown them out with other thoughts. _I'm stronger than this. I can beat them. _Another blast and the last of his ride's robotic companions were heavily in relief, Sonic jumped into the air and, curling into a ball, slammed down into the robot. He sliced through it with ease and instantly resumed his run, heading to where the first explosion had been. _Please don't let there be people there. _He didn't think he could handle more pain and destruction. He couldn't handle more deaths. He'd seen enough suffering in his life, more than any person should have.

The young hedgehog soon found himself at the explosion site. He looked around slowly. Robot parts were strewn about everywhere, smoking and sparking. The ground was scorched. Multiple clumps of grass were burning, though thankfully no other plants had been close enough to catch fire. A thin trail lead the way into the bushes. He swallowed hard._Blood...? _Sonic started to follow the trail but was forced to back away when a robot slowly picked itself up off the ground. It was smoking heavily but was apparently still functional enough to level a weapon at him. Before he could react, it fired and sent him flying. He hit the ground hard close to ten feet away, skidding so much that his body left a gouge in the earth. He coughed painfully and tried to stand. He hurt terribly. A second blast caught him by surprise and sent him flying once again. This time he crashed into the woods, slamming back-first into the thick trunk of a large tree. He slid slowly down its length and tried to shake away the dizziness in his head. Despite being in pain, he forced himself to stand on trembling limbs, clutching one arm in the opposite hand. "Alright, I've had enough of you and your stupid gun!" he shouted angrily. Much to his surprise, it shifted its stance and replied.

**"Directive: Destroy Sonic the Hedgehog. Destroy Locke the Echidna. Destroy Knuckles the Echidna."**

Sonic growled menacingly. "Locke's _dead _already! You bastards _killed_ him!" he shouted, despite knowing that it couldn't understand him. The anger he always felt deep inside bothered him greatly, but he usually made a point of ignoring it. Today was no different. The robot raised its weapon to fire again. Sonic swore softly and jumped above the blast just seconds before impact. A loud bang not far away caused his head to whip around in surprised confusion. He gritted his teeth and decided to end this. There was no time left to play. A swift kick to an already severely damaged location on the robot's torso proved more than enough to take care of the problem and he turned toward the sound he'd heard just moments before. He didn't hesitate to run toward the source. He barely took the time to notice how much the plants around him had grown. It was incredible, really, that so much life could come to this place after scarcely a year. Still, he force dhimself not to pay attention to that right now. It was unimportant. When he reached the spot, he stopped abruptly and glared. Just as the robot exploded, the force of it blowing his fur back, he crossed his arms.

"So it's you," said a very familiar and very unwelcome voice.

"Hmph," he muttered moodily. "What are you doing here?"

Bright purple eyes locked with his. "What I do is my business, not yours."

Sonic's expression was oddly calm, something that surprised even him. How he managed to appear so calm and almost indifferent despite what he was feeling completely escaped him. "Fine, then. Have fun on your own." He started to walk away, doing his best not to listen to the dark emotions swirling around in his heart.

Her blunt candor hadn't been the best way of revealing the truth to him by any means but, in a way, he supposed he appreciated her honesty. He just would have preferred that it hadn't had such a brutal edge. Still, he knew he never would have stopped searching if she hadn't told him what had happened to his friend. A hard as it was to accept, at least he wasn't wasting the rest of his life wondering. It wasn't a great alternative to Locke actually being alive, but at least it was something. Sonic shook his head to push those thoughts away and broke into a run. The mountains soon came into view. He had scarcely reached the foothills when a large feathery _something_ slammed into him. He was smooshed into the ground and the breath left his lungs with a loud whoosh. He wriggled free and turned to see what in the world had fallen on him. His eyes widened when he saw that it was a man; a very large one, at that. He almost looked like a falcon of some kind. Sonic sighed in relief when he realized that the man was just unconscious. His injuries weren't serious.

Grunting softly with effort, Sonic dragged the man to a safer location and squinted up into the night-darkened sky. Spotting his target, his curled himself up into a ball and launched himself up at a sharp angle. He easily destroyed the lone bee-like robot patrolling the skies and landed not terribly far from where he had landed. He glanced back. The bird was still unconscious, and there was no way Sonic could carry him up the mountain. Deciding he would just have to come back, he turned back to the mountain and began running once more. It was a relatively easy climb and he soon reached a flat expanse of stone halfway down the other side. He wasn't surprised to see that this was where the people had taken up refuge. The rest of the mountain was too steep to live on and, for people inexperienced with fighting, the prospect of trying to live in the dark woods below must have been terribly frightening. Four faces peered up warily at him while two others seemed to largely ignore him. One other, quite a bit younger than the rest, slept peacefully, unaware of what was going on. Few words were exchanged as he helped them one at a time down the mountain. It wasn't until they were once more on flat ground that someone brought up something important.

"Have you seen my husband?" she asked fearfully. "He went to the top of the mountain some time ago and never came back. I thought we might see him on the way back, but..."

Sonic jerked his thumb to the brown pile of feathers he had moved earlier. "You mean him?" She followed his pointing finger and gasped. Her reaction was all the answer he needed as she ran over to him. She sighed heavily in relief when she saw what he had seen earlier, the fact that the man was mostly fine. Three of the other people walked over and, with their help, Sonic and the man's wife moved the man slowly back to the valley where everyone else was living.

A few hours later, the seven new arrivals were eating gratefully, surrounded by people they had once known back on South Island. Sonic wondered for a moment what is was like to have so many people care about you before reminding himself that he didn't care. _I don't need anyone. _Having a friend had been nice, very nice, wonderful even, but considering the horrible pain the loss of said friend had brought him, he was highly inclined not to let anyone get that close to him again. Besides, he wasn't entirely sure if he could trust someone like that again even if he wanted to. _It was hard enough the first time._

Then, without any warning, a familiar voice pierced through the dark cloud of his thoughts and caused him to freeze. "Mr. Sonic!"

Hardly daring to breathe, Sonic whirled around. Disbelief rendered him momentarily speechless. "M... Merry...?" A small body slammed into him with enough force to cause him to step back. _She's... alive? _Sonic stared down at her for a long moment before very slowly allowing himself to hug her back. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly as some of the emotions he'd been trying so hard to bottle up leaked out of his eyes. After so long of thinking that he was alone again, despite all the people around him, this was almost too good to be true. If this was a dream, he hoped he would never wake up.

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**Sorry this took so long! Posted 02-22-15.**


	30. Suppression

**Nothing important to impart this time. Enjoy.**

* * *

Several days later found hedgehog and bunny walking slowly through the woods. "How in the world do you even know about my plane?" Sonic asked disbelievingly.

"I saw you in it one time," Merry replied simply, watching a fly with interest.

"Uh-huh..." Sonic murmured, managing somehow to seem uninterested, a fact that didn't phase the girl at all. "You think it survived?"

"Yup!" she replied brightly.

"And you're _sure_ it's here?" he pressed.

"Not... exactly," she answered uncertainly, but rallied with, "but it can't hurt to look!"

Sonic wasn't sure how to feel about her attitude. _How can she be so happy... after everything that's happened? _She too had seen horrible things. She had lost her mother, had nearly died herself, had witnessed terror far beyond what any child, or person in general, deserved. So why was she so happy? He refrained from asking about that and instead inquired about something else. "Does your aunt know you came with me?"

"Yes," she nodded. "She said I could come if you were okay with it."

"Not that you asked," he reminded her with a single raised eyebrow aimed at her, his tone somehow remaining gentle despite his slight annoyance.

She stuck her tongue out at him with a giggle. "I knew you'd say 'no' if I did."

"How could you possibly have known?" he asked, frowning minutely.

"I dunno," she replied with a small shrug. Then she said, "but you're always grumpy, so I guess it wasn't too hard to guess."

A noncommittal hum was his only response, and the two kept walking. As they picked their way through the trees, he began noticing slight signs of wreckage mostly hidden in the foliage. He climbed over a tall arching root (a rock preventing him from going underneath) before turning and carefully helping her over. He glanced around as he set her down, noting a decent-sized sheet of metal nearby. _Maybe she was right. Maybe it is here. _Unless, of course, these were robot parts. Which was entirely possible.

Merry's voice broke the silence that he had a habit of slipping into when he was thinking. And just retreating into in general. "Mr. Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it true that you're looking for Mr. Locke's family?"

Sonic smothered a sigh while simultaneously suppressing the pang he felt in his heart at the mention of that name. "Yeah."

"Have you-" she started to ask, but he cut her off.

"No, I haven't found anything yet."

"Oh." Silence settled between them again for a moment. "Mr. Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"Um... Maybe we should... duck."

He looked to her in surprised confusion. "What?"

"Duck," she repeated as if that explained everything. "But not right now. In a minute."

"Um... why?" he dared to ask.

"A robot's going to shoot a missile."

"How do you kn-" He was cut off when a sound reached his ears moments later, and he dropped to the ground without a thought, taking her down with him. A fiery explosion tore through the trees a safe distance behind them. He looked to the side at the girl tucked under his arm. Fixing her with a hard look, he finished his earlier question. "_How_ could you possibly have known that?"

She shrugged. "I dunno." Without another word, she stood and brushed herself off. "I just did, I guess."

He stood as well and let his eyes skim over her small form. There was something special about her... he could feel it. He'd thought so before, back when he'd first met her, but having his suspicions confirmed was oddly strange. There was some sort of incredible power in her, not that her unassuming visage hinted at it. The power was _there_; he had just yet to figure out what it was.

A second blast distracted him and he scooped the girl up before she could protest. Setting her down in a relatively safe location, he looked at her seriously. "Stay _here_." She nodded, her eyes wide, and he ran off to confront the foe. Sonic growled fiercely at the sight of it. This one had clearly been directly involved in the brutal slayings of the villagers on South Island. In fact, he recognized the sharp dent in its torso. He'd made it with his own foot before the thing had fled, taking flight using rockets on its back. The bloodstains decorating it only further proved that it had been there. Eyes alight with anger, Sonic took on a fighting stance. _I've had enough of these damn reminders! _Without further ado, he rushed forward and finished what he had started so long ago.

* * *

Sonic walked slowly back to Merry, doing his best to conceal the dark emotions that had once again risen inside of him. Anger, hatred... they frightened him. He didn't want to feel them, but he couldn't get them to go away. Left with no other options, he buried them and did his best to pretend like he was fine, even when he knew he wasn't. He wasn't the only one; deep blue eyes peered worriedly up at him from the bushes, looking into him, reading him, questioning him. With an almost imperceptible shake of his head, he indicated his lack of desire to speak of such things. "We'll have to look for it tomorrow," he told her instead.

Despite her maturity, he was unsurprised when she slipped her hand into his. "Why?"

He nodded up to the sky. "It's getting dark. Come on. Let's head back." She agreed without complaint and they began the long walk back to the part of the valley where the people were staying.

The valley had been transformed in the past few months. Primitive huts filled the space. Tightly woven baskets, bowls, blankets, and so on filled people's houses. Tools salvaged from the cataclysm served to aid in the production of more homes and more supplies. Food was by no means abundant, but everyone at least had enough to ward off starvation and the loss of weight. Clean water was plentiful, however, a fact that Sonic never ceased to be thankful for. As he watched, a group of people came back from one of the valley's many nearby streams with several buckets of fresh water. After leaving Merry in the care of her aunt, the young hedgehog moved through the crowds of people toward one hut in particular. Eyes outlined with black fur lifted to meet his. "Sonic," she said warmly. "Something I can do for you?"

Sonic considered Rosaline silently for a moment before answering. "He's dead, isn't he?" This question had plagued his mind for some time, and though Sonic was confident he knew the truth, he still needed to hear it confirmed.

She nodded gravely. "Yes. I think so. I doubt his robots would be running amok like this, otherwise. They would have a purpose of some kind."

If she was expecting joy at this bit of news, he knew she would never get it. Nor would she see any hint of the relief one might have expected from him. Instead he felt... nothing. He just didn't care. Turning his back on the woman, a single thought entered his mind. _Robotnik got what he deserved... but is that good enough?_

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**Posted 02-23-15.**


	31. Emotions

**Nothing important to impart this time. Enjoy.**

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"To Robotnik's defeat!"

"I'll drink to that."

"Here, here!"

Sonic watched expressionlessly as the trio of men in front of the hut across the path from him took large swings of their water. He pushed off the wall he'd been leaning against and, shaking his head, turned and began walking away. He had no desire to listen to this. He should have been thrilled that his enemy was dead. Ecstatic, even. But he wasn't, and he wasn't sure why. He was finally free. No more fighting, no more near-death experiences, no more chasing some lunatic to the ends of the world, no more. And yet...

"Mr. Sonic!"

He blinked and, somehow, managed a small smile. "Hey, Merry."

She beamed at him from where she sat cuddled up in her aunt's lap. Her aunt smiled at him. "Good morning, dear. Are you two heading out again?"

Sonic glanced up to the sky, checking the position of the sun. "May as well," he replied, returning his attention to her face.

"Alright then. Have fun." Merry wriggled free and smoothed her dress. "And be safe."

He had a feeling that that last part had been more directed at him, but he brushed off her concerns in much the same way as he ignored the lingering aches and pains he felt from his near-constant battles with the remaining robots. Destroying them all was taking longer than he'd hoped, but at least their numbers were dwindling. That was a nice change. Usually it seemed that, for everyone one he destroyed, at least six were built to replace it. It reminded him vaguely of a book he'd borrowed from Locke once, telling the story of a brave warrior who battled a monster called a hydra. For every head he chopped off with his sword, more rose up in its place. As interesting as the story was, it was too... glorified. Battle was not romantic. It wasn't some fun adventure. The real thing was much darker and much more difficult to deal with.

Then, as if sensing the dark turn his thoughts were taking, Merry spoke up. By now, they had reached the edge of the woods where they had been the day before. "Is it true that Robotnik's gone?"

He wanted to say yes. He really did. "I don't know."

"I hope he is," she murmured.

He sighed. "Yeah... me too."

"Why was he being so mean?" she asked, turning wide, innocent eyes onto his face.

He forced himself not to scoff. "_Mean_" was _not_ a word most people associated with the man. It was too... _nice_. "I don't know," he replied honestly. "I don't know him that well. I don't know why he did half the things he did."

"But you _do_ know him," she pointed out.

"I guess," he shrugged. He didn't like the turn this conversation was taking. This was making the two of them, him and Robotnik, sound too familiar with each other. Sonic didn't want to be associated with him any more than was necessary. People knew he fought Robotnik. That was it. That was where he wanted the correlation to stop.

"Well... what _do_ you know about him?" Merry asked.

Suspecting that they girl was just honestly curious, Sonic suppressed his irritation at being dragged into such an unpleasant conversation. "I mostly just know how he behaves," he answered after giving her question some thought. "I don't usually know the _why_ part, but I can sometimes guess how he's going to react to what I say or do. I know how some of his robots work and that he's pretty much a genius. Beyond that, I just know his name."

"What's his name?"

"Gerald."

There was a pause in the conversation for a moment as she thought that over. "That's a weird name," she decided.

"Kind of, I guess," he replied. Then he added, "Not as weird as his last name, though."

She giggled, well, merrily. "It's funny."

"Fitting, though."

She giggled again and another pause soon followed. Then she said, "His name should be Robot."

He looked at her incredulously, eyebrows upraised. "Robot Robotnik?" he asked.

This, of course, sent her into fits of giggles. "No, that's too silly!"

Try though he might, he couldn't suppress a smile. "_You_ came up with it."

"Well I take it back!" she replied simply, her smile wide and her eyes sparkling with happiness.

He grinned at her. Then, in a move that surprised them both, he tripped. As he picked himself up off the grassy forest floor, he found himself feeling immensely grateful that she had let go of his hand some time ago. He found himself wondering if she had predicted his fall like she had predicted the attack yesterday. Turning his attention back to the ground, he blinked at the hunk of sharp metal he had cut his leg on when he'd landed. _We really oughta get a blacksmith or something. We could melt this stuff and use it for something._Casting that thought aside for now, he kicked the metal away and the two resumed walking. He pushed his way through a thick plant that was taller than he was and held it open for her to walk through. Once she was by his side again, he let go and watched as the thin branches swung back into place with a swish of dark green leaves. They kept walking.

"Mr. Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"Duck."

This time, Sonic didn't question it. He just ducked, despite sensing no danger. All he could here were animals. Then, as if on cue, a small furry body sailed over his head, going fast enough that the collision he had avoided would have hurt. _Oh. So that was it. _He straightened and watched the odd creature, a flying squirrel, disappear into the canopy above. He turned and looked once more to Merry, who stood just a bit behind him, her eyes wide and innocent as usual. He wondered, not for the first time, what sort of power was housed inside of her. How could she know about the future before it even happened? Deciding to let the matter drop for now, he just turned back around and resumed walking. "So where do you think my plane is?"

"I saw it by this big lake," she replied, stretching her small arms out to indicate the lake's size. "Or, at least, I saw _part _of it."

Well, part of it was better than none of it, he supposed. At least with part of it he could rebuild it without having to start over from scratch, an undeniably daunting task that he didn't even want to consider if he didn't have to. He sighed internally and prayed that whatever they found was salvageable.

About twenty minutes later, they found themselves at the bank of a sparkling lake. Merry smiled at him as if to say, _"Told you so," _and he met her gaze with slightly upraised eyebrows. Looking away, his gaze traveled to the other side of the lake. There, laying in a heap half-submerged in the water, was his plane. He gasped in a brief, yet no less apparent, expression of joy and ran toward it with Merry in tow, following the perimeter of the hated water. Once there, he began his scrutiny of the wreckage. _It'll take a lot of work, but... I can fix it. _Satisfied, he began the immensely difficult task of freeing it from the lake. His skin crawled as he waded into the shallows, his enemy licking gleefully at his ankles. Doing his best to ignore it, he began pushing.

A few minutes later, Merry's voice broke his concentration. "Would you like some help, Mr. Sonic?" she asked sweetly.

"No," he replied in a strained voice. ""You just... stay... put." He appreciated her offer, he really did, but the last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt, especially after he'd promised not only himself but her aunt as well that no harm would come to her. Then, with a loud groan, the metal shifted and began to move forward. Summoning up as much of his strength as he could, he pushed and pushed with all his might. Merry helpfully side-stepped so that she was out of the way. Finally, several minutes later, his task was complete. He leaned heavily against what used to be a wing; it was flattened like a pancake and folded up against the side of the plane. He hated to think of how much work it would take to repair it as he panted, his heart pounding. Once he caught his breath, he righted his posture and Merry smiled at him.

"I told you so."

"Yeah, yeah," he replied in a show of false annoyance. Her giggle caused him to return her smile. It felt good to smile again. After so long of barely remembering what happiness felt like, he hoped the feeling would never go away. The dark feelings were still there, smothering hatred and burning anger and debilitating sadness, but the more time he spent around her, the more her light drove those feelings away. Without her, he knew he would still be lost. He just hoped that nothing ever caused her to leave. He didn't think he could handle losing someone for the second time, and he was afraid of what would happen to him should something like that ever happen. Would those feelings grow stronger? He pushed those thoughts away with some difficulty. "Come on, let's head back. I'll work on this thing tomorrow." He patted the side of the plane.

"Okay." She took his hand and, together, they walked back to the almost village that was growing just a few miles away.

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**Posted 02-24-15.**


	32. Stressed Out

**Ugh, sorry this took so long... I got sick the other day. I still _am_ sick, actually.** **Bleh. **

* * *

Sonic sat back on his heels and looked with tired satisfaction at the newly repaired propeller on his plane. Without any proper tools, fixing it had taken forever. He'd come out to the lake several hours before daylight, long before even old Buck was up. He'd known ahead of time, of course, that attempting to fix any part of his small plane with his bare hands would take a while, but he'd hoped that it wouldn't take _so _long. _So much for that. _He glanced up to the sky. The sun was starting to rise now. _And all I've managed to accomplish is fixing the propeller and banging a few dents out of the stupid wing. _He glared pointlessly at the left wing of the plane, the only one of the two that wasn't smashed. The right wing was still crushed against the side of the plane. He sighed heavily and tossed up the rock he was holding in his right hand. He caught it again and looked down at it thoughtfully. _Who knew this thing would be so helpful? _It was nowhere as good as an actual tool would have been, but it was better than nothing. If nothing else, it had allowed him to fix some of those dents he'd been thinking about.

He stood then and stretched. Dropping the stone at his feet, he gave the plane one last assessing look. He wanted to keep working on it, but he knew there was no realistic way he do that. _Unless... _He looked around as a tentative thought took hold. _What if... _His brow furrowed slightly and he walked back into the woods surrounding the lake. _Maybe... _He walked for a good ten minutes or so and pushed his way through the thick plant he and Merry had walked through the day before. Once through, he looked to the right. Spotting what he was looking for, he walked over to a cluster of bushes and carefully picked up the sharp metal object he'd cut himself on when he'd tripped yesterday. He looked it over. Having not really paid much attention to how it looked before, he was a little surprised to find that the metal was damaged in a way that one of its edges were now serrated like a saw. _Well, this won't help my plane, but... It could help us get wood easier so that we can build more homes. _With that in mind, he dashed back to his plane and carefully set his find on the ground beside the stone he had dropped earlier. Still curious about his idea, he dashed back into the woods. _That saw thing won't help, but maybe I can find some other robot parts that'll help. A laser gun would be nice. Good for welding. And cutting. _

By the time the sun could be seen over the tops of the trees, he had gathered a few small things off the forest floor. By some miracle, he'd even found a screwdriver, as well a robot's severed arm. The arm would help immensely. It had taken a bit of playing around, but he'd figured out how to make it work. Bending it back into a "v" shape at its elbow, he hoped that he would be able to wedge it between the right wing of his plane and, by extending the arm, maybe pry the wing off the side of the plane. He wasn't sure how well it would work, but it was something. He dropped his finds off with the saw for now and started walking back to the village. It could hardly be referred to as such at this point, but the familiarity of the term helped people feel more comfortable and at home, so he accepted it.

On the way back, he was stopped by a familiar and unwelcome sound. Just as he heard the gun being loaded, he ducked behind a tree. Bullets chewed through the wood moments later and he ducked even lower as one bullet grazed his ear, causing him to his softly in pain. As soon as there was a pause in the fire, he leaped out of his hiding place and attacked. The robot, being as badly damaged as it was already, was destroyed easily. Still, Sonic didn't like it. It was too close to the others. The idea that there may be others bothered his severely. Mind set, he went on the hunt for any other surviving robots in the area. _Why can't these things just destroy each other and save me the trouble...? _His stomach rumbled unhelpfully and his forced himself to focus on the chase and not the empty feeling that followed him around. It was a constant in his days, as commonplace as the trees. Not that that was a good thing. Still, because he was used to it, he was certain he could ignore it, drown it out with other thoughts. His will was stronger than any physical feeling, be it pain, hunger, or even exhaustion. He was sure of it. Feeling confident in himself for once, he poured on the speed.

* * *

Walking back to the village was an arduous chore. He was exhausted. There was no way he could _not _be. After all, he'd been gone for over a full day. It had been difficult work but, then again, at least everyone was safe again for now. As he neared the first of the huts in the village, he forced his heavy legs to move a bit faster. He didn't want to appear as tired as he felt. He didn't need anyone worrying about him or pitying him. He didn't want those feelings, nor did he need them. So he put on a mask and kept walking. Though he responded to a few of the first calls of greeting from the people around him, Sonic soon began to ignore them. Despite his best efforts not to show it, he really was tired. Too tired to engage in these annoying social conventions that dictated that he should speak to people when he was spoken to. One voice, however, demanded his attention.

"Oh, Mr. Sonic!"

He blinked in surprise when a small body suddenly slammed into him full-force, nearly knocking him off his feet; an impressive feat in most cases, but not when he was so tired and hungry. He frowned when he realized his fur was getting wet. "Merry? What's wrong?" She didn't respond and just continued to cry. Though he was uncomfortable, he allowed himself to gently hug her back. "Merry, why are you crying?"

"Y-You were gone for so-so long!" she sobbed into his fur, still clutching at him tightly.

"You know I go run around for a while sometimes," he replied bemusedly. He wasn't sure exactly why this was causing her so much distress, and he hoped that, whatever the reason was, thy could get it resolved, and soon. He really hated it when people cried.

"I thought you were never coming back!" she wailed.

"Why would you thi-" He froze, his eyes going wide, as he was suddenly forcefully reminded of what had happened on South Island the last time he'd seen her. Finding her in the burning house, trying to find her mother but never succeeding, leaving her in a cave full of strangers, her thinking he had died in the explosion... With a heavy heart, he knelt down before her so he could hug her more properly. "I'm not going anywhere, Merry. I promise. I'm staying right here."

* * *

**Posted 02-27-15.**


	33. Discovery

**I think I finally kicked this illness's but. Hopefully I'll be able to start updating more regularly now. Enjoy. **

* * *

Sonic was glad to see that the tools he'd found were being put to good use. The piece of metal with the serrated edges like a saw, an actual saw once attached to a robot's arm, several small screwdrivers and hammers, some nails that were damaged but still usable, rope, wire... the list went on and on. He'd had to travel far to find it all, but it was more than worth it. It made the process of building decent homes that much easier. And with the first rain they'd seen since South Island pouring down onto their heads from above, shelter was needed more than ever. With that in mind, Sonic raced off on search of anything more that could help. Merry hadn't wanted him to go, but she understood why he needed to. He'd promised not to be gone too long, anyway. And, with any luck, the task of helping Rosaline and Buck pass out food would keep her too distracted to allow for any worrying. _Hopefully. _

His feet splashed through puddles of mud as large as his plane and he grimaced as the cold wetness seeped into his shoes. He hated getting wet. He wished for the second time that day that he could find an umbrella out here. Not that it would help much, since he was running and all. He blinked rapidly as a particularly large couple of droplets hit his eyes and blurred his vision. Too late, he cleared it. The ground vanished from under him. Several feet behind him was a cliff that he hadn't noticed. A couple thousand feet below him was the ground. _Crap! _He felt none of the panic he probably should have. A moment's dismay passed through him, but that was it. Too many times he'd been placed in life-or-death situations. Too many times to keep being afraid. Curling into a ball, he propelled himself forward and grabbed at the rocks jutting out from the cliff face. He'd already fallen a few hundred feet or so, and the momentum caused him to slide down a bit, scraping his hands on the rough stone. He winced and gritted his teeth as he struggled to slow his descent by digging in his fingers and his feet. When he finally came to a halt, he opened his eyes and looked down.

The land was still so far away that even the shimmering lake below looked like little more than a distant puddle. Turning his gaze upward, he quickly came to the conclusion that there was no real way for him to climb back up. He'd been lucky to find a few hand and foot holes here, but most of the rest cliff face was smooth and unmarred by projections or indentations. A heavy sigh escaped his lips. His mind raced. What to do? There were only two options. Try to climb and end up falling, or... _Or let myself fall. _He closed his eyes and slowly leaned his forehead against the stone. His heart pounded. Adrenaline rushed through him. No, he wasn't scared. Not this time. If anything, he was... _excited. _His grip on the rocks loosened. Breathlessly, he allowed himself to fall backward and down, quickly descending into a free-free fall he now had no way of stopping. The excitement in him grew. This was fun, surprisingly enough. Still, his mind shouted warnings, reminding him that if he didn't do something soon, he would end up killing himself on the landing. He angled himself so that his head was pointing downward and aimed for the lake he'd seen before. All he could do was hope that it was deep enough. It was the only chance he had.

Seemingly only seconds later, he hit the water with enough force to break bones. And yet, he felt no pain. Only the lingering thrill and the incessant pounding of his excited heart. His breath came in short pants when he breached the surface. His body trembled. A smile pulled at his lips. That had been _fun_. The first real fun he'd had in a terribly long time. It was a wonderful feeling. Wonderful enough that he didn't even mind being in a huge body of water right now. At this moment, all that mattered was that he'd found something in his life that wasn't bleak, depression, miserable, anger-inducing, hateful, or so on. He'd found a few things, in fact. Merry, Buck, Rosaline, his plane, and now this. His smile widened and he ducked back under the surface to retrieve the shoe that had slipped off his foot when he'd hit the water. It didn't take long to locate it. Holding his breath, he slipped it back on with both hands and started to swim back up. He barely got a few centimeters up before he stopped, his feet and arms ceasing their movement. After a moment's hesitation, he swam back down to the muddy expanse of ground where his shoe had been sitting and stared into the darkness a good distance ahead. His good mood vanished. Seriousness overwhelmed all other feeling. He swam forward.

Soon darkness gave way to to a sort of murky light that still wasn't bright enough for him to make out any great detail. Still, he knew what he was looking at. A giant metal arm, it's palm upraised and its fingers relaxed, rested in the muck before him. At its end was the machine it was attached to. The screens he remembered, the very same ones that had shown the beginnings of the chaos above, were still attached, though they were damaged beyond repair. Several were almost completely shattered. The spherical cockpit of sort in which his enemy had once sat remained enclosed, though one side seemed to have been largely destroyed by some sort of devastating impact. Inside was a large form clothes in bright red and yellow with glasses too small and boots too large. None of the joy or relief he should have felt entered his heart then. All he felt was a wave of nothingness that threatened to drown out the good feelings he always tried to cling to in times like these. Eager to escape, he swam to the surface.

* * *

**Posted 03-02-15.**


	34. You Earned It

**TIME SKIP! This one's pretty significant. Enjoy!**

* * *

Sonic walked slowly through the large town, his wandering eyes taking in everything with great care. He hadn't been here in many years. The surrounding landscape still looked largely the same, a huge valley surrounded by mountains and hills, but the town itself was new. It used to be just a collection of shabby huts that then became a decent village. That was how it had looked the last time he'd been here. He had aged a little since then, but not much. His gaze was caught by a pair of balloons bouncing merrily down the road as the child who held them walked by. Bright red and yellow snagged his thoughts, threatened to make him think of something, no, some_one_, he hadn't thought about in a long time, but he stifled the thought under another, less painful one. _I'm finally twelve. _Sometimes he wished he didn't age so slowly. If he didn't, then he wouldn't have outlived everyone he'd once known. _That_ thought evoked a slew of memories and he permitted them for now. Today was a day of remembrance. Today was the anniversary of their meeting, her marriage.

He remembered quite clearly being woken up in the woods by an unknown man with bright red fur and a brown cowboy hat. He remembered their conversation, how he'd reacted with such an attitude to the man's inquiries. He remembered how the man, whom he later learned was nicknamed Knuckles, had quickly become his friend. He remembered the adventures they'd gone on, sneaking into bases, destroying robots, saving people and animals alike, visiting floating islands in the sky, searching for lost gems of incredible power... He also remembered his friend's death. Though the memory of that day was painful beyond words, he allowed it to remain. He'd come to terms with it a long time ago. It hadn't been easy, but he was grateful that he could think about his friend without being overwhelmed with pain. He hoped Knuckles, or Locke, rather, was still smiling, wherever he had gone after death.

He also remembered a small bunny girl who, much like him, had lost everything. And she'd had so much more to lose... Her friends, her home, her school, her mother... she'd lost it all. And yet, she always met each day with a smile. She never wanted anyone to die or get hurt, but she was always one of the first to put herself on the line for the sake of others. Though not physically strong, she had always been strong in her own way. She had never ceased to brighten his days. She too had been one of his best friends. Then she'd grown up. They never stopped being friends, but their lives drifted apart. And now she was married. He didn't know where she lived now, or if she was still alive. After all, he really had no idea how long bunnies lived. Still, wherever she was, he hoped she was happy.

Looking up at the sky, he indulged in a small smile as the bright afternoon sun warmed his face. He hoped they were both very happy, wherever they were. Because, for the first time in forever, he knew _he_ was.

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**I don't know how I feel about this chapter. It's nice, but I can't shake the feeling that it could be better. Still, this is what I came up with. I hope you enjoyed. Posted 03-03-15.**


	35. Nothing Special

**This chapter is based loosely on the song "Superman" by Five for Fighting. I grew up with this song and listening to it last night inspired me. Enjoy!**

* * *

As much as Sonic loved the rush of a free fall, he didn't think he could stand the thought of truly flying. Optimistic though he was at times, he wasn't naive enough to think that he could handle such a power. In all honesty, he was pretty sure he would kill himself if he attempted such a thing, even if he did, by some miracle, have the ability to fly.

He wasn't quite sure why these adventurous moments always seemed to turn into pointless soul-searching. He knew who he was, inside and out. It was _other_ people who were mixed up. Few really knew who he was anymore. Many dismissed his name as mere myth or legend. "Sonic" was a hero who had once defeated a tyrant and helped restore civilization in the aftermath of what was known as the Great Cataclysm. That was all he was anymore. And yet, he was _more_ than that. He _knew_ it was true, even if they didn't. He was a hero, yes. However, he was also kid. He was a runner, a reader, an engineer, a pilot, a friend, an ally, a best man, a fighter, a thrill-seeker, a rescuer, an explorer, an adventurer, a defender... He was so much more than just the name people mentioned once in a while when reciting the old stories from nearly a hundred years ago. And yet they would never know it. They had a misconception about him, that that young hero was all he was, all he had ever been, and all he would ever be. He almost hated being him sometimes. Correcting them would be tiresome, but leaving them be was going to drive him insane.

His fall ended abruptly when he caught himself hard on an almost impossibly thick tree branch attached to a very old tree. This tree was one of the ones he remembered from back in the Dark Days, the two years immediately following the Cataclysm. Back then there had been little if any sunlight and, while life was beginning anew in the darkness, food had been relatively scarce. During such times, it occasionally became too much. Sometimes he had needed to escape, go somewhere else to be alone to deal with his feelings. Yes, he remembered this tree well. He swung himself up so that he was standing on the branch before jumping nimbly down in a series of short hops using the lower branches almost like stairs. Once his feet were on solid ground, he began to run.

Sometimes, during those terrible days of long ago, he had wished that he could cry. It was a natural outlet for one's emotions that he hadn't possessed in a long time back then, and even more so now. He hadn't cried in god knew how long. Because of it, he'd had to try to find other ways to deal with his feelings. Thinking, punching trees, running, jumping off cliffs and letting himself fall... None of it had really helped and, no matter what he said, he could never really find a way to convince people that he was okay. Merry, Buck, Rosaline, Talbot, Chelsea, Mark, Antoine... they had all worried about him, but he hadn't wanted them to. He would much rather have them worry about each other than him. He didn't like being taken care of. Taking care of others, however, was something he never had a problem with doing. They weren't the only ones to ever care, he knew. Locke had once as well. He had even gone so far as to call Sonic his kid. That meant more than the world to the young hedgehog and he smiled softly to himself. He hoped they were all sleeping soundly tonight, whether it was in bed or in the sky. He just hoped they were at peace. He almost felt silly for thinking such things, but he allowed the thought to slip by without acknowledgement. It wasn't silly, wishing his friends peace, he decided.

His feet sped up until he was racing through the woods as fast as he could go. Taking the shortest route possible, he ran back up the side of the mountain whose peak he had jumped off of not terribly long before. A shrill scream caused him to wince, his ears flattening against his head momentarily, but it also gave away the location of the one he was chasing. He rushed forward and jumped off a steep ledge without a moment's hesitation. He shot downward like an arrow and, seconds later, snatched up a small body in his arms. In a series of quick, yet careful movements, he managed to land safely back on the loose rocks that covered much of the mountain. It crunched softly under his feet and he placed the child back on _his_ feet as well. The boy sniffled. "T... Thanks..." he mumbled.

Sonic nodded. "You okay?"

Wide blue eyes met his in dismay. "I-I think so."

"Were are your parents?"

"I... They're at home. I... kind of... ran away."

Sonic snorted almost derisively. "That was stupid." The boy looked utterly scandalized, so Sonic gentled his tone somewhat. "You're parents are there to take care of you. They love you and would do anything for you. Why would you run away?"

The boy shrugged, looking down in shame. "I don't know."

"Yes you do."

"I was mad, I guess."

"That's not a good reason." This kid had what Sonic had never had, real, _actual_ parents, and yet he was willing to throw it away because h got mad. Sonic almost hated it. He huffed at the boy's expression. "It ain't my place to punish you or anything, but listen here. Running away is a _bad_ thing. You almost killed yourself just now." He knelt to catch the child's skittish gaze and asked softly, "What if I hadn't been here? What do you think would have happened if you had really been alone when you fell?"

Just like that, the boy's countenance faded and he dissolved into tears. He threw himself into Sonic arms, sobbing loudly. "I'm sorry!" he wailed. "I'm so-orry!"

Sonic did his best to soothe the distraught child, but he didn't really know what to say. He was still uncomfortable around people, especially when they were crying. _I'm just an ordinary kid... mostly. Why do I always have to deal with this? _People thought that there was something special about him that made him able to care for others so deeply it almost hurt, but really, he was just winging it most of the time. It wasn't like there was anyone to teach his about this stuff. Finally, he cleared his throat a bit, uncomfortably, and pulled back a little. "Where do you live? I'm taking you home."

The boy hiccuped an address and he nodded, picking the boy up piggy-back style and running to the nearby town. He was surprised the kid had gotten so far. The town was over three miles away. Of course, to Sonic the Hedgehog, those three miles were _nothing_. They reached the village in minutes. It would have been faster without the passenger; then he would have been able to go top speed without worrying. He began running through the streets. The parents were probably hysterical. Soon they found themselves at the orange front door of a small house near the center of town. He carefully set the kid down and, holding his hand, knocked twice on the door. A cautious man answered. "Yes?"

Sonic jerked his head to the kid. "He yours?"

The man gasped and a strained cry escaped the woman standing behind him. Together they rushed out to smother the child. Their love was obvious, and Sonic was glad he hadn't been wrong in the assumption that they cared deeply for the boy. The man looked up, at him a few moments later almost as though he had forgotten Sonic existed. Which was fine, by Sonic's book. "Who are you?"

"Doesn't matter." _Just a guy in red shoes. _

"How can we ever thank you?" The woman asked, tears of relief and joy streaming down her cheeks.

_You already have. _In their actions and feelings, he saw Merry's dream being lived out. She had wanted everyone to love and care for each other, no matter who they were, no matter what happened. It was something she would probably have even been willing to die for, had the situation ever called for it. "Doesn't matter," he replied again. "Just... never stop caring about him." With that, he turned and ran off into the distance.

* * *

**Posted 03-04-15.**


	36. Extreme

**A bit of a time skip. Nothing much. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Is that supposed to be a skateboard?"

Sonic glanced up. "No."

"It won't go anywhere without wheels."

"I told you, it's not a skateboard."

"Well it looks like one."

"Doesn't mean it is."

"It looks like one."

"And _you_ look like molding cheese. Doesn't mean that's what you are." Sonic took only a small amount of satisfaction in the anger that showed on the young bird's face. His green feathers and bright yellow beak reminded him too much of someone he'd once known, a strong, proud, arrogant man he'd met back during the Dark Days. Still, this kid wasn't him, so Sonic buried some of his anger.

He was surprised when the kid suddenly smiled. "My dad," he said suddenly, "used to tell me you had an attitude."

Sonic frowned, suspicion rising to the surface. "How would he know?"

"He knew you. Sort of."

"I doubt it."

"It's true."

"I don't believe it."

"Well it's true." The two boys glared at each other before the bird finally relaxed and smirked a bit. "My name's Jet. I'm a hawk."

Sonic was silent for a moment before replying, "I'm Sonic."

Jet nodded. "Thought so."

Sonic, who had been kneeling on the ground this whole time, stood and brushed his legs off. "You're dad..." he let the sentence hang, but Jet seemed to understand the implicit request for information.

"He's a hawk, too. You knew 'im."

"I couldn't have. Back then- it was a long time ago. Maybe your if it was your grandfather-"

"No, definitely my dad-"

"I'm telling you there's no way-"

"There is-"

"But he couldn't still be alive-"

"It wasn't _that_ long ago-"

"Over two hundred years-"

"That's not that long-"

"Almost no one is still around from then-"

"Well he is." Jet crossed his arms. Stubborn.

"If its your dad-" Sonic shook his head. "He can't be."

"Ross." Sonic froze at that name. Jet looked away. "My dad. His name is Ross."

Sonic didn't know what to say to that, so he opted for the most logical response. "He couldn't have lived this long."

"We're not regular birds," Jet said. "We're like... descendants of an alien race or something like that. We live really long."

Sonic had heard stories, back on South Island, of a race of aliens becoming stranded on this world and being forced to live here. Stories or not, he had always known that they were true. He just hadn't actually met anyone from that family line before. "Jet, huh?"

"Yeah. It sounds strong. That's why it's my name." Jet scuffed his shoe in the dirt. "Or at least that's what my dad says."

"Your dad's a jerk."

"Yeah."

"How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"Same."

"So this board-"

"It's not a skateboard."

Jet nodded. "What's it do?"

"It flies," Sonic replied simply.

Jet looked down at the unassuming light blue and white metal. "Flies?"

Sonic sighed "Well, it's supposed to."

"It doesn't work?"

"I tried testing it. It stopped working really quick."

"Maybe if you have it run on something other than electricity?"

Sonic's frowned thoughtfully. "It'd have to be easy to find."

"Easy to get."

"Something I can get anywhere-"

"For free-"

"Without help-"

"So it won't stop working when your high up-"

Sonic's eyes widened at the same time Jet's did. "Like air!" he exclaimed.

Jet grinned. "Yeah! That would be great! You'd never run out-"

"I'd never have to worry about falling out of the sky-"

"If you go faster you get more air-"

"It's perfect!" they exclaimed together.

Jet grinned wider at him. "You should call it something," he decided. "Like Air Gear."

"No, I don't want people knowing what it runs on," Sonic replied with a shake of his head. "What if some enemy decides to try to use that knowledge against me?"

"Flying Gear?"

"Metal Gear."

"Awesome Gear."

"Epic Gear?"

"Extreme Gear!"

"Extreme Gear?"

"Yeah! It sounds cool!"

Sonic grinned down at his board. It _did_ sound pretty cool. All that was left now was fixing the way his Extreme Gear worked. _Having it run on air... He's smarter than I would've given him credit for. _Picking the hunk of metal up off the ground, it occurred to Sonic that he may have just... made a friend.

* * *

**Posted 03-05-15.**


	37. The Blue Blur

**Something happened and the original got messed up! I had to retype and repost it. Anyway, as I said before, this is in a different point of view, there was another time skip, and Sonic's adventures with Jet are a mystery for a reason. Also, this version is different from the original. Perhaps better. Enjoy!**

* * *

Practiced hands carefully removed a light green wire and set down a pair of pliers, picking up a set of precision tools in its place. Fingers chose one, replaced the others on the table, and deftly set about repairing a different wire surrounded by metal and other wires. A small flame emitted from the end of the tool. One slip up and everything could be ruined. Careful. Careful. Oh, so careful...

A loud banging made him jump. He dropped his tool. The flame went out. He didn't even get a chance to see what sort of damage he had caused. "Hey Tails! Are you in here?"

He sighed and slid down off of his stool. He stooped for a moment, grabbed his tool, and placed it back on his work table before walking to the single door, his twin tails moving as he went. He opened the door. "Where else would I be, Amy?" he asked with a sigh.

She shrugged at him, looking completely unapologetic. "I don't know."

"You almost made me ruin my project."

"You're always working, anyway."

"I _like_ working."

"You need to get out more." She grabbed his hand. "Come on, walk with me for a while. Please?" When he hesitated, she huffed at him. "Come on, the fresh air will do you some good. How long has it been since you've been outside?"

He had hoped that the question was rhetorical, but she seemed to be expecting an answer. He sighed again. "Three."

"See? You need this. Come on."

He reluctantly let her drag him outside and shut the door behind them. Living out in the woods like he did, he left his door unlocked. There was really no one here to steal from him. For that matter... "Amy, how did you _get_ here?" he asked. Usually the only time he saw her, or anyone really, was when he spent a few days in the city buying supplies and food and whatnot. She'd visited him out her before, but that was only when he'd flown here out here in his small plane. The small plane which, after only six uses, had exploded. It had been quite the fireball.

"I rode with a friend to the village on the other side of your lake first," she replied, pointing to the sparkling, shimmering water he lived by.

"It's not mine, you know," he informed her.

She waved him off and continued. "After that, I just walked. It isn't _that_ far."

"A couple miles."

"Exactly. Now let's get going. It's a beautiful morning. It's nice and cool, not too bright, there are no clouds... It's the perfect day for a walk in the woods!"

He followed her without comment, his ears and tails drooping somewhat. _I don't want to be out here, _he thought almost childishly. _I want to fix my plane. _As they walked, birds chirped amongst themselves in the trees, squirrels chattered, water from streams and creeks gurgled and bubbled, leaves rustled, grass shifted, breezes whispered... Gradually, he allowed himself a small smile. _Maybe this is a good idea. Today __is__ a nice day._

Amy's eyes widened suddenly and she turned to him. "Oh my gosh, I just realized! I missed your birthday, didn't I?"

"It's no big deal," he assured her. He wasn't about to tell her that he'd forgotten, too. Of course, that had been a while ago. But still.

"Of course it is!" she exclaimed. He shrugged and she asked, "So how old are you?"

"Fourteen," he replied. "And your birthday was last month, right?"

"Yup," she answered with just a hint of pride. "I'm sixteen."

"I don't see why that's such a big deal," he said.

"It just is, trust me," she told him.

Nearly twenty minutes of peaceful silence followed. Amy seemed content with it, but Tails was growing restless. "I want to go back."

"Already?"

"It's been almost a half hour. Isn't that long enough?"

"You really are impatient."

"No! I just want to work on plane, that's all."

She sighed. "Alright, fine. Let's get going, then." They turned and continued walking. He hoped she was leading him home. "How long have you been working on that thing?"

"A few months," he replied immediately.

"Why don't you just buy a replacement?" she asked. "They do sell planes, you know."

"I built it from scratch," he said. "I can't just buy a replacement."

"You may as well," she responded.

He shook his head. "No. The planes they sell are awful. They don't last that long, aren't very fast, _loo__k_ awful, and can't withstand any sort of impact. I'd rather build my own."

She shrugged. "Your loss."

"How is it a loss?" he frowned.

"It's your time you'll be wasting."

"It's not a waste."

"If you say so."

"Well, I do."

They fell silent after that and Tails gradually began to realize that he didn't recognize this section of the forest at all. "Hey, Amy?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you _sure_ you know where we're going?"

"Of course I do."

"But I think we might be-"

"No," she cut him off. "We're not lost."

"Can't I just fly up real quick and look?" he asked.

"And leave me all alone down here?" she replied. "No way."

"But I'll just be real quick..." he mumbled.

"We're not lost," she insisted.

"But if I can just look real quick-" he started to say.

"Alright, fine," she agreed. "Just don't take too long." She cast a worried glance around. "This place gives me the creeps. I feel like I'm being watched."

He nodded. He felt it too. It was part of the reason he was so anxious to get home. His twin tails started spinning and he rose quickly off the ground. Once he was high enough, he covered his face with his arms to prevent his face from getting scraped up by the thin, leaf-covered branches he was flying through. Once he broke free, he looked around. His eyes widened in dismay. At first, he couldn't see the lake he lived by. When he finally spotted it, it was just a small blue circle in the distance. _How did we get so far away? _He started to lower himself back down toward the tops of the trees when a thunderous roar and a wave of intense heat closely followed by a fierce rush of wind made him freeze. He barely managed to force his tails to spin before he started to fall and whirled around. Fire consumed the trees less than a mile or two away. Smoke billowed into the sky. His eyes widened and his heart started to pound. He dropped back down to the ground.

Amy stood there with her arms crossed, waiting for him. "So much for 'real quick'," she complained.

"Amy, we've gotta go!" he said urgently.

"What?" she asked, surprised by the fear in his voice and expression. "Why?"

"There was an explosion!" he exclaimed.

"Is _that_ what that sound was?" she asked, eyes growing wide.

"_Yes_!" he replied. "Come on! Let's go!"

"Chill out, Tails!" she all but snapped. "So what if there was an explosion? It's not like it was near us. We're not in immediate danger, are we?"

"Yes we _are_!" he insisted.

Her arms crossed and she frowned in irritation at him. "How?" she challenged.

Tails's heart pounded painfully hard in his chest. Fear made his limbs tremble. His lower lip quivered. He'd seen a nightmare, and that was far more terrifying than any old story. "In the fire," he said slowly, fighting to keep his voice steady, "I saw something. I... I think it was a robot."

"That's impossible," she argued, though fear began to color her voice as well. "They were destroyed centuries ago by some kid and the guy who built them died."

"I know it _seems_ impossible, but obviously it's _not_," he argued back. He needed her to understand, and fast. _If I really did see a robot... then we're in far greater danger than we've ever been in before._

Amy started to argue further when a new sound interrupted her. Tails's eyes widened at what he saw behind her and she spun around to look. Slowly, her eyes widened as well. A large, hulking form stood mostly covered in shadows. The darkness only heightened the ominous, foreboding, and frankly terrifying appearance of it. Everything suddenly seemed to go in slow motion. An arm lifted, pointed at Amy's head. A gun was loaded. Tails was sure she would have been shot... had a blue blur not slammed into the robot at exactly the right moment.

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**I am SO sorry this took so long to repost. Posted 03-10-15.**


	38. Chance Encounter

**The last chapter (for now) in Tails's point of view.**

* * *

Tails watched in shock as a blue hedgehog (a breed he had _thought_ had died out many, many years ago) landed lightly on his feet just seconds before leaping into the air, curling into a tight ball, and slamming into the robot again. This time he tore through it like it was nothing, and Tails's eyes grew impossibly wide. _A... Amazing...! _he thought. _But... how? How did he do that? _It shouldn't have been possible... but years of scientific study had taught him never to truly believe that something was impossible, no matter how improbable it was. _After all... we built robots and the first planes back when technology was such an odd new thing that even the wildest of imaginations could barely picture it. _He shook these thoughts away as their savior stood and turned to them. Bright emerald eyes glanced over them quickly.

"You two okay?" he asked.

He was remarkably calm, considering the circumstances, and Tails took comfort in that fact. _He's just like a real hero. _He remembered then that they had been asked a question and nodded hastily. "Y-yes! We're fine. Thank you."

"Oh, yes, thank you!" Amy stammered belatedly.

The hedgehog nodded and one of his ears twitched tellingly. He turned his head slightly to the right. "You should get out of here," he said, no longer looking at them.

"There are more?" Amy asked, despair coloring her voice.

"A lot more," he replied. His calm expression had become more serious, a frown appearing on his face.

_Where are they all coming from? _Tails almost unconsciously hugged his twin tails close to his chest for comfort. _They shouldn't even be here. _He was about to take the stranger's advice and take Amy and run when a loud sound from behind said stranger caught his attention.

The hedgehog whirled around to face the robots that had suddenly dropped down onto the ground from out of nowhere. With a small "Tch," he jumped up and curled into a ball as he had before, slamming into them all in rapid succession, moving so fast all Tails could see was a streak of blue light.

Amy took cover behind a tree not far behind the young fox, but Tails hesitated. He wanted to help. He didn't know why, but he did. He'd never had an interest in fighting before, but somehow, seeing this stranger risking his life to fight for them stirred something inside of him. _I want to help. _The last robot was soon destroyed, but in an unexpected turn of events, it exploded. Tails realized too late that it had probably had a bomb planted in it, judging by the size of the explosion. The hedgehog was sent flying high into the sky, and Tails gasped in alarm. His Tails began spinning rapidly and he launched himself into the air, flying as fast as he could. Moments later, his hands grabbed another pair of hands. "Gotcha!" he exclaimed triumphantly.

The hedgehog's head turned up and those emerald eyes met his. A smirk spread across the stranger's face. "Thanks."

Tails smiled. "I guess we're even now."

"I guess so," he agreed, looking down. He didn't seem bothered by the height, which made Tails's job easier. He knew from experience that having a panicky passenger made flying very difficult.

"I'm Tails," he said for no reason at all. He somehow doubted that this person cared what his name was, but another smirk changed his mind.

"My name's Sonic."

* * *

**Posted 03-12-15.**


	39. The Name of a Hero

**This chapter isn't exclusively in Tail's point of view, but there is one part that is in his point of view. Enjoy!**

* * *

The young fox, Tails, set Sonic down on the ground safely a minute or so after their brief introduction, and Sonic was relieved to see that the girl was unharmed. In fact, she had come out from behind her tree and was looking around. One of her ears twitched ever so slightly in a similar way to how his did at times. She met his gaze worriedly. "I don't hear anything," she murmured. "I can't tell if they're gone."

"They are," he assured her distractedly. _But who in the hell built them? _He'd dealt with Robotnik impostors and and admirers before, and all of them had built their own robots. Some had been so close to the real thing it had actually freaked him out a bit initially. However, each person and their bots were easily dealt with. It never took longer than maybe a month to track down all the robots, destroy them, and defeat their creators. However, these robots were... different. They were stronger, faster, more intelligent, more high-tech... They were nothing like the fakes he'd fought in the past. So what were they?

"How can you tell?" Tails asked, pulling Sonic from his thoughts for now.

"I just can," he replied. "Trust me." He was surprised at how easily the fox seemed to accept this, but he wasn't complaining. It made it easier, not having to try to explain everything. Glancing at them, he advised, "You two should probably head home."

The girl frowned. "I thought you said the robots were gone."

"They are," he reminded her, "but they might come back."

"Why should we trust you?" she demanded.

That comment reminded him a lot of himself when he was younger and he frowned. "Do what you want," he told her, "but I wouldn't recommend staying out here." He turned to leave, intent on tracking down the one who had built these robots, when Tails's voice stopped him.

"Wait!" he cried. Sonic turned around to look at him. Tails looked down at his shuffling feet, suddenly seeming nervous. "Can you... come with us?" Sonic blinked. "It's a lot to ask, but we got lost walking this morning, which is how we got all the way out here, and we live so far away..."

Sonic thought quickly. After a moment, he nodded. "Where do you live?"

"By that lake to the west," Tails replied, his expression brightening with a smile.

Sonic nodded again. He knew the place. He'd been there before, years ago. "Alright. Let's go, then."

They began walking, and almost immediately Tails resumed talking. "I'm sorry to ask this of you," he mumbled.

"It's fine," Sonic said simply. He didn't mind, really, and Tails seemed to understand that.

"I don't even know how we got so lost in the first place," Tails muttered.

"This forest has a way of doing that to people," Sonic replied with a shrug. They didn't ask fr more information, so he didn't give it. Explaining would take a tiresome number of words, anyway.

The girl moved so that she was walking by his right side, opposite of Tails. "Say, where did _you_ come from, anyway?" she asked, curiosity filling her eyes and voice. "Do you live around here?"

"No," he responded.

"Where _do_ you live, then?" she asked.

"Nowhere, really," he replied honestly.

"Really?" She sounded surprised.

"Yes," he responded shortly.

"But how can you stand not having a house and a bed and all those things?" she all but demanded.

"I'm used to it," he shrugged. It was true, at least.

"How can you possibly be used to it? Once you've lived in a house once-" she started to say.

"I did, but it _was_ only once," he cut in, suddenly feeling irritated, perhaps because he simply didn't want to remember. "And that was a long time ago."

"It couldn't have been that long," she retorted. "You look like you're only a year older than me, in our years."

"I'm seventeen," he told her.

"I'm sixteen," she replied. "See? I was right."

Sonic huffed lightly, partly out of amusement, partly out of annoyance, and returned his gaze forward. _First she didn't trust me, and now she's asking all these questions... _He'd forgotten how taxing it was to be around people for an extended period of time. So much talking was required... He was used to being just by himself and, as such, not speaking for weeks and sometimes even months at a time. This was the most he'd spoken to anyone in quite a while.

"Say, Sonic?" Tails asked.

He glanced at the fox. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for doing this."

Sonic allowed himself a small smirk. "No problem, Tails."

About an hour later, the lake finally came into view. Sonic quickly spotted Tails's little home, with the much larger workshop attached to it. Though Sonic was curious, he had no intentions of going inside. So, when Tails offered to let him do just that, Sonic declined. "I've got things to take care of," he explained.

Tails smiled. "Okay. Be careful."

Sonic smirked again and winked. "Aren't I always?" Then, without another word, he turned and disappeared back into the woods so fast that Tails blinked and he was simply... _gone_.

With a gasp, the young fox cub turned his wide-eyed gaze on Amy, who wore a similar expression. "Did you... _see_ that?" he asked quietly.

"I... I don't know," she responded slowly. Her gaze traveled just as slowly back to the spot where Sonic had just been standing. "That sort of speed shouldn't be possible..."

"But... it is."

"Obviously." Tails swallowed hard and Amy sighed. "Well Tails, I'm going home. Today has been weird and tiring and frightening and I just want to lay down and read a good book in bed, you know?"

"Yeah. See you, Amy."

"Bye."

Tails walked inside his home and closed the door. His brow creased in thought. _Read... a book. _His eyes widened and he gasped. Running into his bedroom, he grabbed a book off of his shelf. The book was very old and dusty from having not been read in quite some time, but he paid no attention to the dust as he opened the cover and riffled through the yellowing pages quickly, yet carefully. _I thought his name sounded familiar... Here!_ He read quickly out loud to himself. "...'That hero's name was Sonic the Hedgehog, friend and defender of all things Merry and happy, fighter of all things evil and Robotik, savior of the world...'"

* * *

**Posted 03-13-15.**


	40. Trinket

**Nothing important to impart this time. Enjoy.**

* * *

Sonic couldn't say how he felt about these big cities. He stood within a tide of moving people and vehicles, gazing about in mild wonder. Of course, he'd seen cities before and all, but there was just something that would forever be odd about them. He remembered a time when the only telephone poles had been in Robotnik's bases, devices used to allow his robots to communicate with each other. He remembered a time when the only vehicles people had were planes and, in Robotnik's case, giant airships. Now there were cars and bikes and trains and ships... Small wooden boats had existed in the past, but the modern day equivalent made those seem like flimsy canoes rather than boats. Yet another large crowd of people swarmed around him, and he tensed uncomfortably. Only when they were past did he release release the breath he had been holding. _I wouldn't be here if I didn't have to be. _He crossed the street he'd been standing by and headed toward a small store on the corner. _I'll just get the parts I need and go. Just like always. _But, before that, he had another stop to make.

The door to the store on the corner opened with a small jingle as the bell hung above it was moved. A raspy voice met his ears. "Oh, Sonic! So good to see you!"

"Hey, old man," Sonic replied. Despite his rather rude sounding name for the elderly feline, there was a certain affection in his voice that let the man know that Sonic was happy to see him as well.

"What brings you here?" Green eyes squinted through half-moon lenses at Sonic's face. "If I recall, you don't frequent the cities."

"I was around," Sonic replied vaguely. "Thought I'd drop by." He glanced around at the various trinkets and tokens on display throughout the store. "Any business, lately?"

"About the same as usual." The old man's eyes twinkled suddenly. "Why? Looking to buy?"

Sonic laughed. "You never change, old man."

"Nor do you," the cat laughed back. "Still broke, eh?"

"'Course. Not like I have a job," Sonic pointed out.

"You do," the man countered.

"Hardly," Sonic retorted, expression growing sour for a brief moment.

"You did," the old man amended.

"It could hardly be counted as an occupation," Sonic muttered. "And that was also a long time ago."

"And yet, you did it anyway," the man responded, ignoring Sonic's last sentence.

Sonic didn't reply to that. At least, not outwardly. _Of course I did. Who else would have? _He could only think of a few people. Most others wouldn't have, or couldn't have. He shook his head and pushed those thoughts away and looked around while the old man occupied himself by counting the money he had received through some recent purchase. There were many things on display today. Old photos, old watches and gadgets, old jewelry... everything here was old. It was part of the reason Sonic loved this shop so much. He continued looking around, and suddenly, something caught his eye. He walked over to a basket full of small objects and picked up one that was half buried under a few bead bracelets. He immediately tensed and his grip on the object tightened. In his hands was a brown, square, watch-like object with an equally brown leather strap. It's screen was green with a yellow grid of squares covering it, intended to locate the one other device just like this one. The name carved into its underside made his heart pound and his grip tightened even further. Struggling to keep his voice steady, he turned back to the front desk. "Old man... can I have this?"

* * *

**Posted 03-13-15.**


	41. Making Friends

**Nothing important to impart this time. Enjoy!**

* * *

After his brief stop at the corner shop, Sonic went to a large store that sold machine parts. He jut needed a few things. As per usual, he paid for them through work. By the end of the day, he had the wires and bolts he needed. He ran quickly out of the city, eager to escape its crowded confines. Feet pounding on the ground, he ran into the woods... only to slam into something incredibly hard. Tumbling backward and rolling, he eventually managed to come to a stop in the dirt. "Ow... What the heck?" Emerald eyes glared at the large rock he'd hit. "Guess that's what I get for not paying attention..." he muttered. Sighing, he stood, brushed himself off, and resumed his run through the trees. He had just about reached his destination when, for the second time that day, something hard hit him. Only, this time, _he_ didn't hit it. _It _hit _him_. The two small baggies he held in one hand containing the wires and bolts were sent flying as he hit his stomach so hard the wind was knocked out of him. _Seriously? _he thought irritably, jumping to his feet and whirling around. What he saw made him tense.

The robot was an _exact_ replica of one he'd fought in the past. It was a large orange thing with a dome-shaped head and large fists. Yes, it looked exactly like the one's he'd fought before. Back during the chaos of Robotnik's final mad attack on the people of South Island... He vigorously shook that thought away and looked it over. _It can't be this new. And yet... _And yet, it looked as though it had only just been built. The metal shone, the paint seemed fresh, though not so fresh as to be wet, and there didn't appear to be a speck of dirt on it. _How is this possible?_

Sonic was prepared when it lunged, attacking in the _exact _same way as he remembered it used to. He jumped up into the air and, once he was above it, he curled up and slammed into it in his usual fashion. He skidded on his feet when he landed and turned slightly to watch the explosion. Turning away again, he did his best to ignore the heat of the flames. Fire would always bother him, and for obvious reasons. With a gusty sigh, he set about searching for the bags he'd lost. Shoving his way through a nearby bush, he was surprised to find himself by a familiar lake. It was the same distance from the city now as it used to be from the small village where he had spent so much time taking care of the survivors of the catastrophe. It was where he had found his plane, even after becoming convinced that it was lost forever. He allowed himself a small smirk. _It's thanks to Merry that I even found it. _He walked out of the woods and approached the spot where he had left his plane back then. _I wonder how many months I spent here, just working on that thing. _It was sure that it had been a lot, but, due to the loss of clocks and calenders and whatnot, the calculation of time back then had become much more inaccurate.

Lost in thought as he was, Sonic was startled when a now familiar voice suddenly reached his ears. "You're back!"

He jumped and turned, surprised to see Tails running up to him. _I forgot... he lives near here. This place isn't uninhabited anymore. That was stupid of me. _"Hey, Tails."

Tails smiled widely at him. "What brings you here, Sonic?" he asked as he came to stand in front of the hedgehog.

"Nothing much," he shrugged. "Just looking for a couple things I lost."

"What did you lose?"

"Some bolts and wires."

"I have some you can have, if you'd like."

Sonic weighed his options and finally nodded. "Okay, thanks."

"Sure thing," Tails replied. He turned and began leading the way to his home. As they walked, they continued to talk. "How'd you manage to lose those things, anyway?"

"Honestly?" Sonic asked. "I dropped them. Pretty clumsy of me, huh?"

"Yeah, a little," Tails laughed.

Sonic looked around, noting unnecessarily that no one else lived around here. "Why don't you live in the city?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"There isn't enough room," Tails mumbled. "For my workshop, I mean. Plus I'd have to buy the property and stuff. At least out here I can just build my own home and not have to worry about those things."

"True."

It was silent for a moment. Finally, Tails spoke. "So... is it true?"

"Is... _what_ true?" Sonic asked slowly.

"You're Sonic?" Tails asked.

"Yeah," Sonic replied, confused. Hadn't he already told him that?

"No, I mean, _the_ Sonic," Tails said.

Sonic frowned. "What do you mean '_the_ Sonic'?" he inquired cautiously.

Tails took a deep breath, then launched into his explanation. "When we met and you told me your name was Sonic, I thought it sounded familiar. So after you left, I went to my room and grabbed an old book of legends to see if I was right. And I _was_. Your name was in it."

Sonic's frown deepened somewhat. "My name... was in a book of legends?"

"Yeah," Tails nodded. "But... I'm not convinced that they're legends. At least, not all of them. Some of those stories... I think that they're history that people forgot. Including the story about you."

_History that people forgot... _Yes, people had forgotten him completely. Or, so he had thought. Was it possible that someone had remembered enough to write it down? "What story?"

"It said that you defeated Doctor Gerald Robotnik after he destroyed the ancient land mass, South Island," Tails replied. Sonic didn't reply, so Tails turned to him earnestly. "So... it is true?"

Sonic sighed heavily, allowing his eyes to drift shut for a moment. "Yes. But I hardly defeated him. He was killed in his own explosion."

"The one that destroyed the island?"

"Yeah."

The reached Tails house then, and Sonic was relieved when Tails changed the subject as they headed into the workshop. "What do you need those wires and things for, anyway?"

"Those robots from the other day, the ones that attacked you and your friend, they destroyed something," Sonic replied.

"Is _that_ what caused the explosion I saw?" Tails asked, eyes wide.

Sonic allowed himself a small laugh. "Yeah, probably. They really know how to blow stuff up."

"Guess so. How are they even here, anyway? I mean, Robotnik's dead and all..."

Sonic sighed. "I have no idea."

Tails reached into a drawer and grabbed a fistful of wires and bolts and put them in a bag. "Here," he smiled, handing them to Sonic. "And if you ever need more, just come here. I have a lot I can share."

"Thanks," Sonic replied, returning the fox's smile.

"By the way, her name is Amy."

"Huh?"

Tails smiled at him again. "That girl I was with? Her name is Amy."

"Oh." Sonic looked away. His eyes sought out the sun, checking its position and, thus, the time. "I guess I'll see you around, Tails." He turned his head back to smirk at the young fox. "Thanks again."

"No problem, Sonic!" Tails replied happily. "Don't be gone too long, okay?"

Sonic's smirk widened until he was showing teeth. "Sure." He turned and started to run... only to be stopped by a scream.

* * *

**Posted 03-15-15.**


	42. Impossibility

**Nothing important to impart this time. Enjoy!**

* * *

Sonic winced at the sheer volume of the scream and, ears flattened somewhat, he turned toward the source. Smothering a sigh, he began running. He just couldn't get a break today, could he? A voice sounded behind him unexpectedly. "Sonic, look out!" He hadn't needed the warning. He had seen the missile. Still, he listened to Tails and ducked, turning his head quickly to see that the fox had safely dodged as well. Concern abated for now, he returned to his feet and resumed his run. Another robot jumped down out of the trees and he ducked once more, kicking out hard with his right foot. It landed with a crash and he raced on, not taking the time to check if it was really down for the count. Someone was trapped in the midst of all this, and he refused to let anything happen to them. "Sonic! Up ahead! Look!"

"Tch." _A horde. Of course. Why not?_ He bit back a small growl and poured on the speed so that he was running close to his full speed. Tails quickly fell behind, but Sonic wasn't worried about him for the moment. With the way the kid could fly, a rare and useful ability, Sonic was certain he would be safe at least for now. Jumping high into the air, Sonic attacked the robots, destroying them one by one in rapid succession. As soon as there was a clear way through, he rushed forward, snatched someone whp was huddled fearfully away from a robot's grasping hands, and jumped back into the air. Far above the trees and the threat below, he glanced down to the girl in his arms. He blinked. _Amy_.

"Amy!" Tails called, flying up to them. "Sonic! You guys okay?"

"Y-Yeah..." Amy mumbled weakly, pulling her face back somewhat from where she'd had it buried in Sonic's chest. She looked up to him tearfully. "Thank you."

Sonic cleared his throat a bit, uncomfortably, and looked away. "No big deal," he replied, feigning unconcern. "Here, Tails, take her," he added as gravity started to kick in and he began to fall.

Tails nodded and carefully took Amy's hands into his own, holding her up far more easily than he should have been able to, considering his age. He was stronger than he seemed. "What about you?" he asked.

"I'll be fine." With that, Sonic curled up and, spinning rapidly, launched himself back into the fray, leaving a streak of blue light behind him as he went. Without the threat of someone other than himself getting hurt, Sonic was able to fight freely and, as such, the remaining robots were destroyed. All except for one.

Stifling a sigh of annoyance, Sonic began racing after it. _Maybe it will lead me to whoever built it, if nothing else._ He ran as fast as he could northward for a good ten minutes and, after quite a few miles, he skidded to a halt, his eyes wide. _No... This... this shouldn't be possible..._ The sun was blotted out, further adding to the feelings of horror that threatened to rise up inside of him. He gritted his teeth tightly as he glared up at the sky. As much as he wanted to go up there and get to the bottom of this, he hesitated. _What if it's really him? ...Robotnik..._ He wasn't sure he could face the man after all this time. But, as the same time, the logical part of his mind told him that there was no way Robotnik could be the one in that giant air carrier flying slowly through the sky above him right now. _So who is it, then?_

He hadn't realized how long he'd just been standing here until Tails suddenly set Amy down by his side before dropping down himself. "Sonic, is that...?" Tails whispered. Sonic just nodded, not trusting himself to speak. "So... Robotnik's back?"

"Robotnik?" Amy gasped, her eyes snapping up to the sky.

"He's not," Sonic bit out. "He's dead. I _saw_ him dead, a long time ago." Amy seemed confused as she looked into his face, and Sonic had to remind himself that she probably didn't know about the legend or whatever that told his and Robotnik's story. "Even if I'm wrong and he _wasn't_ dead then, he is now. He couldn't have lived this long."

Amy's gaze returned upward. "So... who is it, then?"

"I don't know." _But whoever it is... they really did their homework._ All the robots he saw were eerily similar to the ones he'd fought in the past. However, there were also plenty of new ones. He didn't know which bothered him more: the fact that this person was a copycat, or the fact that they were obviously capable of designing their own robots. Either way, he didn't like it.

"Sonic, you aren't going up there, are you?" Tails asked.

Sonic didn't even look at him. "I have to." _Even if he's not Robotnik, he's dangerous. I can't let him hurt anyone._

"I'm coming with you."

He glanced sharply at the young fox, somewhat surprised by the determination he saw there. Gritting his teeth harder, he looked away again. "Fine." He turned to Amy then. "And you?"

"What about me?" she asked almost defensively.

He resisted the urge to huff. "What will you do?" he clarified.

She thought about it hard, but for only a moment. "I want to help you fight, but the robots that attacked me earlier broke my hammer. I can't do much without it."

He nodded. _So I need to get her home, then._ He looked to Tails. "Tails-"

"I'll be fine here on my own for a minute," Tails interrupted. "With how fast you run, it shouldn't take much longer than that."

Sonic nodded once. "Stay out of sight."

"Hurry back."

With that, he scooped her up in his arms. "Hang on." She did as she was told without argument and he began running. "Where do you live?"

"I'm staying in the city on the opposite side of the lake from where Tails lives."

He nodded and sprinted through a small village, one of the few left these days, through another thick patch of woods with a small road for cars, over a few hills, then into the city. He'd only been to this particular city once before. It hadn't changed much since then, but he still didn't really know his way around. "Where?" he asked. It was a simple and vague question, but Amy seemed to understand.

"See that street up ahead? The one with the red car parked on the left side?" A quick glance around, then a nod. "Take a left there, then stop at the house with all the pink roses. That's where I'm staying."

He nodded once more and, following her instructions, soon had her back where she belonged. Not in the wilderness or in danger, but safe in the city with other people. Realistically, he knew that she was no weakling. He could sense her strength easily. Still, the more people he had to protect, the harder today's fight would be. It was bad enough that a kid like Tails was sticking around. Sonic had no problem with the fox in a general sense, but, while Tails was obviously highly intelligent, he was no fighter. He was strong, yes, but he wasn't one meant to fight. ... was he?

He rushed back as quickly as he could, moving so fast that he didn't even leave a streak behind him. He simply blurred from sight. He didn't dare go this fast with a passenger. In fact, he rarely went this fast to begin with. Usually, there wasn't a need for him to. Tails yelped in surprise when Sonic suddenly appeared by his side. "You're back!"

Sonic chose to ignore that comment, fixing his eyes on the airship. It had moved since he'd last seen it, but it hadn't gone far. "Did anything happen?"

"Besides a few more robots dropping down to the ground from that ship, nothing."

"How many's 'a few'?"

"About twenty."

Sonic supposed that, for him, that really was a few. He turned to look at his companion, whose presence he decided wasn't entirely unwelcome. "I'm going in."

"I'm coming with you."

Sonic nodded. He'd expected that. "Stay close."

Now it was Tails's turn to nod. "Right." Together, the rushed into the fray, neither bothering to fight the countless robots swarming around them. Each were focused solely on reaching the ship. Sonic kept his speed slow so as not to leave Tails behind, but all he really wanted to do was go full speed and wreak havoc on that stupid, _stupid_ ship and all its robots.

"Sonic, here!" Tails suddenly called. "Jump here!"

Apparently Tails hadn't forgotten how high he could jump. Sonic took a minute to consider Tails's choice before jumping. He was pleased to note that directly above him was a sturdy beam that he could grab onto, so he did just that. Tails joined him a couple of minutes later while Sonic carefully edged his way along the beam he was now standing on. "Thanks for the tip, Tails," he said, allowing himself a small smirk. Tails beamed at he implied compliment and the two soon found themselves inside.

"Wow..." Tails breathed. "This place is huge... A lot bigger than I thought it would be." He turned to Sonic then, his eyes wide in dismay. "So it really isn't Robotnik?"

Sonic shook his head. "It can't be."

Tails seemed to take come comfort in that, and they raced through the metal corridors as quickly as they could. Their progress was constantly hindered by random dead-ends, robots, traps, doors that closed and locked on their own, and so on and so forth. Sonic did his best not to let his annoyance show. This actually reminded him a lot of his first misadventure on Robotnik's first airship. That day had not been pleasant. _That was the start of everything... but it's over now. So... why do I feel like I'm having deja vu or something?_

Smashing through another robot, he and Tails suddenly found themselves in some sort of a control room. The walls were lined with computers and screens and buttons and levers and flashing green lights. On one of the screens they could see their own faces, staring in tense confusion. In the middle of it all was a large chair. The only visible portion of the person sitting in it was a pair of legs. _Large... black... ridiculous sized shoes... It can't be..._

The chair slowly turned around. "Hello, Sonic."

* * *

**Wow, this chapter was really hard to write for some reason! Anyway, I chose to leave this at a cliffhanger for a reason, so please be patient. Finally, who do you think is in the chair? Robotnik, or someone else? Posted 03-18-15.**


	43. Horrible Revelations

**Nothing important to impart this time. Enjoy.**

* * *

The fear and horror Sonic had initially felt vanished in an instant. "Who are you?" he demanded.

An evil grin spread across an equally evil face. "Why, I'm hurt! Don't you recognize your old _friend_?"

"You're _not_ him," Sonic swore vehemently. "And he was _never_ my friend."

"But... Sonic..." Tails said hesitantly. "He _does_... look like him."

He did, truthfully. Sonic acknowledged that much. However, this man was not Robotnik. The fear the hedgehog had felt was irrational. _He couldn't have lived this long. _"Who are you?" he demanded again.

The man grinned just a bit wider. His clothes, while bright red and yellow like Robotnik's, were different. He wore a bright red coat with equally bright yellow buttons of the sort on it, two on each side. His cuffs were also yellow. There were white stripes on his sides, touching each of the four buttons. Down the center of the jacket was another strip of white. There were also white ovals toward the bottom of the right and lefts sides of the jacket. His boots were as black as his pants, excluding the white buckles, and had small heels. His small blue glasses shone almost eerily. No, this man wasn't Robotnik at all, no matter how similar he looked to the dead man. And yet... "My name is Doctor Robotnik."

Tails gasped and Sonic growled. "Impossible."

"Is it really?" the supposed Doctor asked, leaning forward in his chair. "Think about it for a moment, _Sonic_."

Tails answered before Sonic could. "It _is_ impossible. Sonic saw Robotnik dead a long time ago!"

"Now, now, you didn't let me finish." The grin didn't falter even slightly. "I _am_ Robotnik, but not _the_ Robotnik." He met Sonic's smoldering gaze almost gleefully. "My name is Ivo. Doctor Ivo Robotnik." Sonic's eyes slowly widened. "I'm Gerald's grandson."

* * *

**Don't kill me for making this short, okay? Posted 03-19-15.**


	44. Trap

**Okay, so I realize my past few chapters have had quite a few mistakes, but I promise I will go through and correct them soon. Thanks _so_ much for reading and reviewing! Enjoy!**

* * *

"My name is Ivo. Doctor Ivo Robotnik. I'm Gerald's grandson."

As much as Sonic didn't want to acknowledge it, he reluctantly admitted that it was possible for this man to be telling the truth. For one thing, there was the uncanny resemblance. For another, there was the fact that man was old enough for Gerald to have legitimately been his grandfather, considering how many years ago Gerald had died. It made sense. He just didn't want it to.

Tails glared impressively for one who had more than likely never been in a fight before in his life. "So what?" he demanded. "You're going to carry on your grandfather's dark, bloody legacy or something?" Sonic privately agreed with the emotions sparking in Tails's eyes. This was just too horrible to even imagine.

"Now, now, who said I was going to do any of that?"

"Your robots were ready and more than willing to kill a harmless girl in the woods earlier," Sonic snapped. "That's proof enough."

Ivo's grin returned widely. Though the grin reminded Sonic very much of Gerald, it held none of the insanity that Gerald's grin had always had. He supposed that was comforting, if only somewhat. "It was her own fault for wandering off alone." Sonic growled and Ivo continued as though Sonic had done nothing at all. "I must say, I'm not at all surprised to see you here."

"And why is that?" Sonic asked, his tone growing bored. Too much talking, not enough action...

"I have studied my grandfather's records extensively for many years. You were the subject of many said records. Videos, files, photographs... He kept many tabs on you."

"Tell me something I don't already know, and maybe I won't be bored to death."

Unlike with Gerald, Ivo was not so easily roused to anger by such a simple sentence. "You've grown stronger since back then. Faster, too."

Sonic glared hard. "I grew up. Big deal."

"It is a big deal," Ivo replied calmly. "It means I have even more reason to kill you now. And then my empire can truly begin!" With that, he whirled around in his chair, slammed his index finger on a giant red button, and alarms began to go off. Another button was poised to be pushed, and he turned just enough to grin evilly at him. "I should tell you, before you die... This ship was never meant for battle, nor were many of my robots."

Sonic frowned deeply. _What? _For whatever reason, his eyes snapped to the screens showing what was going on outside. All of the robots that had been flying around the ship not going anywhere were suddenly landing on the ship, covering it almost completely. On another set of screens showing the interior of the ship, many land-based robots were suddenly standing still, as though waiting for something to happen. As soon as the robots outside were settled, clinging tightly to the exterior of the ship, Ivo Robotnik spoke again.

"This whole thing was an elaborate trap... and now it will be your tomb." With that, he pushed the other button his finger had been hovering over. An escape pod appeared around him and he shot down out of the ship at near break-neck speeds, going at first straight down, then flying into the distance somewhere over the woods. The opening he'd escaped through closed just as quickly as it had opened. Then, without any warning, everything exploded with Tails and Sonic inside.

* * *

**Another short one... don't kill me. As recompense, you'll get a special treat next chapter! Posted 03-19-15.**


	45. Cherry Pie

The man was definitely crazy, Sonic decided hazily as he drifted slowly toward unconsciousness. He had stopped falling ages ago. Or was it only seconds? Time seemed to have no meaning in his mind right now. What had happened? After the explosion, he'd been nearly knocked out. He'd flown through the air for what could have been years or months or days or hours or maybe just minutes... Then he'd hit something, landed, and that was it. After that, nothing happened. Where was he? Surely not in the city or a town. He was sure someone would have noticed and probably moved him by now. Perhaps the woods? But there was no telling where. Not near the lake, though. He didn't hear water. Not that he could smell much of anything through the fog in his head. Or perhaps he was imagining that. Where was Tails? He wondered belatedly and somewhat slowly what had happened to the young fox. Was he alive? Was he hurt? Was he here, wherever here was? He honestly had no idea, nor did he have much time to think about it as the darkness in his mind slowly started to pull him under fully. With a soft groan of pain, he tried to push himself up on his hands, eyes still closed, only to fall, unconscious.

* * *

_Ow... Ow... Ow... _Sonic forced himself not to wince as he stood, every nerve in his bruised, beaten, battered, and burned body protesting even the slightest of movements. He stopped about halfway up, one hand on his knee, supporting himself. After a moment, he took a breath and stood up fully.

Tails watched him worriedly. "You sure you're okay, Sonic?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine." He let his eyes skim over Tails's smaller form. "What about you?"

Tails shuffled his feet a bit. "I'm okay." He must have read the disbelief in Sonic's gaze, for he fidgeted further, looking down. "I mean, it hurts and all, but I'm okay." He looked up, his eyes suddenly shining with bravery. "I'll _be_ okay."

Sonic nodded again, somewhat relieved by the spark in the fox's eyes. _Yeah... he'll be okay. _He looked around slowly. Smoke created a thin haze in the sky, but it didn't stretch far. After only a couple of miles, it simply faded out of existence.

"Where are we, Sonic?"

He hated to admit it, but... "I have no idea." This place almost seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It was... _annoying_, to say the least.

"Is he coming back?"

Sonic's gaze darkened a bit at the memory of his newest enemy. "No," he grumbled. "Not for now. Maybe later, once he figures out I'm not dead."

Tails's gaze was heavy with emotion as he asked, "What will you do?"

The answer was simple. "What I've always done."

"Run?"

"Fight."

"You run when you fight."

"If I didn't I'd be dead."

"I doubt that."

"I'm not invincible."

"But you're strong."

Sonic answered with a simple shrug and the two of them looked around. _May as well explore a bit. Find a way to get back. _With that thought in mind, he started walking. Tails hastened to follow, moving so that he was by Sonic's side. It was quiet for a few minutes before Sonic frowned. "Hey Tails, you smell that?"

Tails hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. I think, anyway. What is it?"

"Dunno," Sonic replied.

Tails took a deep, slow breath. "It kinda smells like... pie."

Sonic blinked. "Pie?"

Tails grinned at him. "Yeah, cherry pie. I can smell it on the breeze." At Sonic's blank look, his eyes widened. "Wait a minute... don't tell me you've never had pie before!"

"Nope," Sonic replied. "Never."

"It's delicious!" Tails exclaimed. "How have you never had any before?"

"I just haven't," Sonic shrugged, tilting his nose up to the wind to catch the smells, doing his best to sift through the various flavors teasing his olfactory senses. _Tails was right. Definitely cherry. _There was something else too. _Chocolate? _

"I wonder where it's coming from," Tails said, looking around the breezy, grassy plain they were walking through. A few trees dotted the landscape here and there, but they were clearly nowhere near the woods they had been in earlier that day. "The smell, I mean. Where's it coming from?"

Sonic listened hard, his ears straining, and, after a moment, he changed direction and and began a different direction, vastly more to the left than the direction they had previously been going. Following both his nose and his ears, he stepped through a copse and climbed a tall hill. Apparently this area wasn't really a plain after all. Plains didn't have hills. An, looking around again, it occurred to him that there were multiple hills around them, and more were waiting ahead. Down and up, down and up, down and up. Even his legs were starting to get tired by the time he came to a stop at the crest of a particularly tall hill. They really hadn't gone far, but the hills had been steep and unforgiving and, considering what they had been through already today, hiking like this was made especially difficult. Looking down, more flat stretches of beautiful, lush grass swayed gently as the breeze whispered through each blade, caressing them as though they were the most fragile things on the comfortably in this sea of green was a small collection of buildings. Small, comfortable, pleasant, homey... only nice terms such as these could be used to describe the settlement. There were about five homes with large gardens sprawling both in front, beside, and next to each house. Some trees stood almost protectively near the houses, as though guarding the residents from whatever may attempt to bring them harm. There were even white picket fences around a couple of the houses.

"A village?" Tails murmured. "All the way out here?"

"Guess so," Sonic replied, already beginning the descent down the hill.

"W-Wait up! Wait for me!" Tails rushed to catch up, tripped, and suddenly they were both rolling down the hill. They came to a tumbling halt at the bottom and they were lying in a heap and for some reason they were both laughing... Tails climbed off Sonic's back and offered a small. "Sorry," though he continued to smile. Sonic opened his mouth to reply but was cut off when another breeze carrying the smell of that sweet cherry pie caused Tails's stomach to grumble. "I'm hungry."

An answering grumble, and he sighed. "Yeah... me too."

"What will we do?"

"You need to eat."

"So do you."

"I'll be fine."

"But you're hungry."

"You're a kid. You need to eat more than I do."

"I don't care. I won't eat if you won't."

"Who said I wouldn't?"

"You implied it."

"When did I imply it?"

"You just did."

Any sort of a reply was interrupted by a small, sweet voice. "You're both hungry?"

The boys turned to see a small bunny girl in an orange dress with a blue ribbon and a white collar standing behind them. In her hands she held a basket full of vegetables in front of her legs. Her smile was just as sweet as her voice, if not sweeter. Sonic forced himself not to frown at her. How had he not heard her approach? "Um... Yeah," Tails mumbled in answer to the girl's question. "But we'll be fine," he assured her quickly, waving his hands rapidly as though in a panic.

"You should come to my house!" the girl announced. "We have lots of yummy food from our garden. My mother is making soup."

"N-No, that's okay..." Tails said.

"It's no good to go hungry," the girl said matter-of-factly. "No one will thank you for it."

Sonic immediately flashed back to the Dark Days, to the valley, to the refugees, to Buck.

_There was plenty of fruit growing high in the trees. He just hoped it would be enough. Having the fastest members of the group deliver the food was actually a great idea. It would still be a lot of work, feeding that many people, but at least it would take less time. _

_Sonic grabbed one last fruit off a tree, the last one in sight, before following the other three back. Once there, he presented his find to Buck. At the raccoon's surprised expression, Sonic huffed. "Don't play dumb. I saw you weren't eating. It's so everyone else can have more, right?" He handed the old man the fruit without waiting for a reply. "Just eat it. No one will thank you if you starve to death," he grumbled, arms crossed and gaze drifting to the side._

_A small laugh escaped Buck's lips. "Thank you m'boy. Young or not, you truly are a good lad. One of a kind."_

He spoke then, heading off Tails's next response before it could even be worded. "Come on, Tails. No point in arguing."

This made the girl smile and Sonic followed resignedly, Tails in tow, as she began leading the way to her house, the one farthest away from the others and with the largest gardens. "So..." Tails said uncomfortably, seeming to be searching for some sort of topic for conversation. "What's your name?"

"Cream," she replied with a smile over her shoulder. "My name is Cream."

* * *

**I thought about extending this, but I got lazy, so... yeah. Posted 03-21-15.**


	46. Familial Ties

**Nothing important to impart this time. Enjoy.**

* * *

It turned out that Cream lived in decent-sized house. Not large but not really small, it seemed suitable for a family. According to Cream, there were four bedrooms spread over two floors. There was also a living room, a roomy and open entrance hall, a dining room, and a kitchen. _All of this for two people?_

"My mother is in the kitchen," Cream smiled at them. They stood in the entrance hall. The scents coming down the hall told Sonic that the kitchen was almost immediately to the left. "Would you like to come meet her?"

Tails returned her smile easily. "Sure."

They followed as Cream led the way into the kitchen. Her mother stood with her back to the doorway. She was chopping carrots one by one and placing them into a large pot that sat on the stove top over a low flame. Freshly peeled potatoes sat on the counter beside the cutting board, waiting for their turn to be cut up and added to the mixture. Every so often, she would chop up various leafy herbs until the pieces were so small and numerous they couldn't be counted. Once she was done cutting, she would put them in the pot as well. In the oven was the cherry pie Sonic and Tails had been smelling and..._ chocolate-chip cookies. _The various aromas filling Sonic's nose was almost enough to make him wish he knew how to cook. Almost.

"Mother, I'm back," Cream announced sweetly, placing her basket on the counter beside the potatoes. "And I brought some friends."

Sonic frowned minutely. _Friends?_ They'd only just met, hadn't they?

Her mother stopped her cutting and turned toward her daughter. "That's nice, dear." She turned again, this time to face Tails and Sonic. "My name is Vanilla."

"I'm Tails," Tails replied with a small smile. "Well, that's my nickname, anyway."

Sonic was slightly surprised by that information, but it hardly mattered. It wasn't the first time he'd met someone who kept their real name a secret. He pulled his gaze away from Tails to look at Vanilla. "My name's Sonic."

She inclined her head slightly and said politely, "It's nice to meet you." He shrugged a little in response. "Why don't we go to the living room? The soup won't be done for about an hour."

They followed her to the living room and Cream hopped onto the couch next to her mother, who sat down more gracefully. Sonic stood uncomfortably in the doorway while Tails made to follow he girls, became distracted, and walked to the mantle instead. He hopped up onto the fireplace below it, his feet so close to the fire that Sonic worried for a moment that the kid would burn himself. Tails turned his head back to Vanilla, his head blocking Sonic's view of whatever he was looking at. Twin tails waved slightly in a silent display of curiosity. "Who's this?"

Vanilla smiled an almost sad smile. "My grandmother."

"When she was younger?"

"Yes."

Tails turned his head to look at what Sonic now assumed to be a picture of some kind. "She looks a lot like you."

Vanilla giggled softly. "I should hope so. We are related, after all."

"What was her name?" Tails asked, then hastily added. "N-Not to intrude or anything, I mean," he hopped off the fireplace, "I'm just curious."

Vanilla giggled again. "It's alright. I don't mind." She smiled, and Tails returned her smile easily. "Her name was Merry."

Sonic tensed, everything just seeming to... _stop_ at the sound of that name. _Merry?_ That name brought back memories that flowed through his mind unbidden. The fire, the screams, the death, the robots, the loss, the pain... he ground his teeth furiously and pushed those thoughts violently away. Wanting to know in spite of everything, he turned his head to look at the picture. She was older in that picture than she had been during the dark days, but older than when he had last seen her. Still, she was young. Maybe about thirty or so in her years. Adulthood had done nothing to diminish the almost childish innocence and joy that had always shone in her eyes. In fact, it made her seem all that much sweeter. Even after all these years, he missed his friend terribly. Still, he was just happy that she had managed to find happiness with the man she had loved. She had more than deserved it.

**I feel this could have been better, but I accomplished what I wanted to in this chapter, so all's well that end's well, I guess. Posted 03-23-15.**


	47. Return of the Hero

**The story was never drifting, you guys. I know some of the chapters I posted not to long ago seem irrelevant and unrelated to the plot, but trust me, they have a purpose. However, the purpose of these will not likely be revealed right away. Also, and I'm just putting this out there, I get the feeling that not all of you are happy with the way I introduced Cream and Jet to the story. First off, with Jet, like I said in an author's not before, I didn't just throw him in there for no reason. His adventures with Sonic are a mystery for a reason. Secondly, with Cream, what's there to be dissatisfied about? Not all first meetings need to be dramatic and exciting, you know? Anyway, that's my rant for the day. Enjoy!**

* * *

Sonic couldn't remember off the top of his head when he'd last had food this good. And he was eating at a table, and a nice one at that, and he was in a nice house and there were undeniably nice people here as well... He didn't know whether to enjoy it... or be wary. Nothing good could come out of so much _good_, right? Part of him wanted to dismiss the notion, but another part, a more logical part, reminded him that, in the past, trusting people had proved disastrous. Not right away of course, but it had inevitably happened. It hadn't ended in disaster _every_ time, he acknowledged, but trusting people had always ended up with him caring for people, which had always ended up being painful. Locke had died, Merry had left him all alone (though he could never bring himself to regret her finding happiness), Jet and the others had-

"This is really good!" Sonic nearly jumped and cut a glance to Tails, who sat next to him as they ate. The fox was smiling, something he always seemed to be doing, and eating quickly, though not impolitely.

Both bunnies smiled at him, their smiles so big it forced their eyes shut. "I'm glad you like it, dear," Vanilla replied warmly.

"What do you think, Mr. Sonic?" Cream asked from her spot across the table, her eyes never leaving his face. "Is it good to you, too?"

The name "Mr. Sonic" brought up memories that were not wholly unpleasant, save for the fact that they had been made in such an unfortunate time, and he allowed them for now. A single small nod was his only response at first, but he soon added a "Yeah," that made her smile widen.

"I'm glad."

Dinner was uneventful after that and Sonic wordlessly aided in washing the dishes afterward while Tails and Cream put everything away. Working together, they almost felt like a family, but Sonic refused to think like that. He had no family, and he never would. That was just how it was meant to be. He didn't think he could handle being that close to anyone, anyway. Not again. Once was enough. They were finished in good time and Vanilla dried her hands in a dish towel like the stereotypical mothers displayed in the media, on television especially. "Would you two like to stay here for the night? It's getting dark."

Sonic glanced outside the kitchen window. He guessed it to be about six or seven o'clock, roughly. Tails, being young as he was, seemed like he was pretty wiped out, maybe even ready to go to sleep where he stood. Combat took a lot out of a person, he knew. He remembered quite vividly the heavy exhaustion weighing down on him day in and day out when he was younger, back when he'd been fighting Robotnik on South Island. It had been brutal, especially for a child. He had no desire to put Tails through that. His teeth gritted together. As soon as he could, he was taking Tails home. After that, he would do whatever he could to keep Tails out of Ivo's plans, whatever they were. He would avoid Tails and Amy and Cream and Vanilla, but not necessarily because he wanted to. It was necessary, for their protection, if nothing else. But for now... "Can we, Sonic? I'm tired."

Sonic gave it one more quick moment of thought, then nodded. _Tails need rest. _There was no denying that. Looking to Vanilla once more, he offered an awkward sort of, "Thanks," and received a warm nod in response.

She led Tails, who really seemed like he was about to pass out, to a room down on hall by the staircase while Cream started up the stairs. "Good night, Mr. Sonic," the girl called over her shoulder.

He blinked, hesitated, then said, "Night."

Minutes later, Vanilla emerged from whatever room she had led Tails to and gestured for him to follow her. They walked to the living room and she sat on the couch while he leaned back against the wall by a window by the fireplace across from her. "I tucked him in," she informed him pointlessly.

He nodded for what felt like the millionth time tonight. "Good. He needs that."

"Why is that?"

"No mother. From what I heard, at least."

"No father either, then?"

"Not as far as I can tell."

Her feelings of sadness and sympathy for Tails were obvious in her eyes and, for whatever reason, his opinion of her, admittedly already rather high despite his cautions, went up a few more notches. Silence stretched for a few minutes before he looked away and inquired, "So what about Cream?"

"Her father passed," she sighed, "when she was still a baby. He grew ill, and there was nothing the doctor could do."

Sonic blinked at that. Severe illnesses were a rare thing that rarely struck anyone, even those living in the most remote of places. Places like this, even. "Ill?"

"Yes. It was a disease he got from some sort of poisoned fruit." So it wasn't a regular illness, then. Still, that sounded bad. A fruit could only become poisoned if someone tampered with it. Who would have wanted her husband dead? It was none of his business, though, so he refrained from asking. Her solemn expression faded slowly with the passage of time, and a soft smile made itself known on her face. "I'm so glad you're here."

Wariness made him tense a bit. "Why?"

"My grandmother," she paused, looking sad again for a brief moment, before smiling again and continuing, "used to tell me stories about you. She was so sure you'd find your way back to this family again. I'm glad she was right."

Sonic suspected he knew the truth, but still... he had to ask. "Is she still... alive?" he asked quietly, staring at the floor.

He didn't need to see her expression change to hear the lingering grief in her subtle tones. "No. She passed when I was just a girl."

He had suspected, but he had hoped that he was wrong. Still, this was closure, if nothing else. He'd spent so many years wondering about her, but now, even if he didn't have knowledge of everything that had happened to her after he'd last seen her, at least he knew how her story ended. For now, he supposed that was good enough.

* * *

**Sorry this took so long. Posted 03-24-15.**


	48. Finally Home

**Just read my latest review... I wasn't hating, I promise! I apologize _deeply_ if it seemed that way. I love my readers and would never intentionally upset any of them! By the way, Dagger, that rant or whatever it was wasn't just directed at you, however much it may have seemed that way. If one reader is unhappy, chances are others are as well, you know? That's how I think, at least. Anyway, thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing and, as always, enjoy!**

* * *

Sonic woke in an unfamiliar bed. Moonlight filtered through the lonely window, the the white orb's position in the sky told him it was nearing the wee hours of the morning. For a moment, memory eluded him, replaced by lingering nightmares. The fire, the smoke, the screams... Then, slowly, the darkness faded, the shadows receded, and memories flowed back into his mind. _I'm at Merry's. _He shook that thought away as erroneous. Yes, Merry had built this house with her husband, but neither of them lived here anymore. This was Vanilla's house now. And, according to her, this was his room from now on. Not that he was inclined to take her up on that offer, but he supposed that that might make her care less that he'd slept with his shoes on in the bed. Not that they left dirt spots or anything, but still. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood, stretching hard before heading to the door to see if anyone else was up. It was too quiet here to tell. Part of him was thankful for that, though. The thick walls muffled sound quite well, making it easier for him to sleep the night before. It helped that he had been tired.

It was still early. A quick peek down the hall showed that no lights were on. No effort was needed for him to tread quietly on the carpeted floors on his way to the stairs. One step toward the middle of the staircase creaked and made him cringe, but after several moments of hesitation seemed to prove that no one in the house had stirred. _Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse... _He released a soft sigh of relief and smirked a little at the line he'd once read in some silly book. Descending down the rest of the stairs, he walked to the kitchen and quietly grabbed a cup from a cupboard, filling it with a small amount of water and taking a few sips.

"You should be asleep."

He was somewhat proud of the fact that he managed not to jump. Setting the glass down on the counter beside the sink, he turned around. "So should you."

Vanilla, dressed in a light pink nightgown, smiled softly at him from where she stood in the doorway. "You're ready to leave, aren't you?"

He tilted his head, gave that some thought, then nodded. "Yes." He looked away. "But I can't leave without Tails."

He wasn't sure what he expected her to say, but she managed to surprise him, anyhow. "He's already awake, you know." Sonic blinked in surprise. He hadn't even noticed. Vanilla's smiled became almost... sad. "If you're ready, you can leave whenever you like."

He nodded. After a moment's hesitation, he murmured, "Thanks for dinner."

In tones that held lingering warmth, she murmured back, "You're welcome. And you're _always_ welcome here."

With one final nod, he walked past her to Tails's room.

* * *

"How high can you actually fly?" Sonic looked down at the grass and trees far below, darker green spots on a light green canvas. Tails's tails spun furiously and the young fox held his hands tightly while they rose steadily higher into the air. Sonic was impressed.

"I don't know, exactly," Tails reply, a hint of embarrassment obvious in his tone. "I've never calculated it before. That and, to be honest, I don't fly a whole lot, anyway."

"Why not?"

"I don't leave home much."

"Ah." Silence fell for a moment as the two looked around intently, searching for any sign of Tails's home forest. Sonic saw nothing that looked even remotely like the forest they had been in. How far had they been blasted, anyway?

"I don't see anything," Tails mumbled.

Sonic sighed. "Yeah... me either."

"Maybe if we go higher...?" Tails ventured.

Sonic would have shrugged if he could. "Maybe."

So they rose higher. He honestly doubted Tails could go much higher than this, though. Maybe if he jumped out of a plane he could fly at greater heights, but it was unlikely that he could go that much higher without help. The wind that often accompanied being at these heights made it harder for them to hear. "I still don't see anything!" Tails exclaimed, exasperated and clearly growing tired.

Sonic fought the urge to fidget. "I don't either." He hesitated, then said, "Let's go down. No point in exhausting yourself."

"Yeah, okay."

That was right about when they heard it. A faint buzzing sound that was quickly growing louder and louder as it came closer and closer. Sonic tensed, feeling Tails grip tighten as he too tensed. His tails kept whirling stiffly much to Sonic's relief, but falling from this high up would have been much safer than being surrounded helplessly in the air. Several red laser dots landed on his chest and he bared his teeth. "Tails, let me go!" he demanded.

"What?!" Tails gasped. "Are you crazy?!"

"Just do it!" Sonic snapped.

Startled into compliance, Tails abruptly let him go. Sonic immediately curled into a ball and, spinning rapidly, slammed into a robot. It exploded and Sonic was sent flying backward. Tails caught him again and, catching onto Sonic's idea surprisingly fast, went with the momentum and swung Sonic back. Three more times and more and more robots filled the gaps created by the robots Sonic had destroyed. Tails gazed about in despair. "There are so many..."

"Dammit..." Sonic muttered irritably watching as yet more robots appeared around them.

All at once, a group of robots formed a square before them. Somehow, their shiny red surfaces turned into a screen of sorts and a familiar and unwelcome face appeared on it, grinning almost maniacally. "Hello, Sonic."

"Ivo," he snarled back.

Ivo seemed to ignore him. "I can't say that I'm surprised that you survived. I must admit, in a way I'm glad. This is all a game, you see, and you've made it more interesting by simply surviving."

"A _game_?" Tails asked, glaring lasers at the screen. "_That__'s _all this is to you? Some sick _game_?"

"However," Ivo continued as though Tails didn't even exist, "this game bores me. I think I'm ready to begin my empire now. The first encounter was fun, but this is where it ends." His grin widened until he began to show teeth. "I hope you aren't claustrophobic!" he announced gleefully. Then, probably following some electronic cue, the robots surrounded the two of them. Compartments opened on each of them, green lasers shooting out of each of them, forming a small cage with solid walls. "Don't worry about not touching the bars. They won't hurt you. Unless I decide to make them do so, that is."

Sonic didn't trust it, but Tails was really tired. He pulled his hands free and landed lightly on the floor. There was no pain. Turning his head, he nodded to Tails, who landed gratefully. Sonic knelt by the panting fox. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

"Y... Yeah," Tails mumbled. "Just tired. Never flown that long before."

Ivo seemed to have ignored their brief exchange. "Enjoy the ride!" he exclaimed, suddenly exploding into laughter. "It's the last one you'll ever take before you meet your doom!" Just like that the screen vanished and the robots began flying in sync with each other, taking the cage and its occupants with them.

"Where are you taking us?!" Sonic demanded, though he knew Ivo could no longer hear. "_Dammit_!"

"Sonic, what're we gonna do?" Tails wailed, suddenly seeming more like a kid than he usually did, despite actually being a kid, as he held his tails close to his chest. "He's gonna kill us, isn't he? He's-!"

"Tails!" Sonic interrupted more harshly than he intended. Still, it got the fox's attention and those panicked eyes blinked back terrified tears. "We're going to be _fine_, do you understand me? Fine!"

Despite the anger in his voice, Tails seemed to take a measure of comfort in his words. But it wasn't quite enough. "But what about-"

"_Don't_ listen to what Robotnik says," Sonic said, forcing himself to be calm. "Listen to _me_ instead. We're going to be fine, alright?"

Tails sniffled quietly, his tears drying before any of them even fell. "I... I believe you," he murmured.

Sonic nodded with a small sigh. "Good."

"But... what are we gonna do?" Tails asked quietly after a moment's pause.

"I don't know," Sonic admitted.

"Not yet," Tails amended. "...Right?"

Sonic blinked. "Right," he said, despite feeling uncertain as to whether or not he would actually come up with a real plan. If things went as they usually did, he'd probably just go rushing into the fight with no plan at all. But that had worked well for him in the past (mostly, anyway) so maybe it didn't matter. He just hoped that, whatever Ivo had planned, it wasn't as serious as it seemed.

The robots flew fast, and they flew far. Over mountains, forests, rivers, hills, flat stretches of grass... Scarcely twenty minutes had passed before the robots slowly came to a halt over the ocean. They were several miles over the water. "What's going to happen now?" Tails asked quietly.

"I don't know..." Sonic murmured.

Then, of course, the robots decided to demonstrate as, for the second time in two days, they were blown up.

* * *

**Well Dagger, I at least made an _attempt_ to make this longer. Lol. I'll try harder on the next one, when I'm, hopefully at least, not writing so late. Posted 03-25-15.**


	49. Missing

**Well Dagger, I guess It's a good thing none of my chapters are fillers, huh? :P Anyway, enjoy everyone! You're going to get a special surprise this time!**

* * *

Sonic's head hurt. For that matter, so did the rest of him. Still, he forced his eyes open. There was no smoke, no fire, no debris, and for that he was thankful. The wilderness around him was unharmed. That was always good. Slowly, he managed to push himself to his feet. Despite being in pain, he didn't feel like he'd fallen several thousand or so miles. He was sure they'd been higher than that anyway, judging by the thick layer of clouds that had been beneath them when they'd been blown up. Again. And yet, he didn't feel like he'd fallen very far. Not that that made any sense at all.

It was about then that he realized he had _no_ idea where Tails was. Resisting the urge to utter a string of curses, he stood and spun in a circle. There was no sign of the kid. Fog surrounded him on all sides. Finally losing the battle, he cursed softly and abruptly broke into a run. Wherever Tails was, Sonic hoped that he had the sense to stay _put_... and that he was safe. Racing through trees and leaping over rocks, he ran through what seemed very much to be a forest. He splashed through a stream as he went, listening incredibly hard as he did so. _Dammit... Where is he? _A few minutes later, he finally heard something. _A voice? _He wasn't sure at first, but then he heard his name. He was sure of it.

"Sonic! I'm here! Over here!"

Following the voice, he soon located Tails standing amidst a cluster of trees. "Tails! You okay?"

Tails smiled at him as he skidded to a halt a few feet away. "Yeah. I just... I didn't want to get lost in the fog, you know?" Sonic nodded and Tails looked up. "Although... it does seem to be fading."

Sonic nodded, taking a breath to force himself to relax. Tails was safe. Good. "Early morning fog, I guess. It tends to fade after a couple of hours."

"Yeah. At least that tells us what time it is."

"Around ten in the morning or so, right?"

"Yeah. You usually go by the sun though, huh?"

"Yeah. Not that that does us any good right now."

"It'll be visible in a few minutes, I think. Look." The fog _was_ thinning, Sonic noticed, and quite quickly. He didn't take the time to ponder it, though. It hardly mattered. What mattered was figuring out where they were so that he could get Tails home. And speaking of Tails... "Hey, Sonic, is that a cliff?"

Sonic turned his head to look about ten feet to the left, squinting through the lingering fog. "Yeah..." he mumbled. For whatever reason, he felt compelled to look so, trusting his instincts as he usually did, he walked over to it. Slowly, the clouds below shifted and parted and his eyes narrowed. Once the clouds cleared entirely, his eyes went wide. He was too shocked to even freeze. Far below them was the ocean, not that that was terribly unusual. However, one things _was _unusual... they were floating above the water. Far, _far_above it. They were on land, and yet, they were in the air. There was only one thing he could think of that would be floating in the air like this... but it had been lost during the Cataclysm. Not necessarily destroyed, just... lost. And yet, what other explanation was there? _We're on... Angel Island...?_

"No way..." Tails murmured. "How are we... _floating_?"

Sonic knew the answer, but somehow he didn't think he could speak at the moment. _Angel Island... It can't be... Is it possible...? _His last memories of this place were anything but good, and yet, he definitely felt an attachment to this place. This had been Locke's home, after all. And yet, the attachment went deeper than that. He suspected it might have something to do with the Master Emerald. If it was even still here. _I never did learn what Locke had been trying to figure out by bringing me here that first time all those years ago, _he thought absently

"Sonic?"

Sonic blinked, pulling free from his thoughts, and turned to Tails. "Yeah?" he asked, doing his best to conceal his shock.

"What are we gonna do?" Tails seemed worried. Maybe even a little scared. "What if this is one of Ivo's bases?"

Sonic shook his head hard. "It isn't. There's no way he even knows about this place."

"But... you do?" Tails ventured.

"I think so," Sonic replied.

"How come Ivo doesn't?" Tails asked.

"Gerald knew about this place, but he never wrote down anything about, never spoke of it in his video logs, never took pictures, never kept any records of it," Sonic explained.

"Why?" Tails frowned.

"Because he wanted the treasure that's here for himself," Sonic shrugged.

"Treasure?" Tails asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.

Sonic nodded slowly. "Yeah." He hadn't thought about the emeralds in a long time, but now the possibility of seeing the Master Emerald again made him wonder where the other seven were. In the past, the memories of the emeralds had evoked a mixture of anger and pain in him, but now he was just... wary of them and their power. Just as that thought crossed his mind, another one took its place. _What if the Master Emerald isn't here anymore? _He was debating whether or not to look for it now when Tails's voice broke into his thoughts once again.

"Hey, Sonic?"

Sonic resisted the urge to sigh as he turned to look at Tails, who was staring down the cliff. "Yeah, Tails?"

"I think that... Maybe... I mean, if I'm careful..." Tails trailed off, his brow creased in thought. A few moments later, he turned to Sonic, his eyes shining with confidence and determination. "I think I can fly back to the mainland. If I do it, I can get a plane or something so you can come back, too, that way you won't have to jump all way down to the water and swim and risk drowning."

As much as Sonic balked at the idea of going for a swim, he had to object to one key aspect of this plan. "Tails, that's really far for you to fly, especially by yourself."

"I know I'm not used to flying but-" Tails started.

"And you'll be by yourself with a bunch of bloodthirsty robots flying around," Sonic cut in. "No. It's too dangerous."

"But I can do it!" Tails exclaimed, smiling instead of frowning in anger or frustration like Sonic had expected. "I _know_ I can! Even if it takes a few days or so for me to get back, I_will_ come back."

Sonic searched his eyes, feeling somewhat surprised by what he saw there. Slowly, he released a breath. Yes, Tails would return. There was no denying that. "Be careful," he sighed.

"I will," Tails beamed. Then he ran to the edge of the cliff, jumped off, and, tails spinning, disappeared into the clouds.

* * *

Sonic wandered slowly, his mind lost in memories. He had by no means seen the entire island before, but once he'd been someplace once, he could usually find his way back there again. Although, this placed posed a unique challenge for him. It had been a long time since he'd even _heard_ of Angel Island, let alone _seen_ it. Walking slowly through the woods, he looked around. He was nearing the foothills by now, and it was close to eleven in the morning. Up and down, up and down, up and down... he was starting to feel a great dislike for hills. _I think I may have had enough of hills to last me a lifetime. Or at least half of one. ...How the hell long is my lifespan, anyway? _Outliving everyone around him all the time was hard. Very hard. It was enough to make him wish even more than usual that he didn't live so long. A part of him almost wished that he had passed during the Dark Days. Locke had been killed just before then, Buck had passed due to old age back then, Rosaline had fallen ill and died then as well, Talbot had gone missing only to be found dead after a robot attacked him, and Tracy and Antoine and Blaine and Jack and all the others he'd grown close to back then had eventually grown old and died while he'd remained young... But, at the same time, if he had aged like them, he would have left Merry all alone. She never would have met her husband because Sonic would have never been around to save him from falling off a cliff. She never would have had a family. She never would have been happy...

Shaking free of his thoughts, he began the long walk up a familiar mountain path covered in loose rocks. He'd been a kid the last time he'd been up here. Once before, he'd struggled with the hike. This time he didn't even stumble. He climbed with an ease that might have even rivaled Locke's easy gait. By noon he'd reached his destination. All he saw at first were a bunch of low-hanging clouds. But then, as if on command, the clouds slowly parted, revealing a small cave opening in the side of a tall mountain. _Just like last time. _Taking a deep breath, he stepped inside. He walked relatively slowly through the dark and cool but thankfully dry tunnel, which didn't seem to have changed a bit since he'd last seen it, but soon picked up the pace until he was almost running. By the time he reached the small room at the end of the tunnel, he _was_ running. He came to a short, skidding halt, his heart pounding.

The room was empty.

He didn't know whether to be thankful or concerned. On the one hand, he didn't exactly want to see the object this room had once held. On the other hand, there was no telling what kind of danger the world could be in if someone who wan't supposed to had that object. Either way, the Master Emerald wasn't here, and quite frankly, he didn't want to be either. With that in mind, he turned and exited the room.

* * *

Back in the woods below the mountains, Sonic gazed over the edge of the island and into the sparkling ocean far below. He wondered almost absently how Tails was doing. _Unless he ran into trouble, he should be close to the mainland by now. _It hadn't taken the robots near as long to get all the way out here, but they had been propelled by mechanical boosters and whatnot. Tails had to rely on his own speed, power, and endurance. With that in mind, it was better for him to go slow and not tire out, rather than go fast and wind up too exhausted to continue before even reaching land. Sonic was sure the kid knew that. Tails was smart, way smarter than most kids his age.

His right ear twitched.

He whirled and his eyes snapped up to the sky in time to see some sort of flying robot dive bomb a tree near him. Somehow, despite the speed in which it had been going, it failed to destroy itself, nor did it succeed in toppling the tree. Instead, it bounced off, rolled, and stood as though it's landing had been absolutely perfect and nothing was amiss. Sonic stared at it with a frown, taking in its ridiculous appearace. _Is this a joke? _For Ivo's sake, he almost hoped it was, because if this was a serious robot then-

**"Directive: Destroy Sonic the Hedgehog."**

"Ain't happening, metal-head," Sonic retorted with a snort. "Go bug your master or something, alright? I'm busy."

**"Directive: Destroy Sonic the Hedgehog."**

Sonic sighed and, shaking his head lightly, allowed himself a small smirk. "Over a hundred years and they _still_ haven't figured out how to make these things actually talk. That's pretty pathetic." The robot charged then, almost as though it were angry over his comment, and Sonic jumped over it easily. He thought about entertaining himself by toying around with this thing for a while, but in the end, he decided against it. This place was too special to risk the destruction that sort of thing would cause. Besides, this robot was too weak to be much fun. So he curled himself into a ball and, with one well-aimed hit, he destroyed it. At first he thought it was over, but then he realized that there were other various robots surrounding him. There weren't many, but there were enough to be trouble. He ducked in order to dodge a kick aimed at his face and his own leg shot out to return the failed blow. His kick was dodged as well, and a punch from behind sent a wave of pain shooting up his back. The wind was knocked out of him and he was sent flying a short distance, slamming into the ground on his stomach and rolling a couple of times before finally coming to a stop by the base of a thin tree. Sucking in a couple grateful breaths of air, he stood again. Despite his pain, he smirked almost menacingly at the robots. _Heh. Haven't to fight like this in a long time. _Part of him was grateful for that. However, part of him also missed the thrill of a good fight. Still, this had gone on long enough.

One by one by one by one the robots were destroyed. Explosions that were almost deafening to his sensitive ears broke the tranquil silence that had once filled the air just that morning. He almost didn't notice in time that there were two more robots behind him. He whirled, intending on destroying them as well before they could do any damage, only to freeze when a streak of red slammed fist-first into the first robot, destroying it in a single hit, much like Sonic's attacks had been doing. The second robot soon met a similar fate, but more emerged from the trees. An unfamiliar voice, all but snarling in rage, met his ears. "_Get off my damn island!_"

* * *

**I had actually intended to introduce Knuckles before Cream and Vanilla (as I had planned on Tails and Sonic landing on Angel Island after Robotnik's ship exploded) but things changed and I ended up putting the bunnies in first. I would have mentioned that before, Dagger, when you posted that review on chapter 47, but I was just so excited that I didn't want to give it away! Anyway, 'till next time everyone! Posted 03-28-15.**


	50. Secrets

**Hello, Blueyshy! First of all, there's no need to be shy! I won't bite, dear, I promise! Besides, I'm shy too, so I understand how you feel. :) Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm glad to heard that some people who started reading this when it initially came out are still around and enjoying it! Hmm... As for the answer to your question... Well, that's a bit difficult to answer. As I tried to explain through a conversation Sonic had with Locke early on, the different species on their planet (i.e. hedgehogs) have their own unique lifespans. Some have very long lifespans, others don't. Hedgehogs in particular have the longest lifespans. And, lastly, while I haven't actually come up with his actual age, it was stated (indirectly) that Sonic is somewhere over 200 years old. I hope I answered all your questions! (And don't worry about your review being long! I enjoy those!)**

**Thank you for the wonderful review, ****AmegakureAngel! I'm so glad you're enjoying it!**

**Enjoy, everyone!**

* * *

Sonic could only stare at first as robot after robot was smashed into oblivion. A single, distant thought entered his mind. _L... Locke...? _He quickly shoved that thought away, dismissing it as erroneous. _No... It can't be... Locke... Locke... died. _That was when the truth hit him like a hard slap to the face. _Not everyone died then. _Which meant... _Locke's... son? _He'd only heard Locke say his son's name once, but still it stuck with him. _Knuckles..._

The red echidna who looked _so_ painfully much like his father whirled on him suddenly. It was only then that he realized that all the robots were gone. "You!" the echidna snarled. "Did you bring them here?!"

"What?! Why the hell would I do that?!" Sonic snapped back. Although, he supposed he had, in a way. They were trying to kill him, after all. Was it any wonder that they would follow him?

"How the hell would I know?! For that matter, why the hell are you on my island?!"

"It isn't 'your' island!"

"Well it sure as hell isn't _yours_!"

Sonic wondered briefly why they were arguing, but at this point it was the _least_ of his concerns. "Look," he said tensely, doing his level best to control his temper, "I'll be outta here just as soon as my friend comes back."

"Why should I believe _you_?!" Knuckles growled.

"Do what you want," Sonic snapped. "I don't care."

"Get off my island!"

"It isn't '_yours_'!"

"Like hell it isn't!"

"You can't own nature!" Sonic fought to suppress the anger building up inside of him. People like Gerald Robotnik were the ones who tried to own and control nature. There was no way anyone related to Locke could be like Robotnik.

"This is still my home!" Knuckles snapped back at him, fists curling in a display of rage. "I won't let you take anything!"

"Even if I wanted to, it's not like the emerald is here for me to steal!" Sonic replied harshly.

Knuckles froze for a moment, confusion plain on his face before anger took over once more. "How the hell do you know about the emerald?!"

Sonic took a slow, calming breath. "It doesn't matter."

"The hell it doesn't," Knuckles growled, obviously still angry. At least he wasn't yelling anymore. Silence stretched for a moment before Knuckles finally snapped, "Answer my question or I'll beat you to a pulp!"

"Try it and you're dead," Sonic snapped back, eyes sparking with the first _real_ signs of temper. He did _not_ take threats lightly. Another deep breath and he said, "Look, I saw it once before, alright?"

"'Saw it'?" Knuckles replied with a deep frown. "It's always been here, and I've never seen you here before in my life."

"You weren't always here," Sonic shrugged, looking away. He watched absently as a bug of some sort crawled slowly across the petal of a flower.

"I wasn't always-" Knuckles started to repeat pointlessly before cutting himself off, frowning a bit deeper. "That was just when I was kid. Since then-" He cut himself off again, then repeated, "It's always been here. I may as well have been, too."

"But you weren't," Sonic said simply.

"No," Knuckles conceded almost reluctantly. Silence stretched again before Knuckles spoke once more, sounding much calmer than he had before. "That still doesn't explain anything." Sonic looked up to see Knuckles glancing him over. "For one thing, you would've needed to know where it was prior to coming here. It was almost impossible to find, otherwise."

"I didn't know the way," Sonic replied with another shrug. He was silent for a long moment before saying quietly, "A friend of mine did."

"And how the hell did your friend know?"

Sonic wasn't sure what to say. How would Knuckles react to hearing about his father? Even assuming that Knuckles _wouldn't _react badly, Sonic wasn't sure if he could bring himself to speak about Locke directly. Indirectly was one thing, but even that was hard, despite that part of his life having occurred so long ago.

"Well?" Knuckles demanded.

"Why's it matter?" Sonic finally asked.

"It just does."

Sonic was silent for a long time. Finally, he closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "When I came here and saw the emerald, I was a kid. I didn't know the way, but I didn't need to. My friend new how to get here. He knew about the emerald too, probably more than he ever told. He knew because he'd lived here his entire life."

"Impossible," Knuckles said. "Only Echidnas-"

"He _was_ an Echidna," Sonic cut in. He hesitated for a brief moment, unsure what to say or even how to say it, before finally just forcing the words past his lips. "I knew Locke back then. My friend was your dad."

Knuckles once again seemed to freeze. "My... dad?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah." Sonic was surprised when Knuckles suddenly sat down heavily against a tree. Shrugging, Sonic took a few steps back and sat against the tree nearest to him as well.

"I never actually met my dad," Knuckles admitted slowly after a long period of silence. "I didn't really know my mom, either. I was supposed to be with her back then, I think, but I guess we were separated somehow. I don't remember anything about her or what happened to her. Pretty sure she's dead, though."

Sonic tensed a bit at Knuckles's words. In a way, he and Knuckles were alike. Neither knew their parents, neither had any memories of them, neither really knew anything about their parents. But, in many ways, their situations were different. Knuckles knew his father's name, knew where he had lived, knew that that man was his father. Sonic and Knuckles both knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Locke had lived. He wasn't some nameless, faceless, formless entity that had merely given his child life and then vanished as though he had never existed. Sonic's parents, however...

"How did you meet him?" Knuckles asked in a subdued sort of voice that seemed at odds with his personality, or at least what Sonic had seen of it.

"He found me sleeping under a tree," Sonic replied slowly. After a moment's pause he added, "He gave me something to eat."

Silence. Then, "Why would he take you to see the Master Emerald?"

Sonic had been wondering the same thing for years. That question plagued him, at times even went so far as to haunt his dreams. "I don't know. He said something about wanting to see if he was right. I don't know about what, though."

"So you just... looked at it?" Knuckles frowned, clearly trying to make sense of this.

"No..." Sonic replied, still speaking slowly, his brow creased in thought. "He had me touch it."

Knuckles's own brow furrowed. "Did something happen?"

Sonic shrugged yet again. "It glowed."

Knuckles's gaze sharped visibly. "Glowed?"

"Yeah," Sonic replied. The he grumbled, "Nearly blinded us."

Knuckles stood quickly. "Come with me," he said suddenly, completely serious.

"Why?" Sonic frowned, also standing.

"Just come on." Without waiting for a response, Knuckles turned and started walking.

* * *

**Sorry this is pretty shortish... and that I took so long to finish it. Posted 04-02-15.**


	51. Dynamics

**Hello PyroShockZ! I'm so glad that you've been enjoying Hero! I too grew up with Sonic, playing the classic games on the GameCube and Playstation 2 and watching the anime (you know, Sonic X). I'm so glad I revived your interest in it! I'm happy for you. And as I said before, I enjoy long reviews, so don't worry about it.**

**Thanks for the review, Dagger! I appreciate it!**

* * *

"I give. Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"Just tell me."

"Be patient."

"You're pulling the same shit as your dad."

"What shit?"

"Refusing to tell me where we're going." Sonic scowled as Knuckles smirked. "What do you people have against-"

"Not telling secrets?" Knuckles cut in, still smirking.

"It shouldn't even be a secret," Sonic grumbled.

"Oh well."

"I'm starting to dislike you."

"Deal with it."

"Make me."

"I'll hit you."

"Do it and I swear I'll kill you."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Says who?"

"Me. Just now."

"Bite me."

"Don't tempt me."

"I don't need to."

"Idiot."

"Asshole."

"Pincushion."

"Hot-head."

"Hmph."

"Whatever."

"...How the hell did you get here, anyway?"

Sonic sighed and answered truthfully. "I fell. Or I was flung. Take your pick."

Knuckles frowned at him. "How could you have _fallen_ here?" he asked incredulously. "For that matter, how could you have been _flung_?"

"You really pay attention, huh." It was technically a question, but Sonic's tone made it more of a statement.

"I pay attention to what matters," Knuckles snapped.

"Have you looked _up_ lately?" Sonic challenged.

"Why would I?"

"You said you pay attention to what matters."

"Yeah."

"What matters to you?"

"The island," Knuckles replied immediately. Then, after a bit more thought, he added, "The animals. The trees. The ancient structures here. That sort of thing."

Sonic looked up slowly. "Doesn't the sly matter?"

Knuckles glanced up. "I guess. But what does that have to do with-"

"Think about it," Sonic interrupted smoothly.

Knuckles's brow creased in thought. "I get that you were in the sky, but that's it. Were you in a plane or something?"

"In a cage. Not a plane."

"And what? The bottom opened and you fell out?"

"Something like that."

"You're lying."

"Prove it."

"There was an explosion this morning."

"So you _were_ paying attention."

"Shut up."

"No." Their not-so-playful banter was brought to an abrupt halt when they suddenly emerged into a clearing with ancient ruins. The ruins held Sonic's attention for only a moment before something powerful pulled at his senses. His head snapped up. A green glow briefly filled his vision before the intense light subsided into something softer and more tolerable. _The Master Emerald... _As they climbed the stone steps to the ancient gem, a strange thought entered his mind. _It's almost like it was saying hello. _

"_This_ is where we were going," Knuckles said simply, breaking the silence that had settled between them.

"I can see that," Sonic replied dryly. How was he supposed to feel right now? Happy? Relieved? Wary? Nervous? He really had no idea at this point. _Damned heart, make up your mind! _He smirked briefly at his little internal joke and watched as Knuckles turned to him with a serious expression. "So spill. Why am I here?"

"Take a guess."

"Why should I?"

"Because I told you to."

"Yeah, and you're _totally_ the boss of me."

"Pin-head."

"Pointy-nose."

"Idiot."

"Jerk." Sonic's gaze slid past Knuckles to gaze deeply into the emerald's light green glow. "I honestly have no idea why you brought me here." Knuckles gave him a look, and Sonic frowned at him. "Don't tell me I've gotta touch the damn thing again."

"You do."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"I don't think this did any good before."

"It did."

"How do you know?"

"I'm _sure_ it did."

"How do you _know_?"

"Just touch the damn emerald."

With a huff, Sonic turned away from his newest companion and hesitantly reached out a hand to do as he was told. Just millimeters from brushing his fingertips across the smooth, shiny surface, he hesitated. He remembered the Chaos Emeralds, the power thy held, the evil they had been used for, the hell they had unleashed. He squeezed his eyes shut. _Their power lies in the heart of the user. The user controls the emeralds' power, their chaos. It isn't the gems themselves. _This was a lesson he'd learned long ago. Using that knowledge to help calm his rattled nerves, he opened his eyes and placed his hand on the gem.

* * *

**Oh my god, this took _so_ long to write! It's not entirely my fault, though! I'm on vacation for a week, and I keep losing track of time. And this is short, too... So sorry, everyone! Hope you enjoyed, anyway! Posted 04-07-15.**


	52. Introspection

**Hello, John! I promise, I'm not going anywhere, and neither is this story! I love writing this too much!**

**Hello, Guest! You're very welcome! And yes, I promise I am! I have _every_ intention of finishing this story.**

**Hello, ****AmegakureAngel! Glad you enjoyed! Don't worry, there will definitely be more of them together.**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! You're very welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed their banter and that it made you laugh. And don't worry. all will be revealed... eventually.**

**Hello, Dagger! Glad you enjoyed! And thanks for the 100th review! That made me smile.**

**JUST A QUICK IMPORTANT NOTE! I will not be posting any chapter on this upcoming Monday! I have to travel to San Jose (which is like a four hour drive) for some important business, and I'll be staying in a hotel that night. I don't know if I will be back on Tuesday, but just in case, it might be better not to expect a chapter then, either. Anyway, enjoy! **

* * *

The Master Emerald glowed like it had never glowed before. It was so bright that, even with his eyes squeezed as tightly shut as they could go, the light seared Sonic's eyes. It was so bright that, instead of staying green, it became a horrible, painful, pure white. He swore he was going to go blind, if he somehow hadn't already. In his mind he _felt _something. _Something_... he couldn't name. An unseen force, a power, a sentience the likes of which he'd never felt before plundered his soul. Thoughts, feelings, memories, motives, intentions, strengths, weaknesses, influences, desires... everything was taken and analyzed with care, then put back where it belonged. It was almost as though someone, or some_thing_, wanted to see if he was ready. But for what?

Throughout it all, Sonic couldn't move. He felt frozen. Time seemed to have little meaning, if it even had one at all. The space around him seemed just as frozen as he was. For that matter, the space around him just seemed... empty. Nothing seemed to exist except for him, the light, the strange force, and the emerald that was causing it all. Slowly, the force started to pull back. Then, all at once, it and the horrible light receded and everything went black.

* * *

**_So_ sorry this took so long! I went on a road trip... Hehe. Plus I've been trying t finish a stupid project... Also, don't kill me for the length of this, alright? I left it short like this for a reason. Posted 04-12-15.**


	53. Blank Interior

**Hello, ****Blazing Bright Streak of Light! I'm glad you enjoyed! Your review made me smile. :)**

**Hello, TheDragoonSlayer! It was fun. Long, but fun. I was sleep-deprived on the last day, but it was totally worth it. Thanks for the wish of good luck! I definitely need it. Thanks for agreeing not to kill me! XD**

**Hello, ScorchedEarth82800! It _is_ long, isn't it? And yet it feels so short to me, as the one writing it. And trust me, the journey is far from over. I'm so glad you like the story! And yes, each character has a sort of tie-in to the present, usually intentionally, sometimes not. Still, I like how that's turned out. And as far as Sonic goes... well, I don't think he's really immortal. I guess we'll find out eventually. ;)**

**Hello, Anonymous! Thanks for understanding. Yeah, being a student is always hard right after spring break. I wish it wasn't over yet (*sigh*). Thanks for the review!**

**I'm home earlier than planned! Yay! Thanks everyone for your patience! Here's the next chapter, as promised! **

* * *

The world Sonic woke to was white and flat. There was nowhere and nothing around him. Surprise gave way to confusion which gave way to concern and then a momentary stab of panic. He leapt to his feet from where he'd been laying on his stomach and spun in a quick circle as he looked around, his eyes taking in everything and nothing at the same time. There was nothing here but flat, white ground and an equally white sky. The was no sun or moon, and yet everything around him was lit up as those it was midday. The air was stagnant and lacked the freshness of the outdoors and yet, at the same time, it wasn't stuffy and heavy as it would have been if he were inside. There was no real definable temperature. There was no sign of any other life. There wasn't even so much as a rock on the ground. So where was he? Neither inside nor out, neither in the light nor in the dark, neither awake nor really sleeping... _Where am I? _

His feet, inside their red sneakers, which stood out so starkly against the white background, began to move, slowly at first, then faster and faster and faster until he simply blurred from sight, unable to be seen, unable to be heard, unable to be traced. He didn't know how he was able to go so fast so effortlessly. Normally it took a great deal of effort to go this speed. For that matter, it wasn't a speed he could maintain for long, and yet, somehow, he wasn't tiring. He felt weirdly energized, as though he'd slept for several decades and needed to run off the lingering lethargy. His stamina seemed to have increased exponentially, not that it was low to begin with. His energy seemed boundless. His strength, too, was far beyond what it usually was, what it should have been. He could feel power running through him, like nothing he'd ever felt before. It was incredible... but troubling at the same time. Just what was going on, anyway?

Sonic began to slow, eventually dropping his speed so much that he was merely jogging. Fine, powdery, white dust was kicked up by his feet as he moved, leaving a floating trail behind him that gradually lowered back down to the ground. Had he even been leaving footprints on the ground, the powder probably would have covered them. Finally, he came to a stop and looked around again, this time just moving his head and eyes. He frowned up at the sky. _There should be a sun. There's no way it can be so bright here without one. _Then, in a sudden shocking turn of events, there was a blinding flash in the sky that caused him to wince, forced him to close his eyes and shield them with his arms. Moments later, he opened them and stared up at the sky in open shock. Thoughts failed to form. Words refused to come. None of this made sense. Finally he blurted out, "What the hell?"

A voice, both familiar and not, reached his ears, seemingly from inside his own head. "_The world is what you make of it. Your thoughts, your feelings... They influence everything."_

He spun around. No one was there. There was nothing. There was no one. He was nowhere. Nothing had changed. _So how? That voice... Where did it come from? _

_"Prepare yourself, young one. Someone is coming to see you." _

"Who are you?" he called out.

_"I am nothing and no one. I exist because it is necessary. When you are ready, when it is time, I will cease to be." _

"What are you talking about?!" His demand sounded harsh even to his own ears. "When I'm ready for what? When it's time for _what_?"

_"All will be revealed to you in time. When it is time, you will know." _

Then the voice faded and he was left in silence once more. "I always knew there was a reason I hated talking to people," he grumbled, glaring up at the new sun that had been born in the sky.

"You're as grumpy as ever, Sonic."

Sonic froze for a long moment, his spine going completely rigid and his eyes widening. His thoughts ceased. His heart pounded. The voice behind him was a voice he'd thought he'd never hear again, knew he _wouldn't _hear ever again. He _shouldn't_ have heard it just now. And yet... He forced himself to move, whirled around, started disbelievingly into violet eyes filled with humor and care. _I-It can't be... This... This is... It isn't... It's impossible... _

"Hey, Sonic. Man, you've grown. Guess you're not a kid anymore, huh?"

All Sonic could do for what could have been years was stare, his eyes searching for any hint, any sign that what he was seeing wasn't real, _begging_ for proof that this wasn't, _couldn't _be real. His throat threatened to close up when he finally forced himself to speak past the lump in his throat, his voice barely above a whisper. "Locke?"

Locke's head nodded once, slowly, his long hair shifting across his shoulders and his head seeming strangely bare without his hat. His smile was exactly as Sonic remembered it: audacious, taunting, full of amusement and confidence, yet tempered with kindness and an air of friendliness that drew people to him whether her liked it or not. "It's good to see you."

Sonic felt like he could barely speak. "How?' he managed to force out.

"I'll explain as much as I can," Locke promised. "Care to take a walk?"

Sonic hesitated, glanced to the side. "Where?"

"Wherever you want. This is your world, after all."

"My world?"

Another nod. "Entirely yours. You make it what you want."

That sounded an awful lot like the strange voice from earlier, but he knew that hadn't been Locke. The voice had been light and of a higher-pitch. Female. Not Locke. He hesitated again, even as grass sprung up from the ground and smooth, rolling hills surrounded by water and covered in green and flowers began to appear, rolling out to the horizon and beyond. The sky became a clear, perfect blue. The sun shone. A cool breeze whispered through the trees and the grass. In the distance, steep, rocky mountains reached for the heavens, sparkling waterfalls cascading off their sides into the rivers and lakes below. This place was like a memory. Perhaps because this _was_ a memory. Or at least, this place was _based _off of a memory. _Green Hill. This shouldn't be real. None of this makes any sense. _Another memory tugged at the edges of his mind, this one dark and filled with terrible and powerful emotions and one that he's struggled to suppress for many years.

_"__No__, Sonic! This is where I draw the line!" Knuckles interrupted harshly. "I've stood on the sidelines long enough! Your parents aren't here to protect you so it's about time I stepped in and did it for them!"_

_Sonic grew angry then. "I can take care of myself!_ _I'm not your kid!"_

_"Yes, you are!" Knuckles shouted furiously. Sonic froze. "I may not be your real dad, but I'm the closest thing you've got, Sonic! " The echidna took several calming breaths before speaking again. "We've stuck together for a long time now, right?" Sonic nodded and several tears slid down his face. "Well I plan to keep adding to that number. That's why you have to stay here. I won't let you die. I'd never forgive myself." He stood then and took his hat off, shoving it down onto Sonic's head, further shocking the boy. "Take care of this, okay?"_

_Sonic hesitantly reached up and gripped the rim of the soft brown hat as he watched Knuckles run across the vines and onto the mainland. Fresh tears spilled down his cheeks. "Yeah!" he shouted in a wobbly voice while the only friend he'd ever known disappeared into the woods in the distance._

_Then, there was a deafening roar. A terrible white light emitted from some indiscernible point in the distance, spreading slowly ever and ever outward in a giant all-consuming sphere. Sonic's eyes widened in horror as winds more powerful than that of a hurricane snapped the vines holding the small island in place and flung it back nearly a mile away from the larger island that had been his home. The white light soon engulfed all of South Island. Seconds later, cataclysmic explosions tore apart the mainland. Even from so far away, the intense heat burned him. More explosions shook the air. Shock waves knocked him off his feet and sent him hurtling off the edge of Angel Island. The Land of Darkness was still completely concealed by swarming clouds beneath the island, as it always was. Fierce winds tossed him this way and that as he plummeted through the clouds._

_The hat was ripped off of his head._

_"No!" In desperate fear, Sonic reached out for it. His fingers grazed the rim for only a second before the winds snatched it away from him forever and dragged it beneath the clouds. Then, as yet more explosions lit up the darkness, lightning struck him and everything went completely black. _

Locke's voice pulled his mind from the past, from the horrible events that had occurred so long ago. "You coming?"

He blinked without really meaning to and somehow managed to nod. "Y-Yeah." They walked in silence down one hill and up the next, across bridges and behind waterfalls, past swaying clusters of flowers and under shifting trees. This place was exactly as he remembered it. And yet, it shouldn't have been there. It, like Locke, had been destroyed during the Cataclysm.

"So how old are you now, Sonic?"

Sonic forced himself not to jump and took a moment to breathe. "Seventeen."

"Seven-" Locke started to say, seeming shocked, before cutting himself off. "God, how long has it been?"

"A long time," Sonic replied enigmatically, suddenly feeling like he wanted to close himself off. He didn't want to be discussing this, any of this, but there was no denying that he wanted answers. And... more than that... he couldn't close himself off from his friend, the only real friend he'd had in a long, long time.

"Must have been," Locke agreed solemnly. "Centuries or so, even. Right?"

Sonic was quiet for a moment. Finally, he sighed. "Yeah. A few."

"Please tell me you haven't been alone all that time," Locke said seriously, his eyes searching Sonic's.

"I wasn't," Sonic replied, looking away. "Not for all of it."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

Silence fell between the two again, tense and uncomfortable, only to be broken by a smile and comment of, "You really are still grumpy."

Sonic allowed himself a small smirk, a slight, low chuckle, "Yeah, yeah. And you're still bothersome."

"How was ever 'bothersome'?" Locke asked incredulously with a laugh.

"For one thing, you consistently refused to let me add boosters to my plane to make it faster."

"That's because they were experimental and highly dangerous."

"No more dangerous that my standing on a missile, but never said anything about that."

"A mistake. You were a kid."

"Only in age."

"Yeah, yeah, if you say so."

"I do."

"Well I say otherwise."

"Good for you. I choose to ignore it."

"Jerk."

"Yup." Locke smirked widely at him and Sonic found himself smiling in return, his first real smile in ages. "It really is good to see you, Sonic."

"It's good to see you too." He turned his head to look at his old friend. "So you gonna explain or what?"

"I said I would." Locke sat down in the grass under the shade of a tree and Sonic joined him. "I guess I should start with the easiest thing to explain."

"And what's that?"

"We're inside the Master Emerald."

* * *

**Posted 04-14-15.**


	54. Concise

**Hello again, Dagger! No, I'm not drunk, and I promise you I will never be. I don't drink. :P And, as far as Locke goes, more will be revealed in time... Enjoy.**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Thanks so much for the review!**

**Hello, John! You're welcome. Yes, I love quick updates as well, both as a reader and a writer. Thanks for pointing out the typo! I reread the line, and sure enough, I messed up. I'm always on the lookout for errors, so thanks again for pointing it out! I'll get it fixed when I can. **

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon Fan! You knew he would show up, huh? 'Cause I sure didn't! Not until I was in the middle of writing that chapter! I'm glad you enjoyed!**

* * *

Sonic didn't know how long he stared before he was able to formulate a response. "The Master Emerald?"

Locke nodded. "You touched it again, right?"

Sonic blinked. "Yeah."

Instead of responding to that, Locke said, "You can come here whenever you like. If you like."

Sonic looked around. "This is Green Hill."

"You make this world what you want."

"Green Hill is gone."

"This isn't the same Green Hill."

More silence. This time awkward. "Are you... the same?"

Locke gave Sonic a long, serious look with just a hint of sadness. "Yes. And I promise you, I'm real."

Sonic looked away, frowning. "But not alive."

Locke sighed. "No."

"So you're..."

"A spirit? Yes." He gave Sonic another long look. "And I can't stay for long."

Sonic looked up sharply. "What?"

But Locke didn't reply. Instead, he looked away and up into the sky. "Remember what I told you about the Master Emerald the first time you saw it?"

Sonic frowned thoughtfully. "You said that your tribe had guarded it for over a thousand years and that, when they found it, it was just a big, dark, shiny rock."

Locke nodded. "Do you remember what else I told you?" Silence answered him. "A couple hundred years before your visit to Angel Island, the Master Emerald suddenly came to life, filled to the brim with incredible power, the likes of which the world had never seen before. And _that_ event coincided with another important event in the world. Do you know what that event was?"

Sonic thought about it. He knew little of the history of South Island. No one did, really. Not even the most educated people who had lived there knew its history. South Island had always been mysterious, and hid its secrets well. Ancient ruins that told nothing of the people who had once built and lived within them, myths and legends with no known origins or purposes, crumbling relics unlike anything the people of the present had ever seen before, strange and incredible events with no explanations... "Something else happened that day?"

"Yes," Locke replied with a nod. "In the same moment, the same instant."

"They happened at the exact same time?" Sonic frowned.

"Yes," Locke repeated.

"That sounds impossible," Sonic muttered, looking away.

"It does," the echidna acknowledged.

"But it's true?"

"It is."

Sonic thought hard for several long minutes before sighing and shaking his head. "I have no idea. What happened?"

"You were born."

* * *

**In order to allow for speculation and also to purposefully build the suspense and whatnot, I chose to end this here. I hope you enjoyed. Posted 04-15-15.**


	55. Painful Fade

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review on chapter 53: I don't mind swearing. Go nuts. :) I'm glad you enjoyed it! The mysterious voice was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision, and I'm glad it worked out like it did. The feelings... OH GOD THE FEELINGS! I swear I couldn't stop smiling both sadly and happily while I was writing the scene with Locke in it! I'm glad that the flashback and the return of Green Hill worked out as well. The flashback was fairly planned, but the return of Green Hill just sort of... happened. Initially the world was going to stay white and flat. Don't worry, your brain will recover, I promise! The injury is not permanent (I think)! By the way, was your "over 9000" comment a reference to DBZ? :)**

**Your review on chapter 54: Unfortunately, I love writing cliffhangers, so I doubt they'll be going away any time soon. And as to whether or not they're connected... well, you'll just have to wait and see!**

**Hello, Anonymous! How did you call it? Did I let something slip? I'm curious now! XD And by "transformed" Chaos Emeralds, do you mean the Super Emeralds from Sonic and Knuckles (or Sonic 3, whichever it was)?**

**Hello, Dagger! I'm a she. I said that before, in a previous author's note. :P Yes, I suppose it technically is Mobius. I just, I don't know, I've never really liked the name "Mobius". **

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon Fan! Yep, it's soon. I try to update once a day. :) Glad I finally mystified you! My attempts at mystery and wonder are finally working! (Jk.) And you're so welcome! **

* * *

Sonic looked to a Locke, a deep frown marring his face. "How do you know that? It's not like you were there."

"No," Locke agreed solemnly. "I wasn't."

"Then how-"

"Tell me something, Sonic." Sonic blinked and Locke tilted his head a bit to look at him, his eyes searching Sonic's. "What do you know about your parents?"

"Nothing."

"That isn't true."

Sonic looked away. "It was just a rumor. Some lie that Robotnik came up with."

"Perhaps." Silence. Locke gave a verbal nudge. "Tell me."

Sonic sighed and tilted his face up to the sky. "I told you, it was just a rumor. Robotnik... he tried to convince me that he had killed my parents." His frown returned. "I didn't believe him."

"You were right not to."

"Why's that?"

"Your parents, like you, were far too strong for Robotnik to ever hope to defeat."

_If they were so strong... then why are they dead? _Sonic, unsure what else to say, asked the most obvious question on his mind. "How do you know?"

But, like before, Locke failed to answer that question. Instead he said, "They always knew you would be strong. They were, after all, the world's greatest heroes. They were the strongest people both on this world and on others. You were always going to be strong. But the enormity of your power had the potential to be... devastating."

"My power?" Sonic asked in utter confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Think about it, Sonic," Locke smiled. "You're smart. You'll figure it out."

"How am I supposed to, when I don't even know what you're talking about?" Sonic replied somewhat angrily.

"I'll give you one hint, but you'll have to do the rest on your own." Sonic blinked. "Think about it. What's the one thing in the world that only you can truly control?"

"That _doesn't_ help," Sonic muttered.

Locke just smiled again and stood. It was then that Sonic realized that he was starting to be able to see through his friend. "Looks like my time is almost up. I'll have to leave soon."

Sonic hurried to his feet. "But you- you can't," he stammered. He'd already lost Locke once... how could he handle having to say goodbye again? And so soon...

Locke faded still further. "We'll meet again, kid. Don't worry."

Sonic couldn't quite help his scowl. "I'm not a kid anymore."

The smile was warm and full of an almost fatherly affection and pride. "I know." And then he was gone.

* * *

**I know, I know, another short one. The next one should be longer, though. Hopefully. Posted 04-16-15.**


	56. The Start

**Hello, TheDragoonSlayer! *Dodges babies* Why do you want to kill me?! D: *Screams and runs from more babies***

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! BECAUSE IT'S A MYSTERY. Lol. All will be revealed, I promise! This chapter, in fact! But I'm not telling you up here! XD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Glad you enjoyed! I'm an anime/manga fan, too! The big 4 are Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, and Fairy Tail, right? I _love_ One Piece and Naruto (and DBZ)! But I've never seen or read Bleach or Fairy Tail. Definitely want to, though! What's your favorite anime/manga? Mine will have to be Inuyasha, though One Piece is a close second with Sonic X (obviously!) not far behind. :)**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon Fan! I will certainly try to! I may not always have anything to say though, so please don't think I'm ignoring you if I don't say anything sometimes! :) I'm so happy you've been enjoying, and thanks so much for the compliment! You really made me smile.**

**Hello, Dagger! "Like Jesus", huh? XD That made me laugh! Well it wasn't obvious to me. *Pouts* And I don't do it at EVERY suspenseful moment... Just a lot of them. Lol! I'm glad you're enjoying!**

**Hello, Ruby 91! Don't worry, that will be revealed (hopefully fairly soon)! Thanks for the review!**

**Hell, Anonymous! Glad to hear you don't mind the length and that you liked the cliffhanger! I am quite fond of those cliffhangers, and I'm glad to hear that I'm getting better at them. :) Okay, that's what I suspected. I don't know if I'll include them in the story, but now that you've brought it to my attention, I must admit the idea is intriguing... Good news! You'll find out if your suspicions are correct this chapter!**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! I'm so happy you're enjoying! And yeah, I felt bad too. Poor guy. :(**

**So, hey! This last chapter has had the most reviews so far! Thanks to _everyone_ who reviewed! You all made my day! And to those of you who haven't reviewed, I still thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading this story! Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Sonic couldn't believe how badly his head hurt when he woke up, laying on his stomach in the grass with his head turned to the side and his arms up by it. How long had he been out? Minutes? Hours? Days? Groaning internally, he pushed himself off the ground and stood. He swayed a bit, feeling dizzy, and squeezed his eyes shut momentarily, only to open then again moments later when he heard a voice.

"What the hell?"

Turning, he saw Knuckles standing where he had been before, rubbing his eyes and gritting his teeth. It was as though the flash had just ended, though that had happened some time ago. ...Hadn't it? _Is it possible... that no time passed here? _

Knuckles blinked his eyes open and frowned at the Master Emerald, which floated calmly in its place as though nothing was amiss. Muttering crossly to himself, he moved to check the emerald over and placed a hand on its surface, almost as though he was sure it must have cracked or something during the flash that had occurred, apparently, only moments before. After several long minutes, he sighed. "I've never seen it do anything like that before."

Almost immediately and entirely against his will, a memory entered Sonic's mind.

_Knuckles was silent for a long moment before speaking, his eyes locked on the Master Emerald. "For generations, one person in the tribe was designated the jewel's guardian. They were chosen by the jewel itself. Every guardian is always able to communicate with the jewel and, to a point, control its power. When spoken to, it always responds in its own way. But... I've never heard of it responding to anyone like that."_

_"But... I didn't speak to it."_

_"Not consciously, no. The jewel can read into your heart and your mind, especially when you touch it. When you make physical contact with it, it's able to see your desires, your fears, your thoughts, everything about you in a moment."_

_That was... He didn't even know. "So... We came all the way down here for me to... touch it?"_

_"Yes," Knuckles replied, looking thoughtful. "And to see if I was right."_

_"Right about... what?" Sonic asked, more confused than ever._

_Knuckles sighed heavily. "It doesn't matter. Come on. Let's get out of here. It's about time you had something to eat." _

"Why did you bring me here?" Sonic demanded. "Why did you have me touch it again?" He gestured vaguely with the sweep of an arm toward the Master Emerald.

"To see if the emerald would react in the same way you described it doing before."

"Yeah, it did. Blinded me both times." He chose not to disclose what had happened when he'd apparently been unconscious. He wasn't even sure anymore if that had been real. But it had _felt_ real... so, _so_ painfully real... And the memories lingering in his mind were too vivid to have been from a dream.

Knuckles mumbled some sort of response, seeming too deep in thought to really formulate any other reply. Eventually, after another lengthy silence, he sighed and removed his hand. Turning, he crossed his arms, his gaze meeting Sonic's evenly. "I have no idea what my dad was trying to figure out by having you touch the Master Emerald," he admitted. "You'll have to figure that out on your own." Knuckles wasn't the first person to tell him that today. He paused then, his jaw clenching as though he were wrestling with an idea he didn't particularly like. Finally, he grumbled, "If you ever want to come back here... to see the emerald... I'll let you."

To say that Sonic was surprised would have been an understatement, he supposed. Knuckles was more protective of the emerald than Locke had been of both the emerald an of Sonic himself combined, and that was saying something. "Are you... sure?"

Knuckles gave a single, curt nod, offering no other signs of affirmation. Then his glare from earlier that day returned and he growled. "But if you ever try to take it, you're _dead_!"

Sonic nearly swatted his own forehead. "I _told_ you already that I wasn't going to take it!"

And just like that, their arguments from earlier that day resumed, almost as though they had never been interrupted.

* * *

Sonic leaned back on his hands, his face tilted up to the sky and his legs dangling over the edge of one of the floating island's many rocky edges. Knuckles walked over and sat down beside him, one leg bent up at the knee, its foot braced on the ground, while the other leg dangled in the same way as Sonic's. "So when did you say your friend would be back?"

"He said it might take him a few days or so, and it's been two."

"So you might be leaving today."

"Yeah."

"Do me a favor." Sonic turned his head to look at Knuckles, who gave him a serious look. "Don't tell anyone where this island is."

"I won't," Sonic promised, his sincerity obvious in his voice. Then he added in a murmur, his gaze drifting back to the sky, "I wouldn't dream of it."

Knuckles nodded, satisfaction in his tone. "Good."

Sonic's eyes closed. His peaceful expression hinted at none of his internal confusion. _What is the one thing that only I can control...? _Of course his speed crossed his mind. Speed was, first and foremost, his greatest ability. But it was far from having the potential to be "devastating", as Locke had said this other power was. Speed, on it's own, wasn't truly powerful anyway. _So what is it, then? The thing that Locke was talking about... the thing that I can control... _He had a feeling that the answer was, or at least had been, staring him right in the face at some point, but he just couldn't put his finger on it._ Why do I get the feeling that I'm going to feel stupid whenever I actually figure this out? _When the answer finally came to him, it was so simple, so obvious that he felt like slapping himself in the face. _Of course! Jeez- What's wrong with me?! _His right ear twitched as it so often did whenever his sharp senses picked up on a sound, however faint. Why always his right ear, he honestly had no idea. But, in the past, it had been a useful way for those closest to him to tell, without him having to say anything, that he'd heard something. It was an almost involuntary reaction, but it hardly bothered him, really. The incessant _thumpthumpthump _of a propeller prompted him to open his eyes and look down. A small smirk pulled at the corner of his lips. _He made it. _

As he watched, a small bright orange plane flew ever closer to the island, it's yellow-furred pilot smiling and waving one arm high in the air. "_Hey_! _Sonic_!" he called excitedly. "_Didja miss me_?"

Sonic grinned. "Didn't know what to do without ya!" he called back as he stood.

Knuckles stood as well and smirked faintly at Sonic. "Guess I'll be seeing you around."

Sonic smirked toothily at him, his emerald eyes flashing. "Sure will."

Knuckles extended a hand and Sonic reached out to grab it. They shook briefly before Knuckles turned and walked away into the woods. He was gone by the time Tails finally landed and hopped out of his little plane. Sonic looked at the spot where Knuckles had disappeared for a moment longer before looking away. _We'll definitely meet again... Knuckles. _

"Sonic, who was that guy? I saw him when I was flying up here."

Sonic turned his head and smirked at Tails. "A new friend."

Tails expression brightened from confusion to happiness. "Really? Cool!" he exclaimed. "You'll have to take me back here to meet him sometime!"

Sonic nodded his agreement, smirking internally at the idea of inviting people here without Knuckles's permission. _He'll likely blow a fuse. Still... these two will have to meet eventually. Neither is going away, and I'm definitely going to have to come back here sooner or later. __Plus, if I have my way, Knuckles will be coming off this island at least once in a while. He's not going to get away with holing himself up here forever. _While Tails chatted excitedly about how he'd borrowed the orange plane from a weird old shop owner in a nearby city, Sonic hopped up onto the wing. Tails climbed into the cockpit. The propeller started to turn. They took off into the sky, flying away from the afternoon sun. As the wind filled his ears and ruffled his fur, he closed his eyes and leaned back, arms behind his head and one knee propped up on the other, kicking gently as he relaxed. Today had been a strange and confusing and just overall unsettling day. Sonic was still unsure what to think of what he'd discovered earlier. _If I'm even right. _

_"I am surprised. I had not expected you to discover the truth so quickly. I commend your efforts, young one."_

It was the voice, the one from from inside the Master Emerald. Sonic's eyes snapped open and he glanced sharply to Tails. His companion gave no hint of having heard the voice. Good. Turning his head away again, he closed his eyes and focused his thoughts. _I'm right, then?_

_"You are," _it acknowledged. _"You and you alone hold the power of Chaos within you. Chaos itself is power. It is love and hate, anger and joy, destruction and peace, pain and healing, life and death... Chaos is everything and its opposite. Tui and La, Push and Pull, Yin and Yang. With it, you hold the power of the universe in your hands." _

_So what do the emeralds have to do with any of this? _Sonic asked. He was surprised when he actually received an answer, having fully expected more riddles and half-truths.

_"Your parents knew long before your birth that your power would be too great for you to control, especially when so young. As a child, you would be helpless against your own power. It would have bought about great destruction and death. Fearing for your life and the lives of everyone else, they sealed the majority of your power within the gems." _Sonic didn't have time to even react to that before the voice repeated what it had said within the emerald. _"When you are ready, when it is time, I will cease to be." _

With that, he felt its presence leave his mind. He sighed, deciding to do his best not to think about the information that had just been given to him. He didn't _want_ to think about it. Seven different colored lights resurfaced from memory and he pushed the memory away. _I'll have to find them all over again. _He turned his head to look at Tails again. _But maybe... maybe not alone. _"Hey, Tails. What do you say about going on a little adventure?"

* * *

**Posted 04-17-15.**


	57. Fluster

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon Fan! Don't worry, Knuckles will be back. :) Glad you enjoyed!**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! "Best"? I'm glad you think so! Wait, how is it going to steal your face? Why? _What?! _:O**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! I'm glad it did! It was meant to do so! And yes, Super Sonic will definitely make an appearance at some point or another! _Yes_! Naruto is amazing! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Well, I still want to check out Bleach and form my own opinion. :) I will definitely check out FT when I can! I didn't even notice the connection between this last chapter and Naruto until you mentioned the "Naruto feeling" you got! I feel smart. XD And yes, it was. You know me too well!**

**Hello, John! Yes, I did say that. And I do have an answer to your question, but I don't want to put it here. I promise, you'll get your answer eventually! I must ask you to simply be patient. :)**

**Hello, Dagger! Or should I say "Daggr"? It does look cooler, I must admit. :) Yes, I did my best to make that longer, and this one as well. Glad you enjoyed! And trust me, I plan to have to the two of them together quite a bit! Not all the time, but definitely a lot! I'm not into that, but I won't judge, I promise. :) You know, I actually like Chris. I don't know, I've just never had a problem with him.**

**This chapter is comprised of several smaller chunks pieced together. I did it this way to save you all from a million ridiculously short chapters. Enjoy!**

* * *

Sonic blinked while Tails groaned. The young fox stared at the orange plane they had borrowed, which now rested just outside his workshop. "I _can't _believe we wrecked it."

"_We _did nothing," Sonic corrected him. "It was those robots."

Tails sighed. "Yeah... I know. But still... what're we gonna do? I promised that old man I'd return his plane in one piece."

"And you will," Sonic replied.

"How?"

"I'll fix it."

"You can _do _that?"

"Yes."

Sonic wasn't at all surprised when Tails's quick mind caught up to him and his eyes widened. "_That's_ what the wires and things I gave you were for! To repair a plane! Right?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. My plane. It got wrecked a while ago."

"But... If you use that stuff to fix the old man's plane, you won't be able to fix yours."

Sonic shrugged. It didn't really matter. There was always another day. Instead, he steered the topic to something far more important. "You're sure it's still here?"

Tails nodded, his expression serious. "I think I know why you didn't sense it."

"I still can't," Sonic said as he followed Tails into the fox's home.

"I guess it worked, then."

"What did?"

"When I found it, I thought it was just a normal gem," Tails said. "Still, it wasn't like anything I'd ever seen before, so I brought it back here to run some tests on it to learn what it was made of. But it was resistant to everything, and completely unbreakable."

"You tried to break it?" Sonic asked, eyebrows upraised.

Tails shook his head. "No, that was an accident." He didn't elaborate further. Instead he said, "When that happened, it reacted."

"Reacted how?" Sonic pressed.

"It released power. Energy. A lot of it. That kind of energy can be traced with the right technology, and didn't want anyone finding it, especially because of the stories I'd read about gems destroying things before."

_South Island. _"What did you do?"

"I created a containment unit that conceals its power without diminishing it. I promise I didn't so anything else to it."

"It's fine. I trust you."

Tails beamed at Sonic's words and the two walked through a door that had been left ajar sometime previously. They then headed down a short hallway and through another door. From there, Tails pushed aside a heavy bookshelf, revealing a thick metal door so expertly crafted into the wall that Sonic hadn't even noticed it at first. Placing his hand on the door's surface, a green light appeared out of nowhere and scanned Tails's palm. Then, with a soft hiss, the door slid open. Sonic had to admit that he was impressed. _I knew the kid was smart, but this is ridiculous. _

"It's through here. Come on."

The care Tails had taken to conceal and protect this treasure was comforting. Sonic was glad that Tails hadn't been careless with it. _It destroyed everything once... It could easily do that again. _But, then again, Ivo seemed nowhere near as crazy as his grandfather had been. _Still, better safe than sorry. Definitely better to be safe... _They descended down a long staircase into a dark room. Flipping various switches as they went, Tails slowly illuminated the area. The room was much larger than the echoes filling their ears had hinted at, and Sonic looked around in awe. _He built all this? _If he hadn't been impressed before, he certainly was now. "Hey, Tails."

"Yeah?" Tails asked over his shoulder.

"Where did you find it, anyway?" He supposed it really wasn't important, but he was curious anyhow.

"In the lake," Tails replied immediately, without even having to think about it. "I was going swimming and I went under to see what kind of fish were there. I saw something shiny in the sand reflecting the sunlight, so I swam closer to take a look."

"And this is what you found." Sonic stared at the gem, which was mounted carefully behind special glass which was attached to some sort of machine. Tails nodded and walked over to some other machine, this one looking somewhat like a computer. He began typing in commands and, moments later, the glass lowered smoothly into the machine. Sonic hesitated. _It helped destroy everything once. It could do so again. _Frowning, he reached out with one hand. His fingers grasped firmly at bright yellow, even brighter than Tails's own yellow fur. There was a brief, painfully bright glow, then the light faded back and the gem rested peacefully in his hand once more.

"Do they _always_ do that when you touch them?" Tails asked, wide-eyed.

Sonic thought back and finally shook his head. "No, not always. Just sometimes."

Tails tilted his head, gave that some thought, then seemed to cast the information aside as unimportant. Then he said, "Hey, Sonic, I was thinking."

"What?"

"Maybe we could repair the old man's plane later."

Sonic frowned. Hadn't Tails wanted to return the plane as soon as possible? "Why?"

"Well, in order to find the rest of these," he gestured to the yellow gem in Sonic's hand, "we'll need to have a mode of transportation besides just our bodies." With a wry grin he then pointed out, "Unlike you, I don't have a lot of stamina."

"So you want to use my plane," Sonic summed up neatly, already turning the idea around and around in his head, considering it from all possible angles and taking into account any and all other options. This was how his mind worked. It made simple decisions more difficult sometimes, but it had also saved his life plenty of times in the past.

"Yeah," Tails nodded again. "I'm sure it's more durable than that orange one."

"The orange one's an old model," Sonic said distractedly. "By the standards back then, that plane was the best out there."

"But yours was- is better," Tails said. "Right?"

Sonic almost forgot to respond as he considered how difficult the repairs on his plane would be, how long they would take, what other supplies he'd need. "Yeah."

Tails looked at him. "So can we do it?"

Sonic sighed. "It'll take a lot of work."

"But it'll be worth it," Tails replied with a grin.

Sonic almost grinned back. "Yeah."

"Besides," Tails quipped, "it won't be that hard. After all, you'll have me to help!"

This time, Sonic was helpless against the smirk that spread across his face. "Yeah, yeah, you're a genius and we all know it."

Tails's grin widened and the two headed back up the stairs and out of the room and then, shortly afterward, the house. After exchanging a few brief words and agreeing to meet back in Tails's workshop at lunchtime, Sonic turned and took off to the site of the explosion that had taken place the day he'd met Tails. It felt like such a long time ago that that had happened, and Sonic almost couldn't believe how few days had actually gone by.

The agreement was simple. Tails would get to work searching his shop for whatever tools, materials, and whatever else that they could use to repair Sonic's plane while Sonic looked over the plane to decide what exactly needed to be done to repair it. From there, they would decide what tools and whatnot were needed, what could be repaired outside, and what needed to be repaired in the workshop. After that, they could get to work. Hopefully it wouldn't take too much longer than a few days to complete. Both were eager to get going on their journey. It wouldn't always be easy or fun, but neither would be alone. No matter what the world threw at them, they would be fine. He was sure of it.

* * *

"This... is... _amazing_!"

Sonic stared at Tails's amazed expression with a frown. What in the world was he talking about? "Tails, it's wrecked."

Tails waved that comment off, never taking his eyes off of the wreckage of the plane in the woods that Sonic had led him to. "I know it's wrecked. But still... this plane is incredible! It doesn't even have a propeller!"

Sonic honestly thought that it was sad that modern planes still used propellers. He hated the things with a passion. They could never hold up to the standards he needed them to. He did his best not to think of how many plane wrecks he'd gotten into in the past, how many times he could have been killed, due to his plane's propeller ceasing to function. _Those things may as well be weapons, considering how dangerous they are._

"And it sits four people?" Tails asked excitedly, cutting into Sonic's thoughts.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Having one-seater is no good. Not everyone's comfortable riding on a plane's wing."

Tails laughed. "Got that right."

"You could easily save yourself."

"Doesn't mean I wouldn't be scared!"

"Why would you be scared?"

"Because I'd be free-falling from a great height, more likely than not!"

"You can fly."

"So?!"

Smiling at each other, the two of them crouched beside the tool box Tails had brought and set to work on what they could.

* * *

Three days into their project, more than half of the Tornado was standing once more. Sonic sat in Tails's workshop with a set of precision tools laid out on the table before him. The one he held in his hand emitted a small blue flame which he used to very slowly, very carefully weld two pieces of metal together. Once he was certain his task was complete, he used another tool to cool the metal before hauling the heavy thing off the table and walking it outside to where Tails was calmly working. "How's it going, Tails?"

"Good," Tails smiled. "I finally fixed the rest of the left wing. Did you fix the engine?"

"Right here," Sonic replied, carefully setting the machine down in the grass.

"Great!" Tails exclaimed.

Sonic privately agreed. They had almost no work left to do now. Picking up his burden again, he walked over to the Tornado to put the engine back in. By the time he was finished, it was nearing noon. He did his best not to think of the time, though. He hadn't eaten all day, and he was absolutely starving right now. Having a faster-than-average metabolism certainly didn't help. Still, he had more important things to attend to. "Hey, Tails-"

"I'm fine here," Tails interrupted with a smile. "Go on, or else you'll miss her."

Sonic nodded and hurried back inside for a moment, grabbing something that he'd painstakingly repaired the day before and then dashing off into the woods. Running as fast as was necessary, Sonic soon found himself at a familiar house surrounded by pink roses. He'd only been there once, but that was enough for him to remember the way. Hesitating for only a moment, he walked up the steps to the front door. His ears only picked up on the sound of one set of footsteps inside the house. He could only hope that they belonged to the person he was looking for. _Maybe I'm not too late. _Taking a deep breath, he raised his free hand to knock on the door. Moments later, it opened. Pink fur caught the sunlight. Green eyes blinked.

"Sonic?"

Sonic hesitated for the barest of moments before lifting his offering and showing it to her with a simple, "Here."

Amy's eyes widened and she gasped, practically snatching the object out of his hand. "My hammer!" she exclaimed. "Oh, Sonic! You fixed it?"

He nodded awkwardly and she positively beamed at him. Then, in an unexpected turn of events, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "A-Amy!" he stammered in surprise, wanting to oush her away but also not wanting to lay his hands on her and initiate any more contact between the two of them.

"Thank you," she murmured, ignoring his exclamation. Then she pulled back and, smiling at how flustered he was, she gave him a little peck on the cheek and disappeared inside.

Muttering a few curses and forcing himself to remove his hand from the cheek she had kissed, he turned and ran back to Tails and the Tornado and the things he actually knew how to handle.

* * *

"So... I guess we're leaving now, huh?"

Sonic nodded and looked to Tails, taking in his expression and his posture, listening to the pounding if his heart. "Yeah." A pause. Then, "You don't have to come if you don't want to."

Tails turned to him, an incredibly wide smile on his face. "Of course I want to!" he exclaimed. "I'm _excited_! I can't believe I'm actually going on an adventure! I'm just... going to miss home, you know?"

Sonic nodded, though he couldn't really share in those feelings. After all, he had no home anymore and even when he _had_ had a home, it hadn't really been _much_ of a home. It had been nice and all, considering his circumstances at the time, but he'd never really missed it when he'd been away. But that was all in the past, and they had much bigger things to worry about now. "You ready?"

Tails smiled again. "Yeah."

Sonic smirked and turned to his newly finished plane, which was no longer just the Tornado. _The X-Tornado... It probably would have never happened without him. _"Then let's get going.

* * *

**Posted 04-18-15. **


	58. Compel

**Hello, TheDragoonSlayer! You're out of ammo? GOOD! As for Amy, I haven't decided on that yet, though I may or may not have the beginnings of a plan for her, at least to a point. Now if you'll excuse me... *Hides in a corner in case you find more weapons or ammo***

**Hello, BlazingBright Streak of Light! Yeah, I love the X-Tornado. It's so freaking cool! And glad you think so! Thanks for keeping an eye out! :)**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon Fan! Wow, I think you and I are in different time zones! Where I live, it was only noon when I posted this last chapter! And I'm glad you enjoyed!**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Peaches! I'm so happy you enjoyed! Don't worry, I will definitely keep writing!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm surprised, too! Like I said, I hadn't even noticed. XD About Bleach, I will keep that in mind. :) I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter! Yes, they definitely will be in the story! Not to spoil too much, but I get the feeling that Silver will probably come in first. But, then again, things may change by the time we get to that point in the story, so don't take this to heart too much. :P **

**Hello, Guest! Thank you for the compliment! I'm so glad you're enjoying! I know I say that a lot, but I hope you know that I really, really mean it. :) **

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! I know! I thought it was adorable as well! XD**

**Hello, Daggr! Thanks! And yes, I'm aware that most people hate Chris, but I'm also not most people. :P And yes, that it why I _detest_ games and whatnot like Sonic Lost World. I know Sonic doesn't always show it in the games and T.V. shows and whatnot, but he's smart. Smarter than he lets on, at times. *Watches you fly away into the sunset*** **Sayōnara!**

**Sorry for the wait! The real adventure begins now... **

* * *

The X-Tornado flew better than the Tornado ever had, ever _could_ have. It was faster, stronger, more durable, flew smoother, and was just all around _better _than the Tornado had ever been. And Sonic _loved _it. He sat at the controls as he lifted the plane, expertly maneuvering it over the peak of a wide mountain stretching out from the ground to a point just feet below the plane's bottom. In the reflection of the cockpit, Sonic watched as Tails's mouth made a small "o", the fox's eyes widening simultaneously.

"Sonic, I know you said you could pilot, but that was-" His comment was cut off by a gasp and he practically smooshed his face against the glass. "Oh, _wow_!"

Sonic glanced to his right to see what the fox was gawking at and a smirk tilted at his lips. _It's just a jungle. _Still, Tails had never been very far from home, from what Sonic could gather at any rate, so he had every right to be amazed. There was much for him to learn about the world.

It was hotter and muggier here down south than it was where Tails lived, which had a more temperate climate, excluding the occasional spring storm. It had taken them just a few hours to fly here, even going at a relatively lower speed, and Sonic reflected that, in the original Tornado, this same trip would have taken days. Yet another reason to enjoy this new version of his plane. There was truly no reason for them to be here. It was nothing more than a hunch, one provided by Tails. His reasoning was fairly sound, at least.

_"The jungles aren't frequently visited by people. And, since we can almost certainly assume that no one in the world has a Chaos Emerald but us right now, that might be a good place to check. After all, most people would keep any strange gem they find in the wilderness, don't you think?" _

It made sense. So here they were, flying over a jungle, looking for a decent place to land. The sun would start setting in just a few hours. Neither wanted be here come nightfall. Finally, Sonic located a clearing beside a wide, sluggishly flowing body of water. It was more than long enough to be considered a river, but he believed that such an identification would be a mistake. It was far too shallow, for one thing. Settling the plane onto the ground near the water's muddy bank, he and Tails disembarked, landing lightly on soft, lush grass. Sonic looked around, his right ear twitching and flicking for a brief moment as he adjusted to the various noises emanating from the trees surrounding the area. Bug chirping, birds tweeting and singing, water gurgling and, in the distance, rushing and booming... _probably a waterfall. _

Tails looked around in apparent awe. "This place is... amazing..." he breathed. "I wish we could stay for a little while. I'd love to study these plants."

_Maybe later. _After this was all over, Sonic would try to bring the young fox back here. He could promise nothing more than that. "So where do you want to start?"

Tails thought hard for a moment, his eyes scanning the trees, the water, the mountains in the distance. "I'm not sure. Do you sense anything?"

Sonic shook his head immediately. He felt nothing. That didn't tell him much, but at least it let him know that they weren't terribly close to the emerald, if it was even here. Still... he couldn't quite take his eyes off of one of those mountains. One that, if he squinted at it just right, appeared to have a small cave near its peak. Lifting a hand and pointing he asked, "How about there?"

Tails followed his gaze and his finger, peered at the mountain, squinted, tilted his head a bit, then finally nodded as a hot breeze brushed throughout the clearing, ruffling their fur as it went. "Alright. May as well."

With that, they started walking. Their companionable silence soon ended, however, when Sonic finally voiced a question that had been on his mind for some time. "Tails, why are you... alone?" he asked slowly, cautiously. "Why aren't you with someone?" It didn't have to be his parents. Just someone. _Any_one. _No kid should have to be alone. _

A frown creased Tails's forehead. "I don't know, actually," he admitted. "I just know that I was left at an orphanage when I was a baby. I stayed there when I was really little, but when I was five or six I ran away because the other kids kept bullying me." He hugged his twin tails closer to himself unconsciously, revealing, perhaps unintentionally, just what the subject of that bullying had been. "I ran way out into the woods and got lost," he continued. "But then I found the lake, and I really _liked_ it there. So over time I built myself a home out there and I just... stayed."

Sonic nodded, unsure what else to say. Part of him wanted to offer some form of comfort, but such words eluded him. Even if he had known what to say, he doubted the words would have come easily. _Certainly not easily enough. _

Tails turned his head, fixed Sonic with a curious look. "What about you? I remember you told Amy that you only lived in a house once. Were you alone, too?"

Sonic nodded. "For a long time." He paused, then with a sigh, allowed, "But I had a friend. Eventually."

Tails smiled. "Me, too. I met Amy a few years ago. She was so _nice_ to me. It made me kind of suspicious." He laughed then, the sound soft and happy. "I actually thought, at one point anyway, that she was only being nice to me to steal my tech."

This caused Sonic to smirk a bit. "And what could you possibly have had to make you so paranoid."

"Nothing you need to know about," Tails joked before telling the truth. "It wasn't that great in hindsight, but I had made a super computer of sorts. It was supposed to be my ultimate source of information gathering, but it destroyed itself after one use. Still, I was worried that, ruined or not, it would be dangerous for people to have, if they managed to steal it." With that, he steered the conversation back on course. "Eventually I did start to trust Amy, and she became sort of like my big sister. She helps me get money when I need supplies or food. She checks on me a lot, when she can. When I go to the city, she protects me from the bullies."

Sonic frowned at that. _He still gets bullied? _Oh, he would _definitely_ be having words with those people. He wouldn't hurt them, but dammed if he didn't want to. The conversation trailed off after that, and Sonic was pleased to see that Tails wasn't lingering on the unpleasant memories. Instead, the young fox focused on the wildlife around him, watching happily as a butterfly flitted past his face. It was only then that Sonic registered a distant rumble vibrating through the ground, just below even his ability to hear. Still, he could _feel_ it. And Tails could feel it too.

"Sonic, what is that...?" Tails all but whispered.

"I don't know," Sonic murmured back, ears straight and straining, eyes searching the surrounding trees and rocks.

The rumble grew, increased into Sonic finally _could _hear it, and the ground began to shake. Various kinds of nuts and fruits fell out of the trees, clattering and squishing as they hit the ground and rolled. Birds panicked and evacuated the trees. The bugs were oddly silent. Then, all at once, the rumbling and shaking increased once again. Tails nearly fell as the ground cracked between his feet and Sonic snatched the kid's hand, hauled him to his feet, then yanked him out of harms way just as the ground opened up, revealing a hole large enough to swallow the both of them. Then, with an ominous cracking sound, the opening widened and they fell.

Tails cried out and Sonic, still holding Tails's hand, used his free hand to grab the ledge. As the hole opened still wider and the ledge began to crumble, he swore aloud, no longer caring that Tails, being only a kid, didn't need that language, and swung Tails up onto the ground and, hopefully, to safety. Then the ledge crumbled entirely, effectively destroying his hold on the rock, and suddenly he was falling again. He prepared to curl himself into a ball and spin to safety when the ground above him suddenly closed again as though the hole had never been, leaving him alone as he fell through the darkness. He hit a wall, the one attached to the ledge he'd been clinging to, with painful force and for a moment he saw stars in his vision, at odds with the all-encompassing darkness that surrounded him.

Finally, he managed to blink away the strange colors and lights. He twisted around in the air and reached out a hand to try to catch himself on the stones jutting out all around him. It was only then that he realized that he could feel air flowing upward from somewhere below him. It was fresh and clear, not the kind of air one would expect to find underground. Which meant that there must be an opening to the outside somewhere below. Weighing his options and considering various factors, especially how much the landing was going to hurt, Sonic came to a decision and let himself fall.

The landing hurt like he'd expected, but thankfully not as badly as he'd been anticipating. He was able to shake it off, figuratively speaking, and stood from he position he'd landing in, crouched on the ground, legs bent at the knees but not touching each other or the ground. Sighing, he brushed dust and bits of rock off his arms and, following his ears, began walking straight ahead. He rubbed his head absently as he walked, muttering a vague curse at the lingering pain. He shook his head to clear the fogginess that was starting to fill it. More dust came off of him and he coughed as it filled his nose. Suddenly, his head spun and he staggered sideways for a moment before he was able to stop himself. Blinking dazedly, he tried to make sense what was happening and why he suddenly felt so weak and nauseous. It was only then that he realized the strange scent filling his nose. Too little, too late, he realized distantly as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed.

* * *

Tails stared in horror at where the ground had closed up, swallowing Sonic whole as he'd fallen. _After saving me. _Fighting to stay calm, he focused instead on what he'd seen just before the hole had disappeared. _A machine. _It had been big, but largely concealed, having been covered in dirt and rocks. _It has to be him... Robotnik. _Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he stood and looked around. He spun around, eyes scanning his surroundings. Swallowing hard once again, he began to spin his tails and flew toward the mountain he and Sonic had been heading to. There was a reason why Sonic had felt compelled to go there. He was sure of it. _There is a reason... I just have to find out what. _That answer was the key to saving his friend. _I'm sure of it. _

* * *

**Posted 04-19-15.**


	59. Threat

**Hello, BlazingBright Streak of Light! It's awesome that you think it's awesome! Thanks for reading and reviewing! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I know! I love Silver! He's one of my four favs! Mine are Sonic, Silver, Shadow, and Knuckles. And Probably Locke know, thanks to this story. :) Glad that you enjoyed it. I did my best to portray that, however briefly, and I'm glad that it worked. Thank you so much! I will!**

**Hello, John! Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed! Yes, it is. I didn't really know quite how to describe it, so I left the descriptions vague. Still, I'd hoped that the mention of it seating four people and having a large glass cockpit would be enough to get that across. :)**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon Fan! I've heard of Latvia, though I must admit I know nothing about it. Still, it's cool that you live there! I live in the U.S., California more specifically. And yeah, Sonic will probably be alright. :) **

* * *

_I hate this place, _Sonic decided vaguely as he slowly regained consciousness. _Damned chemicals. _He opened his eyes briefly, then pinched them shut again at the painfully bright light that filled his vision. Suppressing a groan, he pushed himself up on his hands and sat back on his knees. Rubbing his temple absently for a moment, he opened his eyes again, squinting against the light. He knew for a _fact_ that this wasn't where he'd collapsed. He also knew for a fact that those dust-like chemicals weren't natural and therefore shouldn't have been in that cave or whatever it was that he'd fallen into. _Like grandfather, like_ _grandson, _he supposed._ Hardly surprising, in hindsight. _Standing, Sonic walked to the bars of the cage that held him trapped. Touching them for only the barest of moments, he jerked his hand back with a soft hiss, shaking it as he watched the smoke rising away from his hand and the bars. He glared at the metal. _Okay, not as ordinary as they look. _

Turning around, he began surveying the area he seemed to be stuck in for now. Despite being a prisoner, it seemed that Ivo had been rather generous with him. The space was fairly large, about six feet all around, and there was a bed, (though he noted that it was just a plain, thin, dirty mattress on the ground) and even a small metal table with a plate of food on it. The food was hot, still steaming, even, and he turned away from it, ignoring the way his stomach grumbled in protest. There was no way he was eating that. He didn't trust it.

Looking up, he spotted several cameras, all aimed at him, watching his every move. Crossing his arms he called out, "You can come down here any day, Egg-head. I'd rather get this done and over with." He waited several moments with no response, shrugged, then went over to the nearest wall. He sat down and leaned back with his arms behind his head, one leg bent up and the other resting on the first one's knee. With that, he closed his eyes and waited. Sure enough, not long afterward, the sound of footsteps reached his ears. Cracking an eye open, he turned his head to look at Ivo as he approached the cell. "'Bout time, Egg-head," he groused.

Ivo smirked at him, his glasses shining eerily in the light. "Well, well, it would seem that my grandfather's subduing chemicals are as potent as ever, eh, Sonic?"

"Yeah, lucky for you," Sonic replied. Then he inquired, "What's this cell made of, anyway?"

Ivo's grin widened. "If I told you that, it wouldn't be a secret, now would it?"

Sonic shrugged again. "What do you want?" he asked instead.

"_That_," Ivo replied ominously, "you will have to wait and see. But for now, I suggest you eat. You're going to need _all_ of your strength."

Sonic snorted. "For _what_? Kicking your butt? That won't even take _half_ my strength."

Ivo just grinned again, then turned and walked away, disappearing from the room through a sliding metal door, which closed with a hiss, then locked loudly from the other side. It seemed to be made of the same energized material as his cell. _Lovely. _Turning his head again, Sonic considered the food on the table. It didn't _smell_ poisoned... but then again, couldn't the scent be concealed? And more importantly... _W__hat in the world would I need all my strength for? What's he planning? _Doing his best to ignore the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, he turned his head away and closed his eyes once more.

* * *

Tails hadn't expected the attack. But, then again, he supposed that he had an excuse. He'd been so focused on reaching the mountain before nightfall that he hadn't been paying attention to anything else. Still, that had been foolish, and he'd paid the price for it. He nearly whimpered as he shifted in the bush he was hiding in. He was beaten up all over, while the robot itself had sustained little damage. All he'd really managed to do was give it a small dent by chucking a good-sized rock at it. _That_ hadn't been a good idea. In fact, he was pretty sure that, if it were possible, it had made the robot angry. Angry enough to hurl him into a tree, even. Since then Tails had been doing his best to evade the robot, and any others that were possibly in the area. He looked up at the sky for what must have been the millionth time, considering how risky it would be to take flight. Making a decision a quick decision, he spun his tails and took to the air. For better or for worse, he was out in the open now, and there was no turning back.

Thankfully, his tails didn't hurt as badly as the rest of him did, thus making his flight easier than he'd anticipated. Most of the injuries he'd sustained weren't really _injuries_, anyway. They were mostly just bruises and small cuts. However, his right leg was bleeding, having been cut across the shin. _I'm just glad it didn't go any deeper. It might've severed a muscle entirely if it did. _As it was, the injury, while painful, was superficial at best and long at worst. It wasn't terrible. Still, Tails wished he had the means to at least bandage it. Not that he had any real medical knowledge, but still. _All our supplies are in the ship, and I don't have time to go back and check. _Something bad was going to happened tonight. He tried not to think like that, but he couldn't shake the feeling. It just wouldn't go away.

His eyes locked on the cave at the top of the mountain. Now that he was closer to it, he realized that it was quite a bit wider than he'd expected it to be. The whole X-Tornado could easily fit through it sideways, and still have room to spare. _Wow... Oh man, I hope there aren't any robots. _Though he couldn't see anything below besides nature, he suspected that the jungle was infested with robots. He just prayed that the cave wasn't in the same condition, especially since he knew he couldn't see well in the dark. _I don't even have my flashlight. _That, too, was in the ship. Because Sonic could see just fine in the dark usually, Tails hadn't even thought to grab the thing, something he was regretting now as the sky turned an even deeper shade of orange and red and pink. The sun had nearly completely set. _I'm running out of time. _Pushing himself to go faster, he flew on toward the cave.

* * *

Red hair shifted slightly over equally red shoulders as a breeze whispered through the clearing. Knuckles cracked an eye open. _This better be good. _Sitting up, he looked down the steps of the Master Emerald's resting place, glaring at the puny little person who had dared to intrude. He wasn't even sure what it _was_, let alone what gender it was, if it had one. Was it even a living thing? The way its chest rose and fell suggested that it was, but he couldn't really be sure. It's ears, if they could even be called that, started at the base of the thing's head, extending to sharp points at least several inches above it. On the top of its head and extending downward about midway down its forehead was the purplish-gray outline of some sort of a triangle. It's yellow-green eyes were round and watery. As soon as he noticed the messenger bag the thing held, he stopped paying attention to what it, whatever it was, looked like. Instead he growled, hoping to drive it away. Undeterred, it flew up toward him, using some sort of jet-pack or something (though he really wasn't sure, nor did he really care). Knuckles, standing and crossing his arms, was ready for it when the thing came to hover before him.

"Master Robotnik has a message for you!" it exclaimed cheerily.

"Master _who_?" he questioned with a scowl.

"Master Robotnik!" it repeated unhelpfully.

"Beat it, kid," Knuckles replied, having decided that this thing was in fact a person, but not really a threat.

"That's not fair!" it snapped fiercely, suddenly angry. "I flew all this way to deliver this message and went out of my way to be nice to you and _this_ is the thanks I get?! You big bully!"

Those watery eyes suddenly grew even more watery, and Knuckles stiffened. "Whoa, whoa, easy!" he said hastily. "Don't cry, alright?!"

"Bully!"

"I'm not-!"

"Meanie!"

"I didn't-!"

"Jerk!"

"Alright!" Knuckles exclaimed in frustration. "Fine! I'll listen to your stupid message!"

Just like that, the tears vanished and the kid was smiling at him once more. Somehow, he managed to pull a small yellow T.V. out of his bag. Then with a wave of his hand, he turned and flew away, calling out over his shoulder, "Bye!"

Knuckles grumbled to himself and considered tossing the T.V. down into the ocean below. Still, he'd said he'd listen to the message and he wasn't one to go against his word. Grumbling still more, he watched as the T.V. somehow turned itself on and a large face appeared onscreen. Small blue glass shone from where they rested on a large nose, whose underside was taken over by a large mustache. _Who is this clown? _

"Hello, Knuckles. My name is Dr. Ivo Robotnik."

Knuckles frowned a little at that. _Robotnik, huh? I thought I heard rumors that he had a descendant. Guess they were true. _"What do you want?" he asked pointlessly. This was prerecorded, most likely, after all. Or... so he had thought.

"I'm getting to that, Knuckles. Be patient."

_If he was actually here, I'd punch him. _

"I have a bit of news I thought you'd like to hear," Robotnik continued conversationally. "I believe you'll find it to be of the utmost importance."

"Oh, yeah?" Knuckles countered in a bored tone. "Try me."

Robotnik grinned evilly. "A little bird has informed me that you made a new friend recently."

_Bird? Hmph. Probably a metal one. _"We're not friends."

Robotnik continued on as though Knuckles had not spoken. "He and a young fox recently traveled down south into the deep jungle wilderness near the equator." The screen changed, showing a blurry image of a highly advanced ship of some kind, and then a much clearer image of the young fox he'd mentioned just as the kid was slammed into a tree, his expression filled with pain. "If you want to save them, I suggest you get down here, and soon. My work has begun tonight. By nightfall tomorrow, it will be too late." Then the screen changed again, showing a video feed of some kind.

Squinting, Knuckles realized that he could see Sonic, sitting against the wall with his eyes shut. His expression was calm, yet serious, and he was frowning. From what Knuckles had learned of him from the time they'd spent together, Knuckles considered this normal. Still, something was off with the hedgehog. He seemed tense, on edge, and his frown was perhaps just a bit too deep. Then, suddenly, he was sent flying into the room's back wall. Then he was struggling to his feet as something unseen slammed into him, knocking him backward into a row of bars that electrocuted him fiercely. Then, with that, the screen went black.

Knuckles growled loudly. _Damn it all! _Tossing the T.V. forcefully aside, he turned and began running toward the nearest edge of the island, barely paying any notice to the way the machine exploded. Gritting his teeth tightly, he jumped off the edge and began to fly.

* * *

**Posted 04-20-15.**


	60. React

**Hello, Mage The Hedgehog! Hm... perhaps it _was_ foolish... and perhaps not. We shall see... And perhaps very soon.**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! One question: what did you mean by "Let the expiramented begin!"? I don't know why, but for some reason this confused me. And don't worry! You'll get you're answers soon enough! :D**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! You're review to Chapter 58: Oops! My bad! I'm sorry! :) And yeah, not my best ending, but I was satisfied with it.**

**Your review to Chapter 59: I'm so glad you enjoyed!**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon Fan! I know! Those two are so funny together! XD You don't need to thank me. I love other countries. I am fascinated by the places I have never seen. I seek to know all that I can about the countries that are some different from my own. Anyway, I'm glad that you're happy! And yeah, maybe it will! I've never heard back of that story. What's it about?**

**Hell, Daggr! I'm so glad you enjoyed! Yes, there was, is, blackmail, in a sense, directed at Knuckles. But no, it isn't the Chemical Plant. Remember, that was on South Island and was therefore destroyed. Don't worry, I won't kill you! I agree that this story is, as you put it, little. It _is_ just a story, after all, but I still enjoy it regardless, and I'm glad that others do as well. :)**

**Hello, Profesnal AmaTur! Thanks for the review! Who was never seen again? Knuckles? Either way, that comment made me laugh a little. And yes, Bokkun is his name. :) I like him too. He's a sweetheart when he wants to be.**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Glad you enjoyed! Truthfully, neither was stupid. However, I believe that Ivo is, in fact, more intelligent. And he really _is_ evil! XD Glad that made you laugh! Yup! Guess we'll see if he _can_ save the day, huh?**

* * *

Sonic crouched near the bars of his cell, clutching one arm with the opposite hand as he glared menacingly at his new enemy. Or, more appropriately, his _old_ one. Bright, glowing red eyes held his gaze impassively; unemotional, yet somehow challenging in their impression. Sonic's own eyes narrowed. _Hello, metal-head. _Looking up, his eyes trained on the cameras above, he asked "_This_ is what you had planned? Bringing back metal-me? That's _it_?"

Robotnik's gleeful voice sounded from some indiscernible point in the room. "He is merely here to escort you, Sonic."

"By attacking me? I'm so sure."

"That was merely a 'hello'."

"I doubt that." Sonic stood, wincing slightly, and glared at his opponent. _As if I'd let them take me anywhere. _With that in mind, he shifted his stance, prepared for battle. Metal Sonic lunged almost immediately and Sonic barely managed to dodge in time. This Metal Sonic was an improvement over the model he'd fought as a child, but it still came nowhere near his level of speed. Perhaps that was the purpose of the electrocution. _To slow me down. _It seemed possible. Metal Sonic attacked again, effectively creating a crater in the floor. _What it lacks in speed it makes up for in strength. Wonderful. _

Sarcasm aside, the room was quickly posing a major problem for Sonic. There was by no means adequate room for a fight within the confines of his cell, let alone a fight like this, between two powers such as they. Plus, he couldn't touch _any_ of the walls now, if the currents he heard running through them was any indication. Growling softly, he did the only thing he could do and evaded... for now. _I have to think of something, and fast. _He briefly considered hurling his foe into the electrically charged walls, but he doubted it would deter his opponent. Still, it wasn't like he had any other plan. With that in mind, he moved in for his attack.

* * *

The cave was nowhere near as hard to reach as it would have been had Tails actually had to climb. He'd never been more thankful for his power for flight than he was right now. Still, though flying had saved him a great deal of effort and time, he was completely exhausted. He wanted so badly to curl up and go to sleep... But he knew he couldn't. _I have to find Sonic. __But... there's nothing wrong with resting for a few minutes. _Sighing heavily, he sat back against one of the cool rocky walls at the lip of the cave. He was _so_ tired...

Turning his head to look outside, he realized for the first time that it was already dusk. The feeling from earlier that day came back full-force. Something bad was going to happen tonight, and whatever it was, he had to try to stop it. At least he was in the right place now, though. He had no idea how this cave was involved, but he fully intended on finding out. ...After his few minutes of rest were up, of course. He tried to stay awake, but his eyelids felt heavy and he was starting to nod off. Shaking his head to wake himself up, nearly giving himself a headache in the process, he stood and began walking, suppressing a yawn as he went. _I have to stay awake. _

His ears swiveled then as he picked up on a loud sound echoing up into the darkness of his lonely cave. Glancing warily back, he hesitated. _What if it's another robot? _Swallowing hard, he crept back to the cave's opening and, lowering himself onto his hands and knees, he peered cautiously to the ground far below. He gulped. _Oh man... Not a robot... Many robots! _They were swarming around the base of the mountain, though thankfully it was far too steep for them to climb with such bulky, heavy bodies. _How do they know I'm here? No, the better question is... why did it take them so long? I'm sure they probably have heat sensors or something... _Then, suddenly, one of the robot's arms swung and pointed straight up, the gun that was mounted on it firing rapidly. Though Tails jumped, his surprise and fear quickly gave way to confusion. _Not aimed at me? _

Following the line of fire, he peered into the sky, his eyes widening when he realized that he could see something... _shimmering_ up there. The green light was soft and almost ethereal, but undeniably real if even the robots could detect it. Tails was sure there was power there, but whatever it was, it was beyond his ability to sense. Much like the power of the Chaos Emeralds. The only reason he'd learned of the yellow emerald's power was because of the machines he'd had it hooked up to the day he'd found it and begun running tests on it.

Shaking those thoughts aside, he watched as the shimmering grew almost imperceptibly brighter for a moment. Tails was shocked when something suddenly came flying out of it, then abruptly changed directions and began moving rapidly toward him. _Not something... Someone! _Alarmed, he scrambled backward as the shimmer in the sky vanished as though it had never been and the figure landed lightly near where he had been sitting before. Tails's eyes widened again. "It's you!"

Bright red fur was softened by the moonlight. Violet eyes tinged with anger pinned him to the spot. "Huh... it's you."

* * *

Knuckles looked the fox over critically, taking in every cut, every bruise, every speck of dirt. Sonic could hardly be blamed for his companion's condition, considering the situation the hedgehog was currently in, but that didn't stop the surge of anger that rose up in Knuckles's chest. Unable to determine the source of the emotion, he pushed it away for now. "Why are you in this cave?" He was well aware of why Sonic and this kid were _here_, in this jungle (after all, the Master Emerald allowed him to see certain things it deemed important), but he had no idea why the fox was _here_, in this cave.

"Sonic... thought we should come here. This is where we were headed before he disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Yeah. The ground starting shaking, and then there was this hole and... he saved me. But... then he fell. And the ground closed up again before he could get out."

Knuckles's opinion of Sonic went up a few notches about then. As did his concern for him. _He's in trouble. There's no denying that. _They began walking in silence, with Knuckles only slightly in the lead. He could see better in the dark than the young fox seemed to be able to, so he received no complaint.

"Um... My name is Tails, by the way."

Knuckles paused, considering, then responded, "Knuckles."

He heard Tails nod and silence fell once more. Thinking carefully, Knuckles posed a new question. "What, exactly, do you think Robotnik is planning?" He could tell that Tails had an idea, even if it was a vague one, and he needed to know what it was.

Tails frowned a bit. "I don't know."

"That's not true," he replied. Tails looked chastised, so Knuckles amended, "Not entirely."

"I just... I have a bad feeling," Tails said quietly. "I can't really explain it. It's just... _bad_."

"Sonic's not the only one in danger."

"No..." Tails conceded slowly, frowning deeper. "But I think he's in _more_ danger. And... whatever Robotnik's planning... it's going to be bad."

Knuckles privately agreed, but he refrained from saying so. There was no need to scare the kid any further. _He is right, though... It's going to be bad. And not just for Sonic. For all of us. _Still, he was far more worried about the blue hedgehog than anyone else right now. _Just don't get yourself killed, _he silently commanded. _We'll be there as soon as we can. _

* * *

Sonic struggled against his restraints, heedless of the pain such actions caused. He needed to break out right _now_ because, damn it all, he _wasn't_ a lab rat! "Let me _go_, Robotnik!"

"If you don't stop struggling, you'll kill yourself before we can even begin," Robotnik chided lightly, and Sonic was forcibly reminded of one particularly awful part of the conversation he'd had when he'd first met Ivo's grandfather all those years ago.

_"…bot was very difficult to construct, you know. And yet you, a child, destroyed it in seconds. Where does your strength come from? Perhaps I should dissect your little body to learn how you can smash through solid steel without injuring yourself."_

Sonic resisted a full-body shudder as he renewed his struggles. Still, despite his efforts, he was strapped onto a flat, steel table. Thick metal cuffs locked around his ankles and wrists. _Dammit...! Dammit, dammit, dammit! _Still fighting fiercely, he only half-listened as Robotnik spoke.

"I must admit, I'm surprised that you were able to beat your double in your condition."

_Of course I did! _Sonic snapped inwardly. Sure, Metal Sonic had done quite a number on him, but that meant absolutely nothing. Sonic was far from being too weak to fight.

"I can't wait to see where your legendary speed and strength come from... When I discern the origins of your power, I can kill you and create an army of more perfect Metal Sonics. Then I can truly begin my quest for world domination!"

With that, a needle descended toward Sonic's arm. Anger gave way to near panic and, drawing on power he hadn't even known he possessed inside of him, he simply reacted.

* * *

**Posted 04-21-15.**


	61. Half-Truths and Reunions

**Hello, Daggr! Nope, he can't go Super right now. He only has the one Chaos Emerald right now, after all. And I really didn't a reminder. :P But yes, I do believe that Sonic is going to do that. He seems to have lost his temper, huh? **

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! ...I feel smart now. Lol. Thanks for explaining! How did you predict that? I tried so hard not to give much of anything away! XD ...Not that Robotnik actually gets a chance to follow through with his plans. At least, not all of them. Anyway, enough spoilers for now. :P Don't worry! You're wait is over! **

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! No, he isn't. I honestly don't think that will be included in this story, though I must admit that I enjoy the game in which that form came from. :) Sorry for your struggle! I'll Google search those things as you've suggested. :)**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! I'm so happy you're enjoying it! Sorry I couldn't give you more right away. :)**

**Hello, Guest! Oh my goodness, your review made me smile so widely that for half a second I think my sister thought I had finally gone insane! XD Unfortunately, Sonic won't be doing anything _that_ dramatic... right now. Eventually, though I'm not telling you when! :) (By the way, it _was_ posted twice, but it's not a big deal. :) )**

**Hello, Anonymous! You don't need to apologize. Reviews are always appreciated, but are not required. Thank you for taking the time to leave one from time to time! :) I'm happy you enjoyed them! And if I include them, I will definitely do that. Thanks for the tips!**

* * *

Knuckles crouched beside Tails as the young fox worked furiously at the controls of some machine. _Why _it was in here escaped Knuckles, though he supposed it had something to do with the placement of Robotnik's base. From what they could gather, there were multiple entrances in and out of it. In order to allow for a continuous supply of oxygen, Tails reasoned that at least one of those entrances had to be opened nearly all the time. However, they didn't have the time to search for that one entrance, nor did they have the time to search for the spot where Sonic had fallen, not that they had much of a chance of opening it back up anyway. So instead, they were here, on this mountain, in this cave, trying to figure out how to make this machine work. "Are you sure it'll open another entrance?" Knuckles glanced around suspiciously. _And why do I feel like Robotnik wanted us to find this place? _Whatever the man's plans were, they couldn't be good.

Tails nodded, his concentration never faltering as his fingers flew across the keyboard. "Yeah. The only thing is... You'll have to go in alone."

Knuckles frowned. "Why?"

"I have to stay here, in case the opening closes again."

Knuckles nodded his understanding as he, uncertain as to where the opening would appear, crouched near to where Tails knelt as he worked. Then suddenly, the machine beeped, a high-pitched sound that echoed painfully around the walls of the cave for a moment. Then, with low rumble, a wide circle slowly opened up in the ground. Standing, Knuckles gave Tails one last look. "If I'm not out by sunrise, you can either assume that I've been captured or that I've taken a different entrance out. Either way, if I'm not back by that time, head back to your ship and take to the skies."

Tails nodded. Then, frowning in determination, he said, "When I'm in the air... I'll wait for you. _Both_ of you."

Knuckles returned his nod. "Don't wait long." With that, he jumped into the darkness.

* * *

The drop lasted for quite a bit longer than Knuckles had been anticipating, though _how_ long exactly he wasn't sure. Regardless, he was prepared for it when the ground finally came into view and he began gliding, following the straight tunnel before him. He followed it as it wound around, dipped and curved and rose and occasionally even twisted back on itself, never once faltering in his tireless flight. Truthfully, he'd expected to find _something_ by now. _At least a robot... but I haven't found anything. Guess that means I'm nowhere near the base yet. _Sighing heavily, he picked up speed and continued on.

He was startled when, a few minutes later, a low rumble, the second one he'd heard today, vibrated through the walls around him. Gritting his teeth in momentary alarm, he glanced up at the stalactites that were now wobbling precariously above his head. He didn't even have time to think up a decent curse word as one by one the large, pointed stone began to fall down toward him. He veered sharply to the left, narrowly avoiding getting stabbed, then landed on his feet and slid right under another stalactite that he couldn't possibly have safely flown over. Running forward as fast as he could, he ducked and rolled and dodged and weaved, only taking to the air when it was safe once more to do so. _What the hell is going on? _

Slowly, the vibrations stopped. Still, now that he was focusing on something other than the danger he'd just been in, Knuckles realized that he could sense something in the air. It was... _power_... and not just any power. It was Chaos. It wasn't terribly strong, especially when compared to, say, the Master Emerald, but it was certainly strong enough to cause problems, as those stalactites had just demonstrated. The only person who could control Chaos besides Knuckles (and he himself could only control it to a point) seemed to be Sonic, from what he could gather. _Does this mean he's in danger? _He shook that thought away, dismissing it as stupid. They were _all_ in danger. _Still... something must have happened. I'd better hurry. _Growling softly to himself, he poured on the speed once more.

It was probably nearing sunrise by now. Sonic had been down here for seven or eight hours, and Knuckles had been here for maybe about a half of an hour. _Too long, in both cases. _He was nearing the base now, at least. He'd run into several robots as well. It made sense that there were only a few strong ones, rather than hordes of weaker ones. There was little room in this tunnel, after all. Still, they weren't equipped to handle the full-force of an echidna's wrath, and now they all lay in heaps throughout the tunnel. He came to a running halt from his rapid flight and glared straight ahead at the thick metal door that lead to the interior of Robotnik's base. _Found it. _He was about ready to march up to it and punch it down, heedless of the potential danger, when for the second time that day, Sonic's power spiked, the sharp stab of energy in the air making Knuckles freeze, even as a bright white light began to fill the area and all his instincts screamed at him to run. Ignoring the impulse to do just that, he swore and covered his face, shielding it with his arms and squeezing his eyes shut. For a moment, everything faded out of existence. Then, slowly, everything came back even as the light vanished. The base lay completely in ruins. Knuckles didn't take the time to take in the damage. He didn't _have_ the time. He began running through the rubble. _Damn it all, where are you?! _

Without warning, a particularly large and heavy sheet of metal was pushed up, then sent flying. It hit a hill of debris with a painfully loud crash and clattered down to the ground. Sonic pushed himself up from where he'd been laying trapped on his back. He regained his feet for only a moment before swaying dangerously. Knuckles rushed forward and grabbed him, pulling a blue arm over his shoulders in order to provide support. Sonic blinked his eyes open and fixed him with a confused look. "I was told you might be in danger," Knuckles replied, answering the unspoken question.

Sonic coughed a bit, seemingly against his will. "Tails?" he questioned fiercely, despite his wounds and obvious exhaustion.

"He's fine," Knuckles answered shortly. "He should be in your guys' ship by now."

Sonic closed his eyes and nodded faintly, going slightly limp with a mixture of exhaustion and relief. _Good... I was getting worried... _

Knuckles shifted his hold on Sonic's arm. "Come on, I'm getting you out of here. I'm pretty sure I know where the exit is." At Sonic's questioning look, he shrugged a bit. "I saw some coordinates on the screen of some robot," he said simply. "It didn't seem to be showing the base, so I figured it was an exit."

Nodding once again, Sonic allowed Knuckles to lead him slowly out of the tunnel and to safety. _It's dawn already... Damn... I wasted a lot of time. _

Knuckles was the first to break the relative silence that had settled between them. "What happened to you?"

Sonic scowled at nothing in particular. "Nothing."

"Liar."

"Deal with it."

"No."

"..."

"Well?"

"I told you, it was nothing," Sonic muttered, frowning at the ground.

"_This_ is _nothing_?" Knuckles retorted, purposely jostling Sonic enough to make him wince in pain. "And _this_?" he asked, gesturing to the destruction around them.

"I got in a fight, alright?"

"With _who_? Robotnik?"

"No."

"A robot?"

"...Yes."

"_What_ robot?"

"..."

"Well?"

"...Metal Sonic. ...Twice."

"And Robotnik?"

"Escaped."

Silence. Then, "Did Robotnik do _anything_ else to you?" _I'm already going to kill the bastard as it is. May as well know everything he's done. It'll make punching him feel all that much better. _

Sonic looked away. "No."

"Are you telling the truth?"

"Yes."

Knuckles didn't believe him. "If I find you're lying-" he warned.

"I'm not," Sonic muttered, cutting him off.

Their conversation trailed off then. The exit was much closer than either had anticipated. Surprisingly, it wasn't terribly far from where Sonic had fallen in from. The two walked out in silence. When they emerged, they both couldn't help squinting in the sunlight. After being in the dark for so long, the light hurt their eyes more than either cared to admit. They emerged from the ground near a large rocky formation of some kind, one that was very tall and largely cylindrical in shape. Small bits of rock tumbled down from above, likely as a result of the explosion from before, and the intense earth-shaking it had caused for those brief few moments. A few small chunks of rock hit their heads, but nothing was large enough to hurt. At least, not at first.

Sonic nearly bit his tongue when something large and hard hit his head with all due force and then some, causing him to wince. '_Ow...! What the hell?'_ They stopped walking and he reopened his eyes, staring uncomprehendingly for a moment at what now lay at their feet. Then slowly, realization dawned and his eyes widened. _No way... _Before him lay a thin green and yellow board with no wheels, one that simply hovered in the air. Barely biting back a growl, his gaze snapped upward. _It's him..._

* * *

**Hello, astroshadow! ...How did you guess? I'm surprised! To avoid a spoiler, I put my reply to you at the bottom. It's nothing personal, I swear! :) Posted 04-22-15.**


	62. You Pry, You Die

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 60: Don't worry it will more than likely be revealed (though probably indirectly)! Glad you enjoyed the chapter! And as far as Knuckles, I would have to agree with you on both those points. But we all know how Knuckles can be. He'll probably never admit to it. :P And yes, I suppose they _are_ sort of a team now, huh? (Don't worry, I don't mind the nicknames, I was just momentarily confused as to who "arms" was. :) )**

**Your review to Chapter 61: No, that isn't the reason for Sonic's anger toward him. But you'll find out soon enough!**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Yup, he's back! I was initially going to wait to bring him back until later, but I gave in. I missed him too much! (Jk, but still, I was excited for the reunion. :P ) Yes, I get it! XD But I don't _wanna_ get used to it! I'll have to work doubly hard to surprise you now! *pouts* (By the way I'm not really upset XD)**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Not to spoil too much, but no, he didn't go Dark. Still, your theory was intriguing! It made me wonder what could have happened if it were true. :) Thanks for the review!**

**Hello, Anonymous! So glad you enjoyed! It's always a pleasure hearing from people on any of my stories. :) As for you joining the website, you totally should! Even if you decide not to write in the end, at least being a user will allow you to save your favorite stories and authors. That's why _I _joined initially. :P Would would you like me to explain? I'll be happy to help however I can! Lastly, I would love to be part of the group! That sounds like a lot of fun! :D**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! Yeah, short stories are hard. :( Fun to read, though. Never said Sonic hated him! ...Though I'm not saying he doesn't either. The truth shall be revealed eventually, on both that and their history, I promise! I considered showing those things, but in the end I liked this last version of the chapter better. Sorry, maybe another time. :) (By the way, by Marzia did you mean Felix's (pewdiepie's) girlfriend?)**

**Hello, Daggr! That is kind of sad. XD I personally don't have an issue with swearing, but some people do (not that there's anything wrong with that) so I try to keep the swearing to a minimum. :) By the way, I watch PewDiePie and Markiplier too! XD**

* * *

As Sonic and Knuckles looked up, three voices echoed clearly down to them. The first of them was female.

"Ow... Was that an earthquake...?"

"Sure felt like it," grumbled a deeper male voice.

"We're lucky this stupid rock didn't crumble, 'cause it sure could've."

"Aw, shut up. You're annoying."

"You're _more_ annoying!"

"No, _you_ are!"

"No _you_!"

"No _you_!"

"Will both of you shut _up_?!" demanded a third and familiar angry voice, the source of Sonic's long-lasting ire. "I think I dropped my board. Help me find it."

"Fine," answered the female voice. "Whatever."

Aside from the sounds of footsteps, all was silent for a few moments. Sonic was beginning to hope that maybe he and Knuckles could pass through here unnoticed. However, luck was simply _not_ on his side today. Not that it had been yesterday, either. A large grey head peered over the edge of the top of the stone platform suddenly. Blue eyes partly encircled by red inevitably landed on him, then widened visibly. The head disappeared. Sonic muttered a few curses under his breath, drawing a confused look from his companion, one that was promptly ignored.

"Hey, Boss!" called the deep male voice, the one belonging to that gray head, as it grew a bit father away. "There's something here you should see!"

"What?" responded the other male voice.

"Go see for yourself," replied the deep voice.

Sonic growled lowly, glaring daggers at the rock formation, and Knuckles frowned at him. "You know these guys or something?" he asked.

Sonic growled again and jerked away from him suddenly. "Let me go!" he snapped. "I can stand!" He noticed the surprise and confusion in Knuckles's eyes, but he ignored it, internally grateful that Knuckles hadn't fought him and had instead simply let him go. Sonic swayed slightly for a moment before catching himself, forcing himself to stand as normally as possible as a green body jumped down from above and landed neatly in a crouch just feet in front of him.

Green eyes widened noticeably in surprise, then shifted in expression as the newcomer smirked, moving to stand and somehow managing to appear cocky and haughty in doing so. "Hello, Sonic."

Sonic bit back a third growl. He could feel his anger snapping and twitching like a cat';s tail, but he forced it under control. "Jet."

"Long time no see," Jet greeted. "Guess you made it out of there, huh?"

"No thanks to you," Sonic replied evenly, his voice sounding cold even to his own ears.

Jet didn't reply and instead turned to retrieve his board. "So what kind of trouble are you in this time?" he inquired as he turned back around, tucking the gear safely under his arm.

"None of your business," Sonic returned. "Why are you here?"

"We were racing last night and got tired, so we stopped here to rest," Jet responded with a shrug. "And you?"

"I told you it's none of your business," Sonic said.

"Okay, hold up a minute," Knuckles cut in suddenly, taking a step forward, and two sets of piercing eyes landed on him. "Sonic, you got out of _where_?"

Sonic looked away and glared at Jet, angry that the hawk had brought such memories. "Nowhere." Jet just smirked.

"The tunnel?" Knuckles demanded.

"No," Sonic answered shortly.

Jet, of course, took this as an opportunity to jump right back into the conversation. "You know, that wasn't entirely my fault," he said nonchalantly. "If she hadn't gone there in the first place, or if she had been able to beat them by herself-"

Sonic felt fresh fury bubble up inside of him, as fresh as it had been on the day that Jet was beginning to describe. "Don't talk about her like that!" her snapped hotly. "She was _never_ weak!"

Jet smirked again, almost triumphantly. Sonic had no idea if Jet was about to respond, nor did he care, but any possible response was cut off by the arrival of a few well-built, powerful robots that came running at them from the trees. Feeling intensely grateful for the opportunity to vent his anger, Sonic quickly and easily took out the first two robots on his own while Knuckles dealt with the third and final. Despite his best efforts, Sonic felt his exhaustion start to get the better of him. Still, he forced himself to walk and he stalked off into the trees in search of the Tornado and Tails. Knuckles could follow if he liked, but Sonic wasn't waiting for him. And as for Jet... Sonic had left the past in the past for a reason. Jet was part of that past, so he too had been let go of. Or so Sonic had thought. He hadn't realized he was still so angry. At least it gave him an excuse to leave the bird behind.

Knuckles raced up to him and followed by his side, walking closely enough that their arms brushed lightly against each other from time to time. The echinda seemed to be deep in thoughts but, as that distraction didn't lend itself to conversation, Sonic wasn't complaining. It was about time he'd had some peace and freaking quiet. But luck just did _not_ seem to be on his side today. Not that it had been yesterday, either. "I'm not stupid, Sonic."

Sonic nearly rolled his eyes. "Never said you were, Knucklehead."

His use of that nickname seemed to relieve Knuckles for the barest of moments, as though he'd taken it as a sign that Sonic was really fine, but his expression quickly hardened again. "I saw the stuff that was in the wreckage in the tunnel," Knuckles continued. "And I've seen wounds like some of yours before.

Sonic nearly winced, remembering the needles, the restraints, the pain... He didn't think he'd ever be able to set foot in a hospital again. Too many reminders. Forcing himself to sound calm he replied, "So?"

Knuckles grabbed his arm to force him to stop walking and moved in front of him. "Robotnik wanted information, right?" Sonic didn't reply, but Knuckles seemed to take that as confirmation. "Sonic, answer me, and give me the damn truth." His grip tightened a bit on Sonic's arms as he enunciated each word slowly and with purpose. "Did. He. Get. _Anything_."

It was probably meant as a question, but his tone made it more of a... demand. For the second time that day, Sonic jerked his arm away as he answered fiercely, "No." He'd made sure of that.

"And the girl you and that Jet guy were talking about?"

Sonic recognized that Knuckles wanted information, but Sonic wasn't sure that he could give it. Everything hurt too much. Only this time... the pain wasn't physical. "I don't want to talk about it," he muttered as the X-Tornado came into view and landed in a nearby clearing. Hoping not to give Knuckles the chance to pry, Sonic quickened his steps and headed to his ship.

* * *

**So sorry for the delay, guys! My internet was shut off last night, so needless to say that caused problems... Posted 04-23-15.**


	63. Blast to the Past

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! He didn't necessarily use the emerald. Remember not _all_ of his power is in the emeralds. He has some in him as well. :) Thanks for the review!**

**Hello, Anonymous! Your first review to Chapter 62: I'm not surprised that you noticed. You guys (you and the other readers) really pay attention! :D Okay, so as far as your question goes... Like I said, you can favorite stories and authors, follow them (in order to get email notifications if a story is updated or an author posts something), you can participate in forums and polls, roll play in the PM's, and review on any story (as some don't let you review without an account). As with any place on the internet, I'm sure you can make friends. However, their is no "friend" option, only favorite and follow. By the way: _Aww_! :D It means a lot that you'd consider me as a friend on this website! As far as my replying to reviews, I know of other stories where the author does things such as that, and I decided to give it a try. As it turns out, I love talking with my readers! It's so nice to hear from you guys and be able to reply. :) Don't worry, I'll definitely update soon!**

**Your second review to Chapter 62: Yes, the picture _does_ give that impression... as does the fact that they guess _everything_ that is about to happen in the story! It's almost scary how perceptive they are! XD (P.S.: You made me smile so much with that last part. All I can say is thank you! :D)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yes, that is at least part of what it's about. :) And I happen to _like _Jet! XD Although I fully admit that he can be a jerk... Yes, the past is full of mysteries tied to the future. Glad you're enjoying that!**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! We were just discussing your psychic abilities! Lol. XD Anyway, not Merry, nor anyone else I've previously introduced. Using your super awesome psychic abilities, can we see if you can guess the significance (or potential lack thereof) of the girl? I'm curious to see if you can get it right! DON'T YELL AT MAH SONIC! D: (Jk!) Anyway, although I have taken locations and characters from some of the games, T.V. shows/anime, and movies, this story doesn't exist in any one of those universes. It merely takes aspects from various universes and blends them together. I don't mind you being insistent, by the way. It helps to motivate me, knowing that people are waiting. :)**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! Your first review to Chapter 62: Yes, there was another. I just... I don't know. I decided that I didn't like it so I changed it. :P They_are_! So funny! XD By the way, what do you mean by, "he wont be so friendly at the future"? That he won't ask nicely for the information later on? Nope, the girl isn't Sally. I honestly don't think I'll be including her in this story.**

**Your second review to Chapter 62: Yeah, I agree that not everyone would want to see it, but that's alright. To each their own. :) Nope, it'****s not Cream or Vanilla, either, nor Merry. It's not Amy, either. (By the way, correction: Amy and Sonic aren't close... _yet_. :P) But yes, it is/was someone he was/is close with. I'M NOT REVEALING ANYTHING ELSE. XD**

**Hello, Daggr! I personally like Jet, and I don't think he's useless as character, but you don't have to. That's your opinion. *Shrugs* Why do you think Jet needed to tag along with Sonic? Just curious. Also... you realize that "Hentai" literally translates to "pervert", right?**

**Hello, John! He was to a point but, as he told Knuckles, Ivo didn't get the information he wanted. Hope that helps!**

**Whew! Lots of replies this time! XD I think the last chapter now has the most reviews! About the chapter, this one's kind of short, but it's pretty important. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

_He's gotten stronger._ Green eyes watched the moon with uncharacteristic calm as equally green legs dangled over the edge of the cylindrical rocky formation where, only just a few days ago, a brief battle had occurred. Jet hadn't expected to see anyone here, besides his own teammates of course, so that day had been a shock to say the least. Of all the people he could have run into, it had to be _him_. Sonic had been here... that meant that something of consequence was underway.

Jet didn't know how to feel. Part of him was... _relieved_ that Sonic had escaped that place unharmed. Part of him wasn't. Part of him felt guilty for everything that had happened. Part of him would never admit to being sorry. His relationship with the hedgehog had always been complex. They'd been total opposites for as long as they'd known each other. Friends yet rivals... That had always been the most complex aspect of their relationship. It had been annoying, a nuisance at times, but now... now they were neither of those things. _Neither friends nor rivals... Yet, at the same time... not really enemies. Not quite._

His teammates noticed his uncharacteristic silence, the serious look that they rarely ever saw in his eyes. In the corner of his eye he saw a purple face come into view. "You okay, Jet?"

He turned his head and did his best to pull his mind from the past. "I'm fine, Wave."

"You sure?"

He forced a small smirk. "Yeah." He turned his head back to the moon, recalling things from years ago before allowing the memories to drift away. "I'm just fine."

* * *

Several days had passed since the events at the jungle and, thanks to his rapid healing, Sonic was doing much better. For the most part, the only injuries he had were some scrapes, bruises, and minor cuts. It was nothing serious, nor was it anything that he couldn't handle. So, long story short, he was fine. Mostly. Sort of. _...Not really. _Physically speaking, yes he was fine, but otherwise... He couldn't keep the encounter with Jet out of his mind.

_"Hello, Sonic."_

_"Jet."_

_"Long time no see. Guess you made it out of there, huh?"_

_"No thanks to you."_

_..._

_"You know, that wasn't entirely my fault. If she hadn't gone there in the first place, or if she had been able to beat them by herself-"_

_"Don't talk about her like that! She was never weak!"_

Sonic bit back a growl from where he sat in the third seat of the X-Torndo. Hoping to distract himself, he listened as Knuckles and Tails exchanged a calm dialogue, watching their reflections in the glass of the cockpit.

"How long have you been able to pilot?" Knuckles asked from the seat just before Sonic.

"Since I was about twelve," Tails answered with a smile. "I found an old plane in the woods that still worked and used that to teach myself."

"Sounds dangerous," Knuckles responded, his eyebrows raising in that way Sonic remembered Locke doing in the past.

He gritted his teeth and looked away. Too much of the past was coming back to bite him lately. Granted the encounter with Locke had been... nice, in a way, but it had also been _so_painful... especially having to say goodbye again... He pushed that thought away, his encounter with Jet once again at the forefront of his mind. He sighed softly, soft enough that neither Knuckles nor Tails heard him, and his eyes drifted toward the full moon, resting peacefully in the sky. _She always loved the moon. _So many things were surfacing right now. Past hopes and feelings, memories of smiles and laughter and fun and companionship that slowly grew to something more... Only to all be destroyed in a single day. He closed his eyes, trying to push the memories away, but found that he was helpless to stop it as his mind drifted into the past.

* * *

**Exciting news! Hero is now on taskey! This website, taskey, is another site for sharing works of writing (including fanfiction!) and also illustrations! I encourage you guys to check it out! Maybe you can even illustrate your favorite scenes from Hero or something! ;) We're starting all the way back at chapter one, just because it's easier than trying to copy/paste all 62 chapters in one day. Posted 04-24-15.**


	64. Powerful Enemy

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Super Sonic requires the use of all seven emeralds due to the fact that Super Sonic is the result of him being at the peak, more or less, of his power. Therefore, he needs all the emeralds, since they have all of his power. I would assume that the Master Emerald helps as well. :) Classing Sonic in Sonic Generations was _cute_! XD You made me think of him.**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! No, not Maria. That was such an interesting theory, though! I may incorporate that into the story in some way or another! :D Anyway, the answer lies below... Directly below, in fact. XD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Absolutely right! The first love. :) Glad you're enjoying the tension! I tend to be bad at creating that, so I'm glad to hear that I'm improving. :)**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! I am ashamed to say that I've never even heard of some of those characters. And I call myself a Sonic fan... *Sigh* Lol. Yes, she is an OC. However, beyond being in Sonic's memories, she really won't be in the story, save for perhaps the occasional mention. As for the last part: uh... sorry? :l**

**Hello, Anonymous! Your first review to chapter 63: Well, seeing as how this was in the past, back when he was friends with Jet, I think it's safe to say that it _couldn't _be Amy. Your friend sounds like a wonderful person. I'm glad you have such an amazing person in your life! What do you need to convince your dad of? PM's are private messages, like on Facebook, for example. Everyone has an inbox and, unless someone blocks you, you can message anyone. Authors can also use that as a means of replying to their reviewers. (I agree that abbreviations can be SUPER hard to understand sometimes, by the way. ;_;)**

**Your second review to Chapter 64: Touch screens are the reason I don't type on my tablet. Lol! Anyway, as far as chapter vs. chappie goes, it doesn't really bother me. :P It's still April 25th where I am, so I didn't miss a day. I just posted it later than I usually do. Thanks for the review!**

**Hello, Dagger! I personally feel that characters don't have to be/travel together to be important both to the story and, in a way, to each other. As far as hentai goes, it means pervert. For example, in Inuyasha, when Miroku acts inappropriately to a woman named Sango, she slaps him and shouts "Hentai!" Now, considering that, does it make any sense to say that hentai means "perverted"? It makes more sense for it to mean "pervert". Besides, I speak Japanese, so... yeah. :P No, it's not a filler. It briefly reintroduced Jet, a fairly important character, and vaguely mentioned a character that will play an important role later. Like I said, not a filler. Okay, fine! I _won't_ tell you! XD**

* * *

"If you weren't already beat to a pulp I'd kill you."

Knuckles glared daggers at Sonic from where he sat cross-legged in the dirt which was occasionally broken by small rocks. "I'd like to see you try," the echidna growled, violet eyes snapping with irritation.

Sonic raised his eyebrows at him as he stood by with his arms crossed, his eyes betraying nothing but calm. "Had you told me about this sooner, then I wouldn't even be _considering _it."

"Hmph."

Tails intervened before either of the older males could take the minor disagreement any farther. "Knuckles, why didn't you _say_ anything?" he asked. "You had a Chaos Emerald all this time..."

"It was 'all this time'," Knuckles grumbled. "You've only been looking for these things for a couple weeks."

"When did you find it?"

"Today."

Tails frowned a bit in thought, then repeated, "Why didn't you say anything? You knew we were looking for them-"

"You guys weren't here. Besides, I'm traveling with you guys, aren't I?" Knuckles interrupted. "So long as _one_ of us is holding onto them, what's it matter?"

Sonic sighed and knelt down to help Knuckles up, supporting the echidna by the arm in much the same way that Knuckles had helped him after the events in the jungle. "Care to explain what happened here?" he asked as the three of them began walking back to the X-Tornado. He listened as Tails stooped to pick up the light blue emerald before trotting to catch up.

"Nothing happened."

Sonic huffed, suspecting that this was punishment for his own stubbornness back when Knuckles had been helping him walk back to the ship from the tunnels. "I seem to recall having this conversation before... only the roles were reversed."

"That's 'cause we did," Knuckles retorted, "and they were."

Sonic rolled his eyes and didn't reply. It was obvious what had happened, anyway. He'd heard the fight from miles away, deeper in the forest where he and Tails had been investigating yet another cave in the hopes of finding the Chaos Emerald Sonic had suspected was here. However, it seemed he was severely out of practice with following that feeling, as the direction he'd _thought_ the emerald had been in had proved to be wrong. It was... annoying, but at the same time, he supposed all was well that ended well. Stepping over the pummeled remains of a sparking robot, he allowed himself to feel a moment of triumph. _We already have two. _He hadn't expected this to happen so quickly. Granted, he'd found all the emeralds on South Island in one day, but this place, formerly the Land of Darkness, was much larger than the floating island had ever been. Perhaps it was just luck that they already had two Chaos Emeralds. Perhaps it wasn't. Either way, he was happy about it.

They reached the ship not long after ward and Knuckles climbed into the third seat, where he had been riding everyday for the past week or so. Tails and Sonic lingered on the ground for a moment. Blue eyes searched emerald for a moment and, though he was curious, Sonic held his tongue, letting Tails gather his thoughts. "Sonic, I've been thinking," he said slowly, "about what happened in the jungle. I mean, I know we talked about it before, but... Ivo went to all that trouble to trap you and have his robots chase me and even to bring Knuckles down here... he was planning something pretty big, but it failed. What if he tries again?"

"If he tries to do anything like that again, we'll stop him," Sonic replied easily. "With the three of us working together, he doesn't stand a chance, no matter how many robots he has."

"But..." Tails frowned at the ground. "You and Knuckles are so strong, and you're so fast... what can _I_ do to help you guys?"

"Stop doubting yourself," Sonic replied, his tone a bit sharper than he'd intended. Softening his tone a bit he continued, "You're really smart, Tails. You know that. Even if you're not as strong as me or Knucklehead, you can think yourself out of any situation. You figured out all by yourself how to shut down that giant rampaging robot yesterday. You can fly, too, plus you can pilot the X-Tornado. There's _plenty_ you can do."

"But- But what if that isn't enough?" Tails protested. "What if I _can't_ think of a solution? What if something happens to the Tornado?"

"Then someone will _always_ be there to help you," Sonic replied. "Even if it's not always me, _someone_ will be there."

"You..." Tails hesitated, trailed off, then whispered, "You promise?"

"I promise," Sonic replied quietly, though with feeling.

There was a moment of lingering uncertainty, but then Tails's eyes brightened, and Sonic knew that Tails believed him. Giving the fox a small smile, he climbed into the ship.

* * *

Tails loved to fly the Tornado. It was one of his favorite things to do, by his own telling. Still, it was late and the kid needed to sleep, so Sonic took over. Knuckles had passed out as well, snoring softly from time to time as he slept. Sonic, meanwhile, was wide awake. He didn't think he could have slept if he tried, not that he had bothered attempting to. Too many memories continued to fill his mind day in and day out. As he maneuvered the Tornado over the peak of a lone mountain, he couldn't help but recall the conversation with Jet once again. As those memories faded, he was left with other memories, these ones focused around a girl he had known long ago. Struggling to remain focused, he was still helpless against the flow of memories.

* * *

_"Hey, Sonic. Long time no see."_

_Sonic walked up to the tree where the voice had come from and walked around the trunk. "Hey, Elsa."_

_Her silver fur shone in the sunlight and her bright yellow eyes sparkled with mischief. "I thought you said you wouldn't come back here until tomorrow," she said lightly. "Did you miss me?"_

_He looked away quickly. Perhaps too quickly. "No. Why would I?"_

_"I was hoping you could answer that."_

_"I just saw you three days ago."_

_"Days can seem like years when you're missing someone."_

_"I didn't miss you."_

_"Alright."_

_Long moments of peaceful silence passed as the two of them leaned against the trunk of the tree. The breeze was as warm as the sun and Elsa seemed to enjoy it. He wasn't sure why her happiness brought him peace, but he did his best to ignore it. Finally, he broke the peaceable silence that had settled between them. "I have a question."_

_She turned to look at him. Though she didn't smile, there was a smile in her voice. "Alright."_

_Sonic allowed his gaze to drift to the sky. "You mentioned once that there were people who wanted you dead."_

_"Yes," she acknowledged with a nod of her head._

_"Why?"_

_"Why do they want me dead?"_

_"Yes."  
_

_She shifted slightly against the trunk and he turned his head to look at her. This time she really did smile, a small, secretive smile. One that meant she knew a secret. "Do you really want to know?"_

_He forced himself not to look away, despite how uncomfortable her smile made him feel. "You don;t have to tell me if you don't want to."_

_"I want to," she replied immediately, surprising him a bit. "I've kept this a secret my entire life." her smile faded for a moment. "Though apparently not well enough, if they know." She looked away then, her smile returning. He watched as she focused, every ounce of her mental strength focused on whatever it was she was trying to accomplish. As he watched, a bluish-green light slowly surrounded her. Then, lifting an arm straight out with the palm of her hand facing down, she frowned minutely. He watched, astonished, as a small leaf became surrounded by the same light and then started to slowly levitate off the ground. His eyes swung to her face as she let the power go and the leaf fluttered to the ground. "This is my power," she murmured. "This is why they want to kill me."_

_"Psychokinesis," he muttered in shock. It was a rare and incredibly powerful ability, one he'd only ever heard of in stories. _

_She nodded, her smile fading. "I'm untrained, though, and it's too dangerous for me to try to teach myself how to use it better though. I can't d much besides lift small objects."_

_"But they want you dead," he replied. Could it be her potential, perhaps? The possibility that she could one day be a threat?_

_"Yes." She looked up to the sky, her smile fading entirely. "They want me dead." _

* * *

**Sorry for the delay, everyone... Also, just so we're clear, I did _not_ choose the name Elsa because of Frozen. I wrote it down here today, only realizing where it was from _after_ the fact. Amyway, hope you enjoyed! Posted 04-25-15.**


	65. Captured

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE! Freeze people's hearts... Lol! Anyway, I would choose either lightning or dark. ...Probably lightning. :)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Absolutely right! She's related to Silver, though I'm not telling you how! :P Glad you enjoyed! I have no idea. I'm thinking no at this point, but plans may very well change! Lastly, Anonymous has asked me to let you know that they want to see Hyper as well. :P**

**Hello, Anonymous! Your first review to Chapter 64: Yup, fan character. :) Thanks for the points! *Looks around* Now where to cash them in for prizes... Anyway, it's cool that you do those things, but it sucks that you don't get much sleep! Sorry 'bout that. :( I don't know of any specific Pokemon fics, but I do know that there are some on this site. I have no idea how many though. Sorry I can't be of more help!**

**Your second review to Chapter 64: Missed what? That PyroShockZ wants to see Hyper as well? :P Anyway, Sonic has gone to Angel Island in a recent(ish) game: Sonic Generations. Plus I've heard that they go there in Sonic Boom as well, though I wouldn't really know since I don't watch that. :l**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Glad you enjoyed! XD**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! No, she's not Frozen's Elsa. X) And yes, yes we do. **

**Hello, S and D fan! HAHAHA! Omg, that made me laugh! XD**

**Hello, Guest! Um... Since when can you use psychokinesis?! O_O *Hides behind Sonic in case you decide to attack* Glad you're enjoying the appearances of Jet and Elsa! I wasn't quite sure how it would work out, but I'm glad it ended up like it did in the story. And don't worry about it! I get busy too (a _lot_) so I understand.** **:) **

* * *

"Knuckles, report!"

_"Dammit, they're everywhere, Sonic! Where the hell are you?!"_

"I'm heading back right now! Where the hell is Tails?!"

_"I don't know! They took him, I think!" _

Sonic swore softly to himself and poured on the speed as he raced through the trees. He lowered his wrist, only to have the watch-like device on it beep again. Lifting it back to his face he snapped, "What?"

_"I found Tails's communicator! He doesn't have it with him anymore!"_

Sonic swore again. "I'm almost there! Just give me a minute!"

_"He doesn't __have__ a minute!"_

"I know!"

Silence followed for a moment before Knuckles's voice suddenly reached his ears again. _"Wait a minute! The tracking device on his communicator is gone! Maybe he managed to take it with him! See if you can find the signal! I'll deal with these metal monsters!" _

Sonic didn't reply and instead began rapidly typing on the screen of his communicator, a device that he and Tails had worked together to create so that the three of them could always been in contact with each other. Moments later, a map appeared onscreen, and three dots soon appeared as well. His, the blue one, was moving rapidly, not that that was a surprise, but Knuckles's red dot remained in largely the same area. Tails's dot, the yellow one, was on the move as well. And, according to the tracker, he was pretty high up in the air. Really high, in fact. _He can't fly that high. _Concern redoubled, Sonic pushed himself to go even faster. "Knuckles, I found him! I sent the coordinates to you! Head there when you can!"

_"Right!" _

With that, the transmission ended. Sonic went even faster, ignoring how out of breath he was becoming. He wasn't used to going this fast for so long. He was going so fast that the robots he passed didn't even register his presence. The dirt beneath his feet remained undisturbed. He made no sound. He was moving so fast that, when he ran beside a wide lake, there was no reflection of him on the surface. Gritting his teeth, he skidded to a halt, his feet digging into the ground so hard that they left gouges in the earth. Panting, his eyes snapped up to the sky. The ship above him wasn't terribly large, but it was certainly big enough to contain aprison ward, not to mention carry a fair amount of robots. _Not like there aren't enough down here as is. _Bunching up his muscles, he jumped as high as he could, grabbing onto part of the ship as soon as he was close enough. He hauled himself up and, breaking a window with a solid kick, he slipped inside.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, he zoomed in on the map on his screen. He wasn't surprised that it didn't show the ship on it, but it at least told him which general direction Tails was in. Satisfied, he turned to his left and began running once more. The corridors were long and wide but thankfully empty, save for the constant cameras. Sonic payed them no heed, didn't even _attempt_ to stay out of sight. _Let Robotnik know I'm here, then. See what good that does him. _Judging by the almost appalling lack of robots here, it seemed that Ivo had't been expecting company. _He miscalculated for once... Good. _When he reached the end of one of the corridors, he curled into a ball and smashed through it. He didn't have time to try to figure out the pass code. Breaking through was easier, anyway.

Taking one more turn, he burst into the corridor that would hopefully lead him to where Tails was. Breaking down the door, he immediately drew to a halt when he saw the tiny circular tracking device laying intact on the ground. Tails was nowhere in sight. _Damn... _Stooping briefly, he picked up the device and and looked around. There were quite a few holding cells throughout the room, so many that there were actually rows and rows of cages. Snarling softly to himself at the appalling conditions, he began walking, ears pricked for even the slightest noise. Maybe Tails was in here somewhere. Moments later, he realized that he could hear breathing. Gritting his teeth together hard, he ran in the direction that it was coming from, only to stop dead in his tracks at who he saw laying in the cage before him. Crouching, he called softly, "Amy?" At first she didn't stir. He wanted to loom away but he couldn't. Seeing her lying there like that... It reminded him of...

_"Elsa? ...Elsa? Hey! Wake up!" Sonic shook her again and her eyes fluttered open, her head lifting slightly off the ground._

_"Sonic...?" she asked quietly, uncertainly. _

_"What the hell happened here?" he demanded, taking in the battlefield around him. It seemed that her powers had risen to the surface in an effort to protect her, but her attackers had obviously escaped._

_"There were so many..." she murmured. "I couldn't... I can't fight them. I'm not... strong enough."_

_"This is ridiculous." Sonic stood and pulled her to her feet by the hand. "You said you can't fight?" She nodded. "Well I can."_

_"But how does that help-"_

_"I'll train you." _

Sonic shook those memories aside for now and called again, "Amy?"

This time she seemed to hear him. She squeezed her eyes shut a but tighter for a moment before slowly opening them. "Sonic?" she whispered.

He nodded seriously, already looking her over, checking for any sign of injury. "Are you okay?"

She nodded slowly and sat up. "I think so."

He stood and gave the cage a once-over. then, meeting her gaze he said, "Is there a key or something?"

"Just break it," she replied.

"You could get hurt if the bars shatter."

"I don't care."

"Well I do."

She huffed at him. "Either break it down or I will."

He rolled his eyes for a brief moment before stepping back and giving the bars a single, careful kick. The bars shattered like he'd expected, but much to his relief, she didn't get hurt. She crawled out of the hole and, without a word, he scooped her up, carrying her bridal style as he made his way out of the room. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and he did his best to ignore it. "Have you seen Tails?" he asked after a few minutes of silence between the two.

She shook her head before laying it down on his chest under his chin. "He's here, too?"

"Probably," he replied, knowing better than to try and lie to her. Besides, she was Tails's friend too, had been Tails's friend longer than Sonic himself. She deserved to know.

"Do you think he's okay?" she asked quietly, her eyes drifting shut. She seemed so tired... it made him angry, for some reason, that she had been reduced to this state.

"Yes," he replied without thinking. _And if he isn't, I'll kill Ivo for it. _Not that Sonic didn't already want to beat the man to a pulp, but Ivo injuring Tails would give Sonic even more reason to do so. _For that matter, I'm sure Knucklehead's gonna want to get a few punches in as well. _Pushing those thoughts aside, he broke into a run. _Hang on Tails... we're coming. _

* * *

Sonic was by no means surprised to see that Knuckles had already reached the control room where tails had been being held captive. Sonic had gotten held up a ways back by a group of patrolling robots, and trying to fight while holding someone proved to be extraordinarily difficult. He refused to out Amy down, though. She was deeply asleep, unable to defend herself, and he refused to leave her alone. He wouldn't take that risk.

"What took you so damn long?" Knuckles grumbled as Sonic stepped into the room, though there was no real anger in his voice. Instead, he sounded relieved.

Looking Tails over, Sonic found himself sharing in that feeling. _He isn't hurt... Good. _"Sorry. Had a few things to take care of."

It was then that Knuckles and Tails saw Amy. Tails gasped and rushed over to the pair. "Oh my gosh... is she okay?"

"I don't know," Sonic admitted. And he _hated_ that he didn't know the answer to that. He _wanted_ her to be okay, but somehow he doubted that she was.

Knuckles spoke up, then. "Where the hell is Robotnik?"

"Not here," Tails replied. "This ship is on on autopilot. I think the robots are running it, more or less."

"So this ship was just here to grab prisoners and go?"

"Yeah, I think so. Specific prisoners, though, by the looks of things."

Sonic frowned, guilt filling his heart. _Specific prisoners... people associated with me. _He was starting to remember why a part of him hated having friends so much. And yet, at the same time... _What would I do without these three? _

Tails's voice broke into his thoughts. "Sonic, that Chaos Emerald you were sensing, is it still in the area?"

Sonic blinked. He's forgotten all about that. Focusing for a moment, he stretched his senses out, then shook his head. "No. I can still sense it, but it moved farther north again."

Tails and Knuckles nodded. The three of them had been chasing this emerald for over a month. It was ridiculous how many times it had moved away once they'd gotten close to it. "Come on, then," Knuckles sighed. "Let's get out of here." Pausing for a moment, he added, "And we should probably see if there's any medicine for her in the Tornado."

They walked out of the room. Before they left ship, however, Sonic had a thought. _Why leave this ship intact? _He shifted Amy in his arms as he walked, thinking his idea over. He was surprised how tightly she was holding onto him, but for right now he didn't take the time to worry about it. It made it easier to carry her. They reached the window where Sonic had entered the ship just a few minutes later, and Tails jumped out, his tails spinning rapidly to catch him. Snic turned to Knuckles, who hadn't made any move toward the window. "Make one hell of a fireball," he muttered.

Knuckles nodded tensely. "As if I'd do anything else."

With that, Sonic turned and jumped out the window.

* * *

**Not terribly eventful, but still important. Posted 04-26-15.**


	66. Band Together

**Hello, Sonic and Dragin fan! What can I say? It was funny. :)**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Glad you think so! Wait, I meant that as opposed to what? Psychokinesis? If that's what you're talking about, then I meant what I said. Psychokinesis is "****the supposed ability to move objects by mental effort alone", so that fits the power Elsa has. :P**

**Hello, Anonymous! Glad you enjoyed the ending! :) Nope, it isn't moving on its own, nor are the other emeralds responsible. Sonic might be a bit off on his tracking of it, but there is something else involved... **

**Hello, Daggr! Your review to Chapter 64: Glad you enjoyed Tails's involvement here! I agree that he is severely under-appreciated. It's sad. And about that last sentence... HAHA! XD OMG! So true!**

**Your review to Chapter 65: It's not really an army. They just got attacked, which happens a lot to Sonic in his friends even in, say, Sonic X. Also, that chapter wasn't a filler. It was pretty dang short, yes, but it was highly important. Also... what's FNAF? I'm bad with abbreviations sometimes. :P You don't need to apologize for not reviewing! It's not a big deal. :)**

**Hello, ScorchedEarth82800! No secret. :) I just type fast and whenever I can. I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Yeah, i tried really hard with the whole Merry thing, and I'm doing my best with everyone else (though I admit I'm doing a bad job of Keeping Cream regularly involved thus far). As for your guess about Silver, I'd tell you, but it'd spoil the surprise! And as for the last part... LOL! XDDDD**

**Hello, Guest! Who knows? Guess we'll find out, huh? ;) That poor T.V. ... Yeah, I kinda figured you were the same person. I dunno, it seemed like it. :) Glad you enjoyed!**

* * *

Tails watched uneasily as the ship they had just escaped from went up in flames. Forcing himself to focus, he resumed the task of bandaging Amy's injured arm. When she winced a bit, he lowered his head in shame. "Sorry."

"Don't be," she replied gently. "I'm fine. It just hurts a bit, that's all."

"How did you get here, anyway?"

"I could ask the same if you, you know."

Tails smiled a bit. "I asked first."

"Fine, but I'll only answer if you do."

"Deal."

Amy sighed then, shifting positions from where she stood against the X-Tornado. "I was actually driving out to the city near where you live to look at a house. I've been thinking about moving into a house there, to be closer to you and my friends in the city. But last week, on my way there, my car was attacked by robots. Three of them. I had my hammer, but it was in the backseat. I couldn't grab it before one of those creeps grabbed me and flung me up in the air. Another one jumped up and caught me and began flying away while the others blew up my car and all my stuff. Then the three of them carried me to that ship I was on today and left me in a cage. I managed to get out yesterday night, but I didn't stand much of a chance against them on my own without my hammer. That's how _this _happened." She gestured to her injuries, most of which were minor, by some miracle.

"They didn't do anything else to you?" Tails asked.

Amy shook her head. "Nope. Just beat me up yesterday. Otherwise they just left me in a cage. They put me in a stronger one after I broke free, but Sonic made it look like fragile glass the way he shattered it." She sighed. "I wish I could do that. I hate being helpless."

"You aren't helpless!" Tails exclaimed. "You're one of the strongest people I know! Even without your hammer you're still super strong!"

Amy shrugged but otherwise didn't reply as she gazed up to the fiery ship in the sky. Then, after a few moments, she met Tails's gaze again. "So what about you? What happened?"

"Well... That's kind of a long story." He started with how he and Sonic had prepared for their journey before heading to the jungle on a whim. The he launched into the tale of his struggles against the robots, how Knuckles had been warned of the danger and flown out to help, and the limited knowledge he had of what Sonic had been through. He explained what Knuckles had told him about the encounter with the bird Jet and how, just a week or two later, Knuckles had been attacked near the ship while Sonic and Tails had been away. "Knuckles found a Chaos Emerald when he fell down a hole during the fight. That means we have two now. A couple days after that, Sonic sensed another emerald up north. That's why we came here. To try to get it. We split up to try to cover more ground when we were all suddenly attacked. I got captured and I was put in a cage in the control room, probably so they could make sure I wouldn't find a way to break out. They wanted to supervise, in other words, I guess."

Amy gave that some thought before asking, "You guys are after another emerald?"

"Yeah," he replied. "We've been chasing it for over a month, through forests and caves and up mountains and through valleys and just... all _over_ the place, but it always moves when we get closer to it."

"Moves?" she questioned in confusion.

"Yeah," Tails nodded. "Sonic doesn't understand it either. He says nothing like that has ever happened before."

"It doesn't make any sense," she said with a shake of her head. "Powerful or not, it's still a gem, and gems can't move themselves."

"I agree," Tails said. "That's why this is so frustrating."

She looked away, her green eyes traveling to the ship once more. It was now entirely consumed in flames. As Tails turned to look as well, the ship exploded. The waves the explosion created were so strong that it caused Amy's hair to whip around her face, though she didn't even blink. Still, she seemed worried. "Those two will be okay... right?"

Tails nodded readily. Sonic had, after a bit of convincing from Tails, gone back up to the ship to help Knuckles destroy it. Most of the robots on the ground had been destroyed, anyway. Knuckles had made sure of that. Turning his attention back to his battered, exhausted friend, he somehow managed a smile. "I'm glad you're here," he said, "even if the circumstances aren't great."

She returned his smile, though hers held more of a sisterly warmth to it. "I'm glad to see you, too." The hug that followed made Tails smile even wider. When they pulled apart again, she tilted her head at him, her eyes flicking to the trees at his back. turning, he saw Knuckles and Sonic approaching. Amy's hands moved to rest lightly on her hips, drawing Tails's attention back to her. "So what do you boys say about letting a lady join you on your trip?"

* * *

**I was going to make this longer and more eventful... but I didn't. :P Posted 04-27-15.**


	67. Transport

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your Review to Chapter 65: Yes, he's pissed. Never a good thing for his enemies, huh? :P And yes, Knuckles most certainly will. Glad you enjoyed Tails's involvement this chapter! Lastly, Anonymous has asked me to relay a message: "And hello to you too, PyroShockZ. I was surprised that you mentioned Hyper Sonic at all. I thought I was the only one asking if he would be a part. Guess I'm not the only one out of the very few Hyper Sonic fans out in the world."**

**Your Review to Chapter 66: Glad you enjoy these low-key chapters. And yeah, I enjoy Amy more when she's calmer. Still love her regardless, though. :) There may or may not be more of her, but I don't know yet. I won't tell you about Shadow, yet! It'll spoil the surprises to come! :P**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Yup, she will definitely need it. Ooohhh... I knew that! Lol! Lastly, I'd answer that, but it would spoil the surprise! May I ask why you think she's his sister, though?**

**Hello, Daggr! Oh, okay. Yeah, I know the game. I'm just bad at memorizing abbreviations sometimes. And no, there was no romance between Tails and Amy, but you can see it that way if you want. :P How would it spoil the story? (Not trying to sound mean, just confused.) No one knows everything, so it's no big deal. However, the fact that you readily acknowledge this makes you smarter than an alarmingly large number of people. Your fifteen? I'm seventeen. We're closer in age than I'd expected! :)**

**Hello, Sonamylover6822! Yes, eventually. It's building to that, slowly. Thanks for the review!**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! I'd apologize for the length, but... I feel like these chapters have been as long as they've needed to be, even if they weren't terribly eventful. :P Also, yes, Silver and/or Shadow will be showing up soon. But as to whether or not that's related to the moving emerald? Well, you'll have to wait and see!**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Lots of reviews this time! Well, here goes! :P Your reviews to Chapters 61 and 62: Glad you enjoyed! And yes, they really do!**

**Your review to Chapter 63: Was it confusing due to how vague it was, or something else? Glad you enjoyed nonetheless!**

**Your review to Chapter 64: Glad you like the name Elsa. I do, too. :) And yeah, it _would_ give that impression of what powers she has, huh?**

**Your reviews to Chapters 65 and 66: Glad you enjoyed them! And I'm also glad that you don't mind the length!**

**Hello, Anonymous! Glad you're not terribly annoyed that they're short. :) And yes, I gladly will (and did) relay your message.**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! IKR? I'm excited, too! :D He _is_, isn't he? I love him to death. X) Glad you like the way I write for Amy (especially since she's so... well, OOC). No need to hide! I'll protect you! *Goes Super somehow and jumps in front of you* CHAOS SPEAR! ...About Elsa, I think she was too, though I haven't completely defined her personality yet. I think there will probably always be a degree of ambiguity regarding her. After all, defining her completely as a character would probably require me to spell out everything that happened in the past with her and Sonic and Jet and the others, and I don't think that will end up happening (lord help the length of this story if it does). :P**

**Hello, S and D fan! Don't kill me! AHHH! *Runs away in terror***

**Okay, I know I failed to update yesterday, but I've tried to make it up to you today. Enjoy!**

* * *

Sonic couldn't believe what he was seeing as he piloted the X-Tornado over a lake. He could _see_ the emerald... but it was _moving_. And, even weirder than that, he was pretty sure it was... _stuck_ to something. He carefully landed the ship, inadvertently waking his passengers, and a gentle hand came to rest on his shoulder. "Sonic?" Amy murmured drowsily. "What's going on?"

"Yeah, why'd we stop?" Knuckles yawned from the far back.

Sonic was more than willing to ignore Knuckles from time to time, but he couldn't quite bring himself to ignore Amy. "There's an emerald," he replied. "In the lake." After a bit more thought he added, "And I think I figured out why it's been moving all over the place."

"Why?" Tails asked, his curiosity obviously piqued.

It was right about then that a random robot that had for whatever reason been under the water suddenly emerged, the Chaos Emerald gripped tightly in one fist. **_"Directive: Destroy Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles 'Tails' Prower, Amy Rose, Kun-uckles the Eckin-da."_**

Sonic sighed. _And they __still__ can't figure out how to make these things actually talk. _"_That's_ why," he said in response to Tails's question.

"How does it know my name?" Tails asked. "For that matter, how does it know about Knuckles and Amy?"

"Egg-head did his research, I guess," Sonic replied with a small shrug.

"And now he knows about the emeralds," Knuckles growled, clearly unhappy with the mispronunciation of his name. It was something that they'd been hoping to prevent, but maybe there was still hope.

"But what if he doesn't?" Amy asked. "Maybe this robot hasn't given it to him yet."

"Doesn't mean it hasn't reported in."

"But if it had, don't you think Robotnik would have taken the emerald from it by now?"

Knuckles didn't respond, but they all knew she had a valid point. Sonic decided to trust her judgement on this one and cast that worry to the back of his mind. Now all that was left to do was retrieve the emerald. Still, he doubted it would be that easy. This robot was large and seemed to house a good deal of power on its own. It didn't help that it seemed to have been upgraded fairly recently, thus setting it further apart from its peers as far as strength went. And he had a feeling that, despite its poor communication skills, this thing was actually fairly intelligent, probably even capable of learning, to a point. What was more, he had seen just in the way that it walked that it was faster than its size would have ever hinted at. _This is going to be fun... _he thought only somewhat sarcastically. And who knew? Perhaps it _would_ be fun, so long as no one got hurt. At times, though, these things were just unavoidable.

The robot rushed forward, emerald still in hand, and sent Knuckles flying with a single, solid kick. Sonic was standing between it and his friend in an instant, preventing it from delivering another blow to the dazed echidna. He managed to block the second kick by curling into a ball and slamming into it, but the robot didn't lose its balance like he had hoped it would. Instead it merely jumped back and raised its free arm. The hand turned into a gun after a bit of shifting mechanics and it began firing wildly. Cursing softly, Sonic grabbed Knuckles and flung him out of harm's way before leaping off to the side in the opposite direction.

Amy rushed in from behind then and, using the new red and yellow hammer Sonic and Tails had built for her, she hit the robot's back with all her strength. The rebound forced her back a few paces but she managed to keep her feet. The robot started to turn but Tails flew over it and grabbed its head, pulling as hard as he could and forcing the robot to twist this way and that as it tried to free itself, no longer firing its weapon. Knuckles then ran into range and threw a heavy punch, effectively throwing the robot off balance and knocking it over. He and Tails quickly moved away and Amy hurried to Sonic's side. "Are you alright?" she demanded. "Did you get hurt at all?"

"I'm fine," he replied distractedly as he stood.

"What are you thinking?" she asked more quietly as they watched the robot struggle back to its feet.

He frowned a bit before replying. "See where Knuckles hit it?" he asked in turn, pointing to the dent the echidna had made in the robot's torso. She nodded. "We need to attack there. He managed to leave a dent because that's a weak point, maybe even the only one."

"And if we can break through it, we can destroy it," she summed up.

"Yeah."

Something in his voice must have betrayed him because she turned her head to look at him again, frowning just a bit. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Sonic wanted to say no. He wasn't fine. Not exactly. _That thing's using the emerald to make itself stronger. _And every time it did, it made him feel sick, even if only slightly. He didn't know how else to describe the feeling, he just knew that he didn't like it. "I'm fine," he repeated.

She didn't seem to believe him, but at least she gave him the benefit of the doubt and left him alone after that. The fight resumed full-force. Sonic curled into a ball and slammed into the weak point, closely followed by Amy, who hit the spot with her hammer as soon as he was out of the way. Knuckles and Tails seemed to catch on and Knuckles began rapidly throwing punches at that spot, only stopping when he was forced to leap away to dodge an attack. Tails then swooped in from above and gave a surprisingly hard kick to the already dented part of the robot's body, sending it stumbling back. Sonic rushed in before it had time to recover, and he too delivered a powerful kick to it. The metal cracked beneath his heel, then shattered like glass. Not wasting a moment, Amy knocked the robot's feet out from under it with her hammer while Tails ripped out a few important wires from the hole in the robot's chest. Then, as though just to be sure, Knuckles smashed the robot's head with one fist. Sonic rolled his eyes.

"What?" Knuckles demanded. "At least we know its dead now."

"It's a robot," Sonic replied incredulously. "It can't die when it was never even alive."

"Shut up!' Knuckles shouted. "You know what I meant!"

This caused Tails and Amy to laugh even as Knuckles fumed, and Sonic found himself smirking. _Despite the dangers... it's moments like these that make having friends worth it._

"It's still holding the emerald," Tails observed. Then he shrugged and said as he walked over to the hand, "I'll get it."

While Amy teased Knuckles about his poor wording and Tails went to retrieve the emerald, Sonic idly wondered why this robot had held onto the gem for so long. It had, after all, be over a month. _A rogue robot, perhaps? _He supposed it was a possibility. It could very well have grown so intelligent, perhaps because of the emerald, that it went against its creator, possibly without Ivo even noticing. It was all plausible, but he really didn't know for sure. And he reluctantly acknowledged that he probably would never know. It wasn't that important anyway.

Tails's sudden cry of alarm startled him out of his thoughts and all four of them watched as the emerald was somehow sent flying high, _high_ into the air. "Th arm..." Tails offered weakly, his wide eyes locked on the sky. "It... jerked."

Sonic shook his head, actually feeling somewhat amused by the robot's apparent twitch. "It's alright," he replied as he watched the emerald fall back to earth just a little over a mile away. "It didn't go far. We can just walk."

The others agreed and they began walking. "That was one hell of a throw," Knuckles remarked. Then he turned his head to his right to look at Sonic. "Can you throw like that?"

"Uh, sometimes," Sonic replied a bit sheepishly. "Not always. You?"

"'Course. My arms are strong."

"Obviously. You'd be named Toes if it were your legs that were strong instead of your arms."

This, of course, caused Knuckles to go even redder than normal with anger while Tails and Amy cracked up laughing. "Why, you!"

Sonic ducked to dodge a half-hearted punch, for once struggling not to laugh. "You'll have to do better than that, Knucklehead."

"Pincushion," Knuckles muttered moodily, crossing his arms.

"Okay you two," Amy interjected, though she was still smiling. "That's enough."

Sonic just smirked faintly and the four of them continued walking in relative silence. Judging by the sun's position in the sky at that moment, in was nearing noon. And, if Tails's stomach was anything to go by, Sonic wasn't the only one who had noticed the time. "Maybe we should stop for lunch after this," Tails laughed, a hand on his stomach.

"May as well," Knuckles replied. "There's plenty of fruit around here to snack on."

"Mushrooms, too," Sonic added.

"Plus we can pack some for later," Amy pointed out.

"Good idea," Tails beamed. "I can get a bag out of the ship."

"Alright," she agreed with a nod and a smile.

"Just remember not to eat the mushrooms with spots," Knuckles warned, pointing to a clump of some such mushrooms.

"Poisonous?" Sonic inquired.

"Very."

"Right."

They trekked on in silence once more after that. They walked up a small hill then back down again, by a stream, over a pile of random large rocks, through thick clusters of trees, and at one point even through a short above-ground tunnel. Finally, Sonic spotted the purple emerald sitting on a bush. Huffing lightly at the elusive thing, he walked forward ahead of the others and picked it up. Just as he turned back to his companions to leave, there was a surge of power from the emerald that he had no control over, almost instantly followed by a fierce rush of wind behind him. He whirled around and saw a large, dark purplish-black portal-like thing floating a few inches above the ground directly behind him. Then, without any warning, he was carried off his feet, emerald still in hand, and sucked through.

Knuckles rushed forward to do something, despite Sonic already being completely gone, only to be hit by something that knocked him over just as the portal closed. Something... silver.

* * *

**Ugh, I am _so_ sorry for the delay. Yesterday ended up being mostly a lazy day, though I did get _some_ writing done. ...Sorry. Posted 04-29-15.**


	68. Of the Past, Present, and Future

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Nope, not Silver Sonic. But I won't tell you anything else! Thanks for the review! *Runs away from danger***

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Maybe it's him, maybe it's not! You'll have to read and find out! Same goes for Mephiles! As far as Elsa goes, one thing you have to remember is how _long_ hedgehogs live. :) Also, why would her being alive or dead have any bearing on it? Just curious what you're thinking. Lastly, sorry about your phone!**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! It could be either one honestly (you'll find out this chapter) but I'm glad you and your sister are excited!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yeah, maybe he is! It might very well be Chaos... or it could be Mephiles. You'll just have to wait and see! I'll leave you and Anonymous to your conversation now. :)**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! Thanks for agreeing not to kill me! *Breathes a bit easier now that the threat of death has passed* As far as Eggman's plan(s), that was a very interesting idea! And who knows? Maybe it was right! Guess we'll find out sooner or later, huh?**

**Hello, Anonymous! The sad thing is, I actually _wanted_ to type, but I was just too lazy. I must admit though, the break _was_ nice. Omg, I agree! Humor makes life so much better! And yeah, it really was intensely sarcastic, huh? I _love_ writing those two together. There so much fun because they get on each other's nerves so easily! I loved that insult, too! It sort of came out of nowhere and I just had to keep it in the chapter!**

**Hello, Daggr? Okay, be unhappy if you want. That's fine. *Shrugs* And what do you mean it has some action "finally"? Last chapter didn't have much admittedly, but the majority of the ones before that did. Yes, it makes sense. I understand what you meant. :P Now, about Silver: I agree that the game he comes from is terrible. However, the fact that he was created for that game does not necessarily mean that he (as a character, that is) is terrible as well. You can dislike him all you want, that_is_ your opinion and therefore your right, but I happen to like Silver and his inclusion in this story has been inevitable from the start. And, though you won't like it (apparently) his involvement will more than likely not be short. I'd say sorry, but like I said, I _like_ Silver, so I'm really not sorry. If it makes you feel any better, though, I won't be including _any_ of those humans from '06. Anyway, thanks for leaving a review sharing your opinion!**

**Hello, flashyhero! Thanks for the review! Also, is it safe to assume that you dislike Silver as well? It's fine, I'm just curious. :P Lastly, thanks for the follow! It means a lot!**

* * *

Knuckles was quick to shove the furry silver thing off of him and leap to his feet. The thing, a person apparently, sat up slowly and rubbed their, no, his, head. The eyes that blinked open to look at them with a mixture of shock and confusion were a bright, piercing yellow that nearly pinned Knuckles to the spot, if only because of the heavy, deeply-rooted pain inside those eyes. Then the person was on his feet, crouched defensively and glancing rapidly between the three of them. "Who are you?" he demanded.

Knuckles growled. "That's what _we_ should be asking _you_."

A gentle hand came to rest on his shoulder. "Knuckles, enough." Though he barley knew her, Knuckles knew better than to argue with Amy and risk rousing her temper. He did_not_want to be on the receiving end of that hammer of hers. She took a step forward and addressed the stranger. "My name is Amy," she told him politely. "Are you alright? You came flying out of that portal pretty fast." She was remarkably calm given the circumstances. Knuckles had to giver her points for that, a least.

The stranger regarded them warily for a long moment before asking, "Portal?"

"Yeah," Tails chimed in. "Just now, there was a portal. It closed when you came through. It collapsed, probably because it couldn't handle being used by two people so quickly."

"Wait- Someone else went through?" the stranger demanded, suddenly seeming concerned.

"Yes," Amy nodded. "Our friend. He was pulled through just before you flew out."

"_Why_ did you come through there, anyway?" Knuckles asked pointedly.

"It's not like I _wanted_ to," the stranger snapped. "I was dragged by some sort of wind of the edge of a building and then I just fell. It's not like I was _trying_ to come here."

"So you have no idea what opened the portal?" Amy asked.

"No," he replied shortly. "Why would I?"

Amy shook her head vaguely in response. "You never answered my question," she reminded him instead of pressing the other issue. "Are you alright?"

He seemed puzzled by her concern but slowly nodded his head regardless. "...Yeah," he mumbled, looking away. "I'm fine."

As his defensive stance relaxed into a more comfortable posture, she asked, "What's your name?"

He blinked at her. "Silver."

"My name's Tails," Tails piped up. "It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Knuckles," Knuckles grudgingly added. "Knuckles the Echidna."

At this, Silver's eyes widened with obvious excitement. "Oh- Wow! A _real_ echidna?"

Knuckles gritted his teeth. "Obviously," he muttered.

"Where I come from," Silver continued as though someone had asked, "there aren't any of them, you, left." he looked almost apologetic about this fact, though Knuckles had accepted long ago that with his death his race would end. He was the last one, after all. "There aren't many of any of the species left." He looked around then, his eyes betraying an almost wild curiosity. "What _is_ this place, anyway?"

"A forest," Knuckles grumbled. "What else?" He didn't like the way this kid was acting. It was almost like he never seen _trees_ before, which had to be impossible. ...Right?

Silver closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh, his previous excitement suddenly vanishing. "None of this makes any sense," he muttered. "There aren't supposed to be any of these left."

Knuckles frowned. _What?_

Silver's yellow eyes snapped open, filled with sudden clarity, as though he's just solved some ancient mystery. "What year is this?" he demanded.

"Why?" Knuckles demanded back.

"Just answer the question."

"Tell me _why_."

Silver growled then, the sound surprisingly intimidating and also sounding suspiciously like one of Sonic's growls, though that could be dismissed due to their shared species. "Tell. Me. What. Year. It. Is." he said with deliberate slowness.

Tails stepped forward. "I can answer that."

* * *

By the time night fell they had gathered up enough food to last the small group for a at least a day or two. The majority of it was fruit, but there were also some mushrooms and berries, a few roots, and even a couple small fish that they roasted over the campfire. Silver's entire demeanor had been subdued since their conversation earlier and honestly, at this point, Knuckles could hardly blame him. _The kid's only fifteen and he's been sent hurtling through time. _Knuckles didn't exactly like him, but that didn't mean he couldn't sympathize.

"Silver," Amy said, breaking into Knuckle's thoughts, "are you sure that you have the year right?"

Silver nodded. "Yes. I'm sure of it. I'm from the future. ...Apparently."

_Apparently. _"And that fire I saw in the portal?" Knuckles demanded.

Silver took a deep breath. "Things in my time are... very different from this time," he said slowly. "Like I said, there aren't any forests where I come from. There aren't a lot of people, either. There isn't a whole lot of anything, really."

"And yet you knew about echidnas and forests."

"Yeah. Some books survived. I read a lot of them when I was younger."

Knuckles's interest sharpened, as did his concern. "Survived _what_?"

When Silver looked up to meet his gaze, his eyes looked almost... haunted. "The flames." He explained briefly, and vaguely, about a monster names Iblis that ha used its incredible flame powers and near immortality to essentially destroy the world, leaving it covered in the ruins of civilizations, oceans and lakes of lava, thick, heavy clouds of smoke, and fires that could never be extinguished. "A lot of people were killed trying to stop it, to get away," he recited in a dull voice. "My mom died not long before this all started. My dad- he was the first to die, during the first day of the end. He tried to stop the monster on his own, but..." He shook his head and continued on. "After he died, a lot of people gave up hope. They stopped fighting, stopped running. Some people lived, but all the world's heroes, every last one of them, died in the first few months of the attacks."

Knuckles was far too shocked and, frankly, horrified, to respond. _All of them... Everyone...? That can't be right... That means, even Sonic-_

"I'm sorry about your dad," Tails said quietly. "He must've been really brave."

"I don't know," Silver shrugged. "I was baby when he died. I never knew him."

Amy didn't seem to like Silver's depression, if her next words were anything to go by. "Cheer up," she said with a soft smile. "Look at it this way. You're in our time now. Maybe... you can meet your dad here."

This made Silver's eyes shine with a sort of tentative, wary hope. "You think so?"

"Of course. Now let's all finish eating and then get some rest. We're going to have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, trying to figure out what to do, and all."

Silver nodded and began eating with earnest, almost as though he'd never had such good food in his life. And, considering where he's come from, Knuckles supposed that was a possibility. _If he's even telling the truth. _Still, Knuckles had seen the flames for himself. There was no denying the proof he had seen. His gaze drifted up to the starry night sky._Stay out of trouble, alright, Sonic? __We'll get you out of there as soon as we can._

* * *

Sonic woke slowly, lying on his stomach on the hard, strangely hot pavement. Almost immediately it occurred to him that he'd been in a forest before, not any place where there would have been concrete. His eyes snapped open and he leapt to his feet, only to go numb at the sight he was met with. The city around him was in ruins. Flames licked at piles of rubble and ate away at the crumbling, skeletal remains of the buildings around him. Most of the ground was covered by a very deep ocean of boiling, and in places, even roiling, lava. The ground he was on wasn't even the ground, he realized, but rather the side of a building that had fallen long ago. Steam and smoke filled the air, making it difficult to see and breathe. The heat made waves that were visible in the air.

It was like looking at the apocalypse.

The flames reminded him far too much of the destruction of South Island and he forced himself to remain calm. Taking couple deep breathes, breathes that were made painful by the filthy air, he began running, taking an incredible leap of faith off of the mostly sunken building to land on the windowsill of another nearby building that was severely tilted, but otherwise still standing. Glancing back warily, he saw how much lava was below him. Heart pounding a bit against his will, he slipped through the broken window and went inside.

There was nothing inside the room, save for the charred, overturned remains of some sort of large metal table, something that looked suspiciously like a melted computer on the floor, and a few scattered, yellow papers that had somehow survived the fires that had obviously torn this place apart. He walked slowly through the room, careful not to fall through the holes in the floor, and stepped through the door-less doorway. Looking down both sides of the hall, he made a decision and went right. Maybe if he located the stairs he could get to the roof. If he could get up there, then maybe he could jump to another building and get to a place with less lava. If nothing else, maybe he would be able to see more of the area. Not having any sort of a better plan, he began his search.

* * *

Tails and Amy were both sound asleep. Knuckles and Silver, however, weren't. Neither was tired, so they stayed up and kept watch. After a while, Silver sighed. "So this is really the past, huh?"

His seriousness was in stark contrast to the excitement and curiosity he'd shown before, and Knuckles realized that this kid's personality was probably very complex, maybe even as complex as Sonic's. "Yeah. Guess so." He frowned slightly at the hedgehog. "So explain more about this Iblis thing. I know you said it destroyed the world, but you failed to mention _why_, or even where it _came_ from."

Silver sighed again. "That's just it," he replied. "No one really knows. People used to think that there was some sort of a trigger, but that was later proved to be just a myth."

"And how many people are left?" Knuckles asked.

"There isn't an exact number, since people are so spread out, but we think around a couple hundred," Silver shrugged. "Maybe."

Knuckles blinked. "That's more than I expected."

Silver shrugged again. "We got lucky." When Knuckles gave him a look, he said, "Okay, think about it this way. In the past, in _this_ time, how many people on average live in one city?"

"A few hundred thousand or so, at least." As soon as the words were out of his mouth realization hit and he frowned. _Oh__..._

"Right," Silver nodded. "And now, in _my_ time, there's only a couple hundred people in _total_ around the whole _world_. Make sense?"

Knuckles nodded. "Yeah." He was quiet for a long moment before asking, "You said a lot of the heroes in your time died, right?"

"Not 'a lot'," Silver corrected him, "all."

"Right," Knuckles replied dismissively. "Who, exactly, were these heroes?"

Well..." Silver seemed to think for a moment. "I can't remember all their names," he admitted after a moment, "since it's been so long since I've heard any of those stories, but I remember a few. There was someone named Miles Prower, someone with the last name Rose, and someone named after a food I've never heard of. Beyond that I just remember that there was an echidna, though I don't remember their name, a few birds, a big cat, a bunny and her family... That sort of thing."

Knuckles stiffened involuntarily. _Miles Prower... That's Tails's name. Amy's the only person with the last name rose, and I'm the last echidna. I don't know those other people. _He forced himself to relax a bit in spite of his thoughts. _So, by his telling, the three of us die... But no mention of Sonic? _That was surprising, but he supposed that the fact that Silver didn't mention him was probably just due to the fact that he, by his own admission, couldn't remember everyone who had died. Looking back into those piercing yellow eyes, Knuckles's tone softened a bit as he asked, "What do you know about your father?" Silver had been orphaned as a baby. He didn't know his father or his mother. Knuckles knew full well how painful that was.

"What's it matter?" Silver muttered, looking away. "He's gone."

"Not in this time," Knuckles reminded him. Silence. Knuckles frowned a bit. "You gonna answer me?"

Silver looked back at him, also frowning. "Why should I?"

Knuckles crossed his arms. "How are we supposed to help you find him if we don't know anything about him?"

Silver's eyes widened noticeably. "You- You'd be willing to-" He cut himself off and stared in shock for a moment before murmuring, "You're going to help me?"

Knuckles nodded once. "Of course." His frankness surprised the hedgehog, it seemed, but he ignored it. "So spill. What do you know?"

Silver frowned in thought, trying to collect every tidbit of knowledge he had. "He was a hero. One of the world's greatest. Powerful too, but I don't know details. He fought a lot of bad guys in the past, during this time here." He frowned a bit deeper, then sighed as the frown faded. "I don't know a whole lot, but... I used to have a picture. I'd know him if I saw him."

Knuckles nodded. That was something, at least. "We can make that work," he said. "There aren't many hedgehogs left in the world. There numbers are barely in the twenties or thirties nowadays, if even that. It won't be hard to get you pictures of the guys."

Silver nodded, his eyes once again filled with that tentative hope. "Thanks."

* * *

To say that Sonic was shocked was a severe understatement. He didn't know what he'd expected to see at the top of that building, but he knew for a _fact_ that he hadn't expected to see a giant, fiery monster amidst the lava. It turned slowly and faced him, and he stiffed involuntarily as it unleashed a terrible, deafening roar and began charging toward him, creating tidal waves of lava as it went. Already preparing to run for his life, one simple thought entered Sonic's mind. _If this isn't hell, I don't know what is._

* * *

**Posted 04-30-15.**


	69. Alternate

**Hello, Guest! Your review to Chapter 67: I am considering it, but nothing is concrete yet. I _promise _that I'm thinking about it, though!  
**

**Your review to Chapter 68: ... I take it that you're surprised?**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! Glad you enjoyed! And I'm not answering that... Yet. ;P**

**Hello, Anonymous! If I am (and I'm not saying that I am!) implying that, WHY WOULD YOU ATTACK ME FOR IT?! DX ...*Reads your second review* Okay, I think I get it now. Allow me to explain: Sonic was with someone in the _past_, his first love, but that was in the past. As I have stated before, this story, romantically speaking at least, is definitely focused on Sonic and Amy. Better? (Also, OC literally just means "Original Character". In this story, Elsa would be an example of one.)**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! The first part of your review made me smile so much! XD I'm glad you enjoyed! You think I got him perfectly? That's good, 'cause I wasn't sure. :P I agree! Silver's awesome!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm really glad you enjoyed! And, since my descriptions were vague, I'm happy to now that they were still enjoyable! I will! (Btw, I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE XD)**

**Hello, ScorchedEarth82800! Glad you enjoyed! And yes, you were right about Tails and Amy, but Sonic's not the "food". The "food" is the companion of someone smaller... and cuter. :) Oh my goodness, where is that typo? I can't seem to find it! So sorry for confusing you! ^-^**

**Hello, Daggr! Well, I personally feel that a character doesn't necessarily need a lot of description in order to be like. Obviously it helps, but I don't think it's really _needed_. I didn't mind his voice, and I thought that his personality was actually rather complex, just generally expressed indirectly and subtly. Oh, and I like Blaze, too. :) Glad you liked the way I worked him into the story. I left the backstory pretty vague for the most part, but I'm glad that it was enjoyable anyway. Lastly, as far as Cream and Vanilla go, they were only in for a short time, yes, but their appearance had a purpose. Mainly to meet Sonic and explain about Merry. And don't worry, they'll be back. :)**

**Hello, astroshadow! Maybe, but I'm not telling! You'll have have to wait and see!**

**Hello, Welsh! I am _so_ sorry that I didn't respond before! I thought I had... I'm so happy that you enjoy my story. That means a lot to me. And yes, Shadow will definitely be included at some point!**

**Hello, flashyhero! I am _so_ disappointed in myself for not detecting the sarcasm... XD Anyway, yes! You're abosolutely right! Those _were_ the people Silver was talking about! You may be right, but I'm not telling! Wow, lots of people seem to like Shadow (myself included)! Don't worry. he'll be here! :D Rouge will be as well, probably at about the same time as Shadow, but I'm not so sure about Omega.**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Yes, yes you will. :) I will (and did)!**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Hey, long time no see! :D Glad to know you're still reading! I'm also super happy to know that you like how things are going! You think you know who they are, huh...? Well, I'm not telling you anything here! However, the answers will be revealed soon... ;)**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! He might be, he might not be. You'll have to read and find out! So the search will continue... for now. :) Don't worry about your English, by the way. In understood you just fine. :)**

* * *

Tails and Knuckles leaned over a large map that Tails had rolled out on the grass at their campsite. It was early morning and Amy and Silver were still asleep, both sleeping on their sides and using their hands as pillows. The two awake males leaned on their hands, holding the map open and keeping it flat. Tails pointed with one finger at a location on the left side of map, not terribly far above the equator. "This is the jungle we were in, right?"

Knuckles analyzed the map carefully for a long moment before nodding. "I think so. That looks like the lake I saw there."

Tails returned his nod and pointed again. "So, since we went north, northwest for a while, we're probably around here now," Tails decided.

"Which places the nearest city here," Knuckles replied, also pointing.

"Yeah," Tails agreed. Then, looking up, he asked, "Say, do you really think we can find pictures of all the hedgehogs?"

Knuckles forced himself not to roll his eyes. He had to remind himself that Tails was still a kid and that, despite his intelligence, he didn't know everything. "The cities are damn good about keeping track of the populations. They have photo identification for _everyone_, even the people living in towns and villages."

"You're right," Tails laughed quietly. "I forgot about that."

Knuckles looked back at their sleeping companions, particularly Silver. "Wonder how he'll react to the Tornado," he murmured thoughtfully, more out of a passing curiosity than anything else.

"Who knows?" Tails asked, also looking at Silver. "He's probably never seen anything like it before."

Knuckles turned back to Tails. This wasn't something he would normally bring up to a kid, but Tails was by no means just a kid. He was... a genius, to put it lightly. "There's something I don't get about all of this," he admitted reluctantly.

Tails blinked. "What?"

Knuckles resisted the urge to sigh and put aside his hesitation. _If anyone's figured this out, it's probably him. _"If I understand his story correctly," he cast another glance at Silver's peaceful face, "the world should have ended by now."

Tails frowned thoughtfully. "I've been thinking about that," he said. "But, if I understand the basic principles of time and space correctly, and I think I do, then the answer becomes pretty simple." When Knuckles showed no signs of understanding, Tails inched forward a bit and whispered excitedly, "Silver's not just from the _future_... he's from a whole other _timeline_!"

Knuckles was shocked, but somehow, he managed not to freeze. "You're sure?" he demanded quietly, so as to not wake the two hedgehogs.

"Almost positive," Tails replied. "He _told_ us the year the world ended, and in _this_ timeline we've already passed that year and _nothing_ happened to us. Doesn't it make sense?"

"Yeah," Knuckles grudgingly admitted. "It's still weird, though. I never thought separate timelines existed."

"I didn't either," Tails replied. "I thought it was just a theory, but... Silver proved me wrong."

Silence settled between the two for a long time and Knuckles couldn't seem to shake the feeling of relief that swept over him. _So... that means none of us will be killed, then? _He sighed softly to himself. _Good. _Pushing his thoughts aside for now, he stood. "Come on, we should wake them up and get going."

Tails nodded and refolded his map before saying quickly, "Wait, let me get Amy. She can be grumpy when she wakes up. At least I know she won't kill _me_ for waking her."

Knuckles, who had been walking toward her, shrugged and turned away to wake Silver instead. Kneeling beside the hedgehog, he placed a hand on a silver shoulder and shook it lightly. "Hey, wake up."

Silver's eyes immediately blinked open and he sat up. "We leaving?" he asked with a yawn.

"Yeah," Knuckles nodded as he stood once more. Then, seeing that Amy was up now, too, he added, "Let's go."

* * *

Sonic leapt across another dangerously wide gap between buildings and landed so hard that his teeth knocked together with painful force. Not even taking the time to wince, he kept running, leaping from building to building to building. The creature, whatever it was, followed him all the way, destroying anything and everything in its path. More than once it raised its mighty arms and hurled massive fireballs at him, all of which shattered the surrounding buildings as though they were even more fragile than glass. Dodging one such fireball, Sonic bit back a cry of alarm when he suddenly slipped off the edge of the tall building whose roof he'd been running on. He snatched the ledge with one hand, casting a horrified glance into the lava far below. _Oh, man... That was too close..._

The creature was upon him. He didn't have any time to react before it slammed a hand into the building, shattering it and sending the debris and him hurtling into the lava. By some miracle, he landed on a large chunk of concrete instead of in the lava, hitting it with his back so hard that the wind was knocked out of him. Not taking the time to try to catch his breath, he rolled quickly onto his feet and began running across the rubble as though the chunks of concrete were mere stepping stones rather than rapidly sinking sections of a building. When he reached the last decent-sized piece that hadn't sunk, he jumped high into the air, curled into a ball, and propelled himself forward and back to the relative safety of another building. Panting, he watched as the beast slowly sank back into the lava from whence it came, almost as though it had never been. He frowned. _Where did it go...? _He didn't believe even for a single second that it was gone for good. _So where...? _

Several long moments passed without incident, but the reprieve was not destined to last long. The lava immediately surrounding his building began to bubble and boil. Slowly, the fiery liquid began to circle around the building, gradually going faster and faster until a massive vortex of fire and lava rose up to surround the building. The wind whipped Sonic's hair around wildly and the sheer, intense heat, couple with the burning red light, made his eyes start to water just a bit. Gritting his teeth, he watched, helpless, and the creature from before emerged from the swirling red to hover just in front of the lone building. Sonic tensed. He knew this couldn't end well. He wanted to fight, but he also knew that this thing, whatever it was, was made up entirely of heat and flames and solid magma. His ears lowered slightly as his heart pounded in response to the imminent threat of death towering over him. _How do I beat it if I can't even touch it? _

* * *

No one was particularly surprised when Silver circled the X-Tornado upon discovering it, his eyes wide with a mixture of shock, awe, and wonder. Coming back around, he turned his gaze on Knuckles and the others. "This thing _flies_?"

"Yup," Tails beamed with pride. "This ship is the best out there."

Knuckles wasn't sure if that was entirely true, but it had so far proven to be even beyond anything Robotnik had ever even attempted to create. That had to count for something, at least. "Now that that's out of the way, let's get going," he said impatiently. "We're losing daylight."

"Oh, relax," Amy replied with a dismissive wave of her hand, even as Tails climbed into the ship. "It barely even _is_ daylight right now. If anything, we're _gaining_ daylight." He rolled his eyes at her and she stuck her tongue out before climbing into her usual seat in the X-Tornado, right behind the pilot's seat.

Resisting the urge to sigh, he turned to look at Silver. "You getting in?"

Silver seemed to consider it, but only for a moment. "Nah, I'll stay out here."

Knuckles thought nothing of it. Sonic had chosen to ride on the wing rather than inside several times when Tails had been piloting, and Silver seemed at least somewhat similar, personality-wise, to Sonic. So, really, there was no harm, he supposed. _As far as sheer confidence goes, they seem to practically be the same person. _Biting back a small huff, he climbed inside. The cockpit closed once he was seated and Tails started up the Tornado. They all turned their heads to make sure Silver was situated n the wing, only to be shocked when he suddenly winked at them... then burst into the air, going nearly as fast as Sonic could run.

"No _way_!" Tails exclaimed.

"He can _fly_?" Amy gasped, her shocked expression turning into a wide smile of awe.

Somehow, Knuckles managed to pretend that he wasn't just as surprised by the new development. "Whatever. Let's just go."

Reluctantly turning his attention back to the controls, Tails lifted the ship off the ground. Once they were high into the air, Silver came up to them, flying effortlessly by the ship's side. Tails was curious about the extent of Silver's abilities of flight, so he sped the ship up significantly, casting a slightly challenging smile in Silver's direction. Silver seemed to understand what Tails was thinking and, after sparing the fox a smirk, he too sped up, moving so that he was going just a bit faster than the ship. This continued for several minutes, one pulling in front of the other and vice versa until they had reached the Tornado's top speed, going about half as fast as the speed of sound. Tails was sure that he and Sonic could have made the ship faster, given more time to work on it, but for now this was all it could do. Still sporting a confident smirk, Silver sped up even further, instantaneously speeding up to the point where he visibly broke the sound barrier.

"No _way_..." Tails murmured in awe.

"He's so _fast_...!" Amy murmured, her eyes wide.

Knuckles was too shocked to speak. Silver's physical appearance had done nothing to hint at this incredible potential for speed. _He's almost as fast as Sonic... I thought that wasn't even possible. _Sonic's speed was in a class of it's own. How could this kid come anywhere close to matching with it? _It almost makes me wonder what else he's hiding. _There was no telling what other abilities he had. Perhaps he was super strong as well. Or maybe he, like Tails, possessed incredible, raw knowledge. There was really no telling, but, in a way, Knuckles hoped that the occasion would never arise where Silver needed to display those skills, whatever they may be. _He's been through enough in his own time. He doesn't need to experience battles here as well. _There were just some things he felt that no one deserved, and living in a post-apocalyptic world was definitely on the top of that list right now, and being orphaned was right up there with it. _There are some things no one deserves... __Not anyone. _

* * *

Sonic had no choice but to jump when the creature opened it's mouth and unleashed a massive stream of fire that quickly and effectively melted a good portion of the building trapped within the vortex. Sonic landed hard in the midst of the raging flames left behind even when the stream ended. The flames were hot and far too close for comfort, but it couldn't be helped at this point. It was either the flames or the lava and, given the choice, he knew he would choose the flames every time. At least they wouldn't immediately kill him like the lava would. he winced when the creature opened its huge mouth and let out another deafening roar. With nowhere to run, he could only jump high into the air when a fireball came flying toward him. As soon as he was in the air, though, the creature did something unexpected. Lashing out with a giant hand, it hit him full force, sending him hurtling through the vortex and beyond. He slammed straight through three large, thick buildings before coming to a stop by hitting a fourth one with his back so hard that the wall exploded into an intricate, web-like mass of cracks. As everything faded to black, he fell limply to the hard ground below.

* * *

It was past noon by the time they reached the city. And, by the time they had finished eating lunch at a small outdoor restaurant, it was nearing two in the afternoon. As they walked to their destination, Knuckles turned his attention to the matter at hand. "Do you have a name?" he asked Silver. "That would make it easier."

Silver shook his head, seeming also apologetic as he replied, "No, I never knew his name. People never really... you know, _talked_ about everyone who had died. I mean, maybe once or twice, but... That was when I was a young kid. If they ever told me his name, I don't remember it."

Amy placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "That's alright," she reassured him. "We'll find him, anyway."

Silver seemed to brighten a bit at her words and they kept walking in silence. A few minutes later, they headed inside the City Hall. While Silver enthused about the objects he had never seen, Amy went to the counter to speak with a man who was sitting there. Being the only one out of the four who frequented cities, Knuckles supposed that it was probably for the best that she had chosen to handle it. He discreetly kept an eye on Silver as the kid looked around while simultaneously keeping watch over Tails as well. He doubted they were in any real danger here, but he refused to let his guard down, just in case. Several minutes later, however, his focus was interrupted by Amy's angry voice.

"Look, _sir_, I have a kid here who was orphaned as a baby. He's just trying to find his dad. Is it _really _that big of a deal to let him look at your pictures?" The man cringed and, after a moment, simply handed her a book without a word. She nodded curtly. "I didn't think so." Huffing lightly, she turned and, anger disappearing in an instant, she handed the book to Silver. The book was small, not that that was surprising. There really weren't many hedgehogs, after all. "Go ahead," she said encouragingly. "Open it."

He swallowed hard and nodded once. Carefully opening the cover, he began slowly turning the pages until he reached the very back. On the last page on the very bottom was the blurry, uncertain photo of a hedgehog in a tree. The photo had obviously been taken from a distance and seemed to show a couple robots as well. "There," Silver said, pointing at the picture, almost breathless with excitement. "That's him. I'm _sure_ of it."

Knuckles and the others stared at the photo in shock. There was no denying who was depicted in that photo. But there was no way that was right... right? Knuckles frowned as he struggled to make sense of this. _It can't be... There's no way... _And yet, there was no denying Silver's reaction to that one, blurry photo. It was far too genuine to have been faked. _Which means... he's telling the truth? _Biting back a growl, he stared at the figure in the picture. _Damn it all, when we find you, you're going to have a hell of a lot of explaining to do. _

* * *

**Posted 05-01-15.**


	70. Power from the Soul

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! It _is_ possible! :) Thanks for the review!**

**Hello, Anonymous! Why _did_ you freak out before? XD Sure thing. No problem. :) As far as your last sentence goes, what do you mean? Like, for example, someone borrowing Elsa from this story to use in theirs?**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Oh my gosh, that made me laugh! XD Glad you enjoyed the fight scene! That was definitely the hardest part to write. OMG, yes! I heard! I can't wait! AHHH JULY IS TOO FAR AWAY. Anyway, I'm super happy that you're enjoying it! It means a lot to me. :) Hm... I honestly haven't given that any thought. He might be, he might not be. I have no idea at this point.**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! Yes, it's her. AHHH! Don't shoot, don't shoot, I'll explain! Elsa _is_ dead. There is some level of consistency between the timelines, though it varies a bit. However, as far as Elsa goes, they are consistent in the way that, in both timelines, she _is_ dead. And the _only_ reason I'm telling you up here is because I wasn't sure how to explain it in the story. XD**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! In response to your review, I must ask you to read the first sentence of the second paragraph of Blazing Bright Streak of Light's review, where it is explained perfectly, albeit briefly.  
**

**Hello, John! Elsa, yes. Sonic, maybe. You'll find out here!**

**Hello, Daggr! What do you mean "making more finished products"? As in tying up loose ends or something? You got braces? Ouch. I never had any personally (though I probably needed them), but I've heard how much it hurts. Sorry 'bout that. :( I will try to refrain from talking about teeth hurting, though I make no promises. Glad you're enjoying the story and that you enjoyed the chapter! As far as Cream and Vanilla, just trust me on this one, okay? ;) Why would I "turn [my] nose up"? I don't do that. I have discussions with you. That's different. Anyway, now that that's out of the way... *Grabs my epic DAGGR APPROVED award and starts showing it off*LOOK AT IT. IT IS AMAZING.**

**Hello, ScorchedEarth82800! Oh, okay. Sorry about that. Also,just cheese, but yes. :)**

**QUICK NOTE! I put some review responses at the end so as to avoid spoilers. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Now that they knew who exactly it was that Silver was looking for, it became even more imperative for them to find a way to open that portal again. But first, at Amy's insistence, they had to fly back to the place where it had opened the first time, causing Silver and Sonic to switch places unwillingly. When asked _why_ she wanted them to go there, however, she seemed unable to give a real, concrete reason. "I just have a feeling," she said with a small shrug.

"A feeling that could mean nothing," Knuckles pointed out tensely, arms crossed.

"It doesn't mean nothing," she insisted. "I'm sure of it! And even if I _am_ wrong, what's the harm in looking around there again?"

Tails raised a hand to catch their attention. "I agree with Amy," he said. "Portals are... finicky, especially about where they appear. If the portal opened in that area once, it's more likely to open there a second time rather than open somewhere else."

By that logic, it seemed Amy's plan had merit. Sighing resignedly, Knuckles nodded his agreement. "Alright, fine. But we should hurry. No goofing around this time while we're flying." He looked significantly to Tails and Silver, causing Tails to laugh and scratch the back of his head sheepishly while Silver didn't even seem to notice. "If we go full speed, how soon can we get there?"

Tails's expression turned more serious as he did some quick calculations in his head. "If we go full speed the _entire_ flight... I'd say about an hour, if even that."

"So why didn't we do that the first time?" Amy asked with a small frown.

"Going that fast takes a lot of energy," Tails said with a shrug. "And, since Sonic and I had to build the Tornado so quickly, I don't want to push it too hard. There's no telling whether or not it can handle going that fast very often, or for very long." She nodded her understanding and, with the conversation over for now, she climbed into the ship. Knuckles wasn't far behind. Tails, however, hesitated, watching Silver for a moment before walking over to him. The hedgehog's gaze was locked on the bluer than blue sky with its puffy white clouds, and it occurred to Tails that Silver probably really had never seen anything so beautiful. Still, that didn't explain the serious, almost anxious expression currently showing on his face. "You okay?"

Silver blinked, though his gaze never left the sky. "I just... can't believe I'm finally going to meet him, you know?" he said quietly. "I've spent my whole life wondering, but now that it's actually real..." He trailed off uncertainly and Tails smiled.

"Don't be nervous," he said cheerfully. "I haven't known him for that long, but I know that he's a great person. He cares a lot about people, and you two are _family_, so of course he'll be happy to see you, too."

"You think so?" Silver asked, his countenance brightening a bit as he turned his head from the sky to look into Tails's smiling blue eyes.

"Of course I do!" Tails replied happily.

Silver smiled then, his first real smile since seeing that picture of his father not long before. "Thanks, Tails."

"No problem, Silver." They smiled at each other for a brief moment. "So you ready to go?"

Silver nodded. "Yeah. Let's go."

"Remember though: no racing," Tails said with a small wink.

"Or Toes will destroy us all," Silver replied with a grin, having come to the same conclusion about Knuckles's opposite name that Sonic had. They laughed together while Knuckles muttered angrily to himself inside the ship. Then Tails hopped into the cockpit while Silver took to the skies.

* * *

Sonic woke slowly; too slowly. By the time he realized what was happening, he had been sent flying all over again. He hit the ground painfully and rolled over himself over and over again before finally coming to a stop terribly close to the edge of the lava. He hissed softly and leapt away, surprised but ultimately grateful to find that he was steady on his feet when he landed. Lifting his gaze, he glared almost murderously at the thing that had attacked him. It roared again and unleashed a wave of hellish flames, closely followed by a torrent of red-hot lava. He gritted his teeth together, muttering a soft "Tch!" as he jumped high into the air to avoid what would surely be the cause of his death if he were to be caught. When the danger subsided, at least temporarily, he landed again. Moments later, however, he was astonished to see a large number of small creatures emerging from the lava surrounding the creature, as well as flying in from someplace behind it. They almost looked like... birds.

The birds swarmed his lonely island in a whirling frenzy of flaming wings and beaks. Some threw fireballs that they had formed in their talons, others tried to stab him with their beaks, and still others tried to fly right through him, an act that would surely kill him almost instantly by scorching his insides. Then, as if they weren't bad enough on their own, yet more creatures began to pull themselves onto the land from the very edge of the lava. These ones looked like some sort of mutant combination of a dog and a lizard, and they quickly proved to be faster than they looked. A great many of them charged at him, seemingly with the intent to ram as well as bite, but, as was the trademark of these fire-beasts, it seemed, many also hurled fireballs at him, this time from their mouths. He didn't take the time to wonder why he could touch these creatures without getting burned as he punched, kicked, and homing-attacked them as quickly as he could; he didn't have time for such things. Upon landing after delivering a series of rapid attacks, he was startled when he noticed a circle of lava suddenly appear beneath him. Leaping away just barely in time, he was shock to see a worm-like creature shoot up out of the circle. Many more such creatures soon appeared... and of course began shooting fireballs at him. Growling softly, he rushed to destroy the creatures before they could do the same to him.

It quickly became apparent that, no matter how many of these creatures he destroyed, there would always be two or even ten others to replace them. The situation was growing desperate. Sonic could only fight so many enemies at once, especially by himself. And these creatures were no robots. They couldn't be disabled or destroyed through simple attacks. He was having to give this fight a lot more effort than he would have had he been fighting with either Robotnik. It didn't help that there seemed to be an endless (or at least _nearly_ endless) supply of these creatures. _If this keeps up, I could be-_

It was right about then that he suddenly realized that he could sense something in the lava. And not just _one_ something; _seven_ somethings, some of which were far away, but not _too_ far. Raising a hand without thinking, he focused on the feeling and called them forth. Immediately seven glowing gems, the Chaos Emeralds of this long-dead version of his world, came flying toward him. They stopped and came to hover in a circle around him. He had just started to wonder _how_ in the _world_ he had summoned the emeralds when they suddenly started rotating around him. They moved slowly at first, but as they rapidly gained more and more speed, he felt himself being levitated into the air as power rushed through him.

* * *

As Tails predicted, the whole trip took only about an hour. Still, the sun was setting by the time they reached the place where the emerald had been, having been forced to make the trek on foot. There had been no nearby location large enough to land the ship in, save for the one they had used the first time, so they had walked. Once they were there, Amy looked to Silver. "Are you sure you don't know how to open the portal?" she asked.

"I don't have a clue," he replied, looking around carefully. Then, after seeming to have thought about it a bit, he shook his head and repeated needlessly, "Not a clue."

With nothing to go on, they all split up and began looking around. Amy peered through some bushes for any sort of a clue while Knuckles quickly scaled a rock formation of some kind and began searching its top. Tails looked curiously at a cluster of spotted mushrooms before moving on to look around the surrounding trees. Silver, much like Amy, looked into a bush. Moments later, he blinked in surprise at what had seemingly been dropped into it. "Hey guys?" he called. "What's this?"

Almost immediately, all four of them were crowding around the bush. "What's what?" Amy asked.

Silver reached through the leaves to grab it. "This-" he started to say. But, as soon as his fingers grazed the shiny purple surface, history was repeated and suddenly they were falling through darkness, leaving the emerald behind once again.

* * *

The power Sonic felt was almost painful in its intensity. He couldn't be sure, but it almost seemed like the emeralds were reacting to his emotions. _Because I'm angry... that so many people died...? _He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, gritting his teeth so hard that they almost hurt, before slowly allowing himself to relax, and submitting to the power that filled his entire being. _So be it. _

Almost immediately there was a blinding flash of light and suddenly the emeralds seemed to vanish inside of him as he hovered effortlessly in the air. His hair stood straight up. He was bathed in an incredible golden light, the likes of which he had never seen before; he literally glowed from within. He had never felt so powerful before in all his life. And yet, somehow, he knew that he was totally in control of himself and his power. His eyes snapped open and his gaze looked with the monstrous creature's. Allowing his righteous anger to fuel his power, he curled in on himself somewhat and unleashed a massive explosion of pure energy, completely wiping out all the minor threats. Then, glaring at the creature once more, he flew in for another attack.

The ensuing battle was epic... but brief. The creature unleashed its biggest, most powerful fireball yet, and Sonic didn't bother to dodge. Instead, he flew right through it, causing it to shatter, the pieces flying everywhere. To avoid a massive stream of fire escaping from the creature's open mouth, he dove beneath the lava, now rendered harmless by his apparent invulnerability (or however close to it he actually was), and circled around behind the creature. He then exploded out of the liquid and, raising his right hand, he spoke a single word, one he knew he had never spoken before and, with a blinding flash, the creature was eradicated... and somehow, he knew it was gone forever.

Then, the next thing he knew, he was landing lightly on the land he had been on before. Feeling completely and utterly exhausted, he sank down onto his knees as the power faded and the emeralds re-emerged from within him before scattering to the ends of the world, leaving bright streaks of light behind. Just as his eyes closed for a minute as he tried to gather his remaining energy in order to stand, a voice reached his ears, causing his eyes to snap open once more. "_D-Dad_!"

* * *

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Anyway, so glad you enjoyed! Nah, I don't think they'll kill him. Nope, can't be Amy. They barely know each other, remember? I believe that some things will be the same in every timeline, including lineage, so if Sonic and Amy never had a child in the main timeline, they wouldn't in another. :P Besides, Silver is a, well, silver hedgehog, which means, by the genetic rules of this story (as explained by Locke early on), one of Silver's parents must be silver in color. Yeah, those two things definitely prove it, huh? ...That sort of thing is genetic? Huh, learn something new everyday, I guess. :P But yeah, like I said, it's not Amy. I'm happy to know that the #1 Silver fan in the world is satisfied with my portrayal of said hedgehog! It means a lot to hear such things from you! :D**

**Hello, flashyhero! Yes, they got together and had a child. And yes, she did die in Silver's timeline, but after having Silver. Also, it is heavily implied that she died in the regular timeline as well.**

**Hello, astroshadow! My, you _are_ observant, aren't you? :D Yes, it's him. Yes, those comparisons strongly hinted at it, huh?**

**And Super Sonic is finally here! What did you guys think? I was super excited to write this! :D Posted 05-02-15.**


	71. Raw

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Yup, they are related. But... how does Sonic's friendliness (or apparent lack thereof) confirm that Silver is from a different dimension/timeline? You kinda lost me there. :P**

**Hello, Guest 1! ...I'm assuming (based on your #1 comment) that you're Blazing Bright Streak of Light? Well, anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed and that you thought it was as epic as I did! I was so excited to share that chapter with you all that I _almost_ gave in and posted it yesterday! XD Yes, she is. But, in case you haven't noticed, that really didn't stop Amy from acting a bit motherly to him. :P Yes, I think you are. What job? AND I WROTE A CLIFFIE BECAUSE I FREAKING WANTED TO. XDD**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! You'll get more, I promise! (P.S.: Rio is a good movie. I like it. :) )**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! Your review to Chapter 69: Yes, yes they are. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 70: I think it's safe to say that your last sentence is absolutely correct. And wait no more! The reaction is here, in this chapter! :P**

**Hello, flashyhero! Yeah, I guess it _was_ pretty obvious due to those things, huh? As far as those other forms, I have no idea at this point, though I will consider it! :)**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yup, those clues were dead giveaways, huh? Yes, it's her. You should! Detective Ghostkid, I hereby present you with the key to the city in reward for your efforts! *Hands you a stupidly big key while everyone applauds* Anyway, glad you enjoyed the fight! I was so excited when I was writing that! XD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm happy to know that you enjoyed the chapter! And I am doing nothing wrong with my life by ending the chapter that way. :P Actaully, I dd consider making him say something like that for this chapter, but in the end I didn't quite like it, so I erased it. I haven't decided if I will add Hyper Sonic or not yet, but I am still thinking about it, I promise! :D**

**Hello, Daggr! Your first review to Chapter 70: Aw, thanks! Glad you like it so much. :) As far as with you guessing things about the story, sometimes I don't want to say anything because I don't want to spoil anything, and I try to make sure I let you (and everyone else) know that. Also, when did you ever ask for my approval? I can't seem to remember a single instance of that. :l Glad you enjoyed the chapter! I didn't really understand the paragraph you had in all-caps. Were you asking about Sonic's parents...? I'm not really sure. ...You have Doritos? LUCKY. I'M STARVING BUT I HAVE NO SNACKS. T^T**

**Your second review to Chapter 70: *Starts dancing to the music***

**Hello, astroshadow! ...I think you broke my brain. DX SO MANY THEORIES. But _wow_! They're all so interesting! If I hadn't already written the next chapter (this one) before you posted that, I think I may have actually used one of them! But things worked out differently, so this is the end result. Hope you can enjoy anyway!**

**Hello, Anonymous! But I don't _have_ a favorite Super Sonic song! They're all so cool! ...Ah, well! *Starts playing them all at once* There, problem solved! XD No, they never did, but I always kind of liked the idea. You've gotta remember, none of this really follows the canon story SEGA has created. I mean, it was never implied that Sonic knew Locke, either (I don't think) in the canon universe. Yes, Elsa is dead, and in both timelines. In Silver's timeline, Sonic is also dead, so when I speak of Amy and Sonic and romance, I am referring to the main timeline. In the main timeline, Sonic and Amy are (slowly) growing closer and will one day end up in love (or something close to it). ...Does that make more sense? Sorry I confused you! ****About the OC thing: I haven't quite decided about Hyper Sonic yet, but tell me about this character of your and what you were planning with them! That might be what _finally_ helps me come to a decision! :D And what's wrong with anime Sonic? :(**

**Hello, SonicPL2012! Thanks for the review! I'm happy you enjoyed the last chapter!**

**Hello, Guest 2! Your first review to Chapter 70: ...Guestpocolype? XD Omg, that made me laugh! I'm glad that you're picking up on the emotions I'm trying to put in this thing. I myself am actually largely unemotional (I'm pretty much calm 24/7) so writing these emotional scenes has been a challenge. Still, glad you are able to pick up on the feelings! :) AW! Thanks for that! :D**

**Your second review to Chapter 70: *Runs away from the psychokinesis as well* AHHH!**

**Whew! This chapter's a long one! The word count is high, even without all the responses above! Total word count: 6,012. **

* * *

Sonic was on his feet and whirling around in an instant. He froze, his breath catching in his throat and his heart pounding painfully in his chest. He _knew_ who he was looking at. There was no other person it could be. He knew _exactly_ who this person was. But what he _didn't _understand was _how_ they were here, let alone how they were _alive_. They had died a long time ago, and bringing back the dead was impossible. So _how_ were they _here_?

Everything around him seemed to fade into white nothingness as a body slammed into him, and his arms wrapped around the person without thinking, holding them almost as tightly as they were holding him. Minutes or maybe even years passed before he was finally able to force a whispered word past his lips. "Silver...?"

The head that was buried in his shoulder nodded once. Sonic quickly became aware of the way Silver was shaking as he replied quietly, "Y...Yeah..."

Sonic forced himself to breathe, pointedly ignoring the way he was forced to blink back the emotions struggling to escape his eyes. The grief he felt was almost completely overwhelming, but he refused to cry. He had hardly ever cried, even as a child, because he had known that he needed to be strong for others. Now was no different. He needed to be strong. As he finally forced the tears back, one single thought kept entering his mind._ This shouldn't be possible. _

Silver pulled back then, and they released each other. Sonic watched with a pang as Silver covered his eyes with an arm in an attempt to dry them. "S-Sorry," he mumbled, sounding ashamed.

"Don't be," Sonic replied. Though his words were simple, they managed to convey what he wanted and Silver seemed to relax. Sonic couldn't seem to force himself to look away. _How is this possible? _He wanted so _badly_ to believe that this was real, that Silver really _was_ right there in front of him and not _dead_, but... _What if it isn't real? _

Barely a moment later, familiar voices reached his ears and he turned slightly to see Knuckles, Tails, and Amy heading his way. Tails and Knuckles each held one of Amy's hands as they flew over the lava. When they reached the island Sonic and Silver were currently standing on, they set her down carefully before landing themselves. Amy rushed forward and, for the second time that day, he found himself being the unwitting target for a hug, though this one was decidedly more awkward. As with the first time Amy hugged him, he tensed and stood there uncomfortably, not really knowing what to do. "Sonic!" she exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're safe!"

"Uh... yeah," he replied awkwardly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Amy pulled away, much to Sonic's relief. Just before she responded to his question, he glanced to the side and noticed the way Silver was standing there staring at the ground. Without a word, Sonic raised a hand and put it on his shoulder for a brief moment, causing yellow eyes to snap up sharply with an almost rapt expression that made Sonic's heart clench. "We were told about a giant fire monster called Iblis," Amy said suddenly, breaking into his thoughts.

_Iblis? _So that was what that thing had been called, huh? Not that its name had ever really mattered, but still. "It's dead," he told her simply.

Tails stepped forward then, his eyes wide, looking completely awestruck. "We know. We _saw_ you beat it."

Sonic blinked and, for whatever reason, he glanced to Knuckles, only to find that the echidna seemed to have been rendered temporarily speechless. However, it didn't seem destined to last. "You have a lot of explaining to do," Knuckles muttered with a significant glance at Silver.

Sonic resisted the urge to sigh as he, too, looked at Silver. There was only so much he could explain at this point. He had questions as well. Important questions. But they needed to wait, and Tails seemed to agree. "How are we going to get out of here?" the young fox asked.

Immediately every face turned to look at Sonic. "Why would _I_ know?" he asked with a frown.

"Well, you're the one who uses the Chaos Emeralds," Amy pointed out.

"Doesn't mean I understand them," he muttered. Then, after a moment, he admitted, "I've barely ever used them. I don't know a lot about them, or what they can do." Granted the bits of information he _did_ know about the emeralds were _very_ important, but he didn't think that that was the sort of thing he should just go around sharing. Not that he didn't trust everyone here, though. It was _other_ people that he didn't trust.

"So what do we do?" Tails asked.

Knuckles shrugged uselessly and Amy glanced around as though the answer would come swimming up out of the lava. Sonic frowned slightly in thought. _What do we do? _

It was then that Silver took a step forward and hesitantly offered a solution, his gaze never leaving Sonic's. "We could... go to where I live," he suggested quietly. "I know where we are. It isn't far from here. There are other people there. Maybe one of them can help." He seemed to be searching Sonic's eyes for permission, approval, acceptance, so with a single nod, Sonic gave him that and more. Silver completely brightened, a wide smile spreading across his face, and Sonic felt himself returning the smile, just a bit.

Whether or not anyone had noticed their little silent exchange was unclear as they set off. Silver flew on his own while Knuckles carried Amy by the hands and Tails carried Sonic in the same way. Sonic was surprised to find that he actually missed being able to fly as he had done not long before reuniting with everyone here. It had been an incredible and exhilarating experience. Still, if he had to choose between flying and running, he knew he would choose running every time. He didn't know what he'd do if he ever lost the ability to run. Shaking those thoughts away, his gaze locked on Silver's back as the younger hedgehog led them deeper through the ruins of what had once been a city. The pain in his heart just wouldn't seem to go away. Not that it ever truly had, but even still. It was sharper now, fresher, and it hurt more than it had in a long time.

The last time he'd seen Silver, he had been just a baby. He'd only been a few months old. He hadn't wanted to say goodbye to him, or to his mother, but in the end, he'd had no other choice. They had both been killed, and he had been powerless to stop it. He too had nearly died at the hands of the same foe responsible for both of their deaths, but that hadn't mattered to him. It still didn't. He knew he would have willingly, even happily, given up his life to save their lives. But in the end, they had died while he had lived. It was the worst punishment he had ever had to endure. Having to bury them both himself had been almost as painful. It _still_ hurt, even after so long. But now... _He's alive... but how? _Not that he was upset by this in any way, shape, or form but he really didn't understand it. It made no sense. But... for now, he decided to just be grateful for it (incredibly so, even beyond words) and tried not to let the pain from the past ruin this apparent reunion.

* * *

They stood in a place with no lava and surprisingly few fires. The buildings towering around them were still in ruins, but at least they were standing more stably than the buildings in the lava were. Silver, who had touched down on the ground some feet ahead of them, turned around quickly. "I'll be right back," he promised. "Everyone here is kind of wary about strangers, but they'll be okay if they know I'm here." He once again looked to Sonic and, as before, Sonic nodded. Practically beaming in response, Silver once again took to the air and quickly disappeared into the upper levels of a tall building a good distance away.

Silence settled amongst the group for a brief moment before Tails broke it. "I'm gonna go look at some of these volcanic rocks," he said excitedly, pointing at a cluster of said rocks about twenty feet from the nearest building.

"Be careful," Sonic warned.

"I will!" Tails replied brightly before running over to the rocks, his tails waving enthusiastically as he went.

Amy smiled and shook her head. "I'll go with him, just in case," she said to no one in particular before joining the young fox in kneeling by the rocks.

The silence that followed was noticeably more tense than it had been the first time, and Sonic pointedly refused to look at Knuckles, knowing the echidna was probably glaring at him. _If he has something to say, then he can say it when he's good and ready. I'm not going to force it out of him. _He really had no desire to get into an argument, but it was starting to seem slightly inevitable. And yet, when Knuckles finally opened his mouth to speak, his voice was surprisingly calm.

"So spill."

The words were simple and vague, but Sonic knew what Knuckles meant by them. He sighed softly. "There isn't much to tell."

"I don't care."

Sonic forced his tense body to relax and let out another sigh as he slowly began to explain the events of the past, doing his best to be brief while still answering his companion's unspoken questions. "I knew a girl for a long time," he admitted slowly. "We didn't exactly like each other at first, but we grew closer over the years. ...I had no idea we had a child until three days after he was born when she... died. She gave him to me and I took care of him for a few months but... eventually, he died too." He said nothing more, didn't go into any other greater detail. He didn't think he could stand to voice what had happened. When he was finally finished, silence settled between them once more, though only for a few moments.

"I can't believe you have a kid already," Knuckles muttered. "Your not even an adult."

"I'm seventeen," Sonic muttered back. "For a hedgehog, I _am_ an adult."

More silence followed before Knuckle broke it with a long sigh. "I'm sorry. About what happened, I mean."

He sounded like it, too, and Sonic just shrugged, unsure of what to say. Instead, he decided to change the subject. "So how did _you_ get here?"

"We got dragged through a portal, same as you," Knuckles replied. Then he added, almost as an afterthought, "There's something wrong with that emerald."

Sonic was tempted to agree but... _Is there, really? _What if it was some sort of outside force, rather than the emerald itself? He really had no idea, but either way, this needed investigating.

"That reminds me," Knuckles said suddenly, "we saw what you did with the emeralds earlier."

"Yeah," Sonic nodded. "Tails said that."

Knuckles shook his head slowly in wonder. "How in the _world_...?"

"I have no idea," Sonic replied honestly.

"And yet you were completely in control."

"Yeah." Something seemed to be troubling Knuckles, but instead of asking, Sonic decided to wait him out. _He'll speak when he's good and ready. No use trying to force it out of him. _

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long. "Just before that last attack," Knuckles said slowly, "you said something."

Sonic responded just as slowly. "Yeah... I did."

Knuckles nodded seriously. "How did you know that word?"

Sonic frowned. "I didn't. I just... said it."

Knuckles shook his head slowly. "You couldn't have said it without knowing it."

Sonic was vaguely reminded of the time when he had been able to read Locke's book inscribed with ancient writing on the cover, forcing him to wonder if these two events, so separated by time, were somehow related. "How would I have known it?" he asked.

Knuckles was quiet for a moment before responding. "I don't know," he admitted. However, he soon added, "But it might have something to do with the emeralds. The Master Emerald, especially."

Sonic glanced sharply to Knuckles's face. "How?"

"The emeralds store knowledge," Knuckles explained, "and they share that knowledge with each other, as well as whoever else they deem worthy. The fact that you can use the emeralds at all, especially like you did earlier, proves that they accepted you. Probably a long time ago."

"Okay, but how would _they_ have knowledge of that word?" Sonic asked with a frown.

Knuckles shook his head again. "Not just that word. An entire _language_." He paused for a moment, seemingly to gather his thoughts, before continuing. "In ancient times, up until briefly after the Master Emerald came to life, echidnas and hedgehogs lived closely with one another. They shared similar ways of life, as far as moral beliefs and whatnot went. They even shared the same language. And, because the Master Emerald was surrounded by people who spoke that language, it would have stored that knowledge and, eventually, shared it with the other emeralds."

By that logic, Sonic supposed he had the smaller green emerald to thank for his early understanding of this apparently ancient language. After all, he'd had that emerald since he was very young, and he'd been able to read Locke's book as a child. Surprisingly enough, this new information was easy enough to accept. Still, there was something else he didn't really understand. "None of this explains why I said that and _then_ attacked."

Knuckles seemed to need to force himself to remember that, unlike him, Sonic hadn't grown up surrounded by this language and the knowledge of generations to guide him. "That language was more than just simple words," he said. "The words have _meaning_," he added seriously. "_Real_ meaning. When used correctly, they can be used to channel energy, create power from within, sometimes even from nothing, or even to heal someone. So long as the speaker is focused and has clear intent, those words can do nearly anything."

This made everything make _so much sense_. Especially one thing in particular, something that he hadn't really understood as a kid, back when he and Locke had been searching one of Robotnik's bases for things that the man had stolen.

_"So what did Robotnik steal?"_

_"A book," answered Knuckles._

_Sonic stopped and turned around. "We're risking our butts for a book?"_

_"Trust me, Sonic," Knuckles replied seriously, "it's really important."_

_"How important?"_

_"Ancient knowledge is not something just everyone should have access to."_

Shaking his head lightly, Sonic turned his head to Knuckles, giving the echidna a vaguely bemused look. "What the hell did I say?"

Knuckles's gaze was unreadable, despite his facial expressions usually being so easy to interpret. "In this language... When you spoke to Iblis... You told it to disappear. ...Forever."

Sonic blinked. Now that Knuckles had mentioned it, that actually sounded familiar. Was it possible that he had somehow completely understood that language while he had been... _transformed_? He supposed it was possible, but-

"Dad!"

Sonic jumped, startled by the voice, as well as that term, and looked up from where he'd been frowning at the ground to see Silver running toward him. Swallowing hard, he forced himself to relax and responded, "Yeah?"

"Everyone's inside," Silver replied quickly. "They want to meet you." He glanced around at Tails and the others. "All of you."

Knuckles crossed his arms. "And who exactly is 'they'?" he asked.

Sonic searched his son's gaze for only a moment. _He trusts them... so I guess I will, too. _Turning to Knuckles he said, "Let's just go."

Knuckles looked ready to argue, but for whatever reason apparently decided against it. So, with the matter settled for now, they followed Silver to the building he had been in before.

* * *

As they walked to whatever building Silver was leading them to, Knuckles's thoughts refused to stray from Sonic. He supposed that Sonic was right about him already being an adult by hedgehog standards. Still, that didn't change the fact that he was young. And yet, it was obvious in his eyes that he had truly loved that girl, Silver's mother, whoever she had been. That made it even more terrible that she had died. _By the way he told it, it almost seems like she was... killed. _For that matter, it seemed like Silver hadn't simply died, either. Young and inexperienced or not, there was no way Sonic would have mistreated or failed to take care of his child. _So they were both killed, then? _That almost didn't make any sense. _Sonic never would have just let them be killed. _So, by that logic, it stood to reason that, perhaps, Sonic had been unable to defend them for one reason or another. But could something like that even happen? Could he really have met an enemy so powerful that even he was helpless against them?

Knuckles's violet eyes slid to the side to look into Sonic's emerald ones. There was so much emotion there, and for once, it was easy to read, despite him usually being so carefully closed off. There was overwhelming relief, an almost crippling guilt, anger that seemed to be directed entirely at himself, strong joy that he didn't seem to know how to express... To top it all off, Sonic was already showing strong parental instincts toward Silver. Comforting Silver when he was upset earlier was just one example. But, then again, Sonic had taken care of Silver once before, in their timeline, when Silver had been a baby, so it wasn't really a case of the instincts developing for the first time. It was more like they were merely resurfacing. Pushing those thoughts aside for now with a small shake of his head, he followed everyone inside.

* * *

The interior of the building was surprisingly cool, Sonic found as he stepped inside. Just before him, Silver had flown up and through a window that had long been without glass. Sonic had jumped up behind him, landing lightly on the edge before going in. Knuckles glided up after him, closer followed by Tails, who was carrying Amy by her hands in his usual fashion. Once they were in, Sonic glanced cautiously at the faces at the suspicious and vaguely wary faces of people around him. There only looked to be about fifteen of them. Maybe a little less. There were no children, but some of the people were still young. Silver, however, seemed to be the youngest of the people who lived here. Still, there were a couple of other teens and a few adults who were still young as well. The only other three people here were elders, and _none_ of them seemed happy to have strangers in their midst. And yet, for all their anger, there was an unmistakable look in their eyes, a look that was reflected in the eyes of the younger people as well. It was one Sonic knew well, from way back in the Dark Days. He didn't like it at all, this lack of _hope_... It was a terrible sight. There were no other words for it.

Before Silver or any of his guests had a chance to say anything, one of the elders, a large purple bird woman with equally purple eyes, broke the tense silence. "Is it true, then?" she demanded, glancing around between Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles. "Iblis has been defeated?"

"Yes," Silver replied, his tone carrying a heavy amount of respect. Sonic found himself wondering if this was the woman who had raised Silver here. "Iblis is gone. For good, this time."

"Who is responsible, then?" she demanded.

Sonic didn't even have a chance to blink before Knuckles suddenly placed a hand on his back and gave him a small shove, causing him to stumble forward a step. He turned his head to glare lightly at the echidna. _Jerk. _

The woman's voice, so full of relief and joy and suddenly lacking that stern quality it had held before, immediately drew his attention forward once more. "Thank you, young one. Truly, thank you."

Sonic had never been good at these things. A simple "you're welcome" could never suffice, would never carry as much weight as the "thank you's" he so often received. So, with a single, slow nod, he did his best to convey what words could not. This was more than just a response to her thanks; this was him saying a deep, heartfelt "thank you" to her as well. And, if her returning nod was any indication, it seemed she understood, and understood well. He was grateful for that, truly, but he was infinitely more grateful for what she had done for his son. _She took care of him... raised him, even. She succeeded where I failed. _He could never forgive himself for that. Even if this was a different world like he was suspecting, Silver was still _Silver_, still his son, and it was clear that, even in this world, he had failed to take care of his child. That was unforgivable.

"Grandma, where's blaze?" Silver suddenly asked, looking at the purple bird.

"Who?" Amy asked.

"My friend," Silver replied with a small smile aimed in her direction. "She lives with another group of survivors farther south, but she visits often. I thought she'd be here today."

"She was," the bird replied.

"Yeah," agreed one of the teens, this one looking to be a fox of some kind, though he had brown fur instead of yellow like Tails. "She was here just this morning. She was looking for you. Said something about some guy or something."

Silver rolled his eyes at the poor explanation and looked to the bird for a better one. "Aye, she was looking for you," the bird confirmed. "I don't know exactly why, but she did mention that she wanted to speak with you when you returned." Looking around, she locked gazes with a thin raccoon. "Send a message to her home, will you? Since there is no longer any threat of attack by Iblis or his creatures, there will be no need for subtlety. Go quickly; but be safe."

The raccoon nodded and was soon out the window and out of sight. Then, barely a moment later, the brown fox walked over to Tails, looking at the boy's namesake curiously. Tails, seemingly remembering past bullying, made an attempt to hide them behind his back, but the other boys words quickly stopped him. "Wow... two tails... How did you get two?"

Talks relaxed a bit, uncertainty obvious in his eyes, and responded, "I didn't _get _them. I was born with them." Then, before anyone knew what was happening, the two boys had somehow launched into an animated discussion about genetics and mutations and even powers.

Amy smiled fondly at Tails, almost like a big sister would look at her kid brother, before turning her head to face the old purple bird and inquiring politely about the people who lived here. Meanwhile, Knuckles began examining the room carefully from where he stood, almost as though he was memorizing potential escape routes. And, given Knuckles's personality and whatnot, Sonic supposed he was.

"Hey, Dad?" Silver asked quietly, pulling Sonic out of his thoughts.

Sonic somehow forced himself not to jump. He didn't think he would ever get used to being called "Dad", even if that was what he was. He turned his head to look at Silver. "Yeah?"

"Can I show you something?" There was an eager quality to his voice, a sparkle in his eyes that made it clear that he was sharing something he considered special.

"Alright."

Smiling brightly, Silver flew out the window. Sonic traded looks with Knuckles, silently telling him _I'll be back. _At the echidna's nod, Sonic stepped onto the edge of the window and jumped straight up onto the roof where Silver was waiting. Silver, who hovered a couple inches above the stone, tilted his head a bit asked curiously, "You can't fly normally, huh?"

Sonic shook his head readily. "Only when I do... whatever it was that I did with the emeralds."

Silver nodded, seeming to give this some thought. "Well, the place where I want to take you is pretty far, but I'm pretty sure you can run most of the way."

Sonic, of course, wondered what he would do once they reached the part of the journey where he _couldn't_ run, but in the end he decided to save that worry for later. _We'll deal with it when we get there. _"Which way are we going?"

"North about twelve miles," Silver replied. "Ignoring obstacles, its a straight shot there."

Sonic nodded, already calculating in his head how long it would take to get there. _Not very long_, he decided easily enough. Without another word, Silver took to the air again while Sonic jumped deftly off the building and started running. Neither was going their full speed, Sonic knew, but they were still going fast. He was pleased to note that Silver seemed to have full mastery of his speed, avoiding buildings and random steaming geysers and whatnot with incredible ease. At one point, they were forced to go through a long, natural tunnel that ran beneath a lava pit. Sonic wasn't sure what caused it, probably a distant volcanic eruption, but the ground rumbled minutely for a moment, severely loosening the stalactites above their heads. However, though many fell, Silver put a hand forward and all of them were caught in a green glow that prevented them from hitting their targets or the ground. Once they were out of the tunnel, the pointed rocks formations were simply dropped without a care. Still, Silver had _caught_ them, and very easily. His powers of psychokinesis were incredible, if that was any sort of an indication, and yet Silver had full control. And in that moment, Sonic knew true pride.

"Hey, how well can you balance?" Silver suddenly called.

Sonic glanced at him in surprise. "What? Why?"

"You'll see!" Silver laughed as he sped on ahead.

Smirking at his son's antics, Sonic sped up as well. Before long, he realized that the ground he was running on was loose and cracked. The glow that emitted from between the apparent plates of land proved beyond a doubt that there was lava beneath them. He had just started to figure out what Silver had been hinting at when he heard the telltale rumbling and, moments later, he and the plate he had been on were sent shooting up into the air on a continuous stream of lava, possibly from a geyser of some kind. A few seconds passed, and Sonic decided that he didn't want to wait for it to drop back down on his own. Jumping off the edge, he landed on another plate just as it started to shoot up. Jumping off that one as well, he ran and jumped and sometimes even rolled to escape the other rising plates. Once he was finally past them, he looked up into Silver's amazed expression.

"That... was... _awesome_!" Silver exclaimed, his face breaking out into a wide smile.

Sonic huffed lightly in amusement. "You could've warned me."

"I did!" Silver replied. Then he admitted sheepishly, "...Sort of." Then he laughed again and sped up once more, shouting back over his shoulder, "Come on, slow poke! We don't have all day!"

This provoked a small laugh from Sonic and he poured on the speed, easily catching up to the other hedgehog. "Was that a challenge?" he asked lightly.

"Maybe it was," Silver replied with a smirk.

"Are you sure you want to race me?" Sonic asked almost teasingly.

"Why not?" Silver retorted, still sporting that confident smirk. "I'll win."

"Oh, really?"

"Of course!"

"Guess we'll just have to find out then, huh?"

"Yup!" Silver turned and started flying backwards almost tauntingly. "You ready?"

"Are _you_?" Sonic taunted back.

"Any day!" Silver exclaimed. Then he turned around and said slowly, "On your mark... get set... _Go_!"

Simultaneously, they both sped up, breaking the sound barrier as they did so. Still, despite going so fast, neither was taking this race very seriously, nor were they going their full speeds. And yet, there was no denying the fact that they were both having fun, more fun than either had had in a long time. At one point, they came across another tunnel that they had to run through, one that had been formed by a very, _very _tall wave of lava that had long since hardened. Inside there was a building whose sides touched either side of the tunnel, leaving only one option to continue on; they had to go up. Silver flew effortlessly while Sonic had to give it a bit more effort. Still, he was a master of parkour, so running straight up the face of the building was no real trouble. When he dropped down on the other side and resumed his run, Silver looked impressed.

"You've _gotta_ teach me how to do that!" he exclaimed with a smile.

"Alright. It could come in handy."

"Yeah. I've never not been able to fly before, but still."

Sonic nodded. Then he asked, "We should be getting close now, right?"

"Yeah," Silver said. Then, pointing at the end of the tunnel he added, "After about twenty feet there's an ocean of lava we'll need to cross. ...Well, it isn't literally an ocean, but still."

"Where exactly are we going?" Sonic asked, undeniably curious.

"You'll see!" Silver grinned. Barely a minute later, Sonic skidded to a sideways halt, his head turned forward as he scanned the lava, while Silver simply hovered next to him. Neither failed to notice the lack of stepping stones or anything of the sort that Sonic could use to cross the deadly liquid. Sonic had just began contemplating the likelihood of him being able to run across the lava without pain or injury if he went fast enough when Silver broke into his thoughts by hitting himself in the forehead with the heel of his palm. "I'm a moron," he groaned. "I know exactly what to do." He raised his hand then and grumbled to himself, "No idea why I didn't freaking think of this sooner..." before closing his eyes and concentrating hard, much harder than he'd seemingly had to when he'd stopped the stalactites..

Sonic didn't exactly know what he was expecting to happen. Perhaps Silver would pull rocks from somewhere and create stepping stones? He could sense that Silver had more than enough power to simply part the lava and hold it there, but it was unlikely that he had learned how to control his power to that extent already. He was young yet. Granted he had mastered his flight and speed, but those were very different. Controlling those things was nowhere near as difficult, nor did it require anywhere near the same level of concentration to master. Still, the power was _there_. He just needed to be trained.

Sonic was shocked when, out of nowhere, a familiar green glow appeared around him and he was lifted into the air. Silver opened his eyes and grinned. "Wow, lifting a person is harder than I thought."

To say that Sonic was impressed was an understatement. "Lifting a person is harder than lifting a giant rock?" he asked, raising his eyebrows minutely as he did so.

"Well, yeah," Silver replied. "A rock doesn't squirm."

"I'm not squirming."

"Not anymore."

"I wasn't before, either."

"Uh-huh."

Silver smirked while Sonic pretended to scowl. With their banter finished for now, Silver carried them both rapidly over the lava. It was a bit of a novel experience, really, being carried and not having any control over where one was going or how fast. Still, it was definitely something Sonic knew he was probably going to remember for a long time. It was just one of those kinds of incredible experiences that a person could never truly forget. It wasn't like he would want to forget it, anyway.

Silver lifted them onto the top of a tall, lonely building surrounded by lava. They touched down on the edge of the roof and the green glow dissipated from around both of them. Sonic gazed around slowly, his awe increasing with each passing moment. They were surrounded by lava as far as the eye could see but, though the sky was dark, there was no smoke. The steam and heat were inevitable and unavoidable, but strangely, there was a distinct lack of the suffocating and potentially poisonous clouds. The lava created its own light from deep within, causing its surface to shimmer and shine and, at times, even sparkle. It flowed lazily around the building, lapping quietly at the already heavily eroded stone. There was an almost deadly beauty to it, one that Sonic had never really considered before. In the past, lava had been an obstacle at best and a threat at worst, but never had he considered it to be a thing of beauty. Now, however, he knew that that viewpoint was permanently changed. Silver had instilled in him an appreciation for this deadly force of nature that he would probably never be able to put into words. So, when Silver's questioning gaze met his, he allowed his eyes to do all the talking. And, judging by Silver's smile, the younger hedgehog understood.

They stood there for at least a good hour, taking in the breathtaking scene before them, before finally, reluctantly, deciding that they had been gone long enough. It was time to head back, though neither really wanted to go. Still, the others were probably wondering where they were. So, with lingering glances to the deadly scenery they had been silently admiring, Silver lifted them both and carried them back to the tunnel where they had been before. He set Sonic down and together they raced only somewhat competitively back through the tunnel and over the building. They burst out of the tunnel and were quickly forced to stop... but only because they were laughing so hard.

"You- You- Oh my god, I can't believe you _did_ that!" Silver gasped out.

"Only because you slammed into me!" Sonic replied, barely able to speak past his laughter.

"It was an accident, I swear!"

"Sure it was!"

Somehow, they managed to suck in a few deep breaths of air as their laughter calmed. Still chuckling a bit, Silver asked, "Your head okay?"

Sonic didn't even bother feeling the spot where he had hit his head on the tunnel's roof after reaching the top of the building. He doubted there was a bump there, anyway. "Yeah," he replied, also still chuckling lightly. "I'm fine."

"Good." Then, with a smirk, Silver added, "I don't know what the others would say if I knocked you out."

"Good luck doing that," Sonic replied, also smirking.

"Was that a _challenge_?"

"I really don't want to be knocked around anymore, thanks."

"Aw, you're no fun."

"Says you."

"I just did!"

Sonic was about to reply when something caught his eye. He turned more to the right and looked past Silver to another large pool of lava not terribly far away. Silver turned to look as well, and they both watched as a dark figure, closely followed by another, ran with incredible speed by the edge of the lava before disappearing out of sight. Sonic blinked. Weren't shadows supposed to follow... _behind_ a person...?

* * *

**There was a _lot_ of stuff to cover in this chapter. Also, you guys have been asking for him, so here he is! (Can you guess _who_, though? ;) ) Posted 05-03-15.**


	72. Shadows

**Hello, Guest 1! Ah, but the person isn't _from_ '06 (though they were involved)! Besides, the person you're thinking of wasn't who people have been asking to see in the story. :P Can you guess who was?**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Don't worry, I wasn't offended, Pyro-san! :) I'm happy you enjoyed! Why did it make you want to cry? ;_; Yes, there is probably always going to be a bit of mystery. Nope, not G.U.N., though that's an interesting theory. About the shadows... It wasn't Blaze or the raccoon. Think about the last sentence of the last chapter. The name is _in _the sentence. ;) Aw, thanks! I will! **

**Hello, flashyhero! You're right about the first sentence! But is it really one or the other? ;)**

**Hello, blueyshy! You don't need to apologize. It's totally fine, really. :) I'm glad you're enjoying! Yes, he is a "shadow". XD Hey, there's no "should've". Review whenever you'd like! I'm okay with you just reading and not saying anything if that's what you prefer to do. :) About the interactions: I love them too! It's fun to write them. The group dynamics are, well, fun! XD Sorry, but could you clarify one of your sentences for me? It's this one: "The little things can be very important even just a smile then there from Sonic when they just talk and have fun together!" I don't know why, but for some reason my brain has decided to turn into mush and refuses to understand. XD Glad you think I'm getting the SonAmy aspect of this story right! Romance is hard for me to write, so I'm happy to know I'm succeeding on some level. :P No need to apologize! It's fine! Oh my, I'm sorry I confused you! Let me explain: where Silver comes from is a separate timeline from where Tails and Sonic and the others are from. Yes, in Silver's world Sonic and Elsa died, but only after Silver was born. In the other timeline (the main one) Elsa died, but not in childbirth. She was killed. Then, a few months later, Silver was killed too. That's in the timeline Sonic and the others are from, the one I frequently refer to as the "main" timeline, since its the main one the story has been focused on. You did a little, but it's fine! It _is_ kinda confusing, huh? XD **

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! Can you tell me about Scourge? As shameful as it is, I know nothing about him. Well, besides that he's evil. :P Yes, I plan on having Big involved (at least briefly) later on in the story. Possibly just for humor. And he's a guy. :P Rouge will definitely become more involved as Shadow becomes more involved. I just love the idea of them as a team. By Team Chaotix, do you mean the Chaotix Detective Agency, as in Espio and the others? Yes, they will be involved eventually as well. Omega I haven't decided on, but I think he has a fair chance of showing up. Well, if you think of any others, let me know! I'll be happy to consider them! :) I won't hate, I promise. (P.S.: You're twelve? Wow, I thought you were older! You act so mature and stuff! That's cool! :D )**

**Hello, astroshadow! Yup, you were right. Right on the first guess at the end of your review, too. Don't worry, I have an explanation for his existence! I'll do my best to explain it soon (maybe this chapter)!**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Oh, okay. :P Why were you tired? Long day? Well, they weren't in the lava, they were running by the edge. Don't worry, though! Blaze will definitely be coming in soon! **

**Hello S and D fan! Wow, you read them _all_? I do that sometimes, too. It's fun. :P I really do try to thank everyone! Even if I don't exactly use the words "thank you" I try to always let everyone know that I appreciate them reading and reviewing and stuff. :) But, in case I have failed to do so, I have placed my "thank you" below. Yes, they most definitely have helped me! They have, as you said, supported me, pointed out errors, and at times even pointed out areas of confusion in the story. About Welsh, his (or her) review was _in _Welsh, so that's why it looks, as you put it, "interesting". Goodness, are you implying that I _haven't _been showing them respect? That was never my intention! :0 Lastly, no thanks are needed, but that was highly appreciated! I'm just so happy that people are even reading this story to begin with. The fact that you are all enjoying Hero is more than enough thanks for me. :)**

**Hello, John! It is him! (But which _one_? ;) You'll find out, probably this chapter!) Thanks! Glad you enjoyed!**

**Hello, Anonymous! Your first review to Chapter 71: It might be! Your character sounds really interesting! With what I have planned for Hero so far, he _may_ not work into it very well, but would still love to know more, as nothing is concrete yet! If all else fails, I have more Sonic fics planned, and I'm sure I can put your character into one. :) I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter! Yeah, it's just a place he likes, maybe a place where he hangs out, a place he seems to consider special for its beauty. Good guess on that! Canon is sometimes also usually phrased as "canon universe". It basically refers to the original universe, if you will, that was created for a game, anime, etc. (i.e. Sonic X). A canon story would involve only original characters, usually in all original locations, and often use the some general storyline, though there are tweaks at times. Does that help? :)**

**Your second review to Chapter 71: To be honest, I have been a little lazy today, but that's only because I've been _so_ busy. I believe I've mentioned in past author's notes that I go to school and have to do a senior project. Well, the senior project is due this Wednesday, then this Thursday I have to do a presentation about it to a panel of teachers, _plus _I have to fill out a lengthy self-evaluation about my project by this Friday, plus I have to complete my resume, cover letter, and job application by Monday for my economics class. ;_; But yeah, the rest of the wait was honestly because of laziness. :P**

**Hello, Guest 2! Guess we'll just have to find out, huh? ;)**

**Hello, Guest 3! Maybe it is, maybe it isn't! The answer will come soon! :)**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! Aw, don't cry! :) Why did they make you teary-eyed? I tried to make everything pretty emotional and all, I just didn't realize that it was enough to make someone feel _that_ much. :P Still, I'm _super_ glad you enjoyed! (See what I did there? XD) And yeah, maybe! :D**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Yeah, it's nice to see him happier, huh? And yeah, Silver really is happy and fun! That's why I love him! :D About the cliffhangers. I PROMISE NOTHING (as far as them going away, that is). XD**

**Hello, Daggr! Your first review to Chapter 71: That's alright that you got things a bit confused, no big deal. :) Glad you thought it was cute! I tried ti make this chapter fairly lighthearted while still keeping things as emotional as would be normal in such a situation as they (the characters) are now in. :P About the mother, let me first ask you this: do you remember the conversation Locke and Sonic had in, I think, the chapter titled ¨Encounter¨? In that chapter, Locke describes how the fur or skin or feather or whatever (fur, in this case) color is representative of different breeds of the same species. He also implies that these colors are passed down from the parents to the child. By that logic, since Silver's fur is, well, silver, one of his parents _must_ have had Silver fur. Hence the reason that Elsa _must_ be his mother. Besides, Sonic states in that conversation with Knuckles that he knew Silver's mother for a long time. Sonic has _not_ known Amy for very long. Also, as I have attempted to explain to some other reviewers, there is some level of consistency between the timelines. Lineage (in this case, who the parents are) is one of those things that will remain consistent. ...Whew! That was a lot of typing. XD Anyway, I hope that helps!**

**Your second review to Chapter 71: Yes, I titled it ¨Raw¨, in reference to the _raw_ emotions the characters (Sonic and Silver especially) were experiencing for the duration of that chapter, especially in the beginning. :P (P.S.: What was with the ¨Aw, yeah...¨ at the end?)**

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**Quick note! THANK YOU everyone who has read and or reviewed on this story! It means so much to me to know that people are taking the time out of their busy lives to even just quickly skim through a chapter. I'm so grateful! Also, to anyone who may feel like I have disrespected you in any way: I am _deeply_ sorry! That was _never_ my intention! I know I can come off as a bit rude and sarcastic and stuff sometimes, but I promise I never mean anything ill by it! **

* * *

Silver and Sonic were on the move, heading quickly back to the others. Any and all of the humor from earlier in the day was gone. Instead it was replaced by a certain seriousness coupled by a wariness that neither could shake. Something was wrong here. They knew that much. But what they _didn't_ know was _what_, exactly, was wrong. Either way, they had to find out. Which, of course, was the reason why they were traveling so quickly.

Silver was the first to break the relative silence that had settled between them. "Who _were_ those guys?"

Sonic frowned and admitted, "I have no idea."

More silence followed before Silver once again broke it. "Is it just me," he asked slowly, "or did they look like... us?"

Sonic glanced to him, confusion showing faintly in his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"They looked like hedgehogs," Silver replied quietly.

Sonic looked away, frowning once more. "Yeah..." he agreed. "They did."

Now it was Silver's turn to frown. "There aren't supposed to be any left here. Besides me, I mean." He was quiet again for a brief moment before hesitantly suggesting, "Maybe they're from your world...?"

That question alone was enough to convince Sonic that his suspicions had been correct about this place. This was a different timeline, a whole other world, really. It was then that Silver's words registered. _My world, huh... _"They might be," he conceded, "but if they are, that leaves the question of how they got here."

"Maybe they touched the emerald."

"Maybe."

Silence followed for a short while before Silver finally sighed and admitted, "I can't shake the feeling that we should have followed them. Who knows what they might be doing."

"Are there any people in the direction they were headed?" Sonic asked, suddenly growing concerned. There was no telling what sort of intentions those two figures had, and if they were headed toward a group of survivors then-

"No," Silver answered with a small shake of his head. "So... I guess I'm worrying about nothing, huh?"

"No, not nothing," Sonic corrected. "Just because they aren't headed toward people doesn't mean they can't cause problems."

"Which is why we're warning my family, right?"

"Exactly."

Just as the word was past his lips, the cluster of buildings that Silver called home came into view. They had just reached the building they had been in earlier when they suddenly realized that everyone was gathered outside, forming a tight circle around the terrified raccoon messenger that had been sent out earlier that day. The boy was so shaken that he had been apparently been rendered completely incapable of intelligible speech. Several people trued to get information out of him, but it was to no avail. To every question he was asked he would merely reply, "Sh-sh-sh... Sha..." and then trail off. Trading a concerned glance with Sonic, Silver flew over everyone's heads and landed so that he was kneeling by the raccoon's side. As he spoke quietly to the boy, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles ruched toward Sonic.

Tails reached him first. "You're back!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide.

Sonic barely nodded in response. "What happened?" he demanded.

"We don't know," Tails replied, glancing worriedly to the raccoon, then back to Sonic. "He's only been back for a little while, and no one's been able to calm him down enough to get any information." His blue eyes drifted slowly back to the raccoon. "Still... We think he might have been attacked."

"By _what_?" Knuckles cut in. "You heard them all earlier. With that Iblis thing gone, all it's little minions are gone, too."

"We don't know the answer to that, either," Tails shrugged.

"Who's 'we'?" Sonic asked.

"Me and Jake," Tails replied, pointing backward with a thumb to the brown-furred fox. "He's real smart when it comes to medicine and anatomy and stuff like that. He looked Mike, that's the raccoon's name, over and said that he was showing clear signs of severe stress and panic."

"So, if he _was_ attacked, whatever it was didn't get him," Knuckles summed up.

"Or maybe... Maybe it let him go," Amy replied quietly. "Maybe it... _wanted_ him to come back here, to make everyone afraid."

Well, if that was the enemy's plan, it had worked marvelously. The people were, despite the serious visages, clearly afraid by this unknown enemy. It didn't help that, until just this morning, they had all been under Iblis's reign of terror. And new some new threat had appeared out of the blue... They didn't deserve this, but this was hardly the time to be thinking about what was fair and what was not. Sonic frowned in thought. Could this whole thing be related to the two figures he and Silver had seen earlier? He wasn't sure at this point, but he couldn't shake the feeling that one, if not both, of those shadows were somehow involved in all of this. _But... what if they're not involved? _Either way, they had no leads, nothing to go off of besides a terrified raccoon who still couldn't speak and a brief sighting of two shadowy figures miles away. _What to do...? _

"What will you do?" Amy asked, unintentionally and unknowingly voicing his last thought.

He sighed and closed his eye. "I have no idea." Then, after a moment, he opened his eyes again. "We should check it out."

"We're stuck here for now, anyway," Knuckles grumbled, arms crossed, "so we may as well. It'd give us something to do, at least."

"Plus we might find some clue about what brought us here, and how," Tails added, his namesakes waving a bit behind him. "I'm not convinced that it was the emerald's doing."

"And if nothing else," Amy continued, "at least we'll be able to help these people."

Sonic nodded once, accepting what his friends had decided without question. He wouldn't have argued anyway. There was no way he was turning his back on anyone in need, especially _these_ people, who had already been through so much. _They need a reason to live again. A reason to hope. _He wasn't so full of himself to think that he alone could make such a difference in their lives, but... _But maybe, if we work together, we can. _

Then, suddenly, the raccoon mumbled something again. Moments later, he spoke more intelligibly, causing all eyes to swing toward him. His own dark green eyes were wide with terror, but for once, what he was trying to say was clear. "Shadows..."

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**Quick question: Are all the people who reviewed as "Guest" this time different people, or the same person? My brain is confused... XD Also, I am _so_ sorry for the delay (and the fact this this is so short and stuff)! I got really swamped today... ;_; Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Posted 05-04-15.**


	73. Divide and Conquer

**Hello, flashyhero! I don't think it's random. I think it's a perfectly legitimate question. :) Anyway, that depends. What, exactly, are you referring to? Like someone dying in the main one causes their death in another (for example)? **

**Hello, blueyshy! Aw, you're welcome. I don't mind. It's fun talking to you. :) You go ahead and do that, but just remember that I'm just happy you're reading. :P _Aw_! Thanks for that! XD No need to apologize! That happens to me sometimes, too. May I ask how those things you described Sonic doing make the story better? I'm just curious. :P As far as the "little things" go, I picked that up from an author I frequently read. She is _amazing_ at that sort of thing, and at dialogue, so I try to learn from her works. :) No worries about rambling, I do it, too. XD Talk to you later!**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! No need to apologize. I just took things too literally, apparently. :P Aw, I'm glad you enjoy it that much! Yeah, I hear it all the time too, even though I'm seventeen and therefore practically an adult. XD I usually just kind of nod and go along with it. :P Why would you _want_ to find some haters? I have a question:what did you mean by, "Sonic starting with the old phrases again?" and "Bring back the painful memories Sonic! ...I wanna see you cry"? Lastly, I'm glad you enjoyed!**

**Hello, Guest/S and D fan! Oh, okay, thanks. :) Yeah, I'll Google him for more information. Based on what I find, I may or may not use him. At this point, however, I'm thinking that he won't be involved in the story. No, I haven't had the time. I don't know if You read that _massive_ note I left for Anonymous (I think) last time, but like I said there, I've been _super_ busy lately. Hopefuly it will all be over soon. ;_; I promise I'll read it when I can!**

**Hello, Anonymous! For some reason I typed "Jello" instead of "Hello" at first... XD Anyway, I still think I'll try getting your character into another fic. if not this one. You created a very interesting character! Yes, he is complicated. However, complex characters, while more challenging to write, are all the more interesting! :D Yeah, I fully admit that I might. You have a project too, huh? What was yours? You know, instead of using the docs, you can use Google Slides. It's basically PowerPoint without all the animation options. My schools uses the docs and stuff, too. We have Chromebooks and everything. :P (P.S.: That "TTFN, Tata for now!" made me think of my childhood... Tigger specifically. XD)**

**Hello, Daggr! Your first review to Chapter 72: Glad you enjoyed! I'm also glad that I successfully created mystery in that chapter. :) You're welcome. I normally hate fan characters as well, and I kept that in mind when writing about her. That's why his memories (that I wrote about) involving her were limited to the most important ones. That's also why the mentions of her are kept brief and fairly to the point. Also, I noticed your "spot-on" comment. Do you think my character was alright? I realize she isn't great, but I hope she was at least okay. :P You're welcome! **

**Your second review to Chapter 72: Yes, I am aware. When I asked that questions, I was specifically referring to the people who reviewed under the name "Guest". :P I wouldn't think you were a clone, anyway, Daggr. You have a very distinct personality that would distinguish you from others. :) Nah. It's a nice thought, but I won't ask 'em to if they don't want to. Thanks for the suggestion, anyway!**

**Hello, Rival King! Hey, nice name! Why did you decide to start giving yourself a name? Not that I'm saying it's a bad thing, I'm just curious. :P Anyway, one of them is, yes. (Ohh... Okay. :P)**

**Hello, Sayuriicewolf! Yeah, I'm aware. :) I wanna say they're from Sonic Underground. Is that right? I haven't watched that in forever, and then I only saw like two episodes. :P I don't think they'll be involved in this story, just because I don't know much about them, which would make capturing them in this story (personality-wise and whatnot) incredibly difficult. Still, thanks for the idea! Aw, thanks! I'm so happy you think so! :D**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Your review to Chapter 70: So glad you enjoyed! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 71: Glad you like it. :) And yeah, they are a bit confusing, huh? If you want, I can try to clarify whatever is confusing you.**

**Your review to Chapter 72: Maybe it _is_ him! :P I have an answer to that second question... but I don't want to give it away! XD Okay, this one I _can_ answer, since I don't believe the issue will be mentioned in the story. No, I don't think the timelines will change. :)**

**Hello, John! How dare I... what? If this is about Shadow not being in the last chapter, I'm sorry! He seriously was _supposed_ to be! If this is about not updating yesterday, I have a legitimate excuse! One word: Schoolwork. ;_;**

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**QUICK NOTE! Once again, some replies are at the end to avoid spoilers. Also, I am REALLY sorry that Shadow wasn't in the last one. He was initially SUPPOSED to be (and the chapter was supposed to be longer) but I got rushed because I wanted to upload a chapter of SOME kind yesterday and it was already getting dark outside, so... yeah. Anyway, enjoy! **

* * *

A division of labor was quickly ordered and Sonic set out alone, as part of the plan, to search for any clues as to who the mysterious "shadows" he and Silver had seen were. Then, if possible, he needed to report back to Tails and the others. Only if it was absolutely necessary was he allowed to fight. They needed to know who the enemy was, and where they had come from, and getting that information would be impossible if they fled or were utterly defeated in battle. _We need to know if they used that emerald. And if so, how they even got it. _

With that in mind, Sonic sped across the barren wastelands of this world, skirting pools of lava, dodging random steaming geysers, leaping over deep cracks in the earth, practically flying through tunnels... As he ran, he became increasingly aware of a distinct pull on his senses. He blinked in surprise and turned his attention, and his head, to the right. He blinked and looked across the glowing lake of molten rock with a feeling of mild surprise. _Already? _He hadn't expected to come across another emerald so soon after they had scattered earlier that day. Really, it had only been a few hours. _This one sure didn't stray far. _Thinking fast, he decided to make a quick detour and grab the emerald before their enemy could.

* * *

While he was out searching, Amy put her medical knowledge to good use amongst the survivors. She paid special attention to the poor raccoon who had been so terrified earlier, but she also tended to others as well. Almost everyone had minor injuries. This was the result of regular day-to-day life here. Minor burns, small cuts and scrapes, dark purple bruises... However, amazingly enough, no one really had any smoke-inhalation related illnesses. The air was clearer here than most other places, but there _was_ still smoke. And yet, it seemed that these people had adapted. _It's a goof thing, too... There's only so much I can do without my modern medicine. _She tightened a bandage around the arm of a silent young cat, who looked to be abut her age, and noticed when his eyes narrowed subtly in pain. "Sorry," she said softly. "Did that hurt?" He shrugged and, after giving her a small bow, turned and walked away. She watched him go for a moment before jumping when she heard a new voice.

"Don't mind Taran. He's always kinda like that."

Amy turned to see one of the young girls, a light purple fox, she had tended to earlier and allowed herself a small smile. "That's alright," she replied. Then she added warmly, "One of my friends is a lot like that, too."

The girl smiled at her. "Ms., can you teach me how to do that?" she asked suddenly, pointing to her now depleted roll of bandages. "I wanna learn how to take care of people too, but Jake won't teach me 'cause I'm younger than him."

Amy forced herself not to get annoyed at Jake for this. _It isn't any of my business how these people interact with one another... but that doesn't mean I can't have a talk with that boy later. _Revealing none of her thoughts, Amy smiled once more. "Of course I can teach you."

* * *

Meanwhile, Tails was with Jake, and the two of them were studying a small fragment of DNA they had recovered from a hair that had been on the raccoon's bright yellow buttoned shirt. Using a portable machine Tails always carried with him, due to its multiple uses, he and Jake studied the DNA. Tails spoke first. "It doesn't look like fox-"

"Not 'coon-"

"Or bear-"

"Or cat-"

"Or-"

"Or-"

Tails frowned at the hair and pinched it between two fingers, lifting it up to his face. "I told you there was something weird about this. I mean, _look_ at it!"

Jake nodded seriously, a frown on his face. "Yeah. It almost looks like a literal _shadow_... just, one that somehow took physical form."

Tails also frowned, struggling to make sense of the data they had received but finding himself no closer to uncovering the truth than he had been earlier. "I don't get it. How can a shadow take physical form? It defies most laws of-"

"That's just it, though," Jake cut in. "It defies _most_ laws. There are some things that break those laws. You wouldn't have been able to come here otherwise."

"The Chaos Emeralds!" Tails gasped, his blue eyes going wide. "I completely forgot! They exist here too, huh?"

"Yeah," Jake nodded. "No one's seen or used them in a long time, though. Well, excluding your friend this morning. Apparently."

Now it was Tails's turn to nod. "So you think they're involved somehow?"

"Definitely," Jake replied, staring unblinkingly at the unnatural hair of purplish-black shadowy energy.

Tails's hands clenched into fists and determination filled his eyes. "Then we need to find them."

* * *

Knuckles glided slowly over a pool of sweltering liquid. He was scouting for any sign of surviving fire creatures, or, perhaps, new creatures of a different kind that could have potentially attacked the raccoon. Steam rose up in waves that caused enough visual motion to nearly make him sick to his stomach. Gritting his teeth, he bit back his nausea. _Dammit, if it weren't for Sonic, we wouldn't even __be__ here in the first place. _But, then again, he knew it wasn't Sonic's fault that there was something screwy with that emerald. _Still, if I hadn't decided to tag along with him, I would still be home and not in this hell-hole. _But that was just it. _He_ had decided to come along for the ride. Sonic hadn't asked him. Not that the hedgehog had tried to persuade him to leave, either, but even still. The fact of the matter was that _Knuckles_ had been the one to choose this road. He was the one who had chosen to follow Sonic, despite all the obvious dangers. He, like Tails and Amy, had chosen of their own free will to join the mysterious blue hedgehog on his lonely journey. And yet, despite all the dangers and uncertainties and arguments, Knuckles couldn't quite bring himself to regret his choice to join forces with Sonic. _He's a good friend and a good ally. He does what he can to keep us safe and protect us while still doing what needs to be done and never forgetting that we're all self-reliant in our own ways. He's a good person. ...Even if he is a real sarcastic asshole sometimes. _

As he glided over the pool of lava, slowly turning so that he could head back to the settlement, Knuckles suddenly realized something. He could feel Sonic's power rising defensively in the distance. Concerned, a slight from marring his face, Knuckles purposefully changed directions and began flying toward the hedgehog, determined to help however he could. _Sonic's done the same for me more than enough times... It's about time I return the favor. _

* * *

Silver wasn't completely surprised that, when he landed on the top of a building mostly surrounded by lava, Blaze was already there, waiting for him. "Sorry I'm late," he said quickly. "A lot of stuff's happened. There's _so_ much to tell you about-"

Blaze held up a hand briefly, expression subtly apologetic though she remained mostly serious in appearance. "There is much that requires our attention."

He nodded, accepting this fact easily enough. There would always be another day to tell her about all that had occurred since last he'd seen her. "What's going on?"

"Our enemy still lives."

Silver frowned. "Iblis? He's dead. I _saw_ him die, for good this time."

She shook her head slowly. "Iblis was never the only threat. He did not work alone."

Silver's eyes widened slowly, then narrowed with sudden intensity. A low growl escaped his lips and he bit out the name, "Mephiles."

* * *

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Initially he _was_ supposed to be in the last chapter, but things worked out differently than I'd planned. Sorry! But at least he's here now! :P (P.S.: I still promise nothing about the cliffhangers! XD)**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yay! I'm happy you enjoyed! :D I loved the banter, too. It was fun to write. And yes, it _was_ good for that, which is the whole reason I wrote about that little excursion. :) And yes! Absolutely right! Good guess on who the shadows were/are! **

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Mephiles and Shadow. :) Good guesses! I honestly don't think Uncle Chuck will be in here, but it _is_ an interesting thought. As for Scourge, I'm almost certain that he isn't going to be in any way involved, but plans may change. Don't call me "-sama" because that implies that I am of some higher rank than you (i.e. if I were your boss or something), so I guess "senpai" works. Or maybe "-chan"! :3 Oohh... Okay. :P Glad you enjoyed! Yes, he's here! Sasuke-kun isn't emo, baka (and I mean this as "fool" not "stupid, I swear!). XD Where did you come up with the idea for the whole Chaos Control thing you were talking about? It was kinda cool, but I'd like to know what you were thinking as far as what lead up to that, what they were trying to accomplish, etc. :) It would be a cool scene to use! :D**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Yes, Shadow and Mephiles. :) Good guess!**

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**I know, I know, this is late. I am so, _so_ sorry for the delay! I've just had _s__o_ much schoolwork to do these last few days... You know how much sleep I got last night? Four, maybe five. ;_; Can Chaos Control my school into another dimension now? Please? Sigh... Posted 05-06-15.**


	74. Bonding

**Hello, Daggr! Your first review to Chapter 73: NEVAH! XD ...There has been cussing in this story from early on, you know. Like, way back when Sonic was with Locke as a kid, even. :P What about Scourge? Not that I'm complaining, but why did you like how I included the whereabouts? Just curious. :P Anyway, with Amy, I got the feeling (way back when I watched Sonic X all the time) that she had medical knowledge of some kind, even if it was minor knowledge. Specifically, I got that feeling from when they were in space on the Blue Typhoon. There was a specific episode, but I can't remember what it was called. :P They're OOC because this is a fanfic, and therefore my unique take on the characters. I'm not trying to build up to what was established by the games and shows. If I were, I would have kept the characters fairly in-character from the start. :) Glad you enjoyed!**

**Your second review to Chapter 73: I know! It's amazing! :DD And thanks! *Dances next to you* **

**Hello, Anonymous! I didn't type "Jello" this time! XD Anyway, thanks for understanding. Wow, at my school it's different for everyone but us seniors. As the year draws to a close, we get less schoolwork. Us seniors, however, have the year-long senior project. -.- Your project sounds cool, by the way! :) Yeah, I figured you did. Yeah... if only. And yes, yes we do. :P As far as tweaks go, it depends on how significant they are. After all, I _do_ have some vague idea of where I'm taking the story, even if I'm also constantly making it up as I go along. :P Still, tell me more whenever you feel like it! I'd love to hear/read more! :D Thanks for both of the well-wishes! Good luck with your project as well! (I know people like that, too... My LORD they're annoying!) Cool. Slides is pretty nice, huh? (P.S.: OMG, I was laughing SO hard! XDD I was practically DYING! And my sister looked at me like I had finally lost my mind! XD Okay, if that ever happens again somehow, or anything similar, I'll leave the typo and see if you notice it! then we can both have a good laugh again! XD)**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Good guess! Did you notice how a certain black and red hedgehog was involved last chapter? ;) I'm curious to see if you did! Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed! And no need for insistence! I love Silver and Blaze together! I can't guarantee how much focus will be on that relationship there will be, but if nothing else it will at least be sprinkled in there no and then! **

**Hello, flashyhero! Yeah, the timelines are almost totally separate. I know it's all confusing, so if you ever have questions, just ask! I'll be happy to answer! :)**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Yup! A new villain has arrived. :) Glad you enjoyed!**

**Kon'nichiwa, Pyro-san! Yeah, sorry about Chuck. I like him and all, but I just don't think he'll fit into the story very well. But, then again, plans may very well change! :) Chapter 700 and beyond? ...Was that _after_ the war with Obito and the Jinchuriki's and whatnot? If so, I'm not there yet. I'm still in the middle of all of that. :P As far as the Chaos Control thing, cool idea! I can't guarantee that I'll use it, but if I do there will probably be some tweaks. Still, very cool idea! Ah, but Shadow _was_ in the last chapter, even if he wasn't directly mentioned. Can you guess how and/or when? ;)**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Yeah, that is a good thing. But yes, he still is very dangerous. And yes, yes he did. Thanks for reading and reviewing! **

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan/S and D fan! Oh, okay, I think I get it now. :) Yeah, almost a definite no on him. I really just don't think he'll fit very well, you know? About the haters: Ah, I get it now. :P Thanks for understanding about my school and stuff, by the way!**

**Hell, John! You're welcome! :) And he already _has_ entered. He was in the last chapter, though he wasn't directly mentioned. Can you figure out where he was? ;) Thanks! Glad you enjoyed! Lastly, thanks for understanding. :)**

**Hello, blueyshy! You're doing fine, I promise! And I'm glad you enjoy our conversations as well! :) "We're Sonic Heroes"... Lol! XD Ah, okay. I get it now. Don't worry, you explained it just fine! And yeah, my mind works in mysterious ways as well. XD My sophomore years was easy for me personally, but now I'm in my senior year and we had a year-long senior project... But at least it's over now! :D **

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**Okay, this is late again, I know. Hopefully this will be the last one I post late (at least any time soon). In order to make this up to you all, I tried to make this one longer. 3,699 words in total. Enjoy! **

* * *

The lava made an odd, but brief, gurgling sound below as it flowed around a rock below. The steam made visible waves in the air, the motion making it a bit difficult to see clearly at times. Smoke filled the air and made it difficult and almost painful to breathe. The heat was almost unbearable. Still, Silver noticed none of those things as Blaze said seriously, "Iblis was never the only threat. He did not work alone."

Silver's eyes widened slowly, then narrowed with sudden intensity. A low growl escaped his lips and he bit out the name, "Mephiles."

Blaze nodded gravely. "Yes."

"But how?" he demanded. "You said one can't survive without the other!"

"I did," she acknowledged. "All that means is that either I was wrong or something is keeping Mephiles alive."

"But what?" Silver asked with a frown.

"I don't know," Blaze admitted.

"So what do we do?"

"We search for answers, as we have always done."

"That's it?"

"There is nothing else to do."

Silver sighed and reluctantly nodded. "Alright." Blaze returned his nod and turned to jump off the side of the building to the small section of dry land below, but was quickly stopped when Silver spoke again. "Wait."

She turned back around to face him. "Yes?"

He somehow managed a small smile as he said, "I know some people who can help."

Her eyes betrayed a flicker of confusion. "No one can help us. You have said as much before. It is too dangerous for others to accompany us."

He shook his head. "These people are different. They're strong. They can fight. One of them... one of them defeated Iblis single-handedly."

Blaze's expression grew more serious, if that was even possible. "When you said that much had happened recently..." she began slowly.

"This is part of what I was talking about," he finished.

She nodded once. "Tell me everything that has occurred."

* * *

Amy smiled at the young girl who had approached her earlier with a request to be taught how to wrap wounds. She showed natural talent and bright, genuine interest shone in her eyes. She made Amy think of herself, back when she too had been a young girl with dreams of learning medicine. However, her circumstances had been different. She had come from a well-off family in one of the big cities in the East. She had had access to all sorts of books at home and her mother had been quite knowledgeable. This thought, of course, inspired memories of her home, which was now an immeasurable distance away.

"Miss Amy?" Startled, Amy turned her head to look at the young girl who she was teaching, the young fox named Mellony. "Are you alright?"

_I... I miss home. _With an internal sigh, Amy forced herself to smile. "Yes. I'm alright." With that, she turned her attention back to her task.

* * *

Tails and Jake still stood beside the building where they had met Silvers "family" earlier. As they stood there, Tails did his best to ignore how disappointed he felt as he stared at the screen of his small machine. "It didn't work."

Jake placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Hey, no worries. We'll figure something out."

Tails released a soft sigh. "I was so sure it would work, though..."

"No offense, but I'm not very surprised that it didn't." At Tails's almost dejected expression, Jake was quick to continue. "It isn't because you aren't smart or anything. The emeralds are just difficult to detect using machines, you know?"

Tails tilted his head at the other fox. "How do you know that?"

"Well, for one thing," Jake replied, "your machine didn't work, even after all the modifications we made to it."

Tails nearly rolled his eyes. "Okay, but you implied that you knew _before_ we modified my machine that they're hard to trace. How?"

Jake scuffed the toe of one of his already dirty shoes in the soot-covered ground. "I may have... kinda... gone looking for them as a kid."

Tails blinked. "Why?"

Jake shrugged. "I was curious about them. Never even found one, though." With that, he steered the conversation back on-track. "So, got any other bright ideas?"

Tails thought for a moment. "Well... I might have one."

* * *

Sonic was been standing beside a large pool of lava with the dark blue Chaos Emerald in hand when Knuckles finally made it to him. "Everything okay?" the echidna demanded as he landed on the ground.

Sonic blinked. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"What the hell happened? Were you attacked?" Sonic nodded. "By what?"

Sonic frowned a bit. "...I'm not sure," he admitted slowly. "It looked like one of Iblis's creatures, just... different."

Knuckles frowned as well. "Different _how_?" he pressed.

"It almost looked like... a shadow," Sonic shrugged. "Sort of."

"So where _is_ it?" Knuckles asked.

"Dunno," Sonic shrugged. "It seemed like something scared it off. It fled."

Knuckles sighed and glanced to the emerald in Sonic's hand, deciding to worry about this strange creature later. "So how'd you get that?"

Sonic pointed to a head-sized hole near the lava that looked fairly deep. "I fished it out of there right before I was attacked."

Knuckles frowned at the gem. "I have a feeling that the rest won't be so easy to find."

"Probably not," Sonic agreed. Then, more quietly, he added, "I just hope we won't actually _need_ all of them."

Knuckles nearly sighed again. "Me too. ...Come on, let's head back."

* * *

Back at Silver's home, Knuckles was quick to wander off and Sonic soon noticed how... _sad_ Amy seemed. Feeling a bit concerned, he walked over to where she was sitting on her knees on the ground, idly doodling in the soot on the ground with one finger. Heedless of the filth, he knelt by her side. "You okay?"

Her smile was too brave to be believable. "I'm alright."

He closed his eyes and shook his head softly before moving to sit fully. "No you're not," he replied calmly once he was situated. "What's wrong?"

Now it was her turn to shake her head. "Nothing."

"Liar," Sonic replied, though without any true meanness.

"So what if I am?" Amy challenged.

"You said you frown upon liars."

"And what about you? I know there's a lot of stuff you're still hiding from us."

"That's not the same thing."

"Omission of information is still a lie."

"You're changing the subject."

She looked at the ground, at her doodles especially, apparently finding them highly interesting, and he pressed on, determined to get to the bottom of this. "What's bugging you, Amy?"

His use of her name seemed to finally break down whatever wall she was attempting to hide behind. She sighed. "It's silly, Sonic."

"I don't believe that."

"You should really have more faith in people."

"Stop avoiding the question."

She sighed again. "It really _is_ silly," she murmured. "I just... miss home, that's all."

Sonic huffed. "You could've just said that." Needless to say, he was surprised when she reached over and punched him in the arm. Hard. "Hey! What was that for?!"

She just shook her head, apparently deciding not to answer the question. Instead, she posed a question of her own. "You don't think missing home is silly?"

"No," he muttered in response, rubbing his now sore arm. That girl had one heck of a punch. Then he added more quietly, "I can't really empathize or anything, but I get it."

"That's right," she murmured, "you said once that you never really had much of a home, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Sonic acknowledged. He was more than shocked when she suddenly scooted over and leaned against his side, resting her head on his shoulder. He tensed unwilling. Before he even had a chance to ask, she spoke again.

"Tell me about it?" she asked softly.

Sonic hesitated but in the end, if only to distract himself, he complied with her request. "Well... for one thing, it was pretty much a dump, especially outside. The whole thing was made from the wreckage of various things that ended up there after a typhoon."

"So you lived by the ocean?"

"Sort of. I was a couple miles inland from it."

"So you were in a forest?"

"No, a jungle. Probably a good thing, too. I could always find food without working very hard. There was a lot of fruit, even in the winter."

"I bet it was beautiful there."

"...Yeah. It was."

He fell silent after that, and she gave him a gentle nudge in the side with her elbow. "Keep going," she encouraged. "I want to know more."

He turned his head and frowned at her. "Why?"

"I want to know more about you," she replied softly, her eyes closing.

He looked away and, deciding not to respond to that comment, he began slowly describing his home to her. As he grew more comfortable, she managed to pull more words from him than he ever usually spoke. He described the room in his house where he spent so much time building his bombs and repairing the smaller parts of his plane. He described how he had also built a retractable runway that had extended off of his roof when in use. He even described his kitchen, which had been permanently blackened in places from the few times he had tried to cook as a kid. This, of course, caused Amy to laugh softly.

"I can't believe you burned your kitchen," she said with a smile.

He shrugged in response. "I was curious what roasted clam tasted like," he admitted. "My friend told me about it once." Then, with a wry smirk, he added, "Man, he gave me one heck of a scolding when he found out that I'd started a fire."

Amy laughed again. "You sound like you got into a lot of trouble as a kid."

"Not a lot," Sonic corrected half-heartedly.

"Sure you didn't."

"I didn't. Just... more than was probably necessary."

"It's a wonder your friend was able to keep up with you," Amy said, still smiling, and somehow, he knew she wasn't just talking about him being fast.

"There were times when he couldn't," Sonic admitted, still smirking to himself. "I'm pretty sure I drove him crazy most of the time."

"You behaved that well, huh?" she teased lightly.

"Nah, it wasn't that. I was mostly just stubborn. And I insisted on doing everything by myself."

"You still do that now."

"Not as much as before."

"I can believe that. You let us tag along with you on this journey, after all."

This, of course, brought them back to what had started this whole conversation to begin with. _She's homesick. _"Hey, Amy?"

She blinked up at him. "Yes?"

He dutifully refused to meet her gaze, looking everywhere but at her. "If you want... when we get out of here... we can go visit your home for a little while."

"Oh!" she exclaimed in surprise, her eyes going wide. "But we couldn't possibly-!"

"Yes we could," he interrupted. "It's not a big deal, and we could all use a break anyway."

"But..." she tried to argue, but no argument came forth. Finally she asked quietly, "You're sure?'

He nodded. "Of course."

She smiled at him again. "Thanks you."

Though he didn't reply, she seemed to understand, and for that he was grateful. He'd never been good at "you're welcome's" anyway.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the portal that had set all these events into motion, three figures rode high into the sky, desperate to escape their pursuers. A female voice shouted over the wind. "We can't lose them, Jet!"

"I know, I know!" he shouted back.

"What do we do, boss?!" Storm asked loudly. "We can't fly much higher!"

"But if we go back down they'll shoot us!" Wave replied.

"Would you rather have our boards quite working so we can free-fall back down to the ground?!" Storm snapped.

"That's better then getting shot!" she snapped back.

"Both of you cut it out!" Jet yelled at both of them. "This isn't the damn time!" They had been feeling from these robots for over an hour and had yet to lose more than two of them. That still left a good ten or so that were doggedly hunting the trio down. _And those two picked now to start arguing? _Pushing that thought aside, he made a decision and shouted an order. "Everyone scatter!"

"What?!" Storm exclaimed.

"Are you nuts?!" Wave added furiously.

"If we split up we'll have a better chance of escaping!" Jet snapped. When neither of his teammates argued further, he continued, "We'll meet up in the city, since we were headed there anyway! Now, go!"

With that, they split off and sped off in three different directions on their Gear. Two of the robots immediately followed Storm and four or five went after Wave. The rest followed after Jet as he poured on the speed, heading back down toward the ground at near break-neck speeds. Only when he was almost to close to the ground did he finally straighten his angle so that he was merely going forward instead of down. He dodged around the trunks of many trees that were in the woods he was now in. Though the tree were an obstacle, he was somewhat thankful for them, as it provided a means of protection from the lasers and bullets being fired at him. After several minutes of this, he finally burst out of the woods and into more open ground. Several potential curses entered his mind, just waiting to be voiced, but he bit them back as he once again poured on the speed, able to go faster now that there was nothing to dodge. When more shots were fired, he made a quick, expert maneuver and flipped backward over the enemy, board and all, and resumed flying behind them, turning so that he was flying in the opposite direction. He turned his head and watched as the robots also turned direction to follow him. His head still turned, Jet realized something. Obviously he could feel the wind coming toward him because he was flying so fast, but he could also feel a great deal of wind going in the _other_ direction, almost as though there was a giant vacuum cleaner ahead of him. Turning his head, his eyes widened at the sight of a large, purplish-black shape hovering in the air ahead of him. He didn't even have time to react before he ran into it and suddenly felt himself falling into nothingness.

* * *

"Hey, Sonic!"

Sonic, who was still sitting with Amy, looked to the right to see Tails and Jake running up to him. Exchanging a slightly bemused glance with Amy over Tails's urgent tone, he called back, "Yeah?"

The two foxes came to a stop by the hedgehogs as they stood up, and Tails pointed to some small machine he held in his hands. "So we were trying to figure out how to make this thing detect the Chaos Emeralds-" Tails started to explain quickly.

"But we were having trouble getting it to actually work-" Jake cut in.

"So we kept modifying it-"

"All afternoon-"

"And we managed to get it to detect _something_-"

"But not the emeralds."

Sonic looked back and forth between the two, his expression serious, before finally daring to ask, "What, then?"

"That's just it," Tails said. "We don't actually know."

"We want to go check it out, but it's pretty far away," Jake said.

"You're fast," Tails continued. "Can you go take a look? We'll keep doing what we can from here to try to find the emeralds."

Sonic nodded his agreement. "Where is it?"

In response, Tails handed Sonic his machine. "Here, take this with you. See that yellow dot on the screen? That's it. Each grid represents approximately 2.3 miles. It looks like you've gotta go North."

Sonic nodded again. "Right. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Amy placed a hand on his arm, causing him to look at her. "Be careful," she murmured.

At this, he allowed himself a smirk. "Aren't I always?"

And with that, he took off, running North as quickly as he could. With the rate at which he was traveling, reaching the place probably wouldn't take more than a few minutes. However, the universe seemed to have decided to make this day as hard as possible for him, a fact which it proved by once again sending some strange beast to attack him. It, like the creature that had attacked him earlier, looked very much like the dog-like creatures Iblis had summoned to attack him during their fight just that morning. The only difference was that this one seemed to be entirely composed of shadows that had taken physical form somehow. He dodged when it lunged at him and, pivoting on one foot, he swung his other leg out, delivering a massive backward kick that sent the creature flying into the ground a good distance away. Had the creature been alone, he would have been able to continue on at that point. However, it seemed that it had brought friends. More of the beasts run at him, snarling and howling all the way. He jumped over several of them and ducked backward under a third one's head as it tried to bite him. Doing a flip, he kicked it so that it in the jaw so that it's teeth knocked together loudly. He then curled into a ball and slammed into it, sending it flying as he had done with the first creature just moments before.

After ending a third creature and then a fourth sprawling on the hard ground, Sonic was surprised when, in a rare turn of events, he landed badly after a jump, resulting in his foot getting jammed into a small hole. Cursing softly, he tried to wrench it free. However, it seemed completely stuck, leaving him momentarily helpless when the two remaining creatures continued their attacks. Of course, _now_ they opted for long-range attacks. Had they come in close, he could have at least still punched them or something. They both opened their mouths in much the same way as their fiery cousins had in the past when they were forming a fireball to shoot at him. However, these were balls of what appeared to be pure, dark energy, and that was _not_ good. Even flames would be preferable to _that_. There was no telling what sort of damage this kind of an attack could cause. He continued his struggles, but it was to no avail. Two dark balls of energy were fired at him and they hit him so hard that they actually freed his foot somehow and sent him flying backwards as he had been doing to the other creatures not long before.

Sonic did his best to ignore the fierce chills that rushed up and down his spine from that dark energy as he pushed himself up. Though the balls of energy had dissipated, he could still feel that darkness inside of him, probably a lingering effect from the attack and nothing more, and it made him feel vaguely ill. By this point, Sonic had decided that enough was enough. Standing, he quickly curled into a ball and slammed into each of the two creatures in rapid succession, taking them out with one hit each. When he stood, he shivered minutely because of the lingering darkness. Taking a small, calming breath, he turned North once more and resumed his run, still following the yellow dot on Tails's machine which, thankfully, hadn't been damaged in the fight.

He reached the spot the yellow dot was indicating within a few minutes and skidded to a halt. Looking around, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing but lava pits and pools, deep, narrow cracks in the ground, steaming geysers, and so on. There was nothing unusual about this place. So _what_ was this machine picking up on? There was nothing to the left or right of him, nothing in front of him, nothing behind him, and he was pretty certain that, because there didn't seem to be a cave under the ground (he certainly didn't _hear_ any echoes or anything that would have hinted at such a place), there was nothing under him either. He blinked then as a thought suddenly occurred to him. _Maybe if it's above me...? _With that thought in mind, he looked up. Immediately, he was startled when he saw a portal burst open in the air, spitting two green objects out before suddenly vanishing. One green object slammed into him, knocking the breath out of him and flattening him on his stomach, while the other green object, one which had hit him on the head in the past, clattered on the ground not far away.

Without even thinking, Sonic shoved the first object, a person actually, off of his back and climbed back to his feet. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was that was sitting on the ground by his feet, but he did it anyway. _It's him again... Jet. _A large part of him wanted to leave the bird there, but... Jet was unconscious, and Sonic knew that he'd never be able to forgive himself if he left Jet there, unconscious and therefore defenseless. With a heavy sigh, Sonic picked him up and hefted him over his shoulder. Then he walked over and grabbed Jet's board, tucking it under his arm before beginning the run back to Silver's home.

* * *

**Posted 05-08-15.**


	75. Dread

**Hello, John! Thanks! Glad you think so! To be honest, I have no idea. XD I'll manage somehow though, I promise.**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! I'm happy you enjoyed! Yeah, I enjoy it, too. It's fun to write! :)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Thanks! Yeah, it's sad. I wish he could, but I guess I'll have to save him for another fic. :P Haven't seen it yet, but I heard it was epic! I'll get back to reading Naruto once I get caught up with One Piece. :) Glad you enjoyed the bonding. I enjoyed writing it as well. Don't worry, that will be happening soon! **

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Glad you enjoyed! No big deal. It was only 11:07-ish here, but that was still late. I don't blame you for being tired. :P**

**Hello, Guest! Pretty sure you're Anonymous, right? :P If I may ask, what do you think is beginning to piece together? I'd really like to know! :D NOOO you broke my record! D: Eh, jk. I needed a good laugh, anyway. XD Yeah, I saw the typos this morning when I was re-reading the chapter this morning. I fixed them, as well as the other ones I noticed in the actual chapter. I had my presentation on Thursday after school. I had to present to a panel of teachers with Juniors in the audience. Oh, and it gets better. The principle was on my panel as well. Thankfully, he told me the next day that I did good. :) How did your presentation go? Trust me, I am _very_ thankful. You? Thanks for the wish of good luck! :) **

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Yeah. Undoubtedly. :P**

**Hello, flashyhero! Ah, yes, he will, though not necessarily any time soon. However, you are right to suspect that his appearance will be related to the events of last chapter. :)**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Yes, I hope so! I will, thanks! :)**

**Hello Guest 2! Remember, this story isn't _just_ Sonic's origins. In the summary it even says that the story involves other things besides just his origins. :P Glad you enjoyed anyway!**

* * *

**So I had a writing exam today (to determine what UC English classes I qualify for), and that's why this was posted later in the day. Also, I am _so_ sorry that this is so terribly short, but I wasn't really sure what else to write this time. Still, I hope you can enjoy, anyway!**

* * *

Immediately Amy knew something was wrong as she watched Sonic walk into view. Someone was slung limply over his shoulder and he was carrying an odd surfboard-like object under the arm that wasn't supporting his apparently unconscious passenger. His expression was irritable at best, and she decided that whatever he wasn't happy about would need to wait. First she needed to tend to the bird. She ran up to Sonic and he stopped walking. "Set him down," she directly crisply. "Let me see him." He did as he was told, setting the bird down quickly, but carefully. "What happened?" she demanded as she knelt by the stranger's side.

"I have no idea."

"How long has he been unconscious?"

"Since I found him."

"How long ago was that?"

"A few minutes."

She nodded her understanding as she shifted feather's on the bird's side. "He's been shot."

At this, Sonic frowned deeper than he had been already. "Shot?"

"Yes. By a laser." She gave Sonic a hard look. "He's not from this world, is he?"

Sonic shook his head honestly. "No. A portal opened up over my head and dumped him on me."

"Is that what Tails's machine was detecting? A portal getting ready to open?"

"Probably. There was nothing else there."

She nodded again. "Sonic, I'll need you to get him inside. I can't do much for serious injuries like this, but Jake can. He and Tails are in there right now."

"Fine." Without another word, he picked the bird up again and jumped into the upper level room where Silver's family always stayed.

Tails heard his entrance and he started to turn around to face him. "You're back!" he exclaimed, though his cheeriness faded instantly when he saw Jet unconscious on Sonic's shoulder. "Oh, _man_."

Jake rushed forward as Sonic placed Jet on the ground. Without a word, the brown fox began quickly examining the wound and tending to it while Sonic walked over to Tails. He handed the fox the machine he had borrowed. "It detected a portal just before it opened," he said. "The dot disappeared after it closed."

Tails frowned down at the screen on his machine. "It isn't what I wanted, but... at least we might be able to use this to help us get home."

Sonic nodded, though he didn't feel as excited about the prospect of going home as Tails did. The idea of going home was something Sonic had been trying not to think about for much of the day they had been here. _If we go home... I may never be able to see him again. _Sonic didn't know if he could handle being permanently separated from his son. He didn't want to have to say goodbye. Not again.

* * *

_**I HAVE AN IMPORTANT QUESTION!**_**Would you guys like to see a "timeline" of sorts of both the timelines in this story? I have written one for much of the beginning of the story and everything from chapters 62 to 73, so it wouldn't take me terribly long to fill in the gaps. Plus I know this is all a bit confusing for everyone (having two timelines/worlds and all). Here's an example of what I'm talking about:**

**"****-Sonic turns ten and, just a few weeks later, he gets into his first fight with a robot. Not many months later, he meets Gerald Robotnik for the first time. (The story begins with this event, which occurs in Ch. 1.)**

**-Sonic discovers that Robotnik is using animals to power his machines. Deciding to investigate, Sonic heads to Oil Ocean and destroys the factory there. However, he is torn apart by guilt when he is unable to save numerous animals that died in the process of destroying the factory. He continues to think of himself as anything but a hero.**

**-Sonic's name starts to become famous across South Island, though he is unaware of this. He thinks that no one knows him, or knows of him, and wishes it to stay that way forever. Still feeling incredible guilt, he stays away from people and the animals he can't always save."**

**Yeah, that's pretty much would it would look like. However, some are much more in depth (when the situation calls for it). Let me know if you all want to see it!**


	76. Bonus Chapter 1: Timeline

**Hello, Anonymous! Well, maybe you did. Sometimes glitches just happen online that makes things I type get deleted, so you never know! :P Well, I'm glad that you understood your topic enough to ask more scientific questions, talk about it in a more scientific format, and give a good presentation! As far as other kids not caring, that's their loss. The Atomic Bomb is actually highly interesting, if you ask me. :D Hehe, "Fat Man". I remember that.  
**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Yeah, in the end, I decided to agree and do a timeline (as the chapter title clearly says XD). She would let you look at her phone at all? My sisters would _never_ do that unless it was absolutely necessary! XD Well, glad you enjoyed and that you didn't mind terribly that it was short! Nah, he's not gonna die. I _do_ rather like him. :P I think it did, but I won't get the results for another four weeks. Ah well, at least the exam is over, which means I now have one less thing to stress about. **

**Hello, Rival King! Your first review to Chapter 75: Hey, welcome back! As for who's miss you: UH, _I_ WOULD! You're fun to talk to, and I love hearing your thoughts and opinions on this story! Plus, you're pretty dang funny sometimes. :P Aw, I am _so_ glad that you're enjoying it that much! **

**Your second review to Chapter 75: Awesome! Glad you liked the idea. Well, as the chapter title implies, I went ahead and typed the timeline up, so here you go! :)**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! No apologies needed! As you said, you don't need to review. As long as people are reading the story, I'm happy. :P It's fine that you don't have anything to say., about last chapter especially. It was _so_ short! XD Alright, the timeline is here! Enjoy! (P.S.: _Lucky_! I want cake! ;_;)**

**Hello, astroshadow! Awesome! I'm glad, because I went ahead and typed it up, anyway. XD Hope you enjoy! **

**Hello, AmegakueAngel! Cool, glad that you don't mind the length. It's good to know that short chapters can be refreshing at times. I hadn't really thought of that. :P Well, I'm glad you understand. At least that means that I explained things at least _somewhat_ well enough. XD You can go ahead and skip this chapter, then, but, at the same time, I would kind of like you to read it, if only because I discussed in the timelines many of the things that were implied (such as in the Chemical Plant chapter (ch. 5, I think)) that I fear I may not have written well enough for people to pick up on. You don't have to read it if you don't want to, it's just a thought. :)**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Omg, I almost typed "Peaches" instead of "Patches" again. Lol! XD So glad you liked it! I did try to make it longer, but failed miserably, so I'm glad that it was still enjoyable. :) Yeah, I agree. Which, of course, is why I wrote this chapter. :P About your brain-pain: Uh... sorry? XD I'll send Amy and Jake to help you out!**

**Hello, Daggr! No need to apologize or feel guilty! It's no big deal! Glad you enjoyed the bonding! And I'm going to honestly try not to let Blaze fade into the background as a minor character. I love her too much to do that to her! About Scourge... I don't know, but I probably won't be adding him. Sorry! :P **

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**So this is only part one because it only goes to Chapter 37. The rest will come tomorrow, more likely than not. Enjoy!**

* * *

-Sonic was born as the only child of a couple who were, at the time, the world's greatest heroes. At the exact same time, the Master Emerald (and presumably the Chaos Emeralds) "came to life", or, in other words, filled with power. It is highly implied that the small green emerald was left with him as a baby (probably by his parents).

-It is implied that Sonic's parents died not long after his birth.

-When he was very young, Sonic discovered his ability for speed and his love of running.

-At some point before he turns ten (when he was fairly young), Sonic builds the original propeller-powered Tornado.

-Sonic turns ten and, just a few weeks later, he gets into his first fight with a robot. Not many months later, he meets Gerald Robotnik for the first time. (The story begins with this event, which occurs in Ch. 1.)

-Sonic discovers that Robotnik is using animals to power his machines. Deciding to investigate, Sonic heads to Oil Ocean and destroys the factory there. However, he is torn apart by guilt when he is unable to save numerous animals that died in the process of destroying the factory. He continues to think of himself as anything but a hero.

-Sonic's name starts to become famous across South Island, though he is unaware of this. He thinks that no one knows him, or knows _of_ him, and wishes it to stay that way forever. Still feeling incredible guilt, he stays away from people and the animals he can't always save.

-Sonic goes to the Chemical Plant, presumably to destroy it. However, before he can do so, he falls into a lake of pink chemical-water. It is heavily implied that he has frequent nightmares about water when he sleeps, and that hose nightmares are triggered by actual memories from when he was younger. Not long after escaping the water, Robotnik shows up with two robots and had them grab him and hold his head under the water. It is implied that Robotnik tried to drown him, though Sonic somehow escaped, leaving the Chemical Plant, unfortunately, in tact.

-Sonic meets Locke for the first time near one of Robotnik's many bases while Sonic had been getting a rare moment of sleep under a tree. Locke, for an unknown reason, does not tell Sonic his real name, going by his nickname "Knuckles" instead. Locke inquires about the whereabouts of Sonic's parents, to which Sonic responds by becoming closed off and distant. Locke then offers to get Sonic something to eat. Though suspicious, Sonic follows and, on the way to a tree bearing fruit, Locke brings up the topic of the Hero of South Island. Sonic's thoughts reveal that he still does not think of himself as a hero. Locke also brings up the topic of species and breeds, as well as his skills as a treasure hunter. It is also implied that Locke knows a great deal about hedgehogs somehow. Their friendship is off to a tentative start when Locke gives Sonic some food.

-It's been three months since Locke and Sonic met, and the two are clearly much closer. Locke introduces Sonic to his son, actually named Knuckles, albeit indirectly (through a photograph) and indirectly mentions how strong his son's arms are. Sonic mentions how meticulously Robotnik keeps track of information (which will be important later on (you know, in the chapters I'm currently writing)). Locke's nickname for Sonic, "kid", is also brought up for the first time (important if only because that name means so much to Sonic after Locke dies, which is sort of symbolic of how close they were). Sonic's unconscious habit of flicking his right ear when he hears something is mentioned (this is important because it is a warning sign for his friends, allowing them to know that there might be danger). He and Locke fight robots together, and it is shown that they are a good team. It is also implied that this is not their first battle together. Locke takes Sonic to a cave full of treasure, and Sonic finds the white Chaos Emerald, which Locke lets him keep. It glows when Sonic touches it, confusing both of them. Sonic's thoughts reveal that he has the green one as well and that it too glowed at least once when he touched it.

-Sonic and Locke go to one of Robotnik's bases to recover some items that the man stole. Locke reveals that he is searching for a book full of ancient knowledge, stating that ancient knowledge wasn't something just anyone should have access to. Sonic doesn't understand this fact, but says nothing about it. Eventually, Sonic finds some scattered papers that reveal Robotnik is trying to create gems of some sort to power his machines. Sonic keeps at least one such paper, presumably to read it in greater detail at another time. Later, Sonic finds his plane, which is implied to have been improved. Sonic later returns school books to a local village, revealing that he is starting to get better at interacting with people and is trying to help them by doing more than just fighting the robots and destroying the factories and whatnot. It is then revealed that Sonic is able to read Locke's book, written in an ancient language, prompting Locke to take Sonic to Angel Island.

-Locke becomes uncharacteristically series on the way to Angel Island, a fact that causes a minor, and temporary, rift between the the two as friends. Locke is also revealed to be riding on the plane's wing, which implies that this could be where Sonic picked up the habit from (important because it reveals just how heavily Sonic was influenced by Locke). While flying to the island, Sonic feels the pull on his senses for the first time, the one that tells him a Chaos Emerald is near. However, he doesn't know what it means and does his best to ignore it. Later that night, on the island, Locke reveals that his family is not on the island, but instead are someplace safe. Locke takes Sonic up to the lonely cave where the Master Emerald is hidden and describes how it "came to life" one day while in his tribe's care. He also states that the emerald has the power of pure chaos. Then, for a reason that is not revealed at the time, he has Sonic touch it, prompting the emerald to glow so brightly they are forced to shield their eyes. Locke then reveals how the Emerald can read into a person's heart, mind, and soul, though he doesn't use those exact words. When Sonic asked why he had to touch it, Locke simply replies that he wanted to see if he was right. Then he mentions getting Sonic something to eat, indirectly showing how much Locke is beginning to care for him.

-Weeks have passed since Sonic and Locke have last seen each other, and Sonic is constantly drawn back to the forest where he felt the pull from. Eventually unable to resist, he follows the feeling. He is still wary of the pull, concerned (though not entirely convinced) that Robotnik might have something to do with it. Still, he continues to follow the pull and, not long after it begins to rain, he finds the dark blue Chaos Emerald. As he holds it in his hands, he can't shake the feeling that it was waiting for him.

-Sonic awakes from a nightmare, one that is implied to have had something to do with the Chaos Emeralds going missing, or perhaps being stolen. It's also implied that this is not the first nightmare on he's had on that subject. Sonic has no idea why he is so afraid. This is massive foreshadowing. It is mentioned that Sonic had owned the green Chaos Emerald for as long as he can remember, helping to imply that it was his parents who had left it with him. Sonic makes a connection and realizes that the Chaos Emeralds possess the same power as the Master Emerald. Perhaps out of respect for this power, he names the smaller gems Chaos Emeralds.

-Sonic find Robotnik at a random base and the two end up fighting. However, due to the rain, Sonic cannot fight well. Robotnik reveals that he has created some sort of a crude imitation of a gem that has barely any power, a fact which Sonic comments on by calling it pathetic. The power is so faint that Sonic can't even sense it. After Robotnik flees, more robots begin to emerge. However, Sonic's illness renders him incapable of more fighting. Luckily, Locke come to the rescue and defeats the robots. Sonic admits that he doesn't feel good, something he would never have told Locke had he not trusted the echidna greatly. While Locke is carrying Sonic home, it is revealed that Sonic feels guilty because he thinks he made Locke mad back on Angel Island. However, Locke tells him not to be sorry because he did nothing wrong.

-While Sonic is sick, he keeps his knowledge of the newest emerald, and how he found it, a secret. Later, he has another nightmare involving the emeralds, which acts as more massive foreshadowing. In the dream, Sonic learns that there are four more emeralds than what he has. Also, Robotnik has all the emeralds, and is planning to use them to destroy everything while Sonic is helpless to stop him. Upon waking up, Sonic hugs Locke and, for the first time ever, cries in front of another person. Both of these are heavy signs of how much Sonic has become attached to Locke. After a moment, Locke hugs him and back and tries to reassure him, actions that are hinted to be almost fatherly in feeling. Sonic thinks that losing even one emerald to Robotnik would be game over, and that it will all be his fault if that happens. He's more afraid now than he's ever been.

-Sonic is feeling better and decides to show the emeralds to Knuckles. Knuckles recognizes the white emerald as the one he gave to Sonic, but, though he's mildly surprised that there are others like it, he doesn't understand why they're important. Sonic is surprised and confused that Locke can't seem to sense the power of the emeralds, having assumed that the echidna would be able to due to his connection with the Master Emerald. He tells Locke how he can feel that the emeralds habe the same power as the Master Emerald. Locke then mentions how there had been rumors in his tribe of smaller gems similar to the Master Emerald, gems that were almost as powerful, if not completely as powerful, as the Master Emerald. He also states that there was never any proof of their existence until now. Sonic ask what they will do with the emeralds while silently praying that Locke wouldn't try to take them away. He feels connected to the emeralds and feels "wrong" without them, though he has no explanation for these feelings. He feels especially connected to the green emerald, which is far more special to him than the others, though he doesn't know why. Locke decides to let Sonic keep the emeralds, stating that they were safe with the young hedgehog. He then reveals that Robotnik has begun searching almost feverishly for the Master Emerald on Angel Island and states that the Master Emerald may need to be moved, presumably to Sonic's home. It is revealed that Robotnik is growing more and more dangerous all the time. Sonic knows that something bug is going to happen, and he prays that whatever it is can be avoided.

-Sonic, recalling that there were seven emeralds in the nightmare he'd had when he was sick, sets out with Locke to find the remaining emeralds. After finding the yellow one in a cave high up on a mountain, he and Locke communicate via a set of primitive communicators, more than likely the inspiration for the communicators that Sonic and Tails built together for their adventures together. It is also revealed that Locke can pilot the Tornado. Though it is not stated in the chapter, Sonic is the one who taught Lock to pilot. While they're talking, Locke mentions that Sonic's sense, the pull he feels that guides him to the emeralds, is special, though Sonic doesn't see why and Locke doesn't explain. It is vaguely stated that Sonic and Locke are wary of Robotnik listening to their conversations on the communicators, so they don't use them to talk any further. Sonic searches Marble Hill for a Chaos Emerald but finds nothing, so he and Locke fly together to Aquatic Ruin. On the way, Locke inquires as to how Sonic even knows of the place, to which Sonic replies that he read about it in some of Locke's books. Locke then says that he is proud of Sonic, presumably because Sonic had never read much before, and Sonic tries to act like he doesn't care. However, Locke sees through the act, a fact that Sonic does his best to ignore it, despite how pleased he actually feels. When they land, the two head in together to search for the emerald. Locke jokingly says at one point that Sonic is faster than a speeding arrow, hinting at how much respect Locke has for Sonic's unique ability. After nearly drowning, Sonic learns for the first time that Locke can glide. Not long afterward, Sonic briefly conquers his fear of water in order to retrieve the light blue Chaos Emerald. Afterward, Locke senses that the Master Emerald may be in danger and leaves to check on it while Sonic stays behind to search for the last two emeralds. After checking many places, Sonic heads north to a lake that has been frozen for many years. However, it is stated that Sonic had once seen it before it had been frozen, hinting at just how old he is, despite how young he is in his years. Under the ice of the lake, senses the emerald. When the ice breaks apart, Sonic recovers the purple emerald. Then he heads back to the forest where he found the dark blue emerald, quickly locating the red emerald nestled in the roots of a tree. On the way there, Sonic notices that the forest seems darker and more ominous, and he becomes vaguely shaken by unnamed fears. The red emerald is, in this case, symbolic of the evils and horrors to come, adding some subtle foreshadowing. Then, no sooner than Sonic finds the emerald, he is knocked out by a blow from behind.

-Seconds after being knocked out, Sonic wakes and finds that one of the emeralds, all of which he had been carrying with him, is now on the ground. He makes a grab for it, but Robotnik uses his newest machine, which he is inside of, to punch him, knocking it out of Sonic's hand. Sonic tries to cover up his fear by taunting Robotnik, to which Robotnik replies that Sonic, along with everyone else, will either bow before him or "die in the flames." Sonic is both confused and more afraid than ever, though he tries not to let it show. Robotnik then notices the white emerald on the ground for the first time and thinks that Sonic made it. However, Sonic thinks to himself that he is nothing like Robotnik, who is literally a mad scientist. Sonic tries once more to get the emerald, but Robotnik continues to prevent him from doing so. Robotnik then begins shouting abut having fun, showing just how mad he has truly become. Not long afterward, Robotnik's machine grabs Sonic and, after slamming him into the ground a few times, knocks him out once more. When Sonic wakes, he is still trapped in the fist and he and the machine, with Robotnik inside, are now high in the air. Sonic shouts at Robotnik to give the emerald back and struggles to break free, but he is electrocuted and, seemingly in response to his pain, the emerald flashes. Robotnik makes a comment that reveals his belief that history will be made that day. Sonic once more yells at Robotnik to give the emerald back, shouting that the man has no idea what he's doing. However, Robotnik ignores him inserts the emerald into his machine to power his robot armies. Not long afterward, the robots begin killing people, destroying settlements and forests, leveling entire mountains, burning fields, and just all around causing destruction and pain. Righteous rage begins to fill Sonic for the first time and, in response, the emerald flashes once more. Sonic can hear how the people he always fought so hard to protect are dying and screaming in pain and terror, and his anger grows as Robotnik laughs about what a glorious day it is. He also mentions the start of a new empire. Sonic is fighting not to cry as he thinks about how he never wanted to be a hero and how he never asked for any of this. He thinks about how he can't save everyone, could _never_ save everyone, and decides right then and there that he is definitely not a hero. Robotnik then promises indirectly that Sonic needn't worry, for he will soon be killed as well. Sonic hears more screams and the tears that were struggling to escape vanish, replaced by anger once more. Sonic tells Robotnik once, then twice, to "cut it out", his voice surprisingly low and calm. The emerald begins glowing brighter and brighter. Robotnik ignores him, however, and, after hearing yet more people die below, Sonic feels the power of the seven emeralds, all of which are in close range to him and each other, increase drastically. Anger beyond even words, Sonic shouts one last time for Robotnik to cut it out. Then there is a blinding flash of golden light. Seconds later, Sonic falls to the ground far below, unconscious. It is heavily implied that Sonic almost went Super for the barest of moments.

-Sonic wakes near the Mystic Caves and, after a brief conversation with a woman and her child, he learns that there is a village nearby. Deciding that he had to try to save the people there, he sends the woman into the caves, Locke's treasure cave specifically, so that she can hide. He then heads to the village and quickly discovers that it is largely destroyed. Most of the liquid on the ground is oil, but not all of it, a fact that makes Sonic sick to his stomach. Sonic locates the survivors and, after a bit of convincing, he manages to get them to head to the caves. Then, furious at the robots for trying to harm the people at all, especially right in front of him, he destroys the robots completely with just his fists. This is very significant, as it reveals just how much Sonic has come to care for people, even ones that he doesn't know. After destroying the robots, Sonic quickly heads to the next village having decided that, while he doesn't believe he can do much, he must do what he can.

-Locke's cave is now filled with people, so many that some are having to stand in the tunnel leading up to it. Sonic is happy by this fact, and it gives him hope that maybe they'll make it through this. Still, he knows not everyone can survive, and many have died already. Heading back outside, the ground shakes violently, a clear indicator that the white emerald's power is going out of control. Sonic reflects on the power of the emeralds, for which they were named, and thinks once again that, above all else, he has to get the emerald back. The ground shakes once again and Sonic begins to fear that the island could be destroyed if this keeps up. Still intent on doing what he can, Sonic heads out once more. Hours have passed since the initial attacks by now, and Sonic is exhausted, but still fighting. Speaking to robotnik through a camer in a robot, Sonic's determination shines when he says that he will never give up and that he refuses to die, despite Robotnik's threats that he will be killed. Not long afterward, he rushes into a burning house, home to a young bunny girl and her mother whom he had saved in the past. He finds the child, Merry, trapped in her room. She's unharmed, but her mother is missing. Sonic can't risk searching for her with Merry in tow, so he takes her back to the cave with the others. Despite everything that he's feeling, Sonic believes that he has to be strong for her and for everyone else, and refuses to let his real emotions show. He also decides that he doesn't care if he got hurt, so long as she and the others are safe. At the cave, Merry pleads with Sonic not to leave, clearly afraid because of all that has happened. Sonic, however, says that he has to go, but he promises not to stop fighting not looking for her mother. Merry reluctantly accepts this and, as he's leaving, Sonic is stopped by a man placing his hand on Sonic's shoulder, revealing Sonic's aversion to touch when he jerks his shoulder away. He learns from the man that there's another village nearby that needs saving, so he heads out once more. On his way there, Sonic feels more pressured and stressed than he ever has before, and it is starting to physically affect him by making him feel sick and so weighed down that he can't move as quickly as normal. He's also more exhausted than ever. Still, he continues and eventually makes it to the village. There, he sees more death and destruction than ever before. He's equal parts horrified and terrified by the sight and, in a panic, he runs away.

-Dark, ominous clouds fill the sky, hinting at a storm that's on its way as Sonic runs to Angel Island, internally blaming himself for everything that has happened up until this point. He's crying now for only the second time since he's met Robotnik, clearly showing just how emotional he is over everything. When he reaches the island, he hugs Locke without a thought and, still crying almost hysterically, he struggles to voice how awful everything and how it's all his fault. Locke hugs him back and tries to reassure him, his voice surprisingly gentle and soothing. Sonic, however, insists that it _is_ his fault because he feels as though he "let" Robotnik get the Chaos Emerald. Locke's voice suddenly became stern as he tells Sonic _none_ of this is his fault, and that he's only involved in all of this because Robotnik has no remorse and doesn't care who he hurts. He then orders Sonic to stay on the island until everything is over, to which Sonic tries to argue, but Locke tells him that this is where he draws the line and that, since his parents weren't around, it was "about time" he stepped in and stated taking care of Sonic _for_ them. Sonic then becomes angry over the implications that he is just a helpless child and yells back that he can take care of himself and that he isn't Locke's kid. Locke then utterly shocks Sonic by stating that Sonic _is_ his son and that, even though they aren't actually related, Locke is the closest thing Sonic has to a father. Locke then says he'd never forgive himself if anything ever happened to Sonic and, after entrusting him with his hat, Locke runs off the island, presumably to fight. However, very soon afterward, the Chaos Emerald finally destroys South Island and sends Angel Island careening through the air away from it. Sonic falls off the edge and, after losing Locke's prized hat, he's struck by lightning and everything goes black as he falls into the Land of Darkness.

-Sonic wakes on the ground in the Land of Darkness and, after remembering everything that had happened, he is immediately overwhelmed by a tidal wave of emotion, especially panic, despair, hopelessness, fear, disbelief, and pain that's unlike any physical pain he's ever felt before. He refuses to accept Locke's death as he runs until he simply can't run anymore. He cries for the third time as many thoughts and feelings race through his mind and heart. He doesn't feel that he deserves to live. It is mentioned that, in his eyes, the sun no longer shone. This is symbolic of the hope and the friendship that he had lost.

-Sonic is still convinced that Locke is alive and refuses to acknowledge any other possibility. However, he is quick to accept Robotnik's apparent death, having decided that this was all his fault. However, a part of him still feels heavily responsible due to the fact that it was _his_ emerald that allowed Robotnik to carry out his plans. Sonic looks up to the sky, which is still hazy with smoke and dust and whatnot, and wonders if he will ever see the sun again. This is once again symbolic of what he has lost. Then Sonic thinks to wonder where the emeralds are, and quickly discovers that he can't sense them. He briefly considers finding them again before deciding against it. He remembers vividly what they had helped Robotnik do to and on South Island and, in the end, he decides that it would be better if the emeralds remained lost.

-Sonic has a nightmare which reveals how he is beginning to doubt Locke's survival. In the dream, Robotnik is alive and heavily implies to Sonic that Locke is, in fact, dead. When Sonic staunchly refuses to believe him, Robotnik comments that Sonic is nothing more than a stupid child after all, hinting that, despite this all being a dream, Robotnik may have considered Sonic intelligent to a point. Sonic then wakes up and begins repeating to himself over and over in his head that Locke can't be dead.

-Several days after the Cataclysm (the name given to the day South Island was destroyed), Sonic stumbles upon a group of survivors and immediately feels guilty about the terrible condition everyone is in. He feels as though he abandoned them, and that is something he believes he can't forgive himself for. His arrival has an almost immediate effect on the people once they realize who he is, several even going so far as to call him a hero. This causes Sonic to wince. Now more than ever he thinks of himself as anything but a hero, especially after what happened on and to South Island. When Sonic meets an old man named Buck, he recalls Locke telling him to be respectful to his elders and tries to be polite, further proof of just how much the echidna influenced him during their time together. Not long afterward, Sonic and a few others work together to feed the large crowd of starving survivors. When they finish, Sonic picks one last fruit for Buck, telling the old man that no one would thank him if he starved himself, even though Sonic knows that he's starving himself as well. To that, Buck replies that Sonic is "one of a kind." After that, Buck reveals that he had been to Angel Island once before and met the island's "guardian", who is implied to have been Locke. He then mentions seeing a red figure flying through the sky sometime after the Cataclysm, though the person was only about Sonic's height and wasn't wearing a hat. With his hope renewed, Sonic goes out searching once more.

-While out searching, Sonic discovers that somehow robots managed to survive the destruction of South Island. Immediately concerned for the safety of the survivors, he rushes back to the makeshift camp in the valley where the people are staying. After learning that they are safe, Sonic learns that Rosaline, a raccoon woman who is friends with Buck, once knew Locke as well. It she who reveals to Sonic what Locke's real name is (up until this point he had still been calling him Knuckles). Sonic is inevitably lead to wonder why Locke would hide his real name from him, but is soon distracted when Rosaline tries to convince him to go searching for Locke once more. He feels conflicted because he wants to take care of the people and find his friend, but he knows he can't do both. In the end, even though he feels like he's abandoning the people, he goes out searching once more.

-Weeks later, Sonic is feeling hopeless and alone as he collapses from exhaustion, crying for only the fourth time in his life. When he wakes, he is shocked to find that life is beginning to emerge all around. Plants and animals alike are showing up. This sight gives him hope and reminds him that tomorrow is always worth looking forward to.

-Sonic feeds the hungry survivors (of which there are many more of now) once more, and it is revealed that he has met some new people. Talbot and Ross in particular are mentioned, though it is shown that Sonic doesn't like Ross very much. After speaking briefly with Talbot, Sonic heads out to a filthy lake that reminds him vividly of Oil Ocean in search of more survivors. When he finds some, one of them immediately recognizes him, even calling Sonic by name. Though Sonic hates being so well-known, he says nothing about it when he sees the hope that his names causes the people to feel. Soon after, he meets a feline who later calls Sonic an idiot for continuing to search for Locke, even going so far as to tell him, without any sympathy or care, that Locke has been dead since the explosion.

-Sonic and the cat argue over whether or not Locke is dead. When she finally demands to know how he could possibly still be alive, it occurs to Sonic for the first time that it has been over a month since the explosion, which Locke was right in the middle of, and that, if he were alive, he would have come looking for Sonic by now, as he would never abandon him. As his last bit of hope is shredded into oblivion, Sonic runs away and, crying until he can't cry anymore, he curls up against a tree and goes to sleep.

-Sonic's emotions are warring with each other inside of him. Guilt says that if he were stronger than Robotnik never would have gotten the emerald and none of this would have happened and everyone, including Locke, would still be alive. Anger blames Robotnik for taking the emerald in the first place and messing with things he knew nothing about. Reason then points out that, being a kid, there was never really much that Sonic could have done and that Robotnik inevitably would have learned of the emeralds eventually, which would of course mean that he would never stop looking for them. It also points out that he may have even eventually perfected his own gems that actually worked. Misery then pipes up, saying that he doesn't want to be alone again. Reason then speaks up once more, pointing out that he is surrounded by people, and that maybe even some of the ones he knew are alive. Realization then dawns, and it occurs to him that Locke's family may be alive. With that thought, he begins to hope once more. Still, he knows he can't search for them now. He has too many people he has to take care of.

-Sonic is in a fight with some more surviving robots. In the distance, he sees an explosion, leading him to worry that there may be more robots elsewhere. During the fight, one bot explodes, and the fire causes painful flashbacks. He forces them away and destroys his opponents. He then runs to the sight of the second explosion, where he finds more destroyed robots and a think trail of blood. Before he has a chance to follow it, one robots that is heavily damage but still functional attacks him. When it intones that it's directive is to destroy Sonic and Locke, Sonic becomes enraged, shouting at it that they had already killed Locke. The anger he feels deep within him bothers him greatly, but he does his best to ignore it, and it is implied that this isn't the first time he's felt this level of anger. After the fight, he briefly notes that the plants around him have really grown and that it's been a year since the Cataclysm. Finally, he finds the one responsible for the destruction of those other robots. Though it isn't directly stated, the person is implied to have been the feline who had told him of Locke's death. During the brief conversation, it is revealed that Sonic has become better at closing off his expression and sounding calm, effectively hiding his thoughts and feelings. Later, he finds more survivors and takes them to the others in the valley. Seeing how many people are still surrounded by friends and family despite everything that has happened, Sonic thinks to himself that he doesn't need anyone and that, despite how nice having a friend had been, he doesn't want another one. However, this decision is quickly shattered when Merry appears out of nowhere, and Sonic decides that, if this is a dream, he doesn't want to wake up.

-Merry is walking with Sonic to where she thinks his plane may have crashed. On the way there, she asks if he's found Locke's family yet, to which he quickly replies that he hasn't. Merry then reveals a startling ability to somehow know what's going to happen in the future, an ability which saves them from a robot's missile. Leaving Merry hidden, Sonic confronts the bot, which is indirectly stated to be one that he fought on South Island and that he recognizes it from the dent he left in it when he'd kicked it back then. After the fight, he's troubled by the anger and hatred he feels, but he realizes that being with Merry helps to ease those feelings. Sonic later reflects briefly on Robotnik's death. He notes that he feels nothing about it, not even relief or joy. He wonders if death was really all that Robotnik deserved.

-While out with Merry searching for the Tornado once more, Sonic reveals to her that Robotnik's first name was Gerald. As they talk, Merry manages to make him smile for the first time in a long time and once again demonstrates her peculiar ability. When they find his plane, Sonic can't suppress his excitement and joy. Soon after, he conquers his fear of water long enough to push his plane out of the lake it's halfway submerged in. Once that is done, they head back to the survivors, and it is briefly mentioned that their settlement has become almost like a village.

-After being gone all day getting tools to help the people build and whatnot, Sonic returns to the village, doing his best to hide his exhaustion. It is revealed that he hates the idea of people pitying him, so he purposefully puts on a figurative mask of sorts. However, he is soon pulled from his thoughts when Merry, who is in tears, runs up to him and hugs him, apparently having been terrified that he was never coming back. Realizing that this is a direct result of everything she'd been through, Sonic promises that he'll never leave her.

-After falling off the edge of a cliff, Sonic free-falls into a lake far below, and is surprised to find that the experience was actually fun instead of frightening. However, when he goes under the surface to retrieve his lost shoe, he finds the Gerald's corpse inside of his machine with the giant fist. A wave of emotional "nothingness" hits him and, eager to escape, he swims away.

-After a significant timeskip, Sonic is now twelve as he walks through a large town. The sight of bright red and yellow balloons remind him briefly of Robotnik, but he stifles the thought under other ones, such as the fact that he is now twelve. He embraces the memories of his closest friends and hopes that, wherever they are, even if it's in heaven, they're happy. Because, for once, he knows that _he_ is.

-Sonic thinks about himself and how no one remembered him anymore. He thinks about who and what he is, despite him being nothing more than a name in old myths and stories about the Dark Days (the period of time following the Cataclysm, also sometimes called the Great Cataclysm). He once more reflects on his friends and how much they had cared for him and how much they had meant to him. He wishes them peace once again. Later, when he meets a couple who asks who he is, Sonic decides to let people continue to forget him and answers that it doesn't matter who he is.

-Sonic is now fourteen, and more than two-hundred years have passed since the Cataclysm. He develops a prototype of Extreme Gear and meets Jet, who he learns is the fourteen-year-old son of Ross. Jet helps him figure out how to make the Gear work and comes up with the name "Extreme Gear". By the end of the conversation, somehow, they are friends.

-Tails is working in his workshop when Amy visits and convinces him to go on a walk with her. It is revealed that he is fourteen while she is sixteen and that he had once built his own plane, though it later exploded. After getting lost in the woods, Tails flies up on his own to look around. He can't find his home, but he soon sees an explosion in the distance, prompting him to go back down and warn Amy that he thinks he may have seen a robot. She replies fearfully that its impossible because "they were destroyed centuries ago by some kid and the guy who built them died." A robot then appears, ready to shoot Amy, only to be stopped when a blue blur slams into it.

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**Posted 05-10-15.**


	77. Bonus Chapter 2: Timeline

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Well, I'm glad you enjoyed and found it useful. Nah, it doesn't make you sound cocky or anything. :P Bye, Pyro-san!**

**Hello, Anonymous! Awesome OC! I really don't think he'll fit here (as in in this story) but I would love to try to include him in another one once Hero is over! Keep telling me more whenever you feel like it! :)**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! *Amy and Jake run over and heal you before leaving***

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**Okay, so the _only_ reason why this is so long is because the last few chapters have had _so_ much important things in them. ...Enjoy.**

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-Tails's thoughts reveal that he had believed blue hedgehogs to be extinct, furthering his amazement as he watches Sonic fight for the first time. He soon thinks of Sonic as being "just like a real hero". Tails soon discovers that, for whatever reason he wants to help this stranger fight, as seeing Sonic risking his life to fight for them stirs something unknown inside of him. When Sonic gets blasted into the air by an explosion, Tails is quick to come to the rescue. He flies into the air and catches Sonic by the hands, and the two of them soon introduce themselves to each other for the first time.

-These robots are nothing like the robots from the past, excluding their appearances, and Sonic can't figure out who built them or why. Tails asks Sonic to accompany them home after explaining how they got lost in the woods, though they have no idea how since they had been walking for such a short time. To this Sonic merely replies that the forest "has a way of doing that to people," and agrees to go with them. Sonic begins asking Sonic questions and, toward the end of the conversation, he reveals that he is now seventeen. After making it to Tails's home, Sonic leaves so fast that Tails blinks and is shocked to see that Sonic is just _gone_. This shocks Amy and Tails to no end. After Amy goes back to the city, Tails realizes why Sonic's name seemed so familiar to him and ruses back inside to grab an old book of legends. Flipping to one specific page, he looks over a passage that reads: "...That hero's name was Sonic the Hedgehog, friend and defender of all things Merry and happy, fighter of all things evil and Robotik, savior of the world..." The references to Merry and Gerald Robotnik are easy to spot here.

-Sonic reveals how uncomfortable he is in the cities, particularly when he is near large crowds, as he heads to an old store run by an equally old feline who is hinted to be a long-time friend of his. At the shop, Sonic is shocked to find one of the primitive communicators he and Locke had used so long ago. It is hinted Locke's name is carved into the underside of it, making it his. Sonic takes the communicator.

-Sonic runs into a robot that, appearance-wise, is an exact replica of one he fought in the past, leading to even more confusion as to was building them and why. During the fight, Sonic loses the bolts and wires and whatnot that he had been going to use to repair something that he later tells Tails that the robots from the day they met had destroyed. It is revealed that the lake Tails lives by is the same lake where Sonic and Merry had found the wrecked Tornado back in the Dark Days. After running into Tails unexpectedly, the young fox offers to give Sonic some replacement supplies and Sonic agrees, prompting them to head to Tails's home. Tails reveals on the way there that he found Sonic's name in a legend book, leading Sonic to wonder why his name would be in such a book. Tails then theorizes that maybe the stories in the book (or at least some of them) are actually not legends but instead history that people forgot, something Sonic agrees is possible. They talk briefly of how Gerald Robotnik was defeated, and Sonic's reaction shows how hard it still is for him to speak of such things. Tails gives him the supplies and Sonic goes to leave, only to be stopped by a scream.

-Sonic saves Amy from a hoard of Robots and it is revealed (indirectly) that Sonic is uncomfortable both around her and around people who are crying. Sonic also notices that Tails is stronger than he seems when Tails is easily able to carry Amy when flying despite his young age and subsequent smaller size. Later, the three of them see a giant airship, the first one Sonic has seen since the time of Gerald Robotnik. Surprisingly, Amy recognizes the name Robotnik. After Sonic convinces them (and himself) that it can't be Gerald who is behind all of this, he takes Amy home due to how dangerous it is. Tails, however, refuses to leave. Deciding not to fight with the fox about it, Sonic simply takes Amy home and runs back, revealing a new ability to go so fast that he not only blurs from sight (with no streak trailing behind him) but is also unable to be heard or traced in any way, an ability he apparently rarely uses for an unstated reason. Reuniting with Tails, they head inside the ship. Inside the control room, Sonic is shocked to see someone who looks terrifyingly like Gerald Robotnik sitting in a chair.

-Sonic realizes almost immediately that the man isn't Gerald and, after toying with Sonic and Tails for a brief moment, the man reveals himself to be Ivo Robotnik, Gerald's son.

-Sonic reluctantly acknowledge's the possibility that Ivo is Gerald's son, if only because of the similar appearances and Ivo's age. Ivo soon reveals that Gerald had kept a lot of tabs (information) on Sonic throughout the years, a fact that Sonic is unsurprised by. He quickly discovers that Ivo is not as easily roused to anger by taunting words as Gerald had once been, and Ivo comments and how much stronger and faster Sonic has gotten since Gerald's time. Sonic merely scowls and says that he grew up. Ivo then reveals his plans for an empire and the fact that the ship and the robots were all part of an elaborate trap. After escaping the ship, it and all the robots explode with Tails and Sonic still inside.

-Sonic and Tails wake up on the ground someplace unfamiliar and Tails asks Sonic what he will do, to which Sonic replies that he will just do what he always does: fight. After walking for a brief while (following the smell of cherry pie on the breeze and some chocolate-y smell somewhat implied to be cookies) they find themselves at a village, one of the rare few still in existence, surrounded by rolling hills and lush, grassy plains. They both soon admit to being hungry and are surprised when a little bunny girl carrying a basket of vegetables (apparently having heard them) walks up to them and invites them to her house to eat. Tails is quick to decline, but Sonic recalls how he once told Buck that no one would thank the old man if he starved to death. Deciding not to be stubborn, Sonic tells Tails that there's no point in arguing and they follow her to her home. On the way there, she introduces herself as Cream.

-Cream and her mother, Sonic learns, have a good sized home of an ideal size for a fairly large family. However, he is quick to notice that they live alone, leading him to wonder why they have such a large home. After agreeing to meet her mother, Tails and Sonic follow Cream to the kitchen where they find the older bunny cooking. Cream tells her mother that she brought friends over, and Sonic finds himself puzzled as to why she had called them her friends, especially considering that they had only just met. Her mother turns and, with a smile, introduces herself as Vanilla. Tails introduces himself, though he mentions that Tails is only his nickname. Sonic then recalls how Locke had once kept his name a secret as well (though Locke's name is not directly stated). They head to the living room and Tails notices a picture on the mantle of an older bunny, who Vanilla reveals to be her grandmother, Merry. Shocked but still wanting to know, Sonic looks to the picture as memories of his past friend flow through his mind. He finds himself happy that she had been happy.

-While eating, Sonic's wariness and caution begin to reveal themselves as he recalls how, in the past, trusting people had always resulted in pain, even if that pain was only caused when those people left his life. Later, he and Tails are invited to spend the night. Looking at Tails, Sonic recalls how exhausted he'd always been as a kid due to how taxing battle was for a child. With this in mind, he agrees to stay the night and Tails goes to bed. Later that night, Sonic and Vanilla are in the living room talking and Sonic reveals that he suspects that Tails has no parents. Vanilla's obvious sympathy for Tails causes Sonic's already relatively high opinion of her to rise a few more notches. Vanilla then reveals that Cream's father had died from an illness, prompting Sonic to recall how rare severe (and thus deadly) illnesses are in their world. Upon learning that the man had fallen ill due to a poisoned fruit, Sonic is lead to wonder who would want the man dead and why, though he dismisses it as none of is business. Vanilla then mentions how Merry had told her stories of Sonic when she was little, and how Merry had been certain that Sonic would "find [his] way back to [their] family again." This hints at Merry's incredible ability to seemingly see the future, or at least predict it. Finally, after many years, Sonic receives closure about Merry when he learns that she had passed when Vanilla was still a child.

-Sonic wakes in a bed in a room in Vanilla's house and it is revealed that she has given the room to him. Still, he isn't inclined to take her up on the offer. Vanilla finds Sonic in the kitchen in the early morning and asks if he is ready to leave now. When he replies that he is, she informs him that Tails is already awake and tells him that they are always welcome in her home. Later that day, Sonic and Tails are in the sky, with Tails holding Sonic by the hands, as they look for Tails's home. It is revealed that Tails is relatively new to flying due to the fact that he doesn't leave home much. When robots appear out of nowhere, they experience their first round of aerial combat together. Ivo's face soon appears on a screen and he tells them that this has all been a game and that he is now bored of it. With that, he uses his bots to trap them in a cage and take them over the ocean. Then, for the second time in as many days, they are trapped in an explosion that sends them flying.

-When they wake up, Sonic soon realizes that they are on Angel Island, which is revealed to have been lost (basically missing) since the Cataclysm. Sonic then reveals that Ivo can't know of this place because Gerald left no records of it due to wanting the island's treasure for himself. The treasure is hinted to be the Master Emerald. Tails flies away to get a plane to get Sonic off the island and Sonic goes to the cave where the Emerald had once been, only to find that it is gone. Later, he gets into a fight with some robots. However, two more appear and, before he can destroy them, someone appears out of nowhere and does it for him, shouting for them all to get off of "their" island.

-Sonic quickly realizes that this newcomer looks just like Locke, which allows him to figure out almost immediately that the person he is looking at is Knuckles. They end up arguing and Sonic unintentionally reveals that he knows about the Master Emerald. Sonic eventually tells Knuckles how he knew Locke and how Locke had taken him to Angel Island once. Knuckles admits that he never knew his dad or mom, though he says he is pretty sure that he was supposed to have been there. He then states that he thinks they got separated somehow. After learning what happened when Locke took Sonic to see the Master Emerald, Knuckles tells Sonic to follow him and begins walking.

-Sonic and Knuckles experience a brief banter as Knuckles leads them to the ancient alter where the emerald is. Sonic for some reason thinks that the emerald was saying hello when it glows upon his arrival. He has no idea what to feel about seeing the gem again, torn between wariness, relief and so on. When Knuckles tells Sonic t touch it, apparently convinced that Sonic doing so with Locke had done some form of good, Sonic hesitates as he remembers the power of the Chaos Emeralds and what they had helped Gerald Robotnik do in the past. Closing his eyes, he recalls something he had learned long ago through unknown means: "[The Chaos Emeralds'] power lies in the heart of the user. The user controls the emeralds' power, their chaos." This is highly similar to the chant both Knuckles and Tikal have used to draw on the power of the Master Emerald (i.e. in Sonic X). With these thoughts in mind, Sonic places his hand on the emerald.

-The Master Emerald glows like never before and Sonic feels as though some unseen force is examining every part of him, from the most powerful emotions down to the most trivial thoughts and memories, almost as though something wants to see if he is ready, though for what he has no idea. Throughout it all, Sonic can't move and time seems to have lost any and all meaning. Nothing seems to exist around him any longer. Then, all at once, everything (the light, the force) recedes and he collapses.

-Sonic wakes to a world of nothing. It's white and flat, like a blank canvas, with no visible separation between land and sky (as they are both pure white), no light source (though everything he can still see clearly as though it were midday), no definable temperature, no other life, and not even any rocks. Sonic feels as though he is neither inside nor outside and, more concerningly, that he is neither awake nor really sleeping. Sonic once more demonstrates his ability to run so fast that he can't be traced in any way and reveals that normally going this speed requires a great deal more effort and tires him out relatively quickly. And yet, somehow, he isn't tiring, and he notices that he feels like he has slept for decades and now has near limitless energy to burn off. His stamina seems to have grown exponentially, and his power has reached a capacity that he doesn't think should even be possible. As he begins to slow, his feet start kicking up a fine, white, powdery dust that apparently covers the ground. When he finally stops, he thinks that there should be a sun in the sky due to the light around him. Then, shockingly, a sun appears in the sky from nothing. Then, in another unexpected turn of events, a voice fills his head and tells him that this is his world and that he makes it what he wants. After telling him that someone is coming to see him, the voice reveals that it only exists because it is necessary and will cease to be when the time is right. Locke then suddenly appears behind Sonic and promises to explain what he can. Locke then confirms what the voice said about Sonic making this world what he wants, and Sonic creates Green Hill in place of the nothingness, though he recalls that Green Hill had been destroyed with South Island. He then recalls his final moments with Locke and how he'd lost Locke's hat after being knocked off of Angel Island. After a brief banter which helps Sonic to relax without even realizing it, Locke reveals that they are inside the Master Emerald.

-Locke hints that Sonic touching the Master Emerald is how he got in here, though he doesn't say it directly, and tells Sonic that he can come here whenever he likes. He then reveals that the Green Hill here is not the same Green Hill, prompting Sonic to hesitantly start to ask if Locke is the same Locke. Locke answers that he is, and that he's real, but that he's essentially a ghost. He also reveals then that, for whatever reason, he can't stay for long. Instead of answering Sonic's questions about this, Locke makes another shocking revelation: Sonic was born at the exact same time as when the Master Emerald "came to life", an event which occurred a couple hundred years before Sonic's first visit to Angel Island.

-Despite Sonic's questioning, Locke doesn't answer how he knows that Sonic's birth and the Master Emerald's coming to life happened at the same time. Locke then tells Sonic that his parents were too strong for Robotnik to ever defeat, leading Sonic to wonder almost angrily why they died if they were so strong. Locke reveals that Sonic's parents were the world's (and other worlds') greatest and strongest heroes and that they always knew that, because of this, Sonic was going to be powerful. However, he also states that the enormity of Sonic's power had the potential to be devastating. When Sonic asks what power Locke is talking about, Locke merely asks Sonic "What's the one thing in the world that only you can truly control?" Sonic doesn't understand, but their conversation is cut short when Locke begins to fade away. Sonic doesn't want Locke to go, but Locke promises that they'll meet again, even calling Sonic "kid" for the first time in years. Sonic mutters that he isn't a kid anymore and, with a warm smile filled with fatherly affection and pride, Locke replied "I know," and fades away.

-When Sonic wakes again, he is shocked to find that no time has passed in the outside world. After looking over the Master Emerald, Knuckles admits that he has never seen the emerald flash like that before, and Sonic remembers everything that Locke had told him after having him touch the emerald as a kid. After a brief conversation, Knuckles reluctantly admits that he has no idea why his dad took Sonic here before and, even more reluctantly, he offers to let Sonic come see the emerald in the future. After this serious moment, their banter resumes as though it had never been interrupted. A day or two later, Sonic is waiting for Tails with Knuckles and promises that he won't tell anyone where Angel Island is. Sonic thinks a lot while waiting, and, with sudden clarity, he realizes what power Locke was talking about, what one thing it is that only he can truly control. Tails then arrives in a borrowed plane. Promising that they'll see each other around, Sonic and Knuckles shake hands before Knuckles walks off. Tails lands the plane moments later and Sonic decides that he'll have to have Tails and Knuckles meet sometime because they are both his friends (at least somewhat) and neither is going away. Sonic decides not to let Knuckles hole himself up on the island all the time. On the plane, the voice returns, though it is revealed that Tails can't hear it. The voice reveals that Sonic alone has the power of Chaos within him and that Chaos itself is everything and its opposite, even comparing it to Yin and Yang. It tells him that, with this power, he holds the power of the universe in his hands. When Sonic asks how the emeralds are involved, the voice reveals yet more new information. It tells him that his parents knew from the start that his power would be too much for him to control and that they sealed his power in the gems (the Master is hinted to be included in this). Then it tells him once more that when Sonic is ready and when it is time it will cease to be. When the voice fades away, Sonic makes a decision to find the Chaos Emeralds and asks Tails if he's up for a "little adventure".

-Tails takes Sonic to his home where he has apparently been keeping the yellow Chaos Emerald after finding it in the lake. It glows when Sonic touches it. They make a decision to repair Sonic's plane (which Sonic reveals is what he needed the bolts and wires and whatnot for back in chapters 40 and 41) and they set to work. It is heavily implied that Sonic's plane has already been upgraded to the at least the appearance of the X-Tornado of Sonic X. Later, Sonic runs to the house Amy is still staying in in the city with her newly repaired hammer. When he gives it to her, he is beyond surprised when she hugs him. Though he wants to push her away, he also doesn't want to initiate anymore contact. Moments later, she pecks him on the cheek and disappears inside. Forcing himself to remove his hand from the spot she had kissed, he runs back to Tails and the plane. Later on, Sonic and Tails leave on their journey.

-The X-Tornado is revealed to be better than the Tornado had ever been and Sonic demonstrates that he still has exceptional skill as a pilot. Sonic and Tails land in a jungle and Sonic soon finds himself feeling drawn toward a mountain cave. As they walk, Sonic cautiously inquires about Tails's past, and the young fox reveals that he never knew his parents and he was left at an orphanage as a baby. When he was really little, however, he ran away due to bullies (which are implied to have bullied him over his twin tails). He later found himself at the lake and stayed there. He reveals that he met Amy a few years ago and that she was always very nice to him, even going so far as to act like his big sister. He tells Sonic that she helps him get money for the things he needs and protects him from bullies in the city. Sonic immediately feels angered when he realizes that Tails still gets bullied and decides to deal with it when he can. Then, out of nowhere, the ground begins shaking violently and opens up beneath them. Sonic has just enough time to throw Tails back up to the ground before the hole closes up again as though it had never even been there. When he lands in the darkness minutes later, Sonic soon realizes that there's a strange smell filling his nose. Whatever it is soon makes him pass out. Meanwhile, Tails makes a decision and begins flying toward the mountain once more.

-Sonic wakes up in a cell and it is revealed that chemicals are what caused him to collapse, chemicals that it is hinted both Ivo and Gerald have now used. Soon Ivo makes his appearance. After a brief conversation, Ivo reveals that Sonic will need all his strength (though he doesn't reveal what for) and leaves. Sonic, having realized that he can't escape for now, sits back and waits. Meanwhile, Knuckles meets Bokkun unexpectedly and is left with a message on a yellow T.V. Robotnik introduces himself and Knuckles is hinted to recall who Gerald was when he thinks to himself that he had thought he'd heard something about Robotnik having a descendant (namely Ivo). Ivo then tells Knuckles that his new friend (though Knuckles denies having such a connection with Sonic) and a young fox have headed to the jungle and are now in trouble. He then shows a video feed of Sonic getting attacked in his cell, prompting Knuckles to throw aside the T.V. and glide off the island to help.

-While Sonic battles against a remake of Metal Sonic, Tails lands inside the cave. Robots gather far below and start shooting, but Tails is shocked to see that they're no longer firing at him. Instead, they're shooting at something that's shimmering in the night sky. His thoughts reveal that he can't sense it, just like he can't sense the emeralds. He watches in awe and confusion as they light glows brighter and Knuckles flies out of it (it is hinted by the mention of the light being light green that this is some ability granted by the Master Emerald). Tails quickly tells Knuckles what happened, including how Sonic had saved him from the hole, and Knuckles's opinion of Sonic rises a bit along with his concern for the hedgehog. Meanwhile, Sonic is trapped and it is hinted that Ivo is getting ready to test on him, much as Gerald had once contemplated doing. Drawing on power he didn't even know he had, Sonic simply reacts.

-Inside the mountain cave, Tails uses a machine to open a hole into the underground. Knuckles,m wondering why he feels as though Robotnik _wanted_ them to find this place, tells Tails to get into the X-Tornado if he isn't back with Sonic by sunrise. He then jumps into the hole and begins gliding down a long tunnel. A while later, he is startled when a low rumble suddenly spread throughout the tunnel, sending sharp stalactites falling toward him. When it's over, Knuckles realized that he can sense the power of Chaos in the air. He makes the connection and realizes that Sonic is the only person who can use that power (excluding himself, to a point) and finds himself wondering if Sonic is in danger. This burst of power is implied to be Sonic's reaction from the chapter before. Near sunrise (meaning that Sonic has now been here for seven or eight hours), Knuckjles feels a sharp stab of power in the air (Chaos once again) and there is suddenly a fierce explosion that completely obliterates Robotnik's base. When Knuckles finds Sonic, Sonic immediately asks if Tails is alright. As they walk to the nearest exit from the tunnels, Knuckles questions Sonic. At best, Sonic only replied with half-truths, when he answers the questions at all. Knuckles thoughts reveal his intense anger at Robotnik for what he's done. When they get outside, the ground shakes yet again. This is hinted to be the tunnel opening in the cave in the mountain closing as Tails leaves for the X-Tornado, having kept it open up until that point. Just as the shaking starts to stop, a hovering board falls down from a tall rock formation and hits Sonic in the head.

-There's an argument overhead, and it is revealed that Sonic recognizes all three voices he hears. One such voice is revealed to be that of a grey albatross, who's eyes, upon seeing Sonic, grow wide with shock. While Sonic mutters curses to himself, ignoring Knuckles's confused look, the grey bird calls to his "boss" and tells him that there is something on the ground he needs to see. Seeing how Sonic is glaring daggers at the rock formation above, Knuckles asks if Sonic knows these people, only to be surprised and once again confused when Sonic suddenly snaps at him and pulls away to stand on his own. Sonic soon reunites, albeit unwillingly, with Jet, who it is implied he hasn't seen for years. Though he is angry, he at first manages to keep his voice coolly neutral. Jet makes a comment about Sonic getting out of someplace alive, though he isn't talking about the tunnel Sonic and Knuckles have just emerged from, to which Sonic replies that he did so "no thanks" to Jet, implying that, whatever trouble Sonic had been in, Jet had not helped him in any way and might not have even been there for an unknown reason. Not long afterward, Jet makes a comment about Elsa, though her name isn't directly stated. He mentions that something wasn't entirely his fault, something presumably related to whatever trouble he had been referring to Sonic being in earlier. He then goes on to say that if Elsa hadn't gone someplace alone, or if she were stronger... Sonic, however, cuts him off at this point, exclaiming angrily that Elsa was never weak. Sonic is surprised by his outburst, having thought that he had gotten over his anger at Jet a long time ago. In the end, Sonic storms off toward the X-Tornado, having no desire to continue the conversation. On the way there, Knuckles brings up Sonic's wounds and demands to know if Robotnik got any information from the tests he had run, resulting in those injuries. Sonic merely answers "no" and, after refusing to answer any questions about the "girl" he and Jet had been talking about, he boards the ship.

-Jet and his friends are still on the oddly shaped rock formation from before, and Jet is thinking about Sonic. He notes briefly that Sonic's strength has grown, something he thinks about with an almost respectful tone. He realizes quickly that Sonic being in that Jungle meant something important was going on (namely the gathering of the Chaos Emeralds for only the second time in history), but it is implied that he does not know what that important thing is. Jet's feelings about the meeting are conflicted, despite the cocky, arrogant front he'd put up during said meeting. He's relieved that Sonic had escaped the "trouble" from the past unharmed, but part of him also isn't. Not really. He also feels sorry for whatever happened in the past (Elsa's death (his involvement will be revealed later on, I promise), but another part of him refuses to feel sorry. He thinks on his relationship with Sonic, both in the past and now, and comes to the conclusion that while they were no longer rivals or friends, they were no longer enemies either. This implies that, even if Sonic is unaware of it, Sonic has given some sort of a sign that he has forgiven Jet, if only somewhat. When questioned if he was alright, Jet pulls free from his thoughts and says that he's "Just fine", giving the impression that he's at least somewhat comforted by the fact that he and Sonic are no longer enemies.

Then, several days later, Sonic is mostly recovered from his injuries as he sits in the third seat of the X-Tornado showing that, while he is doing much better, he's not yet recovered enough (from exhaustion especially) to fly the ship. Try though he might, he can;t keep his conversation with Jet out of his mind. Hoping to distract himself, he listens to a brief snippet of a conversation between Tails and Knuckles. However, seeing in the reflection on the cockpit Knuckles raise his eyebrows in surprise in the same way Locke once had causes Sonic to grit his teeth and look away, upset that so much of the past has been coming back to bite him lately. Granted he is happy to have seen Locke again inside the Master Emerald, but he's also upset that he'd had to say goodbye again, and so soon. Sighing softly, he looks up to the full moon, thinking briefly how "she" ("she" being implied to be Elsa) had once loved the moon. Finally giving up resisting, he lets the memories of her flow back into his mind, just this once.

-Knuckles finds a Chaos Emerald after a fight with some robots while Tails and Sonic are away. After helping the injured echidna back to the ship and having a brief conversation about Tails to reassure the young fox that he wasn't useless, they board the ship as well. Sonic pilots late into the night while the others sleep, but his conversation with Jet comes back to haunt him once more. Again, memories of Elsa surface in his mind, though one memory in particular holds his attention. In the memory, Sonic meets Elsa, presumably in the woods, apparently a day earlier than he had said he would be there. She teases him by asking several times if he missed her, to which he replies no every time. Still, when being questioned, he looks away from her, perhaps a bit too quickly, hinting that she may have actually been right and, if so, that he may have already started feeling something for her. A little while later, he mentions that she had once said that there were people who wanted her dead and asks WHY they would want her dead. In response, she demonstrates her limited powers of psychokinesis by lifting a leaf without touching, much to his shock, due to the severe rarity of her ability, and its incredible potential for strength. He wonders if it is because of this potential that those people want her dead. Elsa then states that she's untrained and can't do much, but they want her dead anyway. Then the memory ends.

-Knuckles, Tails, and Sonic separate across a wide area in search of the next Chaos Emerald, but an unexpected attack by Ivo's robots results in Tails's capture. Sonic uses the tracker from the fox's communicator to locate the ship he's on and quickly boards it. Still following the signal, he ends up in a room on the ship that's full of cages. Though Tails isn't there, his tracker is on the ground, implying that he HAD been there at one point. Now following the sounds of breathing, Sonic is startled to find Amy laying seemingly unconscious in a small cage. He calls her name, but she doesn't wake up. This reminds him of a time when he had found Elsa unconscious after a battle. Though she was left helpless, her enemies had seemed to have fled, and Sonic assumed it was because her powers had risen to the surface to protect her, causing them to lose the fight. After waking her, she seemed to have no memory of the fight, only the part where she lost consciousness, and said that there were too many and that she wasn't strong enough. Sonic grows angry, though not necessarily at her, and declares that, while she couldn't fight, he COULD and that he would train her. Shaking free from his memories, Sonic calls Amy's name once more. She finally wakes up and, after breaking the bars to the cage, he carries her out of the room, despite it causing difficulties in fighting the robots on the ship. Not long afterward, Tails is found safe and he describes how this ship's sole purpose seemed to be to capture specific prisoners. Sonic makes the connection and immediately feels guilty, because he know that Ivo's after everyone associated with Sonic. Tails asks if Amy is okay, and Sonic is forced to admit that he doesn't know, a fact that upsets him greatly, as he genuinely WANTS Amy to be okay. After determining that the emerald they were after had moved again, they leave the ship to tend to Amy while Knuckles begins the task of destroying the ship.

-Tails and Amy have a conversation while he tends to her injuries to the best of his abilities. She explains how she ended up on the ship and laments what she feels to be her lack of strength, revealing insecurities that she would never normally admit to, while also showing respect for Sonic and his strength. In return, he fills her in on everything that has happened since the construction of the X-Tornado. Seeing the ship explode, Amy expresses worry over whether or not Sonic and Knuckles will be alright. After Sonic and Knuckles return from destroying the ship (Tails had convinced Sonic to go, pointing out that the robots on the ground were gone, anyway, eliminating the danger), Amy makes a decision and asks to join the group.

-While flying the X-Tornado some time after Amy joined the group, Sonic spots the emerald in a lake, and is surprised to note that it seems to be attached to something. However, it's later proved to merely be in a robot's hand. The robot calls every member of the group by name, leading them to wonder how it, and therefore Ivo, know about them (or, in Tails's case, simply how he knows the fox's real name). They aren't sure if Ivo knows about the emeralds or not, a fact they don;t have time to contemplate before the battle begins. During the fight, they work as a perfect team, showing beyond any doubt how well they are all starting to get along and how much they are beginning to trust each other. Also during the fight, Sonic realizes that the robot is somehow powering itself by using the emerald, an action that makes him feel ill. Tails demonstrates great potential for strength during the fight as well when he forcibly pulls the robot's head (disrupting the thing's balance, despite its size) and when he kicks it with surprising force, causing it to stumble. They soon destroy the robot, however, and the ensuing conversation causes Sonic to relax and feel happier than normal, and he reflects that it's moments like this one that make having friends worth it, despite the danger it puts them in. When the robot's arm unexpectedly jerks and flings the emerald away, they follow on foot at a walking pace to retrieve it, feeling no rush due to the lack of enemies. On the way there, more banter between Sonic and Knuckles causes Sonic to nearly laugh, further proof of how much more relaxed he is slowly becoming around them, a fact which shows itself some days more than others. When they finally reach the emerald, Sonic walks ahead and grabs it, only to be dragged through a portal that suddenly opens up behind him. Knuckles rushes over to it to try to do something, but is knocked to the ground when Silver flies out of the portal and slams into him. The portal closes.

-After standing, Knuckles and Silver both demand to know who the other is. Amy hushes Knuckles and politely introduces herself before asking if Silver is alright after flying out of the portal so fast. When he doesn't seem to know what she's talking about, Tails explains how there HAD been a portal there and that two people going through it one right after another was probably what caused it to collapse. Suddenly concerned, Silver asks, presumably to clarify, if someone else had gone through the portal, to which Amy replies that their friend had been pulled through just moments before Silver had flown out. Knuckles then demands why Silver went through the portal, and Silver answers that he hadn't been trying to. He, like Sonic, had simply been pulled through, and ended up switching places. He then states that he has no idea what opened the portal and implies that there's no reason why he WOULD know such a thing. After introducing himself (after being prompted by Amy to do so), the others introduce themselves as well. Silver becomes excited when he learns that Knuckles is an echidna, and it is revealed that Knuckles is the very last of his kind. Silver then says that, where he comes from, there are no echidnas left, and that there aren't a whole lot of people in general left. Curious, he looks around and asks where he is, to which Knuckles replies that they're in the woods. Silver then says that there aren't supposed to be any trees left, either, and that none of this makes any sense. Then, somehow, using his sharp intelligence, Silver realizes the answer. Still, to clarify, he demands to know what year it is, though Knuckles refuses to answer without knowing why Silver wants to know. Silver growls, and Knuckles notes that he sounds like Sonic when he does so. Tails, however, steps in and answers the question.

Later, after a conversation where they all realized he was from the future, Silver, who is revealed to be fifteen, has become more subdued and quiet than he was earlier. However, he still answers Knuckles when the echidna demands to know about the flames he'd seen through the portal before it had closed. He explains about the apocalypse, the deaths of all the world's heroes, Iblis, and even vaguely mentions his parents, who are revealed to have died when he was still a baby. Amy brings up the possibility of his dad being alive in their time, and Silver brightens a bit after that. Later, Silver and Knuckles are the only ones still up and they end up having a conversation about the number of people left in Silver's time. From there, Knuckles asks about the identities of the heroes who had died, but Silver is only able to provide vague responses. Knuckles is then revealed to sympathize with Silver due to the fact that neither of them know their parents. Knuckles asks about his dad and, after learning that Silver knows what his dad looks like, they decide to go to the city the next day to look at pictures. Meanwhile, Sonic wakes up in Silver's time. It occurs to him that looking at the scenery is like looking at the apocalypse. deciding to look around, he heads to the top of the nearest building, a tall one made of ruined stone. He isn't sure what he's expecting to see, but he knows for a fact that he isn't expecting to see a giant fire creature in the lava. It starts barreling toward him, and he flees for his life.

-During an early-morning conversation with Tails, Knuckles reflects that Tails, while still being a kid, is an undisputed genius. With that in mind, he brings up an important point to him, the simple fact that, according to the dates Silver had given them, the world should have ended by now. Tails reveals his astounding knowledge by mentioning his understanding of the basic principles of space and time. He then goes on to announce that Silver is from not only the future, but an entirely separate timeline as well. Soon after the conversation, they wake the others and prepare to leave. Later, Silver decides not to ride in the X-Tornado, something Knuckles thinks nothing of, due to Silver's confidence, which seems to be just like Sonic's. Knuckles also notes how similar Silver and Sonic are as far as personality goes. They get into the Tornado without Silver and, as soon as they check to see if he's on the ship's wing, he bursts into the air almost as fast as Sonic could run, shocking the three of them completely. Deciding to Tests Silver's speed, Tails ends up racing him in the Tornado. It gets to its max speed of half the speed of sound, but Silver passes it easily, visibly breaking the sound barrier as he does so, shocking them once more and forcing Knuckles to wonder how Silver can come anywhere close to Sonic's speed (which is mentioned to be in a class of its own) and also what other abilities Silver might be hiding. When they reach the city, Silver reveals that he doesn't know his father's name. Still, they are able to find his picture in an old book at the city hall. The three of them are shocked and Knuckles decides that Sonic has a lot to explain when they find him. Meanwhile, Sonic struggles to fight an enemy he can't touch. Not long after it surrounds his lonely building in a vortex of fire, it sends him flying and knocks him out.

-Following a gut feeling of Amy's, Silver and the others head back to where the portal opened the first time. Tails once again demonstrates his knowledge by describing how portals are "finicky" about where they open. However, before leaving, Silver reveals his sudden uncertainty and nervousness about meeting his father, whom he's wondered about his whole life. Tails is able to reassure him, and they leave. They get to the place where the portal opened an hour later and Silver quickly discovers the purple emerald, which it is hinted that Sonic dropped when he was sucked through the portal. Not knowing what it is, he calls the others to come look. They gather around just as he touches is and history is repeated as the portal opens once again and pulls them through. Meanwhile, Sonic struggles against a seemingly endless tide of monsters created by the larger fire monster that had knocked him out not long before. He is angry already because he somehow has become aware of the fact that many people have died here. He also realizes that this is his world, though a different version of it. Not long after the fight with the creatures begins, he senses the emeralds in the lava and, raising his right hand, summons them, though he doesn't know how. They float in place in a circle shape around him. Just as he starts to wonder how he summoned them, they begin to spin around him, slowly at first, then rapidly moving faster and faster as they lifted him off the ground. Power rushes through him, the likes of which he's never felt before, so intense that it's almost painful to him. He suspects that the emeralds are reacting to his emotions, particularly his anger, which is righteous in its nature. He sybmits to the power after a moment and transforms into Super Sonic for the first time. After a brief battle, Sonic permanently destroys Iblis, only doing so after saying a word he'd never spoken before. Then, somehow, he lands back on the land he had been on before, feeling exhausted. He closes his eyes to gather the energy to stand when a single cry of "Dad!" causes his eyes to snap open.

-When Sonic sees Silver, he knows immediately who he's looking at. However, he doesn't understand how Silver is there, having apparently thought that Silver had died a long time ago. When Silver rushes forward to hug him, Sonic hugs back without thinking and nearly cries. However, he reminds himself that he's always had to be strong for others and tells himself that now is no different. So, despite still feeling highly emotional, he manages to force back the tears. One of the strongest feelings he is revealed to be experiencing is grief, more than likely due to the fact he had believed Silver to be dead. As the two stand there, he can't stop thinking that Silver being there should be impossible. When Silver pulls back, Sonic feels a pang because he sees Silver crying. He manages to comfort Silver with two simple words and can't stop thinking about how badly he wants this all to be real, though he isn't entirely convinced that it is. When Knuckles, Tails, and Amy arrive, Amy hugs Sonic for the second time since he's known her, and he stands there uncomfortably, not really knowing what to do. Afterward, just before Amy reveals the name of the fire monster (namely, Iblis), Sonic notices Silver's expression as the other hedgehog stares at the ground, and, in an effort to comfort him, Sonic places his hand on Silver's shoulder. Silver's rapt expression causes Sonic to feel another pang in his heart. After telling him about Iblis, Sonic tells Amy that Iblis is dead. Tails then reveals that they saw him beat it, a fact that seems to have left them all in shock and awe. Even Knuckles was left temporarily speechless, though he overcomes this long enough to tell Sonic that he has a lot of explaining to do, presumably about Silver if his glance to the younger hedgehog is any indication. However, Sonic doesn't believe that he can explain much, as he has questions as well. Tails then changes the subject by bringing up an important point: they have no idea how they are going to leave this world. They all looks to Sonic, but he reveals that though he uses the emeralds, there is little that he actually knows about them. He chooses not to disclose what he has learned about them (from his conversation with Locke in the Master Emerald), though only because he doesn't trust other people. This reveals that he is concerned about his friends knowing too much and being put in more danger because of it.

Silver suggests that they go to where he lives, saying that someone there may be able to help them. While he is talking, Silver's eyes never leave Sonic's. He is revealed to be searching for more then just permission. He is also searching for acceptance and approval, to which Sonic responds with a single nod that conveys those very things, and more, to Silver. When Silver smiles, Sonic can't help but do so as well. Sonic briefly reflects on how he misses being able to fly as they head to Silver's home. He also thinks on how Silver and Elsa were killed, Silver having only been a few months old at the time. It is also implied that they died at separate times. It is also revealed that Sonic had been, for whatever reason, powerless to save them. It is also revealed that he had to bury them himself, something he considers to be one of the most painful experiences of his life. The single fact that he lived while they died is something that he believes to be the worst punishment he's ever had to endure. Though he is overjoyed that Silver is somehow alive, he doesn't understand it. Still, he does his best not to let his confusion ruin the reunion. Later, while Sonic is speaking with Knuckles, Sonic briefly describes the events of the past. It's revealed that he and Elsa (though he does not say her name) knew each other for a long time and that, while they didn't like each other at first, they slowly grew closer. It wasn't until three days after Silver was born, when Elsa dies, that he realizes they have a child, something he states he had "no idea" about. He then says that, while he took care of Silver for a few months, Silver died as well. He says nothing more about either one's death, and Knuckles doesn't ask. When Knuckles makes a comment about Sonic's age, Sonic reveals that being seventeen in hedgehog years makes him an adult, something Knuckles later supposes is true. Knuckles then says that he is sorry about what happened, and Sonic realizes that the echidna genuinely _is_ sorry.

Uncertain how to respond, Sonic changes the subject by asking he Knuckles and the others ended up there, to which Knuckles replied that they were dragged through a portal as well. Knuckles then comments that there is something wrong with the emerald, but, though Sonic is tempted to agree, he isn't entirely convinced that any of this is the emerald's doing. He remains wary that there some sort of "outside force" that is truly responsible for bringing them here. Moments later, Knuckles asks Sonic how in the world he used the emeralds as he did earlier (when he went Super), but Sonic says he has no idea. Knuckles then observes that Sonic was in perfect control, and Sonic agrees. Knuckles then reveals what is really troubling him, the fact that Sonic had said a word he shouldn't have known just before unleashing his last attack. When Sonic says he just said the word and that he didn't actually know it, Knuckles replies that Sonic HAD to have known the word in order to have said it. When Sonic asks how he would have known it, Knuckles reveals that it could be because of the emeralds, the Master Emerald especially. He explains how they store knowledge which they then share with each other and whoever they deem worthy. Knuckles then states that the fact that Sonic can use the emeralds at all, especially as he did earlier, proves that the emeralds accepted him, probably a long time ago. This implies that they would have, in fact, shared information of one kind or another with him. Knuckles then goes on to explain how the emeralds had probably stored an entire language, one spoken in ancient times, up until not long after the Master Emerald came to life, when hedgehogs and echidnas apparently coexisted, even going so far as to share similar morals, teachings, and ways of life. It is also stated that they spoke the same language, and, with the Master Emerald being surrounded by speakers of that language, the Master Emerald would have learned it and stored that knowledge, which it then would have eventually shared with the smaller emeralds.

By that logic, Sonic assumes that he has the small green emerald to thank for the fact that he understood that language as a child, since he'd had that emerald since he was very young and had been able to read Locke's book, written in the ancient language, as a child. He finds this information easy to accept, but he still doesn't understand why he spoke a word in that language before attacking. Knuckles then explains that the words in that language have "real" meaning. He also says that, when used correctly, the words can channel energy, create power within or even from nothing, heal someone, and more so long as the speaker is focused and has clear intent implying that anyone can potentially do anything with those words. This allows Sonic to finally understand why Locke had once (back in chapter 8) been so concerned over the fact that Robotnik had stolen his ancient book, even saying that ancient knowledge was not something "just anyone should have access to". Sonic then demands to know what he said when he attacked Iblis, and Knuckles, his expression oddly unreadable, replies that, in the language they are currently speaking, he "told [Iblis] to disappear... forever". Now that Knuckles has mentioned it, Sonic realizes that phrase actually sounds familiar, revealing indirectly that he now remembers what he said. He then contemplates the possibility of him understanding that completely when he was "transformed", but though he decides that it's possible, he is unable to come to a conclusive decision on the matter.

Silver then returns, calling Sonic "Dad" again, a fact that Sonic thinks he may never be able to get used to. Silver says that "they" want to meet Sonic and the others, though he does not say who "they" are. Though Knuckles seems suspicious, Sonic decides to trust his son's judgement and says for them to just follow Silver. Knuckles doesn't argue, and they head to the building where the "they" Silver had been referring to are. On the way there, Knuckles reflects on his conversation with Sonic. It is clear to him that Sonic had really loved Silver's mother (though he still doesn't know who she was), and it is equally clear that there is no way Sonic would have failed to take care of her or his child, no matter how young and inexperienced he was. This leads him to wonder how they died, even coming to suspect that they may have been killed. Still, he knows that Sonic would have fought to protect them, leading Knuckles to wonder if there is any chance that the enemy who had killed them was too strong for even Sonic to defeat. Looking to Sonic, Knuckles realizes that Sonic's expression is, for once, easy to read. After noting that Sonic is already starting to act like a father to Silver, Knuckles shakes his thoughts away and they head inside. After climbing into the building through a high window (implying that the building is so ruined that there are no stairs), Sonic sees the people inside and immediately notices that there are no people under Silver's age. This heavily implies that there are no living children due to the dangers of this world. He also sees the lack of hope in people's eyes, a sight that reminds him of the Dark Days, and he decides that it is a truly terrible sight.

An old purple bird, one whom Silver seems to have a great deal of respect for (leading Sonic to believe that she may have raised Silver), then demands to know who is responsible for destroying Iblis. Knuckles shoves Sonic forward to say that it was him, and the woman gives a deep, genuine thanks to him, to which he replies to with a single slow nod. Despite thinking that he has never been good at these things, he does his best to say a "you're welcome" (though without words), that carries as much weight as her thanks. He also silently thanks her for what she has done for Silver, and she too responds with a nod, showing that she understands him. Sonic, meanwhile, decides that he can never forgive himself for failing to protect his son, especially now that he's learned that he failed (in his opinion) in both his timeline and this one. Silver then calls the old bird "Grandma", further proving that he is close with her. He asks her where Blaze is, stating to Amy that Blaze is a friend of his, and it is revealed that she had come there earlier to speak with him about something that is implied to have been of importance. Not long afterward, Tails makes a fast friend with another fox who is revealed to also possess high intelligence.

Not long afterward, Sonic and Silver head out to a place that Silver wants to show him. They race and joke and have fun, providing their first real bonding experience. On the way there, Silver is forced to demonstrate his powers to save them from falling stalactites, revealing his astounding control over his abilities. In that moment, Sonic feels true pride for his son. Also on the way there, Sonic agrees to train Silver to do parkour, also implying that he will train him to do other things as well. Later on, Sonic comes to suspect that Silver's power may be so great that he can, with more training, simply part an ocean of lava and hold it there. Silver further impresses him when he uses his powers to carry Sonic safely over the lava. When they reach a single building surrounded by lava, Sonic comes to respect the dangerous beauty of the lava, as well as of Silver's world in general. Whatever apprehension he felt about this place had by now disappeared, implying that he is now almost totally comfortable here and has accepted this world and all that comes with it. This experiences provides some more bonding, and when they leave, they race once more, ending in both of them laughing so hard they can't go any farther for several moments. This shows how relaxed the two are around each other already, despite how little they actually know each other by this point. It is about then that they notice to dark figures running beside a pool of lava. It is implied that one figure, who likes like a shadow is running in front (implying that the other figure is chasing the shadow), leading Sonic to wonder what he has seen, as he doesn't see how a shadow could be in front of a person when there is no sun to create such a shadow.

-On the way back to the others, Sonic and Silver fear that something is wrong, though they don't know what, and that the two figures that they had seen are involved. Silver makes the observation that the figures looked like hedgehogs, a fact that Sonic agrees with. Silver then reveals that he is the last hedgehog in this world and suggests that they could be from Sonic's world. This sentence proves to Sonic beyond all doubt that this really is another world, and he agreed that the figures could very well be from his world. However, he also notes that they don't know how those figures could have come here, to which Silver replies that they might have touched the emerald as well. Silver mentions how he can't shake the feeling that they should have followed them, leading Sonic to grow concerned that the figures were headed toward people. This shows that he is as protective of the people here as he is of the people on his world. When Silver says that the figures actually weren't headed toward any people, he wonders if he is worrying about nothing, though Sonic corrects him, stating that just because the figures aren't headed toward people doesn't mean they can't cause problems. Silver then clarifies that this is why they are headed back to warn the other survivors (who he refers to as his "family" for the first time), to which Sonic replies yes.

When they return, they find that the raccoon messenger (who was sent out earlier to send a message to Blaze about Silver's return) has returned, utterly terrified by something, though he is unable to say anything because he's so afraid. While Silver tries to speak to the raccoon, Tails and the others rush to Sonic. Tails reveals that he and Jake (the other fox, who is revealed to be highly knowledgeable in medicine and anatomy and whatnot) believe the raccoon was attacked, though, because Iblis and his minions were destroyed, they have no idea WHAT could have attacked him. Knuckles says that whatever attacked him clearly didn't get him, though Amy makes the troubling observation that maybe it merely LET him go in order to strike fear into the hearts of the other survivors. Sonic notes that this tactic has, unfortunately, worked quite well and wonders again if the two figures he and Silver saw were involved. Amy asks what Sonic will do and, though he initially replies that he has no idea, he quickly makes a decision and says that they should check it out. Tails then agrees that they should because they might find clues as to what brought them there and how, as he is not convinced that it is the emerald's doing. After thinking to himself that together he and his friends may be able to make a difference in the lives of the people of this world, Sonic and everyone else have their attention drawn to the raccoon when the raccoon suddenly says "Shadows."

-A division of labor is ordered and Sonic sets out to try to find the two figures he and Silver had seen earlier, with the intent of finding out how they had gotten there and if they had used the emerald and, if so, how. On the way, he senses a Chaos Emerald that has surprisingly stayed close even though the seven of them had scattered earlier that day. Deciding to make a detour, he rushes to grab the emerald before the enemy can. While he's out searching, Amy does what she can to help the survivors by tending to their injuries. When she decides to have a words with Jake about his treatment of a young girl (whom she agrees to teach a bit about wrapping wounds and whatnot), it become implied that she too is starting to care about these people, enough to where she wants them all to get along. Meanwhile, Tails and Jake, using a portable machine with multiple uses that Tails is revealed to almost always have with him, study the DNA of a hair that they had found on the raccoon's shirt. Unable to determine its species, Tails comments that there is something "weird" about the hair. Jake then adds that it looks like a "literal shadow" that "somehow took physical form." Tails then mentions how a shadow taking physical form defies most of the laws of something (implied to be the laws of the universe), to which Jake replied that there are other things that also break those laws, and that there is no way Tails and the others could have come to this world otherwise. Tails then makes the connection and exclaims, "The Chaos Emeralds!" He asks, to clarify, that they exist here in this world as well, and Jake says that they do, though Sonic was the first person to have used or even seen them in a long time. After deciding that the emeralds were somehow involved, Tails says that they need to find them.

Meanwhile, Knuckles is searching for any sort of creature that could have attacked the raccoon. He momentarily blames Sonic for them even being in this horrible place, but quickly casts that thought aside as he recalls how he and the others had joined Sonic of their own accord. He then reflects on how hard Sonic tries to protect them while still remembering that they aren't helpless and while also still doing what needed to be done (such as, presumably, fighting enemies). Shortly after Knuckles decides that he doesn't regret joining forces with Sonic, he senses Sonic's power rise defensively, more than likely in response to a threat of some kind. Deciding it was more than time for him to return the favor to Sonic for always helping him and the others out, Knuckles heads his way to help him. Meanwhile, Silver meets with Blaze on top of a building away from the others. Though he is excited to share all that has happened recently with her, he acknowledges that there are other things that need to be taken care of. When he asks her what's going on, she replies that their enemy "still lives", causing him to be confused as he knows for a fact that Iblis is dead, a fact that he is quick to tell her. However, she shakes her head and reminds him that Iblis had never worked alone. This provokes a menacing growl from Silver as he makes the connection and realizes that she is speaking of Mephiles.

-Silver reveals to Blaze that there are people who can help them and she decides to have him fill her in on everything that has happened that she's missed. Meanwhile, Knuckles finds Sonic with a Chaos Emerald, which Sonic says he fished out of a hole before being attacked by a creature that he describes as looking like one of Iblis's creatures, only different as it looked more "like... a shadow." After briefly expressing hope that they won't need all of the emeralds, the two of them head back to Silver's home. Knuckles wanders off and Sonic notices that Amy seems sad. The two of them bond a bit as they talk and Sonic eventually offers to take Amy to her home to visit for a while once they leave this place. Meanwhile, in their world, Jet, Storm and Wave are revealed to be fleeing a group of robots. They split up to lose their pursuers and Jet, after demonstrating his expertise on his Extreme Gear, soon ends up falling through a portal. Back in Silver's world, Sonic is given Tails's machine, which is now detecting something far away. He goes to check it out but is soon stopped by some shadowy creatures that look like the dog-like fire creatures he'd fought that morning against Iblis. Unable to escape at one point, Sonic is hit by two balls of pure darkness that, even after the balls dissipate, seems to remain inside of him, giving him chills and making him shiver. After ending the fight, Sonic heads to where the dot on the screen of Tails's machine is detecting something. Moments later, a portal opens and Jet and his board fall out. Deciding that he can't leave Jet alone like this, Sonic grabs him and the board and heads back.

-Sonic returns and it is revealed that his mood has darkened a bit, though it is unknown whether or not this is due to Jet's presence or the effects of the dark attack he'd suffered earlier. Amy, upon seeing that Jet was shot by a laser, realizes that he was attacked by a robot and therefore must be from their world, a fact which Sonic confirms. After taking Jet in to see Jake, Sonic returns Tails's machine and tells Tails what the machine had been detecting, namely a portal not long before it opened. Tails then mentions that they could use this to help them go home and Sonic's thoughts reveal that he may not _want_ to go home.

**...And this is where we're at now, for main timeline by itself up until the timelines sort of become mixed up due to the portals. Now for Silver's timeline (by itself):**

-Silver is born to the same parents from the "main" timeline.

-Though it is never revealed how, his mother dies when he is a baby.

-Iblis appears for the first time and, in an effort to stop the apocalypse, the Sonic of this timeline goes alone to fight. It is implied (by Knuckles's comments in Ch. 71 about how Sonic would never not take care of his child) that he probably left baby Silver with someone who would care for him, just in case. However, despite his efforts, Sonic is killed in the fight. The fact that the Sonic from the main timeline defeated Iblis (and relatively quickly) implies that the Sonic of Silver's timeline was not as strong as the "main" Sonic.

-Months into the apocalypse, every other hero in the world, all of whom are implied to have fought Iblis, are killed, and many people give up hope, resulting in many, many more deaths.

-Civilizations are destroyed as Iblis unleashes its power and yet more people die.

-Though it is not stated when, at some point, the old purple bird (from Ch. 71) finds Silver and begins to raise him as her is heavily implied that they grew to be very close.

-Eventually, Silver and Blaze meet and become friends, though it is not stated when.

-Groups of survivors begin gathering together and do their best to survive, eventually being fortunate enough to find paces with little fire, lava, and smoke in which they can live.

-As a child, Silver is told little about the people who died during the apocalypse, and he grows up knowing little to nothing about his parents and the heroes who had fought and died. He grows up wondering and filled with questions he never expects to be answered.

-Also while he is growing up, Silver is heavily implied to have trained himself to use his powers. His immense control over them hints at the fact that he's been using them since he was relatively young. He also spends a great deal of time reading the books that have somehow survived the fires.

-At some point before falling through the portal, Silver attains full control of his powers and he and Blaze learn of Mephiles's existence and involvement with Iblis.

-At an unknown date, the portal opens ans Silver is pulled through to the "main" timeline. The fact that he and Sonic did not see each other implies that, for whatever reason, they were unable to see in the portal.

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**Everything else has been typed up already because everyone's in Silver timeline now. Hope this helps! THIS IS THE _LAST_ TIME LINE FOR NOW! Posted 05-11-15.**


	78. The Important Questions

**Hello Meadow of Blossom Patches! Ah, but they must... eventually. :P**

**Hello, Daggr! Alright, you can hate them if you want. No big deal. *Shrugs* Also, who said I was taking away main/important/likeable characters? Granted minor characters like Jake may go away when all is said and done, but why take away Blaze and Silver after going through all the trouble of introducing them? ;) Don't worry, I'll take them back eventually. :P**

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Sonic sat in the building near the window while everyone else slept, doing his best to curb his concern over who was still missing. _He can take care of himself. He's certainly proved that. Besides, he isn't alone out there. _He was certain Silver was fine, wherever he was, but that didn't stop Sonic from worrying. But Silver had promised to return after meeting with his friend Blaze and taking care of a few minor things. Sonic trusted Silver to keep his promises. And besides, it wasn't like Sonic could go looking for him anyway, and that was only partially due to the fact that he had no idea where Silver was. With that in mind, his thoughts changed direction and he turned his head to look at Jet, who still lay unconscious on the ground not far away. Using some bandages (a woefully hard-to-come-by material in this world), Jake had wrapped Jet's wound to the best of his ability. Without the luxury of modern medicine, there was nothing else he could do. Sonic noted the scowl on Jet's face, a look he knew meant that the bird was either in pain or was in a bad mood like usual. However, Sonic suspected it was pain this time around, if only because Jet _was_ unconscious and therefore couldn't really be moody.

Standing, Sonic walked past him and the board that was standing (leaning, rather) against the wall by the window. Looking out said window, his gaze traveled slowly over the now empty and darker than usual scenery. This small section of the ruined city held a certain familiarity now that almost made this place feel like home. _And yet, somehow, it hasn't even been a full day yet since I got here. _Still looking around slowly, he leaned on his elbows on the windowsill. _What to do..._ Thoughts flitted through his mind, wants and needs clashed, duties and desires quarreled and, throughout it all, he found himself unable to come to a decision. Hoping to gain direction, he focused his thoughts into something more orderly in order to examine them. _I have to find the Chaos Emeralds back in our world. I have to stop Robotnik all over again. I have to figure out what to do about the emeralds once I get them. I have to help the people here and stop whoever or whatever is starting to attack them. I have to take Amy home like I promised. I have to leave here eventually. But... I don't want to leave. _

A soft, pained groan caught his attention and, straightening, he turned about halfway to see Jet on his side, his back to Sonic, one hand clutching his wound and the other arm pushed him up slowly. Sonic blinked, hesitating. He seriously considered just jumping out the window and leaving for a while, but after a moment's thought he decided that running away from the problem was a highly immature act to even consider. So, in the end, he just turned around fully and, leaning backward against the windowsill, he watched with crossed arms as Jet started to try to stand. "I wouldn't recommend it," Sonic commented coolly even as Jet gained his feet.

Jet whirled around, almost secretly wincing in pain as he did so, and stared at Sonic, his expression torn between surprise, confusion, and just a hint of wariness. "What the hell?" he demanded, his voice thankfully lowered to avoid waking people.

Sonic ignored Jet's apparent bluster as he glanced at the hand that still clutched Jet's wound before returning his gaze to Jet's scowling face. "Well?"

"Well _what_?" Jet challenged.

"Care to explain what happened?" Sonic asked in reply.

"I got in an accident," Jet bit out.

"That wasn't an accident," Sonic stated with cool certainty.

"Oh yeah?" Jet returned. "And how would _you_ know that? You weren't there."

"You were shot by a laser," Sonic said calmly. "Only robots use lasers as weapons, and they wouldn't have fired without being commanded to." Jet scowled again and Sonic repeated more firmly, "That _wasn't_ an accident."

Jet looked away. "Whatever."

Sonic frowned. "Why were they chasing you?" He had to know, because if Robotnik was going after Jet and _his_ friends now then Sonic needed to do something about it, even if it meant-

"That's what I've been trying to figure out," Jet muttered. "They just showed up out of nowhere and started shooting at us. Damn things."

"There must be a reason."

"Well I don't know what it is."

"You're lying."

"Prove it."

"Why should I? You're a terrible liar."

"Whatever."

There was a pause and Sonic finally gave a verbal prod. "Well?"

Jet glared at him. "Look, we got near some place full of robots once and I think they took pictures of us. That's _all_."

"I don't believe that."

"I told you already, I don't _know_ why they were trying to kill us."

Sonic turned the problem around in his mind for a moment before asking, "And Wave and Storm?"

Jet waved a hand dismissively. "They're fine. Unless they ran into trouble, which I doubt. They should be in Future City by now."

Sonic's answering frown was a bit confused. "You mean Monopole?"

"Yeah. That."

Sonic vividly recalled the futuristic city, so nicknamed for its incredible advancements in technology, much of which Sonic had invented. Not that he would ever take credit for that. "Why were you headed there?" he asked, only slightly out of curiosity. "Is there another race or something?"

"Yeah," Jet nodded, slowly sitting down against a wall as he did so with one hand still pressed to his wound. He seemed tired. Perhaps that was why he was so willingly talking with Sonic right now. "To be honest though... I didn't really want to go." Sonic frowned once more. That didn't sound like Jet at all. Still, he refused to ask, deciding instead to wait the other male out. And, as it turned out, he didn't have to wait very long for Jet to speak again. "Wave thinks I'm being paranoid, but it always seems like we're being watched nowadays. Especially in the cities, where it's easier for people to hide from us."

That _did_ sound a bit paranoid, but Jet wasn't prone to such thoughts or behavior. So that probably meant that the three of them _were_ being watched. _Probably by Robotnik. _It seemed the man had discovered that Sonic knew them, which meant the three of them were going to be constantly in danger now. And they would be worse off than Tails and the others due to their lack of fighting experience. _Still, their skills on their Gear could help them avoid the robots. But..._ Sonic's gaze once more lingered on Jet's bandaged wound for a brief moment._ ...clearly fleeing isn't enough. _For the second time that night, Sonic's mind began to drift as he stared at the ceiling. _What to do... _

"What about you?" Sonic looked back to Jet, who frowned at him with uncharacteristic seriousness. "You were pretty beat up back in that Jungle. What the hell happened?"

Sonic gritted his teeth for a moment and released a sigh. "Nothing important."

Jet clearly didn't believe him but, surprisingly, didn't bother to argue with him about it. Instead, he changed the subject a bit. "You wouldn't have been there without a reason. What's going on, exactly?"

Sonic was quiet for a moment as he considered how to respond. He didn't trust Jet, not exactly, but he noted with some surprise that his previous anger at the bird had once again faded. Granted Sonic hadn't really forgiven him, he might never, but he at least no longer saw Jet as a threat or an enemy. Not an ally and certainly not a friend, but not an enemy either. Still, Jet was involved now, whether they liked it or not, and that meant that he had a right to know just what was going on and why Robotnik was apparently trying to kill the hawk and his friends. With that in mind, Sonic posed a new question. "Your dad told you about Gerald Robotnik when you were a kid, right?"

Jet nodded. "Yeah. About how he destroyed South Island and ended up killing himself and a bunch of people."

"A bunch" was hardly an accurate description of how many people had died, but Sonic let it slide for now. "I found out a couple months ago or so that he apparently has a grandson named Ivo. He's trying to start an empire, like his grandfather was."

"And let me guess, he knows about you because of his grandfather." Jet had, after all, known since childhood about Sonic's involvement with Gerald in the past.

"Yes," Sonic nodded. Then, after a moment's pause, he said, "I told you about the Chaos Emeralds once before, remember?"

"Yeah."

"We've been trying to gather them, and Ivo may know about it."

Jet blinked. "That... would be bad," he said needlessly, not seeming to know what else to say.

Sonic resisted the urge to roll his eyes and say "No duh," and instead just nodded again. "He's probably going after you, Wave, and Storm because he figured out that we know each other."

Jet straightened. "And that means-"

"Guilty by association," Sonic finished grimly.

Jet's scowl resumed full-force. "Damn."

Sonic couldn't help but agree as he wondered yet again what to do. He needed to do something about this... _but what_?

"So spill," Jet suddenly said, pulling Sonic from his thoughts. "Where are we? What is this place?"

Sonic's head turned as he looked out the window briefly. "Crisis City. The ruins of some city in the lower northwest portion of the world."

"Ruins?" Jet echoed, yet another frown marring his face.

Sonic nearly sighed. There was so much that needed explaining, and he wished that someone else was here to answer Jet's many questions. But, sadly, everyone else was asleep and he had no other choice but to fill the other male in.

* * *

By the time morning came, Jet and Sonic were practically bristling around each other. While they had managed to speak civilly throughout most of the night (at least long enough for Sonic to fill Jet in on the recent important events), they had begun to clash again at some point or another. It had always been like that with them, and Sonic reflected briefly that it seemed fairly impossible for them to get along for any extended period of time. Tails and the others, of course, noticed the tension and did their best to stay out of it while Sonic and Jet did _their_ best to avoid each other. Jet couldn't really leave the building, anyway, considering his injury.

Outside, Sonic and Tails were examining the fox's machine that had detected the portal before. They had been trying for a majority of the morning to figure out how it had managed to pick up on the energy of the portal before, but so far, they had no answers to that question. "Maybe it... No, never mind," Tails said with a shake of his head.

Sonic looked at him. "What?" he prompted.

"I was just thinking," Tails started, "maybe it somehow absorbed some of the energy from the portal we fell through. That might explain how it can pick up on that same energy now."

"How would it have absorbed it?" Sonic asked more out of curiosity than anything else.

"Dunno, actually," Tails admitted with a sort of sheepish grin. "Maybe it's magic."

Sonic allowed himself a small smirk and raised a hand to ruffle the fur atop Tails's head, causing Tails to laugh a bit. "Goof."

Tails stuck his tongue out briefly. "And what if I am?" he replied, still grinning.

Sonic didn't have a chance to reply before Amy came walking up to them. "Hey, guys?" she asked, her expression vaguely worried.

"Yeah?" Tails replied, slowly growing concerned over _her_ apparent concern.

"Has anyone seen Knuckles?"

Now that he thought about it, Sonic realized that he _hadn't_ seen Knuckles since earlier that morning. Straining his ears, it quickly became apparent that the echidna was no longer in the camp. _Great. _

"Where would he have gone?" Tails frowned.

"Maybe he went gliding over the lava again?" Amy suggested uncertainly. "That's where he was before, right? When he was looking for those creatures that attacked the raccoon?"

That actually sounded likely, but if she was right, that posed a huge problem. "If he's out over the lava, I can't look for him," Sonic said, arms crossed.

"I can't either," Tails said. "It's too risky, with me being a new flier and all."

"And we all know that _I _can't fly," Amy sighed.

"So what do we do?" Tails asked as they both turned to look at Sonic.

"Hey, don't look at me," Sonic said quickly. "It's not like I can run on lava."

"But we've seen you run on the surface of water before," Amy pointed out.

Sonic nearly rolled his eyes. "Water doesn't _burn_," he pointed out in turn.

Tails looked back and forth between them, clearly thinking but coming up with nothing. "So what do we do?" he repeated.

"I have no idea," Sonic replied with just the barest hint of a sigh in his voice.

"Take my board."

Sonic whirled at the sound of a new voice and frowned (nearly scowled, really) when he saw Jet walking toward them with his board under one arm. "Why are you down here?"

Jet gave him the benefit of an irritable glare. "I'm injured, not helpless. I can jump out of a damn window." When all Sonic did in response was continue to frown silently at him, Jet tossed his board at the hedgehog, who caught it easily. "Just take it," he muttered. And with that, he turned and walked away.

* * *

_Listen to me. This is important._

_You're better off if you never start._

_Under the surface lie some darker truths._

_You were meant for so much more._

_The future is not written, and it is foolish to squint at what cannot be seen._

_Life is about choices, but you must make the important ones with your heart and not your mind._

_The roots of the journey are bitter, but the fruit is sweet beyond words._

_Hope is what makes us strong. Draw from it when all else has faded._

_If you have not learned the value of friendship, you have truly learned nothing._

_You and only you can can lead the world to a brighter future._

_You have proven it to yourself, now prove it to others._

_Open your eyes and look within. Inside you lies the truth._

_Concentrate all your thoughts on the road ahead. The sun's rays do not burn unless brought into focus._

_Above all else, remember that where there is love you cannot go wrong. _

* * *

**Posted 05-12-15.**


	79. Mystery

**Hello Sonic and Dragon fan! Your review to Chapter 77: It's stated in Chapter 68 (through Knuckles's thoughts) that Silver is fifteen in his years. I don't know how old in just... years. More than a few hundred, though. In their years, I would say sixteen or seventeen is about when they become adults, but I haven't really decided yet. Either way, Silver is still a teenager and Sonic is still an adult. Yeah, I like to visualize stuff, too. :) Don't worry, I still understood you fine. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 78:** **Eh, it's not really a poem, but yes, it does mention those things, and yes, it is leading things somewhere. :P According to SEGA, he glides, so I'm going with that. :) As far as how _far_ he can go, it seems to me like he can go pretty far. No, I wouldn't kill Knuckles. He's one of my favorite characters! :D**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Glad you enjoyed! And here is at least _some_ of what you wanted. ;)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Awesome! Super glad you enjoyed! I thought they were cool, too. :) Not telling you up here! You'll find out soon! Glad you enjoyed the talk too. :) Do you think I managed to keep them fairly in character (as far as this story goes) during that conversation? I tried, but I'd like to know how well I succeeded. :P Thanks, I will! Bye, Pyro-san!**

**Hello, Daggr! It's a typo? Whoops. I thought that was what it was called, but maybe not. I'll look into it. :P Glad you like the strain. As far as Knuckles goes, I'm not telling! Read and find out! ;) The raccoon is a side character of little importance that was mentioned several times in a previous chapter. This _wasn't_ a filler. Seriously, the fact that it has no battles or action _doesn't_ mean that it has no purpose. _None_ of my chapters are fillers. They're _all_ important, even if they don't always seem like it right away. Stop reading if you like, but I shouldn't have to say over and over again that my chapters aren't fillers. :l**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! I'm glad you think so! I really liked the last part as well, and I'm happy that you enjoyed reading it and that you found it interesting! :D**

**Hello, Anonymous! Super happy you enjoyed! No need to apologize, I understand. Messy rooms suck, huh? Well, it's not really a poem. I took some lines from people's senior quotes from last year's yearbook at my school and altered them a bit to fit my story. I don't know if they quoted any real people or if they made them up on their own, though. Lol, thanks for the Chaos attacks on the critics. X) (Haha, yes, I see what you did there. XD) I don't mind _constructive_ criticism, but that particular criticism was not constructive. Nah, I won't judge. My mind works in mysterious ways as well. :P About your comment on your frequency of reviewing: okay, _sheesh_! I won't argue! XD Wait, what was it that you had said before? I don't remember for some reason. XP**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! ...Not a filler. -.- Anyway, glad you enjoyed! :D Actually, the end of last chapter marked the beginning of the second day, but you were close. Yeah, the tension really is high! And I'd say so, but perhaps they're not _both_ holding grudges...? ;)**

* * *

**Okay, so because this was posted later in the day (9:46-ish p.m. in my time), I made this one a bit longer fr you guys. A little over 4,100 words. Enjoy!**

* * *

Silver and Blaze raced across the landscape together, heading back to his home as quickly as they could go. Or, at least, _Blaze_ was going as quickly as she could go, perhaps even pushing herself to go even faster than that. It almost made Silver feel guilty for flying so fast so effortlessly while she pushed herself beyond her limits in order to keep up, even when he was purposefully keeping his speed at a slower rate.

He watched as she skirted a lava pit while he simply flew over it, and he couldn't help but notice the way the light made her fur shine. Shaking his head to clear it of those thoughts, he returned his attention forward as he flew once more over dry land. _I've gotta stop thinking about her like that. _Of course, it wasn't _his_ fault she was beautiful, but- _No_, he needed to stop thinking about that. He shook his head to clear it once again, doing so so vigorously that he made himself dizzy for a brief moment. He stopped shaking his head, figuring that the dizziness would fade as it always did when he did something like this, but much to his surprise and confusion, the dizziness instead grew to the point where he felt certain that the world was rotating _far_ faster than it should have been. As the ground unexpectedly came up to meet him, he felt as though his consciousness was being pulled somewhere else. Everything seemed to fade for a moment, leaving nothing but blank white space, when a voice drifted out of the nothingness.

_Listen to me... This is... important..._

_You're better off... if you never start..._

_Under the surface... lie some... darker truths..._

_You were meant for... so much more... _

Then everything faded once more. Moments later, he found himself waking up mostly on the ground. Blinking somewhat dazedly, he felt Blaze's hands on his arm as she finished hauling him to his feet, something she seemed to have started doing while he had apparently been out cold. "Are you alright?" she asked softly, removing her hands once he was steady on his feet. Much to his surprise, there was genuine concern written in her eyes, though such feelings were kept mostly concealed. He tried not to think too much of it.

"Yeah... I'm fine," he replied. And, truthfully, he was. Excluding the slight headache he now had from falling out of the sky and hitting the ground. From where he stood, he could see the skid marks and the soot and dirt that covered the ground, clearly telling him where Blaze had slid to a halt just feet away from where he'd landed.

"What happened?" Her voice was still soft and there was still that hint of concern present, but there was also seriousness there. This was not a request for information. This was a demand, but the demand of a friend who cared.

Had it been anyone else, save for his grandmother and probably his dad (the memory of his father still made him a bit giddy), he would have said "Nothing," and played it off like he was fine. But this was Blaze, and he couldn't ignore her concern, nor could he bring himself to lie to her, and certainly not without good reason. "I...I think I heard a voice," he said slowly, "in my head. But it was far away. I couldn't tell where, exactly. But, even though I could hear it, and I think I only could because it... _wanted_ me to... it sounded like it was talking to, and about, someone else."

Blaze frowned minutely as she thought this over. When she finally spoke, though her tone remained largely serious, there was just a hint of warmth in there, almost as though she were... _proud_ of him. "Your powers are growing."

He blinked. "How do you know?"

Her head tilted at him, considering, her gaze searching his. "You know the answer already."

He blinked again. "You think I... read someone's mind or something?"

"Not quite."

"...Then what?"

Now it was Blaze's turn to blink. "You did not _read_ someone's mind; you _entered_ it. This is why you were able to hear what they heard in their head at that moment."

"So... whoever that was... heard that weird voice, too?" Silver asked with a frown. Blaze nodded. "Okay, but- I mean, how did I even _do_ that?"

She shook her head minutely. "I do not know the answer," she replied. "However, you must learn soon. The faster you learn to control this ability the better, for in using it you left your own mind and body behind, leaving yourself defenseless and open to attack."

He nodded seriously. "Right." With that, he turned his attention back to the journey ahead. "Shall we get going?"

She paused for a moment. "Perhaps you should not fly."

He tried not to seem like he was pouting (because he _wasn't_) as he replied, "Aw, you know I can't run as fast as you."

"But you will not fall so far if this happens again," she pointed out evenly.

"I'll be fine," he promised. At her vaguely disbelieving look, he quickly added, "I can handle a little fall. I mean, look, I'm not hurt, right?"

After a moment, she conceded with a nod and they resumed their race to his home.

* * *

"You okay?"

Jet looked up to see a young pink hedgehog in a bright red dress walking up to him. He had sat down against a building (the one he had spent the night in) a few minutes ago and had hoped that no one would notice how... _tense_ he was. Apparently, however, that had been too much to hope for. He forced himself to stop clutching at his wound, which hurt like nothing he had ever felt before. "I'm fine," he muttered, looking away. He hoped that this girl, whoever she was, would go away now. However, it seemed that he was destined to not get anything he wanted today.

She sat down next to him. "So what's your name?"

He frowned at her, suspicious, before answering, "...Jet."

"I'm Amy," she replied, though he hadn't asked. "I'm one of Sonic's friends."

At the sound of _that_ name, he scowled and looked away once more. _Of course she is. _

She turned her head to look at him. "So you _do_ know him, then. I had suspected, but I wasn't really sure." He didn't reply, but she looked up to the sky and continued undeterred. "You two don't seem to like each other very much," she observed.

"We _don't_," he replied pointedly, doing his best to imply that he didn't like _her_ either.

She didn't seem to able to take a hint. "So, if that's the case, why did you let him take your weird hover-board?"

Okay, so she was sharper than he's given her credit for, it seemed. Still, he had no intention of answering that. "That's our business."

"'Our'?" she echoed meaningfully.

_Damn it. _

"So you admit that it's his business too, then?"

"No." _And even if it is, I wouldn't be telling you._

"And yet, somehow, he didn't seem to know why you let him take it, either."

_I'm really starting to dislike her. _

"Which means that there's something you're hiding from him."

_Damn her. _For that matter, damn her perceptiveness as well. That apparent skill was why she was figuring this all out, anyway. But, then again, he supposed that the very fact that she was Sonic's friend made this ability of hers make sense. After all, one had to practically be able to read minds in order to understand Sonic most of the time.

"And whatever it is you're hiding seems to be fairly important. Really important, even."

_God- Dammit, just go away! _

She turned her head to look at him, her expression serious... yet somehow sad. "So why are you hiding it from him, then?"

_Because I promised. _"It isn't any of your business," he muttered.

Much to his surprise, she shrugged in response and, instead of arguing, actually... _agreed_ with him. "No, it isn't," she said as she stood. Looking down at him one last time, she asked softly, "But don't you think he has a right to know?" And with that, she turned and walked away.

* * *

Sonic did his best to make sense of what the voice, the same one from inside the Master Emerald from seemingly so long ago, had told him during its most recent visit. _Its tells me that its saying something important but then it doesn't bother to tell me what it means... _He stifled an irritated sigh as he walked farther and farther away from civilization (or what was left of it) with Jet's board under his arm. One by one, he thought over the various random sentences that the voice had left him with not long before.

_"You're better off if you never start." _

Okay, so that seemed to be a warning of some kind. But... _better off if I never start what? _And for that matter, how was he supposed to prevent whatever the voice was talking about if he had no _clue_ as to what it was talking about in the first place?

_"Under the surface lie some darker truths." _

For some reason, that prompted several memories to come to the surface. He recalled how the voice had told him before that his power, Chaos, was everything and its opposite. It was Yin and Yang, light and dark, each coexisting only through a delicate balance that, if upset, could cause one to overpower the other and bring great disorder, and thus, great destruction. He then recalled the dark attack he'd been hit with yesterday while following the dot on Tails's machine, and he shivered involuntarily as he struggled to push the memory of that awful attack aside.

_"You were meant for so much more." _

Sonic frowned deeply. _So much more than what? _Aside from the constant danger, there was nothing wrong with his life. He didn't mind not having a home or any money, nor did he mind being trapped in this world very much. Besides, he had friends and, apparently, he still had family as well. What more could possibly need? _So why does the voice seem to think otherwise? _

_"The future is not written, and it is foolish to squint at what cannot be seen."_

Sonic scowled at the ground. _I'm not trying to see the future. I'm just trying to make sure we all live long enough to get there._

_"Life is about choices, but you must make the important ones with your heart and not your mind." _

Well no _duh_. Of course life was about choices. However, he knew full well that letting one's heart lead the way tended to be a bad idea. Emotions had a way of getting the better of a person and making situations and problems much worse than they would be otherwise. So, really, what kind of advice _was_ this?

_"The roots of the journey are bitter, but the fruit is sweet beyond words." _

Of course he knew that the journey to find the Chaos Emeralds would be, as the voice had so eloquently put it, "bitter", and of _course_ he knew that it would be worth it in the end. Why was it reminding him of this?

_"Hope is what makes us strong. Draw from it when all else has faded." _

_Why_ did this make him feel vaguely worried? As though something bad was going to happen? And not necessarily just to him, either. _Damn it all, why can't I just get a straight answer for once?! _

_"If you have not learned the value of friendship, you have truly learned nothing." _

Okay, what was _that_ supposed to mean? He valued his friends more than anyone and any_thing_ else! They mattered more to him than anything! How could they _not_? So _what_ was this voice insinuating?

_"You and only you can lead the world to a brighter future." _

He didn't even know what to think of this one. _Didn't the voice say that the future isn't written? _So, if that was true, then how could it possibly know this? He got the feeling that it was implying that he was the only one who could defeat Robotnik or something like that, but it seemed unlikely the more he thought about it. After all, hadn't it lectured him on the value of friendship just before this? _I'll need all of them to do this. I can't beat all of these enemies alone. So... what is it talking about, then? _

_"You have proven it to yourself, now prove it to others." _

He resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose in irritation at how very _vague_ the voice always seemed to be. _What have I proven to myself? For that matter, what could I have proven to myself that's so important...?_

_"Open your eyes and look within. Inside you lies the truth." _

Immediately he had to wonder... _The truth about what? And how will "looking within" help? _He didn't understand this at all, as much as he hated to admit it. It was making him even more irritated, to be honest.

_"Concentrate all your thoughts on the road ahead. The sun's rays do not burn unless brought into focus." _

He was immediately vividly reminded of how he had transformed through the use of the seven Chaos Emeralds when fighting Iblis not long ago. He recalled how he had been unable to achieve the transformation until he's focused on the feelings that had activated the emeralds in the first place. Only then had he found the strength to bring that power under control and harness it. _But is that even what the voice was talking about? _He sighed softly to himself. He was really starting to dislike this disembodied voice that seemed so fond of leaving him confused and uncertain.

_"Above all else, remember that where there is love you cannot go wrong." _

This gave him pause, so much so that his steps faltered. _Love. _That was something he preferred not to think about. The first and only time he'd loved had ended in disaster for everyone involved, which had in turn resulted in pain and death and just... so much _tragedy_ that he didn't understand how the feeling could be worth the risk. Such attachments were far too dangerous for him. His enemies had proven that to him beyond a shadow of a doubt. Of course, friendship was a form of love he supposed, but he also knew that that was dangerous as well. Hence his reluctance to _make_ any friends after what had happened to Locke and Talbot and Antoine and so many people from his past.

With a sigh, he cast all these thoughts aside for now and threw Jet's board ahead of him over the lava. Gaining a short running start, he jumped on and flew off into the haze of smoke and steam.

* * *

Knuckles awoke slowly to a fierce pounding in his head. When he tried to move, it registered faintly in his mind that he, for whatever reason, couldn't. Blinking his eyes open, he stared uncomprehendingly for a moment at the scene before him. A few minutes later, he woke up, _really_ woke up, and it occurred to him that he was tied up. He sat up on his butt quickly and stared down at the strange restraints that prevented him from moving his arms, despite how undeniably strong they were. In fact, these restraint (which seemed to be made out of these odd shiny coils of _darkness _whose purplish-black colors seemed to flow though the coils remained motionless) completely covered his arms and fists, rendering each completely immobile. And yet, fr some reason, his legs had been left untied, a fact he quickly took advantage of as he jumped to his feet. However, his plan to make a run for it quickly died a fiery death when he saw that he was on a small island surrounded by a very large body of lava, one so huge that he could barely see land in the distance.

Barely a moment later, a quiet voice from behind had him whirling around. "So you're awake."

He didn't know what to make of the creature that hovered a few inches above the ground several feet away from him. It _looked_ like a hedgehog, and yet, at the same time, it really didn't. For one thing, it had no mouth and it's eyes were an unnaturally bright shade of green. Not only that, but it, for all appearances, seemed to be made of... shadows. "Who are you?!"

Its calm expression never changed as it replied, "I am called Mephiles by those who know me. To those who do not, I am the shadow in the night, the evil lurking in every crack, every crevice, around every corner, the beast who will destroy any who dare venture to close."

That all sounded like heavy exaggeration, and Knuckles let his irritation show through a low growl. "Why did you tie me up?" he demanded. "Afraid I'll kick your butt, otherwise?"

"An impossible feat," it stated calmly. "The restraints are not for my protection. They are to prevent you from leaving... as are they."

All around, creatures composed of the same dark shadows began to fade into existence around him. Dog-like creatures growled and snarled at him as they prowled the perimeter near the edge of the lava. Bird creatures screeched as they circled overhead. Worms exploded out of the ground with little warning before diving back under and reappearing elsewhere, keeping him constantly guessing as to where they might show up next. Mephiles's voice drew his attention back to the front.

"You see, Knuckles the Echidna..." it said slowly. "_You_... are merely the bait."

* * *

Jet watched with interest as a silver hedgehog, who had been flying moments before, landed on the ground a fairly good distance away. He frowned deeply at the boy. _Is that...? _He scowled and looked away, his gaze drifting to the sky as memories came unbidden into his mind of a promise he'd made years ago on the last living day of someone he'd once known. It seemed that the time was would soon be upon him to tell his long-kept secret, and he wasn't sure how to feel about it. _Screw how I'm feeling, how's he gonna react? _There was a chance that he wouldn't react well, and he had every right not to, considering. Still, Jet refused to break his promise, especially now after so long, and so, steeling his resolve, he waited with false calm for Sonic to return.

* * *

Truth be told, Sonic was surprised at how easily he was able to ride Jet's board. He hadn't been on one of these in so long... and that was largely due to the fact that his own board had been destroyed some years ago. _I thought I'd be out of practice, but I guess not. _He rode slowly through the area where Knuckles had been out searching the last time, his eyes scanning his surroundings for any sign of the echidna. _Jeez, why does he have to be red? Finding him in the middle of all this lava and fire is going to be a pain... For that matter, where in the hell did he go, anyway? _It would have been nice if Knuckles had bothered to _say_ something before taking off. And yet, this wasn't the first time since they'd known each other that Knuckles had wandered off like this, and Sonic reflected that it probably wouldn't be the last time, either. And so, with a sigh, Sonic resigned himself to the circumstances (and the knowledge that he would undoubtedly be forced to go looking for his hot-headed friend more times in the future) and kept flying.

* * *

"Dad left, huh?" Silver did his best to hide his disappointment as Tails nodded.

"Yeah, but he should only be gone for a little while," the fox said. "He's jut looking for Knuckles. I'm sure they'll be back in a little while."

"Okay." It occurred to Silver then that Tails and Blaze didn't know each other at all, so he set about introducing them. "Oh, uh, Blaze, this is one of my new friends, Tails. Tails, this is my old friend Blaze."

Tails extended a hand with a warm smile. "Nice to meet'cha," he grinned. "My real name's Miles, but you can still call me Tails, if you like." She nodded as they shook briefly, and he didn't seem bothered by her otherwise total lack of response. Silver guessed it was probably because Tails was used to Sonic, who also seemed to be like that. "So what's you power?" Tails asked excitedly. "Everyone has at least one or two."

Blaze blinked, but didn't argue with that point. "I can control fire."

"Awesome!" Tails exclaimed, his grin widening. "An elemental power... Those are super rare!"

"Wow, really?" Silver asked.

Both Tails and Blaze nodded before Blaze tilted her head and asked calmly, "And what is _your_ power?"

Tails's namesakes swished a bit behind him. "Well, like most foxes, I guess I'm pretty smart, especially when it comes to machines. I can also fly by spinning my Tails really fast."

There was just the barest hint of a smile on Blaze's face, and Silver felt his heart skip a little despite the fact that the smile wasn't even aimed at him. "Flying is _also_ a rare ability," she said, her tone making it seem like she was almost complimenting him.

Tails scratched the back of his head somewhat sheepishly. "Yeah, well..."

A new voice interrupted him before he could think of a way to finish that response. "Silver, you're back!"

All three of them turned to see Amy walking up to them. "Hey, Amy!" Tails greeted happily.

Amy smiled at him before turning her attention to Blaze. "Oh, I don't believe we've met before." She, like Tails, extended a hand as she introduced herself. "I'm Amy."

Blaze nodded and excepted the hand graciously. "Blaze."

Tails leaned over a bit and whispered, "Amy's _really_ strong. She can swing around a piko piko hammer like it's just a little stick."

Blaze blinked in a way that Silver knew meant that she was impressed. "A most useful trait, indeed," she murmured.

"Tell me about it!" Tails whispered back as Amy began questioning Silver on the return journey he and Blaze had just finished making. "She beat up a robot four times as big as her by herself with just a hammer! And that thing had _guns_!"

Blaze nodded. "Impressive."

"I'll say," Tails agreed. Then he added with feeling, "Just don't make her mad, since she wields a hammer and all."

"Indeed." A moment later, she turned her head to look at the young fox. "Who is this 'Knuckles' you spoke of earlier?"

"Oh, him? He's a friend of ours, too," Tails said. "He's an echidna. He's super strong too, and his fists have spike on 'em. He can punch through rock and tunnel through the ground like nobody's business with them. He can also glide over long distances too, but I'm not really sure how."

She took a moment to process this new information before asking, "And your friend is missing?"

"Well... sort of," Tails hedged. "We're pretty sure he just wandered off."

Blaze looked away, her expression serious. "There is much to be wary of now, especially when one is alone."

Tails frowned. "You mean those shadow creatures?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"We haven't seen any yet," Tails mumbled as he looked down at the ground, clearly concerned in spite of this.

"That does not that they are not there," she replied quietly. "However... they are far from the only threat."

Tails's gaze snapped up. "They're not?"

She shook her head. "Their leader, their creator, is a far bigger concern than they are. Mephiles will not hesitate to kill anyone and everyone who is unwilling to join him."

Tails's hands balled into fists. "So what do we do?"

She blinked slowly. "When the time is right, we do what me must."

"And what's that?" he asked.

She turned her head to look at him, her eyes flashing. "We fight."

* * *

**Posted 05-13-15.**


	80. Game Set, Start!

**Hello Ultimate Anon! Yeah, I had a vague memory of how he did it, I just didn't really remember for sure and didn't want to make something up for the story that was weird and incorrect. ^-^ Thanks for clarifying! Wow, Tikal can do it too, huh? Unfortunately, I have never had the good fortune of playing Sonic Adventure, merely Adventure 2: Battle. I'm super happy you're enjoying, by the way! :)**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! Yeah, that's one of the reasons why I love him too. He just cares so much! :) No, the Sonic from Silver's timeline is dead, and I haven't decided how old he was, though I would assume that it would be about the same. The "main" Sonic is seventeen, as he stated in chapter... 71 or 72 I wanna say. Glad you enjoyed!**

**Hello, John! Aw, I'm so glad you think so! Some people think otherwise, but whatever. I'm glad you're enjoying it, regardless. :) Ah, but I alread introduced him. I never said his name directly, but he was in there. ;)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! It might be! XD *Blaze walks over* "One fights when one must. So, yes, perhaps they were fighting words." *Walks away calmly.* Ahem. Anyway, I'm so glad you like those lines (as you put it)! I really like them as well! :D Nah, he isn't. However, he does seem to know who Silver is, huh? ;) I will, arigato, Pyro-san!**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! I know, same here! i love her personality as well, because I am also like that, possibly even more so at times. ^-^ Ah, but is Mephiles's plan to destroy Knuckles? Or is it something else entirely? ;) And yes, you'll find out fairly soon!**

**Hello, Anonymous! It is the Master Emerald. It was even stated by Sonic last chapter that it was the same mysterious voice he'd heard when he'd been inside the emerald that one time. And yeah, maybe that is why Silfver heard it. But, then again, maybe not. :P No offense taken. I get what you're saying. :) No, this has nothing to do with Hyper Sonic, though I am still thinking about the possibility of introducing him later on. As far as your OC goes, I have a question. How would you feel about working on a separate story with me that your character can fit into? It'll be too hard for me to try and work the OC into here, but I would love to do a different story with them in it after Hero is over, if you'd like! :D Yeah, I can totally believe it. I'm _excited_! College, here I come! :DD Oh my gosh, understanding space is so easy! I don't understand why most people I know don't get it. XD Glad you do, though! Thanks, I look forward to hearing your opinion! (P.S.: RAWR! ...Imma kitty. :3)**

**Hello, flashyhero! I'd have to agree with you on that one. XD**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! I know right?! XD Aw, I'm so glad you think so! Glad you enjoyed the part with Jet and Amy. I really did my best to keep them both in character while still having them have the conversation I wanted. Yeah... poor Soniku. XP**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! I love Blaze, too! XD I'm glad you think I did good. Means a lot to me to hear that. :) Same here! Guess we'll find out, huh? :D**

* * *

**So, hey! PyroShockZ, being the awesome person that they are, made a really cool illustration of Sonic's dad! Check it out! Since I can't put the link here, either look for it in my profile here or Google search either "IronShadowZ" (their username) or "For Yasha77"!**

* * *

"The _bait_?!" Knuckles demanded. "What are you talking about?!"

Mephiles watched him unblinkingly and replied, "Surely even a lower life form such as you can understand this situation."

"I _understand_ that you're talking nonsense!" Knuckles snapped. "Whatever trap you're trying to lay won't work!"

"Do you truly believe that your friends will not come looking for you?"

Knuckles froze. _Oh- shit. _

Mephiles seemed to see Knuckles's reaction in the echidna's eyes. "Now you understand. My plans _will_ succeed."

"Like hell!" Knuckles snarled. "Whatever your planning won't work!"

"Your friends will come for you," Mephiles repeated. "And when they do, I will force them to lead me back to their pitiful civilization. Then I can finally destroy their meager resistance, and the ones leading it."

"Sonic won't fall for it!" Knuckles snapped hotly. "He'd never fall for it!"

For an instant, it seemed like Mephiles was actually frozen with shock. It's eyes narrowed slightly. "Sonic?" it inquired softly. Knuckles didn't reply and Mephiles, still floating like it always seemed to do, turned away from him about halfway. "So it would seem that I failed once."

"Failed at _what_?" Knuckles demanded. "What are you talking about?"

"No matter," it said, apparently still talking to itself. "My plans _will_ succeed this time." And with that, it floated down through the ground and disappeared.

* * *

"Hey, Amy?"

Amy turned to see Silver walking over to her. He seemed worried. "Yes?"

"I'm want to go look for dad," he said. "He's been gone for a while, and..."

"And...?" she asked slowly.

"I just... I have a bad feeling," Silver admitted. "Like something big's gonna go down, and I want to help."

Amy frowned slightly in thought. In truth, she had a bad feeling as well. Still, it wasn't like she could go help, really. She wasn't fast enough to run to wherever Sonic was, nor could she fly there. Plus she had promised to help Tails track down whatever his machine was picking up on now, since Jake was taking care of one of the other people here who had apparently fallen out of the upper levels of one of the buildings. With that in mind, she sighed and conceded, "Alright." Then she added, "Just don't go alone. Sonic shouldn't have, either. It's dangerous with all those weird creatures running around."

He nodded. "Blaze will probably follow me, anyway, even if I asked her to stay behind."

Amy had to force herself not to giggle at his obvious crush on the girl and did her best not to show that she'd noticed it at all. Blaze certainly hadn't, it would seem. "Good. It's always nice having friends who care."

He nodded again with a small smile. "We'll be back soon, 'kay?"

She returned his smile warmly. "'Kay. Be safe."

"We will." With a short but significant glance at Blaze, he took to the air and flew off. Blaze caught Amy's eye and, with a subtle nod of farewell, she began running after him. Amy watched them go for a moment before turning her attention to someone else who she knew had been watching the entire conversation. Her patient (and he was only her patient now because Jake was busy) was using one hand to lean on the wall of the building where everyone slept while the other hand was clutching his wound, something he did a lot because, unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done for his pain here. He was standing too, even though he really shouldn't have been. She huffed at him. "Jet, you should sit down."

He cut her a glare before returning his attention to the direction in which Silver and Blaze had disappeared. "I'm fine."

_Stubborn. _"No you're not, and you know it." When he made no move to respond, she huffed again, her hands migrating to her hips. "Sit down or I will _put_ you down." The look he gave her was vaguely wary, and she pressed on. "I swear I'll do it," she said, a promise in her voice. "I may be a lady, but I'm more than strong enough to take you down."

He let out a sound that sounded vaguely like snort. "Huh."

Despite his choice of wording, he didn't seem to doubt her statement. And yet, he _still_ didn't sit down. She tilted her head and frowned at him, analyzing. A moment later, realization dawned and her expression softened. "So _that's_ what it is," she murmured. "You're worried, too."

Jet _winced_. "No," he replied in a show of anger. "Why would I be? He can take care of himself."

"Yes, he can," she agreed. "But you _are_ worried."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Lie to me if you like, but quite lying to yourself," she said firmly. "You'll make yourself miserable doing that."

"I'm _not_ worried," he muttered.

She sighed and shook her head. "Whatever..." Before turning away, she crossed her arms and said seriously, "Look, if you want to try and follow those two, I won't stop you." His glance at her showed his obvious surprise. "_However_," she continued pointedly, "I _don't_ recommend it." With that, she turned and started walking away to find Tails.

* * *

"Hey, Blaze! See anything yet?" Silver called from high above where she was running.

She shook her head. "Nothing," she called back. "And you?"

"No, nothing. But this _is_ the direction he left in."

"Yes."

Silver angled himself to fly lower to her so that they didn't have to raise their voices anymore. His expression was uncharacteristically serious as he asked, "Do you think it's him?"

She gave him a long look before looking away again. "Yes," she murmured. "Mephiles is on the move, as we had feared."

"So how do we beat him?"

"I do not know."

"So we'll just go rushing in without a plan?"

She scrunched her nose a bit. "It would not be advisable."

He smirked. "But we'll do it, anyway."

She sighed softly. "Most likely."

He grinned. "Great. Danger, here we come!" And with that, he spiraled back upward into the sky and poured on the speed, just in time to miss Blaze's almost-smile at his goofy words.

* * *

Jet sighed as he slowly lowered himself onto the ground. He glared down at the bandages under his hand. _I can't do shit like this. _With another sigh, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the cement wall he'd been sitting against for most of the day. Moments later, it occurred to him that he sensed some form of danger. However, that realization came too late. His eyes snapped open just as some shadowy hole opened up under him and, with a short cry of alarm, he fell through the darkness and the hole closed up as though it had never been there to begin with.

* * *

_Where are all these coming from?! _Sonic dodged and weaved through yet another cluster of bird-like shadow creatures, doing so in such a way that the creatures' attacks were hitting, and thus destroying, each other. Satisfied, he started to speed up his flying once more. However, it seemed that he had miscalculated. One last bird came out of nowhere and slammed into him, knocking him off the board and sending him plunging down toward the lava. _Aw, crap! _

There wasn't anywhere near enough time to curl into a ball and spin back to the board, and it occurred to him for a split instant how absolutely _screwed_ he was. And yet, it seemed that luck was smiling down on him for the time being, for when the bird swooped down to attack him, bypassing the falling board in the process, he was able to land on it and, with a well-aimed kick, he sent it into the lava that was now not terribly far away. It was rising up to meet him very, very quickly and just as he flinched against his will, the sound of boots hitting board reached his ears and, with a rush of air from said board, it was suddenly directly above him and a hand snapped out to grab his wrist. He opened his eyes and stared in shock at his rescuer. "Jet?!"

Jet made no reply as he hauled Sonic up, his face scrunched up in pain as he did so. They both ended up sitting on their butts as the board hovered uncomfortably close to the red-hot glow below. Still wincing a bit and clutching at his wound, Jet bit out, "You alright?"

Sonic blinked. "Yeah," he said slowly, unsure how else to reply. Then he demanded, "How did you _get_ here?"

"Hell if I know," Jet muttered. He seemed... tired. And he was out of breath. Probably had a fever, too. Sonic frowned. "A hole opened up in the ground and I fell."

Sonic snorted softly. "You wouldn't have, had you stayed _put_ inside like you were supposed to."

"And then who would have come to save your butt?" Jet replied only somewhat tauntingly. The lack of real heat in his words was actually a bit troubling.

Sonic frowned deeper. _Why did he save me? _He pushed that thought aside for now and replied, "I would've thought of something."

"Uh-huh." He really did seem tired.

"How would you know?" Sonic muttered, doing his best not to show the _slight_ concern he felt.

"Did you _see_ how close were to being burnt up into nothing?" Jet retorted.

"Whatever." Sonic returned, looking down into the lava.

Jet made no reply to that as he looked around with his head. Instead he muttered, "This is gonna be interesting."

"What is?" Sonic asked distractedly, his thoughts on the severity of the damage lasers could cause, especially to living things.

"Getting out of here," Jet replied. "Never tried flying this thing with a passenger before."

Sonic sighed and admitted, "Me either." They stood carefully, Jet ending up being in front due to where he had been sitting.

"How are we gonna do this?" Jet frowned.

Sonic nearly sighed again. "Guess we'll have to work together for now. And take it _slow_."

Jet scowled. "Fine, but this is the _only_ time."

Sonic nodded. "Agreed."

* * *

"Hey, Tails, you ready to get going?" Amy asked the young fox as she walked up to him.

He glanced to her before returning his attention back to the screen on his small machine. "Yeah, just a sec."

She peered over his shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to pinpoint the exact location of whatever my machine detected earlier," he replied somewhat distractedly.

"Do you think it's another portal?" she asked.

"Dunno," he replied with a shrug. "That's what I wanna find out."

"That machine of yours could be out ticket home if it can detect the portals now."

"Maybe." A moment later, his expression brightened into a smile. "Got it!" He turned his head and beamed at her. "Okay, I'm ready now. Let's go."

"Right," she nodded.

Unable to fly because he'd end up leaving Amy behind (and he couldn't carry her since they both needed both of their hands to be free and _someone_ needed to carry the machine) Tails simply started walking, with Amy not far behind.

* * *

Knuckles glared severely at the shadowy Mephiles (who had reappeared beside him just a few moments ago) from where he once more sat on his butt on the ground. The shadow spoke, seemingly to itself, as it hovered near him, facing out toward the lava. "The traps have been set and the pawns are all on the move. Now all I must do is wait for them to fall... And they _will_ fall. One... by _one_."

"You'll never win," Knuckles swore vehemently. "Even if they do get caught up in your stupid traps, they'll get out of 'em just fine."

"And then they will come here," Mephiles finished.

Knuckles couldn't be sure, but he had a bad feeling that, maybe, that was what Mephiles _wanted_. Glaring up at the sky pointlessly, he gritted his teeth, baring them in a silent display of anger, effectively concealing his concern from outside observers. _Dammit, guys... just stay away. I'll get myself out of this mess. Just stay away_!

In the distance, a massive explosion, soon followed by the sound of some sort of rock formation collapsing entirely, reached his ears and he was sure that, if it could, Mephiles would have been smirking. "So it begins."

* * *

**Yeah, sorry this is late. My school has made life a bit crazy lately. Posted 05-15-15.**


	81. The Fight Begins

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! Well wait no more! Here's the next installment! XD Yeah, it was intended to be a bit motherly on her part. And it _was_ pretty cute, huh? XD Glad you enjoyed! Eh, it's fine. On June 4th it'll al be over, and I have very few responsibilities left at this point. I'll be fine. :)(P.S. Thanks for having faith in me! XD)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Glad you think so! Well, you'll just have to wait and see, huh? XD About the words, that is an interesting concept! I hadn't thought of it before, but now I'm intrigued by the possibility! Granted, I can promise nothing for sure, but even still. :)**

**Hello, flashyhero! Now that you mention it, I can too! XD**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Well, I would assume not since, after all, he _is_ from '06. :P The whole chess board thing is interesting, and you and flashyhero both commented about it! I hadn't even thought about it until you two mentioned it! XD I'm sure thy'll be fine in the end, by the way.**

**Hello, Guest1995! Aw, I'm so glad you think so! That means a lot! :D Yeah, sorry I couldn't use more of the comic characters. For the most part, they just didn't fit or, at times, as sad as it is, I simply wasn't aware of their existence at the time. About the typos: I have been slowly going through and correcting myself and whatnot, so hopefully it will all eventually be error-free. :) There will be a bit of SA and Unleashed in here eventually, don't worry! However, as far as Unleashed goes, I haven't yet decided whether or not to include the wherehog. I may just use places from the game (which I spent most of last night playing XD). Don't worry, I won't rush! Thanks so much for taking the time to review! :D**

**Hello, Daggr! I understand. Action _does_ tend to be more interesting, but I also like to focus on other things once in a while, you know. :) Yeah, they'll be heading home not long after all of this is over. Nope, didn't forget him. Let's just say that he's been... working in the shadows. ;) Glad that this will suffice for you for now! Well, with Jet, I dunno that he's overcoming it _just_ yet, but still. Son't worry, Amy and Tails will be more involved than you think! They will have an important role, I promise! About the lava... I DIDN'T EVEN THINK OF THAT. Though, now that you've brought it up, that _is_ an interesting concept... *Grins evilly and backs away slowly***

**Hello, Hello, Anonymous! Or, should I say "Jello"? XD I WILL TELL NOTHING ABOUT "SILFVER" UP HERE. (Seriously, I _did_ tell you that I'd leave typos to see if you noticed 'em or not. XD) Well, I'm glad you enjoyed. And yes, he is angry. But about _what_ I wonder? ;) I'm not actually sure if they will get the emeralds or not, but they might. Yeah, if he _does_ end up going Super, he will totally kick Mephiles's butt! XD What do you mean you might "have a chance"? It's free and all, so I'm confused. :P Alright, great! We can start working out ideas now if you'd like, but the writing might have to wait until after Hero ends, just because writing for this story takes up so much time and all. :)**

* * *

**Once again, I'm sorry this is late! Normally on the weekends I write the chapters for Saturday and Sunday the night before and upload them on the proper day. However, I failed to do that last night due to the fact that I spent the majority of my evening playing Sonic Unleashed on my Xbox. :P Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Silver ducked and swerved in midair as rocks tumbled down all around him. Forced to turn himself upright and spin in order to dodge several closely-packed rocks, he let himself drop down to the ground. He landed lightly on his feet and, following the sound of Blaze's shoes hitting the ground as she ran, he too began to run. Just as he was nearly free of the falling debris, one particularly large rock collapsed and he was forced to dive forward to avoid being crushed. Panting, he scrambled to his feet and whirled around to stare at the thick clouds of dust, dirt, soot, ash, and smoke that had been blasted into the air from a mixture of the explosion that had caused this massive collapse and then the collapse itself. Blinking, he looked to where a very large rock formation had once stood, then turned to Blaze and demanded, "What the heck just happened?!"

Blaze's frown was too serious. Something was wrong. "We must leave."

"Why?" he asked, unconsciously mimicking her frown.

"_Now_," she said firmly. Then, in an unexpected move, she placed a hand on his back and shoved him forward to get him moving, then took off running.

Utterly confused, Silver quickly took to the air, though he stayed low enough to the ground that they could still talk. "Blaze, what's going on?"

She cut him a glance. "You did not see it?"

"I saw an explosion," he replied quickly, "but it started behind me. After that all I could see was smoke and stuff and then the rocks falling all around me."

Blaze looked away, her teeth visibly gritted ever-so-slightly. "That explosion was no accident."

"What do you mean?"

"Something blasted that rock formation with a ball of dark energy."

Silver's eyes widened a bit, though his frown prevented them from widening too much. "Mephiles."

She nodded. "Yes. It would seem that he is trying to prevent us from reaching him."

"Well it ain't gonna work," Silver growled. "This time we _will_ stop him." No sooner than those words were past his lips, a sudden force slammed into his back and sent him flying into the ground so hard that he not only bounced, but he also created a shallow hole in the ground. Coughing, he lifted his head in time to see a hedgehog land lightly on the ground several feet away with their back to him. Red and black fur held Silver's attention for only a moment as the figure turned halfway to glare at him with bright red eyes.

"If you wish to stay alive, you'll stay _away_." With that, the person turned back around and took off running, leaving a bright yellow streak behind.

Growling lowly and glaring hard, Silver pushed himself up to his feet. "Who the heck was that?"

Blaze was also glaring in the direction that the person had gone in before they had disappeared. "I do not know."

"Well I don't take orders from anyone," Silver muttered, "and especially not people who threaten me." He glanced at Blaze, his eyes sparking with anger. "Let's go."

He took to the air and Blaze watched him for a brief moment before taking off after him, leaping over a few rocks as she went. Her frown was now as troubled as it was serious. _Silver is never so easily roused to anger_. That combined with his weird vision or whatever from earlier that day had her feeling at least vaguely worried for her friend. _What is going on with him? _As she was running, a troubling thought entered her mind. _Could he have perhaps taken on the feelings of whoever's mind he entered...?_

* * *

"Hey, Amy! It's this way!" Tails called.

Amy, who had been gazing somewhat distractedly into a pool of lava far below the rocky mountain they were climbing, blinked and turned her attention back to him. "Okay."

Tails waited for her to catch up before asking, "You okay?"

"Huh?" she asked, seemingly having been spacing out again, before replying quickly, "Oh, yes, I'm fine."

"You don't _seem_ like it," Tails frowned as they walked. "You keep staring off into space, like you're worried about something."

She sighed softly, "I am," she admitted reluctantly. "If even a tough guy like Jet can be worried, how can _I_ not be?"

"Is this about Sonic?" Tails asked.

Amy shook her head. "Not entirely. I'm worried about _everyone_." She sighed again. "I mean, Knuckles is still nowhere to be found, Sonic still hasn't returned, Silver and Blaze left together but are probably still in danger, Jet probably took off even though I told him not to, all those people at Silver's home are by themselves now, and you and I are out here all alone in the middle of nowhere."

Tails was quick to try to reassure her, a smile appearing on his face. "Amy, you said it yourself. They're all strong enough to take care of themselves, even the people Silver lives with. They can all fight and protect each other. I'm sure that Sonic and Knuckles are together and heading back now. Silver and Blaze are probably fine, too, especially since they've lived in this world their entire lives. They're used to the dangers. And as far as Jet goes, like you said, he's tough. I'm sure he's fine, too. And _we're_ fine as well. We can fight too, you know."

She somehow managed a small smile. "Yeah, I know. I just can't help but worry, you know?"

Tails nodded. "Yeah. Just don't worry too much, or else you'll make yourself sick or something."

Her smile widened a bit. "You're right." With that admission, she changed the subject entirely. "So which way now?"

Tails looked down at his machine. "Um... it looks like we have to go north a bit from here." Turning in that direction, they stopped dead in their tracks, their eyes widening in shock and horror. Tails dropped his machine as close to a hundred prowling dog-like shadow creatures turned to face them. "Oh, _man_."

Amy gasped and started to pull out her hammer, but was stopped when, after a mighty howl, all the beasts simultaneously released a torrent of dark energy in the form of fast-moving spheres. With a scream, she dived to the side while Tails, also crying out in alarm, took to the sky. Amy landed hard on her hands and, with an almost murderous glare, she grabbed her hammer and rushed in.

* * *

Knuckles struggled against his restraints as several of Mephiles's creatures stalked toward him. Mephiles (who had left after giving his beats _permission_ to do some damage as long as Knuckles didn't end up dead) was "checking on" his traps, and Knuckles figured now was as good a time as any to try to break free. _Especially since I can't fight like this...! _Then, a sudden thought occurred to him. _Wait. My legs are free. _He really couldn't fight with only his legs like Sonic could (after all, Sonic had had _years_ to perfect fighting with both his arms and his legs), but there _was_ something else he could do. _If I can just dodge their attacks correctly, I can get them to hit each other. I see Sonic do it all the time. It can't be that hard. _

With a plan now set in his mind, he jumped to his feet and waited for the perfect moment as the beasts rushed toward him. He could hear several coming toward him from behind even as more ran toward him from the front. One creature that was in front of him stretched its mouth open wide and unleashed a large ball of dark energy. Tensing, Knuckles waited until he could hear a beast _just_ behind him before spinning to the side. Sure enough, the ball slammed into the creature that had been behind him, sending it flying straight into the lava. Knuckles smirked. _Guess these things aren't immune to lava. Great. _Maybe he didn't have to do all that dodging after all. If he could just knock them all into the lava, then he'd be golden. Well, minus the _minor_ problem of finding a way off of this island. Still, he would worry about that later. Right now, all that mattered was getting out of _this_ mess.

He jumped over another creature as it charged at him head-first, seemingly intent on headbutting him, and, with another spin, he whirled and kicked it as hard as he could. It didn't go as far as he would have liked, but it _did_ manage to hit several off it's companions. They landed in a heap in the exact spot where a worm-thing shot up out of the ground only a split second later, sending the other creatures hurtling over the lava and to their deaths. Satisfied that all of the dog-like creatures were no gone, he turned his attention to the worms. The worms were bigger than the dogs and could also shoot balls of dark energy at him at any time. That, combined with the fact that that they could disappear into the ground and reappear somewhere else made them a much bigger threat in a way. And yet, there was one fatal flaw about them that he could use to his advantage. _It seems like they have to wait several seconds after reappearing above ground before they can dive back under. I'll have to be fast, but if I can land an attack then... _

His thoughts were quickly interrupted when the birds overhead began swooping down toward him beak-first. Their beaks looked as sharp and blades. Alarmed, he dodged as quickly as he could. Still, despite his efforts, his arm got sliced near the shoulder by one beak. Knuckles kicked the offending creature aside and, being much more lightweight than the dog-like one had been, it sailed across the battlefield and dropped the few feet it took to land in the lava. Shrieking at him like the monsters they were, the remaining ten or so birds took once more to the sky and circled, preparing for another attack while the worms began shooting balls of dark energy at him. Swearing softly, he ducked under one, jumped over another, and moved quickly to the side to dodge the rest. By the time they were finished firing at him, only three of the initial seven or so remained. Knuckles almost wanted to laugh. _Jeez, these things are dumb as rocks! _His humor was short lived, however, when a worm suddenly shot up out of the ground from beneath him and sent him flying high into the air. Multiple birds rammed him, slamming him back into the ground with painful force.

Coughing, Knuckles quickly regained his feet, just in time to dodge yet another ball of dark energy that was fired at him from above. He glared at the birds. "I'm really getting sick of you!" he shouted pointlessly, despite knowing that they almost undoubtedly couldn't understand him. Growling, he waited until the birds began dive-bombing again before moving in for an attack of his own. He managed to kick several into the lava before he was forced to stop when another bird flew rapidly toward his face beak-first. Growling again, Knuckles did the only thing he could do. Heedless of the cut he received, he headbutted the creature. When it hit the ground with a screech, he kicked it away as well. Once it was gone, he did a quick count. _Four birds and three worms left to go. _

Suddenly, the fight was interrupted when the lava in one spot just below the birds shot up in a thin stream like a geyser. One bird was hit and, needless to say, it instantly caught fire. Screeching in pain, it slammed into another bird, which then hit the other two. With all four of them now on fire, the one that had been directly hit by the lava dropped like a rock into the lava and disappeared beneath the glowing red liquid while the other three, in one last desperate act, swooped down with shrieks and cries that sounded for all the world like expressions of genuine fury. They slammed into Knuckles before he had a chance to even try to dodge and, before he even realized what was happening, he cried out in alarm as fire began to rapidly cover him.

The birds managed to fly a short distance away before simply collapsing in fiery heaps on the ground and, Knuckles, more determined than ever to break free, began struggling against his restraints once more. Much to his shock, he quickly discovered that the fire was disintegrating the dark coils. With one last desperate pull, he broke free from the now fiery restraints, he spun rapidly in a single circle to put out the flames on him. He clenched his fists tightly and smirked to himself. "Finally!" he exclaimed. With renewed vigor, he rushed in to finish off the worms. With a slew of well-aimed, rapidly thrown punches, he felled the beats and landed lightly in a crouch in the center of the battlefield. Standing, he quickly jumped into the air and began gliding. _If Sonic and the others don't find that Mephiles guy and beat him first, I'll kill him myself._

* * *

**So this chapter paid more attention to Knuckles, since he hasn't been in the others very much. Don't worry, Sonic and Jet will be back in the next one! Posted 05-16-15.**


	82. Setting Plans in Motion

**Hello, Anonymous! ...I went back and fixed that. XD All the errors in that chapter should be gone now, unless I missed some. Thanks for pointing it out! Cool! Can't wait to see if you can get an account! I hope they let you! BTW, you said "Mow" instead of "Now". Lol! XD *Applauds your epic dive and gives you a 10 as well* Now as far as your comment about picking my typos... YOU MEANIE! *Cries* (Totally kidding, by the way!)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! YES! LET THERE BE WAR! *Laughs maniacally* Ahem. Anyway, I'm super glad you enjoyed! That makes me so happy! :D I sure hope it will. I will certainly do my best to make it be so! Aw, thanks for the congrats! Arigatō, Pyro-san! ****それは私を幸せにします！:)**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yes, it most certainly is! Yes, soon they will be. Soon, very soon... ;) Glad you enjoyed that little skirmish! I did my best to make that enjoyable. :) And yes, it _was_ Shadow. After all, how many other hedgehogs are red and black and leave bright yellow streaks of light behind them when they run? XD**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! Well, now you can find out! Enjoy! :D**

**Hello, John! You're welcome! XD**

**Hello, Lynn! I know you reviewed on Chapter 75, but hopefully you'll see this anyway. I'm so glad you've enjoyed the story so far! That means a lot to me to hear! :D I will do my best to do so, I promise!**

* * *

"...You alright?" Now that they were past the lava, both Sonic and Jet had agreed that they were safer simply walking rather than trying to continue flying together on Jet's board, which the hawk insisted on carrying even though he was obviously in pain.

Jet didn't even bat an eye. "I'm fine."

Sonic frowned at Jet from where he walked slightly behind the other male. _He's lying. There's no doubt about that. _Sonic was now certain that Jet had a fever, and he knew for a _fact_ that the bird needed to be resting right now. However, considering where they were (out in the middle of the badlands, to be precise), resting wasn't really an option. _Just great. __He'll end up collapsing if this keeps up. _And Sonic knew from experience how quickly a bad fever could cause a person to totally lose consciousness out of nowhere. _He'd better not pass out. _

Jet struggled to pay attention to where he was going as numerous thoughts drifted through his mind. He knew he had to tell Sonic what he'd been hiding for so long, but... how to broach the subject? And, for that matter, how was he supposed to explain everything once he _did_ manage to somehow bring it up? He didn't like this situation at all, but then again, he _had_ promised. He'd promised, as Sonic's friend, to do everything that woman had asked of him, despite all of the unfortunate consequences. And to call them unfortunate was putting it lightly. ...And, speaking of light, he realized suddenly that he was feeling a bit light-headed. Okay, so it was more than just a bit, but damn him if he were to ever admit that. Still, his body soon ended up betraying him. The world swayed and he stumbled to the side, his vision going black for the barest of moments. Seconds later, a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him roughly back to his feet. Just as he came back to his senses, he felt his board get snatched away from him. He turned rapidly and glared as best as he could at the thief. "Hey-!"

Sonic easily moved the board under an arm and fixed Jet with an impassive look that seemed too calm to be real. "You shouldn't be carrying this right now. It's bad enough you're out here running around as it is."

"I told you already, I'm fine!" Jet snapped, though a sudden throb of pain from his wound said otherwise.

Sonic's minute frown clearly said that he'd seen Jet's subtle wince. "Uh-huh," he replied disbelievingly. "I told you already, you're a terrible liar."

As he watched Sonic resume walking, Jet couldn't help but wonder (and worry) that Sonic wasn't _just_ talking about Jet lying about whether or not he was fine right now. Grinding his teeth together, Jet walked after him. After several minutes of silence, he decided that he couldn't take it anymore. He needed _something_ to distract him from the pain he was in. "Where the hell are you going, anyway?"

Sonic spared him a glance. "Remember the red echidna you saw me with in the jungle?"

Jet frowned. _What does that have to do with...? _"Yeah," he replied slowly. "Didn't know he was an echidna, though."

Sonic seemed to brush off that last sentence as unimportant for the time being. "He took off on his own earlier and I've been trying to find him."

"So _that's_ why you were trying to figure out how to go over the lava earlier," Jet said with sudden understanding.

Sonic nodded in response and, moments later, released a small sigh. "That guy sure knows how to disappear."

Jet quirked an eyebrow. "You seriously have no idea where he is?"

"I had an idea of where he _might_ have been, but the whole place was deserted," Sonic replied with a shrug. "There's no telling where he wandered off to."

"Great. So there's no telling how long we'll be out here, either."

"If we can manage to find a safe way around the lava, I can run while you fly. Then when we can get back easily."

"No. We've already walked this damn far. Let's just keep going."

Sonic gave him a long look that Jet found impossible to read before looking away and nodding. "Fine." They walked in silence over a large hill of loose volcanic rocks, several of which managed to cut Jet's legs when his pain caused him to stumble. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to walk as normally as possible once they were away from the hill. From there, they rounded a bend and walked beside a river of sluggishly flowing magma for a short while before finding themselves face-to-face with a long, tall mountain range. Jet watched as Sonic looked around, only moving his eyes and head, before apparently picking out a safe path to travel on. Much to his surprise, Sonic turned back and handed Jet's board back to him. "It's too steep to walk," he said simply. "You could climb, but flying will be faster."

Jet nodded his agreement and quickly mounted his board. With an answering nod, Sonic turned away and, in a flash, he was already at the top of the mountain. Jet's eyes widened a bit of their own accord. _He's gotten faster. _Shaking such thoughts aside for now, he flew up to join the hedgehog at the mountain's summit. Once Jet was caught up, Sonic surprised Jet once again by simply jumping off the side of the mountain. He didn't even curl into a ball in an attempt to control his fall. He just... fell. Just as Sonic landed in a crouch on the ground below and Jet started flying down to join him, a ball of dark energy was hurled up at the hawk from out of nowhere. It hit him and knocked him off his board, causing him to fall and hit the ground. For a moment, everything went black for the second time that day. A moment later, a shout reached his ears as his board clattered loudly to the ground somewhere near him.

"Jet!"

Biting back an agonized groan, Jet slowly pushed himself up and opened his eyes. Immediately he saw that he and Sonic were suddenly separated by a large group of shadowy creatures that were quickly surrounding the two of them. One such creature, which stood dangerously close to Jet, looked almost like some crude imitation of a dog, and Jet's eyes widened as horrible memories of the past, memories heavily linked to his promise, came rushing back to him. _Oh my god... they look just like... _He jumped to his feet and, without even realizing it, he took a step back. _These creatures... they're the same ones that helped kill... _His thoughts never had a chance to finish, however, as the creatures began rushing toward him, ready to attack.

* * *

Amy swung her hammer hard, gritting her teeth together as the force of the impact sent painful vibrations racing up the length of her hammer's handle. The creature she hit slammed into another creature and together they sailed into a large boulder that shattered from the force of them hitting it. Satisfied that _they_ wouldn't be getting up any time soon, she turned her attention to the next opponents. All of these creatures looked the same, and she found that it was impossible to tell which of them she had fought already, or if they were all ones that she had yet to face. She knew for a fact that she had already taken down at least twenty of them, but that still left a good eighty or so that she and Tails had to take care of. Steeling herself for a long fight, she rushed forward once again, her hammer over her shoulder as she prepared once more to swing.

Meanwhile, Tails was flying high in the air as he did as Amy had told him to do: analyze the creatures and search for a weak point. However, searching from above had so far proven to be a fruitless endeavor. _Sometimes the best way to get answers is to test different theories in person. _With this in mind, he landed in a relatively safe place and, crouching almost as though he were preparing to run, he waited for his first opponent. His eyes scanned over every minute detail as said opponent rushed toward him. He analyzed everything: the way it carried it's weight, the way it ran, how long it took for it to unleash its attack once it started building it up, how fast it was, how strong it was, the minor intelligence it seemed to have... Finally, it was close enough for him to attack. He jumped up and over it before whirling with one leg out, knocking the creature off it's feet momentarily. It stood just as he landed another kick, this one specifically aimed at the creature's back. Though it seemed to be injured by this, it showed no signs of really weakening. So, he went with Hypothesis B. Landing lightly in that same crouch, he watched as it spun around and charged at him again. He jumped into the air for the second time and swung one leg down hard. His foot connected solidly with the beast's head and, after that, it didn't get back up. Tails's eyes widened a bit, but he refrained from calling out to Amy just yet. _No hypothesis is proven until its been tested multiple times with the same end result. _Keeping that knowledge in mind, he raced off to find another target.

Amy ducked just in time to avoid a blast of formless dark energy that was sent flying at her from some unknown point on the battlefield. Releasing a very feminine growl, she spun hard, her hammer slamming into several creatures and causing them to go flying. Panting slightly from exertion, she quickly glanced around. _There are so many...!_ The fact that they were so hard to beat did _nothing_ to help the situation, either.

Suddenly, Tails's voice called out to her from above. "Amy!" he shouted above the fray. "It's their heads! Their weak point is their _heads_!"

Amy looked away and smirked. "Their heads, huh?" Still smirking, she pulled her hammer back to fight once more. "Alright then! Let's do this!" She heard Tails shout some sort of an agreement and the two resumed their fight with renewed determination and confidence.

* * *

Knuckles flew as fast as he could, heading rapidly toward the explosion he had seen not long ago. Unless he was mistaken, someone was there and, unless they were an enemy, he was intent on helping them. _That explosion can't have meant anything good. _Pouring on the speed, he flew as fast as he could to the spot where fresh smoke, unlike the old stuff that was _always_ floating around, was rising up into the air. Just as he reached the spot, a second explosion, seemingly caused by some dark energy attack, sent him flying into the ground. Waving smoke out of his face, he quickly regained his feet. Seconds later, a very familiar form became visible through the smoke and his eyes widened. "Mephiles?!" he demanded, a snarl in his voice.

The eyes that turned on him were red and angry. "Do _not_ call me by that name." And with that, the figure took off in a flash of yellow light.

* * *

The red-eyed hedgehog ran quickly over the ruined landscape, racing after his enemy. He _knew_ the monster was out there, he just wasn't entirely sure _where_. Still, he would find Mephiles and destroy him. His look-alike became doomed from the moment he had decided to try and attack the hedgehog who now ran effortlessly over a steep hill and down the other side. ...Yes, they looked alike, he supposed. Still, that didn't mean they were the same. _I am Shadow. N__ot some pathetic clone. _Eyes narrowed slightly in anger, he pushed himself to go even faster.

* * *

Silver and Blaze moved quickly, avoiding small fights whenever they could and ending the ones that _did_ manage to get caught up in as fast as they could manage. Silver still seemed angry, though his anger seemed to have simmered down some from earlier. _Does this mean that whoever he is sharing feelings with has also calmed? _Blaze wondered, though she honestly didn't think it made a difference. Either way, this was one more thing Silver was going to have to learn. Controlling the emotions that had been forced upon him during his unwilling connection with someone else's mind would more than likely prove to be no easy feat.

Just then, Silver lowered his altitude so that he was flying beside her. "Blaze, I think I figured it out."

She blinked at him as she jumped over the ruined wall of what had once been the stone frame of a small house. "Figured what out?"

"Who's mind I entered or whatever."

Blaze blinked at him again. "Are you sure?"

"Not... exactly..." he admitted reluctantly, "But I think I have a pretty good idea."

"How so?" she inquired as they raced on.

Silver and Blaze both swerved to opposite sides in order to avoid a large fire before moving back in. "Well, for one thing, the more I went over everything in my head, the more I realized that I could hear another voice. I guess it was too hard to listen to two voices at once when I was in their mind or whatever, but I heard another voice besides the first one. They thought something along the lines of 'It's that voice again...' or something like that."

"And you were able to determine who's voice it was?" she asked slowly.

He nodded. "I think so." He turned his head and fixed her with a serious look. "I think it was my dad."

She frowned slightly. _His father...? _She hadn't actually met him yet, but she remembered the old stories quite clearly. _Sonic is said to have been the one who defeated a man named Gerald Robotnik centuries ago, back when he was still a child. Could this be the same Sonic? _

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted when Silver spoke again. "But... there's one thing I just don't understand."

Blaze turned her head to look at him once again, noting immediately the troubled look in his eyes. "What?"

Silver met her gaze, concern obvious in his expression. His emotions seemed to drown out the emotions he'd taken in earlier, which meant that, emotionally speaking, he was wholly himself, at least for now. "Why did he feel so... angry?"

Blaze looked away. "I do not know," she admitted. Doing her best not to be troubled by this, she continued running, determined to be strong for her friend when he needed it.

* * *

Mephiles watched with utter satisfaction as the so-called heroes slowly made their way to him. Though his supposed bait had escaped, it didn't concern him in the least. Everything was going according to plan. Everyone he wanted to see would come to him like he'd planned and, in the end, they would all die. Well, except maybe one. _That one is stronger than the other versions of him I have faced in the past. He possesses a control over his power that the others lacked. Still, if I cannot kill him, I may be able force his friends to do so to save their own lives. ...Yes, the darkness I forced inside of him is growing nicely. He has proven too strong to fall to it so far, but I will change that... And once he is dead, his friends will be too in shock to fight back. That is when I will destroy them. _Chuckling darkly, he faded into the ground and disappeared.

* * *

**Posted 05-17-15.**


	83. The Beginning of Another End

**Hello, Anonymous! Yup, he's back. And yes, he is going kinda crazy now. Eh, he probably won't die, but I'm not entirely set on that yet. Seriously, it said that! Go back and look! XD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Not exactly. Other timelines will likely be mentioned, but there will be no more traveling through them. :P Glad you enjoyed! About Mephiles: no, not quite. Don't worry, he will be explained a bit more later. And I know, right? Tails is so cool!**

**Hello, Daggr! Alright, thanks for the heads-up. Uh, sorry, but that may be a no-can-do. I have so much I want to write for this story, and I'd rather get it written and posted before I lose the idea, you know? Sorry. :l Yes, I may or may not be referring to that. BUT I'M NOT TELLING UP HERE! XD Aw, I want to play that game so bad! I haven't played one since I was pretty dang young (like ten or something), and I miss those games a lot. :( Yes, I agree that Unleashed has its downsides. However, realistically speaking, every game does. And, with Unleashed, despite its high difficulty level, I find it to be highly enjoyable. I love the music, the graphics (especially in the beginning cut scene in space and the cut scenes involving Dark Gaia once fully awakened), the incredibly fast-pace of the day levels, and the unique gameplay of the night ones. All in all, I just love the game. :)**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Your review to Chapter 80: Lol! Yes, yes it is. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 82: Glad you think so. :)**

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**Once again, the replies that are at the end are to avoid spoilers.**

* * *

"Tails! Tails, over here! Come quick!"

"Hang on! I'm coming!" Following the sound of Amy's panicked voice, Tails flew rapidly to the center of a large commotion. Amy was completely and utterly surrounded, and she was pinned on her back in the dirt by several shadowy creatures, effectively preventing her from swinging the hammer she kept tightly clutched in one hand. Gritting his teeth, Tails swooped in from above and delivered multiple kicks to the creatures surrounding his friend. As soon as she was free, she sprang up and slammed her hammer into her attackers' heads. Another creature rushed in from behind and Tails was quick to get in between it and Amy, knocking it off it's feet with yet another kick and an angry shout of, "Stay away from my sister!" Yet more creatures rushed at them and, together, the yellow and pink duo somehow managed to wipe out the remaining enemies.

Amy stood by panting with her hammer's handle gripped tightly in both her hands. A moment later, a bright light caught her eye. Turning her head to the right while Tails checked to make sure the last of their enemies were _really _dead, she frowned a bit and tilted her head and tried to make out what she was seeing in the distance. She only barely heard Tails say something about going back to get his machine, and she nodded in response, already walking toward the light. She put her hammer away and carefully picked her way down a steep, rocky slope. From there, she walked slowly around a small lava pool as the red liquid lapped lazily at the hard shore. Once she was past the danger, she broke into a run, her arms up by her head in a very feminine manner that she only assumed when she wasn't running very fast. She jumped over a low rock and slowed to a walk when she reached a second pool of lava that rested below the low cliff that she now stood atop of. Still exhausted from her fight, she took a moment to catch her breath, her eyes on the yellow light beyond the pool. Then, suddenly, the ground beneath her feet crumbled and, with a shriek, she fell a short distance before she somehow, by some miracle, managed to twist around and catch the ledge with both of her hands.

Right about then, Tails came flying over to her rapidly and pulled her up to safety. "Amy!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide. "Are you okay? What were you _doing_?"

"I'm fine," she dismissed easily, despite being shaken by her near-death experience. "Where's your machine?"

Tails's ears drooped a bit. "Broken."

"Oh," she murmured apologetically, not really knowing what else to say. He shrugged in response and she turned and pointed. "Well, _that's _why I'm over here."

Tails followed her pointing finger and gasped, a smile spreading across his face. "The Chaos Emerald!" Taking Amy's hands in his own, he flew over to the brightly glowing gem. They landed on the ground and Tails frowned at the emerald. "I've never seen one glow constantly like this."

"It's almost like it's... _reacting_ to something," Amy murmured in reply.

Tails frowned deeper. "The Chaos Emeralds have an innate, perfect balance between light and dark within them," he said. "The glow of the emeralds represents the good. The fact that the light is flaring up like this must mean that something's upset that delicate balance."

Amy reached out slowly and picked it up, noting with some surprise that the light intensified at her touch. "Come on," she urged, tucking the emerald safely away. "If the emeralds have been disturbed, then something must be wrong. We need to find the others."

Tails nodded. "Right." He took her hands in his again and began to fly.

* * *

Silver swerved around a steaming geyser as he flew and, more on instinct than anything else, he ducked down. Sure enough, a few seconds later, a large rock that was bigger than he was sailed over him. Blinking in surprise, he turned his head to the right. A moment later, he stopped flying. "Uh... Blaze?" he called.

She stopped her run and spun neatly to face him, her eyes trained on the sky. Said eyes widened just a moment later. "What is _that_...?"

"I think," he started slowly, "and I could be wrong... But I think that might be... Knuckles."

She blinked. _Knuckles?_ As in, Knuckles, the echidna friend he had told her about? "You are sure?"

He nodded. "_Pretty_ sure, at least." Once those words were past his lips, he was forced to duck his head to avoid a ball of dark energy that was hurled in his general direction. "Whoa!"

Blaze frowned, her eyes trained on the fight going on on the mountain peak high above them. After a moment, her eyes caught a flash of red fur, only for it to disappear from sight again as the lone fighter was once again surrounded by beasts. _He may be in trouble. _"Silver." He turned to look down at her. "We need to go."

He followed her gaze to the mountain and, with another nod, he lead the way to the fight. "Hey, Knuckles!" he called.

The echidna whirled, simultaneously punching several creatures as he did so, and glared at him. "Silver?! What the heck are you doing out here?!"

Silver dodged a shadowy attack and unleashed a fast-traveling, horizontal blade of pure light green energy at several of their foes. "I could ask the same of you, you know."

Before Knuckles had a chance to reply, Blaze rushed in and, using a couple well-aimed balls of fire, she took out multiple creatures on her own. "Now is not the time for conversation," she said sternly.

Knuckles glared at her but, for whatever reason, didn't bother to argue. Instead, he resumed what he had been doing before: punching every enemy within range. Silver unleashed more energy sickles at their airborne enemies. Blaze blasted the remaining creatures with her fire. Before long, the creatures were destroyed and Silver laded lightly on the ground. "Okay, first of all, I have to ask..." Silver started, "_w__hy_ were you on fire and _how_ are you not cooked right now?"

Knuckles crossed his arms and glared. "_That_ happened because one of those stupid things knocked me into a fire. I don't how I'm not burned."

"Odd," Blaze murmured thoughtfully.

"So, care to explain what you're doing way out here?" Silver asked Knuckles casually. "Dad's been looking for you, you know."

Knuckles growled softly. "It's not like I'm out here because I _wanna_ be," he muttered. "I was just flying and looking around, and then I was attacked. When I woke up I was trapped. I just escaped like twenty minutes ago."

"Trapped?" Blaze asked seriously.

Knuckles flicked a distrustful glance in her direction. "Yeah. By some _thing_ called Mephiles."

Silver's hands balled into fists. "So he _is_ behind all of this, then."

"As we suspected," Blaze agreed.

Knuckles looked between the two of them and demanded, "You two know that thing?"

"Yeah," Silver nodded. "He used to work with Iblis, in a way. Most people considered Iblis to be the brawn while Mephiles was merely the brain, but the truth is much worse."

Blaze took a step forward, drawing Knuckles's attention to her. "Mephilis _was_ the more intelligent of the two," she said slowly. "However, Iblis's power, while immense, is nothing compared to what Mephiles is capable of."

"For example, Blaze is pretty sure that Mephiles is the one behind all the portals that we've been seeing," Silver added. "The fact that he can travel across timelines means he has a lot more power than everyone previously suspected."

"Mephiles is pure evil and darkness," Blaze continued. "With pure power such as this, there is no telling what he may be capable of."

Knuckles's frown was deep, and too serious. "Like tainting the Chaos Emeralds."

Silver tensed. "What?"

Knuckles wordlessly pulled out the light blue Chaos Emerald. Though the emerald was glowing fiercely, almost as though it was battling something within itself, it's overall light was dulled. "Something's wrong with the emeralds," Knuckles said, "and I think Mephiles is behind it."

Blaze gave a small nod of agreement. "Most probably."

Silver frowned in thought. "So if _that_ emerald is tainted..." He pulled out the white emerald, which he had picked up after one of the many little skirmishes he and Blaze had gotten into. "...then I guess that explains what's wrong with this one." It too was glowing fiercely, while still somehow managing to seem dulled at the same time.

Knuckles frowned at the emeralds. _At least two emeralds, if not all of them, are tainted. Sonic has some sort of connection to the emeralds that I don't understand. He's gotta be feeling the effects of this. He has to know something's wrong... I just hope that he can do something about it._

The cat, Blaze apparently, interrupted his thoughts. "We should get going. We must find Mephiles before he can do any more damage."

Silver nodded. "Right." He took to the air and he and Blaze took off.

After a moment's hesitation, Knuckles jumped into the air and reluctantly followed after them. Several moments later, he decided he had to ask. "Hey, Silver. Do any other hedgehogs live here, in this world I mean, besides you?"

Silver glanced at him in obvious surprise. "No. Why?"

Knuckles grew even more troubled then. "I saw a hedgehog earlier," he said, "and I know for a _fact_ that he wasn't Sonic."

Silver and Blaze both fixed him with hard looks. "What did he look like?" Blaze demanded.

"Did he have red and black fur?" Silver added quickly. "And red eyes and hair that kinda stands up?"

Knuckles nodded in surprise. That fit the description of the hedgehog perfectly. "Yeah. How do you know that?"

Silver and Blaze traded a glance. "That guy attacked me earlier and told me that if we wanted to stay alive, we'd stay away from Mephiles."

Knuckles quickly pieced things together. "Wait a minute," he said suddenly, "you and Sonic said that, on your way back to your home after your race or whatever, you guys saw two identical figures running by some lava, right? And that one of them looked like it was chasing the other?"

Silver's eyes widened. "Oh my god. It was Mephiles and that other guy, wasn't it?"

Blaze answered that was a single nod. "It would seem so."

"But how did he _get_ here?" Silver demanded.

"I do not know," Blaze replied.

"All the more reason to find Mephiles as quickly as possible," Knuckles said. "Come on."

* * *

With Sonic's incredible speed and long history of fighting experience, the battle was quickly over. Excluding Jet's fall from the sky, neither of them had sustained any injury. However, not long after the battle, it became clear that something was still wrong. Sonic seemed to be gritting his teeth quite tightly, though his mouth was closed, and his hands were balled into tight fists. His eyes were closed, too, and, after a moment, he shook his head slowly, almost as though he were feeling... _weak_ or something. Which couldn't be possible of course, but still. Jet approached him slowly, cautiously, noting the way Sonic's energy snapped and twitched like an agitated cat's tail. "...You okay?"

Sonic seemed to force himself to relax a bit, though his eyes didn't open and his fists didn't unclench. "I'm fine." Even his voice sounded tense. Strained, even. Like he was trying too hard to sound calm and unaffected. But unaffected by _what_?

Before Jet even had a chance to debate whether or not it was a good idea to ask right now, Sonic's eyes snapped open and, with sudden intensity, locked on some point beyond where Jet was standing. Turning quickly, Jet's own eyes widened at the dark, shadowy hole he saw rapidly growing in the ground. Once it was wide enough, a very horribly familiar figure slowly rose up out of the hole, hovering several inches off the ground once the hole closed. Jet's shock quickly gave way to anger. "It's you!" He could feel the cold fury emanating from Sonic behind him, and that was more than enough proof that Sonic recognized this person as well.

"It has been some time," the creature greeted. "I must say, I am flattered that you remember me."

"How can anyone _forget_ someone as ugly as you, Mephiles?!" Jet shot back.

"My, my, someone has quite the temper today," Mephiles commented, though his eyes were on Sonic.

Sonic took a step forward. His gaze was coldly impassive, which never meant anything good. It was a look that Jet had only had to endure once in the past, but that single memory was nearly enough to make him flinch. "And what would you know about that?" Sonic asked with unfailing calm. The fury he had radiated before was now entirely concealed under a heavy calm that made Jet incredibly wary.

"Nothing at all," Mephiles replied just as calmly, though it was clear that neither Jet nor Sonic believed him. "I do wonder, though... Does it have something to do with him?" Mephiles's dark gaze shifted to Jet, pinning him to the spot. "After all, he did let your precious woman die without lifting a finger to aid her all those years ago."

Jet responded before Sonic could. "It's not like that!" he snapped, his voice filled with raw emotion. He could feel Sonic's gaze on him, but he didn't take the chance to meet that gaze and see what sort of look he was receiving from the silent hedgehog.

"Isn't it?" Mephiles asked. "You did nothing to save her, did nothing at all to try to help her. Instead, you merely watched from afar on that silly little board of yours as she was killed."

"It isn't _like_ that!" Jet repeated almost desperately. Then he added furiously, "And _you're _the one who killed her, anyway!"

"And yet, _you_ could have saved her," Mephiles replied. "You alone were there with her. You alone determined her fate."

"Mephiles!" Sonic suddenly snapped, his eyes sparking with signs of true temper. "Leave him out of this!"

"Why should I," Mephiles responded, his gaze drifting back to Sonic, "when he is already involved?"

"You've given him enough problems!" Sonic growled. "Leave him _out_ of it!"

Jet stared at Sonic in shock. _Does he know...? _

Mephiles chuckled darkly. "I do as I please, Sonic the Hedgehog." Sonic's frown deepened and his stance shifted slightly, preparing for an attack. "And right now, it pleases me to do _this_." Without any warning, Mephiles raised a hand and blasted Sonic with a powerful attack of pure, formless dark energy. Sonic flew backward and slammed into the mountain (the one he and Jet had climbed not long before the battle) so hard that a spiderweb of cracks exploded from where he hit the rock. As Sonic hit the ground, Jet saw the small crater that had been left behind.

Jet spun around, ready to attack Mephiles despite his injury and lack of real fighting capability. "What the hell was that?!" he demanded. Behind him, he heard Sonic cough a bit as he tried to push himself up.

"_That_, Jet," Mephiles replied calmly, "was the beginning of the end." And with that, the hole Mephiles had appeared through opened once more and Mephiles disappeared.

Gritting his teeth, Jet turned and ran back to Sonic, who had managed to move himself into a sitting position. "You alright?" he demanded.

Sonic nodded once. "Fine." He stood slowly and brushed a bit of dirt off his arms. _Damn him... Mephiles... How is he here? _

Jet opened his mouth to say something when suddenly, Sonic jumped into the air. Just a split second later, a bright flash of yellow rushed through the space Sonic had been occupying just before. With a flash of sparks from the soles of an unusual pair of shoes, the yellow streak vanished, leaving a red and black hedgehog standing where the streak of light had just ended. Red eyes barely glanced at Jet before locking onto Sonic, who was now crouched defensively several feet away from where he had been before. _Who is this guy? _Jet wondered cautiously.

The stranger glared hard at Sonic. "Huh. Another faker."

Sonic glared back. "What are you talking about?"

The stranger crossed his arms. "So Mephiles isn't the only copy of me, then."

Sonic stood. "I'm not a copy of anyone," he said.

"You have my speed and my strength," the stranger replied, "and even one of my emeralds."

"_Yours_?" Sonic echoed angrily. "First of all, none of the emeralds belong to you."

"Prove it, then," the stranger replied. "Prove you aren't another copy, another fake."

"Why should I?" Sonic demanded.

"Because if you don't, I'll kill you." Without any other warning, the stranger rushed forward to attack.

* * *

**Hello, flashyhero! Well, you were mostly right! XD Though not everything you were right about is in here. :P _How _did you guess it, by the way? Are psychic or something?! O_O**

**Posted 05-18-15.**


	84. Darkness

**Hello, blueyshy! Yo! :) That was awfully nice of you. Yeah, the opening scene hooked me, too! The only thing I didn't like were Sonic's facial expressions when he was trapped and being drained and all that. I mean, I know he was in pain and all, but man, those faces were _weird_. XD Unfortunately, I've never played Black Knight. However, I do know that in it Sonic becomes a swordsman of sorts and I have heard the song "Knight of the Wind" from the game (courtesy of Sonic Generations). It seems cool! I want to play it! :D How's it a sequel of sorts to Unleashed, by the way? No need to apologize, I understand. :) Aw. thanks! Glad you think so! Don't worry, the suspenseful wait is now over! Yes, they _will_ join together. They must! XD**

**Hello, Guest1995! ...Are you referring to the _game_ Shadow the Hedgehog, or the character? Because Shadow the Hedgehog the game most likely wont even be in here at any point. SA2 being in this story, however, is absolutely inevitable. :)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! YES. THIS MEANS WAR. :D Aw, glad you think so! About Dark Sonic: MAAAAAAYBEEEEEE... XD Read and find out! It's in this chapter! :D OMG! That quote is amazing! Totally sounds like something it would say! Where did you come up with it? :0 I will, thank you! (P.S. The rest of my reply to you is at the end to avoid a _massive_ spoiler for this chapter!)**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! I sure _hope_ it will be fun, though it may turn out to be disappointing this time around (as far as Shadow's involvement this chapter). Oh well! XD I Honestly have no idea how long I plan to make it, because I never _had_ a plan. I always knew it would end up being _super_ long, though! :D**

**Hello, Anonymous! So, because I finished writing this chapter a while before getting your review (as well as the two immediately before it) I actually already _wrote_ a scene with Sonic and Jet similar to what you described (though it's also quite a bit different)! *Reads the rest of the first paragraph you wrote and laughs hysterically* XD Um... Ahem. I'm calm now. Yeah, Shadow missed that _whole_ scene, but it's too late for it to matter now! Why do you wish for your OC to be here? Because of how he makes sure the timelines run smoothly/correctly?**

**Hello, Guest! Interesting theories, but I won't explain about Shadow here. Don't worry, all will be revealed eventually! :)**

**Hello, flashyhero! So you _are_ psychic? O_O (Lol!) About the SA2 vibes you mentioned: as you should! My SA2 adaption in this fic isn't exactly right around the corner or anything, but it _is_ coming! :D**

* * *

**Okay, I'm just gonna come right out and say it up here: the battle between Sonic and Shadow is short, it's brief, some things will undoubtedly leave you confused, and you may end up feeling unsatisfied with the ending. _However_, it is supposed to be like this! Okay? Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Sonic quickly jumped into the air for the second time, barely avoiding a bright yellow Homing Attack. His eyes widened a bit. _How does he know my move? _He landed lightly and, curling into a ball, he slammed into his opponent just as they rushed toward him again. Blue met yellow in a fierce collision as their Homing Attacks hit each other dead-on. The force of the collision sent them both flying backwards. Sonic skidded heavily on his feet and rushed forward again, ducking under a fist before lashing out with his leg. His opponent dodged with a nimble leap over Sonic's head. Sonic followed his apparent enemy's migration with a glare. As soon as he landed, the other hedgehog launched another homing attack, and Sonic once more met the attack head-on. This was repeated constantly, over and over again, sometimes with them hitting each other so forcefully that sparks flew and they were sent hurtling backward as though they had been blasted.

Just as the other hedgehog landed again, he whirled around to face Sonic, his red eyes flashing. "Who _are_ you?"

Sonic barely bit back a growl. "I should be asking _you_ that." Still paying very close attention to his opponent, Sonic glanced to Jet, who, per Sonic's order, had taken to the air on his board for safety's sake. With a slight motion of his head, Sonic gave the bird a signal, one Jet undoubtedly recognized from their time spent as teammates. _Get out of here._

Jet responded with a frown and a small shake of his head. _No._

_This guy's dangerous._

_I don't care._

_You're injured._

_I told you, I don't care._

Sonic resisted a glare and looked away, giving in for the time being if only because he didn't have time to argue. _Fine. _He could practically _feel_ Jet's smug smirk, and Sonic fought not to roll his eyes.

"Are you going to answer me, faker?"

Sonic stood to his full height. "My name's Sonic," he said. "And I'm no faker."

At this, the other hedgehog's expression changed, though Sonic couldn't really tell _how_ or what the change meant. "Sonic, huh?"

Sonic crossed his arms. "Yeah. What of it?"

The other hedgehog said nothing as he pulled out the red Chaos Emerald, which Sonic had sensed from the beginning that this person was carrying. Then, without any warning, the hedgehog slashed his hand sideways and shouted, "Take _this_!"

Multiple bright yellow arrows of pure Chaos energy were fired simultaneously and, alarmed, Sonic jumped high over them. For the second time that day, Sonic's eyes widened. _That's another one of my moves! _Then, his expression hardened and grew more serious. _Well, two can play at that game! _With that thought in mind, he pulled out the dark blue Chaos Emerald he had found the day before and, mimicking his enemy's hand motion (though really, this guy was mimicking _him_), he unleashed several high-powered arrows that, instead of being bright yellow, were an intensely bright, almost heavenly blue. "_Chaos Spear_!"

His opponent's red eyes widened in what seemed to be shock just before he dodged the attacks. "So you _can_ control these," he murmured with a glance at their emeralds as both he and Sonic landed on the ground across from each other with a good distance separating them.

Sonic couldn't be sure, but it almost seemed like this person was... figuring him out, or something. He didn't like it at all. "Who are you?" he demanded. "Why are you here?"

The person didn't respond as he stood from his crouch, and Sonic soon did the same. "I _will_ destroy Mephiles, even without these," the person said. Then, in an entirely unexpected turn of events, he tossed the red emerald harshly at Sonic.

Startled, Sonic caught it in his free hand. _What-? _Without any further interaction, the stranger turned and took off running at about the speed of sound, which was seemingly near the limit of their speed. Sonic blinked, unsure what to make of everything that had just happened, as Jet jumped off his board beside him.

"Okay, spill," he said abruptly. "_How_ was that guy able to use the emerald?"

Sonic had confided in Jet (during that first night Jet was here, when they spent hours talking) a bit more information than Amy and the others knew, namely that Sonic was (by Locke's telling, not that Sonic had mentioned that part) the only one who could use the Chaos Emeralds. _Why_ he'd told Jet this escaped him, but he didn't dwell on it for now. This wasn't the time. "Because... I let him."

Jet frowned deeply at him. "What?" Sonic didn't reply as he put the emeralds away. Jet, however, seemed to have more to say. "Why would you _let _that guy use the emerald to attack you?" he demanded.

_Why did I? _Sonic wondered slowly.

"He seemed pretty evil to me," Jet continued, "and it's not like you to help out the villains."

Sonic shook his head. "No. He wasn't evil."_ Just... misguided, perhaps?_

Jet's next comment was interrupted by two familiar voices.

"Hey, _Sonic_!"

"Look! Jet's here, too!"

Sonic turned to see Tails carrying Amy by her hands as they flew down the side of the mountain. Tails, who had been the one to call out to Sonic, beamed at the hedgehog as he announced loudly, "Amy found a Chaos Emerald!"

They landed shortly afterward and Amy ran up to Sonic. For once, he was unsurprised when she launched into him, her arms wrapping around him in a tight hug. Sonic tensed, though he didn't try to pull away, despite feeling rather irritable (to say the least) at the moment. _Always with the the hugs..._

"You're okay!" she exclaimed happily, though in her voice it was clear that she had been worried for whatever reason that he _hadn't_ been. Then, suddenly, she pulled away and, pointing, fixed Jet with a hard glare that made Jet flinch ever-so-slightly. "And you!" she shouted. "You're _lucky_ that you're okay, too! Honestly, even after I warned you against taking off-"

"I didn't take off!" Jet cut in. "I was just sitting there and I fell through a stupid hole!"

Amy didn't _quite_ seem to believe him, so Sonic decided to step in. "It's true," he shrugged. "There's no other way he could have suddenly appeared where I was."

She seemed to take him at his word and calmed significantly. "Alright," she nodded.

While Tails began saying some sort of an "I told you so" to Amy about portals starting to open randomly everywhere, Jet leaned in sideways a bit to Sonic. "Hey, how come she listens to _you_..."

Sonic allowed himself a small smirk. "You'd have to ask her that." A moment later, he decided to interrupt the sibling-like bickering between Amy and Tails and asked, "You said you found a Chaos Emerald?"

Tails and Amy exchanged a glance before Amy stepped forward, her hands behind her back. "Yeah," she admitted slowly. Then she added more quietly. "But there's something... _wrong _with it."

Sonic frowned. _Wrong?_

"Here," Amy said, still talking quietly, as she extended both hands to him with the emerald resting lightly on her palms. "See for yourself."

Sonic slowly took the emerald from her, frowning deeply at the dim glow being emitted from it. _What's going on...?_

"Sonic, what's wrong with it?" Amy asked quietly.

Sonic couldn't respond as he stared deep into the emerald. Darkness swirled ominously within it and Sonic noted with some concern that the dim glow from moments before had faded even further, and quite rapidly. He felt... cold. Terribly cold, and vaguely ill. It felt hard to breathe. His grip on the emerald tightened. _Something's wrong... _Of course, he'd known that already. Mephiles's appearance had made him angry, incredibly so, but he'd been angry for quite a while before that. His anger had been bordering on outright fury even before Mephiles had arrived, and by the time he'd left... and then that other hedgehog had appeared and he'd made all those accusations towards Sonic and they'd fought... _Something's really wrong..._

* * *

"Knuckles, this is bad," Silver said, swerving midair to come to Knuckles's side. "This is really, really bad."

"What is?" Knuckles asked in cautious confusion.

"Look," Silver urged desperately, pulling out the two emeralds, one of which Knuckles had given to Silver to hang onto. Black swirled deep within the emeralds, drowning out the light and threatening to overtake it completely. It wasn't going to take much more for the darkness to win it over completely.

_Damn it... What the hell's going on? _"How long have they been like that?" he demanded.

"I don't know," Silver replied, clearly upset with himself over this fact.

"Let me see them," Knuckles ordered.

Silver obeyed without question and handed the emeralds to him. While Knuckles painstakingly examined them, reading their energy and analyzing every detail, Silver soared downward to his other friend's side. "Blaze."

She never slowed in her running as she turned her head to look at him. "Yes?"

Silver took a short, calming breath. "It's back," he murmured, keeping his voice low so that Knuckles couldn't hear. "The anger, I mean. I can feel it, and it's worse than before."

Her gaze grew even more serious. "When did it return?"

"I'm not sure, exactly," he replied honestly, "but I noticed it a few minutes ago."

"How _much_ stronger has it become?" she demanded.

"Significantly," Silver replied immediately, without even having to think about it. He was silent for a long moment before admitting very quietly, "Blaze, I... I'm scared." He looked away, almost as though he were ashamed of admitting such a thing. "This anger... it isn't natural, whatever it is. He's not _really_ angry, at least not _that _much, but the feelings are _there_ for some reason and... I don't think he can control it much longer."

She gritted her teeth. "You are sure?" He nodded once. When he gave no other response, she frowned minutely. "Silver." Nothing. "Silver," she repeated more firmly. "Look at me." He turned his head back to look at her, his eyes shining with genuine concern and just a hint of fear. "Your father will be alright," she told him firmly. "We _will_ reach him in time to prevent whatever Mephiles is planning."

Silver squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment and gave a small nod. "Okay."

* * *

"Sonic?"

Sonic blinked at the sound of Amy's voice and finally pulled his eyes away from the emerald in his hands. Lifting his gaze, he started to open his mouth to speak but was almost instantly cut off when he was suddenly shoved roughly aside and to the ground. He winced slightly when his elbow slammed hard into the ground. Skidding a bit from the surprising amount of force that had been used to shove him aside, he barely had time to snap his eyes open before, without any warning, there was a flash of dark purple and Jet, who had run to stand where Sonic had been standing, was sent flying with a cry of pain. He sailed backward, currents of dark electricity racing through him as he went. _What the hell?!_

A smooth, familiar voice reached his ears. "It would seem that I must _force_ you to give me what I want," Mephiles murmured, his voice seemingly coming from just behind him.

Sonic was on his feet and whirling around in an instant. There was no time to do anything else before, suddenly, agonizing pain raced through him. The next thing he knew, he was flying through the air. He hit the ground hard and bounced and rolled uncontrollably before finally coming to a stop as Tails's voice reached his ears. "Sonic!"

Moments later, Amy's angry voice could be heard shouting, "Stay away from him!" as Sonic struggled to push himself up.

"Out of my way, girl," Mephiles replied. A split second later, Amy screamed in pain. Sonic managed to get up just in time to see her get sent flying into Tails, her hammer in hand. The two of them hit the ground so hard they made shallow craters in the ground. Dark electricity raced through them and Jet, rapidly getting so strong that it became _very_ clear that Mephiles had every intention of killing them.

Sonic lunged for his foe, but quickly found himself restrained by thick, purple coils that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Seconds later, he too was being electrocuted, and the pain slowly brought him to his knees. Chuckling darkly, Mephiles raised his right hand and Sonic watched with tightly gritted teeth as Mephiles called forth two emeralds, the purple one and the green one, and they moved to hover on either side of Sonic. Moments later, the red, yellow, and dark blue ones that Sonic had were pulled toward him as well from where they had landed on the ground when Jet had shoved him aside to save him from that first attack. Barely a minute later, the last two emeralds came flying toward him from somewhere not terribly far in the distance. As they moved in to hover around him as well, filling in the previously incomplete circle, Mephiles chuckled again. "This, my dear hedgehog, is the end."

With that, the emeralds began spinning rapidly all at once around Sonic. Sonic winced and gritted his teeth even harder as one by one the emeralds intensified in power as darkness, much of it seemingly coming from Mephiles himself, filled them, drowning out all but the last tiny speck of light that the gems had managed to maintain up until that point. Sonic could feel power very alike to the power he'd felt when he'd transformed to fight Iblis, and yet, this power was in stark contrast to it. It was exactly the opposite of what the other transformation had been, and there was absolutely _no_ way that this was going to end well if Mephiles succeeded in drawing out whatever it was he was trying to bring to the surface. Sonic resisted with everything he could, but he could feel power flowing through him and around him. Already his hair was flowing upward in waves of pure energy and his fur was growing darker. Growling lowly, he clenched his teeth tightly and squeezed his eyes shut. Through sheer force of will, he was able to force the power back and he felt the power diminish enough to where his hair fell back to its usual position and his fur became its normal shade of blue. Still, Mephiles refused to back down. Sonic found himself locked in an internal battle the likes of which he'd never experienced before, and one that he just couldn't seem to win. Seemingly endless years later, new but undeniably familiar voices reached his ears.

"Dad!"

"Sonic! Dammit, hold on!"

Sonic forced his eyes open and looked past Mephiles to see Knuckles, Silver, and a girl he'd never seen before racing toward him and Mephiles at full speed. He had to call out to them, to warn them get away _now_, but he could barely even keep his eyes open, let alone speak. _D... Damn it all... Get away...!_

Mephiles laughed out loud. "Ah, Silver and Blaze. I was wondering when you would show. And you've returned my bait to me as well. How very kind of you. I think I shall repay that kindness by giving you all _quicker_ deaths than your friends." Just like that, Knuckles and the others went down, all succumbing to the strange, dark electricity just as everyone else had. Sonic felt more anger rise up inside of him, and a surge of power instantly accompanied the feelings. Mephiles moved his hand again and, somehow, Silver was lifted into the air and pulled closer, struggling all the while. By now, Amy, Tails and Jet were all unconscious, and Knuckles and the cat, Blaze apparently, weren't far behind. "I think I will miss you least of all... Silver the Hedgehog," Mephiles murmured as Silver growled.

"Leave... him... _alone_!" Sonic snapped in a strained voice, still struggling fiercely against his restraints, though even more so now because he _couldn't _let this monster kill his son again, not again-

"I think not."

Silver was pushed back a short distance, still being held in the air by the same unseen force. Mephiles moved his hand ever-so-slightly, as though directing a very precise, delicate instrument around with a joystick. A beam shot from his hand. Silver, his eyes and mouth open wide with shock, couldn't even seem to be able to force himself to cry out in pain. Mephiles tossed him away like a worthless rag doll, and he hit the ground so hard that his limp form bounced several times. And, just like that, Sonic's control snapped.

Dark energy like nothing he'd ever felt before rushed through him all at once and he stood, his restraints disintegrating as the emeralds vanished within him and a dark, terrible aura surrounded him. His fists were clenched so tightly that they _should_ have hurt, but he felt nothing, _couldn't_ feel anything, but the anger inside of him. Mephiles turned and looked at him, seemingly pleased. Though he seemed to speak, Sonic heard none of his words. Mephiles quickly seemed to grew upset by Sonic's lack of response and moved toward him. Wordlessly, Sonic lunged forward and attacked, going all-out on his enemy without remorse. Apparently alarmed, Mephiles teleported backwards a large distance and began summoning legions upon legions of dark creatures to fight for him. An equally dark smirk spread across Sonic's face. "Heh. Try again." His voice sounded lower and... darker, even to his own ears, but at this point he was nearly too far gone to even notice, let alone care. With a sweep of his hand, Sonic unleashed a wave of Dark Chaos Spears that flew as easily through his enemies as a knife sliced through hot, melting butter, only to vanish once they had served their purpose. Mephiles tried to open another portal then, presumably to flee, but Sonic was there in an instant. He shot another Dark Chaos Spear straight through it, shattering the portal, and, his wicked smirk vanishing entirely, he raised one hand, palm facing Mephiles, and said quietly, "Chaos Blast." In the ensuing explosion of pure, Dark Chaos energy, a massive crater was created in the ground and Mephiles was, after a long and painful moment, utterly destroyed. With Mephiles gone, nearly every last ounce of anger and all of the dark energy within the emeralds and Sonic vanished. Suddenly exhausted beyond words and feeling weaker than he'd ever felt, Sonic felt himself falling to the ground as the emeralds left him and scattered. Just as he hit the ground, everything went black.

* * *

**Hello again, PyroShockZ! So I hadn't originally planned on Silver getting hit with a beam (or the Silver being the one getting hit in the first place), but after your comment it struck me as oddly appropriate that Silver be the one to get hurt. It made more sense for Silver's injury to trigger Sonic's transformation than, say, Tails or Knuckles (not to say that he wouldn't still be angry, though!).**

**Posted 05-19-15.**


	85. Wake

**Hello, MagamaPro Gamer! Yes! Hes here, hes epic, and he kicked some massive butt! XD I think you _might_ have reviewed, actually. I recognize your username, so its possible. Either way, I'm just glad that you've been reading! :) I'm glad you like the way I've been writing Sonic (especially since he's so... different, compared to the anime and games and such). I'm also glad that my planning is showing through a bit, even though some of the stuff in this story amounts to little more than spur-of-the-moment decisions. I'm so happy you're enjoying! Thank you so much for taking the time to review! :D**

**Hello, Guest 1995! Oh. I know that! (Not really... XD) By the way, when I said an SA2 adaption was inevitable, I meant that its inclusion in this story was unavoidable. It _will_ be happening, just not necessarily soon. :)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! YES! XD Yeah, it was _kinda_ similar to Unleashed, but I made sure to keep it separate since, if I _do_ eventually include the Werehog, I want it to be fairly similar to the original (as far as how the Werehog is, well, unleashed), you know? Aw, poor Silver, huh? :( No, he won't die. He's one of my favorite characters! :) Once again, the rest of my reply to you is at the bottom to avoid a spoiler. Bye, Pyro-san!**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! Good, I'm glad you didn't mind. :) Appropriate? How so? Yeah, I guess it _was_ pretty cute, huh? Why would his worry prevent him from telling her, by the way? Yeah, it made me laugh, too! XD Ah, Arigato! Glad you enjoyed!**

**Hello, ScorchedEarth82800! What music? I personally was listening to the song that plays in the opening cutscene of Sonic Unleashed when I wrote this last chapter. :) sure, I can try to add a few of the bots! I don't promise anything at this point, but I will definitely think about it!**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Yes, he killed Elsa, as stated by Jet. And, as Sonic earlier revealed, Silver and Elsa were killed by the same enemy. So yes, Mephiles killed them both. Uh... Fleet way probably won't be included, honestly. Nice idea, though! :D**

**Hello, Anonymous! Ikr? XD Yeah, I'm glad he's gone, too. I personally think that, while his Super and Dark Transformations _are _opposites of each other, one is not stronger than the other. Lol, good luck to you as well! :)**

**Hello, blueyshy! Yeah, I knew about the date thing in Unleashed. It's funny that it carried over to another game! XD Yeah, I saw him in Sonic X, too! It's my favorite episode! And in the Japanese version, his voice is _so _cool! :D Yeah, the questions sure are building up, aren't they? Lol, thanks! XD**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! So glad you enjoyed! Also glad that you understand why I cut it short. Yeah, there sure were a lot of hints dropped about his big appearance, huh? And yes, he sure did! About the last part, read and find out below!:)**

**Hello, Rival King! No apologies necessary, I understand. :) Glad you enjoyed! Well, I personally don't think that form is evil, just that he's, as the name implies, darker. You know, angrier (obviously), more prone to violence, less caring (though he isn't entirely uncaring), and so on. *Sees tornado suck you up and screams, then uses Chaos Control to teleport away***

* * *

After the brutal attacks that everyone had suffered, Knuckles was the first to regain consciousness. Beside him, he heard a soft moan of pain. Forcing his eyes to open, he slowly pushed himself up and, upon seeing her laying there, he was quick to begin shaking Blaze. He didn't exactly know who she was, but it was obvious that Silver knew her and trusted her implicitly, so Knuckles decided to trust in his newest friend's judgement. "Blaze. Hey, wake up."

After just a couple shakes, she stirred and her eyes blinked open. She pushed herself up in a similar fashion to the way he had done it just moments before and glanced to the side. Instantly her ruby eyes widened and a soft gasp escaped her lips. Before Knuckles even had a chance to ask her what was wrong, she was on her feet and running. Knuckles raced after her, only freeze when he saw Silver laying almost lifelessly on the ground. The silver hedgehog's breath came in shallow pants and gasps and his face was scrunched up in intense pain. When Blaze placed her hand on his shoulder, her eyes locked on the wound that had created a hole in his stomach, he didn't respond to the touch in any way. "Silver?" Still no response, no reaction. He was completely unconscious.

Knuckles gritted his teeth and whirled fully around to see how everyone else was faring, only to stop dead in his tracks when he saw a massive crater separating him from the rest of his friends. With a short exclamation of shock, he ran forward and slid down the inner wall of the crater. Once he was inside, he froze once again. There, laying motionless on his right side in the center of the crater, was Sonic. He, like Silver, was completely unconscious and, as Knuckles discovered when he ran to his side and tried shaking him, he too was unresponsive. However, unlike Silver, he didn't seem to have been thrown there. It was more like he'd... fallen. He didn't seem to be injured exactly, but something was clearly wrong. But _what_? Not daring to move him yet, lest he somehow make Sonic's condition worse, Knuckles glided out of the crater to find Amy, Tails, and the green hawk he remembered Sonic arguing with in the jungle seemingly so long ago. They were all unconscious as well. Growling lowly, Knuckles turned and glided rapidly back to Blaze. Dropping down by her side, he quickly noticed the tell-tale shine in her eyes as she did her best to make sure that Silver kept breathing. _Don't cry,_ he silently commanded her before actually speaking. "Your fire isn't normal fire, is it?"

She blinked up at him and slowly shook her head. "No."

"So it _is_ one of the mystics, then." Of course, after seeing her fire for himself during the fight in which he first met her, he'd suspected, but to have it confirmed... This meant a great deal more than she probably even realized. _To think that someone with such ancient power still exists... _His gaze drifted to the crater for a moment. _Of course, she isn't the only one. _

She frowned at him. "I do not think it is _that_ different," she said quietly.

Knuckles frowned back at her. "You know what you can do."

She turned her frown down on Silver's wound. "I have only tried it once," she admitted, "but I did so on myself. I do not dare attempt it on someone else."

"It may be his only chance," Knuckles replied seriously. "I think the others will be okay, but Silver's wound could kill him if it doesn't get healed soon."

"It may not work," she murmured, looking down. Though she didn't outwardly say it, Knuckles understood what truly worried her.

"You cant burn him," Knuckles told her frankly. She looked up at him in confusion. "Think about it. Your fire only burns what you _want_ it to burn. If you didn't have that kind of control, you'd end up melting rocks and whatnot every time you fought by using your fire. So, because all you want to do is _pr__otect_ Silver, you literally _can't_ hurt him."

She was silent for a moment before asking softly, "You are certain?"

He nodded once. "Yes."

After one last final moment of hesitation, she returned his nod and closed her eyes. She took a deep, slow breath and carefully called forth her fire so that it engulfed her hands with its bright orange glow. Then, she very, _very _carefully placed her hands on Silver's wound, wincing slightly when he growled softly in unconscious pain. Knuckles stayed by her side the whole time, offering his silent support when her confidence wavered in the face of her friend's pain. Seeing how much she truly _cared_ for his friend's son made Knuckles's opinion of her rise significantly, but he ignored it for now. Instead, he focused his attention on watching as Silver's wound slowly vanished, leaving no trace behind as though it had never existed. Knuckles felt a small smile spread across his face. _She did it. _He felt proud of her, actually. _Even where she was so uncertain... she did it. _She looked genuinely shocked about it, too. Seeing the confusion that also lingered in her eyes, Knuckles decided to explain. "You said Mephiles's power is, essentially, the power of Shadow, right?"

She inclined her head slowly. "That is so."

"Think about it," he said, watching Silver's face as the younger male's expression relaxed and took on a more peaceful quality. "What nullifies shadows?"

She blinked and, a moment later, her eyes widened slightly. "Light."

"Exactly," he nodded. "Your fire produces a powerful light _specifically_ meant to be the opposite of powers such as Mephiles's. That's why you were able to heal Silver just now. His wound was created through the use of shadows, and your light negated those effects and erased the wound."

She nodded once to signal her understanding. "However, unless there is a specific wound caused by such attacks, there is nothing I can do, is there?"

"Probably not," Knuckles agreed.

"But..." She paused and trailed off, her gaze drifting to the others. "There is a possibility that I can help them...?"

Noting the question in her voice, he shrugged. "Probably. They were all electrocuted like we were."

She looked at him. "Are _you_ alright?"

He waved her off with a literal wave of his hand. "Yeah, I'm fine. Go help the others or whatever you're gonna do. I'll stay here with Silver."

She stood and turned away, then paused for a moment before turning back about halfway. "There is nothing I can do for his father," she murmured with a long look at Silver. "His wounds seem to be healed already."

Knuckles nodded. "Yeah. I saw that." _So what's wrong with him, then? _

With an answering nod, she turned and ran to the others. She reached Amy first and, carefully repeating what she had done with Silver, she was surprised to find that she was able to successfully heal the girl, despite having no protective instincts toward her (as she honestly barely knew her). And, because Amy's wounds hadn't been as serious as Silver's, she woke almost immediately. While she slowly sat up, seeming tired and confused, Blaze moved on to the next person, the young fox named Miles. As soon as he was healed, he too woke up. Satisfied, she turned her attention to the green hawk who lay some distance away from them. She was able to heal his electrical wounds of course, but the other wound that he had was beyond her ability to tend to. Catching Amy's eye, having gathered from Silver that Amy was a healer of sorts, she silently let the other girl know of the situation.

Amy nodded and, trading a few words with Tails, she rushed over. A few minutes later, she turned her green gaze to Blaze from Jet. "He's alright, mostly. Right now, he's just unconscious from his fever. He'll be alright, so long as he gets plenty of rest." Then, as she certainly seemed more awake now than she had been not long before, her eyes widened and she thought to ask. "W...Where's Sonic?"

Blaze turned and pointed to the crater. "In there." Amy's eyes widened further when she saw the giant hole as though she had only just noticed it (and honestly, Blaze couldn't blame her for that being the case, as _everyone_ was pretty out of it right now).

With a gasp of alarm, Amy jumped to her feet and ran to the crater, sliding ungracefully down one wall and rushing to Sonic's side. Carefully rolling him over onto his back, she took in his appearance. His injuries seemed to have healed somehow and his breathing was slow and even, almost as though he were sleeping, but she knew for a fact that that wasn't the case. He never slept this deeply. The slightest little thing could wake him up when he was sleeping, but now... nothing was waking him. "Sonic?" she called softly. No response. Biting back her rising panic, she shook him again. "Sonic?" Still nothing. Squeezing her eyes shut to force back tears, she buried her face in his shoulder. _Please... please be okay... _

* * *

Several hours went by and, unable to head back because of the injured and/or simply unconscious members of their party, the group stayed put. ...Mostly. Tails (due to his ability to fly) and Blaze (for her fast running speed) were sent back to Silver's home to get them up to speed on today's events. Specifically, the two of them were to inform them of Mephiles's death (and the apparent destruction of his creatures), the loss of the Chaos Emeralds for the second time, and the fact that Amy and the others were stuck out in the middle of nowhere because they had injured friends that they couldn't move. Granted, Blaze had healed them all from the lightning and Silver from whatever he had been struck with, but everyone still had other injuries: cuts and scrapes and burns and, in Jet's case at least, a laser wound... it was awful, really.

Amy sighed as she checked over Silver. She had just gotten done looking over Jet once more, mostly to make sure that his wound hadn't reopened (which thankfully it hadn't) and now she was looking over Silver's injuries, minor though they were. "I hope Tails and Blaze make it there alright."

Knuckles grunted some sort of agreement before pointing out brusquely, "All the creatures are gone now. Unless they fall in the lava or something, they'll be fine."

She rolled her eyes at his last sentence. "Gee, thanks for cheering me up," she muttered.

"You're welcome," he muttered back sarcastically.

Knowing full well that he was probably just angry out of concern (something he clearly showed by camping out beside the crater where he had a clear view of Sonic at all times), Amy decided to let him for now. Standing, she started to walk over to sit by him when a sudden sound behind her caught her attention. Spinning back around, her eyes widened a bit. "Silver!" she gasped, dropping to her knees by his side as he slowly sat up, placing the crater at his side a good distance away.

He blinked and looked somewhat uncomprehendingly at his perfectly healed stomach. Then he looked up at Amy, his eyes shining with confusion. "I... I was hurt," he said quietly, his tone communicating his lack of understanding of the situation.

"Yes, you were," she acknowledged with a nod. "Blaze healed you."

"Blaze."

"Yes. She went back to your home for a short while with Tails, but they'll be back."

"And Mephiles?"

"He's dead, Silver."

He sighed heavily in relief, his eyes actually closing as he took a moment to let that news sink in. Then, he seemed to remember what he had seen not long before he'd been attacked and his eyes opened quickly. "And Dad? Is he alright?"

She honestly didn't know how to respond. _He's not hurt, but... he still isn't showing any signs of waking. _Without thinking, she turned her head and glanced at the crater.

Silver followed her gaze and his eyes widened. He jumped to his feet. "Oh my god-"

She quickly moved to her feet as well and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Silver, he's alright," she replied. "At least mostly. He isn't hurt or anything, he's just unconscious." She felt his tense form relax a bit and he fixed her with a look that made her heart clench. He was so scared, and it occurred to her with sudden force just how close Sonic and Silver had already become. Another fact became painfully clear as well. _Neither wants to lose the other again. That's understandable. But what if... what if Sonic chooses to stay here? _

"Are you sure?" he asked quietly, looking back to the crater.

"Yes," she replied just as quietly.

He hesitated. "I... I still-"

"That's okay," she replied with a nod. "You can go see him."

He returned her nod and flew over to the crater, dropping down inside without a word. Almost immediately, he fell down on his knees by his father's side. He grabbed his knees tightly in his hands and lowered his head, gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut tightly. _Please don't die... please, please__ don't die again... _

* * *

"Sonic. Hey. Come on, wake up. There's something I need to show you."

Sonic woke slowly, squeezing his eyes shut tighter for a moment before finally opening them and pushing himself up. He blinked a couple times against the brightness before his eyes were finally able to focus on the figure standing before him. "Locke?"

Locke nodded and gestured with his head for Sonic to follow. "Come with me."

* * *

**Hello again, PyroShockZ! GOSH DARN IT, STOP GUESSING EVERYTHING. Okay, so you didn't guess _everything_, but still! XD**

**Posted 05-20-15.**


	86. Inside a Memory

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Yup, that is true. :) However, maybe he was born in the middle, just as normal blue Sonic? I haven't actually decided yet. XD**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! Yey! Locke! XD Uh, sorry to say it, but you missed something. It was a robot. :P Sorry you waited so long for both last chapter and this one! About Locke: You'll find out this chapter!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! You'll find out what he'll show our hero this chapter! :D Uh... prepare for tears, then. XD Yes, a new arc will be beginning very soon. :) And no way would I get rid of Silver! I love him too much! You'll find out about what Locke is showing him this chapter!**

**Hello, Anonymous! SA2 is the abbreviation for the game Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, one of the best Sonic games ever created. It covers the story of Shadow and the Space Colony Ark and whatnot. Yeah, Werehog will be tough. Along with all that stuff you mentioned, he also displays some feral behavior (i.e. howling, running on all fours), and does things he probably wouldn't normally do such as flicking Chip away when Sonic became annoyed with him. Still, it would be so fun to try! :D And yeah, a game like that would definitely be fun. :)**

**Hello, flashyhero! Maybe, maybe not! You'll find out soon!**

**Hello, astroshadow! You'll find out soon! And yeah... I agree. Poor little guys. :(**

**Hello, Rival King! I don't know that it removed his appendix. XD Yeah, I thought it was pretty cool, too. At this point, it has be _implied_ that she cares for him a great deal, though the exact _nature_ of her care has not yet been revealed. Her feelings may still be developing. :) Yup! You'll find out what Locke's doing this chapter! *Screams again and temporarily borrows Sonic's speed in order to escape***

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Your review to Chapter 84: Haha, hope you enjoyed the action! XD**

**Your review to Chapter 85! Glad you think so! :D**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! They _live_! XD I agree! It could have been a whole _he** _of a lot worse! I wasn't expecting it either, honestly. It just sort of... happened. :P Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. You'll find out this chapter!**

* * *

**Okay, so I know this is late, but in my defense, I was on yet another trip to San Francisco. I was gone a total of seventeen hours and I spent around ten and a half of them just walking around and taking pictures for my class. Still, it was fun! XD And, because this is late, I wanted to take the time to make it longer to make it up to you. Therefore, I did. That's why this was posted later in the day today. 2,592 words.**

**Also, PyroShockZ made another super cool picture of Hero! If you want to see it, either search for "IronShadowZ" (their username) on DeviantArt or search for "****Thanks and Congratulations Yasha!" on the same site!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Sonic stood and, in an effort to fight off his exhaustion, he asked, "Am I inside the emerald again?"

Locke spared him a glance. "Not exactly."

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked tiredly, not really following the implications of Locke's words.

"The Master Emerald let me enter your mind for a short while," Locke replied vaguely. "Probably because we both sensed that you were in some sort of trouble." He looked at Sonic again. "Everything went pitch black inside the emerald for a few minutes before you passed out," he said seriously. "I know that the majority of that wasn't from you, but some of that _was_ caused by your anger. What in the hell happened?"

Sonic bit back a growl as he looked away, grinding his teeth together harshly before forcing his jaw to unclench and replying stiffly, "Someone hurt my friends and then tried to kill Silver."

Locke frowned slightly. "Friends?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah."

"I wasn't aware you'd made new friends." His tone clearly said that he was happy about it, though. Maybe even a little relived. Sonic said nothing, so Locke gave a verbal prod. "Who are they?"

Sonic took a breath and launched in, if only to take his mind off of how tired he was and the lingering anger he felt over the battle earlier. He could tell somehow that everyone was fine for the most part, but still... "The first one I met is a hawk named Jet," he started slowly. "We used to be teammates when we were younger, and we used to race a lot."

"Race?" Locke asked.

Sonic waved him off, not really wanting to delve into that aspect of his past right now, especially considering everything that had happened with Jet recently. _He and I need to talk.__Soon._ "Long story. I'll tell you later." Locke nodded his acceptance and Sonic continued. "More recently, I met a twin-tailed fox named Miles, though he goes by Tails."

"Twin-tailed, huh?" Locke asked, eyebrows upraised. "That's different. Bet he's a real genius like most foxes, huh?"

Sonic smirked a bit. "Yeah. Even more than most, actually."

"How so?"

"He built a super computer when he was six years old."

"No, really?"

"Yeah. He helped me build the newest version of the Tornado, too. And get this: he's only fourteen."

Locke whistled appreciatively. "Impressive." Sonic nodded. "Okay, so who else?"

"Well, there's a girl I met not long after meeting Tails," Sonic started. "Her name's Amy. She's a pink hedgehog, and she's really strong."

"How strong?" Locke asked curiously.

"She wields a piko piko hammer," Sonic said with a wry sort of smirk, "and can run around top speed while carrying it, despite how heavy it is by her own admission."

"Wow."

"Yeah." Sonic continued. "I also met a little girl named Cream and her mother Vanilla once. They're both bunnies. Tails and I stayed in their house once." Sonic paused, then fixed Locke with a heavy, serious look. "Look, don't freak out on me, alright?"

Locke's frown was almost comically confused. "Why would I do that?"

Sonic looked away. "I met Knuckles not long ago, too. We've been traveling together for a while."

Beside him, he could feel Locke's shock. Just as Sonic turned his head back to look at him, Locke stammered out in a murmur, "Kn-Knuckles?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah." Then he added a bit more sourly, "Guy's definitely got your temper, too. He's hit me on the head more than a few times." _Just like you used to do._

Locke didn't seem to know how to feel. Sad? Happy? Relieved? Guilty? Something else entirely? "Is he... okay?"

Sonic's gaze drifted up and he answered softly, "He wonders, kinda like I always have. He doesn't remember his mom or anything, and he doesn't know much about you, either. It seems like part of him wants to know and part of him doesn't. He's asked a couple questions before, but he usually doesn't want me to tell him anything. So yeah, he's okay. He just... doesn't know what to feel about it all."

Locke nodded. "Can't really blame him, there." He was silent for a long moment before admitting quietly, "...I'm surprised he isn't just angry."

Sonic shrugged. "He might've been, once. Maybe he got over it."

"Maybe." Locke seemed to decide to change the subject then. "You mentioned someone named Silver earlier?" Sonic nodded once. "Who's that?"

Sonic hesitated, unsure how to broach the subject with his old friend. He wasn't ashamed of his son, of _course_ not, but the he'd been a kid one of the last times he'd seen Locke. How would the echidna react to such news? How would Sonic even explain it all? "I'll explain later, okay?" he finally sighed.

Locke nodded again and they stopped walking. "That's okay. We're here, anyway."

Sonic blinked. "...Where, exactly?"

Locke smirked. "_Now_ we're in the emerald." He started walking again. "Come on. Follow me."

They walked for a short while in silence and Sonic was mildly surprised to see Green Hill fading into existence around him as though it had always been there and they had merely been too far away to see it. He was even less surprised when they passed by places he recognized from his childhood. _This place is based off of my memories, after all. _They walked across a loose wooden bridge suspended over a gap before a waterfall and, after reaching the other side, rounded a bend, passed a pool of water, and came face-to-face with a pathway leading behind the waterfall they had walked by while on the bridge. Blinking again, Sonic followed Locke up the path and behind the waterfall, pointedly ignoring the light dusting of mist that covered him as he passed by the roaring falls. Behind the waterfall, there was a large cave filled with a soft blue light. It was cool and very damp, so much so that the shiny puddles that nearly covered the floor in its entirety perfectly reflected the ceiling. He looked to Locke. "Why are we here?" This wasn't a place he recognized, although he was pretty sure he'd seen that bridge before as a child. Was it possible that this cave was the Master Emerald's creation?

"Like I said, there's something I need to show you."

Sonic looked around. "There's nothing here."

Locke's next words were so mysterious that Sonic almost did think that they were, in fact, _his_ words, but rather the emerald's. "Look deeper."

Sonic frowned. _Great. More riddles. _Resisting a sigh, he looked around again. All that he saw was stalactites and rocks and water dripping from very possible crevice and point and all those damn puddles and reflections... _Wait. _Doing what Locke had said and looking deeper, he stared into the reflections. As he watched, the reflections changed from that of the ceiling to something else entirely. His eyes widened somewhat when he saw blue skies appear in the puddle as though reflecting the sky outside, though that was impossible. "What...?"

Locke stepped up to his side. "I told you before that this world is based off of your memories, whichever ones you choose, though you can also make up a world if you want." He looked down into the puddle. "What you're seeing here is one of _my_ memories. It's something you need to see."

Then, without any warning, Locke placed a hand on Sonic's back and shoved him forward with surprising force, enough to make Sonic lose his balance. Sonic stumbled forward into the puddle with a splash and, suddenly, it was like he was watching a movie that he couldn't pause or turn his attention away from. As everything started to play, he was shocked when a younger Locke faded into existence, laying on his back with his arms behind his hat-covered head, staring aimlessly into the blue, blue sky.

* * *

"Silver?"

Silver started at the sound of Blaze's voice and he was quick to wipe his face furiously with his arm before responding, "Yeah?"

He heard her slide down the wall of the crater and walk up beside him. She and Tails had just returned the night before, and the young fox, along with Amy, was sound asleep. Knuckles had been coerced by the female hedgehog to keep an eye on the hawk (whose name was Jet, apparently) throughout the night while Silver stayed with his father._That_thought, of course, brought back the emotions he'd been doing his best to keep hidden since Blaze had called out to him just moments ago. Despair, disbelief, anxiety, fear, a tiny sliver of hope, even a bit of anger... "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he replied, doing his best to sound like he wasn't lying. Then he muttered, "If Mephiles wasn't already dead, I'd kill him."

"And I would do the same." Blaze moved to sit beside him with one leg outstretched and the other bent at the knee, providing a resting place for one of her arms. He glanced at her, surprised to find her calm gaze locked on his father's sleeping form. "There is no need for such sadness," she murmured and he stiffened. Did she know that he's been crying? Though he most certainly had _not_ been doing that. "He will be alright," she continued softly. "He is not injured, and therefore he cannot die. He merely needs rest, as do we all."

Catching onto the implications, Silver looked away. "I'm not tired," he mumbled, shifting so that he was no longer sitting on his knees but instead was sitting with them up near his chest with his arms wrapped loosely around them.

"You are," she said simply.

"I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm no-"

"Silver," she cut in a bit more firmly. "You _are_ tired. We all are. However, you are the only one who has not even attempted to rest. Go now. Sleep. I will take your place here for the night."

Silver's worry clashed with his exhaustion, but finally, he decided that he didn't want to argue with her, especially since she was offering to keep watch for the night so that he wouldn't _need_ to feel worried. "Okay," he sighed. "Thank you." She nodded and he stood. "Goodnight."

She was silent as he flew up to the edge of the crater. And yet, as he landed at the top and started walking away, he was almost certain that he's heard a soft, "Goodnight, Silver." Fighting down a small smile and doing his best to ignore the sudden warm feeling in his heart, he walked over near Tails and Amy and laid down to try and get some sleep.

* * *

_Locke yawned and rubbed his eyes with a closed fist, temporarily hiding the perfect sky from his vision. Today had been a good day, he supposed, though it had also been an incredibly lazy one. There was no danger of any sort (not that there ever really was), so he'd left his island home for a while to enjoy the peace somewhere other than the familiar scenery. He hadn't known what he'd wanted to do, just that he'd wanted to be doing something, and yet, he'd ended up doing nothing. There had been no treasure hunting, no reading, no exploring, no nothing. He's just glided to this spot in the middle of this wide open field with its lush green grass and spent the majority of the day staring up at the sky as he laid there on his back. Still, despite all of the nothing he'd been doing, today had been enjoyable so far._

_It was nearing one in the afternoon when he became aware of the hunger gnawing at his stomach. Sitting up, he stretched and, after standing, he pulled out a small pouch. Counting the coins hidden within, he came to the conclusion that he had more than enough money to get some food at the nearest village. Maybe he'd even have enough left over for a new book. With that in mind, he took to the sky and flew the several miles to the village. Landing lightly on the ground on the outskirts, he walked deeper into the settlement, following the delicious smell of freshly cooked, hot buttery rolls, the food for which this town was famous for. That was why the town was so busy, and why it had been able to grow so large. Making his way through the crowds, he headed to one of the many shop owners selling the rolls and purchased a small bunch of them before heading off in search of a bookstore. Finding none, he reluctantly left town. As he glided through the air, he sighed. He'd really been hoping for a new book._

_He landed in the field he had been in and sat down to start eating, pulling a roll out of the bag that they had been put into when he'd bought them. But, just as he lifted the roll to his mouth to take the first bite, the ground began to shake suddenly, so violently that the ground almost instantly split open. Wide, jagged cracks appeared in the ground, one splitting the ground by his feet, and his freshly baked rolls tumbled down into the lava far below. Eyes wide, Locke relinquished his hold om the one bun that hadn't fallen and scrambled to his feet. His searching eyes quickly fell upon the source of the rapidly growing disaster: an impossibly huge, dark purple beam hitting the planet seemingly from beyond the atmosphere. 'Another enemy from space, huh?' he thought, his voice sounding calmer in his head than he actually felt._

_The shaking grew worse and Locke found himself quickly forced to take to the air to avoid falling into the many massive cracks that were continually splitting apart the ground. His alarm only grew when he saw how the land was splitting apart like some sort of giant puzzle. Moments later, a watch-like device on his wrist (a brown square with an equally brown strap around his wrist and yellow grid on the simple, dark green screen) began to beep. Pressing a red button on its side he remarked, "I was wondering when you'd call. Guess you're seeing this too, huh?"_

_A male voice, this one calmer and smoother than his own, answered. "Yeah. The land's splitting apart, and it's worse than it looks."_

_"How so?" Locke asked with a frown. What could possibly be worse than this?_

_"All the continents, oceans and all, have been split apart and separated. They're floating up toward space, though slowly. It seems like they'll stop after a certain point, like something's keeping them anchored, but now there's no way to go from one continent to the other without flying."_

_Locke bit back a growl. 'Great.' "What do we do?"_

_"For now, help out anyone you find. When you can, meet me at the source of that beam of light. We'll take care of this just like everything else."_

_"Right." With the call ended, Locke flew off into the distance._

* * *

**Posted 05-22-15.**


	87. Birthright

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! It _might_ be! You'll have to read and find out! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yes, yes it has! And yeah, it might be! :D So glad you enjoyed! Aw, here! Have a tissue! *Hands it to you* Yeah, it might be Dark Gaia! I'm not telling you here! XD Hey, _I _should be the one thanking _you_! You're the one who keeps making cool pictures for my story! :D**

**Hello, Guest 1995! Perhaps I am! You'll find out soon! :D**

**Hello, Daggr! Your review to Chapter 83: Thank you so much! That means a lot! You're the 100th _and_ 400th reviewer now! XD Yeah, Werehog is massively under appreciated, if you ask me. :P No, they aren't actually related. It's been stated several times that they have a sibling like relationship (such as Amy protecting Tails from bullies as though she were his older sister). Also, what's wrong with a complex plot? Simplistic plots won't get very boring very quickly most of the time. The old games (i.e. classic Sonic) did it well, but that was also in the early days of gaming. Nowadays, most people prefer more complex plots, as do I. But yes, I agree that having humans in Sonic's world is beyond stupid. -.- I also agree that Shadow the Hedgehog (the game) was overly dark and way too violent to be a Sonic game. However, serious characters is by no means a bad thing, nor is it a bad thing when the main character has many friends. Again, I know that '06 is a hated game and that it was rushed (and I agree that said rushing is ridiculous). However, I did like a few of the things from that game. For example, I (obviously) love Silver, and I like the idea of Sonic and the others saving a ruined, fiery future. I also like Iblis and Mephiles as enemies. I also _love_ most of the music (save for "My Destiny" or whatever the hell it was called, ugh) from the game, and the graphics some of the cutscenes were incredible. About making Shadow a "decent character": I believe all of the Sonic characters (the originals I mean) are good characters. And I strive to _keep_ them good, even as I change them for my story. And, as far as making Shadow have a soft side, I've always felt that he has one to begin with. I promise to do my best to make it show it bit more in this story! :)**

**Your review to Chapter 86: Thanks! Glad you like it! :) I don't think it's _that_ dark. Also, there are a few jokes here and there (such as poking fun at Knuckles by calling him Toes before), they're just not in every chapter. I'm so happy that you enjoyed those chapters! Haha, yeah... Mephiles got what he deserved and then some! XD It's alright that you don't get it now. Things will make more sense later, though not necessarily right away. :) Yeah, they're fine... _for now. _*Laughs evilly and backs away slowly into the dark shadows in the corner* (P.S. About the Super Emeralds, you may want to read the note I left below all of these replies...)**

**Hello, flashyhero! It _miiiight _be... XD**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Glad you think so! :D**

**Hello, Rival King! It might be! XD Why the winky face when you asked who was at the other end of the communicator? Nope, I didn't forget! :P**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yeah, it kinda is. :) It _might_ be related! But I'm not telling here!**

* * *

_Locke glided as fast as he could to the massive beam that was still causing destruction everywhere he looked. Entire villages had been split in half or destroyed entirely, landscapes had been destroyed and/or permanently altered, and many people were dead. The continents were now entirely separated, but that was far from the only danger. Even as he watched, dark creatures that looked like the products of peoples' worst nightmares emerged from nothing to prowl across the world in packs. Locke gritted his teeth. 'First a race of alien birds attacks us with some sort of ancient technology and now whoever or whatever this is splits apart the world in a matter of minutes...'_

_Finally, he reached the other side of the giant, lava filled gap he had been flying over. As he neared the beam, he spotted a figure running below, fighting those creatures all the way. Angling downward, Locke landed so hard that he was forced to run to maintain his balance. Using his momentum to his advantage, he shot a fist out, gritting his teeth once again at the force of the impact. The creature he hit went down with a scream and vanished in a flash of bright purple light. Beside him, his silent companion also took out one of the creatures with the same end result. This was repeated over and over again until the two of them had destroyed each and everyone of the strange creatures in the immediate area. Taking a breath, Locke turned to face his companion._

_Bright green eyes glared intensely at the beam in the sky that was now just a few miles away. Indigo fur clashed with bright red and orange shoes. Hands covered by black gloves with fingers that only went three-fourths of the way up were clenched tightly at the figure's sides. The smooth, light blue circular gems on the backs of each glove caught a bit of the light and shone as the figure shifted their stance to look at Locke, their long ponytail, which was held by two gold rings melded together and reached the middle of his back, shifting as he did so. "You took your time getting here, Locke."_

_Locke huffed. "You told me to help people on the way, so I did," he replied. "Besides, you look like you just got here too, Kaden."_

_Kaden snorted softly and looked away. "I've been here for some time."_

_Locke rolled his eyes and looked around. "Where is here, exactly?"_

_"Near the Mystic Caves."_

_"You're sure?"_

_Kaden gave Locke a vaguely annoyed look. "You're a member of the all-knowing echidna tribe. You tell me."_

_Locke glared at him. "Shut up, hedgehog." Kaden's expression was nonplussed, and Locke huffed again. "Whatever. Let's just go."_

_Kaden nodded once and began running again, going fast enough that Locke had to take to the air to keep up. As they neared the beam, which was now just several miles away, a deafening roar filled the air and the ground shook once again with its tremendous force. The beam faded away and, as the two of them looked up, a massive beast the likes of which they had never seen before descended upon the world. Moments later, there was a flash of pure golden light far off in the distance. At the same time, seven multicolored lights shot up into the air like beacons in a circle around the that first, pure light. Above the circle, a larger, light green light filled the air from the island it was on. Kaden stopped running. "He is born."_

_Locke landed beside him, his eyes locked on the bright lights, his awe and confusion readily apparent in his expression. "Who?"_

_Kaden said nothing. Instead, he simply turned away from the brilliant light displays and headed off toward his enemy._

Then, just like that, the memory ended and everything went black for the second time that day.

* * *

**Important Notice!**** So it took freaking _forever_, but I finally made a decision! (I actually made this decision a little while ago (like last week or so) but whatever.) Hyper Sonic _will_ be included in this story! I don't know when exactly, but he _will_ be in here, along with the Super Emeralds!**

**Also, PyroShockZ! I know you know who Kaden is, but please don't say who he is in the reviews! Sometimes other people read the reviews and I don't want that spoiled for them. :) Hope you enjoyed!**

**Posted 05-23-15.**


	88. Almost Home

**Hello, Anonymous! Your first review to Chapter 87: No big deal, it's fine. I _love_ Blaziken! I always took Torchic as my starter when I played Sapphire on my Gameboy. :) I'm playing Pokemon Y right now. Yeah, I know the only way to do it is with the Super Emeralds. Undoubtedly it _was_Sonic's birth. After all, Locke said before that the emeralds all came to life at the same time he was born, and that is exactly what is described happening in his memory. And yes, they acted as a means of storing (or sealing) Sonic's power, as Locke also said once before. Yeah, I agree that bringing Hyper Sonic into the games would be very hard, but it would still be worth it. :) And yes, I will definitely enjoy my weekend! You should, too! Yes, of course I will do my best to get it right, as I always try to do with everything that's in this story. I'm aware that it is more intense. :P**

**Your second review to Chapter 87: Yeah, that _would_ be hard to do in a game.**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! *Sonic frowns in confusion* "The... internet? What?" Glad you thought it was so epic! And yes, yes they have. Remember, it was mentioned once before that Jet comes from a race of alien birds. This last chapter implies that said race actually attacked the world before settling there. :P May I ask what was confusing? So long as it won't spoil anything, I'll be happy to explain! :D You have a good day, too!**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Glad you enjoyed! Yeah, sorry it was short. ^-^**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! No need to apologize! I'm so happy you enjoyed! Haha, earth-shattering. I see what you did there! XD**

**Hello, flashyhero! I agree! He totally is! XD You suspected, huh? Darn. (Just kidding. XD) Also, what did you mean by "Kaden Kadad?"**

**Hello, Daggr! It _did_ do more than show Sonic's birth. It introduced a new character and a new/apparently old enemy. Quick question: Super Knuckles is when he turns green, correct? Or was that hyper? ANd yes, Tails is _awesome_ with the flickies! :D**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! I'm not telling up here! XD Who do you _think_ he is! I wanna know! :D I'm so glad you enjoyed that mental image! *Epic gasp* OMG, do you think you_can_ draw that! If you do it, please let me know! I would love to see it! :DD And yes, yes they will. :)**

**Hello, Guest! Ah, okay. Also, who do you think Kaden is? :)**

* * *

**Okay, so I screwed up, guys. I forgot to reply to a few of you last time. I'm sorry! I put in the (late) replies in the reply section of the last chapter! D:**

* * *

Sonic woke to surprisingly few aches and pains. He was still exhausted but he no longer seemed to be injured. It was odd, he supposed, but hardly his biggest concern at the moment. Forcing his tired eyes open, he sat up quickly, said eyes widening when he saw the massive crater surrounding him. He vaguely remembered what had happened after Mephiles had attacked Silver, but his memory was limited to simply recalling Mephiles dying and then just falling before losing consciousness. Having sensed from within the Master Emerald that everyone was fine, Silver included, he fought back the panic that rose up inside of him for the barest of moments at the memory of the attacks everyone had suffered. A moment later, his right ear flicked slightly and he turned his head in the direction of the soft sound of breathing he was hearing. He blinked when he saw the female cat he'd seen before sleeping not far away from him. It seemed like she had been sitting up at one point and that she had fallen asleep on accident. Frowning slightly, he was forced to wonder... why in the world was she there? Sighing softly, he stood walked over to her.

His ears told him that everyone else was above and a bit away from the crater, so he stopped and carefully picked up the girl and carried her slowly up to them. He laid her down beside Amy and and stepped back slightly. Turning his attention to the right, he saw Amy sleeping on her side with her hands under her head as a pillow. Her expression was completely peaceful and her mouth was just slightly open in a cute little pout. Glancing her over, he quickly determined that she was alright and turned further to the right to look at Tails, who was curled up with his Tails wrapping around him. He too seemed to be fine, besides obviously being tired, so Sonic allowed his concern for his friends to ease further. Sonic turned even further to the right and found Silver sleeping a short distance away from Amy and the others. Upon discovering that Silver didn't seem to be sleeping well, Sonic walked over to him and knelt by his side. Silver's expression was distressed, and Sonic's frown deepened. Reaching out, Sonic gently smoothed a hand over the fur on his son's head.

Silver's eyes blinked open drowsily. "Dad...?" he mumbled.

Sonic nodded once, not removing his hand. "Go back to sleep," he murmured.

Silver yawned and nodded sleepily, his eyes already drifting shut as he replied faintly, "Okay."

Sonic lingered for a moment, watching as Silver's expression became more peaceful, before standing and turning away in search of those he had not yet seen. He quickly located Knuckles and Jet, and he was surprised to find the two of them laying fairly near each other. Walking over, he immediately dropped to one knee by Jet's side. Placing a hand on the hawk's forehead, it became apparent that Jet had a bad fever. Still, it didn't seem to be as bad as Sonic knew it had been earlier. All Jet needed now was some rest. A moment later, a snore made Sonic jump, and he turned his head to See Knuckles sleeping on his back with his arms outstretched by his sides. Huffing lightly, Sonic stood and walked over to him. Nudging the echidna with the toe of one shoe, he said quietly. "Hey, stop snoring. You'll wake everyone up."

Knuckles grunted softly in his sleep but surprisingly didn't wake. Rolling his eyes, Sonic walked away to find a quiet place nearby to think about what Locke had shown him before. Several important questions lingered in his mind. _What in the world was that creature that practically destroyed the world? What happened to it? Who was that "Kaden" guy? And how in the hell did he know that the emeralds lighting up meant that I was born?_

* * *

Sonic was standing with his arms crossed not terribly far away from Jet when when the sound of movement caught his attention. He didn't turn around when a single set of footsteps approached him from behind. Knuckles's gruff whisper met his ears next. "You're awake."

Sonic glanced at him. "Yeah." His expression completely straight, he added, "I'm just glad _you_ are. Your snoring was getting on my nerves."

Knuckles grunted but otherwise didn't reply to that statement. "You okay?"

Sonic looked away, his gaze drifting to the sky. "Fine."

"You're sure?"

"Yes." A pause. Then, "How are _you_ all okay?"

Knuckles nodded to Blaze. "We've got her to thank for that."

"How so?" Sonic asked with a frown.

"Her power is fire, but not ordinary fire," Knuckles explained. "It's one of the Mystics. Those are powers that are so incredible that they've become the stuff of legends. Each mystic only ever appears once in the universe. Once the user dies, their power is gone forever. No one else will ever attain it ever again."

Sonic let that information sink in for a moment before asking, "So how did she managed to use fire to heal?"

"The light created by her fire nullified the effects of Mephiles's attacks, as they were created through the use of his powers of shadow."

Sonic nodded to signal his understanding. "That explains why she's sleeping so deeply." She hadn't really struck him as someone who normally slept much, let alone that deeply, so he had wondered...

"Yeah. Guess so." Knuckles was silent for a moment before asking bluntly, "What the hell happened?" When Sonic's look betrayed no understanding, Knuckles clarified. "How did you defeat Mephiles? And _how_ did you make that crater?"

Sonic looked away again. What was she supposed to say? That he had no idea? It was the truth, but would Knuckles accept that? With reluctance, he acknowledged the fact that the answer was, _Probably not._

Thankfully, he was saved from replying when Tails's voice suddenly reached his ears. "Sonic!" he exclaimed quietly, running in front of the tired hedgehog.

Sonic somehow managed a small smirk. "Hey, Tails."

"You're awake!" Tails grinned. There seemed to have been no doubt in him that Sonic would wake up, but he was clearly relieved anyway.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah." As Amy woke and ran over to him, Sonic found himself going through the same conversation all over again. Still, he was thankful that Amy refrained from hugging him this time, though it made him a bit tense to note that she obviously _wanted_ to hug him. Again.

Once things settled down again, Tails spoke. "Hey, Sonic?"

Sonic blinked. "Yeah?"

"D'you think it'll be okay for me to go check something out?" the young fox asked. "I mean, I don't have my machine anymore or anything, but I remember the spot it was indicating..."

Sonic's head tilted infinitesimally as a minute frown appeared on his face. "You think you found another portal?"

Tails nodded eagerly. "Yeah. Well, maybe. That's why I want to go look. To be sure."

"I don't care if Mephiles is gone or not," Knuckles cut in suddenly, "it's still dangerous out there. You're not going alone."

"Go with him, then," Sonic replied. "You can fly."

"Glide," Knuckles corrected grumpily.

"Whatever," Amy dismissed with a wave of her hand. "The point is that it'll be better for you to go because then Tails won't have to carry me. And _don't_ suggest that _he_ go," she jerked a thumb at Sonic, "because he needs rest."

Sonic felt himself become a bit sullen. "I'm not _that_ tired, Amy."

"Yes you are," she replied with a slight glare in direction.

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Whatever..." He looked to Tails. "Let's just go."

Tails nodded. "Alright."

After saying a quick goodbye, Tails took to the air, Knuckles not far behind. Amy sighed and turned her attention to Sonic. "You sure you're okay?"

Sonic wanted to groan. How many times was he going to have this conversation today? "Yes." She nodded approvingly and he glanced to the side. "Has he woken up at all since the attack?"

She followed his gaze to look at Jet before shaking her head. "No, but I'm pretty sure he's fine."

"His fever is still pretty bad."

"Yes, but his wound didn't reopen. Things could have been worse."

"Yeah. Guess so."

Amy placed a comforting hand on his shoulder for a brief moment before pulling it away as she walked over to Blaze, calling over her shoulder, "I'm going to get his hover-board thing. I'll be back."

He watched her walk to where the hawk's board had been dropped a short ways away from where he was laying, only to have his attention snapped to the side when he heard a familiar voice. "Dad!"

Without any warning, Silver slammed into him and hugged him tightly. Sonic hugged him back without hesitation, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Hey."

"_Don't_ do that again," Silver ordered, though there was no real force to his voice.

"I won't," Sonic promised quietly, hating how upset Silver sounded.

"Good," Silver replied just as quietly. Then he pulled away and said with a wan sort of smile, "Then again, when you were passed out, it was nice and quiet around here."

Sonic snorted softly, nearly laughed. "I don't see how, with the way Knuckles was snoring. I swear the ground was almost shaking."

At this, Silver's smile grew. "Just don't tell _him_ that. He'll kill someone."

"Yeah, and it'll probably be me," Sonic returned, smiling a bit wider, "because I'm the one who started it."

"Betcha if we called him Toes he'd try to kill _both _of us."

"Probably."

"We should totally do it, anyway."

"We should. I'd love to see the look on his face."

"Same here."

By now, they were both chuckling quietly, unaware of the soft, almost sad smile Amy had aimed in their direction.

* * *

Several hours had passed by the time Knuckles and Tails returned, and they confirmed that Tails's machine had located a portal. According to Tails's hypothesis, the portal wouldn't close until the returned home, though his explanation had involved a lot of scientific facts that few members of the party really understood. Still, everyone believed that he knew what he was talking about, and no one doubted his theory. And so, knowing that their way home wouldn't be disappearing any time soon, they had all agreed to head back to Silver's home for now. Silver and Blaze took the lead with Knuckles and Tails not far behind. Knuckles had agreed to carry Jet's board for now and Silver, only able to carry one person with his powers at this point in time, carried the unconscious Jet with him. That left Sonic and Amy. With an internal, resigned sort of sigh, Sonic picked Amy up and began running, doing his best to ignore the way her arms wrapped lightly around his neck. As he was running, the world suddenly vanished to be replaced by a memory that was not his own.

_"Kaden. ...Kaden. Come on. Stay awake." __Kaden coughed weakly and turned his head to slightly to the side, but otherwise didn't really respond. Locke, who knelt stubbornly by his side, refusing to go anywhere, frowned deeply. 'Fighting that creature and sealing it away took way to much out of him.' Kaden could have died, could still die, though Locke refused to think like that. He shook his friend again. "Hey, stay awake. Analia needs you. She won't forgive you if you die."_

_Kaden coughed again. "You saw... the explosion," he said quietly between struggles for breath. "She's... already..."_

_"No!" Locke interrupted angrily. "Don't say that! She could still be alive!" Kaden didn't reply. He was slowly drifting off, and nothing Locke did seemed to make a difference. "Dammit, Kaden! Stay awake! You're not going to die!"_

_Kaden finally stirred, but only enough to speak so slowly and quietly that Locke barely heard him. "When you find him... t...take care of him."  
_

_Locke scowled. "When I find who?" No response. "Kaden?" Locke shook him. "Kaden?" Again he shook the hedgehog, but to no avail. "Kaden!" Locke's fingers dug gouges in the dirt as he watched Kaden take his last breath before breathing no more._

"Sonic? Are you alright? You slowed down a bit there."

Sonic blinked, coming back to reality, and nodded once. "Yeah. I'm fine." But as he poured on the speed once more, a thought once more entered his mind. _Who_ was this Kaden person?

* * *

**PyroShockZ! Remember how you gave me two names, Elora and Analia? I decided to use Analia instead. :)**

**Posted 05-24-15.**


	89. Goodbye For Now

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! Ah, alright. I get it. :) Glad you enjoyed the bonding! And yes, I did, to a point, use another reviewer's ideas. PyroShockZ, in a review, gave me the name Kaden, and then illustrated the character on DeviantArt. They then, in a PM, gave me a couple ideas for another character name, one of which was Analia. Yes, Toes was a nickname Sonic and then Silver came up with for Knuckles in a couple previous chapters (right at the start of this future arc) in order to piss said echidna off. :P Yes, it would seem he always had the responsibility, though it is equally clear that he wasn't aware of it for many years. Yeah, that always is a problem... ^-^**

**Hello, flashyhero! Ah, okay. :) Huh. Okay then. So _what_ was with the bright green Knuckles I saw on the cover of an old Sonic comic once? :l Thank you for clarifying, by the way!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Okay, you're not crying. I believe you. ;) *Hands you tissues anyway* Glad you think so! And I'm sorry, but it had to be done! T^T Thank _you_ for giving it to me! I will do my best, thank you! :D**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! Yeah, I think so, too. Yes, she most certainly does. And thanks! Glad you like it! Guess we'll have to wait and find out, huh? ;)**

**Hello, ScorchedEarth82800! Haha, sorry! XD Is that a _bad_ thing? Awesome idea! I may just do that! Granted it may not be soon per se, but I will certainly try to work it in! :D**

**Hello, Anonymous! Awesome! Good for you! :D I'm sorry! I was just confused! I remembered seeing a green Knuckles on the cover of an old Sonic comic and for some reason I thought that that was his Super! D: About the egg, so you have the hatching O Power? That would help. Also, having a Pokemon in your party with the ability Flame Body. If those don't help, then I'm out of ideas. :l Not the only priority, but yes, it is a big, tough one indeed. It's a really cool idea! I already had a vague plan for how I wanted to introduce them, but I may use yours. No promises are being made of course, but I will certainly consider it! :D And gee, thanks. -.-**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yup, Jet is the only one still down for the count at this point. I'm glad you enjoyed that! And yeah, I could totally see that happening, too! XD They're so much alike that I think Knuckles might need to start feeling concerned. XD So I _did_ manage to make it sad, despite having barely introduced him as a character. That's good to know. I accomplished what I wanted to a point. :) *Examines your report* Yes, he is an indigo-colored hedgehog, making him blue like Sonic, just a different, darker shade of blue, and yes, he has green eyes as well, though Sonic's are described as being more emerald in color (appropriate, eh?). Yes, he confirmed through two words that Sonic was born and then spoke of him indirectly once more by asking/telling Locke to take care of him when Locke "find(s) him." However, _is_he Sonic's father? Guess you'll just have to find out! :D**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Not telling you about Karen up here! As far as the rest of your questions, they should be answered more or less in this chapter! :D**

* * *

"I told you, I'm fine."

"You collapsed, you idiot!"

"It's not like I'm the only one!"

"You're the only with a _hole_ in his stomach!"

"That's enough!" Jet and Knuckles turned to glare at Sonic as he approached the two of them and, satisfied that they had stopped arguing for now, Sonic turned his attention to Knuckles. "Amy needs help pushing aside a rock to get to a hole where Jake apparently stored most of his medical supplies. Go give her a hand, will you?"

Knuckles looked ready to argue, but something in Sonic's eyes stopped him. Still, he felt no qualms about grumbling as he walked away. "Whatever."

Sonic refrained from rolling his eyes and turned to Jet. After a moment he remarked, "I hear Amy says that you'll be better in a few days."

Jet nodded. "Yeah. Didn't stop her from refusing to let me take my board, though."

"It's probably for the best. The more you move around, the slower you'll recover."

"I still say that I should at least be able to have it _with_ me."

Sonic shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Hesitating for a moment, he said quietly, "We need to talk."

Much to his surprise, Jet sighed. "Yeah... I know."

"What Mephiles said..." Sonic started slowly.

"It _isn't _true," Jet cut in earnestly. Then he added less forcefully, "...not entirely."

Sonic nodded. "Then explain."

Jet nodded in return and carefully sat down against the rock he had been standing by some distance away from the other people. Sonic sat down across from him. "I did... let Elsa die," Jet started slowly, staring at the ground. "But all those times in the past when I said that it was because I hater her, it was a lie. I never liked her, you know that, but I never hated her. And when she asked me to help her the day she died... I just... I couldn't say no."

"Help her?" Sonic frowned.

Jet nodded again, still not looking up. "She... I guess she learned that some bad stuff was gonna happen. She approached me with this baby in her arms and said that he was yours, your son, and that he was the last pure silver hedgehog the world would ever see. Then she started talking about how she had to protect him and you because you both would die if she didn't do something about some threat that was coming. She said that she needed my help to help _you_."

Understanding dawned in Sonic's eyes. "By preventing me from getting to her and letting her die."

Jet nodded once again. "I promised," he said very, very quietly. "When she asked me to, I promised that I would keep you back long enough for Mephiles to come and kill her, that way you wouldn't be killed instead. She said that was the only way she could protect you and the baby. She planned from the beginning to be killed so that she could pass on her powers to the baby and put a temporary shield around you."

The shield was something that Sonic had known about. It was the only thing that had prevented him from dying from the final attack that Mephiles had unleashed before disappearing through one of his portals. Granted, the shield had eventually collapsed and he'd been knocked out cold for a minute or two, but it had prevented him from being killed. And Elsa apparently had done more than that. She had given Silver her powers and added them to his, a major event that more than likely had occurred in this timeline as well. It certainly helped explain how Silver had been so powerful even as a child. _Because she made sure of it._

"And, after she died," Jet continued, still speaking very quietly, "I left because... because I couldn't face you. And, even though I wanted to, I had promised _not_ to tell you until I, by her words, 'saw what the future held'. Guess that meant she wanted me to wait until all of _this_ happened."

Sonic recalled for a moment finding the son he hadn't even known he'd had wrapped in a blanket in her lifeless arms and slowly picking the child up and holding him close even as he struggled not to give into the shock he felt at seeing her lying there dead. He pushed the memory away for now and his gaze drifted to the dark, smoky sky as he quietly said, "Thank you."

Jet scowled at the ground. "Why are you thanking me? I didn't do anything. _She's_ the one who protected you two."

Sonic blinked slowly. "You helped her do what she felt was right, what she felt was worth losing her life for. That's not nothing."

"All I did was ensure that the one person you actually cared about got killed," Jet bit out bitterly, though his anger seemed to be more directed toward... himself. "That _doesn't_deserve thanks. You should just keep hating me and we'll go back to normal." Despite his words, that didn't really seem to be what Jet wanted.

Sonic was quiet for a moment. Finally, he stood and, with a quiet remark of, "I never hated you," he turned and walked away, paying little notice to the shock he sensed coming from the bird behind him.

* * *

Locke sat on a grassy hill inside the Master Emerald's inner world, one that overlooked a large almost-valley filled with pools of sparkling water and grass that was so green that the entire area had been named after it. _How ironic that such a beautiful place holds such bittersweet memories. _Reliving the past recently in order to show Sonic what the emerald had decided he'd needed to see had been painful, but necessary. Still, revisiting the death of his oldest and closest friend would never get less painful. Especially not when Locke felt so guilty. _By the time I figured out who Sonic even was, namely his son, the kid had already been on his own for years. He'd been fighting an adult's fight because I wasn't there to keep him out of it, to keep him safe. He'd been injured and kidnapped and locked up and starved and isolated and god only knows what else by the time I even met him. I should have known just by his fur that he was related to them, even his eyes gave it away, but I was stupid and didn't make the connection. It wasn't until I saw how damn fast he was... His speed has always been in a class of its own, but there's no other person he could have gotten it from except his old man. His massive stamina was passed down, too, it seems. And the kid's agility undoubtedly came from his mother, along with his flexibility. There's even more stuff that he inherited, too, like that damn habit his old man had of flicking his ear when he heard something. There were so many signs... and I was still too blind to see it._

Then, suddenly, a now familiar voice interrupted his thoughts. _"Do not blame yourself for what was never in your control. The past is past. The future is now."_

"Yeah, and a fat lot of good I'm able to do now that I'm dead." His words weren't dignified by any sort of response, so Locke looked up into the sky. "Are you ever gonna tell me who you are?"

_"I am nothing and no one. When the time is right, when he is ready, I will cease to be."_

Locke sighed heavily. "How did I know you were gonna say that?" Once again, no response. A moment later, Locke called out, "At least answer me one thing. Why am I the only one who was, in a sense, revived here?"

_"You were never alone, Locke."_

"Meaning...?"

_"There are others. They simply have not awoken yet."_

"Others?" Locke demanded. "What others? Who are they? _Where_ are they?"

_"You will see them when it is time," _the voice said simply. _"Rest now. You have not slept in some time."_

With great reluctance, knowing somehow that the voice had left for now, Locke laid back in the grass with his arms behind his head. After a moment, he moved one arm to cover his eyes and tried to go to sleep.

* * *

Silver and Sonic stood together in front of the building where the younger hedgehog and his family of sorts always slept. Sonic frowned slightly at his son. "This is a big decision," he said slowly. "Are you sure you want to make it so quickly?"

Silver nodded without hesitation. "Yes!" he exclaimed, though seriously. "I want to go with you guys. Blaze does, too. If Tails is right, then together the two of us can use our powers to open another portal to join you guys after you leave through the one that Mephiles left behind. He even said that, if we focus on you hard enough, we can open it wherever you guys are, even if we have no idea where that place is."

_With the enormity of their powers, especially when combined, I wouldn't be surprised if they could actually do it. But... what if it doesn't work?_

"And Tails also said that _he_ would find a way to open a portal for us with a machine if all else fails," Silver continued as though he'd read Sonic's thoughts.

_That sounds like Tails, alright. _Sonic tilted his head a bit, giving Silver a calm but still serious look. "You know we're leaving tomorrow. Will that be enough time for you to say goodbye and whatnot?"

Silver frowned at the ground as he seemed to give this some thought. "No," he admitted. "I know pretty much everyone, and we're all really spread out. Blaze's home is closest to here, but even that takes a few days to reach, factoring in rest stops and everything."

Sonic nodded once. "What do you want to do?"

Silver thought again. "Maybe... Blaze and I can join you guys in a few weeks?" he suggested somewhat hesitantly. "That'll give up enough time to say goodbye to everyone and find a way to open the portal."

Sonic also gave that some thought before nodding once again. "Alright. If you're sure."

"I am." Silver rushed forward then, surprising Sonic with a sudden hug that he was quick to return. "I'll miss you."

Sonic closed his eyes. These next few weeks were going to be _long_. "I'll miss you, too."

* * *

**Another shortish one with another not-so-great ending, but I hope you enjoyed. Posted 05-25-15.**


	90. To the Future (Sort Of)

**Hello, Guest1995! Your review to Chapter 87: You'll find out! And yes, yes he is! :D Yeah, I know. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 89: No, no sign of her yet, but she _will_ be in the story eventually. I love her too much to leave her out! Same goes for Chip/Light Gaia! Hyper Knuckles and Super Tails are a maybe at this point. I'm not _quite_ sure yet. I'll let the general audience know when I have decided. :)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yeah, it sure was. And they sure will be. Glad you're glad! XD Arigato, Pyro-kun! I will do my best! :D**

**Hello, Sonic and Dragon fan! Yeah, I just felt it could have been better, that's all. Glad you liked it. :) And yes, you were, though Locke's confirmation of this was highly indirect in that he never once said Kaden's name, nor Analia's. :P But yes, they will be riding along, too! And about Eggman... _we shall see. _*Grins evilly* :D**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! IKR?! XD Yes, he is. Well, glad you think so. :)**

**Hello, Anonymous! Well, good luck on your game! I don't have that one, so I don't really know how to help you. :( And _aw_, Pikachu is so _kawaii_~! XD Hey, glad you enjoyed! And yeah, I have done my best to weave an intricate web of mysteries and secrets that are somehow all tied together with the characters and/or events of the story. I'm just pleased that it has been a success so far. :) May I ask what you think the "main" mystery is? ;) Also, what have you been wanting to draw? It's cool that you like to draw. I do, too. Good luck! And thank you! :D**

**Hello, flashyhero! Huh. Okay then. Thank you! My brain obviously got scrambled and mixed up all the transformations and fur colors with him for some reason, so thanks a bunch for clarifying! ^-^**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Ahh, I missed you! Welcome back! :DD I'm _so_ happy you enjoyed it so much! Yeah, we sure covered a lot of stuff lately, huh? XD Glad you think that I've got the personalities right. Yeah... I'm pretty sad too, but it needed to be done. I will do my best to keep the duration of the separation under ten chapters, but I make no promises! D: I would assume through the portal, like everyone else. I may not actually write it in, but if I don't I will do my best to imply it so no one gets confused. :P**

**Hello, Dgagr! Yeah, several other reviewers already set me straight on that. I just got mixed up. :P Haha, he actually _is_ green on the cover of one Sonic comic I saw once. Another reviewer, flashyhero, told me what that was about in the reviews, if you want to look. :) Okay, there are several things wrong with this. First of all, there was never any implication that Jet is suicidal (_please_ don't joke about that, that hits way too close to home :( (no, not because I attempted that, just people I know)), and they're not all just "standin' around". The big bad battle is over, yes, but that doesn't mean there aren't important things going on. There is no "stop-and-go" in this story. Again, a lack of battle scenes and massive action doesn't mean that nothing is happening or that the chapters I'm posting have no importance. :l Happy Memorial Day to you, too! I did absolutely nothing for it... I guess I'm un- American that way. XP (Yes, I get it. :P)**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yes, yes it does. I feel kinda bad for him, actually. :( I don't think those feelings you mentioned him feeling will ever truly go away, even if they do manage to lessen over time. I'll go ahead and answer part of that question up here: I foresee depression to a point, even if I never directly mention it. :P Yes, it's Kaden. Locke never directly states his name or anything (obviously) but it's clearly him. :) And yes, yes it does.**

**Hello, Rival King! Yes, you were right. :) Aw, glad you think so! (Don't worry, I'm pretty crazy too, at times. :P)**

* * *

The day had been long so far. Saying goodbye to everyone that Sonic and the others had come to know in Silver's world had been exceptionally hard, but eventually the time had come to leave.

"Don't do anything too fun without me, 'kay?" Silver winked.

Sonic smirked at him. "I make no promises. Adventure seems to love me."

"You're full of it," Silver laughed.

"Says you," Sonic laughed back.

"I do say so!" Silver grinned. "But seriously, try to avoid having too many adventures 'till we meet up again."

Sonic ruffled the fur atop Silver's head. "I'll do my best. But if I fail, I'll tell you all about whatever happens when I see you again, okay?"

"Alright," Silver nodded with a smile.

Barely a few minutes later, it was time to go. As they approached the portal, Sonic thought for certain that he had seen a bright yellow flash go through it, though he ignored it. _If that guy went through, it just means that he's home now. He doesn't deserve to get trapped here anymore than we do. _Tails, carrying Amy by her hands, went through first with Knuckles not far behind. Jet flew through next on his board and, with a lingering glance over his shoulder in the direction of Silver's home, Sonic jumped up after him.

* * *

Several days had passed since their departure from Silver's world. Things had been a bit lonely without him and Blaze, but one good thing had come out of their departure: They had finally been able to claim the purple Chaos Emerald which, according to Tails's scientific theories and Sonic's own memories, Mephiles had been using to help him open portals to other worlds. Now they had three emeralds... _Only four left to go. _

Sonic reclined on the right wing of the X-Tornado with his arms behind his head, his eyes shut, and one leg resting on the other knee. Jet frowned at him from where he sat in the back of the Tornado. "Does he _always_ sit on the wing like that?"

"Yup," Amy responded cheerily from the seat in front of him as she looked down at a map that had clearly been folded into perfectly even vertical rectangles at some point. "Always."

Jet said nothing as he looked protectively at his board, which also rested on the wing behind Sonic's head. It was too big to fit inside the ship with Jet in his seat, so it was either the board rode outside... or Jet did. And there was _no_ way that Jet was riding on the wing of a goddamn _ship_. Riding on a board was one thing, but this ship went _way_ faster than that did, and there was nothing to keep him strapped on or whatever... There was just _no_ way. Sonic was absolutely _crazy_. _How is he even sleeping right now? _But, then again, he was the only one out of them who hadn't really had any rest after the fight, so Jet supposed that Sonic napping right now made some sense. _At this point, he could probably sleep through a tornado. __Or maybe a hurricane. _That might have been a massive exaggeration, but the mental image was funny enough that it eased some of Jet's bad mood. "Hey, where are you guys headed, anyway?" he asked after another moment's silence.

"For right now, just to the nearest city," Amy answered, turning around a bit in her seat so that she could look at him. "Everyone's pretty hungry, so I figured we could got to a restaurant or something. Plus we can get you to a hospital there and get you checked out, just to make absolutely sure that you're healing alright."

"Plus I'll be able to get some new parts to fix my machine that Mephiles's creatures broke," Tails added with a quick grin over his shoulder from where he sat up front at the controls. It still surprised Jet that Sonic was letting a kid pilot this thing, and his former teammate's assurances that the fox knew what he was doing did little to ease Jet's nerves.

"Besides that, it'll just be nice to see a city that _isn't_ ruined," Knuckles grumped from where he slouched with his arms crossed in the seat in front of Amy's.

"Maybe _you_ should take a nap," Amy said with a tired sort of glare at the back of his seat.

"Hmph."

Amy rolled her eyes and turned back to Jet. "Don't mind him," she whispered. "He's pretty much always like that. It's a wonder he and Sonic haven't killed each other yet, to be honest."

That made Jet smirk a bit. "I'm surprised _we_ didn't kill each other recently."

Much to his surprise, Amy laughed a bit. "Yeah, I almost can't believe it, either. But there's still hope for you two, I'm sure of it."

Then, suddenly, Tails jerked the ship to the side so hard that everything tilted to the right side severely. Jet's head snapped to the side just in time to see Sonic whip around to grab the wing in one hand and Jet's board in the other. Now sitting on his hands and knees, Sonic gave the young fox a vaguely unappreciative look. Tails smiled nervously and mouthed "Sorry," through the cockpit. Sonic sighed and, after Tails righted the plane, he set the board down more or less where it had been before and sat down.

"Tails, what was that about?" Amy asked.

"There was a bird..." Tails said, still wearing that nervous smile. "...in my way..."

"Oh, geez," Amy muttered, though she was smiling. "Next time try not to swerve so much, okay?"

"I will," Tails promised with a small laugh.

Amy turned back around then, presumably to continue her conversation with Jet, only to pause when she saw the look on his face. "You okay?"

"Fine," he mumbled. "Just never ridden in a plane or anything before, and maneuvers like _that_ aren't helping me to enjoy the experience." He cast a pointed look in Tails's direction.

"Wow, really?" Amy asked, eyes wide. "You've _never_ been in a plane before?"

He shook his head. "No. Never."

She smiled, then winked at him. "Planes are overrated, anyway. Trust me, this is _way_ better."

"Does anyone know where we _are_?" Knuckles cut in suddenly, interrupting Jet before he could even think of a reply.

"Uh, hang on," Tails said. he reached ahead of him and slightly to the right and pressed a button. Moments later, there was a soft hiss as the cockpit open, followed by a rush of air. Sonic, who had laid back down a few minutes ago, tilted his head back and cracked an eye open. "Hey, Sonic, where are we?" Tails called over the roar of the wind.

Sonic blinked and sat up to glance around. A moment later he called back, "Off course." His reply was vague, but no one questioned him further. "Head a bit more to the east, about three miles, then head north again."

Tails nodded with a smile, taking the blue hedgehog at his word. "Okay!"

He started to close the cockpit again, but Jet quickly unbuckled and called out, "Wait!" As soon as it was all the way open again. Jet climbed carefully out onto the wing, ignoring the looks he was receiving from everyone inside. The cockpit closed behind him as he sat down beside Sonic. "I recognize this route. I didn't know we were so close to home."

"I didn't either," Sonic shrugged. "Not until just now."

"You sure you're okay with going there?" Jet frowned. "You might run into Storm, and you know he'll cause problems."

Sonic's expression soured a bit. He and Storm had never really gotten along. "If he tries anything, I'll just knock him out."

Jet didn't doubt it, either. "Have they ever been here?" he asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.

Sonic glanced at his companions. "I don't know. Probably not." He paused, then added, "Except maybe Amy."

"She's talking about getting food in the city," Jet said. "Guess we'll have to find someplace then, since they won't know where anything is."

"Guess so," Sonic agreed.

Jet considered the options for a moment before grinning and saying, "Maybe we can take them to the old diner, the one with that crazy old waitress woman who talks to the drinks."

Sonic's mouth twisted up into a wry smirk. "I think that might freak them out a bit."

Jet laughed. "Yeah, maybe. Still, once you get used to her, that woman's actually pretty damn funny."

Sonic managed a small chuckle. "She is," he agreed. "Especially when she starts telling those stories about the flickies who love stealing her wigs."

Jet nodded. "Yeah, those are the best by far. It's even greater when you see it in person."

Sonic didn't reply as he seemed to think things over. "What about the restaurant near the racetrack?" he suggested. "We used to eat there all the time. They had the best food in the city."

"Still do, I'm sure," Jet agreed. "So long as old Ben's still running the place." He was quiet for a moment as he leaned back on his hands. "Man, I haven't eaten there in ages."

Sonic glanced at him. "Why not?"

Jet shrugged. "I dunno. Too familiar, I guess."

Sonic knew exactly what Jet meant. After everything that had happened with Elsa and whatnot, the two of them had avoided each other as much as possible, Sonic even going so far as to leave the city in order to escape seeing the places he and Jet had used to hang out at. It was almost silly in hindsight, but then again... _It wasn't like I knew what I know now back then. _

About an hour later, a familiar sight came into view. Sonic hadn't seen this place in years, but he still recognized it immediately. It was impossible _not_ to. Unsurprisingly, it didn't seem to have changed a bit. Cars and bikes still hovered, roads were still replaced by transparent, highly indestructible tubes, technology still ran everything, and the city was still almost entirely grey and white, with the occasional splash of color provided courtesy of local parks and the rare building here or there that broke that societal norms by not adhering to the standard color code of the city. No, Future City hadn't changed a bit. Even the nickname hadn't changed. And, to this day, Sonic wasn't really sure if the city's actual name was Monopole or Monopolis. It didn't help that people used the names interchangeably, nor did it help that, for the most part, even the city officials couldn't seem to decide on which one it was supposed to be. Most people referred to the whole place as Future City anyway, so he supposed it hardly mattered.

As they flew over the city, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles's awe quickly became apparent. Sonic directed Tails to a nearby public hangar where they landed the ship. Grabbing his board, Jet was the first to touch the ground as he slid off the wing. He stretched and, though he didn't actually say it, Sonic had the feeling that the bird was thinking something along the lines of, "Ahh, it's good to be home!"

Amy smiled as she joined him and Sonic beside the wing they had been riding on. "Wow, Future City!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I've heard of this place, seen pictures too, but I've never actually been here before! It's so much better in person!" Sonic couldn't help but smile a bit at the pure happiness on her face. Amy sure did love to travel... It was kind of sweet, actually.

Tails jumped out next, his twin tails spinning briefly to slow his fall, and Knuckles jumped out after him, the cockpit sliding shut as they landed. "So where are we eating?" Knuckles asked. "I'm starved."

Tails nodded with a wide smile. "Me too. Say, after we eat, can we do some sightseeing? I'd love to have a look around!"

The excited sparkle in Amy's eyes killed any protests Sonic or Knuckles came up with before they could even be voiced. Sonic bit back a sigh. "Fine." Looking away from Amy's delighted smile, Sonic fixed his gaze on Tails's face. "We're gonna eat a restaurant near a race track Jet and I used to hang out at," he said in answer to the original question.

"It's a bit of a long walk, but the food's great," Jet added. "Old Ben's probably still the chef and he might hassle you guys a bit, but he's just having fun. He doesn't mean anything by it."

Amy appeared thoughtful. "Say, you have a couple friends here, right?"

"Yeah," Jet nodded. "Why?"

"Maybe you should invite them!" she said brightly. "I'm sure they'd like to know that you're okay."

"Uh..." Jet hesitated, glanced to Sonic. Sonic just shrugged uncaringly, and Jet looked away. "Okay," he answered with a shrug of his own. Then he turned and looked around, his board under his arm. "I'll need to find a phone, though..."

"You can do that while we're walking," Knuckles said. "If we wait around much longer, we'll never get there before noon."

Tails nodded his agreement. "Yeah, I'm sure we'll find a phone on the way. Come on!" He ran ahead into the crowd with Amy not far behind. Huffing, Sonic jogged lightly to catch up with them, and the three of them were soon lost in the crowd.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me," Knuckles said, scanning the crowd as he and Jet walked. "Yeah, just leave us behind. Great idea, guys."

"Relax," Jet said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I doubt they went far. Besides, I know the way. If worse comes to worse, we'll just meet them there."

Knuckles grumbled and crossed his arms. "I still say they should've stayed here."

Jet frowned at him. "Why are you so uptight?"

Knuckles released a heavy sigh. "Did Sonic tell you about Ivo and all that?"

"Yeah."

"We haven't seen him in a while, even ignoring the time we spent in Silver's world. There's no telling what he's up to now, and splitting up has proven to be a bad idea several times in the past."

Jet's expression grew more serious then. "Like in the jungle."

Knuckles nodded. "Yeah. Granted, that's the only time Sonic managed to get himself captured, but even still." Jet's reply was cut off when Knuckles sighed again and pointed to a pay phone on the right side of the metal walkway they were on. "There's your phone."

Jet jogged up to it and, after fishing around for a few coins, he inserted them into the appropriate slot, picked up the phone, dialed a quick number, and waited as it rang. He honestly wasn't even sure if anyone would answer. _I know I wouldn't answer if I saw it was just some damn payphone calling. _

Still, his expectations managed to be proved wrong when, after just two rings, someone picked up the phone. "Jet?" the voice on the other end asked, almost too desperately.

"What the he- How'd you know it was _me_ calling?" Jet demanded.

"Oh my god, it's you!" Wave exclaimed from the other line before adding quickly, "We've been answering the phone anytime someone called on the off-chance that maybe it was you on the other line-" She cut herself off then, her voice suddenly became angry as she snapped, "Where the hell have you _been_?! I've been worried _sick_ because you said we'd all meet here and then you never showed up-"

"I'm fine," he said quickly, but she cut him off before he could say anything else.

"You could have been _dead_ for all we knew, or captured, or bleeding to death in that forest or god knows what else-" It wasn't like her to freak out like this. He didn't like it one bit. This _wasn't_ the Wave he knew so well.

"Wave!" he cut in loudly enough that his voice drowned out hers. "I'm fine! Seriously!"

"Where _are_ you?" she demanded. "Are you headed home?"

"Not yet," he said. "That's why I was calling, actually. I'm gonna go have lunch with some people at Ben's."

"Ben's?" she asked in confusion. "That old place? Why?"

"Uh... That's a long story," he hedged. "Just come down here. I'll explain then."

"Depends," she said suspiciously. "Who exactly are you with? I swear, if it's those raccoon brothers again-"

"No, not them," he interrupted. "I stopped hanging out with them after that tried to steal my board, remember?" Or rather, he'd punched their lights out and left them behind at the skate park they'd been at. But still.

"Fine," she agreed after a moment. "I'll wake Storm up and we'll meet you on the way or whatever. Where are you now?"

Jet took a quick look around. "By the Sunrise Shopping District. You know, the one with the big hangar nearby."

"You taking the old route we used to use?" She seemed surprised.

He nodded, though he knew she couldn't see. "Yeah."

"Alright," she said. "We'll meet up with you on the way."

After that, they exchanged a couple quick goodbyes and hung up the phone. Knuckles huffed at him. "You sure took your time."

Jet rolled his eyes and started walking. "Whatever."

Meanwhile, Sonic, Tails, and Amy were already about a third of the way to the restaurant. Amy and Tails exulted over every new, exciting piece of technology that they saw, Tails especially growing excited at the massive amount of tech surrounding them. "Man, I'd love to have a bike like that!" he grinned, pointing at a bright red and orange bike that almost looked like a motor scooter, just one that hovered and had lights in place of wheels.

Sonic tilted his head a bit as he looked at it. _I wonder if it's still there... _It might have been thrown away or something when he'd left, but maybe it was still in the garage with the car...?

"Say, Sonic, have you been here before?" Amy asked, curiosity coloring her voice.

Sonic nodded once. "A long time ago. I used to live here, technically, but the place where I lived was more like a... like a clubhouse or something than an actual house."

"Where did you live?" Tails asked excitedly.

Sonic turned slightly and pointed to the right without hesitation at the tallest building in sight. It was a giant needle with a large dome just below the tip of the needle, which continued to extend into the sky for a short distance before coming to a stop at a deadly point below the clouds. All the way up the front side of the needle and extending up to the base of the dome was window after window after window, each of them being their own separate square. In a row all the way around the dome was another row of windows, these ones circular in shape and going horizontally around the dome. "That tower is the elevator. The actual house is in that dome. There's a garage directly underground, as well as a place for skateboarding."

"Wow... You _have _to take us there later!" Tails said, beaming at the marvel of technology off in the distance.

"I can't," Sonic said. At their confused looks, he shrugged. "I don't live there anymore. It's Jet's home. You'd have to ask him."

"That's right," Amy murmured, "You said you don't live anywhere now." Sonic nodded, and Amy seemed to decide to change the subject to something more pleasant. "So tell us more about this 'Ben' guy."

At this, Sonic smirked. "First of all, he's crazy, but in a good way. He likes to poke fun at people, especially people who have never been to his restaurant before. He might actually be tempted to tease Knuckles, too."

"He really _is_ crazy!" Tails laughed.

"Told you," Sonic agreed, still smirking.

"Was he a friend of yours?" Amy asked, her eyes wide and curious.

"Uh, sort of, I guess." Sonic shrugged. "I dunno. I never really thought about it before."

"Well, he seems like a sweet guy to me," Amy smiled. "I can't wait to meet him!" And with that, Amy skipped ahead them like a young school girl, then spun around with a laugh. "Come on, slowpokes! I'll race ya!" She took off running and, trading quick grins, Sonic and Tails raced after her.

* * *

Sonic walked in before Tails and Amy, completely unsurprised to find the restaurant totally empty. Ben's food was quite literally the best in the city... but it was under appreciated, partly because so few people even knew this place existed, despite its close proximity to Sonic's favorite racetrack, known to most by its famous nickname "Gravity Tracks". Smirking a bit, Sonic hopped into a counter seat with a bright red cushion, the same one he always used to occupy, and called out, "Hey, you gonna bring out a menu or what?"

Amy seemed appalled by the apparent rudeness of his words, but the large bird that came rushing out of the walk-in freezer looked absolutely thrilled, though also quite shocked. "Sonic, m'boy! You're back!"

Sonic grinned so widely that his teeth showed. "Hey, long time no see."

"No kiddin'!" Ben agreed with feeling. "Where ya been, boy?"

"Eh, everywhere," Sonic replied enigmatically with a dismissive wave of his hand. "How've you been?"

"Business has been booming as usual," Ben laughed.

"I can see that," Sonic remarked, humor glinting in his eyes.

"Ah, I see you brought some new faces!" Ben exclaimed. "Name's Ben, kids. And you are?"

Tails and Amy, apparently having decided already that they liked this bird very much, smiled widely at him. "I'm Tails," Tails said happily, using his namesakes to lift him into a seat so that he didn't have to jump.

"And I'm Amy," Amy added sweetly, sliding into a seat beside Tails.

"Nice to meet you both," Ben said courteously before grinning and joking, "Say fox cub, your Tails spin faster than the propeller on my old man's rusty little plane! Waddaya say you do me a favor and take the propeller's place for a while, huh?"

Immediately Sonic worried that Tails would recall past instances of bullying and shut down, but Tails surprised him by laughing out loud. "Only if I get paid double whatever you make!"

Ben laughed heartily for a moment before launching into sales-mode. "Now how about my famous strawberry Ultimate Lemonade?" He turned to the side. "Sonic?"

Sonic's eyes closed as he rested a cheek on one palm, still smiling. "Yeah, sure. Why not? Haven't had it in forever."

"Three Ultimate Lemonades it is!" Ben announced cheerily as he turned and departed into the kitchen. Barely two minutes later, he emerged with three pink drinks in his hands. Bright yellow lemon slices decorated the rim and light blue straws bounced merrily amongst the ice. "Blue for my old friend," Ben said, placing a drink on the counter before Sonic, "yellow for the young one," he placed a glass on the counter for Tails, "and pink for the lady." He placed the final drink in front of Amy. "Drink up! No charge for you or your friends Sonic, as usual."

"Come on, let me pay for once," Sonic huffed, pulling the drink closer. "If you keep letting me get off without paying, you'll never make a profit."

"And yet, I'm still here!" Ben laughed loudly.

"Somehow," Sonic muttered, though with a small smile, before taking a drink of his lemonade.

Amy and Tails were quick to try theirs and, judging by the near instant changes in their expressions, they fell in love. Tails drained his cup in barely a minute. "That was _amazing_!"

"How are people not lining up down the block if your stuff is this good?" Amy demanded.

"That's the curse of good food," Ben winked, "the masses will never miss it 'till it's gone."

Sonic rolled his eyes, having heard that sentence many times before, and quietly took another drink.

* * *

"So let me get this straight, Jet," Wave said as she walked with her board tucked under her arm in the same fashion as Storm and Jet. "You were trapped in the _future_?"

"Yeah," Jet nodded. "Like I said, I fell through a portal or something, but right before I went through all the way I got shot."

"And that's why you're all bandaged up," Wave said, nodding at the bandages that were still wrapped around Jet's stomach.

"Yeah, yeah, now that we got _that _sorted out," Knuckles cut in, "can someone _please _tell me which way we're going?" He stood a short distance ahead of them and, faced with a four-way intersection of pedestrian traffic, he was forced to wait for Jet and the others to catch up.

Jet took the lead again. "Come on, it isn't much farther." He lead the way through the crowds and soon they came upon their destination. By this city's standards the place was fairly old, technologically speaking, and it wasn't terribly big. But while the last part was true, the technology in the restaurant was actually quite advanced. Some of the dishes even hovered, as a means of self-delivery. Another thing that made the place nicer than most other places here was the fact that there was some actual color there. The roof, sign, door, counter top, stool and chair cushions, and the glasses were all a bright, shiny red. It was a nice change of pace from all the grey and white surrounding the place.

Knuckles walked in first, grumbling something about starving to death as he went, and Jet followed after him. He knew the instant Wave and Storm froze behind him, their shock obvious despite the fact that he couldn't see their faces. "It's you!" Wave exclaimed, pointing one finger at the object of hers and Storm's attention. Jet watched as Sonic glanced calmly over to Wave and Storm before returning his attention to the conversation Tails and Amy were currently having with Ben and taking a sip of his drink. Knuckles climbed into the seat next to him and was soon presented with a drink of his own as Wave grabbed Jet's arm and dragged him aside. "Okay, you've got _two_ seconds to explain what the hell he's doing here!" she hissed in a harsh whisper.

"Yeah, Boss!" Storm added. "I thought we were never gonna see that guy again!"

"I _told_ you already," Jet said, "a lot of crazy shit happened in that other world and Sonic and I talked through pretty much everything."

"So what, you two are best buds now or somethin'?" Storm demanded.

"No, but we came to an understanding." Jet paused for a moment before adding, "Of sorts."

Wave seemed much less angry now and more... confused. "I thought you hated him."

Jet scowled at the floor. "I never hated _him_."

"Well I did, and I still do!" Storm cut in angrily. "He's been nothing but trouble since the day we met! Those robots are perfect proof! We never would've gotten shot at had if we didn't know him!"

"We don't know for sure that that was because of us knowing him," Wave reasoned, though she clearly wasn't happy about the robot incident either.

"You heard what they were saying! To _kill _us because of something about us knowing _him_!"

"Calm _down_, Storm!"

"Make me!"

"You're gonna make a scene if you start raising your voice!"

"Enough, both of you!" Jet interrupted before either of them started breaking their whispers. "Honestly, can't you two _ever_ get along?!"

"_No_!" they both snapped simultaneously, causing them to glare at each other.

"Look, all I know is that that guy's bad news, and we're better off kicking him to the curb with the trash and _keeping_ him there!" Storm glared at Jet and Wave, as though daring them to argue. "He never deserved to be on the team, anyway! He was never even a good racer!"

A cup slammed down on the counter hard enough the all conversation in the room came to an instant halt, the ice in the otherwise empty glass clinking together loudly. Sonic, his eyes closed, was frowning, his hand still holding the cup that had just grabbed everyone's attention. "Let's race, then," he said, his voice completely, almost eerily calm despite his little nonverbal outburst just now. "I'm ready if you are."

Storm grinned quite wickedly at him. "You don't have a board, remember?"

Jet stepped forward. "He can use mine." _The only way Storm will let this go is if Sonic proves himself again. He shouldn't have to, especially since he's the one who made our team, but there's no other way that I can see to resolve this right now. _

"Fine." Without another word, Sonic got up, took Jet's board and walked outside, already headed to the nearby race track.

Amy jumped down off her chair. "What's going on?"

Wave's gave Jet a wide-eyed look as Storm walked out. "Sonic and Storm are about to fight."

"_What_?"

"They're not _really_ gonna fight," Jet said, giving Wave an annoyed look. "They're just gonna race."

"Why?" Tails asked with a worried frown as he climbed out of his chair.

"Because Storm's an idiot who doesn't know how to let go of stupid things that don't matter," Wave muttered. She turned to Jet again. "Come on, let's get going. I don't wanna miss this." Jet nodded and the two of them ran out after their teammates, both former and current. Amy, Tails, Knuckles, and even Ben followed not far behind. By the time they got to the track, Storm and Sonic were already there, and Storm was talking.

"Let's do the usual, all traps and obstacles, no safety."

Sonic kicked the board into the air and jumped onto it, arms crossed. "Fine." His gaze flicked to Amy and the others as they climbed into the stands to watch.

Storm boarded his Gear while everyone took their seats and Amy leaned over to ask Knuckles, "Can you hear what they're saying?"

"Yeah," he nodded, his serious gaze locked on the racers. "The big guy said something about doing 'the usual' with 'all traps and obstacles' and 'no safety'."

"What does that mean?" she frowned.

"It means they'll do four laps," Wave answered from her seat next to Jet. "The traps and obstacles part is pretty obvious, and 'no safety' just means that the traps won't shut down until the race is over, even of someone gets hurt."

"That's the how they _usually_ race?" Tails asked, his eyes wide.

"As Storm's insistence, yes," she nodded. "Sonic's just too damn stubborn to say no. And, at this point, if he says no Storm will never get over himself."

"Why is he even doing this?" Amy asked. "What's his problem."

"Let's just say that he and Sonic have a long history of not getting alone and leave it at that," Wave sighed in response. "Most of their fights don't really matter anyway. The resentment or whatever has just built up a lot over the years, that's all."

They all watched in silence as Ben climbed into a tower where all the microphones were at, taking a seat at the window. Turning the mics on, he counted down slowly from five and, at his word, the race began. "_Go_!"

Just like that, the race was on. Both boards left a streak of light behind as the racers shot forward, Jet's leaving a bright green streak due to the color of this board. After barely a hundred feet, traps and obstacles began appearing all along the massive track. Sonic swerved to avoid a burst of fire from a valve that appeared in the ground before performing an expert flip to dodge a wall that suddenly sprung up before him. Storm also swerved to avoid the fall, but instead of going over the wall he simply dodged to the side again. Jet frowned deeply. _Storm may not be the fastest rider, but he's a powerful one. He could've smashed through that wall just by punching it. _Doubtless Sonic could have destroyed it as well, but that would more than likely require an attack where he had to get off his board. Getting off one's board in a race was against the rules.

Amy watched with her hands covering her mouth as fire and walls and spikes and guns and all sorts of other traps and whatnot sprung up to attack her friend as he and Storm finished the first lap. By the time she blinked, they were already a full fourth of the way across the track. She knew by Jet and Sonic's own telling, that Jet's board was capable of going much faster than it currently was but it, like Jet, had been through a lot recently. It needed repairs, and badly. She just hoped that it could last a little while longer. _If it stops working now, Sonic will lose the race and whatever __"fight" he's having with Storm. _As this thought crossed her mind, she was forced to wonder... was this fight really about whether or not Sonic was a good racer? Or was it more about settling old scores? By the time she pulled free from her thoughts, Sonic was finishing the final lap with Storm just barely behind. Ignoring the large bird's angry verbal outbursts, Sonic walked up to Jet, who had apparently left his seat at some point to stand beside the track.

Sonic handed Jet his board. "This really needs fixing," he aid simply as Wave ran off to calm Storm down and Ben climbed down from the mic tower.

"And I'd _love_ to deal with that," Jet replied with an eyeroll, "but you're the one who built these. I have no clue how to do it."

"Wave knows a lot about mechanics," Sonic pointed out.

"True, but she only knows how to work _her_ board," Jet returned, "since they're all different on the inside."

It was true. Sonic had modified the original design to fit the three of them individually. Wave's was small and agile, Jet's was an equal balance between speed and strength, and Storm's was tough and heavy. Sonic sighed. "If I give her the plans I wrote out back then, I'm sure she can figure it out."

Jet seemed surprised. "You'd be willing to do that?"

Sonic nodded. "So long as she doesn't go around making boards for random people, yes. Besides, I'm not staying here long enough to fix it for you, anyway."

Jet nodded back. "Yeah." Suddenly, he seemed to remember something. "When, exactly, are you leaving?" he asked quickly.

"I don't know," Sonic shrugged. "Probably by this evening. You know, after Amy takes you to the hospital."

Jet buried his face in the palm of one hand with a groan. "She was serious about that...?"

"Very."

"Oh, man..."

"_You're _the one who got shot."

"Shut up! It's not like it was on purpose!" Sonic smirked and Jet scowled only somewhat seriously at him. "Anyway, you should stop by the house before you leave," he said, watching as Wave made a few signs with her right hand before jumping on her board and heading off after Storm, who was flying off toward the abandoned garage where Storm always went to cool off by punching the cement pillars there. Jet and Sonic both knew the signal well.

_"We'll be back soon." _

Sonic turned his attention away from her and back to Jet, considering for a moment, before nodding without ever voicing a question. He turned to Amy and the others as they walked up to him. "I'll be back soon," he said simply. "You guys go get some food."

"What about you?" Tails asked. "Aren't you hungry?"

"I'm fine," Sonic dismissed, though not unkindly. "I'll meet back up with you guys later."

"Okay," Amy said. "Be safe."

"And don't take too long," Knuckles said. "I don't wanna be sitting around waiting for you."

Sonic nodded, and he and Jet took off, Jet on his now dangerously damaged board and Sonic on foot below. They reached the house in good time, much to Sonic's relief (as he and Jet had both noticed that the hawk's board was seriously starting to die), and they rode up the elevator in silence. Once they were actually in the house, Jet walked straight through the main room with Sonic on his heels. Sonic noted briefly that the interior of the building looked almost exactly as he remembered it, but he paid little attention to that as Jet approached his room. The door slid sideways into the wall with a soft hiss and Jet stepped inside. Sonic followed as Jet tossed his board on the bed and pressed a button on the wall that was nearly invisible due to its coloring. Immediately a small square door of sorts slid open in the same way as Jet's actual bedroom door. Sonic felt the pull on his senses immediately, and he did his best to conceal his surprised as Jet reached into the compartment and pulled out the green Chaos Emerald. "I remembered how you always used to have this with you back when you still lived here with us, so when I found it just sitting in an alleyway one night... I just picked it up and held onto it." He handed Sonic the emerald. "Here. It's yours, anyway."

Sonic slowly reached out and took the precious gem in one hand, feeling once again how oddly connected and attached he was with this one particular emerald. "Thanks."

Jet nodded."Yeah. Now come on, let's get this stupid hospital business done and over with." He lead the way out of the room and soon the house, never once noticing how tense Sonic had become at the mere mention of a hospital.

* * *

**So I was listening to "See You Again" from Furious 7 while writing the scene where they were leaving Silver's world... I swear it almost made me cry. ;_; Posted 05-26-15.**


	91. Separate

**Hello, joel348! Your review to Chapter 89: Hello! Sorry I didn't get to your review yesterday. I didn't realize I had a new review to chapter 89 until after I posted chapter 90. ^-^ I'm glad you find it interesting and that you enjoy the relationships between Sonic and Knuckles as well as between Sonic and Silver and Sonic/Silver and Knuckles! :) Just for clarification's sake: you want me to show _less_ Sonic and Amy? I honestly haven't been showing their budding romantic relationship to begin with, save for subtle implications here and there. *Shrugs* Oh well.**

**Your review to Chapter 90: Yeah, the ending of Chapter 89 wasn't great. I have to agree with you on that one. And I realize that it wasn't exciting, but there was plenty of important stuff in there. :P Yeah, the beginning of Chapter 90 wasn't that great either, but I'm glad you managed to enjoy it anyway. :) Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review!**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! First of all, thanks so much for reviewing! Secondly, since a couple other people are confused about the hospital thing as well, I will answer that question directly below the rest of these replies. :)**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Glad you enjoyed! Yeah, I'll miss them too, but they won't be gone forever! :)**

**Hello, Guest1995! Yes, it is heavily implied by Locke's thoughts during his last appearance and also by Kaden's own appearance (fur and eye color especially) that Kaden is Sonic's father. Yes, they will be back. I'm gonna try to keep their absence to no more than ten chapters or so. :) Um... what do you mean by "but what about how they were introduced like the story of Adventure 2"? Are you asking if that's how I will introduce them? If so, then my answer is that I will be using those to a point, but it will mostly be my version. :) And yeah, some people don't even know the game exists to _begin_ with. It's sad. :(**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yeah, it's a good song. Glad you enjoyed! For the answer to your hospital question, look below. :) I'm happy you enjoyed the explanations of Future City! And yes, something big _will_ be happening... and fairly soon. Evil's been quiet for too long, don't you think? ;) Interesting idea! However, I won't tell you whether you're right or not! And no, that doesn't automatically mean you're right. I just want to keep you guessing for once. ;) Thanks, I will! Sayonara, Pyro-kun!  
**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! _Oh. My. Gosh. _I _love_ Teen Titans! I've been watching that show since I was in like the sixth or seventh grade! "D Raven's my favorite, too! "Azarath, Metrione, Zinthos" has become one of my favorite phrases from any T.V. show because of her. Ne, have you seen the Trigon arc yet? Raven is so epic there, especially at the end! :D Actually, I haven't entirely decided yet, to be honest. Nevertheless, the answer will be revealed eventually! ...I just noticed too, actually. XD Yes, your theory about the hospitals is absolutely correct. Yeah, he was missing the green one and three others. Well, glad you liked Ben!**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! Super glad that you enjoyed! I'm also glad that you enjoyed Sonic's challenge, even though I failed to describe it in any great detail. ^-^ I love Ben, too! He was fun to write. XD Yes, I thought it was cool as well. :)**

**Hello, Daggr! He'll be back, I promise! I actually forgot that you started off hating him. XD I am aware that you are entitled to your opinion, I am completely okay with that, however, I am also entitled to the right to have a discussion with you about it and to defend my work. Nevertheless, the fact that you take the time to even bother to _form_ opinions on my story does mean a lot, as does the fact that you read and review so frequently. So thank you! It's alright, just hit close to home, like I said. :( Glad you enjoyed the chapter! Hm... Now that you mention it... Ben could very well be a character like that. :P Bye!**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yes, they will definitely be reuniting! I will make sure of it! :D I'm super glad that you enjoyed, and that you liked Ben! I wasn't so sure how well he would be received, so I'm glad that everyone has liked him so far! Also, I'm happy to know that, despite my poor description of it, you were still able to enjoy the race. :) Well, I dunno that he actually insulted Sonic's _speed_ per se... just his skills as a racer in general. But yes, he definitely should know better! :/ Yes! Only three more to go!**

* * *

**Okay, since there seems to be some confusion, allow me to clarify: Remember how, way back in the jungle, it was implied that Sonic may or may not have been tested on? After that all happened, around the end of Chapter 62, it is stated that Sonic "didn't think he'd ever be able to set foot in a hospital again" after he remembers "the needles, the restraints, the pain..." This is why he seems to be, at the very lest, wary of going to a hospital. Hope this helps!**

**Also, I apologize for the delay. As my friends on this site know, I was very busy yesterday with school-related work on Wednesday. All day at school we were setting up the Senior Fair, which is where us seniors display and talk about our Senior Projects. Then, from one to four p.m. yesterday (keeping in mind that my school lets out at 2:50) we did the fair. Students, staff, mentors, and anyone else who wanted to show up did, and it was very busy and fun. Then, when it was all over, we had to clean up and I had to walk home with my heavy, broken backpack, my camera case, and my project. The whole walk takes at least twenty minutes. Then I had to wolf down some dinner, get cleaned up, and go _back_ to school for an award ceremony that went from six to eight or so. Then from eight to nine my family and I went out for ice cream. By the time I got home again, I was wiped and decided to just do the new chapter the next day. However, due to a mixture of laziness and lingering exhaustion, I got nothing done. And then today I was at Lake Collins all day with friends... I'm so tired. ^-^**

* * *

Sonic's heart was pounding. The mixture of sterile and chemical smells burned his nose and left a foul taste in the back of his throat. The white, clean walls and floors were too bright. The lab coats worn by the various staff didn't bring back any specific memories of the nightmare he'd been through before, but the sight made him wary anyway. He was thankful that none of his companions noticed his reactions as they walked through the halls with a young nurse in the lead. Behind her walked Amy, with a sullen Jet following behind. Behind Jet was Sonic, and Tails and Knuckles walked side-by-side behind him. On either side of him where walls that seemed to close for comfort. Already he wanted to get out of here, but he couldn't. People in front and behind and walking by his sides, walls forcing those people closer to him than he was really comfortable with... he was trapped, and he didn't like it at all. It was awful.

The nurse opened a door and gestured for them to enter. Speaking to Jet as he walked by, she said, "The doctor will be in in a moment."

He nodded wordlessly and followed Amy inside. Sonic and the others walked in as well while Jet sat down on the examination bed, near the foot, per Amy's instruction. "I still don't get why I'm here," he muttered. "I'm healing fine."

"We don't know that for sure," she replied as she examined the back of her right hand while leaning against the wall next to the foot of the bed.

Tails, much to everyone's surprise, hopped right up onto the bed to sit by Jet. "Besides, it's better to be safe than sorry, right?"

"I guess," Jet agreed reluctantly.

Knuckles yawned and sat down against the wall at the foot of the bed. "How long's this gonna take?"

"I'm not sure," Amy shrugged, her hands now behind her back. "Depending on how many patients they have here already, it could be a few hours or better before we get out of here."

"Great," Knuckles mumbled with another yawn. "Who needs sleep, anyway?"

Amy smiled at his little joke and said, "Certainly not the big, tough echidna warrior."

"Exactly."

"I thought so."

Sonic, who was standing as close to the door as he could without making it obvious how badly he wanted to _leave_, listened intently at the activity on the other side of the wall. Doctors and nurses rushed about, people visited with their friends and family or yelled or coughed or laughed quietly, night birds outside chirped and hooted softly in the evening breeze... Sonic wished that he was out there with them rather than trapped in here, in this go-awful place. He barely noticed it when the doctor finally walked in and spoke to Jet. All he heard was that they needed to go to a different room. Everyone filed out after the dark brown bear with Sonic in the far back of the entourage. As they walked, he did his best not to think about _where_ he was or how _long_ they would be there, nor did he try to think about the cause of his current anxiety, which was worsening with every step they took as they were led deeper into the hospital. Several minutes later, he found himself suddenly frozen by an awful sight. There was a man who appeared to be deeply unconscious. He was hooked up to all sorts of machines that were monitoring him and gathering all kinds of data, needles poked into his arms and hands, he required the aid of a sort of mask to breathe... It was all too familiar. Too terribly, horribly familiar. His heart pounded harder and faster than before. His breath became more shallow and uneven. His hands balled into fists by his sides.

Knuckles noticed that Sonic had fallen behind and stopped to turn and face him. "Hey, you coming?"

Sonic tore his gaze away from the sight and shook his head stiffly, not trusting himself to speak at first. Gritting his teeth, he bit out in as even a voice as he could manage, "I'm going outside."

There was a flicker of understanding in Knuckles's eyes as he nodded. "I'll let them know."

Sonic returned his nod and turned on his heel, heading outside as quickly as he could without looking like he was running away. As soon as he was outside, Sonic broke into a run, keen on the idea of burning up the nervous energy that had built up inside of him. A good run would do him some good, anyway.

* * *

Cream stood on a stool beside the sink, carefully drying a freshly clean plate that here mother had handed her just moments ago. Beside her sat a stack of clean dishes that were all dried and ready to be put away. Suddenly, Cream paused in her motions, the dark blue towel she was using coming to rest so that it mostly covered the shiny white plate. "Mother? What's that?" she asked, her eyes locked on something outside the window.

Vanilla, her gaze focused on the next plate she was washing, never faltered in her task. "What's what, dear?"

Cream removed one hand from the plate and pointed. "Look," she said quietly, her voice growing scared. "What are they?"

"Who?" Vanilla looked up. Almost immediately her eyes widened in shock and horror. Without any warning, she dropped her dish. "Cream, get down right now and go hide in the storm shelter."

"What?" Cream asked. "Why? What's going on?"

"Those are robots," Vanilla said quickly as she lifted Cream off the stool and set her down on her feet. "They are very, _very_ dangerous, and you musn't let them find you. Go hide. Now!"

Startled by the sudden sterness in her mother's tone, a quality that Cream only very rarely heard, Cream obeyed without further question, gathering up her little friend as she went. Hugging the equally terrified blue bundle close to her chest, she ran into the living room and threw aside the large rug, revealing a trap door of sorts. Lifting the hatch, she climbed inside, shut the door, and locked it as she had been taught to do whenever she was taking shelter in there. Up above, she heard her mother's rapid footsteps coming closer, soon followed by a shifting sound as the carpet was slid back into place. Moments later, not terribly far from their closest neighbor's house. there was an explosion.

* * *

"Well, well, well, you most certainly are _not_ what I expected."

"Hello, Rouge. I'm glad you could make it."

Rouge gazed inconspicuously over the man who sought her skills and services, the man who had promised her immeasurable treasure should she help him with his task, whatever it was. She never knew what to expect from her temporary employers, but he managed to surprise her, anyhow. _A fat man in a bright red coat with a ridiculous mustache. Oh, this is going to be good. _"Of course I came," she said, a small smirk pulling up at the corner of her lips. "I never turn down the opportunity to get treasure."

The man grinned. "I am counting at that," he said calmly. "As you already know, I have a job for you. There is something I want you to steal for me... something very ancient and powerful. With it, I can continue my plans unhindered, and you will be rewarded greatly."

"_How_ greatly?" she inquired, all business.

"Immensely. You will not be able to walk through your home for all the treasure you will have earned."

Now it was her turn to grin. "That's what I like to here," she said happily, placing her fists on her hips. "Now what, exactly, am I stealing?"

The man pulled out a large, square sheet of paper with various sketches of the same object on it, surrounded by massive amounts writing. Looking closer, she realized that the object almost looked like a large... emerald.

* * *

"I _told_ you I was fine," Jet groused. "That was a massive waste of time."

"And money," Knuckles grumbled, apparently in agreement with the moody hawk.

"Oh, calm down, both of you," Amy replied with a roll of her eyes. "For one thing, Jet, I already told you before: it's much better to be safe than sorry. Secondly, I don't see why you're complaining about the price, Kunckles, seeing as how I paid for everything."

"I still say it was a waste of time."

"That's money we could've spent on supplies. Like food."

"You're both hopeless."

While they walked, headed back to the hangar where the X-Tornado was, in a sense, parked, Tails looked to Sonic, concern shining brightly in his eyes as the others argued. "Say, how come you took off earlier? You okay?"

Sonic resisted a heavy sigh. No, he wasn't okay, not exactly, but he certainly felt better now than he had before, especially now that they had put a great deal of distance between them and the hospital. "I'm fine," he said simply, leaving out the _Mostly_, that echoed into his mind.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

Sonic felt bad for lying to Tails, especially seeing the absolute trust in the young fox's bright eyes, but he just wasn't ready to talk about this right now. He might never be. He just hoped that Tails could figure that out without him saying anything, and that the fox would accept this. _Because I don't know what I'll do if he doesn't. _

Finally, they reached the ship. Amy, Knuckles, and Tails said quick goodbyes, with Amy also throwing in a "Thank you" for Jet walking them back to the ship, and climbed in. Sonic, however, hesitated. Making a quick decision, the kind he was usually known for making in battle, he turned around to face his former teammate. Pulling out what he wanted, he extended a hand forward. "Here."

Jet blinked in surprise and confusion, accepting Sonic's offering without a word at first. After a moment he started to ask, "What...?"

"They're communicators," Sonic said simply. "If you ever need us... _call_. I mean it." With that, he turned and jumped onto the wing of the plane before climbing into the pilot's seat, leaving Jet to watch as his former teammate and leader lifted the ship off the ground and flew off into the distance.

* * *

**Okay, so this isn't terribly long at 1,782 words, but I tried. ...Like I said, I'm tired. It's almost 11 p.m. here as I'm typing this sentence. *Sigh* Goodnight. ^-^ Posted 05-29-15.**


	92. When Plans Unfold

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Huh. I always thought it had an "e" in it. XD Yes! it was so epic! And yeah, you were right, which is why I clarified for everyone else at the beginning of the last chapter. I'm sure they will be fine in the end. But yes, he's leaving, at least for now. However, as always, the main characters who leave will inevitably return eventually! :) Don't worry, Eggman's plans will all be explained in due time. Don't worry, the action's building up very fast here! Everyone will most certainly be doing something here, and very soon!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Super glad that you enjoyed! And yes, the Dark Gaia and Kaden Arc (while never really heavily explained) was essentially the Second Great Cataclysm. (I'm honestly surprised that anyone remembers that I called the first Cataclysm the "Great Cataclysm" at one point! XD) Eh, I don't know at this point. Maybe. Anyway, I'm happy you think so! I hope you enjoy! :D**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Lol, glad you think so. :)**

* * *

Sonic woke on the ground to a surprising amount of injuries. His head was pounding, though that could be attributed to the fact that he'd just _fallen out of the freaking sky. _Pushing himself up slightly, his gaze landed on the large gouge in the earth that undoubtedly lead to where his now _severely_ damage ship was resting. Smoke billowed up into the sky from the site. Pushing himself up all the way into a sitting position, and ignoring the pain such actions caused as best as he could, he struggled to remember what in the hell had happened. He definitely remembered being forced into aerial combat using the X-Tornado, but he couldn't remember against _who_ or _what_, just that they had blasted the ship, effectively destroying it for the most part somehow and causing it to crash. Thinking back, he tried to remember where he even _was_, but he was surprised once more when he realized that he had no _clue_. The last thing he remembered clearly was dropping Amy and the others off in some city so that they could restock the supplies while he headed out to... to... _To what? _He didn't remember. _Why_ couldn't he remember? He seriously didn't think he'd hit his head that hard. So what had happened, then? Struggling to his feet, he began slowly looking around the crash site, searching for any sort of clues as to what he was missing.

* * *

Rouge landed lightly on the upper steps of the alter where her prize rested unguarded, unsafe, and utterly _alone_. Smirking to herself at her easy victory, she began climbing the last four or five steps to the top. _To think that such a valuable gem was left alone... Guess those ancient civilizations weren't so intelligent after all._ Truly, this seemed completely stupid and ridiculous to her. Who would leave such a precious thing all alone? Though she supposed it could have simply been a matter of some sort of mass extinction that wiped the people who live here out or something, but even still. _You'd think that they would have had it hidden in the first place, rather than leaving it out in the open on an altar you can see from a good thousand or so feet above the ground. _Shaking her thoughts aside for now, she stepped up to the ancient gem. It floated in place, so still that she had to really watch it to even notice that it was moving subtley up and down as it hovered there in the center of the large alter built specifically to house it. She smirked again. "You're mine." Reaching out an almost reverent hand to touch its glossy light green surface, she gasped when a sharp, fiery pain suddenly stabbed at her searching fingertips. Pain raced up her hand as she yanked it back on reflex, and she watched in thoughtless awe as an iridescent barrier faded into view around the emerald in a perfect sphere before fading from sight once again. Her eyes wide, Rouge considered her task, as well as her new opponent. _It seems this emerald has some intelligence, after all. Or, perhaps, it was whoever guarded this gem last that left that barrier here, in a bid to protect the gem? _Tilting her head, she smiled at the emerald. "Challenge accepted... _Master Emerald_."

* * *

Amy walked just slightly ahead of Knuckles and Tails with two paper bags of groceries in her arms. On either side of her walked her companions. They headed slowly to the next store, despite having gone to several already. "Amy, what do we still need?" Tails asked, his arms also laden with bags.

"Nothing, really," she replied with a small shrug. "We're just killing time until Sonic gets back from checking out that explosion we saw from above the forest we were flying over earlier."

"In that case, can we sit down?" he asked with a tired frown. "My feet are killing me."

"Sure," Amy smiled. "I'm pretty sure I see a bench a little ways ahead. Come on."

As they walked, Knuckles remained silent, his eyes locked on the sky, though he wasn't really seeing it. His attention was lost in his mind, focused on the feelings he couldn't explain. _Something's wrong... but what? _He kept thinking that the Master Emerald might be in danger, _maybe_, but the feeling was so slight and so vague that he wasn't even sure that he wasn't imagining it. More than that, he just had a feeling like something very bad was going to happen soon, might have even begun already, and the fact that he had no idea what this bad thing even _was_ worried him more than he cared to admit. Not that Tails or Amy needed to know about his ominous feelings, though. Tails was, after all, just a kid despite his intelligence, and Knuckles knew that Amy already worried herself enough by taking on the worries of others. No, unless he knew for sure that something was actually wrong, he wasn't going to say anything to either of them. _But maybe to Sonic... whenever he decides to come back. _

Amy sat down on the right end of the bench while Tails plopped down heavily by her side in the middle and Knuckles took a seat at the left end. They all set their bags down by their feet to give their arms a break and Amy stretched a bit, appreciating the view of the slightly setting sun above the city's reaches, casting a faint orange light on everything below. It was such a beautiful day... _Too bad the city makes it hard to enjoy it. _This city was loud and busy and crowded and generally unpleasant in her opinion. It was nothing like where she came from. Her own home city was big, yes, but it was so much _nicer_. It was cleaner, quieter, brighter, the people were kinder, there weren't as many cars, the food was wonderful, the architecture was lovely... It was really a wonderful place, and she couldn't wait to share it with her friends. _But first, Sonic has to return. _She knew he would. There was no way he would abandon them. Still, what was taking him so long? Her thoughts were interrupted before she really had a chance to ponder this, however, by a cheerful chiming in her pocket, and she jumped at the sudden, unexpected sound.

"Amy, what's that?" Tails asked, watching as Amy fished around in her pocket.

"My phone," she replied briefly as she finally managed to grab the thing and pull it out into the light of day. It was bright red little flip phone that matched her dress perfectly.

"You have a _cell phone_?" he asked, his eyes wide.

She could understand his surprise, as cell phones were massively expensive and therefore seldom bought, but she didn't have time to really answer him with more than a quick nod if she didn't want to miss this call. Flipping it open, she held it up to her right ear. "Hello?"

"M-Miss Amy?"

Amy's expression became concerned at the fear she heard in the small voice on the other end of the line. "Cream? What is it?" she asked quickly. "What's wrong?"

"Miss Amy, it's so awful!" Cream burst out in a terrified sob. "I saw something outside the kitchen window and Mother said they were robots and made me and Cheese hide and then there were all these explosions and I'm trapped in the storm cellar now and I'm so _scared_-!"

"Cream, sweetie, I need you to slow down," Amy said, forcing her voice to remain calm despite the pounding of her heart. She couldn't be sure, but had Cream just said that she'd seen _robots_? She heard Cream take a shaky breath before repeating what she'd said before, only this time slower and more coherently. "How are you trapped?" Amy demanded.

"I don't know!" Cream cried. "I heard something fall and now the door won't open! I can't hear Mother anywhere, and she won't answer me or Cheese even though we've been yelling...!"

Amy was more concerned now than ever. Vanilla would _never_ leave her daughter trapped like that. She would at least call back out to Cream, even if she was too injured to move... Amy refused to believe that she was dead. _So perhaps she was kidnapped, then? _But that, of course, begged the question of _why_? _Why_ would Ivo kidnap her? The simplest of answers came to her in a moment. _He kidnapped Tails and I before because we knew Sonic... Could it be possible that Vanilla knows him, too? _But that _still_ left a question of why. _Why is he trying to kidnap people who know Sonic? _"Cream, where are you right now? Are you home?"

Cream was still crying. "Yes."

"Okay, just hang tight," Amy ordered crisply. "We're not very far from where you are. I'm coming to get you. I'll take a cab if I have to."

"Okay," the poor young girl replied with another sob, closely followed by a few pitiful sniffles that just about broke Amy's heart.

"Everything will be okay, sweetie," Amy promised quietly. "You're mother's fine, and you will be too. Okay?"

"Okay," Cream whimpered.

"Okay," Amy nodded. "You call me back the instant you think something's wrong, okay? I'd rather we stayed on the phone, but mine is running on barely any battery right now."

"I will," Cream promised weakly. "_Please_ hurry."

"I will." With that, they said a couple quick goodbyes and hung up.

"What's going on?" Tails asked. He and Knuckles were both looking at her, though Knuckles's look was serious while Tails's was more concerned.

"A friend of mine is in trouble," she replied shortly, standing up as she spoke. "I have to go help her. I think Ivo attacked her house."

Tails's serious frown began to look a lot like the same one that Knuckles had on his face. She fished around in her pocket and pulled out most of the remainder of her money. "Here, take this, in case you have to buy more food or something. I need the rest for a cab."

Tails nodded and took the money. "We'll wait for you."

She returned his nod before turning her attention to Knuckles for a moment. "What?"

"What?" he repeated, though his tone made the question more of a challenge rather than simple mimicry.

"What's wrong with you?" she clarified. He didn't reply, and she shook her head. "Fine Mr. Tough Guy, don't tell me. But at least tell _him_," she pointed at Tails, "since he has the time to listen to you." With that, she turned and ran off in the direction of the nearest taxi.

While she climbed in the backseat of the car, Tails turned his attention to Knuckles. "So?" he asked with a frankness that reminded Knuckles quite strongly of the way Sonic often spoke. Yet another way the speedy hedgehog influenced the young fox, it would seem.

"Nothing," Knuckles replied moodily, looking away and crossing his arms.

"Liar."

"I'm not lying."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"I can give you about thirteen scientific reasons why I know for a _fact_ that you are."

"Brat."

"Jerk."

They glared at each other for a moment before Knuckles finally gave in and sighed. " i just have a bad feeling, that's all."

Tails's head canted as he thought that over. "About what?" he finally asked.

"Everything," Knuckles replied with another sigh. "Ivo, the robots, the fact that he's been quiet for so long, the attack on Amy's friend just now, the fact that Sonic was supposed to be back more than three hours ago and he's never late, the Master Emerald... everything."

"Okay, back up," Tails said quickly. "I thought you said you _protected_ the emerald."

"I _did_," Knuckles said pointedly, as though offended by the implication that he would have left the emerald _un_protected.

Tails seemed confused now. "Then why are you worried about it?"

"Because..." Knuckles started slowly, before sighing yet again and admitting, "Because earlier it felt like someone touched the barrier."

"You're sure?" Tails demanded in a very adult-like manner.

"Yes," Knuckles nodded. "Positive."

"You have to go check it out, then," Tails said immediately. "I don't care that you'll miss out on kicking Ivo's butt if he shows up. You _have_ to make sure the emerald's safe."

Knuckles gave him a long look before nodding again and standing up. "Yeah, you're right. Just do me a favor and grill Sonic on why he was late when he finally gets his butt back here, okay?"

Tails laughed a little. "Okay, sure."

With that, Knuckles turned and took to the sky. Once he was far enough up, he gathered as much power as he could and, drawing on an ability that the Master Emerald only granted him in times of emergency, he opened a light green portal and flew into it. Moments later, he flew out the other end, his eyes locked on the ancient shrine below as the portal closed. A loud growl escaped his lips. _Who the hell?! _

* * *

Cheese cried softly in Cream's arms, face buried in her shirt, and Cream held her little friend even tighter. "It's okay, Cheese," she whispered, even as tears slid down her own cheeks. "Miss Amy is coming to get us, and she'll help us find Mother, too. Everything will be okay."

Cheese didn't have a chance to reply before a loud sound reached their ears, making Cream freeze. She listened with a pounding heart as whatever had been blocking the cellar door from opening was forcefully moved aside, causing cracks of light to filter down into the cellar from the door. Moments later, the handle to the door tried to turn. However, Cream had locked it again to help her feel safer while she and Cheese were down in the dark all alone. After that, everything went dead silent up above. Trembling in fear, she opened her mouth to call out in the faint hope that maybe it was Amy already, even though they had just hung up a few minutes ago, but cut herself off with a scream when three large claws suddenly stabbed through the right side of the door. In a single ferocious movement, the door was torn off and thrown aside, and multiple robots flew into the large cellar, grabbing Cream and Cheese before they even had a chance to run.

* * *

_"Locke. Locke, it is a miracle. It is early, but they are awake. They are awake." _

* * *

Vanilla woke slowly and opened her eyes weakly. Surrounding her was a glass dome that extended from some machine above to the floor below. She tried to sit up by pushing herself up on one arm, only to wince when pain shot up her arm and quickly spread throughout the rest of her body. Fighting back tears of pain, she gritted her teeth hard and did her best not to let herself fall back down to the hard, unforgiving ground. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, only to snap them open with a gasp when a soft voice, the kindest she had ever heard, reached her ears. "Lie still, dear one... You are injured."

Vanilla looked around, but she saw no one. Suddenly, a gentle hand she couldn't see placed itself on her shoulder and slowly pushed her back down onto the ground. Almost as though in answer to her unspoken questions, a form faded into view. Before her knelt a beautiful blue hedgehog with bright green eyes that shone with kindness and a smile that was as soft as the voice she'd just heard. On her wrists were a single gold ring each, and her outfit was a simple, yet utterly beautiful thing that looked like something out of a history book, as did her shoes. Around her chest was a band of thin white plain cloth with short ruffled sleeves attached to it. Her skirt went to about her knees and was of the same color, and it too was ruffled in design. Her elegant sandals were white as well. Covering her from head to toe were ancient markings that glowed a bright, heavenly blue, like nothing Vanilla had ever seen before. Vanilla, her eyes wide with awe, couldn't seem to speak for a moment before she finally managed to whisper, "Who are you?"

That soft smile widened as the figure faded away, the hand leaving her shoulder. In the loneliness that followed, a voice echoed into her mind. "Your world no longer knows my name, young one... Remember this. Always have faith in the truth, for it will never lead you astray. Remember that nothing is impossible." With that, the presence faded entirely, leaving Vanilla alone in her prison once more.

* * *

**If you want to see a visual of the markings I described, visit DeviantArt. There is a picture there entitled "****Dark Sonic transformation by Marcelicus" by, you guessed it, ****Marcelicus. He only shows the markings on the back of Sonic's head, but even still, it'll give you an idea of what they look like.**** Posted 05-30-15.**


	93. Best Laid Plans

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Perhaps she is, and perhaps she ins't. ;) Ah, I'm just kidding. Yes, it was Sonic's mother, Analia. Glad I managed to surprise you! _That_, my friend, shall be revealed in due time. Basically the chapter title is just implying that Eggman's plans are beginning to unfold. :P**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm so glad you enjoyed! Yes, it was her. I'm happy that you liked her description. :) Yes, you will find out soon enough. Perhaps you will see them after, but maybe even soon than that! ;) I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Guest1995! Yes, it's Rouge! Glad you liked her introduction. :) Well, I'm happy that you're enjoying! Don't worry, you won't have to wait terribly long for some of these characters. :)**

**Hello, flashyhero! No, not Secret Rings. Sorry, but I don't think that there will be any adaption of that in here. :P**

* * *

**Alternate Title: "Mystery"**

* * *

Ivo clasped his hands together as his newest companion walked slowly toward him. expression serious and closed off as usual. "Ah, Shadow. I was beginning to wonder if you had survived your little trip to the future. Tell me, were you able to gather the information that I sent you there for?"

Shadow nodded. "Sonic and his friends have grown stronger, as you suspected."

"And the emeralds?"

"He _can_ control them, though the connection he has with them is something I don't understand."

Ivo waved him off. "That connection is of little consequence. However, the fact that he can control the emeralds could prove troublesome. If he were to find a way to make it so that I can't use them, my plans could be ruined." Despite his words, an evil grin spread across Ivo's face. "I suppose it is for the best that I kidnapped those pathetic friends of his, then."

Shadow blinked. "Kidnapped?"

"Indeed," Ivo replied. "They will act as the perfect lure to draw him here... once he wakes up from his little fall earlier." Destroying the hedgehog's ship had proved difficult and had cost him a great deal of robots, but it had been worth it in the end. Now his enemies had no means of aerial combat, nor any real way to travel far and fast together as a group. Not that they would be able to do that anyway, considering how Ivo had separated them. Oh, this was absolutely wonderful. _Yes, everything is progressing quite nicely. _Turning to the many monitors showing a variety of video feeds, Ivo spoke once more. "Shadow, your services aren't required right now. Go rest so that I can make full use of you when the time comes."

With an obedient nod, Shadow turned on his heel and exited the room, his shoes clanging on the metal floors. Someday he would be free to do what _he_ wanted... but for now he had to contend himself with following Ivo's orders. But someday... _Someday... _

* * *

"Alright, you have about two seconds to tell me who the hell you are and what you're doing here before I punch your face in!"

Knuckles watched, absolutely livid, as the bat-girl before him shifted to place a fist on her hip, her other arm dangling loosely by her side as she smirked at him in an almost coquettish manner. "Well now, is that anyway to treat a lady?"

"I don't care if you're a lady!" he snapped.

"Well, you should," she purred. "Especially considering the fact that this lady is bothering to pay attention to you."

Knuckles felt his face warm just slightly, though he had no real explanation for such sensations. Clenching his fists tightly and preparation to punch he growled. "I'm counting!"

"Alright hon, no need to get yourself all worked up." The complete calm in her voice only served to anger him further. "My name is Rouge, and I came here for that pretty little rock over there."

Knuckles snarled out loud. "You're not touching my emerald!"

Rouge actually laughed, the sound managing to be surprisingly melodic. "Yours? I hardly think so. When I'm done with it, it will belong to my employer and all of his treasure will then belong to me." When Knuckles started to turn even redder than he already naturally was with anger, she shrugged in mock apology. "Sorry, hon. That's just the way the world works."

"Screw how you think the world works!" he shouted. "Get lost!"

"No can do, sweetheart," she replied with a smile. "You see, I have a job to do, and my reward is too great to just give it up." Her stance shifted in preparation to fight, as did Knuckles's. With a snarl of rage, the echidna lunged forward and threw a punch, only for Rouge to jump over his head, leg outstretched. Seconds later, she swung that leg down in a wicked kicked that probably could have knocked him out, had he not managed to move his head out of the way just in time. She smirked again as she landed. "Not bad. Let's see what else you can do."

Growling softly, Knuckles leapt backwards off the alter. He refused to let this woman destroy such ancient, valuable relics, especially not when said relics were part of his heritage. He'd make her pay for even trying.

* * *

Amy crept slowly into the house where her young bunny friend and her mother lived. The house was still standing by some miracle, but it was in ruins. Parts of it had clearly been on fire at one point, and thin wisps of smoke trailed lazily upward from especially burned portions. Furniture and dishes and pictures and a myriad of other things lay wrecked around the house. Shards of glass, parts of wall and roof, chunks wood and porcelain, and even fragments of metal were scattered across the floor, making walking quietly anything but possible. Still, she did her best to do so as she tiptoed through the wreckage and through the familiar rooms. Reaching the living room, the very first thing she noticed was a large section of roof laying in a heap near the entrance to the room. Eyes traveling to the center of the room, she gasped when she saw that the storm cellar door had been torn open and off. Heart pounding so hard in her chest that it literally almost hurt, she ran to the cellar.

"Cream?" she called out into the darkness, stepping onto on of the stairs leading down to where her young friend had been hiding. "_Cream_?"

A red light in the shape of an upside-down triangle flashed into existence, like a single angry eye. Amy barely had time to scream before a robot lunged toward her from the shadows, its arms outstretched in preparation to grab her. Terrified by the image it presented, Amy turned and fled back up the stairs, reaching her left hand to the opposite wrist as she went. There was no time to make a call on her communicator; all she could do was press the small, newly installed emergency button on the side and hope that _someone_ would get the message in time to help her. Still with Sonic missing for some reason and Tails and Knuckles stuck in the city, she doubted that she had much of a chance of being saved. So, with nothing else left to do, Amy lead the robot out of the house and pulled out her hammer. _If there's going to be a fight, the least I can do is try and prevent anymore property damage. _

The village around her was in bad shape, but it was clear that it was Cream and Vanilla's house specifically that had been targeted. People screamed and fled when the saw the robot that was still in hot pursuit of Amy. Gritting her teeth, she whirled, slamming her hammer into the robot as hard as she could by using her momentum to her advantage. Though she managed to create a sizable dent in the thing, it never stopped in its insane rush toward her. Stretching out its large arms again, it ripped her hammer from her hands as though it was a mere twig and threw it backward. It crashed through one of the walls of the house they had just left and, by the sounds of it, crashed through another wall as well. Seconds later, it snatched her and, squeezing her in both its arms as though it were trying to literally hug her to death, it took to the air, carrying the kicking, squirming, yelling hedgehog up with it. Her communicator slid off her wrist and fell to the ground far below, still sending its signal as it went, only for it to be cut off when it shattered on the ground.

* * *

Tails cried out in alarm when the area in front of the bench where he had been left sitting alone suddenly exploded in a ball of flame, knocking him and the bench both backwards and into a building. He coughed in pain upon impact and, opening his eyes, watched as the many groceries they'd bought with Amy's hard-earned money scattered all around, utterly destroyed. His momentary fear that Amy was gonna seriously _kill_ him for this vanish in a moment when he saw the three large robots flying rapidly toward him. "Uh-oh..." Scrambling to his feet, his tails began to work furiously, lifting him into the air just in time to avoid an attack. Pouring on the speed as much as he could, he dodged around a street light and weaved his way through the branches of a couple tall, scraggly trees as he gained altitude. Panting from effort, he flew over the top of a massive building. _Oh man, oh man, oh man... _Barely dodging a laser as it blazed past him, singing fur as it went, he was suddenly forced to realized just how _close_ the bots were to him right now. _But I can't fight them here... Not when there are people below. If I were to destroy one of the robots up here, it'll fall and hurt people. _Swallowing hard, he pushed himself to go even faster as he flew to what he hoped would be a safer place for battle.

* * *

Sonic was running before his mind even truly registered what was going on. Moments later, it hit him. _Really_ hit him. _An emergency signal from Amy's communicator... What's going on here? _Now that he'd been awake for a little while, he was having less trouble remembering what had happened to him. he'd gotten into a fight with a great many of Ivo's robots, and they shot him out of the sky, trapping him inside the ship by setting the whole thing on fire. It seemed that he'd been flung out through the glass of the cockpit upon impact, and the resulting blows he'd suffered were the reason why his head had been so foggy up until about a half hour ago. He'd spent that bit of time after getting his head cleared checking over the damage to the ship. The ship seemed salvageable, but... even with Tails to help him, it was a long shot. It was going to take a _lot_ of work to get it up and running again. But, for now, he had much bigger things to worry about. Amy had pressed the emergency button on her communicator, but now he couldn't track her communicator at all, almost as though it had been broken somehow. _Ivo's getting bold all of a sudden. What's he planning? _

Pouring on the speed, Sonic blazed through the trees and was surprised when he soon found himself in a familiar setting. _This is Cream's village. _And yet, while the place was familiar, it looked nothing like what he remembered. All of the five houses had clearly been attacked, as had the gardens and fences and whatnot surrounding them. A thin covering of dull, gray smoke filled the air, hovering all around and making his eyes sting. As much as Sonic was concerned for the people he passed, his attention was focused almost solely on the large house that rested the farthest away from him. It was practically in ruins... A small surge of panic coupled with redoubled concern filled him and he raced to the house. There was a hole in the wall beside the door that didn't really seem to have been caused by a robot. It was too narrow. Stepping carefully through, Sonic picked his way through the wreckage of the house, doing his best not to look at much of it. The last thing he needed was to panic right now, especially because he knew that no one was here, which meant that there were at least three people who needed his help, something he couldn't give to them if he was freaking out... Stepping through a second hole, this one in the wall by the stairs, Sonic knelt slowly to pick up Amy's discarded hammer. Gritting his teeth tightly, he stood again and turned, this time following his ears to the kitchen were he was certain he was hearing a faint static sound. Sure enough, on the counter, was a bright yellow television. He knew for a _fact_ that Vanilla and Cream didn't own any T.V.'s.

The static vanished then, revealing the face of his enemy. Ivo was grinning like a madman, though that was hardly surprising. He'd obviously inherited his grandfather's insanity. "Hello, Sonic. We meet again, it seems."

"Where're Amy and the others?" Sonic demanded, not in the mood for any of the man's games.

"Your little friends are safe for now," Ivo assured, showing a quick video feed of a large room. Trapped in three different rooms and in three different see-through domes were Amy, Vanilla, and then Cream and a little blue Chao Sonic had never seen before. The image was then replaced by Ivo's face once more. "If you wish to save them, I suggest that you hurry. You see, I'm growing bored. I'm already tempted to simply rid myself of them for good."

"You won't touch them!" Sonic snarled viciously.

"Ah, but you see..." Ivo grinned. "I clearly already have. Why else would they be trapped?" Grinning even wider, Ivo left a parting message. "Come find me on my Egg Carrier. We'll see who is the winner of this game then." The connection was severed then and, in an unexpected turn of events, the T.V. exploded.

Sonic coughed at the smoke that was forced into his face, waving the black clouds away with one hand. Once he could breathe again, he carefully set Amy's hammer down, forced to leave it behind so that it wouldn't get in his way, and left the house, running to the place Ivo's T.V. had briefly shown him before it had exploded. _Ivo's gonna pay for this... I swear he won't win. __He won't._

* * *

Laying alone qith her eyes closed in the semi-darkness of the room she had been trapped in, Vanilla thought over everything that had happened with the strange woman from before. She had looked like someone from ancient times, and her words had only further proved to Vanilla that she likely _was_ from a time very long ago.

_"Your world no longer knows my name, young one..." _

Who _was_ she? She was clearly from the ancient hedgehog clan, the one that had once coexisted with the most powerful of the echidna tribes, both of whose names had unfortunately been lost to history. The woman's words had implied that, at one point, the world _had_ known her name, She wasn't just a random member of the clan. She was someone of great importance. But who?

_"Always have faith in the truth, for it will never lead you astray." _

But what was the truth? Vanilla thought back hard, trying to remember everything she had ever learned about that portion of the world's history. Slowly, the memories and the knowledge began to come back to her. _Of all the members of the hedgehog clan and the echidna tribe combined, there were severald that stood out above all others in terms of importance. First and foremost were single elders of each group, which kept them in order and at peace with one another. Then there was Locke of the echidna clan, a legendary treasure hunter who's skill in battle and natural aptitude for connecting with his tribe's treasure rapidly spread his name across the world. And then, perhaps even more important than them, were the two hedgehogs Analia and Kaden, the ancient heroes of this world, responsible for destroying many ancient terrors and aiding the newly arrived alien birds adapt to life on our world. Could it... could it be possible...? _She shook her head internally. No. No, there was no way that that woman had been Analia. There was just no way. She had died many, many years ago, killed in the Second Great Cataclysm, an event that next to nothing was actually known about (save for that it had resulted in the destruction of many civilizations and the deaths of the aforementioned hedgehogs). There was simply _no_ way that it could have been her. And yet...

_"Remember that nothing is impossible." _

What was she trying to say? Was it possible that the woman had known that Vanilla would eventually reach this conclusion, only to end up doubting it? Was she trying to tell Vanilla that she was, actually, who the young woman suspected her to be. If so, then how was she here? Granted she clearly hadn't been alive, but she had been _here_ and talking to her somehow... but _how_? Nothing made sense anymore. And, at this point, Vanilla's terror and concern regarding her daughter's safety mattered far more than this sudden mystery. _Oh Cream... be safe, dear..._

* * *

Locke stared into the open night sky before finally venturing to ask, "_Who's_ awake...?"

The disembodied voice of the Mater Emerald was, for once, quick to answer. _"The ones the world once needed the most."_

Locke rolled his eyes. "You _do_ know how many people fit that description, right?" There had been many heroes in the past, all of which had, at one point, been the ones that the world needed more than anyone else. There were _hundreds_ at least. Oh, how he hated how vague the Master Emerald loved to be...

"You are dense, Locke."

Surprised by the sudden appearance of a new voice, Locke whirled, only to freeze at who he saw walking toward him. Her clothes ruffled sideways in the breeze and seemed to glow almost heavenly in the soft light of the moon. Her beautiful blue fur bore no marks of any kind and her sandals made no sound in the lush grass as she stepped up to him, wearing that beautiful smile he remembered so well. _It... It can't be... _

Those deep green eyes shone with love, though the love of a real, true friend and nothing more. "Hello, dear friend."

"Analia..." he breathed. "But I- How-?"

"I do not know," she murmured, her smile never fading. "I merely awoke in this place, as did you."

"How long have you been here?" Locke asked, still struggling to make sense of this.

"Since the moment I died, as with you," she replied calmly and with complete certainty. He had no reply, too shocked and confused to speak, and her expression changed subtly to become more serious. "Locke, tell me. Was the beast defeated?"

_Dark Gaia. _Frowning deeply, he nodded once. "Yes. We made sure of that. But... we couldn't destroy it. Not completely."

"What did you do?"

"We sealed it away, deep within the planet. Hopefully it will sleep there for the rest of time."

"And if it does not?" Analia asked quietly.

"I don't know." That was the one thing that they couldn't have planned for. With everyone who could have fought the creature, excluding Locke, dead, there had been little hope of sealing the beast away if it ever rose once again. But now, a new generation of heroes had taken over. _Perhaps they could...? _

Analia's voice grew even softer when she asked slowly, "What happened to Kaden?"

Locke bit back a fresh wave of grief, the memories of that night still fresh in his mind after relieving it so recently at the Emerald's command. "He died... not long after sealing Dark Gaia away," he said slowly, his voice almost as quiet as hers. "His wounds were too great. That, coupled with all the energy, both physical and not, that it took to fight the monster and seal it away... it was just too much in the end."

She looked away, her gaze drifting to the full moon above them as she fought back the emotions threatening to slide down her cheeks. "And my son?" she asked, her voice so quiet now that he could barely hear it.

This caused a mixture of emotions to surge up inside of Locke. Pride, grief, relief, guilt, joy, love, hope... "He's alive," he said, his voice stronger now than it had been before. "He's alive, and grown into someone even stronger and braver than we could have ever hoped."

Tears finally began to slid down her cheeks even as she smiled, her eyes closing as she did so. "I'm glad..."

Sensing her unspoken thoughts, Locke spoke again. "You'll be able to meet him soon," he promised. I don't know when exactly, but whenever he visits here again..."

Analia nodded softly a she repeated oh-so softly, "I'm glad..."

* * *

**I'm terribly sorry that this was posted so late in the day! But, in order to try to make it up to you all, I made this one fairly long at 3,518 words. I hpe you enjoyed! Posted 05-31-15.**


	94. Not So Bad

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Yeah, I most certainly am. Dark Gaia is too epic to ignore! :D About the werehog... Look to the author's note below the rest of the replies. Well, yeah, 'course she doesn't know anything. She died before anything the things she asked about happened, so how would she know? Hehe, might be too late for Vanilla to not get shocked. XD No, no one except Sonic and Locke know for sure about the connection though it has been revealed that Knuckles and now (as of last chapter) Shadow and Ivo/Eggman have a strong suspicion that the connection exists, though they know next to nothing about it. Yeah, they are _so_ cute! XD However, I also kind of like Shadow and Rouge... Which to do for Hero...? :/**

**Hello, Guest1995! Oh, okay, I get it. :) Yeah, their personalities are so unique and cool! I'm so happy you like the character development of this story! (Especially considering that no one is _quite _the same as they are in the games and whatnot.) And yes, I know what you're saying, I think. :)**

**Hello, joel248! Wow, having no internet sucks. Been there, done that, hated it was a burning passion that rivaled the heat of the sun. :( Yes, Chapter 93 already. It's actually kinda hard for me to believe it! Especially since I just started this in like February of last year... ^-^ Ne, what did you mean by, "****anyways it seems like I underestimated you chapter-writing powers"? Oh no, not at all! I'm doing my best _not_ to force it, truly. XD Yes, Sonic's big reveal to his parent and Locke will most certainly prove to be interesting, huh? I sure hope so, at least! Ivo's plans have actually been pretty intricate from the start, they've just been being carried out in the shadows. You'll see more proof of that later, if I can manage to write it out. :P 91 had more important things in it than just Jet getting communicators. It revealed Sonic's fear of hospitals (something which, as I previously stated is something that Ivo is at fault for) and introduced both Rouge and the start of Ivo's plans unfolding as well. Ne, why do you keep calling this "history"? And don't worry about it! I love long reviews. :)**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Your review to Chapter 92: So glad you enjoyed! *Bows to the Queen of Magic and backs away slowly***

**Your review to Chapter 93: Yes, it's her. :) Super glad you enjoyed! Honestly, I'm thinking sometime a little after Chapter 100 at this point is when they'll return, but I'm not certain yet. :(**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Well, I'm glad you enjoyed. :) Huh. I'll have to listen to that song. Never heard it before. It might be, but if it is, it will be entirely unintentional on my part. I know of Naruto meeting her and all, but I don't remember anything about for some dumb reason. XP I will do my best, Pyro-san!**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yes, yes it is. :) Yes! And now what will he do? What are his evil plans this time? What does Dark Gaia have to do with any of this? _What's going to happen_?! D: Lol, I'm just kidding. :P Yes, Rouge and Shadow are allied with him for now, though it seems that Shadow is on that team much less willingly than Rouge, huh? Glad you liked Shadow's thoughts! Aw, I'm glad that you like Analia so much. I love her, too! :)**

* * *

**This was supposed to be posted yesterday. I'm so sorry. This week, up until the end of Wednesday, is Finals week at my school, then Thursday is graduation. Plus, in between all of that, I've had to help pack things (my dad is moving out), get stuff for graduation (i.e. find some freaking shoes because the dog ate the old ones I was _going_ to use -.-) and so and so forth. So yeah, sorry.**

* * *

As the dust from the last collision slowly settled, Rouge and Knuckles were revealed resting some distance apart. Both were covered in injuries and were incredibly dirty. They were both panting and glaring at each other, each refusing to give in in spite of their exhaustion. Rouge was the first to speak, her mouth tilting into a smirk as she did so. She stood bent at the knees, one arm hanging loosely at her side while the opposite fist was braced into her knee to help keep her upright despite the way her chest was heaving from exertion. "It seems we're evenly matched, Knuckie."

"Don't call me that," Knuckles growled, forcing himself up from his crouch to stand. "And I can beat you easily."

"Oh yeah?" she taunted, a glitter of mischief in her eyes. "Then why haven't you carried out that threat yet?" When he had no response, she laughed softly. "I thought so. We really are tied, then."

"I'll still beat you," Knuckles vowed, shifting his stance in preparation to resume the fight.

"Or I'll beat you," she returned, also shifting her stance. However, before they could begin anew, Knuckles's attention was snagged by something behind her. Turning her head to peer over her shoulder. Multiple robots flew up to them to hover around her, and she huffed. "Hmph! Guess he thinks I can't handle this on my own."

"Who?" Knuckles demanded. "Who are you working for?!"

"That's for me to know... and you to find out only if you're lucky." With that, she jumped up into the air and delivered a powerful kick.

Knuckles, caught by surprise, barely managed to dodge the attack. Growling, he rushed in with a fist pulled back, ready to throw, even as the robots began their own assault on him. _I won't lose. _

* * *

Tails staggered at the top of the building were his brief flight had ended and his battle had begun not terribly long ago. By using his wits and a series of quick maneuvers, he'd managed to make most of the robots that had appeared destroy each other, but he'd still had to fight a few on his own. Because of that, he was exhausted. _But now I have a lead. _By hacking into the system of one downed robot, he'd managed to figure out where it was sending signals to and thus, where it was _receiving_ them from. _That's where it was getting its commands from, which means that that's where Ivo is. _Still, there was one massive problem. _It's practically space, wherever that space is. _Actually, depending on whether or not he'd read the information correctly, it could very well have actually _been_ in space, rather than just below it. Still, the place, whatever it was, had to be withing twenty or so miles of the planet in order for those robots to still give and receive those signals Tails had traced. Still, even with the vague knowledge of where the place was, that still left Tails with a rather massive problem... _How to get there? _He thought hard for a long moment when an idea suddenly hit him. _Wait a minute! _He knew where he was. He had a workshop not far from this city. And in that workshop he had the perfect solution to this dilemma... With this in mind, he took to the air once more and flew off to claim his invention, one that he hoped would be enough to at least get him to their enemy. _If not, I don't know what we'll do, since Sonic still has the Tornado... I doubt that it could make it to space anyway. _Frowning and gritting his teeth in determination, he flew faster.

* * *

"Let me _out_ of here, you creep! _Ooo_, if I had my hammer I'd-!"

**_"Desist, Prisoner 22B-1." _**

"I will _not_ 'desist'!" Amy snapped hotly at the robot guard hovering before her cell. "And my name is Amy! _A-my_!"

**"Desist."**

_"_No!"

_**"Desist."**_

"_No_!"

_**"Desi-"**_

"Tell me that _one_ more time!" Amy snapped. "I freaking _dare_ you!" Much to her surprise, and her satisfaction, the robot fell silent after that. Crossing her arms, she turned away. "Hmph!" Still, staring at the blank white wall was much less entertaining than her verbal spat with the bot had been, so she turned back around. "What are you even guarding me for? It's not like I can break out of this thing." _Not for lack of trying, though... _No response. Not that she had expected one, anyway. Still, it was too quiet in here, so she sought to fill that silence with _something_, even if that something was just her yelling. Not that she planned on doing that anymore, unless this bot somehow managed to tick her off again. Shaking such thoughts aside, she tilted slightly to the left, putting the majority of her weight on one foot, to read the identification tag dangling off a string that had been wound around the robot's arm. "Omega? Is that what you're called?" She jumped when the robot suddenly decided to respond, taking her by surprise once more.

**_"Affirmative." _**Then the bot, Omega apparently, turned to her, though in a decidedly non-threatening way and stated with complete certainty, **_"And you are called Amy Rose, daughter of a couple in an eastern city beside the ocean and wielder of the world-renowned Piko Piko Hammer. Other notable characteristics include: Species: Hedgehog. Abilities: Incredible physical strength, faster-then-average speed, agility, and traveling through portals. Relationships: Friend to: Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, Miles "Tails" Prower, Vanilla, Cream, Cheese the Chao, and Big the Cat." _**

Amy's eyes went wide, though not necessarily out of awe. "Wow, Ivo learned all _that_ about me already?"

**_"Negative." _**

"Then how-?"

**_"I was designed with the ability to learn independently and thus conduct my own research when such a task is required." _**

"So... basically... you have a mind?" she ventured. It certainly would explain how she was having a conversation with this bot right now.

**_"Affirmative." _**

"Wow..." After a moment's pause, Amy smiled at Omega. "You know, for a robot, you aren't so bad."

**_"Explain," _**Omega demanded as well as a robot with a monotonous voice could.

"Well, for one thing, even though I can _see_ that you have a gun, you haven't threatened to use it on me even once yet," Amy said confidently. "You basically just told me to knock it off earlier, whereas every other robot I've ever encountered would have just shot me, or at least _at_ me."

**_"Shooting mindlessly is a waste of ammunition and is therefore a useless endeavor unless danger is present."_**

Despite the cold, robotic logic behind the words, Amy found herself smiling even wider. "And I take it that that Flicky on your shoulder is no danger?"

**_"Negative," _**it confirmed.

"See?" she asked softly, watching as the bird chirped sweetly from its perch. "Not so bad after all."

* * *

**So this was supposed to be longer initially, but I'm so busy that this is all I could get out today. I'm so sorry. I will do my best to make a longer, less dissatisfying chapter tomorrow. Posted 06-02-15.**


	95. The Hero Returns

**Hello, astroshadow! Haha, I'm glad you enjoyed that part! XD And yes, yes they are.**

**Hello, flashyhero! Yup. They are both here now. :3 This is the first mention of Big. He's never been mentioned or shown before. Yes, they most definitely will eventually. :)**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! I will consider your opinion on the matter, most definitely. :) However, I noticed several times (i.e. during a couple episodes of Sonic X) that there are subtle implications that Shadow and Rouge care rather much for each other, though whether that care is merely friendly in nature is something I could never quite determine. :P Yay! Omega! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! ...Now that you mention it, I just realized that this really _is_ the first chapter without Sonic (though he _is_ mentioned)! Wow. How odd. XD Glad you enjoyed! Yay! Omega! XD I don't know about Mighty (as in whether or not to use him). I'm thinking no at this point, though plans may change. As far as Sally and the others go, I don't know if _anyone_ notcied, but I did make mention of Antoine once as being one of the friends that Sonic outlived during the Dark Days. I never _did_ mention the others, though... Hm. I may or may not add them. I'm not sure yet. :P Haha, I know. XD Also, in the Japanese version of Sonic Generations on the Xbox (which I have! :D) Sonic swears in Japanese sometimes when he gets hurt. XD Don't be sorry Pyro-kun. It's probably for the best at this point, anyway. I will do my best to take my time if needed, but I will also do my best to keep writing consistently. :) Bye!**

* * *

With a final vicious blow, it was all over. The loser sailed through the air and crashed into a tree before falling to the ground in a heap, unmoving. The victor stood with some difficulty, never once savoring in the victory. _I never would have won had they not come to help. The two of us were too close. _It almost felt like cheating, but what did it matter, anyway? The battle was won, and now there was little left to do. Taking to the air, the victor flew away, their companions close behind.

* * *

Tails came to a skidding halt in the grass before his workshop door. Wasting no time, he ran to the metal door and reached a hand forward to quickly type in a complex code on a dial pad beside it. After the barest of moments, the red light above the door turned green as the door audibly unlocked. Still panting slight from exhaustion, Tails rushed inside, flicking lights on as he traveled further and further into the massive building, which had been built into an entire mountain. Finally, he reached the elevator he'd been heading towards. Once he was inside, the door slid shut with a soft hiss and he was taken quickly upwards to the uppermost level of his workshop. Once there, he stepped out of the elevator and, picking up speed again, he ran to a large circular platform in the center of the absolutely massive room. _I can't believe it... How could I have forgotten about this for all this time? _Of course the machine before him was merely a prototype, but it was still one of his greatest inventions, even if it didn't have a name yet. _And all this time I thought I didn't have a plane. _

The plane before him was propeller-powered, but it was still far better than most other planes out there. It was orange and yellow with double-tiered wings connected by a single vertical support each. On the outer end of each wing as well as on either side of the tail was a symbol that served to mark just who this plane belonged to. The symbol was, quiet appropriately, Tails's twin tails, his namesakes and his secret pride. Looking at the plane, it occurred to Tails that this plane looked an awful lot like the sketches Sonic had shown him of the original Tornado. Those sketches were faded and old, as Sonic had made them way back when he's been a kid, but Tails had been able to make out enough to tell that this plane, while different from the original Tornado, did share some visual characteristics. He couldn't help but grin to himself. _The Tornado-1, then. That's what you'll be called. _Grin fading into a more serious expression, Tails climbed into his plane and, after making the appropriate preparations, he flew it out into the open air. He doubted his plane could get him to space, even with its transformation capabilities, but he had to at least give it a try. _And if it doesn't work, I'll think of something else. I'll have to. _

* * *

Sonic was on the move. He knew where he was headed now, though getting there might prove to be difficult without a ship. Still, he knew exactly what to do to get where he needed to be. _Space, huh... Of course he'd choose there. _It certainly explained why no one had reported seeing a massive base anywhere. If it was in space, no one would be able to see it. It would probably just look like one of the many countless stars in the night sky and nothing more. If Sonic had seen it at all, he'd certainly dismissed it as such. He shook those thoughts away after a moment and poured on the speed. Such things hardly mattered at this point. All that mattered was getting there and saving his friends. He had to get there in time. _I have__ to._

* * *

Alarms began to wail without warning. Dull red lights replaced the harsh white ones that had previously illuminated the room. "What's going on?!" Amy gasped, her eyes wide as she looked at one red flashing siren.

**_"Scanning. Prisoner 22B-2 and Prisoner 22B-3 have escaped." _**

Amy's eyes swung around to face Omega. "Who?" she all but demanded.

**_"Prisoners Cream the Bunny and Cheese the Chao." _**

"They escaped?!"

**_"Affirmative. It is not known how. Data is inconclusive." _**

"That's not good enough!" Amy snapped. She pinched her nose and took a single calming breath. "_Why_ do you not know how they escaped?"

**_"Data is inconclusive," _**Omega repeated. **_"Video feed from their prison room was cut off." _**

Amy gritted her teeth. "Let me out of here!" she suddenly shouted. "Let me _out_!"

**_"Negative." _**

"Omega! Cream and Cheese could be _killed_ out there by themselves!" Amy pleaded, though somewhat angrily. "They can't defend themselves, just like that flicky on your shoulder! They're just _kids_! Ivo will _kill_ them!" Omega paused, didn't respond. Was he thinking, as she now knew he could? "_Please_, Omega," she whispered. "_Please_."

Another pause, this one significantly longer than the other. Then, for the first time, Omega lifted his gun, pointed it at her, and fired.

* * *

Cream and Cheese fled down a blissfully empty corridor, headed straight for a vent on the right side. Coming to a stop in front of it, Cream dug her fingers in and tugged desperately at the metal grate. It refused to budge. Panting hard from all her running, Cream stood. "Cheese, I need you," she called, her voice sounding more determined and serious than usual. Cheese, who had been keeping watch behind Cream, flew quickly over. Working together, they performed an attack that they had perfected despite their young ages. Cream threw a rapidly spinning Cheese at the grate in the same way she had after waking up that cell not long ago, and the grate shattered in a single blow. Trading a quick smile with her friend, they climbed in and began to move forward once more, intent on finding a way to figure out where Cream's mother was.

* * *

Vanilla woke from her not-so-peaceful rest to the incessant wails of countless alarms. The flashing lights hurt her eyes, but she didn't close them. Pushing herself upright despite her injuries, she stared at the door across the room from her cell of sorts, fully expecting another robot to come in and threaten her for information once more. Why her kidnapper, whoever he was, was so keen on dragging information out of her, she had no idea. She refused to let him (or rather, his robot interrogators) that she even knew the slightest thing about Sonic or the Chaos Emeralds. She refused to put her family in danger, even if it meant receiving a multitude of threats from her captors. _My family. _Suddenly, she was panicking. What if Cream had been captured? That was a terrible, wholly unthinkable possibility, but what if her fears were correct? Then what? Closing her eyes shut tightly, she called out silently to the ancient protector of her family, a guardian who, along with their partner, had somehow returned after so long, despite having died so many years ago. _I have never needed you more than I do now. But... my daughter needs you more. Please... if you can... protect her._

* * *

"I don't get it. The emerald said that '_they_' are awake now, but you're the only one I've seen so far."

"You said that it also stated that the 'they' it was referring to were 'the ones the world once needed the most'?"

Locke nodded. "Yeah, but there are _so_ many people that could fit that description." He sighed and crossed his arms. "Maybe Marley? He was a pretty big hero before us."

"Perhaps," Analia acknowledged.

They wanted to believe that they knew who else was awake, that it was the missing member of their nearly unstoppable team, the one they were both so close with, but when Locke had asked the emerald, it's reply had been anything but confirmation. It hadn't outright denied that it could be him, but they got the impression that it had hinted at it. _I just hope that we're wrong. _

Then, suddenly, the emerald decided to speak again. _"The time has come, heroes of old. Your help is needed in the world once more."_

"What're you talking about?" Locke called out in frustration. These constant vague tellings were enough to drive a person mad. "Time for what?"

Analia laid a gentle, soothing hand on his shoulder. "Perhaps it is not for us to know. At least, not yet?"

"Then why bother telling us?" Locke grumbled, still glaring pointlessly at the sky.

"I do not know," she replied softly. "Though there must be _some _reason. The emerald does not do or say things when it is not of consequence."

Locke sighed."Yeah... I know." Then, without any warning whatsoever, a bright light flashed into existence, engulfing them and swallowing them whole, and suddenly they were falling through the blankness. Though he grabbed Analia's hand, they were soon ripped apart and separated. As the light grew brighter, Analia seemed to fade away and suddenly he was falling alone into the unknown.

* * *

A dark blue streak raced through the night, passing mountains and forests and streams without a care. He knew where he was, where he had been when he'd woken up, even if everything had changed since the last time he'd seen it. Centuries of time passing by certainly had a way of changing the way things looked, but that didn't matter right now. There was danger present... and he had to stop it. He didn't know exactly what was going on or how he was here or even what year it was, but he could _feel_ the immense danger in the air, and he had a feeling that all those robots he'd destroyed earlier had had something to do with it. Growling softly, he pushed himself to go even faster.

* * *

**Well, I hope this was better and more satisfying for you than last time. :) Also, can you guys guess who won? Rouge or Knuckles? Lastly, who do you think the "guardian" Vanilla thinks about is? ;) Posted 06-03-15.**


	96. Unexpected Arrival

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Nope, the guardian's not Sonic. Vanilla's thoughts imply that the guardian was/is dead, but that they returned somehow, and obviously Sonic's never died. Good guess, though!**

**Hello, astroshadow! _Maybe_... You'll find out soon! :D Quite possible! Great guesses! :D**

**Hello, Daggr! Yup, we're pretty far along now, huh? Thanks for the wish of good luck! Everything went wonderfully. :) Yes... yes he is. But, then again, he's Ivo. It should probably be expected at this point. :P I didn't state the "obvious" because I DIDN'T WANNA. XD Yes, I know they're a legitamate couple in the fanbase. However, this story is a fanfiction, which means I don't have to follow that. And, for the record, many people in the fanbase like RougexShadow, too, so... yeah. Okay, with the whole backstory thing... what are you talking about? Sorry, but I just got really confused and lost there. :l That's alright, I understand. I frequently get busy as well, just necessarily with schoolwork (seriously, school is ridiculously easy, even the college courses... -_-). Aw, I'm sorry you've been stressed. Yeah, no one's very happy when they're stressed. I get it. Good luck!**

**Hello, flashyhero! Perhaps! :) You'll find out soon!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Pfff... HAHA! XD Batman... XD Super glad you enjoyed! And perhaps! :D Nah, not the Easter Bunny. He's on vacation in Hawaii. :) I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Your first review to Chapter 95: Yeah, I know. But still. :P I'll choose one eventually, just not right now. But yeah, maybe! That is very sound reasoning. It could very well be him! :) Don't worry, I understood you just fine.**

**Your second review to Chapter 95: Nice little story (or joke, as you called it)! XD I enjoyed reading that. :P**

**Your third review to Chapter 95: She might have. You'll have to read and find out! :D That's alright. Ah, I love Warriors! Glad I'm not the only one! I like Sharpclaw and Graystripe the best. :) Although... Bluestar is pretty dang amazing, too. :) Also, "Sonic and Warriors fan", perhaps?**

**Hello, Guest! Glad you're enjoying! And yeah, kinda. :)**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Well, guess you'll have to read and find out, then! Yeah, that was on purpose. I always enjoyed that scene. :) Yup, the plane from Sonic Unleashed, with the same name and everything! :D Also done on purpose, though I won't say why here. :) Yes, it could very well be him! :D**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Your review to Chapter 94: Glad you enjoyed! And yeah, I remember. It's fine. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 95: I'm happy you enjoyed! Haha, that's alright. :)**

* * *

_**So **_**sorry this is late! Many reasons for this, but I won't get into that here. Real quick though (this isn't important, so you guys can skip it if you'd like)! I saw these four glass cups in a store today, and each one had a classic character on it: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and then Ivo/Eggman in his hover-chair thing. I wanted them _so_ badly, but they were $30.00 without taxes, and I'm broke. *Sigh...* Today is a sad day. On the bright side, though, I got the Smash Bros 3DS game yesterday! Using Sonic, I have kicked every CPU's butt. :D Also, you know how you can change the colors of the characters? Well, I did that, and as it turns out, I like Sonic with light blue shoes! Also, when his shoes are like that, the rings on his wrists look like they're glowing light blue! It's so cool! Also, black and silver-grey Sonic are cool as well. :) Anyway, I'm done now. Please enjoy this newest chapter of Hero.**

* * *

Knuckles woke slowly on the ground before a large tree with a thick trunk. Eyes struggling open to look blearily around, he slowly pushed himself up, shaking his head a bit as he did so. He didn't think he had ever been beaten up this badly before. Ever. That was the _last_ time he underestimated that bat. ...And, speaking of her... where _was_ she? Vision focusing a bit more and head clearing of the lingering fog that had filled it just moments before, he looked around once more, standing up as he did so. Almost immediately, it registered in his mind just what was missing from here. _Oh, shit! _Running up the alter as fast as he could go, even though there was no real point to doing so, if he were being honest with himself, he quickly came to the conclusion that the Master Emerald was, in fact, gone. Which meant Rouge had stolen it. Growling loudly, he took to the skies. He had no idea where he was going; all he knew was that he had to find that emerald, and fast. _Or it could all be over. _

* * *

Amy didn't even scream as her cell exploded into countless sharp, dangerous shards of glass-like material. Job done, Omega lowered his weapon and took a step back as the smoke cleared. Amy gave him a brave, extraordinarily grateful smile. "Thank you," she murmured.

Omega responded without pause. _**"Leave. Reinforcement will be sent now that you are free."**_

"What will happen to you?"

**_"Irrelevant. Leave now." _**

With one last long look, one that was filled with sadness and sorrow, Amy turned and ran out of the room. Outside, everything was in chaos. Everywhere she looked, robots were flying or marching or running or driving in all directions, gunfire filled the air both visibly and audibly along with lasers and explosions, cameras swiveled this way and that, trying to see everything all at once, and in the midst of it all, Amy stood in open shock, her gaze locked on the open sky surrounding the base she was still trapped in. Her eyes wide, one single thought entered her mind. _I'm in outer space... _Swallowing hard, she tore her gaze away from the countless stars and focused instead on the danger that surrounded her. She had to find Cream and Cheese. That was all that mattered right now. But... surely _they_ couldn't have gotten Ivo's robots into such a tizzy, could they? It was then that she saw a bright yellow and orange plane speed by the base some distance away with three missiles screaming after its in a loose formation. _Oh my gosh! Tails!_ Seconds later, the young pilot vanished from sight, missiles still following him, and Amy had to force herself not to go running after him. _He'll be fine... I'd never catch up on foot, anyway. _With this in mind, she turned and began running the other way.

* * *

"Let... me... _go_!"

Ivo grinned rather wickedly at the small bunny trapped in the large metal fist of one of his newest robots. Though she struggled, all of her efforts proved to be in vain, as did the efforts of her little blue friend who was trapped beside her. "My, my, you _are_ a feisty one, aren't you?" Ivo sneered. "Tell me now, how in the world did you escape? That little attack of yours is far from strong enough to destroy the material your cell was made out of, much less make it explode." When all she did was glare at him, Ivo grinned even wider. "Ah, so it was Shadow, then. I thought so. He always has been rather rebellious. Getting him under control has proven to be more difficult than I had anticipated. But, no matter." He spun in his chair, pressing a button on the large panel before him, covered in many flashing lights, the majority of them yellow. Just like that, Cream and Cheese were dumped into separate cages, this time ensuring that they couldn't escape. Ivo spun back around and grinned at them once more. "Children really are so simple. Did you _really_ believe that crawling through the vents was a good idea? I have eyes and ears everywhere, my dear. Do you know what that means?" Still no verbal response from his young prisoner. And yet, he was undeterred. "I heard your conversation with your pathetic friend here. I know you were planning on saving your mother." His grin widened and turned decidedly more wicked and evil than before. "So how about I kill her for you? She won't need saving, then." The resulting scream was music to his ears.

"_No_! You can't!" Cream cried desperately, clutching the bars of her cage tightly in her small hands. "You _can't_!"

"Oh, but I can," he assured her, the lenses of his glasses flashing brightly. "And I _will_. All it would take is a little..." his finger edged toward a bright red button, "press..." closer, "of a button..." Cream begged him not to do it.

Suddenly, the alarms intensified as an explosion tore through the front of the ship. Cream gasped, her eyes wide, as she and Cheese stared in open shock at the cause of the explosion. "Mr. Sonic!"

Ivo whirled around, his hands slamming into his dashboard with some force as he leaned forward quickly, a snarl on his lips. "_What_?!" In the distance, though not _too_ far away, Sonic slowly stood from the crouch he had landed in, his angry gaze locked on Ivo's. Gritting his teeth, Ivo called forth many of his legions of robots. Some flew in from around the ship, others rose up out of the ground, some that were mounted on the walls spun around, and still others drove in or ran in on foot. Ivo slammed his hand down on his dashboard as the index finger of his opposite hand swung out to point forward. "_Fire_!" Just like that, Sonic was on the move. Ivo watched his progression silently, his serious expression hinting at none of his joy. He hadn't expected Sonic to make it here this early, but no matter. Ivo's confidence remained whole. _That's right, you little pincushion... Come up here and try to save your little friends. I promise you'll regret it. _

* * *

Rouge flew silently with her robot companions close behind her. They were headed to where a single ship of sorts was waiting for her. The robots could fly on their own with the emerald in tow, but she needed some way to get back to where her employer was to prove that she had completed her mission and thus claim her reward. So she flew, doing her best to ignore her aches and pains, as well as her exhaustion as she went. Her thoughts inevitably traveled to the echidna she'd fought earlier that day. _He was a good opponent. Strong, but still with the smarts to balance it out, when he wasn't getting too angry. Still, I hope we can fight again sometime. It's been a while since I've nearly met my match. _Her thoughts on the matter would have continued after that, had she not been ripped from them by a sudden, extraordinary light from behind. Whirling around midair to face the emerald still being carried by her now motionless escorts, she watched in absolute shock as the brightness intensified to beyond painful levels and a figure came flying out the side of it, slamming into her as they went.

* * *

**REAL QUICK! I have some sad news, everybody. Well, okay, only some of you may find it sad, but even still. At this point, it's looking more and more like Werehog Sonic won't be appearing. Dark Gaia is still involved for sure (I mean, i already intriduced it and everything) and Hyper Sonic will definitely still show up eventually, but at this point, with how I have things planned, I don't see how I can work the Werehog in. Sorry. Posted 06-07-15.**


	97. Blackened

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! ...Light? What light? And yeah, I know he can. :)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Haha, glad you thought so! XD And I'm also happy you enjoyed! Yeah, I graduated and stuff recently, so that took up a bunch of my time. :) Nope, no more canon hedgehog characters. I _promise_ that there's a legitimate reason for the lack of hedgehogs, you've just gotta be patient so I can explain it in the story. :)**

**Hello, astroshadow! _Yeah_, he is! D:**

**Hello, Guest! I will do my best! :)**

**Hello, John! Thanks! Glad you think so! :) And it is stated quite clearly that Shadow works for Ivo, though he doesn't seem to want to. So he rebels from time to time in his own way. Hope that helps!**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Glad you think so! :D _And the world may never know. _*Mysterious music plays in the background***

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yes, I'm sad to say that she did. Yeah... I'm sure it will. Poor Knuckles. ^-^ I'm glad you enjoyed! Well, at least you're not upset. I personally like the werehog, I just don't think he'll fit very well at this point, you know? And yes, Dark Gaia will return... and very soon. ;)**

**Hello, Daggr! Your first review to Chapter 96: Ooohhh... Okay, I get it now. :) Alright, that's fine. To each their own, right? *Nervous laughter ensues* Ahahaha, no. No, I don't have a boyfriend. I don't really date. I'm _not_ the kind of girl that people date, which is fine. But anyway, we're not using pet names. Just Japanese honorifics, ones used for friends and comrades and that sort of thing. Not pet names. Yay! Super gald you enjoyed! :D No, he hasn't yet, but he is on his way to try and get it back from her. That's alright, you don't have to like her. I personally disagree, but whatever. As I said above, to each their own, you know? Oh, cool! I was born there! I've never been there since, but still! I was born on one of the airforce bases there! :D Yeah, I heard about the snow storms up there. My grandma lives in Maine, so I heard a lot about it from her.**

**Your second review to Chapter 96: Haha, nope! No pressure at all! And I will include them at some point, just probably not soon, okay? I _promise_! Anyway, for now, just look forward to Hyper Sonic, 'kay? One new form at a time, you know? (And yes! Get it! _Get. It. _:D)**

**Hello, Guest1995! He he, I try. Yes, SA2 comes out first in the canon story. However, as this is _not _the canon story, I have chosen to do SA2 first. :) Glad you enjoyed!**

**~ソニック~**

**On time today! Yay! XD Anyway, enjoy!**

**~ソニック~**

_"Your time in this world is limited, Locke. Do with it what you can." _

Groaning softly, Locke forced his eyes open as he pushed himself up off the ground. He blinked once. Twice. His head whipped to the side as he calculated the miles. _I don't believe it. __It brought me back exactly the same distance away from Angel Island as I had been before, even going so far as to launch me out here at the same damn altitude. _Sighing softly, he stood and brushed the dirt off of himself. _Figures that it would just dump me out of the sky like that. _He turned again and looked longingly at his home before turning away with a heavy heart. There was no time to go and visit it right now. Something big was going on and, as the emerald had said, his time was limited. He didn't know exactly how long he had, but he took the warning to heart as he did his best to assess from afar whether or not everything was okay on the island. Then he would get going to help stop whatever evil forces were at work here. Stretching out his senses, he closed his eyes, only to snap them open once more when he realized that he could feel the Master Emerald... and it was moving rapidly _away_ from the island. Whirling, he watched in horror as the island slowly descended toward the ocean, something he realized it had been doing this entire time. And it had been much higher when he's first looked at it. At this point, there was no stopping the island's fall. But he _could_ get the emerald back and restore the island to its rightful place in the sky. And he _would_. So, with a growl, he jumped into the air and began to fly. Moments later, calm, smooth voice that he hadn't heard in many years entered his mind as the result of a power that his childhood friend rarely used.

_"Locke, if you can hear me, then just listen. I can't hold this connection long enough to speak for very long. Head to space as soon as you can. Something's happening up there. I can see it from where I am. I'm heading there now. Meet me there soon." _And then the connection vanished.

**~ソニック~**

"Th... Thanks for the lift, Tails."

"Sure thing, Amy."

Clinging to the handles meant for the second passenger of Tails's new plane (though _where_ he'd gotten it escaped her), she watched as the robot that had been chasing her went up in flames after being on the receiving end of a spat of gunfire Tails had just aimed at it. Redirecting the plane, he shot back into the sky with her and circled around, his head turned to the left. "Tails, I don't see anything!" she called, forced to raise her voice now that they were going faster and thus were surrounded by more noise.

"I don't either! Do you think they made it inside?"

"I don't know! Maybe!"

"You'll have to look for them on foot if they did! I'll keep doing what I can from out here!"

"Okay!"

As they scanned the area from the sky one last time, a single explosion tore through the front of Ivo's massive ship. Moments later, Many, _many_ robots were called to the area, only for most of them to get destroyed in a matter of seconds. "It's Sonic!" Tails cheered happily. "He's here!"

"Thank goodness..." Amy murmured to herself with a soft smile before her expression became serious once more and she raised her voice again. "Tails! Take me down! I have to find Cream and Cheese! Sonic can help you with the robots until I get them out of danger!"

"Okay! Just be careful!" Tails returned. "I know you're strong and all, but I don't know if you can call your hammer to you from so far away!"

Amy shook her head quickly. "No, I already tried it! I'm too far from it! Just take me down! I'll be fine!"

"Okay!"

With that, Tails angled the plane downward and quickly located a safe place to land and let Amy off. Once she was on the ground and running off, he took to the air once more, watching from afar as Sonic tire through a massive robot with ease. _He's not happy. _Swallowing hard, Tails turned his attention back to the fight. Almost immediately, numerous missiles that were decidedly faster than the others came flying toward him from out of nowhere. With a cry of alarm, Tails began to fly faster, only to have to swerve when multiple airborne robots shot up into the sky in his way. Bullets flew past him as he dodged around the bots and took off as fast as he could go. He tried to fire back, only to realize that he was out of bullets. And that was the _only_ weapon on this prototype plane that he'd tested before. Due to the risks of testing nw weapons in actual _combat_, he decided against using them for now. _I'll have to find a different way. Those should only be used in emergencies. _Swallowing hard again, he flew off into the sky.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic glared hard at the robot towering above the ground before him, no fear in his eyes or his heart. "Step aside, Eggman," he said, his voice deadly calm.

"I don't think so, hedgehog," Ivo replied, seemingly unbothered by Sonic's apparent new nickname for him.

"I'm getting through either way," Sonic replied, a vague warning in his tone, "even if it means destroying your robot with you in it. Step. _A__side_. I don't have time to deal with you."

"Make me," Ivo grinned. Then, with that, he began firing a large gun at Sonic.

Sonic, still glaring, didn't even seem to move before he suddenly just... vanished. Before Ivo even had a chance to react, Sonic reappeared in midair behind the robot and delivered a powerful kicked that sent the machine, with Ivo inside of it, flying. The robot landed face-first in the ground as Sonic landed, skidding backward in a crouch so hard that sparks flew out from under his feet. "Hmph. I warned you, didn't I?"

The bot stood slowly, and Ivo turned it around to face Sonic once more. For the first time, Ivo actually seemed angry. "Why you little..."

Sonic paused for a moment in brief surprise when the robot's massive hand suddenly detached from the rest of the bot and shot forward, fingers outstretched in order to grab him. Immediately Sonic recalled what had happened the last time he had been trapped in a giant robotic fist with the Chaos Emeralds with him. _The Cataclysm... _The hand was growing closer, and very quickly. _Aw, man! _With that last thought, Sonic turned and raced down a large corridor, intent on escaping the fist long enough to attack. But how was it moving so _fast_?

Somewhere behind him he heard: "You're not getting away!" Moments later, the fist clamped down around him and drug him back to the robot. Ivo smirked at him. "_Gotcha_, you annoying little pincushion!"

Sonic, however, wasn't listening as his thoughts focused elsewhere. _Ah. So that's how it was so fast. _A toothy smirk spread across his face as he said almost cockily, "That's mistake number two, for you."

"Oh?" Ivo replied confidently. "And what, pray tell, was number one?"

"Kidnapping my friends." Then, without any warning as far as Ivo was concerned, Sonic called upon the emeralds he and his friends had gathered together, and then the ones that Ivo had imbedded in his machine. Really, what was the man thinking, putting them were they could be reached so easily? But no matter. Sonic would worry about it later. For now, he had to focus on other things. He had friends to save and a large group of massive ships to destroy. And so, for only the second time in his entire life, he called upon all the energy of the Chaos Emeralds that he could and transformed. Moments later, a pure golden light engulfed him as he broke free from the robot with sudden ease. Apparently now highly alarmed, Ivo escaped from the robot in his hovering chair, so like the one Gerald used to use, and began flying away as fast as he could. Sonic followed, destroying every ship but the first one, since that was the one his friends were on. As the others ships and everything on them went up in balls of hot orange flame, he took off after Ivo once more. By now, Ivo had reached some odd tower-like structure that hovered alone over the planet far below. Really, that chair of his was surprisingly fast, especially considering who it was carrying. Shaking such thoughts aside for now, Sonic sped forth and blasted his way into the uppermost room of the tower... only to be stopped dead when a machine suddenly shot up out of the ground in the large spherical room he ended up in. Rings of pure energy of some kind held him fast, refusing to let him move in spite of his newfound strength. Ivo was cackling loudly from the other side of the same high-powered glass-like material that had Sonic's friends trapped, but Sonic could barely hear him over the scream of the machine as he struggled to break free.

"Prepare to witness the beginning of a new age!" Ivo shouted, sounding almost exactly as his grandfather had on the day of the destruction of South Island. Slowly, ever so slowly, the machine's power grew. Sonic could _feel_ it growing as the emeralds were slowly pulled from him. Then, all at once, they were ripped from him. Their removal was so unnatural and so utterly _wrong_ that it nearly made him cry out in pain. Only by clenching his teeth so tightly that his jaw ached terribly was he able to keep himself quiet. Struggling to keep his eyes open against the pain, Sonic watched as a second machine, this one looking like the kind of machine that was meant to fire a laser, lifted into the air so that it was level with him. Helpless, he could do nothing as the emeralds were dragged into it, seemingly into slots specifically built to house them. Ivo continued to cackle. "You should have never come here with those emeralds, Sonic! That was _your_ mistake!" The machine that had taken the emeralds began visibly building up energy inside of it. Sonic struggled harder in his restraints as a small sphere of pure white Chaos energy came to life before him, slowly growing with each passing second. Before long, Ivo seemed to decide that, small though it still was, the ball of energy was large enough. Goodbye, _Sonic_!"

Then he pressed a button. The laser fired. Sonic couldn't even make a sound as it shot through his torso and everything instantly went black. The beam hit the planet just in time for the emeralds to become lifeless rocks with no power left within them. Ivo, unconcerned, watched as the beam struck the planet and split it apart. Grinning, he absently flipped open a glass case and pressed another button. Now he had no need for his hostages. In the distance, a young pink hedgehog watched in horror as Ivo opened the hatch and let Sonic and the lifeless emeralds drop into the sky, helpless to do anything as they fell at impossible speeds to the planet far, far below. Not far away from the pink hedgehog was another silent observer, this one caring much less for what happened to the world and the heroes who were trying to save it. He chose to ignore the voice in his head that reminded him how he'd freed that little girl and turned away from the view, walking away from it all without a care.

**~ソニック~**

Vanilla scrambled into a sitting position as her cell suddenly began to glow. However, her alarm quickly receded when, for whatever reason, the cell simply... opened. Blinking, she sat more upright. _What...?_ She didn't trust it. She couldn't. This wasn't right. There was something wrong about this. There had to be, right? Sure enough, barely a moment later, square-shaped slots in the walls all around the room opened up and large turrets slid out into the open, each instantly locking their aim on her. She barely had a chance to scream before they opened fire. Her terror was short-lived, however, and was soon replaced bu utter shock as, with a flash of white light, a very familiar figure appeared before her. She watched as the woman called forth her ancient powers, causing equally ancient markings to appear all over her body. Her eyes, which had been shit previously, suddenly snapped open and she thrust her palms forward. And, just like that, a wave of barely visible energy shot forward, destroying every turret as it went. Then the enormous power Vanilla felt faded, and her savior turned to face her, wearing that same soft smile from before. "Did I not tell you to lie still, young one?"

**~ソニック~**

**So now two echidnas are preparing to intercept at the Master Emerald, Rouge is heading back to space, Shadow is watching from afar, Cream and Cheese are still trapped, Vanilla was saved by Analia somehow, Kaden is on the move, Tails is fighting for his life, and Amy may have just witnessed the end... I hope you enjoyed this latest installment of Hero. Posted 06-08-09.**


	98. Rise and Fall

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Yeah, sorry. Yes, Dark Gaia is released. You'll have to read and find out!**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Your first review to chapter 97: *Sigh...* Yeah... I noticed that. I just haven't fixed it yet. :l Super glad you enjoyed and that you had a laugh! i honestly have no idea. A lot. Not all, though. Yeah, I've been busy too, sadly. Hey, I play violin, too! :D Get them "back"?**

**Your second review to Chapter 97: In my time, I'm still trying to get chapters posted by nine or ten a.m. everyday, as always. :P**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! So glad you enjoyed!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm so happy you enjoyed! YES. DARK GAIA RISES. About the Kaden thing: not my original plan, but I wanted to use your idea anyway. It ended up not happening, but still. :P**

**Hello, blueyshy! Hi! :D Aw, I'm so happy you think so! That means a lot to hear! :) Cool, I'm glad you like it. I was trying something new, and I decided that I like it as well. :) Yes, I gave a nod to the opening cutscene of Unleashed, particularly with the robot with the big hands, several of Eggman's lines (taken from the cutscene word-for-word), the trap, the building the trap was in, and other elements. :) Aw! I'm so glad you think so! Thanks as always for reading!**

**Hello, Daggr! No, it really wasn't the "perfect opportunity". As I said before, I have a plan more or less, and in the end, the werehog just didn't fit in. Hopefully you'll understand why I bit better in this chapter. Not entirely true. Many people like the Werehog (myself included), just not enough to counterbalance the people who _dislike_ him. What did you mean by, "It's a shame, too, that u stated everything I was going to say here at the end of this chappie."? What did I state? :/**

**Hello, joel348! Huh. Sorry! I am currently doing my best to go back and fix _every_ typo in _every _chapter, so when I get there, I'll be sure to fix that for you. :) Oh wow, you live in Brazil? Well, if, by your own telling, your English wasn't formally taught in school, I have to say that it is very good! I'm impressed by your writing skills! Truly, I am. :) So glad you enjoyed! Yeah... it was short because I got lazy, i admit that fully. Sorry 'bout that. Haha, Rouge probably won't suffer, sorry. :P You'll get that explanation eventually, i promise! And, actually, in the Sonic universe, though it is never explained how, they can all survive to a point in space. They can breathe and whatnot, for example. I mean, obviously they need food and stuff too, but still. :P**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yes, it most certainly is! Exactly correct! But... will they succeed? Glad you enjoyed the twist! And you will have to read and find out! :D Well, I'm sad to say that you may be slightly disappointed in this chapter regarding Rouge's involvement. Uh, sorry. ^-^**

**Hello, Red! Don't worry, it didn't cut off. :) Oh wow, for _that_ long! Oh, that's wonderful! Thank you so much! That means a lot to me! :D I'm so happy that you enjoyed the big reveal about Gerald. At the time, I wasn't sure how people would take that. Haha, YES! I love Jet, and getting other people to love him always makes me smile. :D Yes, that's exactly what it is. Many different continuities all wrapped up under one little title. I'm so happy you enjoy that! Awesome! Glad you like the couples! Yeah, Shadow/Maria will more than likely be in here, but only as a friendship. I just don't see them as a couple, but that's just me. :P Yeah, I'm doing my best to go back and fix he typos. I've fixed some of the early chapters, at least. Oh, okay, I know what you're talking about. I was only purposefully ignoring my typos in my replies to a reviewer by the name of Anonymous, simply do to a funny typo we found once that I had left by accident. XD Actually, i wanted more interaction as well. It just didn't end up happening because, as you said, it wasn't necessary. Aw, I'm so glad you think so! :D I hope you feel better soon, by the way. :( Oh, yes! Please do! I love fanart! :D No permission needed. You're welcome, and I will do my very best! Thank you _so_ much for taking the time to read and review! (P.S.: California rules! XD)**

**Hello, Animercom! Okay, so to start off with, I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for taking so much time out of your days to try and read all those chapters, especially since I know (at least sort of) how busy you can be. So thank you! :D Well, with Jet, i didn't introduce him during the Dark Days because I wanted him to be born later so that, due to the different aging, he and Sonic would end up at least _close_ in age by the time they met. Yeah, I agree that it could have been better. Maybe I'll do a sequel of sorts once Hero is over and write out their adventures. :) Yes, Merry's powers will be returning to the story at some point. And can you guess through who? ;) I actually considered the Blue Typhoon, but then decided against it for now. That Typhoon will make its grand entrance later. :) Yup, kinda like the first episode indeed. The parallels are more than likely due to the fact that I grew up watching Sonic X, so I refer back to it sometimes. :P Yes, completely and utterly on purpose. I always loved that scene. XD Yes, SA and SA2 have been skipped over for now, but they will come eventually. Yup, they will be meeting very soon! Also, wait no more, because here they are! And heck _yeah_ he does! XD**

**~ソニック~**

**[Insert legitimate excuse for late posting here.] But no, seriously, I have some legitimate excuses, I just don't feel like typing them out. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Also, 2,009 and words this time. I did my best to make it fairly long. :P**

**~ソニック~**

It's funny how time can sometimes slow down, stretch out so that it feels more like months or even years have gone by when it's really only been minutes or maybe even seconds. We've all felt it before; that terrifying moment where everything just stops and whatever horrible thing you're witnessing or feeling just never seems to end. It's awful. And right now, I am in that moment. Watching him fall so far and so fast, even though to my eyes it all seems so slow... There's a scream on my lips, but the sound just can't seem to escape. He's so far away, but I know it's him. There's no one else it could be. That means that those seven dark, shyny rocks falling with him have to be the Chaos Emeralds, now as lifeless as he seems to be. It's a terrible thought, horrible, and I wish that it wasn't true, that it wasn't possible. And finally, my lips part and the scream escapes. "_Soniiiiiic...!_"

**~ソニック~**

As Amy's cry echoed throughout the eerily still air, Tails's head lowered as a single tear slid down from under his right eye lid. He fought not to cry. Sonic had to be okay. He was always okay in the end, wasn't he? There was no way that he was through yet. Swallowing hard past the lump that had formed in his throat, Tails turned his plane around to pick up Amy. For now, they had no other choice but to retreat. They had lost this fight. _But we'll be back. And next time, we won't lose. Sonic will make sure of it. _His faith strong and his determination blazing in his eyes, Tails flew down to where his oldest friend now stood alone, gazing out into the depths of space.

**~ソニック~ **

"Come, we must return you to the planet."

Vanilla accepted the preferred hands held out before her and slowly stood as she asked. "It really is you... Analia... but how...?"

"I will do my best to explain at a later time," Analia promised. "For now, we must leave. It is much too dangerous here."

"My daughter-"

"She is safe."

Vanilla nodded once, accepting the ancient hedgehog's words without question. Still, she had to ask. "Where is she? And Cheese? Are they together?"

"They are together," Analia confirmed, "and they are with old friends of yours for the time being, a family in a city by the sea."

Vanilla knew who Analia was speaking of without even having to think about it. "Amy's parents."

Analia said nothing as, still gently holding Vanilla's hands in her own, she called forth her powers once more, once again causing her to be covered in those markings. A sphere of pure white energy came to life between their hands and slowly spread out so that it engulfed them entirely. By the time the light receded, they were gone.

**~ソニック~**

Locke froze when he felt the first hint of tremors vibrating through the air and the ground simultaneously. Whirling around midair, his eyes widened in true horror as a beam shot down at impossible speeds and hit the planet with so much force that the ground it his exploded into well over a hundred massive, deadly chunks of rock. Water soared into the air, reaching near impossible heights. Dust and debris darkened the sun all around. Locke was so close that he could feel that same dust and whatnot stinging his eyes, could feel the heat of the lava as the beam plunged into the depths of the planet. Moments later, a terrible roar that had become the subject of numerous nightmares of his shook the planet from its very core, striking fear into the hearts of all who could hear it. Locke's heart pounded. _Not this... not again... This can't be real... _

As he watched, horrified, a beast that had been put to sleep centuries ago rose from the ground, so massive that it stretched out into space. But, just as Locke started to panic a bit, a small but undeniably powerful light hit the beast in its core, forcing it back down to the world below even as the world's continents were split apart. _Thank god... he's still there. _Knowing full well that his old ally would take care of things as best as he could, Locke forced himself to focus on other things. Right now, he needed to get the Master Emerald back. He had a feeling that it was heading for whoever was causing all that trouble in space, the same person who was undeniably responsible for Dark Gaia's reawakening. And, whoever they were, they had to be stopped. The fate of the world, possibly even the universe, depended on it.

**~ソニック~ **

Kaden skidded to a halt just beside where Dark Gaia had just risen, only to be forced back down into the massive hole it had created. Gazing down into the lava, the thermal winds blowing his fur backward, he called out calmly, "Gaia."

He had to wait for only a moment before a small creature with a large green gem on his chest flew out of the hole, looking uncharacteristically serious, as he had back when Dark Gaia had first attacked. Still, he somehow managed a small smile. "I told you that you can call me Chip."

Kaden blinked. "How long can you hold it."

Chip frowned slightly as he answered, "I don't know. A few days, maybe. Whoever woke it up waited until the precise day when Dark Gaia was at his strongest. He just needed help breaking the seal, and that's exactly what happened when that beam hit the core of the planet."

Kaden nodded once, ignoring the deafening roar from below. "Hold it for as long as you can. We're going to try and find a way to destroy it."

"You can't," Chip said quickly. "Dark Gaia is too strong. That's why we had to seal it away all those years ago."

"I know, but we're not alone in this fight. Not this time. There are others who can help us now." This was the most hopeful Kaden had ever sounded, and the change in tone, subtle though it was, was enough to startle Chip into silence. "Locke and Analia are back as well. I don't know how long we can stay, but we'll do what we can. You do the same."

Chip nodded seriously. "Okay. Just... don't get hit again, if Dark Gaia breaks free."

Remembering what Chip was talking about, Kaden said nothing. Instead, he merely turned and began running as fast as he could go. Once he was far enough away, he called forth his powers and, his hands becoming consumed in a light blue fire, he began destroying the robots that were in his way.

**~ソニック~ **

"Stop right there, Rouge!"

Rouge whirled around, her eyes widening when she saw a very ticked echidna flying toward her. "Hmph! I was wondering when you'd show up again."

"What did you do to the Master Emerald?!" he shouted, completely ignoring her as he came to hover near her, his teeth visibly clenched together in a snarl.

"I didn't do anything," she replied dismissively. "It turned into a dark, dead rock all on its own, and with zero warning, too. You're the great protector. You tell _me_ why that happened."

"I'm not telling you anything!" Knuckles snapped. Though, truth be told, it wasn't like he had the answer to begin with. Why _did_ the Master Emerald lose its power? None of it made any sense. Still, powerless for now or not, it was imperative that Knuckles got the emerald back and returned it to Angel island where it belonged. "Give the emerald back!" Knuckles fully expected her to refuse, for there to be another fight right away, but instead, Rouge suddenly seemed... troubled.

"If I do... what will happen to me?" she asked quietly.

Knuckles's fighting stance relaxed slightly as he frowned at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

With a firm shake of her head, she dismissed him. "Nothing. Just take it."

Suspicious though he was, Knuckles flew forward and snatched the emerald away from the bots that held it, pummeling them when they tried to fight him. Throughout it all, Rouge made no move toward him, made no attempt to try to stop him. Once the emerald was securely in his hands, she simply turned and flew away.

**~ソニック~**

"Hm... this is interesting," Ivo murmured to himself. "So Rouge has decided to betray me, after all. As soon as my beam hit the planet her resolve started to waver... how disappointing."he stood from his chair then, clasping his hands behind his back. "But, no matter. Dark Gaia has risen, and in the end, I didn't need the help of that Master Emerald in order to do it. That foolish hedgehog... bringing the emeralds straight to me..." He grinned, then chuckles softly. "Dark Gaia has risen once again... and this time, no one will be able to stop it. Not even the world's so-called _heroes_."

**~ソニック~**

Locke knew the Master Emerald's energy like he knew the back of his own hand. He knew the instant that something was wrong, knew the precise moment when Sonic started struggling for his life just before the beam was fired and the beast was unleashed. And now... he couldn't sense the emerald's energy at all. _But what does that mean? _He struggled to cast aside the part of him that wondered what would have happened to him and the others had they still been inside the emerald. Would they have, in a sense, _died_ again. Shaking those thoughts away, he focused on a more pressing issue. _Whatever happened in space is over now, according to Kaden. So what now? What the hell even happened? ...Is that... is that where Sonic was? _Just as Locke started to worry, both over Sonic and over his son, whom he know knew traveled with Sonic, something very hard hit him in the head with enough force to make him black out for the barest of moments. He came to just in time to avoid falling into a tree and, more on reflex than anything else, he began dropping down to the ground in a more controlled fall, intent on figuring out what in the hell had just hit him. Once on the ground, he walked over to the culprit and knelt down beside it. Fighting back his shock and his rising concern, he slowly picked up the dark, lifeless emerald off the ground. _Oh, no... _

**~ソニック~**

Silver stared at he lifeless emerald in his hands for a long moment before returning his attention to Blaze. "What do you think caused this? What does it mean?"

Blaze slowly shook her head. "I do not know."

"What do we do?" he asked seriously.

She was silent for a moment before replying. "I think it is time we return to Sonic and the others."

He nodded once, his expression growing even more serious. "Right." Carefully replacing the emerald in the hiding place where he had accidentally found it, he turned and followed Blaze to the place where they would open the portal and leave their world.

**~ソニック~**

A lone figure, once surrounded by seven objects but now utterly alone, fell at speeds that were impossible unless one had been falling all the way from space. Eyes closed to the world around them, the figure never knew it when they crashed into the storming ocean and vanished from view, leaving no trace behind.

**~ソニック~**

**Posted 06-10-15.**


	99. Awakening (AKA: Rebirth)

**Hello, Guest! Yes, it sure is! And don't worry, he'll be back. :)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Well, I don't think the water will be bother him very much here... you'll see why. I'm so happy you enjoyed! I sure hope this chapter is as good as you were expecting! And YAY! MORE SILVER! :D Yeah, maybe. And yeah, he pretty much _is_ Trunks, if you think about it. A young hero from the future who goes back in time to save the future... yup, that's them. :P YAY! DBS! :DD I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Well, you'll have to read and find out! :)**

**Hello, S and R fan! I do. :) Only, my violin is, quite literally, over one-hundred years old (my grandfather got it from an older gentleman when he was younger and then years later gave it to me :) ), so I have to be _super_ careful with it. Yeah, not many people play it due to its difficulty. But it's so beautiful to listen to. :) Yes! I love drawing! However, lately, I haven't been able to draw much due to lack of a real place to do so. My desk got overtaken by stuff since I have no other storage, so... yeah. :( Ah, okay. Wow, twelve hours? That's... a lot. Yup, you'll get to meet them, even if said meeting is brief (though I haven't decided yet). :P Cool. Glad you liked it! :D**

**Hello, Red! Actually, it wasn't intended to be like SA2, though now that you've mentioned it, I see the parallels. ^-^ SA2 is supposed to come later, though I _may_ find a way to work it in with this. We'll see. :) IKR?! They're awesome! Green Forest is one of my favorite levels from any Sonic game ever. :D Yeah, I was too. I promised to try to keep their absence to ten chapters or less, so I did! XD Well, in the last (or one of the last) memories that Locke showed Sonic at the end of the Future Arc, Kaden was described as taking one last breath before breathing no more. This implies that he dies, though it is never directly stated. Hope this helps! :) Yes, there will be a reunion, and yes, it will most definitely be interesting. Yeah, I'd have to agree with you there. Glad you like 'em! Yes, that's exactly what they say. XD**

**Hello, flashyhero! Glad you enjoyed! :D And yeah, I'd have to agree with you on both of those points. I actually did a few of those. XD The early chapter where Sonic and Jet met as well as the chapter where Sonic and Knuckles are just walking toward the Master Emerald and talking were full of humorous banter. Plus there are small sections in various chapters with humor sprinkled in, such as when Sonic called Knuckles "Toes" just before the Future Arc and when Sonic and Silver talk about Knuckles's snoring and whatnot at the end of the same arc. :P I love humor. I just can't stay away from it. Hm, maybe. I'll think about it. :P**

**~ソニック~**

**Okay, so does anyone remember those cool cups I mentioned in an A/N not long ago? WELL I GOT THEM AND THEY'RE AMAZING. I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW. XD Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's short and the ending may leave you unsatisfied, but I promise that the next chapter will make up for it! I have something BIG planned for next time! :D**

**~ソニック~**

Locke knew he had to make a decision, and fast. Find the Master Emerald, or find Sonic? Both actions were _immensely_ important at this point but... what was he supposed to do? Purely by chance, he happened to look up. His eyes widened when he saw two more dark emeralds fall from the sky in the distance to fall into the sea, which was storming now due to the massive movement of the continents. Decision made for him, he began running. Just as he reached the shore, it occurred to him that he could hear a fight going on nearby. Gritting his teeth and making a quick detour, only for there to be an explosion ahead of him and for something to slam into him head-on. He and whoever had literally run into him fell back on their rears. Locke, rubbing his head with one hand and grumbling to himself, stood and opened his eyes. For the second time that day, they widened, only to return to normal size as a smirk spread across his face. Unable to resist, he commented, "Gee, and for all this time I though you were a master of speed and control." Green eyes opened quickly to look at him, and Locke held out a hand. There was no hesitation as the other person accepted the hand and allowed Locke to pull him up. "It's good to see you, Kaden."

Kaden didn't smile, not exactly, but there was a definite, subtle light in his eyes that Locke knew well. "Same to you, Locke." Any further peaceful dialogue between the two of them was abruptly cut off when Kaden suddenly noticed the dark emerald in Locke's hand. His slight frown seemed... concerned. "Is that...?"

Locke nodded gravely. "Yeah." He didn't know what else to say. All that was left was the truth. The emeralds weren't drained. _They're dead. __Which can only mean..._ But that was a horrible, impossible thing to consider. It had to be impossible. Didn't it? Unable to voice such a thing, Locke said quietly instead, "I can't sense the Master Emerald anymore, either. And I saw two more of these fall into the ocean not long ago. They were pretty far out there, though."

Kaden nodded once, taking Locke at his word. Locke had incredible eyesight, one of the main reasons why he was so adept at treasure hunting, so it wasn't surprising that he'd been able to see that far away. "We have to go check it out." His voice was a bit to tense, but at this point, Locke seriously doubted Kaden cared about remaining calm and in control of himself. Because this was about his son, and if he was really- but, no. That couldn't be possible. There was just no way.

Locke jumped into the air and began to glide, unsurprised when Kaden simply began to run, sending water billowing up behind him. Moments later, there was a blinding flash of pure white light beside Locke and suddenly, Analia, drawing on her ancient powers so that a faint white glow shimmered around her, was flying between him and Kaden. Though the two hedgehogs exchanged a long look full of more emotion than could probably ever be voiced, neither said anything. Swallowing hard, Locke returned his attention to the front. The land behind them quickly grew farther and farther away as they went, with Kaden and Analia purposefully going slower to allow Locke to not only keep up, but to also lead the way to where he had seen the emeralds fall earlier. Just as the land disappeared, the sound of a propeller reached their ears. A brightly painted plane emerged from the clouds above, going the same way as Locke and the others. The pilot was a young fox, and the only passenger was a pink hedgehog, who watched them silently from where she stood. Locke didn't know them personally, but he knew _of_ them from Sonic. _They're his friends. _They both seemed shocked to see Kaden and Analia, and Locke supposed that that was a reasonable reaction. Except for Sonic, blue hedgehogs were supposed to be extinct. For that matter, so were just about every other breed of hedgehog, save for a scant few.

They hadn't gone terribly far after that before Dark Gaia's roar sent the waves into a frenzy below them, dragging Kaden down with them. Just as Locke swerved midair to help, a curled ball of indigo fur shot back up out of the waves. Reacting fast, Locke's right hand shot out to grab Kaden's right hand. "You alright?" he demanded.

"Fine," Kaden replied, voice calm in spite of how he could have drowned just now.

Now everyone was facing in the direction the roar from seconds before had come from. The young fox, Tails if Locke wasn't mistaken, angled his plane down so that it was somehow hovering near them. That kid was a damn good pilot if he could make a propeller plane do that. "What _is_ that thing?" he demanded.

"Dark Gaia," Kaden answered. "A beast that was sealed in the planet centuries ago."

"What's keeping it down?" the pink hedgehog asked, never taking her gaze away from the distant horizon.

"A guardian as old as Dark Gaia itself," Locke answered. "He came to this world with Dark Gaia in an attempt to stop it."

"However, it seems that he may not be able to hold it for much longer," Analia said quietly. "We must hurry."

Locke nodded. "Right."

Just as the words were past his lips, there was another deafening roar as Dark Gaia's power rose up to try to break free. At the same time, Chip's power rose up as well, causing a flash of light in the distance. But that light was quickly shattered, almost as though it were merely brightly glowing glass, and, with yet another roar, Dark Gaia burst free. And in that moment, Sonic's eyes snapped open.

**~ソニック~**

**Posted 06-11-15.**


	100. Transformation

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! You'll see in this chapter! And don't worry, they'll be back soon! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Glad you liked it. :) Great theory and good guess, but no. You'll see here. :) Also, remember, Dark Gaia didn't awaken on that day. It came to the planet and attacked it. :P OMG YES. YES IT CAN BE A THING. I HADN'T EVEN THOUGHT OF THAT. :D**

**Hello, Daggr! Your first review to Chapter 99: Oh, okay. :P Haha, glad you like Silver in this fic. I love him too, so I'm glad that I was able to convert you. Not exactly my intention, but still. ^-^ No, I am not Asian. I am almost entirely Irish from both sides of the family, though, from what I understand, there _may_ be trace amounts of some sort of Asian in me, but it's very minor if it's there. But no, I'm pretty much entirely white, and therefore just a massive anime fan. XD**

**Your second review to Chapter 99: Thanks! You helped get me here, so _Arigato_! :D Okay, I won't tell you. You'll find out here, anyway. :P No, Big isn't the big Chapter 100 surprise. However, even if he ends up being a minor character, he _will_ show up eventually. I already did mention him, after all. Besides, _I_ happen to _like_ Big! XP About Chaos: Haha! I agree with you, there! XD**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! You'll see (at least somewhat) this chapter! :D**

**Hello, Animercom! Aw, thanks. :) Honestly, I got the idea from Inuyasha. The demons live so long, and I just love the idea of such incredible lifespans. Thus, I incorporated that into this story from the beginning. That's really all there is to it. :) Well, it would be a prequel-sequel, technically. A prequel in that the events are before the main story, and a sequel in that it was written after the first story, namely Hero. :P Yes, it would mean that. And awesome! Glad you would read it! Interesting theory, but no, not in Silver. Good idea, though! :D Haha, if my parents had ever let me, I probably would have done the same thing watching Sonic X! XD Your guess about the whole Chip naming thing: spot-on! But which of those two actually did it? ;)**

**Hello, Sushi24! Thank you so much! That means a lot to me! :D Also, love your username, by the way! Sushi is awesome! XD**

**Hello, Blueyshy! Aw, thank you so much! (BTW, if there's a Spencer's store near you, you might be able to get the cups, too! :D) Yeah, it really has been a long ride, and I'm so happy you've been here for it! I'm also very happy that you've enjoyed the story so far! Wow, that really was about fifty chapters ago, wasn't it? XD Aw, don't be embarrassed. It's okay. Remember, I'm shy, too. :)**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! (I'm just going to reply to all three of your reviews in one spot, 'cause I'm lazy. XP) Don't worry, the awkward moment is coming! Yup, my friends taught me to draw in the fifth grade, and I've loved it ever since. :) Guess we are twins, if only sort of. :) Wow, fifty years is still cool! :D Five... siblings... I ONLY HAVE TWO AND I CAN BARELY MANAGE THEM HOW ARE YOU ALIVE? Well, I personally prefer a desk so as to avoid neck aches and to just make drawing easier for me, but that's just me. :) Yes, you most certainly will! Awesome! I'll check it out! My username (not that I really have anything uploaded) is yasha77. :)**

**Hello, Anonymous! Yeah, I feel your pain. End of the school year drama/stress/whatever hit me hard, too. :( Have fun camping! :D Haha! My sister and her boyfriend say that Sonic sucks in Smash Bros... We'll, he doesn't! XD I can be a ninja sometimes, too, but only when I'm actually trying. XD Well, it's only about 8:25-ish where I am as I'm posting this chapter (ignoring the half hour delay between posting and readers seeing it) so I guess we're in different time zones. :P Friend code? Awesome! See below! :D**

**~ソニック~**

**FAIRLY IMPORTANT! I highly recommend listening to the song "Power from the Soul" from the anime Inuyasha while reading the middle scene, particularly the beginning of the scene. Trust me, you'll see why. You can find the song on YouTube under the title "Inuyasha OST 1 - The Soul Power" by KanketsuHenGerSub (just keeping in mind that, as I said, the song is actually called "Power from the Soul"). I hope you all enjoy this extra-special chapter! :D Lastly, real quick! Anyone who has a 3DS and wants to be friends, my friend code is 0834-3848-1495! :)**

**~ソニック~**

As Dark Gaia suddenly and unexpectedly broke free, Chip found himself with only one option left. He had no idea what doing this would cause to happen to him, but one thing was for sure. _He's Kaden's son. That means we need him. _But, in order for him to do any good, Kaden's son needed to be _alive_. And so, just as Dark Gaia broke free, Chip, calling upon as much as his power as he could, channeled it into the scattered emeralds and combined his power with that of his old friend's son. _Sonic. You must live. _There was another blinding flash of light, and Chip soon fell down to the ground oh-so-far below, unconscious and drained.

**~ソニック~ **

Locke started severely, his eyes going wide, when the emerald in his hand suddenly exploded to life. Purple shone brightly in his hand, almost too brightly, and, much to everyone's shock and alarm, the emerald actually _grew_. Then, without any warning, as if pulled by some invisible force, the emerald was ripped out of his hand and began flying away so fast that it left a streak of light behind. Barely seconds later, the two emeralds Locke and the others had been heading toward shot up out of the ocean, also enlarged and glowing fiercely. They too soared in the same direction as the first emerald had, leaving green and white streaks behind. As they watched, the other four emeralds also flew to the same central location from unknown points in the distance. In the distance, the Master Emerald lit up as well, its bright green light shooting up like a beacon in the sky. All Locke and the others could do was watch in shock and extraordinary awe as the emeralds dove beneath the surface, spinning rapidly as they did so. Scarce moments later, a pure white light like nothing they had ever seen before erupted into view far, _far_ below the surface. As Dark Gaia rose in the distance, so too did the light beneath the waves. Before anyone even had a chance to blink, let alone think about what was happening, the water directly above the light exploded as the source of it broke free from the darkness of the ocean's depths, coming to rest high above the shocked crowd below. As some of the light receded, they were able to make out a figure in the center of it. The figure was hovering effortlessly in midair, hands balled into fists as they glared at Dark Gaia's massive form, not bothering to acknowledge the people below. Locke's eyes grew wide, and he felt Kaden tense. _S... Sonic...?_

Dark Gaia unleashed a terrible roar unlike any it had unleashed before and the world shook from the tremendous force of it. Sonic, however, didn't even seem to notice, his icy blue eyes never blinking even once. Dark Gaia roared again and massive tentacles under the surface of the planet forced their way out into the open air, utterly destroying the ground as they went. Sonic's eyes narrowed subtly at the chaos and destruction the beast was causing, but only reacted to it when one tentacle moved to slam him back into the sea from which he had just risen. Just before the Tentacle could touch him, he raised a single hand, palm facing out, and the tentacle was suddenly engulfed in a powerful white light that instantly had the beast practically screaming in pain. By the time the light faded, the tentacle was gone. However, though the light _did_ fade, it didn't vanish entirely. Instead, it nestled itself in Dark Gaia's core, having followed the length of the tentacle back up to the monster's main body. Once there, the light intensified once more. However, the first attack of this nature seemed to have taken a significant amount of power from Sonic, and now his energy was diminished greatly. Still, the final attack was enough to weaken Dark Gaia and disperse its energy... for now.

Dark Gaia gone for the time being, Locke's gaze swung back to Sonic, only to be freshly shocked when he realized that Sonic's appearance had changed again. His eyes, once icy blue, were now bright red and the once pure white aura surrounding him was now a mixture of all the colors of the Chaos Emeralds blending together but still remaining separate. His power, while still immense, was now far less than it had been to start with. Locke opened his mouth to call out to him when, suddenly, Sonic teeth gritted visibly and he shot off to where Dark Gaia had been, flying at speeds well beyond what Locke had seen that Sonic could run. The multicolored streak left behind quickly faded, even as Locke and the others rushed to follow him. They got there several minutes later, and by then, Sonic was gone. But there, on the ground, was a suddenly fully-healed Chip resting peacefully as though he were merely sleeping. Chancing a look up for no real reason, knowing that Sonic was gone for now, Locke blinked from where he stood by Kaden's side when he saw another figure flying in the darkening sky overhead. He frowned as he struggled to make them out. They almost looked like... a red echidna. He stiffened involuntarily. _A red... echidna... _

**~ソニック~**

A bright, multicolored streak shot across the dark sky. Below it, fires raged all around. They smoke caused by them was the reason why the sky was so dark, despite it barely being early evening. Sonic frowned at the fires that were rapidly consuming the forests below. He hated fires, probably always would after the events on the final day of South Island's existence, so he decided without a thought to do something about it. Speaking for the first time since he's awoken, he called upon his sudden understanding of the ancient language of his people, a language he'd only fully understood twice before, the last and only two times he'd used the emeralds to transform. "_Trenül._" _Disappear. _And so the fires faded away as though they'd simply never been, leaving nothing but the damage they had caused and the smokes they had created behind. However, some of Sonic's power, too, faded. Eliminating the fires hadn't been a big task, but it had still required energy. He needed to make what power he had left last. Of that he was certain. He would need every ounce of it possible if he was going to defeat Dark Gaia. It was a beast he knew about only through the knowledge the emeralds had stored and given to him. Still, it was enough. Pouring on the speed as much as he could, he disappeared into the distance.

**~ソニック~**

**IMPORTANT! Okay, so as of recently, I have decided to do two more stories (at least) related to Hero once Hero is done. One will be entitled "Hero Chronicles: Times of War" (after the art series PyroShockZ/IronShadowZ is doing) and will follow the adventures of Locke, Kaden, and Analia (though mostly Locke and Kaden) as they battle the race of alien birds (the one Jet is descended from) as said race comes to the planet for the first time. And, more toward the end, it will follow their brief story involving Dark Gaia. The other story will be a prequel-sequel of sorts following the adventures of Sonic and his Riders (in other words his team, though the story will focus mostly on Sonic and Jet) after Sonic and Jet meet for the first time and name the Extreme Gear together. My question to you all is: which story would you like to see first? Either way I'll be doing both, but which do you all want to read more than the other/see first? Let me know in the reviews or in a PM! I'd appreciate it! :D **

**ALSO FAIRLY IMPORTANT! So this chapter introduces Hyper Sonic in two different forms... First, what I call Pure Hyper Sonic, where he's at his absolute strongest. That's where he's all pure white and stuff. Second is just regular Hyper Sonic, only I changed it slightly so that he's not flashing like crazy. Hope you enjoyed! ****Posted 06-12-15.**


	101. Til Daylight Do We Part

**Hello, flashyhero! Yeah, he kinda is, huh? ^-^**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Glad you think so! :P**

**Hello, Guest 1! Actually, no. This chapter is about the same length (ignoring all the A/N's and stuff) as the last one was, it's just more condensed due to the fact that everything was written in just a few paragraphs. Having dialogue, and thus a bunch of single lines on the page, can make chapters seem longer, and there was none of that here. But anyway, each chapter really does have it's own unique length at any rate. I try to get them to at least 1000 words, but sometimes it just doesn't happen, you know? Anyway, thanks for reading! :)**

**Hello,PyroShockZ! I'm super glad you enjoyed! And yes, he can and quite possibly will be a thing. :) I have the beginnings of a plan here... *Grins evilly* Super Sonic 3, ka? I will think about it. :) Sure thing! I love your idea of doing an art story like that, so I decided that I'd like to do a written story following the same events. And I will _definitely_ be using the scenes you create in your art in the story. That includes that banta with the ponytail. XD Awesome! Your vote has been noted. :D**

**Hello, Anonymous! Haha, your review is so big it doesn't fit (sideways, that is) in the review box! That made me laugh! XD Anyway, I dunno. I've never seen it in other fics or anything, I just found a picture entitled "Hyper Sonic" on Google Images depicting him with an all white glow and icy blue eyes. Needless to say, i instantly thought, "Pure Hyper Sonic. ...Sugoi..." From there, I just ran with the idea. Nice to know I'm not the only one who calls it that! XD And besides, this is a fanfic, so I can do what I want. :P Anyway, your opinion on the other stories is duly noted, and of course I will do my best to keep the quality where it's at and, as always, I will try to improve upon it as well. 'Course I'd friend back! Just let me know when you've sent the request (as I tend to be too busy writing or playing video games to check that sort of thing). ^-^I WILL KO YOU FIRST. [Insert super determined face here]**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! I'm so happy you enjoyed! I know we discussed this in a PM before, but I still just wanted to say that your vote has been noted. :)**

**Hello, Guest 2! Haha, I think everyone did. XD**

**Hello, Guest1995! Haha, glad you think so! ^-^ Yes, I certainly will. So wait, you want the one with Kaden and Analia? That's the one that's the prequel. Just making sure I understand which one you're talking about. :P Aw, thanks! That's so nice of you to say! (And by the way, I'm a Ms. :) ) No, he's not done yet! He's still here for the time being! :D**

**Hello, Daggr! Your first review to Chapter 100: Dude, he's a video game character. Chill out. Okay, do _not_ call me a bitch. I have a enough jackasses outside of the internet calling me names like that and I do _not_ want to deal with that here. Hate on Big all you want but I don't want any part of that getting thrown on me. I don't care if you have any respect for my opposing views, but I will not tolerate being treated like that. Again, _he's just a video game character._ It is _not_ worth all of that ranting and raving. *Sigh* Anyway, yes, I changed Hyper Sonic a bit. I saw a picture where he was depicted as I described him last chapter, and I decided after some thought that I liked that better than the flashing. You can dislike it all you want, but I'm not changing it. Also, this is _my_ story, not yours, so if I want to include Big I will. As I've always said: "Don't like, don't read. It's as simple as that." :l**

**Your second review to Chapter 100: You don't have to apologize for having an opinion. If they sound bad to you, then don't read them. No one's making you. I never once said, nor implied, that you had to read every story I wrote related to this one or related to Sonic in general, nor did I do the same for every/any other Sonic fanfic. :l Oh, yes! I love Sly! Sadly, I've only ever played the one on the PS2 that has multiplayer (the third one is what I think it was), but I still love it very much. If I weren't constantly broke (save for once in a blue moon when something like graduation happens and relatives decide to be nice and give me some money), I would have bought all the PS2 Sly games by now. *Sigh...* My PS2 needs more games. ...And I need a job. Stupid businesses here won't hire outside their families and friends, though. Bakas. -.- And yes, it says Sonic. :P**

**Your third review to Chapter 100: Dude, I only have six Sonic characters listed as favorites. That is _nowhere_ near all of them. It's _six_. Of _course_ there are characters I don't like. For one thing, I don't like Storm very much. I also _hate_ that human girl from '06, as well as the design of '06 Eggman. The fact that I have _six_ characters listed as favorites of mine doesn't mean that I love all of them. :l Also, I liked Sonic X. I still like it. Love it, even. If it seems cheesy, then that's because it was meant to be a _children's_ anime. Do you _really _think that children would care if it's cheesy? No, not likely. Yes, I love the games more than the anime. Still, I love the anime as well, and that's not likely to change. Also, who are you to define what a "true" fan of Sonic or anything else is? Just because you hate a lot of what SEGA has done with Sonic doesn't mean that anyone with differing opinions/views from yours is any less of a fan of the series. And again, I _don't_ like or love every character. I only listed _six_ because I only _have_ six favorites. Yes, there are a bunch others that I like, but there are plenty of others that I dislike and even hate. You can't say that I'm not a true fan because my opinions aren't the same as yours. -.-**

**Hello, Animercom! Aw, thanks! Haha, yeah. Can you tell that that was planned? Because, after a certain point, it became planned. ^-^ It's probably going to be a mini arc. I'm not really sure just yet, but I somehow doubt that it will be as long as, say, the Future Arc. We'll see, though. Yes, that means something. :P And yes, Hyper Sonic is _much_ stronger. However, he's also been weakened from something earlier... I'll see if you can piece it together. ;) Alright, your vote is noted. And yes, it would involve her, baby Silver, and also Mephiles. I know it's your opinion, but I asked for it, so it's fine. :) Thanks for letting me know your opinion on the matter! :D**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! I'm so happy you enjoyed the scene, brief though it was! Yeah, Chip really kinda saved the day, huh? :) Thanks for the congrats!**

**Hello, joel348! That's alright, review whenever you feel like it, or don't review if you don't want to. Reviews are always enjoyed and appreciated, but they're never required. :) Thanks for the feedback on chapters 98 and 99! Also, as far as Hyper Sonic in Chapter 100, he isn't overpowered. Hyper Sonic is considered to have at least around triple the strength/power of normal Sonic, whereas Super Sonic is double. With this in mind, I feel that Hyper Sonic actually seemed... weaker than he should have been. :P Yes, the family reunion will definitely happen! :D You "feel a strong comic potential in this one"? How so? I have considered that before, but to me, I much prefer to have a short chapter by itself rather than melding multiple short ones together. When I write a short chapter, it accomplishes exactly what I want it to, and putting two or more together makes things feel cluttered to me. If a chapter is short, it makes it no less important or meaningful, and sometimes they are _intended_ to make the reader unsatisfied and wanting more. :P**

**Hello, MartialArtist01! Pff, HAHA! XD That would have been an interesting death! XD Yes, "Jesus beams" work wonderfully.**

**Hello, Guest 3! It's here, finally. So sorry for the delay. :( Glad you're enjoying! :D**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Your first review to Chapter 100: Awesome, your vote is noted. :) And I guess they are, in the canon story anyway. However, I have tried to make Jet, at least, a bit nicer in this story while still trying to keep him in character. (BTW, you did spell that wrong, but it isn't a big deal. I understood you fine. :) ) I love birds too, but I don't have any of my own. A friend of mine used to have one, though. I have dogs, and I used to have cats along with them. :P Yeah, I saw the comment on Deviant and I replied to it once I realized it was there. :) Anyway, I'll explain about my stupidly long absence at the end of the chapter. ^-^**

**Your second review to Chapter 100: How very astute of you. May I ask how you guessed? I didn't think I'd given anything away! XD Four siblings... I WOULD DIE. T^T**

**Your third review to Chapter 100: I know! I've been so busy...! DX**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Hey! It's been a while! Glad you caught up :D *Begins speaking in a authority-like voice* _The author takes no responsibility for any potentially fatal heart attacks that may or may not be caused by reading this story. Thank you. _*Voice returns to normal* Yeah, Silver will be back again soon, I promise! I'm so happy you enjoyed And yes, there is a reason... *Sigh...* I'll explain at the end of the chapter. This beginning part is already really long. And no need to apologize, it's fine. :)**

**~ソニック~**

**Okay, so so far the votes are: Hero Chronicles (the one with Locke and the others): 3 or 4; Sonic and Jet story: 1; Either one: 1; Neither: 1. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Also, feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. For example, if you said Hero Chronicles before but later decide that you don't care which I do, then just let me know and I'll make note of that. Anyway, enjoy!**

**~ソニック~**

"Where... where did he go?" Amy asked quietly. She and Tails stood beside the fox's plane, watching as the male indigo-colored hedgehog bent down to scoop up the sleeping creature with an odd green gem on it's chest and began checking it over.

"I don't know," Tails answered just as quietly.

"What _happened_ to him...?" she all but whispered.

"I don't know," Tails repeated solemnly. "But... he's used the emeralds to transform before. Maybe he did it again somehow."

"That _doesn't_ explain why the emeralds grew," she replied stiffly, still watching the unknown hedgehog, "or how he didn't drown after being under water for so long."

"I don't know how to explain any of that," Tails replied, shifting to look at the ground sadly, as though the ground held all the answers but refused to share. "I don't understand anything that happened here."

As Tails fell silent, Amy shifted her gaze to once again look at the male hedgehog. She watched as he handed the small creature to the other hedgehog, this one definitely a woman, and turned to look at the echidna who stood near the two of them. Amy and Tails had noticed instantly (of _course_ they had) that that person was, an echidna. For that matter, this person had an uncanny resemblance to their friend... but was it possible that they were related? This seemed so highly improbable as to be impossible. _Echidnas are supposed to be extinct... save for Knuckles. _Were these people even _here_ right now? Were she and Tails hallucinating or seeing ghosts or something? Just as that last thought flitted through her mind, the male hedgehog approached the echidna and spoke, his voice low and smooth and his tone calm in spite of everything that had happened, but also full of seriousness.

"Locke." The echidna blinked but otherwise didn't respond, his almost distraught expression locked on the dark, hazy sky above. Frowning, the male hedgehog stepped forward again and repeated a bit more firmly, "Locke." A brief pause, then, "What are you...?"

The echidna, named Locke it seemed, balled his hands into tightly closed fists at the quiet, unfinished question. He seemed to have to force himself to speak. "I... I thought I saw..."

The other hedgehog, cradling the sleeping creature in her arms, walked toward Locke as well. "Saw what?" she inquired quietly, though no less seriously than the other hedgehog.

When no reply came, Tails took a hesitant step forward. "Um, excuse me?" Immediately, three pairs of eyes turned to look at the young fox, and Tails nearly faltered at the sudden attention. Still, he rallied himself after a brief moment's hesitation and found the courage to ask, "Why were you three going after Sonic?"

All three of the strangers seemed to tense at the mention of that name, especially the two hedgehogs. In the end, it was Locke who spoke. "We thought he was in trouble," he said slowly. "Guess we were right."

"Are you enemies?" The bluntness of the question took even Amy off-guard, but she knew that she too would have asked such a question at some point or another, because Sonic was their friend and as much as he protected them, he himself also needed protection.

"No," Locke replied firmly, something in his expression changing from the still almost vaguely haunted look he had been wearing before to something more serious and determined. "We were never his enemies."

"The who _are_ you?" Tails asked, a frown marring his expression.

Suddenly, a voice like none other that Amy had ever heard filled the air. As it began to speak, the area around the group faded into a bright yet blank nothingness. _"Behold the Ones Who Are the Saviors, the Three Beacons of Hope, the Fire, the Air, and the Light. Before you stand the most legendary of the heroes of old, the saviors of both the universe and of the world. Before you stand the heroes from the Age of Darkness, the rescuers of time, and the healers of the Ultimate Destruction. Behold, for in them and in their children, hope has been reborn." _

Locke glared off to the side, though looking at nothing in particular due to the nature of their surroundings, as the voice faded away, leaving them alone in the nothingness. "Gee Voice, don'tcha think you're overdoing it a bit?"

Tails, however, ignored the comment, his eyes wide as he seemed to recognize for the first time just who he had been talking to. "Oh my god, you're- I mean, you're- You're _them_. _You're_ the heroes who defeated the alien birds when they attacked, and figured out how to use their ancient technology to go into space and- and- You're _them_!" Amy was quick to realize that she had no idea what he was talking about, even as Tails's excitement grew with each new attempt to voice what he had discovered.

The female hedgehog nodded once. "Yes. We did do those things. However, that is not what is important right now."

While Tails had been talking, the scenery had faded back to the destruction within the forest where the massive monster had risen not long before. The male hedgehog cast a slow look around, seemingly taking in all the damage that had been caused. "Dark Gaia wasn't defeated. It's been severely weakened and was forced to disperse, but if we waste too much time it will return."

Locke nodded at him. "It was already nearly at full power this time. It could have gone into its perfect form, had Sonic not intervened when he had. He attacked when Dark Gaia was most vulnerable, when it was trying to transform. That bought us some time, at least."

"How much time do we have?" Amy asked, speaking to the newcomers for the first time since their meeting of sorts over the sea not long before.

"Not long," answered the male hedgehog.

"Within a few days it will begin to reclaim some of its power," the female hedgehog said. "When that happens, creatures spawned of its darkness will rise and begin to terrorize the land. After that, it will take time for Dark Gaia to gain the strength needed to draw those creatures back within itself and resume the form which we saw today."

"That could take... a few months," Locke said, "if we're being optimistic. Still, planning for just a few weeks might be better, just in case. That way, if it does transform early, we won't be caught so off-guard."

"We have to find Sonic," Tails said suddenly, drawing all the attention back to himself once more. "The Chaos Emeralds were used to free that Dark Gaia creature; Sonic can _use_ the emeralds. I think that, without them, Dark Gaia probably can't be defeated."

The two hedgehogs exchanged a long, heavy look before the female hedgehog finally spoke again, her voice of-so-soft when she asked, "He can... use them?"

Tails nodded. "Yeah. He's been able to for a long time, I guess. At least to a point."

The female hedgehog traded another look with the male hedgehog. "Already..."

Locke watched them for a moment before clearing his throat to get their attention. "We need a division of labor here."

Tails nodded again. "I agree. I want to help find Sonic, but I think my biggest concern right now is figuring out a way to shut down that space station we were at with Sonic when the planet was blasted by that laser."

"Fine," Locke replied, though not with the irritation his reply might have suggested. "Just be careful, alright? Keep in close contact with your friends. We should all be safe for a few days, but when those creatures start showing up, no one will be." Tails voiced a brief agreement before Locke said, "Analia, do you think you can heal Chip?"

Analia, the female hedgehog it would seem, seemed to consider her task for a moment before replying, "I believe so. However, it will take time."

"You can come with me then, if you'd like," Tails offered suddenly. "I'm going to a safe place, one of my homes not far from here. There's a bed he can rest in and stuff."

Analia smiled. It was the most kind and beautiful smile Amy had ever seen. "Alright. Thank you, young one."

Tails returned her smile. "You can call me Tails, Miss."

"Tails, then."

Meanwhile, Locke turned his attention to the other hedgehog. "Kaden, I assume you'll be looking for Sonic."

Kaden didn't hesitate. "Yes." The determination shining in his eyes surprised Amy, if only because she couldn't figure out why this person was so set on finding her friend.

"What are you going to do?"

Amy blinked, realizing that Locke was now talking to her. With determination strong enough to be a close match to Kaden's she replied, "I'm going to find Sonic." Locke nodded once, apparently satisfied with her response, and Amy found that she just had to ask. "What will _you_ be doing?"

At this, Locke's expression once more became... upset. "There's someone I have to find, too," he admitted after a moment, looking away.

"Who?" Even his two companions seemed to be wondering the same thing. Amy tilted her head slightly as she waited. She waited for only a few seconds before giving a single, firm shake of her head. "No, never mind. It's not my business." Turning to Tails she remarked, "It's not terribly late. If you hurry, you three can make it there at a somewhat decent hour."

Tails nodded at her and turned to Analia. "You ready?"

"Yes." While Tails climbed into his plane, exchanging a few quick goodbyes with Amy as he went, Analia turned to Kaden and placed a hand on his right arm. "I'll be back soon," she said quietly, a promise in her voice. It was almost like she was trying to comfort him.

"I know," he replied just as quietly. Then, in a move that seemed as unexpected to Locke as to Analia, Kaden suddenly reached out and, mindful of Chip still being held in Analia's arms, gave her a brief but no less meaningful hug. "Be safe."

Analia's surprised expression slowly faded into another beautiful smile. "I will," she promised. Once Kaden released her, and he was quick to do so, she lifted herself into the air using her powers as she had been doing before while Tails started up the plane and took to the air.

With them soon gone, Locke turned to Kaden once more. "I'll be back."

Kaden nodded, and after watching Locke take to the air and glide away, he turned and began walking. "H-Hey!" Amy cried, startled by the older male's sudden departure. "Wait for me!" She jogged after after hurriedly after him and soon slowed to a walking pace by his left side. It was quiet for well over an hour, and Amy took this unprecedented opportunity to study the legend beside her. His personality, as well as the overall calm and serious manner in which he carried himself remained her quiet strongly of someone, but she didn't take the time to wonder about that right now. Instead, she voiced a question that was much more important at the moment. "So... you and your friends fought this 'Dark Gaia' thing before?"

"Yes."

"And you're the ones who sealed it away?"

"Yes."

"You couldn't defeat it?"

"No."

"Where did it come from?"

"Somewhere in space."

"Are there other creatures like it out there?"

"I don't know."

"And you think it can be defeated this time?"

"If we hurry, yes."

"What makes you so sure?"

At this, Kaden sighed and fixed her with a vaguely overwhelmed look. "You ask a lot of questions."

"So?" she demanded before smiling somewhat apologetically and adding, "I'm an interested party."

He sighed again, this time resignedly. "Go on, then."

Amy launched in before he could change his mind. "Okay, first of all, what in the world was that voice or whatever we heard earlier?"

"I have no idea," Kaden admitted.

"Your friends seemed to," she replied.

"They did," he acknowledged.

"It called you guys 'the Fire, the Air, and the Light'," she said. "What does that mean?"

Kaden was quiet for a moment before replying. "Many people have some form of elemental power," he began. "We're no exception. Some people came to know us by these powers, and at times referred to us by the names you heard today."

"Oh." Amy hesitated for a brief moment, deciding on her next question, before speaking again. "What was the 'Age of Darkness'?"

"The period of time during a war we were involved in," he replied, never taking his gaze from the front. "The war encompassed the entire world and resulted in the destruction of nearly every hedgehog clan and echidna tribe. Many individual breeds of both species were entirely wiped out. Had Locke not gained control of the power of the Master Emerald for the first time, the war would have raged on and many more people would have died. The period of time dating from the first attacks on the hedgehogs that started the war to the the day Locke _ended_ the war is known as the Age of Darkness."

"You were involved?"

"Analia and I fought alongside our clans and the tribes of the echidnas," he acknowledged, though his answer was brief and vague at best.

"And the 'Ultimate Destruction'?" she asked.

"You witnessed it today." He gazed slowly to the side, noting the large cracks in the surface just a few miles today. "At least in part."

"So... that was when this Dark Gaia thing first attacked?"

"Yes."

"It called you three the 'healers' of the destruction."

"I don't know why."

"You don't know why... because all you could do was seal it away, rather than defeat it completely?"

"Yes."

Amy was completely silent for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice was filled with sorrow and an apology she didn't need to give. "You died then. You and Analia."

Something in his gaze became troubled then, but it soon faded and he responded. "Yes."

"I'd heard stories of you two before," Amy said quietly. "I remember thinking they were just fairy tales or something as a child. I'd forgotten about them until now."

"It was a long time ago," he said in an oddly dull voice. "It's unlikely that most people even know of it as a fairy tale. Most people have probably forgotten."

"I'm sorry."

"You have no reason to be."

"I'm still sorry."

"Don't be." They fell silent again before, much to her surprise, Kaden broke the silence. His voice was almost... teasing. "You still radiate curiosity."

"I can't help it," she replied with a little smile. "I'm an interested party, remember?"

"Ask," he prompted. Though his statement could be considered a command, she sensed that it was more of an invitation.

"The voice also called you guys 'saviors of both the universe and of the world' and the 'rescuers of time', and Tails mentioned some fight with alien birds and using ancient technology to go into space." She left the sentence hanging, allowing him a chance to fill in the blanks if he desired.

"That would take too long to explain now." At her somewhat disappointed expression, he huffed and elaborated, "Perhaps some _other_ time."

At this, her expression brightened a bit. "Alright." A pause. Then, "I have one more question."

"Fine."

"The voice also said, '_Behold, for in them and in their children, hope has been reborn._' ...You three have children?"

At this, Kaden blinked. "I don't know why it said 'children'," he admitted slowly. "Analia and I only had one child, and Locke never mentioned having a child of his own."

"He looks just like my friend Knuckles," she confided. "Just, maybe a bit different in some slight ways. For one thing, Knuckles is grumpier than Locke seems to be, so his eyes are a bit... harder, I guess."

"I didn't realize that there were still echidnas left."

"Knuckles is the only one."

"I see."

It fell silent for a long moment before Amy finally spoke up again. "Your child," she started, "are they..." She hesitated then, wondering if she even wanted to know before finally daring to ask, "Is he... Sonic?" At this, Kaden's expression shifted subtly, seemingly without Kaden even noticing. Still, the change was enough to be noticed, and it told her everything she needed to know. With him, it seemed like it was often the things he _didn't_ say that were important, anyway. "He is," she breathed, her eyes wide. Kaden nodded once. As Amy turned her attention forward once more, she couldn't keep the shock off her face, nor could she stop the thoughts swirling around in her head as a result of the revelation that had been made just now.

_This changes everything. _All those years Sonic had spent wondering... they were finally over, it seemed, but... _Will he even want to know? _Given the chance to meet his parents for the first time, perhaps even the _only_ time, how would he react? Would he even want to see them? How would he feel just knowing that such an opportunity even existed? _On the one hand... meeting them could shatter whatever image he may have created in his mind and heart as to what they might be like. But, on the other hand, if he chooses not to meet them, he'll be left always wondering. _And yet... _this changes everything. _

**~ソニック~ **

As Sonic flew, heading to the one place he knew for a _fact_ that he needed to go before his power wore out, something stopped him. Now hovering vertically in the air, he looked down. Upon seeing a familiar figure far below him that he hadn't noticed before, he blinked. They, too, were hovering, their eyes wide in shock, and he wondered briefly if he even had the time to deal with them right now. ...Perhaps he did. He supposed that a few minutes or so couldn't hurt terribly, so he waited patiently as Knuckles flew quickly up to him.

"Sonic, what in the hell...?" Sonic blinked, but otherwise didn't respond, and Knuckles immediately demanded, "Does this mean that the Master Emerald's back to normal?" It wasn't, not quite, but Sonic was going to fix that. He nodded once and Knuckles sighed heavily in relief. "Good."

A very brief moment of silence passed before Sonic's attention snapped down, locking on something below. A minute frown appeared on his face as Knuckles swerved to follow his gaze. Sonic tensed a bit. This wasn't right. It was too early. How could those creatures possibly be appearing already? Sure the time of day was right, it was night now after all, but there was no way Dark Gaia could have enough power to summon these creatures yet. Unless... unless.

Knuckles must have read his gaze, if his next words were any indication. "Sonic, go do whatever you need to do, alright? I'll deal with those things and help out the people as best I can."

Sonic nodded once. There was no longer any time for anything. He had to hurry and restore the emerald, and then he needed to do everything he could to try to stop Dark Gaia's revival. Gritting his teeth light, he shot of at top speeds once again. He was almost there already, but he still had to hurry. As he flew, he merely dodged the flying creatures made of Dark Gaia's power. If he fought them, he'd be using up the power he still needed for other things. He couldn't take that risk just yet. As he flew, a female voice reached his ears from the device on his wrist.

_"Sonic! We need help! Future City's being overrun by these creatures! Jet's already outside trying to evacuate people, but Storm got dragged away by some big bruiser made of purple energy stuff and I'm trapped inside the house! None of the house's defense systems are working!" _

Sonic lifted his wrist to his mouth to speak, though he found that it felt a bit more difficult to speak in a language that she would understand. It felt almost unnatural, speaking any language but the ancient one for which he had no name. "Stay inside," he ordered calmly. "There should be an emergency switch on the panel used to control the defenses. It will put the building on lock-down. Keep it like that until morning, and you should be safe."

_"What? Why morning? What good will that do?" _

"Just trust me."

She was silent for a long moment. It was rare when he asked someone to trust him. _"...Alright__," _she conceded, though with reluctance. _"What about Storm, though? And Jet?" _

"I'll do what I can," he promised. He just needed _time_. Time, however, never seemed to be on his side. Especially not now, not here.

_"Okay. I believe you." _Without another word, she hung up and he returned his arm to his side.

Before long, Angel Island came into view and Sonic followed his senses to locate the Master Emerald's hiding place. Flying much lower to the ground now, he sped on through the trees. _I just need time... _

It wasn't very long before he came across the entrance to some underground cave system. Maneuvering though it with ease, he flew quickly down and through the small tunnel. It was clear that the space was too small for the Master Emerald to go through, meaning that it had been taken in from some other entrance. Still, that hardly mattered right now. The Master Emerald was nearby, and he needed to get to it. That was all that was important at the moment. The cave walls were illuminated as he flew past them, lit up by the bright aura surrounding him. When that light reflected off of a smooth, shiny surface that was producing its pwn light as well, he knew he was were he needed to be. Alighting before the Master Emerald, Sonic took a moment to take in the sight of it. It was glowing, yes, but not as brightly as it was supposed to. That alone was an indication that it wasn't fully restored, though Sonic had known that already. He could sense it. The Master Emerald had given him more power than it should have, and he wasn't sure why. Perhaps because of the immediate and terrible threat Dark Gaia had posed at that moment? Either way, it was time to give back what he had borrowed. Or at least, as much of what he had borrowed that was needed to restore the emerald to what it had been before. Not all of his current power had come from the emeralds, after all, or even from Light Gaia. Placing a hand on the emerald, he closed his eyes and let some of the power swirling around inside of him to flow back into the emerald. Then he opened his eyes. The emerald restore to its former state, he turned and flew back out into the world to do what he could.

**~ソニック~ **

Silver and Blaze shot ungracefully out of the portal they had, by some miracle, managed to open in their time. They landed in an even more ungraceful heap on the forest floor, with Blaze landing on her stomach on top of Silver's back. She was quick to get up off of him, and Silver laughed a bit. "_Wow_, we're clumsy," he smiled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as he too stood.

"Indeed," she agreed with just a hint of humor in her voice.

While she bent down to brush some dirt off of her leg, Silver looked around to see if they had, by chance, landed in the same forest he had ended up in the last time he'd been here. "Huh. I don't know this place at all," he mumbled. However, his smile was quick to return. "Well, whatever. We'll find them, anyway."

"Use your communicator," Blaze said, not looking up from her task. "The communicators can track each other, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Silver laughed. "Forgot about that." Just as he opened up the map on his communicator, a single signal within range appeared on it, and very close to where they were. "Oh, wow, that was fast," he said. "One of them is already nearby." He blinked. "And man, is it going _fast_."

"Where is the signal coming from?" Blaze asked, walking over to him.

"Uh... up?" Their gazes snapped upward just in time to see a bright multicolored streak of light flash through the sky at speeds that were simply incomprehensible to them. "Oh my _god_..." Silver breathed. "Was _that_...?"

Before Blaze had a chance to answer, there was a terrible shriek, and a multitude of dark creatures emerged from the woods, charging at the pair at top speeds. "Never mind that for now!" Blaze said quickly. "Run!"

"You don't have to tell _me_!" Silver replied as he took to the air, following along above and behind Blaze as she took off through the woods, fighting off small creatures as she went while Silver picked off the beasts that threatened her from behind. After shooting another sickle of green energy at the creatures below, Silver by pure chance happened to glance up above the trees and into the distance. "Hey, Blaze! There's some floating island thing a few miles up ahead! Maybe we can take shelter there!" It was certainly worth a try.

"Alright!"

With that said, Silver swooped down in a practiced move just as Blaze jumped up, and he caught her by her hands before swerving back higher up into the air. Pouring on the speed as much as he dared with a passenger in hand, he headed straight for the island, dodging attacks from below and flying creatures in the air as he went. Once a ball of sickening purple energy nearly hit them, but Blaze, freeing one of her hands for the barest of moments, managed to blast it away with her fire before either of them could get hurt. Other than that, pretty much nothing, save for the flying creatures, managed to get near them, and soon afterward they reached the island. They passed over the edge of the land and touched down not far away, prepared to find shelter in a cave or something if need be, only for them both to stop dead in their tracks when they saw a bright, shimmering force-field of some kind appear when the creatures that had been following them tried to reach the island. The barrier encompassed the entire island and simply faded from view once the creatures were no longer touching it. Enraged at being trapped on the outside, the creatures began attacking the barrier in earnest, but to no avail.

Silver sighed and turned away. "Come on, let's try to find a decent place to rest. Today has been a long, weird, and rather freaky day, and I'd like to get some sleep."

Blaze nodded once and turned away and began walking. "Agreed."

**~ソニック~ **

Tails and Analia walked inside in silence. Tails directed her to the bedroom before hurrying to get a glass of water. Once he had what he desired in his hands, he rushed to the bedroom and handed it to Analia.

"Thank you, Tails," she smiled. "He will need this when he wakes."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Tails nodded. He was silent as he watched Analia summon her powers to heal the small person now resting in Tails's bed. Once she was finished, she covered him with a blanket. Only then did Tails speak again. "So he'll be alright now?"

"Yes," she replied. "He merely needs time to rest."

Tails nodded again and led the way out of the room, closing the door softly behind Analia once she too was out. "I'm sorry to ask so many questions," he started hesitantly, "but how do you know Sonic? Who is that person in there? How are you _here_?"

Much to his relief, Analia showed no sign of annoyance at his endless questions. Instead, she merely smiled again. "There is much to explain, young one," she murmured. "However, I believe such things should wait until morning."

"Morning How come?" Tails asked, his eyes shining with curiosity.

"It will be safe then," she murmured.

"But I thought Locke said..."

"He did. However, Dark Gaia's power seems to have grown exponentially since last we fought it. It is recovering far faster than we had anticipated."

"So... How much time do we have?"

"Perhaps a week. Maybe two if we are lucky."

Tails nodded once, his expression now much more serious than it had been. "Okay. I'll get to work on shutting down that space station. Make yourself at home, Analia."

"Thank you," she replied with a soft incline of her head as he flashed her a quick smile before running to the only entrance to his workshop that was actually in the house. His questions could wait. They _needed _to wait. For now, he had to focus on taking Ivo down. _This is my part... I can't fail. _

**~ソニック~ **

Locke flew as quickly as he dared, still struggling to decide how to feel about who he was about to see. Guilt and relief warred for right to be the strongest emotion in his heart, but neither could seem to overpower the other. Then there was shock and anger, joy and sadness, love and fear...

_Guilt. _

Locke had let him down. He'd failed. He'd failed to protect his son, he'd failed to protect his son's mother, and he'd failed to make sure that they were both still safe and together, he'd failed to prevent anything bad from happening to either of them... He wasn't there for them or even _with_ them all those years ago. It had been so long since he'd seen either of them that all he had to remember either of them by was a small tattered photograph of a baby with spikes on his fists. It was his fault that his son's mother was dead, because he hadn't been there to protect her, to save her, to aid her in any way. It was his fault that his son had ended up all alone in the world. It was _his_ fault. All of it.

_Relief. _

But his son was _alive_. All that time he'd spent wondering and now he _knew_. _He's alive. _

_Shock. _

Yes, he was shocked. After all, how could he have _expected_ to suddenly see his son fly over the destruction-filled clearing he had been standing in with Analia and the others? And then there was just the shock that anyone would feel if they just saw their child all grown up after not seeing them since they were just a baby...

_Anger. _

He was so, so angry with himself. Because he had _failed_, and that was unforgivable. He'd failed his family in so many ways, and nothing could ever make up for that. Nothing would ever make it okay. He could never forgive himself for that, for any of it, and he sure as hell couldn't ask his son to even try to do so. Locke wouldn't do that to him. He _wouldn't. _

_Joy. _

As angry as he was, he couldn't suppress a surge of pure _joy_ from rising up in his chest. He'd never felt so happy before in all of his life, save, perhaps, for when he'd woken up inside the Master Emerald and learned that Sonic had survived Gerald's attack on South Island. He almost didn't know how to handle the feeling, as strong as it was.

_Sadness. _

The sadness he felt was something he doubted would ever go away, much like the other feelings in him right now. He'd missed out on his son's entire life, all because he'd been stupid and had gotten himself killed all those years ago. _If I had just stayed put... If I had just stayed with Sonic on Angel Island... __Maybe I wouldn't have died. Maybe then he wouldn't have been alone. _

_Love. _

Of course there was love. Knuckles was his _son_. He could he _not_ love his child? Granted Knuckles was no longer a child but that didn't make the love any less powerful. The love of a parent wasn't something could or even would fade with time or age. It just wasn't possible. Locke loved his son. He always had, and that would never change.

_Fear. _

And yet, there was still an element of fear. Fear that his son would want nothing to do with him. Knuckles had every right to be angry. Immensely so, even. Locke just hoped that, no matter how angry his son was, they could still find a way to build a bridge spanning the chasm that had separated them for so long.

But then again... maybe that was too much to hope for.

**~ソニック~**

**Whew! 5,642 words (excluding the top and bottom bold parts)! Anyway, here's my explanation as for why I have been gone for so long: You see, my aunt was running a class of sorts and asked me to help her. In this class, there were thirty or so young kids (two of which were my cousins), most being between the ages three to about eight. There were a few ten and eleven year-olds as well, but even still. Anyway, I had to help manage the kids, run the class, do errands, set up the decorations and whatnot for the activities everyday, stay after class to clean things up and set up for the next day, move furniture and whatnot around, watch my cousins, help take care of my third cousin who is still a baby and therefore not really technically in the class even though she was there, and so on and so forth. On the end of the last day (yesterday) I had to help return all the rooms we used back to normal. That meant taking down decorations, moving yet more furniture, packing things up for next year, cleaning (i.e. vacuuming, picking up trash), and so on and so forth, all the while still helping to keep an eye on my cousins. Every day I would come home too tired to do anything but eat dinner and go to sleep, though I did once have enough energy to at least get _started _on this chapter. *Sigh...* Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. I'm off to rest now. Posted 06-21-15.**


	102. Shock and Awe

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed! Well, guess you'll just have to find out here, huh? XD**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Well, I'm glad you think so. About your four things: 1.) You may have to wait a few chapters or so for the answer to this one, but it'll happen, trust me. :) 2.) Yes, it is related to Jet. More-so his ancestors, however. 3.) Yes, there are differences. I fully admit that this will be a lot different from the canon Unleashed. However, there are some similarities including but not limited to: the fight between Ivo and Sonic in space, some of Ivo's lines during said fight, Chip's line where he said, "Sonic, you must live.", and so on. 4.) Nope. That was entirely Iblis and Mephiles.**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! YES. HAPPY IS GOOD. Yeah, they probably are, huh? XD Haha! And gee, thanks. XD**

**Hello, Animercom! Yup. Just leave it to Tails. XD Well, you'll have to wait a little while longer for that, I think. Don't worry, you aren't the only one! Some people want both, after all! :D Eh, it's fine. No big deal. Yeah, I love that anime. X) I loved the ending, too! Inuyasha Kanketsu-hen is just amazing. :) OMG DO IT. PLEASE I WILL READ IT. I love Inuasha fics, so if you ever do one (or more!) I'll read 'em! :D Nope, not Sonic either. Would you like a hint, or would you prefer to keep guessing? ;) Well, you're right that Kaden seems unlikely as far as who named Chip, well, _Chip_. However, as you pointed out, Locke isn't exactly goofy enough to do it, either. However, is Locke your final answer? ;) Haha, how could you tell? XD Because it _conveniently_ happened on Chapter 100, while Super Sonic showed up on Chapter 70? XD Yes, those are both part of it indeed. However, that's not the only thing. Something else that was pretty big happened _right_ before Hyper Sonic's awakening that has contributed to this. Any guesses?**

**Hello, flashyhero! ...Why should they run it by their parents? I'm confused. XD Eh, possibly. Haven't quite decided yet. Well, I'm doing both either way, it's just a matter of which one will come first. Still, thanks for the vote, such as it were! :D**

**Hello, astroshadow! Yes, yes she is. And OMG, you're right! Haha! XD Oh, undoubtedly. They're a lot alike it would seem, huh? His Da (No, I didn't spell this wrong. Using an Irish accent for this word in writing is all I did here. XD) is definitely a lot like him, and vice versa. :) Yeah... I agree. Poor Locke. :( I KNOW RIGHT. I'm actually kind of looking forward to it, too. XD**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Haha, yeah, it was. I was trying to make it up to everyone for being gone for so long. ...Plus I had a lot of ideas. :P Yes, yes he truly must. And yup! She's pretty perceptive, as Jet pointed out back in the Future Arc. :P Yeah, I imagine it is. They will do both of those things soon, I promise! Maybe you're psychic and that's why you're getting the feeling. O_O Lol, anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! Hi! Nice to see you again! Lol, I believe you, don't worry. :) I'm so happy you've enjoyed and that you like Hyper Sonic so far! With his personality, I tried to keep it largely the same while also making him much more silent and quite a bit more serious. Is that what you're seeing? I just want to make sure I communicated his personality like I wanted. :) I'm glad you like Pure Hyper Sonic and the ancient language! Haha, I'm glad you enjoyed that, and the part with Locke. As far as Knuckles goes, I haven't decided yet how he's going to react. OMG, I KNOW. That reunion, for everyone involved, is probably going to be a horribly awkward affair. Probably. Things may change. And I live that quote you put there! XD Aw, thanks! Glad you think so! :D Alright, your vote is noted! Thank you! Aw, thanks! I'm happy you like it. And yeah, it does seem that way, huh? I love those three characters as well, personally. :) Haha, glad we're on the same boat as far as our opinions on those two matters, go! Elise or whatever her name was should never have existed. Just... no. Well, I'm all rested now. Thanks for understanding, though! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm so happy you think so! Haha! I'd say that that was the most accurate summary of any of my chapters ever. XD Amazing, Pyro-kun. XD Yes, possibly. I must deliberate on it for a time before I decide, however. Okay, thank you, Pyro-kun. :) I will do my best! Ne, have you ever played Okamiden? I've been playing through it again for like the millionth time, and it's so amazing! You should check it out if you haven't already! :D**

**Hello, Anonymous! Your first review to Chapter 101: Just put my name as Kymma in there. That's the name I go by on most sights and whatnot nowadays, save for this one and my Deviant. :P I added you, BTW! Thanks for sending the code! :D**

**Your second review to Chapter 101: Awesome! Thanks so much! I'm so happy you enjoyed! :D As far as the KO thing goes, guess we'll just have to find out sometime, huh? :D Cool! Good luck with all your Pokemon!**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 3 or 4; Sonic and Jet story (I've decided to call it "_Riders_"): 1; _Either one/Both_: 3; _Neither_: 1. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**~ソニック~**

"So can you run really fast?" Amy asked eagerly, picking up the dropped thread of conversation as if she had never stopped speaking. "Like, faster-than-normal-people-fast?" Much to her surprise, the look he gave her was vaguely amused, perhaps because of her choice of wording on that last part.

He looked away as he answered. "I can."

"_How_ fast?" she pressed.

"I'm not sure."

"The speed of sound?"

"No. Not _that_ fast."

"Is Analia very fast?"

"When she's flying, her and I are about the same speed."

"But not the speed of sound."

"No." After a moment he thought to ask, "Why?"

"Just curious," she shrugged. "I was wondering where Sonic gets his speed from." She knew the moment Kaden put two and two together, for he stopped walking entirely.

"He can run-" He cut himself off for a moment before adding disjointedly, "that fast?"

She nodded, a wide smile on her face, from where she stood just a few feet ahead of him. "Yeah. Faster. even. I've seen him go so fast that he's completely vanished from sight and radar, even."

Kaden shook his head slowly, not seeming to know what to say to that and resumed walking again. Finally, he seemed unable to hold in his own questions any longer. "What we saw today..." he started slowly, "have you seen him do that before?"

"I've seen him transform once before, yes," she answered just as slowly, "but not like that. He was golden then, and even though he was still greatly strengthened in that form, it seems like that first form is a lot weaker than the one we saw today. The first time he just transformed using his own power, I think. I have no idea if that's what he did this time or if something else happened entirely."

"I see." He fell silent again after that, though she could tell he had more he wanted to know.

"You, my friend, still radiate curiosity," she said with a knowing smile, purposefully copying what he had said to her not long ago.

He smirked ever-so-slightly for just a moment before it faded and his gaze drifted up into the sky. "You are friends with him?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, but I haven't known him for a terribly long time or anything," she replied. "It's been under a year since we first met. It's the same thing with Tails and Knuckles. None of us have known him for very long. I mean, there's a trio of birds who know him too, but they mostly knew him when he was younger, and then they separated from him for some reason. Or he left them. I don't really know. It seems like no one has ever stayed with him for very long." She closed her eyes and tilted her head down to the ground, giving it a small shake. "That's an awful thought, isn't it?" she murmured. She opened her eyes again and turned her head, meeting Kaden's troubled green eyes with her own determined ones. "I promise that, no matter what happens, _we_ won't leave him. He's our friend, and I plan for it to stay that way for a very long time, if not forever."

Slowly, Kaden nodded, seeming somewhat... comforted by her words. He looked away. "Thank you. For staying with him."

She smiled and was about to respond when a terrible shriek up ahead caused them both to jump from the sheer unexpectedness of the sound. The shriek was quickly followed by more unnatural cries and screams and, after trading a quick concerned glance, Kaden and Amy broke into an abrupt run through the trees, determined to find out what was going on. Amy's eyes widened when she saw a crowd of nightmarish creatures surrounding what seemed to be a single fighter in a clearing in the woods. Up above, a floating island rested beside the full moon. Surrounding it were numerous flying creatures that seemed to be made of the same dark energy as the creatures below. _These are Dark Gaia's spawn... But they aren't supposed to be here yet! _Kaden seemed to be thinking along the same lines, if his deep frown was any indication. Without a word, he rushed into the fight. Gritting her teeth, Amy did the same. She didn't have her hammer anymore sure, but that didn't mean she was helpless. ...Okay, against a bunch of robots with guns and whatnot maybe, but against creatures that were armed only with claws and teeth? She was fine.

Kaden rushed forward and kicked out hard, sending one creature flying backward with a scream. It slammed into a larger creature with long arms and both were sent rolling out of the way. The smaller creature vanished with a final cry into a smoke-like cloud while the larger creature regain it's feet and, apparently enraged, ran back toward Kaden with a roar. Growling lowly, he waited until just the perfect moment before ducking beneath a swipe of lethal claws and curling into a ball and slamming into the creature. Amy watched the exchange with wide eyes for just a moment before turning away. _Kicking and spin dashes, huh? _It seemed that Sonic's fighting style wasn't totally unique after all. But, then again, the spin dash was an ability that blue hedgehogs were known for, so she supposed that it was hardly surprising. Just as she punched a creature in it's ugly face, causing it to vanish with a scream, she was startled by a sudden orange light that filled the area with great intensity. Whirling around, she was just in time to see a blast of fire raging outward from the thickest crowd of creatures toward the center of the battlefield. In a series of nimble leaps, Kaden very quickly returned to Amy's side and, just as the fire reached them, he put his hands out and simply... _deflected_ it. Instead of allowing it to hit them, he moved it off to the side so that it hit their enemies instead.

Amy was too shocked to speak at first. Finally she managed to breathe, "_You're_ 'the Fire'..."

A sort of noncommittal hum was his only response. "Hn..." He watched calmly as the remainder of the creatures vanished, leaving a single person standing where the blast of fire had originated from.

"Blaze!" Amy gasped, rushing forward to the cat's side. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?"

Blaze blinked at her in surprise but nonetheless responded, "Yes, I think so."

"Where's Silver?" Amy demanded, though not harshly, her tone betraying more concern than anything else.

"I don't know," Blaze admitted, her eyes clouding. "We were up there, on the floating island, when some robots showed up and grabbed us. I guess they got trapped in there when that barrier thing showed up."

"Wait, the barrier's surrounding the whole island now?" Amy asked, frowning slightly.

"Yes," Blaze nodded.

"Good," Amy replied. "Okay, so what happened?"

"They grabbed Silver and I before we could fight back and the ones that had me threw me down here in the middle of all those creatures. I don't know where Silver is." Blaze fixed Amy with a heavily concerned look. "Amy, what's going on here?"

After taking a quick moment to explain the recent events as briefly as possible, Amy turned to Kaden. "Silver is a silver hedgehog," she told him quickly. "We need to keep an eye out for him. He's a friend as well, and he may be in danger." He nodded once, and Amy continued. "Blaze, this is Kaden, one of the heroes from the past I mentioned. Kaden, this is Blaze, Silver's closest friend. They're both from a different time and dimension than this one."

Kaden sighed and closed his eyes, looking down for a moment, but still managed a small smirk. "Well, I've certainly heard of stranger things," he murmured. Opening his eyes again and looking back up, he met Blaze's gaze and Amy was immediately struck by how almost _friendly_ the subtle light in his eyes made him seem. "It's nice to meet you, Blaze."

"Same to you, Kaden," Blaze replied solemnly, though with a small smile.

Amy then turned her attention back to Blaze. "We're looking for Sonic," she confided. "I don't supposed you've seen him?"

Blaze shook her head. "Not recently. I'll help you look, though."

"Alright. Thanks," Amy smiled. Blaze nodded again and the three of them set off. Amy did her best to suppress her growing concern. _Now two hedgehogs are missing... Oh, please let them be okay... _"Come on. You last saw Silver on that island, so let's go up there. At least then we may find some leads."

**~ソニック~**

Locke forced his eyes open despite how dizzy he felt and, ignoring the awful pounding in his head, he forced himself up into a sitting position with one arm while the opposite hand was placed on his forehead in a vain effort to alleviate some of the ache he found there as he squeezed his eyes shut. It took a moment, but after a short while he was able to recall what had happened. He'd been struck by a blast of some kind from one of the magician-like creatures that Dark Gaia had created. It was too early for them to be here, though... Shaking his head slowly, he pressed the heel of his hand harder into his forehead, still hoping that aching would fade. Suddenly, the sound of someone landing lightly in the grass a few feet ahead of him reached his ears and his eyes snapped open.

"I was wondering when you'd wake up," said the female bat that stood before him with a small smirk on her painted lips and the back of one hand resting lightly on her hip. "That was a pretty nasty blow you took there."

Locke blinked, unsure what to say. He was suspicious of course, but if she were truly an enemy, wouldn't she have attacked him by now? _Unless... maybe... she isn't an enemy? _

"You're not Knuckles, are you?" she asked, her tone hinting that she already knew the answer to that as her expression and posture shifted to something more serious.

"No," Locke answered as he slowly stood, doing his best not to appear as unsteady on his feet as the pounding in his head was making him feel. Thankfully, the longer he was awake, the more the ache dulled down to something that could be more easily handled.

"I didn't think so," she murmured. "I saw you come shooting out of the emerald earlier," she continued in a more normal voice. "I thought you were him at first, but then I thought that you seemed older than him, so I wasn't sure."

"Who are you?" he demanded, deciding that he wanted answers, and he wanted them now.

"My name is Rouge," she answered, shifting her weight onto her left leg and crossing her arms. Locke noticed for the first time how beat up she was and, despite not knowing her, he immediately became concerned that she had been attacked by some of Dark Gaia's creatures. "And you are?' she continued, pulling him from his thoughts.

"...Locke," he replied after a moment's hesitation. Surely giving her a name couldn't hurt, right?

Though Rouge didn't show it, on the inside she was shocked. This couldn't be Locke, could it? Certainly not _the_ Locke, the treasure hunter she'd idolized since she'd been just a girl. It couldn't be possible... could it? She shook her head lightly, banishing such thoughts from her mind for now. "You seemed like you were in some big hurry," she said instead, her tone becoming its usual teasing one. "What's the rush?"

"I'm looking for Knuckles," he replied. He didn't trust her, not exactly, but she knew his son and that meant that there was a chance that she knew where he was.

And, sure enough, she pointed in the direction Locke had originally been flying as she said, "You were going the right way. He's over that way somewhere, not far from that floating island, whatever it's called." She paused, then added, "You went in a pretty big circle, you know."

"How do you know that?" he demanded suspiciously.

"I watch," he shrugged. "I keep an eye on people, that's all. That's the nature of a thief." She smirked a bit again. "Well, I've got places to be, so I'm going to go ahead and take my leave. I'll be seeing you, Locke."

He watched her take to the air and fly away through narrowed eyes before sighing and turning away, looking in the direction she had just indicated. _I guess I did go in a circle, huh? That was stupid of me. _With another sigh, this one both self-deprecating and nervous at the same time, he too took to the air as well and began flying once more. Taking a deep breath to try to calm himself, he angled himself toward Angel Island, the place that had once been his home.

**~ソニック~**

"Knuckles, I swear to god! Next time I'll just let that sickle fly and smack you in the face!"

"It's not like I knew that was you, Silver!"

"That doesn't mean you've gotta suddenly leap from the shadows shouting at me to not steal your emerald!"

"For all I knew that's exactly what you were trying to do!"

"Next time pay attention so you can see who it actually is before you scare the living daylights out of someone, or you'll end up with a broken face like you almost did just now!"

"Oh, shut up!"

"No! Idiot!"

"Pin-cushion!"

"Knucklehead!"

"Stupid!"

"Toes!"

The glare Knuckles gave Silver just then was beyond murderous. "I outta throttle you for that," he muttered darkly, crossing his arms.

"Just try it," Silver returned, also glaring, "see what happens."

"Oh, yeah?" Knuckles challenged. "And what'll happen, huh?"

"I'll blast you, that's what!" Silver snapped.

"I'd like to see you try!"

"Keep talking and that's exactly what you'll see!"

"Why I outta-!" Knuckles just about lunged at Silver, only to stop when Silver suddenly burst out laughing. "Hey, what the hell's the matter with you?!" Knuckles demanded furiously as Silver fell back on his rear, clutching his stomach as he went.

"You- You're- _face_!" Silver gasped out, unable to stop laughing. "You look like a _tomato_!" Knuckles growled and swung, only to freeze when, in a flash of green light, Silver vanished and reappeared a short distance backward. He stood and, after taking a few seconds to collect himself Silver smirked and said, "You know, the fact that I'm laughing doesn't mean that I'm helpless, or that I'm not paying attention. And it's good to see you, too, by the way."

Knuckles just crossed his arms again, grumbling and muttering to himself as he looked around. After a moment he asked, "I take it all these ruined bots were after you?"

"I guess," Silver shrugged. "They attacked me, that's for sure. Dunno if that means I was their target, though."

"Was Blaze with you?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah, but I have no idea where she is now," Silver said, a trace of worry coloring his tone.

"I'm sure she's fine," Knuckles told him. "She's tough and all that."

"Yeah, I know," Silver sighed. "I just can't help it. Worrying, I mean. She's my friend, you know?"

"Yeah," Knuckles replied quietly, a surprising amount of true understanding making itself known in his voice. "I know."

Silver was about to say something when there was a sudden increase in the amount of noise outside the barrier surrounding the island. Turning, Silver saw a thick cloud of dark creatures flying rapidly away from the island. "Hey, what's going on up there?"

"I don't know," Knuckles muttered, "but we'd better check it out."

Silver nodded once and they both took to the air and began to fly.

**~ソニック~ **

A golden streak shot through the air, dodging and weaving between the few airborne enemies that showed up in its path. Sonic didn't have much power left, he knew. At this point, he knew none of this would last him long enough to prevent Dark Gaia's revival. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to regret having used up his power. He would have regretted it far more if he had just left those people to die. No, saying that he would have regretted it was as massive an understatement as Dark Gaia was large. He never could have forgiven himself if he'd done that. Never. Still, this left him was a rather pressing issue to solve... how to defeat Dark Gaia once his power was gone? And it _would_ go. So what to do about it? He had nearly come up with some sort of a vague idea as to how to answer that question when a loud commotion reached his ears from a fairly large distance away. Turning his head, his eyes locked on a cloud of dark creatures in the sky several miles from Angel Island, which was floating in the air a good ten miles or so away from where Sonic was currently. The cloud extended from somewhere above Angel Island all the way down to the ground. Looking closer, he soon saw a blast of fire from within the cloud, closely followed by a second blast of fire from an entirely separate location on the ground. Then, a third burst of flame, this one blue rather than bright orange as the first one had been. It also come from somewhere on the ground. Frowning, he watched as several creatures both on the ground and in the air were sent flying as though they had merely been hit by a physical blow of some sort. A moment later, numerous green sickles tore through the creatures, making Sonic's decision for him.

Stopping mid-flight, he raised a hand and, closing his eyes to focus as best as he could despite how tired he was once again becoming (yet another sign that his power was fading), he unleashed a blast of energy that destroyed the creatures creating the thick cloud of bodies. He was, however, mindful to keep the blast from harming whoever, along with Silver, was in there fighting right now. With the creatures over there now gone, Sonic took a slow, deep breath to both gather the remainder of his power and to slow his decent back to the ground below. As his feet touched the ground, Sonic opened his eyes once more and the emeralds scattered as he'd known they would. He was completely unsurprised to find that he was already surrounded by creatures. Frowning in determination, he curled into a ball and slammed into one, determined to end his fight as quickly as possible so that he could go help Silver and the others.

**~ソニック~ **

"What... the _hell_... did _that_?" Silver breathed.

"That light was golden," Amy murmured from not far below.

"Must've been Sonic," Knuckles said. "Means he's close by."

"Good," Amy smiled. "I've been worried."

"Dude, he's practically invincible when he's like that," Silver said, frowning down incredulously at her. "Why would you need to worry?"

"I have a better question," Knuckles said, interrupting Amy before she could even try to respond. "Who the heck is that guy that you brought here with you and Blaze?"

"Huh? Oh, that's Kaden," Amy replied. "And before you say anything else: yes a friend, no he's not an enemy, yes I'm sure, and yes we can trust him. Did I cover everything?"

"Oh, shut up."

"No."

"I seem to recall having a very similar conversation with you earlier, Toes."

"You shut up, too! And don't call me that!"

"Make me!"

"Why I outta-!"

"That's enough!" snapped a new voice, and Knuckles probably would have jumped at the sound of it, had he not been in the air at that moment.

Amy, however, actually _did_ jump. That was the first time she's ever heard Kaden raise his voice. ...Of course, for him, speaking at a normal volume was raising his voice, But even still... "Kaden?" she asked quietly.

He acknowledged her concern with a glance before looking at Knuckles and Silver in turn. "If your finished, perhaps you should come down here." Taking the hint, both of them landed lightly on the ground beside each other as Blaze walked up behind Kaden before hurrying to Silver's side. Amy took a moment to consider how _cute_ those two were together before focusing her attention back on Kaden.

"Um, guys, this is Kaden," she said. "Kaden, these two knuckleheads are Silver and Knuckles."

Kaden tilted his head a bit, his eyes skimming over their new companions. After a moment, he fixed Amy with a vaguely surprised look. "You were right," he admitted without hesitation. "The resemblance is impossible to miss."

Amy couldn't help but giggle. "I know. They're practically twins!"

"Okay, hang on," Silver cut in. "I'm confused. You think he and I-"

"We don't look anything alike!" Knuckles snapped.

"And there's the temper, just as I said," Amy laughed.

"Indeed," Kaden murmured. Just before Knuckles could resume his ranting and raving, Kaden added with a firm look in his direction, "You, like Locke once did, need to learn to control your temper."

The almost parental disapproval in Kaden's voice gave Knuckles pause, but not as much as that name did. _Wait, Locke? Didn't Sonic say...? Wasn't that my... my dad's name? _

"Uh... who's Locke?" Silver asked, more confused now than ever. "I'm kinda lost here."

"I'll explain later," Amy promised, still watching Knuckles as he tried to work out what exactly he'd just been told. However, her attention was quickly torn away from her friend when an explosion powerful enough to whip her hair and her clothes around from behind tore up the ground. Whirling around, she watched in shock as giant balls of fire destroyed an area close to ten miles from where she stood.

"Shit!" Knuckles exclaimed as he took once more to the air and began flying in the direction of the blasts.

With a small, "Tch," Kaden began running in the same direction.

Silver traded a look with Amy, asking permission and, with a single nod, she gave it. Returning her nod, he took flight, using his powers to carry Amy with him as he flew off after the others with Blaze running not far behind.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic coughed a bit as he was sent flying backward from the massive blast that had been created when several of the massive creatures he'd been fighting had decided to, essentially, self-destruct. He slammed into and through multiple trees before finally crashing into the ground, leaving a gouge in the earth as he went. Not wasting any time, he leapt back to his feet and raced back into the fray. Jumping into the air to avoid a punch from one of the only true giants left in this fight, he quickly noticed that more creatures were coming to the area as though drawn to it. Landing lightly on the ground, he ducked beneath a creature's claws as they swiped through the air before kicking out with one leg and sending it flying. Spinning rapidly, his fist connected solidly with some other creature and it too was sent flying. With that, he quickly jumped away from the large creature he had jumped over just seconds before. Skidding to a backward halt, he knelt in the grass not far away from a tree watching in disgust as the large creature opened its massive mouth, unleashed many small creatures into the immediate area. A low growl escaped his lips when, along with them, two heavy-built creatures with massive clubs walked into the clearing, creating dull thuds in the ground with each step they took, some of which crushed numerous of the smaller creatures beneath their feet.

Sonic bared his teeth slightly, gritting them hard enough that he could hear it in his head. "Tch." He was about to stand and resume his fight when an unexpected voice suddenly reached his ears from above.

"Sonic!"

Sonic's gaze snapped up, already wide with shock, only to widen a bit more when he actually _saw_ the person who owned that voice flying overhead. "Locke?!"

As he punched away some vaguely half-bird-half-bat-like creature away from himself Locke called out, "I'll explain later, just look out!"

Whipping his head around, Sonic had just enough time to duck before he was forced to jump in order to avoid the two clubs he had been looking at just moments before. Once in the air, he curled up and slammed down into one of the creatures with enough force to send it skidding backward and into it's partner. Gritting his teeth again, Sonic allowed himself to be launched backward by the backward swipe of a large hand in order to remain in the air. Using this to his advantage, he used his Homing Attack again, this time managing to fully knock over his foe. The other remained standing and hit him with it's club as though it were a baseball bat instead and he was the ball. By some miracle, Sonic managed to land on his feet. ...After crashing through at least a dozen trees. Again. By the time he made it back to the battlefield, Locke had already landed and was using a single fist to prevent that giant club from slamming him into the ground. Locke smirked at him over his shoulder. "You know, as much as your fighting's improved, I still say that getting sent flying twice in one fight deserves a lower grade."

"Oh, shut up." Locke would never let go of that little joke he'd come up with all those years ago, where he's began "grading" Sonic's fights. ...But... then again... it was nice to remember those days, back when things had been so much simpler and happier. So Sonic let it slide. For now. Instead, he focused his attention once more on _this_ fight. Without another word, he jumped into the air, spun and kicked out his right leg, hitting a creature so hard that they could _hear_ the impact. Without waiting to see where it landed (though he did pay attention enough to note with some satisfaction that it had crashed through a tree) he used his Homing Attack once more, this time specifically aiming for the large creature that kept unleashing smaller spawn from it's mouth. _Disgusting. _

Behind him Sonic heard Locke finally punch away the club he'd been holding back. Turning his attention to his own foe, Sonic curled up into a ball and attacked the creature's stomach, the place he had already determined was the beast's weak-point. When it stumbled back, he dropped onto his hands, spun, and kicked out. Hard. With that final blow, the creature finally keeled over. Sighing softly to himself, Sonic ignored it's death cries and instead turned his attention to the other brute armed with a club that was slowly advancing toward Locke. Glaring hard, Sonic launched himself up and forward, this time managing to get a good hit on on it's head. As soon as it went down, he Homing Attacked it one last time. With both the clubbed brutes now defeated, Sonic landed, skidding a bit unintentionally as he did so. His balance was it bit off, too, it seemed.

Brushing his arm off a bit, Locke approached Sonic. "Man, do you look beat up."

And he was _tired_ too, but there was no time to rest right now. There were other things to worry about. _Such as figuring out how in the hell we're supposed to defeat Dark Gaia now. _

"You okay?"

The concern was noted, but Sonic didn't have the time to really try and alleviate it. "I'm fine," he answered shortly. Sonic was about to ask Locke the same question when he caught sight of yet another large threat heading toward the clearing. He watched, somewhat alarmed, when it suddenly broke into a dangerous run, crashing through the trees as though they were as fragile as twigs. Gritting his teeth again, Sonic dodged Locke as the echidna was sent flying and leapt once more into the air.

**~ソニック~**

"Hey, where are they going?" Knuckles called from above, watching as Silver and Blaze veered off in another direction.

Amy, who was running was running as fast as she could a little ways behind Kaden, answered somewhat breathlessly, "We heard someone scream back there! They're going to go help whoever that was, then come back!"

Kaden turned his attention back to the front just as Knuckles nodded, and Kaden wondered fleetingly how Locke was going react when he met Knuckles. Pushing such thoughts aside for now, he focused instead on running slow enough that Amy and the younger echidna could actually keep up. However, barely a moment later, Locke invaded his thoughts again when he literally flew past the hedgehog as though he'd been hit, causing Kaden to skid to a halt and spin around. Locke flew by, his eyes squeezed shut from whatever blow he'd taken, slamming with a great deal of force into Amy and sending her flying as well. Knuckles swerved to stare in shock at the sudden appearance of another echidna while Kaden whirled around to see just what had sent his friend flying, only to freeze when he saw a young _blue_ hedgehog jump high into the brightening pre-dawn sky, closely followed by a monstrous spawn of Dark Gaia that carried a club. Both now high in the air, the young hedgehog bared his gritted teeth and, eyes flashing, he swung himself around and kicked the monster down so hard that the ground exploded into a massive crater so wide that Kaden nearly slid down the edge of it. And he hadn't moved. The younger hedgehog landed lightly in a crouch not far from where the creature had vanished and, by the time Kaden had blinked, the other hedgehog was helping Locke and Amy up, casting Kaden a vaguely puzzled look over his shoulder for a moment as he did so. Kaden almost felt like he couldn't breath. It was _him_. His _son_. He was right _there_... So close... and yet still so far away...

_S... Sonic..._

**~ソニック~**

**Sorry for the delay, folks. Approximately 5,231 words this time around. Posted 06-22-15.**


	103. Time

**Hello, Guest 1! Yes! It's finally here! I hope you enjoy! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! YES! IT'S HAPPENING. RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW! ...More or less. Probably going to be more next time. XD I'm so happy you enjoyed! And yeah, I was making myself laugh while writing those parts. XD I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Your review to Chapter 101: No need to apologize. It's fine. :) I'm so happy you enjoyed! Awesome! I'm glad you felt that way. I'm trying my absolute hardest to keep the word count up there, so I apologize ahead of time if I happen to fall short. :) Yeah, I liked the part with Locke's thoughts too, but it made my heart ache for him, too. :( It's alright! You don't need to apologize! :D Haha, yeah I did. :P**

**Your review to Chapter 102: Yes. Yes, I left you dangling off of a cliff. And I'm not sorry. XD I'm so glad you enjoyed! Here's the next chapter! :D**

**Hello, Meadow of Blossom Patches! I'm so happy you think so! She did? Just for that, maybe I _should_ kidnap Silver and separate him from Blaze. *Grins evilly* XD**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! I'M STILL NOT SORRY. XD I'm happy it did! I tried to pay some special attention to the friction between Silver and Knuckles this time around, and it resulted in a surprising amount of humor. :P He is. XD**

**Hello, Animercom! ...So I just realized that I've been neglecting to use the nickname you told me about. Would you like me to use that here in the replies from now on? ^-^" Gomen. Two scenes, but for totally separate arcs. Once in the Future Arc, once toward the beginning of this one. :P But yes, Hyper Sonic is gone for now. Yeah... Man is that gonna make things awkward for those two pretty soon here, huh? WELL WAIT NO MORE, 'CAUSE HERE IT IS. ...More or less. I hope you enjoy the reunion/scene where everybody meets for the first time! XD Yup, Omega for sure is gonna be showing up soon. Maybe even this chapter. Shadow might not be back _right_ away, but he will be back at some point. :) Good luck with all that writing, by the way! :D And nope, it's not him. Despite the risks, I will give you a couple hints: 1.) Think back. Who is Merry related to? 2.) What _species_ is she? ;) Yes, it _is_ one of them who named Chip. However, as you probably noticed, you can argue against it being either of them. So that still leaves us with one big question: who stepped out of character and named Chip? ;) Oh, it's still somewhat relevant. Chip will be back, you see. HE WILL BE BACK. *Laughs evilly for no apparent reason* Uh... Ahem. Anyway, it's not because of drowning. It was very strongly hinted that Sonic was actually dead by the time he fell into the water. Remember, a _very_ powerful laser shot through him. ...Hint, hint. XD**

**Hello, astroshadow! Yes, yes he does. :P**

**Hello, Daggr! Dunno if you're ever gonna see this or not, but whatever. I'll reply anyway. ...Why _did_ you think that, anyway? I still don't understand that. Anyway, like I said before, you can hate Big all you want. There are characters that I hate, too. There's nothing wrong with that. That's fine. It's not a big deal if you decide to stop reading. Your life, your choice, you know? :) Yeah, we probably wouldn't. ^-^ Thanks for the wish of good luck, Daggr (I'll probably need it), and have fun with Sly! :) By the way, I've never noticed any time where Pyro-kun was spoiling stuff in the reviews. And, anyway, it's not my place to tell people what they can and can't talk about in the reviews, save for me doing my best to regulate instances of bullying and whatnot. Anyway, goodbye!**

**Hello, Guest 2! Maybe! XD Or maybe she felt that it was none of her business? :/**

**Hello, Anonymous! I was just about to post the new chapter when I saw your review. Glad I managed to get to it before posting Chapter 103! :D Anyway, thanks! I'm so glad you think so! I'm not slacking, I promise! I've just been too lazy to proofread. XD I did it this time, though, so I think this one's okay. :) ...I put Anonymous. I didn't know what else to put. :P What about you? Awesome! We'll have to play sometime. But... how will we set up a time? :/ ...I'm a girl. My sisters are (obviously) girls. We like Smash Bros. :l Why not me?! DX *Cries* (JK!) UGH, MY TOWN IS TOO TINY. Seriously, here, unless you're a family member, a friend of a family, or can leave town because you have your own car, you have NO chance of getting a job. As you probably guessed, it's all family-owned and family-run businesses here. And biking to the next town is both dangerous and very long (trust me). X( Well, thanks for the good luck, anyway. :( Yup! Definitely! I'm gonna major in international business and study abroad! College is one of my biggest dreams. :)**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 3. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**~ソニック~**

Turning away from the older hedgehog behind him for the time being, Sonic focused on helping Amy to her feet. Once she was standing, Sonic helped Locke up as well, only for the echidna to sink down to his knees, clutching his head in one hand as he did so. It seemed that this wasn't the first time today that Locke had been hit in the head, and Sonic found himself worrying that Locke would lose consciousness. If he did, then it would be for the first time since Sonic had known him. Sonic supposed that that was more than likely one of the biggest reasons why he had been so unable to accept Locke's death as a child; Locke had seemed invincible to him, rarely getting hurt and never getting hurt seriously, always defeating his enemies, never getting sick, never losing a fight... Pushing such thoughts away for now, Sonic waited a moment before helping Locke up once again. This time the echidna managed to remain standing.

"Man, that is the _last_ time I fight something that's armed with a club..." Locke muttered, his eyes still shut.

"Uh-huh," Sonic muttered distractedly, his tone clearly communicating that he didn't believe a word of it. Turning to the cause of his distraction, who was currently dusting her clothes off with her hands, he said, "You okay?"

"Huh?" Amy asked, looking up quickly. Her surprised expression quickly melted into a soft smile. "Oh, yes, I'm fine. And you?"

"Fine." Not far behind Amy, Knuckles landed on the ground, having dropped down from the sky. Standing from the crouch he had landed in, Knuckles gazed almost breathlessly over Locke before fixing Sonic with a vaguely imploring look. Growing even more serious than was normal for him, Sonic inclined his head slowly. The change in his friend's eyes told Sonic the moment the echidna believed him. A small smile tugged at the corner of Sonic's mouth. _That's right, Knuckles. It's him. You're not alone anymore. _

Amy's voice dragged his attention back to her face barely a few seconds later. "Um, Sonic, there's someone here you should meet."

Sonic risked a very quick glance in the direction of the only other blue hedgehog he had ever seen. Indigo fur, green eyes... the resemblance was impossible to miss... and Sonic felt a wave of anxiety rise up inside of him. He couldn't... he couldn't do this right now. Maybe not ever. He had to go. Right now. He didn't care where, so long as it was away from _here_. He hid his panic surprisingly well, to the extent that even Amy didn't seem to see it, as he mumbled, "I... I have to go," before turning and taking off fast enough that he was gone before anyone in the area could even blink. By now already several miles away, Sonic dragged in deep breaths of fresh air in an effort to calm himself down before turning and running toward Future City. He had more friends that needed saving. A good fight would be a nice distraction, anyway.

**~ソニック~**

"Ah! I did it!"

"Did what?"

Tails turned his head to smile at Chip, who had been awake for the past half-hour now. "I located the wreckage of the X-Tornado, Sonic's ship. With any luck, there'll be enough salvageable material to fix up _my_ plane so that I can get back into space without damaging it so much once I reach the critical point in the atmosphere. Maybe I can even upgrade the Tornado-1's weaponry."

"Hold on a sec, why're you trying to get into space?" Chip asked, tilting his head a bit in confusion from where he hovered beside the table Tails was sitting at.

Tails responded quickly as he set about gathering up the tools he'd need for the salvaging mission he was about to go on. "Did you see the beam that struck the planet earlier?"

"Yeah, couldn't miss it," Chip replied. "It was _huge_!"

Tails nodded. "Up in space, there's a huge space station. Up there _in_ the space station is a man named Ivo Robotnik. He's the one he fired the laser and freed Dark Gaia. He's also the reason why Sonic and the Chaos Emeralds... died."

Chip grew upset at the look on Tails's face and quickly tried to comfort him. "Hey, don't worry about Sonic. He's okay now, remember? I mean, yeah he did die and all but... but he's alive now, so..."

Tails smiled a bit. "Yeah, I know. I just can't help worrying about my friends sometimes, that's all." Tails closed his tool box and walked out of his workshop and back into his house with Chip not far behind. "Say, why don't you come with me to where the X-Tornado is? It's be nice to have some company."

"Sure!" Chip replied brightly. Then he asked Analia, who was sitting on the couch looking at a photograph, "Hey, why don't you come along, too?"

"What?" Analia asked, looking up from the photograph, seemingly vaguely startled by their sudden appearance in the room.

"We're going out into the field to try and salvage parts of a ship," Tails explained. "You can stay here if you'd like, but I'd appreciate it if you came, too. The more the merrier, you know?"

Analia inclined her head softly. "Of course." Standing, she watched as Tails and Chip smiled at her before walking out the door ahead of her. Bringing the picture up to her face one last time, Analia allowed a single tear to slide down her face as she gazed upon the smirking face of her son, surrounded by Tails, a red echidna, a pink hedgehog, and a green hawk, all smiling or smirking at the camera in some futuristic city. This was a painful reminder. She'd missed out... She'd missed out on everything, her son's entire life up until this point. And even now she was missing everything. Taking a single, deep breath and wiping away her tear, she replaced the framed photo on the small round side table she had found it on and followed Tails and Chip outside.

**~ソニック~ **

Cream walked to the door of the house she had been staying in and hesitantly peeked her head outside. Her mother, as well as Amy's parents (the owners of this nice house) were all in bed asleep. Even Cheese was snoozing. Cream, however, couldn't sleep. Not while knowing that there was someone outside risking themselves to protect her. After glancing around to make sure that there were no more monsters around for now, she opened the front door more fully and, dressed in a nightgown and soft slippers, she stepped outside. Not far away, a brightly painted robot swiveled to face her.

_**"Return to your bed. Sensors indicate that the danger has not passed." **_

Cream just smiled and said. "Thank you, Mr. Robot. You and Mr. Shadow helped save me and my mother. Thank you." With a small, formal bow (a respectful action that she'd learned from Amy), Cream turned and went back inside. As she quietly shut the door, she smiled again. _Thank you, Mr. Shadow... wherever you are. _

**~ソニック~**

_It's not like him to freak out like that. _She hadn't _seen_ Sonic's panic, but the moment she heard him stutter Amy knew without I doubt that panic was indeed what her friend had been feeling. She couldn't blame him. After all, if it had been her in that situation, suddenly being thrust into the presence of a parent she'd never met, she probably would have freaked out, too. Still, freaked out or not, it wasn't like Sonic to just... run away.

Sighing softly, Amy turned her attention to Kaden, who was gazing off into the distance with a subtly forlorn expression. He seemed at a loss for the first time, with no idea what to do or even, seemingly, what to feel. Heart swelling with sympathy, she walked over to him even as Locke and Knuckles began to speak to each other for the first time. "Don't be so sad, Kaden," she murmured, causing his eyes to snap to her face. "He'll come back when he's ready. I promise you that. He just needs time." Time was all anybody needed right now, but, unfortunately, time was on no one's side but the enemy's. Still wearing that soft smile of hers that she always wore when she was sad, she reached out and gently took Kaden's hand. "Come on. Let's give these two some time alone."

**~ソニック~**

Knuckles was surprisingly quiet and... _not_ angry when he finally spoke to Locke for the first time. "So... you're really... my dad?"

Swallowing hard, Locke somehow managed a small nod. At first he couldn't seem to force himself to speak, but finally he managed to get out an equally quiet, "Yes. I am."

"Tell me everything," Knuckles said suddenly, showing a flash of some of the anger Locke had fully expected from the beginning. "I want to know why mom died, why you weren't there. I want to know why you left her, left _us_, why you never bothered to visit or even write or-" Knuckles cut himself off, visibly restraining himself with tightly clenched fists by his sides. "I want to know why," he finished a bit more tensely than before.

Locke nodded once. "You have every right to know," he replied with a sigh. "You may want to take a seat," he added. "This'll probably take a little while."

Nodding curtly, Knuckles took a seat before a tree with his arms crossed and Locke sat down where he'd been standing. After taking a deep breath and releasing a heavy sigh, Locke began. "To start off with... I didn't know your mother had died until sometime after I did. But... I didn't leave her, or you. Not in the way you think." Knuckles's eyes flashed with a bit of temper, and Locke was suddenly vividly reminded of himself when he was younger. However, it seemed like Knuckles had an even worse temper than he himself had had. _Huh, boy. This isn't gonna be easy. ...Not that I deserve easy... after everything that's happened. _

"So explain, then," Knuckles said simply.

"I'm getting there," Locke replied calmly. Then he sighed again. "Yes, I left when you were still a baby. You were only a few months old, but I felt like I had to go. It was dangerous for me to stay around. Gerald Robotnik was after the emerald, and he wanted to get it by going through me. His robots had already attacked me a couple times around you and your mother, and I decided enough was enough. So your mother and I discussed it, for hours, one night. We agreed that it was best if I leave. So I did, and I set out to find Robotnik and defeat him so I could return home to you two. But... obviously, that never happened."

"How did Gerald even know about the emerald?" Knuckles asked suspiciously.

"For a long time, I had no idea. But, a few years before I died, I found out that one of the few surviving members of my tribe had told Gerald about it in an effort to win the madman's favor. Gerald still killed him in the end, but not until after confirming the existence of the Master Emerald."

"So there was a leak?"

"Essentially."

"Hmph. And all this time I thought that the members of the echidna tribes were honorable and whatnot."

"Most of them were."

"That doesn't explain anything else."

"Be patient, Knuckles." The use of his son's name seemed to startle said son into silence, so Locke took the opportunity to continue. "As far as why I never wrote or anything... Well, I did write, when I could. I don't know if any of my letters ever reached your mom, but I did send them. And I never called on a communicator or anything because I didn't want Robotnik eavesdropping or worse, tracing the signal back to you and your mother."

"There weren't communicators back then," Knuckles frowned.

"Yes, there were," Locke replied. "I had invented a primitive sort of communicator quite a few years before meeting your mother. She had one, and so did I."

It was silent for a long moment before that silence was finally broken. "So... all those years you were actually trying to... _protect _us?" Knuckles asked slowly, frowning hard at the ground.

"Yes," Locke nodded seriously, and with feeling. "Always. I would never have even left to begin with, had it not been necessary to keep you both alive."

"But my mother still died."

"...Yes. She did."

Knuckles sighed heavily, running a hand over his face as he stood. "I need time to think about this."

Locke nodded again. "'Course." _Time's all anyone needs right now,_ he thought solemnly as he watched his son lean back against the tree, still burying half of his face in his palm, his eyes shut. _I just hope we have enough of it. _

**~ソニック~**

"Honestly, its about time you got here!" Wave snapped, though there was a flicker of relief in her eyes.

"I was busy," Sonic replied vaguely. He stood inside the main room of the house where Wave had been holed up for most of the night. The building was no longer on lock-down, however, since he'd needed to be able to come inside. It was almost morning, anyway. "Have Storm and Jet made contact with you at all since you called me?"

Wave shook her head. "No, but someone else called the house phone about an hour ago. They said that they saw Storm get dragged down an alley by some beast. I haven't heard anything about Jet."

Sonic nodded once. "Stay here. I'll go look for them."

"Do them both a favor and be quick about it."

"Fine." Sonic took off without another word and was soon deep within the Storm seemed to be in the most danger at the present moment, Sonic reluctantly began to search for him first. As he was running, Sonic was pleased to note that there seemed to be no people left around right now. Jet had done a damned good job of helping people to flee the danger Dark Gaia's creatures presented. Satisfied with the lack of people and, thus, the lack of detours he needed to make to save them, he poured on the speed, dodging buildings and poles and pillars and abandoned cars and many other things as he went. Jumping over yet another car, he caught himself on a horizontally hanging flagpole on the side of a building, swung himself up, and landed on top of a separate, tall building. Due to the lack of space in some parts of the city, there weren't many places where a large creature could be ambling around. So Sonic focused his search on the areas that _could_, potentially, be housing a large creature like that. When his eyes proved useless as far )as locating the creature that had attacked Storm went), he closed them and instead relied on his ears, straining them to pick up on every sound, no matter how tiny it might be. Moments later, he heard a dull _thumping_ in the distance, like large, heavy feet hitting the pavement, and his ears perked straight up the moment he heard it. His eyes snapped open and, not wasting any time, he began the rush toward the sound. It didn't take long to reach the place, and it took even less time to know that Storm was, in fact, there with the creature. Sonic sighed softly. _He's as loud as ever._

"Let me go!" Storm demanded furiously, and at the top of his lungs. "If you stopped dragging me around, I could take you, easy! Hey! I'm talking to you! Let go of my legs! Put me down! _Hey_!"

Suppressing an annoyed groan even as his expression soured, Sonic sped up and, bursting out of a dark alley, he leapt over Storm, curled into a ball, and slammed into the arm holding the large bird captive. The club-wielding beast roared and released Storm on reflex, and Sonic took the opportunity as it came. Now that there was no risk of sending Storm flying with the monster, Sonic, still falling after his last attack, curled into a ball and, with one last Homing Attack, knocked the beast into a building that Sonic _prayed_ was as abandoned as its run-down appearance made it seem. Landing lightly on his feet, Sonic immediately whirled on albatross, who was already standing again. "Before you say _anything_," he bit out, "I'm only here because Wave's stuck in the house and she called for help. I'm not here to fight with you, got it?"

"Sure," Storm replied, crossing his arms and scowling at the hedgehog. "I bet you're just scared because you and I both know that you only won that race due to pure dumb luck!"

Sonic nearly slapped his own face. "I don't have time for this," he muttered, more to Storm than to himself. He turned away but, just before running off he added, "Keep an eye out for Jet."

**~ソニック~ **

Tails hefted what materials he could into his arms and slowly began to fly. Analia, using her incredible powers (which caused the materials to be outlined by a pure white light much like herself when she was flying), lifted most everything else while Chip, being so small, carried a few little things. Once everyone was in the air, they began the flight back to Tails's home. While they were flying, Tails spoke to Analia. "You're his mother, aren't you?" he asked in that straight-forward way that only teenagers and children could manage.

"What?" she asked, obviously surprised by the suddenness of the question.

"Sonic," Tails clarified. "You're his mother."

"Yes," she responded slowly. "But how did you...?"

"I saw you looking at that picture. The one I put in my house when we first got there. Plus, you look a lot like him."

"Oh. ...I suppose that was a silly thing for me to ask."

"Not really," Tails smiled. "So, if you're his mother, does that mean that that other hedgehog guy is his dad?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Kaden is his father."

"Wow," Tails breathed, looking away with his eyes wide. Then, suddenly, Tails smiled again. "Man, Sonic's gonna be so happy to meet you guys! He's always wondered, I think, so I'll bet he'll be super happy to meet you!"

"I don't know that he will be so happy," she sighed.

"Why wouldn't he be?" Tails asked, his expression genuinely confused. "I know _I_ would be, if I finally got to meet my parents."

Analia just shook her head slightly, a small, sad smile on her face. "Let us just focus on your task for now. We will deal with his reaction later, when the time comes."

"Okay," Tails agreed easily, his namesakes spinning faster so that they could return more quickly. As he sped up ahead, he missed the single tear that slid down Analia's right cheek, leaving a small sparkle in the air behind her.

**~ソニック~**

**So this was supposed to be longer, but I failed. Horribly, I'm so sorry. Approximately 3,300 words this time.**

**Also, keep an eye out for _Sonic Ultimate_ after this story ends! This sequel will focus on Sonic and his adventures after _Hero_ and will serve as the official sequel to _Hero_, whereas the other two stories everyone has been voting on are merely side-stories, I suppose. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! **

**So Sonic panics before having a chance to truly meet his father, Amy does her best to help, Kaden tries to hold on to hope, Knuckles handles things as best he can while he and Locke talk it out, Tails locates and salvages materials from the X-Tornado and figures out just who Analia is, Chip wakes up and helps out, Storm and Wave briefly reunite with out hero, and Jet is nowhere to be found. ...I hope you enjoyed this newest chapter of _Hero_. Posted 06-23-15.**


	104. Reunions and First Encounters

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yes, he does have an awesome father! ...But he panicked. Poor Sonic. :( Arigato, Pyro-kun! I'm so happy you enjoyed! Yep, as last chapter said, everybody needs a little time. Haha, he probably will, just 'cause he's Silver. XD I will do my best, Pyro-kun! :D**

**Hello, John! Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed! Oh yeah, Silver is definitely coming back today. Yes, the SA2 Arc is next, so he'll more than likely get a lot of screen time there. :)**

**Hello, Sonic and raven fan! Yup, more tears will undoubtedly flow. What, are you saying that the emeralds gave Sonic knowledge of the his father, at least to a point? yeah, possible, but I won't say anything up here! :) Yeah, what else can you do? Nah, Tails just has a lot of faith in people. That's all. :) And no, I mentioned before that she was blue as well. Yeah, i don't like him either. -_- Okay, if you say so. :)**

**Hello, astroshadow! Yyyyyup. Yeah... poor Kaden. ...Lost... puppy... look? ... ... ...HAHAHAHA XD *Ahem* Anyway, yes, they are still rocky, but that's to be expected, i think. At least Knuckles doesn't seem to hate Locke. :) Yeah... poor them. :( I completely agree with that last line! It's so true! XD**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Great! :D ALL HAIL THE IMMORTAL FAT FISHY. *Bows down to the epic fat fishy god statue***

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Hey, don't be too hard on him. :P They will be back today, I promise! XD More heart attacks? CAN DO! *Proceeds to give you three more heart attacks, free of charge* XD**

**Hello, Joeshmo24! Yo! First of all, I love your ID picture! I have the same picture on my computer. :) Anyway, thanks! I'm glad that the chapter lengths work for you. Haha, I do my best, but thank you anyway. I'm really glad you think so! Thank you so much for reading and even taking the time to review! I appreciate it! :D**

**Hello, Anonymous! Yes, I did. :P Aw, thanks! Glad you think so! Cool! I'll have to get on soon and see if I can catch you while you're on as well. Congrats on the final continent, by the way! :D Yeah, same with me, as far as the whole busy summer thing goes. Camping is fun. :) You're lucky. Okay, thanks for letting me know. NO, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. XD**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! I'm so happy you did! I'm happy you liked Knuckle's reaction. I struggled to keep him in character there, so it's good to know that I succeeded, at least somewhat. :) Yup, this chapter has just that! :D Yeah, people will cry. Probably myself included. ;_; Well, it's not like he could truly guess that. ...And no one _told_ him, either. So yeah, that's how he doesn't know. :P Maybe. Or maybe she felt like that wasn't any of her business? :P**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 3. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**~ソニック~**

Sonic was running throughout the city still, keeping an eye out for Jet and anyone else who may not have been evacuated. However, he saw nobody. It had been almost a half hour since he'd saved Storm, and the sun was up _just_ enough that Dark Gaia's creatures were disappearing. Within around ten minutes, they were all gone. ...Which was fine. It was great, actually, but he still had no idea if there were other people who needed help or not, though the answer to that question seemed to be a strong _no_. Ducking under a low overhang, Sonic dashed through a narrow street and into a massive shopping district just as a shadow passed over him. Looking up, Sonic blinked, just once, before looking forward again and speeding up to run up the side of a nearby building. Stopping at the top of the spire decorating the building's roof, he waited calmly for the person who had created the shadow to reach him.

Coming to a complete stop just beside Sonic, his board twisting sideways as he did so, Jet asked in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"Wave called for help," Sonic replied with a small shrug. "She said Storm had been dragged off and she had no idea where you were."

"Huh. Storm managed to get himself kidnapped, huh?"

"Essentially."

"You found him, right?"

"Obviously."

Jet nodded once. "Good. I would've had to hit you, otherwise." They both smirked at the obvious falsity of the threat, and Jet turned away. "Anyway, I'm headed home, so you can tell Wave that if she calls you again."

"Right."

With a small wave of one hand, Jet turned away and resumed his flight back to the large building he and his friends called home. After he had disappeared from sight, Sonic sighed, fighting back the resurgence of anxiety he felt inside of him. Now that his friends here were safe, he had no excuse, no reason to avoid going back to Amy and the Knuckles and Locke and... and... Shaking his head to banish that thought for now, he allowed himself to fall backwards off of the building, not bothering to try and control his fall. Facing the brightening sky, he sighed and let his eyes fall shut for a moment before abruptly snapping them open, twisting himself around, landing on his feet, and taking off. By the time he reached the outskirts of the city and then left it entirely, it was already fairly bright outside. Sonic guessed it to be about 5:30 or so. He was _so_ tired. All he wanted to do right now was lay down somewhere and go to sleep, even if it meant sleeping in the open in the middle of this massive grassy field he was running through. However, his train of thought was interrupted before he could even seriously consider doing just that. Sighing, he lifted his communicator to his face. "Yeah?"

_"Sonic? Oh, thank goodness. Where are you? Are you okay?"_ It was Amy. She sounded worried.

Sonic felt guilty for taking off, even guiltier than he'd already felt,n ow that he knew Amy had been worrying. He'd already been berating himself for doing such a cowardly thing since... pretty much since he'd done it. So why not add guilt to the mix of things he was feeling? Why the heck not? "Sorry," he mumbled, truly apologetic, before taking a breath and speaking more clearly. "I was helping Wave find Jet and Storm."

_"Okay,"_ she agreed easily enough._ "Just, next time, tell __me when you're going off to do something like that, alright?"_

"Okay," he sighed. So long as it would keep her from worrying... He didn't like it when she worried, especially when she was worrying about _him_ specifically. It always made him feel... well, guilty.

_"Okay." _He could hear the smile in her voice. Somehow, that little detail, insignificant though it probably was, made him feel a bit better. _"Anyway, I'm sorry I just suddenly burst out and started questioning you. That's not really why I called."_

Sonic frowned. _Then why did she...?_

_"I sent you some coordinates," _she continued. Looking down at his screen, Sonic discovered that she had, in fact, done just that. _"I had to use Knuckles's communicator, since I lost mine when I was... well, you know, kidnapped." _Sonic bit back the anger he still felt toward Ivo for said kidnapping, not to mention the kidnapping of Cream and Vanilla. _"I'm glad I sent you coordinates, too. I'm still using his communicator, and it's barely working here. Blaze's is having the same problem. Locke thinks it has something to do with Dark Gaia's energy messing with... stuff. He said some scientific stuff you would probably understand." _Well, this explained why her voice kept fading in and out. She was losing connection and then regaining it constantly. _"I don't know if the call will last long enough for me to give the coordinates to you, especially since I'd probably have to read them a couple times so that you can even hear me, with this awful connection and all. Anyway, the coordinates I sent you are to my parents' house. My home city isn't very far from where we were before you... you know. Took off. Everyone's here. Will... will you come?" _

"Everyone" meant... _everyone_. That meant that _he_ would be there. Sonic wasn't sure if he could face this now. But... he'd always told himself he'd never run away from anything. It was bad enough he'd gone against that once already today. "...Yeah. I'll be there."

Once again, he could here the smile in her voice. And, just like with before, it made him feel a bit a better. _"Good. We'll wait for you."_

With that, they hung up and, with a resigned sort of sigh, Sonic took off in the direction he knew he needed to go. Blinking, Sonic glanced at the thick forests surrounding the field he was still sprinting though. It seemed he would have to go through there to get anywhere. Well, that was fine. A bit of practice with timing and reflexes wouldn't hurt anything. Except maybe him, if he got distracted and screwed up. Speeding up, he dashed on through the trees, dodging and weaving through the trunks as he went. Before long (at the speeds he was going, anyway), he'd reached the edge of the forest. He burst out of the trees and continued running... only to be lifted into the air and swung up high. Twisting around at the sound of laughter behind him, Sonic couldn't quite suppress a small smile.

"You should have seen your _face_!" Silver laughed, clutching his stomach in one hand and pointing with the other. "You looked like a startled deer or something!"

"Oh, shut up," Sonic replied, though not without a note of humor in his voice.

"You can't make me!" Silver replied, sticking his tongue out at Sonic.

"You know, if you didn't have me stuck here I'd clobber you," Sonic said with a fake scowl.

"Uh-huh," Silver replied, clearly not believing a word of it.

"What're you doing out here, Silver?" Sonic asked.

"Blaze and I were helping this young couple escape from Dark Gaia's creatures," Silver explained. "After that, Blaze went with Amy and the others and I stayed out here, looking for you." He grinned again suddenly, unexpectedly. "You know, you're pretty hard guy to find."

Sonic shrugged in response to that last part. "Not really. Ivo seems to do it easily enough."

Silver shrugged good-naturedly. After that, his smile faded. "You okay, Dad? You look really beat up."

"I'm fine," Sonic replied simply. He let his eyes skim over his son quickly. "What about you? You aren't exactly the picture of health, either."

"Nah, I'm mostly just dirty," Silver replied a bit sheepishly. "I guess I do _look_ pretty worse for wear, though, huh? Made even Blaze think I was hurt."

"She's pretty hard to trick."

"It's not like I was _trying_ to!"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay, maybe I was, but only a little!"

Sonic couldn't help but smirk. "I hope she smacked you."

"Hey, who's side are you on, anyway?!" Silver demanded, causing Sonic to laugh. Silver crossed his arms grumpily. "Jerk."

"Aw, you know you don't mean that," Sonic teased, still smirking.

"No, maybe not, but I do mean this!" Silver exclaimed, suddenly smiling again.

Before Sonic even knew what was happening, he was falling back down to the ground. He landed safely with ease, but that didn't stop Silver from laughing about it. Sonic crossed his arms and huffed at him. "Was that really necessary?"

"Completely!" Silver said cheerfully as he landed before Sonic. Then he added more seriously, "You were going pretty fast when you were running, there. What's the rush?"

"Amy called," Sonic sighed. "I'm supposed to be meeting her and everyone else at a house in Apatos, a city built by the sea."

"Wow... the ocean?" Silver breathed. Suddenly, he exclaimed excitedly, "Count me in!" as he returned to the air. "Let's go!"

Sonic smirked a bit as his son took off. A moment later, he raised a hand to cup his mouth on one side and called out, "You're going the wrong way! Head to the east!"

Moments later, Silver shot by overhead, shouting, "I knew that!" as he went.

Shaking his head lightly in amusement, Sonic took off after him.

**~ソニック~**

It was probably about 6:30 in the morning or so by the time they reached the house. The cool early morning light did little to hide the simple beauty of this large sea-side city, and Sonic couldn't help but think that this place was a really fitting place for Amy and her family to live. Amy loved the ocean, after all, and Sonic knew by experience that the people in this area were unfailingly kind, a trait that typically fit Amy as well, so long as she wasn't angry. However, Sonic had only been here once before, and he had never seen another hedgehog before in his _life_. Not before meeting Amy in the woods on that same day he'd met Tails. But, then again, it wasn't like he'd ever been through the whole city before, either.

Shaking such thoughts away for now, Sonic walked slowly through the city, following the map on the small screen of his communicator. He could have pretended that his slow pace was due to his lack of familiarity in this part of the city, but that would have been a lie, and he knew it. He just didn't want to be here to begin with. And, for once, it had nothing to do with his horrible proximity to such a large body of water. Smaller bodies of water he knew he could tolerate, even if they did still freak him out. The ocean, however, was a whole different story. _Okay, enough, _he told himself cutting off that train of though so abruptly that said train may as well have crashed into a solid concrete wal. He was already filled with enough anxiety, and thinking about one of the few things he was actually legitimately afraid of was _not _helping. Looking up from his wrist, Sonic swallowed hard and said, "We're here."

"Cool!" Silver grinned. "Let's go."

Sonic nodded once and walked slowly up the three smooth, stone steps leading up to the front door. He stopped just before it and, with Silver standing on his right side, Sonic drew in a silent, yet shaky breath before reaching up and knocking twice. Barely a few moments later, the door opened, revealing Locke in the doorway. A quick glance behind him showed Sonic that pretty much everyone else was there, watching him. However, Knuckles, seeming to relax a bit at Sonic and Silver's arrival, said something to Amy and left the room. Cream, who had been sitting on the sofa (and who had perked up with happiness at the sight of Sonic) was soon ushered out of the room, presumably to go back to bed, her young Chao in her arms, leaving Amy and her parents alone in the room. Vanilla was probably already in bed resting, which only left Tails missing from the picture.

Sonic looked away just as Silver blurted out in that way that only a fifteen-year-old can manage, "Who the heck're you?"

Sonic turned his head to the side to look at him, a dry expression on his face and his eyes half lidded in slight annoyance. Without a word at first, he raised his right fist and thumped his son on the head with it. "You're supposed to bow before your elders."

Silver frowned at him in protest, Sonic's fist still on his head and his ears drooped slightly, though Sonic _knew_ that Silver knew this custom. "But why...?"

"Just do it."

With a heavy sigh, Silver finally obeyed, mumbling an, "It's nice to meet you," to the echidna in the doorway as he did so.

Locke smirked. "Nice to meet you, too." Turning to Sonic, he added, "And it's good to see you, too, Sonic. Nice to see you still remember the manners I taught you."

Sonic removed his fist from Silver's head as he shrugged noncommittally in response. He and Silver were let inside barely a moment later, and Amy immediately slammed into Sonic, trapping him in a hug that he had no time to prepare for. "A-Amy!" he protested uncomfortably, tensing up against his will, unable to relax while being trapped like this.

She squeezed him a little before letting him go, her smile completely unapologetic. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself," she giggled. Turning, she smiled at Silver. "It's good to see you, sweetie."

"Nice to see you, too," Silver smiled. "Hey, where's Blaze?"

"Asleep upstairs," Amy replied. Then she added, more to Sonic than to Silver, "Knuckles is sitting in his own room, being grumpy as usual."

"And Tails?" Sonic asked.

"At his workshop," she said. "He's safe, I promise."

Sonic nodded once. A moment later, Locke finished closing and locking the door and walked over to him. "Nice to see you again, kid," he smiled, ruffling a bit of Sonic's fur atop his head with one hand, much to Sonic's annoyance.

"I'm not a kid anymore," Sonic muttered, though more for the sake of routine than an actual attempt to argue.

"Nope. Not at all," Locke agreed, still smiling. They both watched as Amy's parents left the room, closely followed by Amy herself. Silver, however, was still standing by Sonic, looking around at everything in wonder. It occurred to Sonic that Silver had probably never seen any of the stuff in this room before, save for books, a few of which rested on a small table beside the sofa. "So who's this?" Locke prompted with a small nudge to Sonic's shoulder.

Sonic blinked, noticing that Silver was too distracted to realize that anyone had even spoken. Not that Silver was the who'd been asked, anyway."Silver," Sonic replied simply.

"He a friend of yours?"

At this, Sonic hesitated. How to explain this? "Not... exactly," he hedged. How to explain...? The last time he'd seen Locke _alive_, he himself had still just been a kid. How to explain that now, suddenly, he had his own kid?

Locke seemed like he was going to question Sonic further, had Silver not interrupted. "I'm hungry," he complained. "Hey Dad, d'you think they have an actual kitchen here?"

_Well, so much for an explanation._ Still, at least now it was out of the way. "Probably," he replied, steadfastly looking at Silver rather than at Locke. "I'm pretty sure every house does, nowadays."

"Cool! I'm gonna go find it!" Silver grinned, taking off without waiting for a reply.

"Just make you sure you don't make a mess!" Sonic called after him, mindful to keep his voice low enough that no one who was sleeping was disturbed. With a sigh, Sonic finally looked back at Locke.

Locke looked shocked as he echoed, "'_Dad_'?"

"...Yeah," Sonic replied slowly. Then he continued more strongly, "As I was _going_ to try to explain before he piped up... Silver's my son, but... from a different timeline. The Silver from this world died as a baby. That's why _he's_ so close to _my_ age."

Locke nodded slowly. "And... how old are you now, again?"

"I'm an adult, if that's what you're getting at," Sonic replied moodily, crossing his arms.

"That's right. Seventeen," Locke said, apparently suddenly remembering. Sonic nodded once. Locke frowned a bit as he muttered, "An adult, sure, but only barely. One year younger and you would've still been a kid."

Sonic looked away somewhat irritably. "It's not like I_ planned_ it that way."

"No, 'course not." Locke sighed and ran a hand over his head, and Sonic noticed, not for the first time, how odd Locke looked without his hat. That, of course, provoked bad memories of the last time he'd even _seen_ the aforementioned hat, and Sonic did his best to curb the guilt he still felt for losing it all those years ago. "I'm not trying to lecture you or anything, Sonic," Locke continued honestly. "I had Knuckles when I was pretty young, too. I was only a couple years older than you, actually. It just... it happens, you know?"

Sonic nodded once and, after a short pause he worked up the nerve to quietly ask, "So... where is he?"

"Up on the roof," Locke replied, pointing up unnecessarily, apparently knowing who Sonic was talking about without needing to ask. Then, seeming concerned for Sonic's sake, he added, "You sure you're ready to see him? We can stay down here a while longer, if you'd like."

Sonic allowed himself to consider the possibility of doing that for a moment before shaking his head slowly. "No. The longer I put it off, the harder it's gonna be."

"Okay. If you're sure."

Sonic flashed a small smile at his friend before turning and walking toward the stairs that were just visible in the nearby hall. As he headed toward them he called back over his shoulder, "Do me a favor and keep an eye on Silver, will you? He doesn't mind making a mess when he's excited."

"Sure thing," Locke called back, a smile evident in his voice, as Sonic ascended the stairs as quickly as he dared.

**~ソニック~ **

Sonic hesitated for a long moment before finally steeling his nerves and opening the single wooden door that led out to the roof. Despite knowing that he was out there, Sonic really wasn't quite prepared to see his father sitting just beyond the door with his feet dangling over the edge of the roof. Swallowing hard, Sonic stepped outside, shutting the door quietly behind him. He could feel another set of green eyes on him as he claimed a seat a couple feet to the side of his father, his legs also dangling over the edge. After several long moments of silence, Sonic finally managed to open his mouth up and speak. "...Sorry," he mumbled uncomfortably, but also genuinely apologetically. "...for running away before."

His father looked away, frowning a bit, though the frown didn't seem to be directed at Sonic at all. "You have nothing to apologize for."

Sonic shrugged weakly and looked down to the streets below. Already people were outside starting the day. Shops were opening, people were walking around, cars were on the go, children were playing... Sonic's eyes locked on a pair of kids, a boy and a girl, who were running side-by-side down a cobblestone street. They looked like they were racing. Suddenly, despite his aches and pains and his exhaustion and his anxiety and nervousness, Sonic found himself itching for another good run. A quick glance to the side showed that his father was watching the pair as well, and Sonic was surprised to see that his father seemed to be sharing in Sonic's feeling of wanting to go for a run as well. Looking away again, Sonic watched the two kids disappear around a corner, running as fast as their little legs could carry them. Not for the first time, it hit him hard when he was forced to realize that he would never have the chance to know his own son when he was that small. He'd missed out on so much of his son's life... That fact never got easier, no matter how much Sonic resigned himself to that knowledge. And, with sudden clarity, Sonic realized that he knew exactly how _his_ father was probably feeling right now. And Sonic really wasn't helping things by acting so... skittish. For at least the third of fourth time that day, Sonic felt guilty.

Sonic wasn't good at these things. He wasn't good at talking about such emotional things or, at times, even talking at all. It was hard. But Sonic wanted to try _something_. As he watched, the kids he'd been looking at before made a full circle, returning to the road Sonic had first seen them running on. In that moment, Sonic was suddenly struck by an idea. It wasn't much, but... maybe these kids were onto something. After all, going out for a race had helped him and Silver bond despite everything, and they'd only grown closer since then. But part of that was also due to Silver's _willingness_ to get closer with his father. _I'm not good at talking to people, but... maybe I can do this instead...? _He was willing to _try_, at least, to get closer with his father. That had to count for something, didn't it? Fighting past the last bit of his hesitation, he turned his head to look at his father again. "Hey, you up for a race?"

His father turned to look at him, obviously surprised. After a brief moment, however, a smirk spread across his face. "Always."

Somehow managing a smile, Sonic jumped off the roof and onto the street below.

**~ソニック~**

"So, you're Sonic's son, huh?"

Silver turned to the echidna leaning in the doorway of the kitchen. The man's arms were crossed, but there was a friendly smirk on his face. Silver swallowed the bread he'd been eating and nodded with a grin. "Yup. I guess you two know each other?"

"Yeah. We were friends way back. Still are."

"Cool. ...Say, you never answered my question."

Locke blinked. "Which was?"

Silver grinned again, this time wider. "Who the heck're you?"

Locke's smirked widened to the point where his teeth showed. "My name's Locke," he responded, "and like I said, I'm Sonic's friend."

"Well I'm his son, so that makes me cooler than you," Silver replied jokingly, sticking his tongue out at Locke.

Locke laughed, already taking a liking to this kid's sense of humor. Noticing that Silver was about to eat just another plain piece of bread, Locke walked over to him and plucked it out of his hand. "You know, this stuff tends to taste better with something on it."

"Like what?" Silver asked, eyeing the bread hungrily. "It tastes amazing already."

"I wouldn't say 'amazing'," Locke said, one eyebrow drawing down a bit as he looked at the floppy thing in his hand. "It's just bread, after all. But, anyway, some jelly would make it taste better."

Now Silver seemed confused. "'_Jelly_'?" he echoed, frowning a bit as he did so. "What the heck is '_jelly_'?"

Locke stared at Silver for a moment, unable to formulate a reply, before saying simply, "You're kidding."

"No," Silver said, still eyeing his slice of bread. "I'm serious."

"They don't have that where you come from?" Locke questioned cautiously, sensing somehow that he was potentially bringing up an unpleasant conversation.

"Nope," Silver replied, shaking his head, his eyes finally leaving his food to look at Locke again. "We don't have this 'bread' stuff, either. We're pretty lucky to have anything, really. It's mostly canned stuff. You know, food that doesn't perish. And we don't have any fresh food, either. No plants or anything."

"No plants?" Locke asked in shock. "What the heck _happened_ in your world?"

The _moment_ Locke was distracted, Silver returned his attention to the slice of bread that Locke had stolen, and Locke watched in shock as the bread was suddenly outlined by a green glow and snatched from his hand as though someone had grabbed it. It floated quickly over to Silver, who picked it up out of the air and happily took a bite of it. Once he swallowed, he spoke. "A lot of stuff happened, to be honest," he began, "but the biggest thing is pretty much called the Apocalypse by everyone. It makes sense, I guess, since it ended in the world being covered in eternal flames and lava, a permanently darkened sky, severe food shortages, and the survival of only a couple hundred or so people." Silver took another bite of his bread.

"Surely someone could have stopped that from happening," Locke protested in shock, unable to bear what he'd just heard.

"Maybe," Silver conceded with a shrug, "but no one succeeded. All of the world's heroes, every last one of them, died trying to stop the monsters that ended the world. Even the youngest hero of them all tried to stop them, and she died, too. She was just a little girl."

"_Every _hero died?" Locke asked tensely.

Silver's eyes clouded a bit. "Yeah. My parents, Amy, Knuckles, this hawk named Jet and his two friends, a Chao and her bunny friend, some big cat... you name 'em, they died."

"That's... horrible," Locke said, unable to come up with anything else fitting to say.

"Yeah," Silver agreed solemnly. But then, a moment later, Silver's wide smile returned. "But then Dad came to my timeline from this one, and he fixed _everything_! He defeated the giant fire monster, Iblis, that had destroyed everything by transforming into this _super_ cool, powerful version of himself with the Chaos Emeralds, and then he defeated Mephiles, this creature made out of darkness and shadows that was Iblis's brains essentially, too! It was _so_ cool! After barely any time at all, my world's already looking better! The lava pools are slowly drying up, the fires are finally going out, it's starting to cool off for the first time... everything's healing, thanks to him!"

Locke couldn't help but return Silver's wide smile. "Just leave it to Sonic," he murmured with an almost fatherly warmth in his voice. "I shoulda known that he found a way to save the day, despite all the odds. He always does. Even as a kid, he always had this incredible ability to just... never give up _hope_, whether or not he actually saw it that way. That single ability makes it nearly impossible for him to ever lose once he sets his mind to something."

"Yeah," Silver grinned. "My dad never gives up."

"Never." Smirking again, Locke plucked what was left of Silver's bread out of his hand again. "Come on, let's put some jelly on this plain, nasty thing. I'll show you what real food tastes like even if it kills me."

**_~ソニック~_**

By the time Sonic and his father (whose name was Kaden, he learned) stopped for a break from their race, the sun was a bit higher in the sky. It was still only morning, but it was definitely later in the morning that it had been when they'd left. It wasn't really near the afternoon yet, though. The two hedgehogs had chosen a big, shady tree to sit in, and Sonic had claimed a comfy seat with his back against the trunk. Kaden sat beside him, though on a separate branch. With both of them settled back and comfortable, they began to just... talk. It was surprisingly easy, once they passed the awkward beginnings of the conversation. Both of them were much less tense and nervous after their run, and Sonic found himself feeling grateful for Silver's idea for the two of them to race back in Crisis City. Had that not happened, Sonic never would have had the idea to do the same thing with his own father here. They spent over an hour sitting there, just talking about random things. They talked about their favorite foods, Sonic's friends, some of both of their random small adventures, their shared love of and talent for running, some of the wonderful places that they had both seen (needless to say, Angel Island was brought up by both of them), Sonic's avid interest in music, Kaden's love of reading, and so on and so forth. Eventually, however, the conversation steered onto some more serious subjects. In particular, Sonic's mother was mentioned.

"She's... here too?" Sonic asked hesitantly, casting a look at his father.

Kaden nodded once, his arms behind his head as he gazed up into the sky through the thick branches above, laying fully on his back while Sonic remained sitting. "She's with your friend Tails currently, but yes, she's here."

Sonic swallowed hard, forcing himself not to feel nervous or anxious at all. "When will I get to meet her?" he asked quietly.

"Soon, I hope," Kaden replied. He closed his eyes, a slight scowl appearing on his otherwise calm face. "I don't know how much time we have left here."

"You can't stay." It was technically a statement, but it was really more of a question.

Kaden sighed heavily, seeming greatly upset, though it hardly showed on the outside. "No."

That left Sonic feeling strangely... hollow inside. However, he did his best to ignore the feeling, sudden and strong though it was. "How long have you been here already?" he asked, his voice still quiet.

"Under a day," came the equally quiet reply.

"And there's probably no telling when you guys will have to go back," Sonic commented dully.

"No. There's not," Kaden agreed, his voice also taking on a somewhat duller quality.

Sonic wrestled with this idea for a long moment before deciding that he didn't want to think about it right now. Instead, he jumped out of the tree without a word, turning to look back up at his father once he had landed on the square of soft, grassy ground beneath. Kaden was watching him, a hint of curiosity in his eyes, though his otherwise calm expression hinted at nothing and gave away even less. "Come on, there's someone you should meet."

**~ソニック~**

"Woah... So _you're_ _his_ dad?" Silver asked.

"Yeah," Locke nodded.

"Dude, that explains why you look so much like him!" Silver exclaimed, thumping himself in the forehead with the heel of his palm. "Or, I guess, why he looks like you. Man, I can't believe that I didn't see it before!" Locke managed a small smirk in response, but it was hardly as happy as his other smirks earlier had been. Perceptive almost to a fault sometimes, Silver understood immediately what was wrong. "Hey, don't worry about Knuckles. He's not as angry and all that as he likes to make people think. He's more understanding and stuff than he lets on. Even with things like this, he puts up this angry, tough-guy front, but it doesn't usually mean anything. I'm pretty sure that if he just has a bit of time, he'll come around."

"Maybe," Locke shrugged. "One can only hope."

It was quiet for a moment before Silver suddenly broke the silence again, his ears perking up a bit as if he'd heard something. "...You hear that?"

Locke blinked. "Hear what?"

Silver shook his head, already starting out of the kitchen. "Leave the jelly out, okay? I'll be right back." Without waiting for a a reply, Silver left the room and headed up the stairs. He'd thought for sure that he'd heard someone jump onto the roof, maybe even two people, and, while he knew that those creatures from before were gone for now, he still wanted to check and make sure everything was okay. Heading out onto the roof, he was relieved to see Sonic there instead of some freakish enemy-monster-thing. "Whew... it's just you."

"Yeah. Who else would it be?" Sonic teased. "You, from Dimension 3?"

Silver stuck his tongue out at Sonic, though he was smiling as he did so. Then, looking past his dad, he saw another hedgehog. "Hey, you brought company?"

Kaden watched as Sonic stepped off to the side a bit so that he and the Silver could see each other without having to lean around Sonic. Kaden immediately blinked when he noticed, for the first time, the similarities, however slight though they were, between the appearances of Sonic and Silver. Who was this boy, really? Just a friend, perhaps?

"Silver, this is... my dad," Sonic introduced, using a hand to indicate Kaden. Kaden noticed, of course, that Sonic hesitated before saying "my dad," but he said nothing of it. Sonic had every right to still feel confused and unsure about all of this. He had more than every right.

"Hey," Silver greeted cheerfully with a small wave. It was obvious that Silver recognized Kaden from their brief introduction earlier, but the fact that Kaden was Sonic's father seemed to be news to the boy.

"Dad," Sonic started again, a bit more uncertainly at the beginning this time (the use of that term nearly making Kaden freeze, if only because it was the first time Sonic had ever called him that), "this is Silver. ...He's _my_ son."

And Kaden froze with shock.

**~ソニック~**

**I am _so_ sorry that this is later. I tried to get it up on time, but I failed... My sister needed a day to just hang out with someone, so I spent most of the day with her. I still tried to get this chapter up on time, but it's past one in the morning here on the day _after_ this was supposed to be posted. ...Oh, well. I hope you enjoyed, anyway. 5,796 words this time.**

**Also, keep an eye out for _Sonic Ultimate_ after this story ends! This sequel will focus on Sonic and his adventures after _Hero_, and will serve as the official sequel to _Hero_, whereas the other two stories everyone has been voting on are merely side-stories, I suppose. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Posted 06-25-15.**


	105. Regression

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Thanks! I'm glad you think so! I'm so happy you like the story and stuff so far! And thanks for the cookie! XD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm happy you enjoyed! I know, I loved the freeze, too. XD Glad you're excited for it! I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Guest1995! I'm so glad you think so! Don't worry, Sonic Adventure, Adventure DX, and SA2 will all be here in Hero. I think SA2 is probably coming up next. :) ...Eh... I think I'll leave the Shadow the Hedgehog game out of this. So you vote for chronicles? Cool! Thanks for letting me know! And I'm glad you enjoyed that reaction!**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! Your review to Chapter 103: I agree, poor Kaden. :( Still, I'm glad you enjoyed! :) As far as Knuckles goes, there's really no telling with him. He's actually pretty good at hiding things when he wants to be. :P Yeah, so far so good with him. And Ivo returns today... I hope our heroes are prepared. :P**

**Your review to Chapter 104: Well, wait no more! :D Haha, I'm glad you think so! I do, too. XD Awesome! I'm glad you're excited! I sure hope it will be! :D**

**Hello, astroshadow! Thanks! I'm glad you think so! :D Haha, I'm glad you liked that. Yeah, as you said, there was just no better way to say it. Nah, I don't think it's cruel. XD**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Yup. For the second time in one day he's gotta try and explain about Silver. Poor Sonic. :P**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Haha, I'm glad you think so. :) Yes, he does now, thanks to Locke! XD**

**Hello, Guest! Haha, I sure hope so! XD**

**Hello, Aanibuscus! Your review to Chapter 88: Yes, that's exactly right! Great job guessing that! I won't, I promise. I think it's kinda cool. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 104: I'm so happy you think so! Thank you _so_ much for taking the time to not only read this story, but to also review on it! That means so much to me! :D**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Sarcasm, or no? XD I KNOW, RIGHT?! XD Thanks! I'm glad you think so! ANd I'm so happy that you like it!**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! I know, right? X3 Yeah, he might have. Or it could just be him. :) And yeah, he really does like that! XD Well, I'm glad you enjoyed that. And yeah, apparently Locke is a bit of a food enthusiast, at least to a point. XD Yeah, Locke is very much the tough guy for the most part, but he has a soft side and, for the most part, he isn't afraid to show it in his own way. I did my best to portray that there. :) Yes, it finally happened! Well, wait no more, 'cause here it is! :D**

**Hello, SR! I'm glad you enjoyed that. :) Yeah, he is sweet and kinda naive. But, at the same time, I don't think he's _that_ naive. :P Well, with the teasing thing, I pulled that from the way my own family works. You see, in my family, we do a lot of light-hearted teasing like that as well. Even my parents do it, both with me and my sisters and, at times, with each other. The same thing with the "shut up". It's just a light comment, said jokingly and never meant seriously. Again, pulled from my own family dynamic. I dunno. I personally don't think it's that odd. :) Yeah, there _is_ that, but, at the same time, it helped me to highlight just how nervous Sonic was, so... yeah. I dunno. :P Yeah, sorry about that. I honestly forgot. ^-^ Yep, that's right. It's fine. I'm glad you did! And wait no more, 'cause here it is! :D Aw, don't feel like that! It's alright. And yes, it's Cream. :) Hm, Locke, huh? Would you like to know now whether you were right or not? Or would you like to wait and see for yourself (even though it will probably be revealed in Chronicles rather than this story (possibly))? Yeah, I guess it's the same. :) YES, OF COURSE HE'S ALIVE. HE'S TOO AMAZING AND IMPORTANT TO DIE (for good, that is). XD**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 5; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 3. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**~ソニック~**

Ivo watched with a great deal of interest as his tiny remote camera focused first on Sonic, then a young silver hedgehog, then on a second blue hedgehog that appeared to be the oldest of the three, though he was still young. Maybe about twenty. Twenty-three seemed more accurate. _This certainly is interesting, _Ivo grinned, watching as the three hedgehogs conversed on the roof of some random, uninteresting house. _Why, I do believe that I'm seeing threes. _It was true, to a point. The three of them all looked alike, especially Sonic and the other blue hedgehog. The young silver hedgehog looked faintly like Sonic in a way, but the resemblance was subtle, implying that maybe they weren't really related like Ivo had first thought. But, then again, appearances could be and often were deceiving. _Very deceiving, indeed. _Ivo grinned again, turning a dial on the control pad before him so that he could hear the conversation taking place on that indiscriminate blue roof.

Sonic's voice was the first to project over the video feed, sounding off from what it actually sounded like in person._ "Yes,"_ he said with a nod before his voice faded out for the barest of moments as Ivo adjusted the feed so that he could hear more clearly. _"...future, but I'm not entirely sure when."_

_"My guess would be about two-hundred years or so from this year, but I have no idea,"_ the young silver hedgehog continued in Sonic's stead. _"It's hard to tell for sure, since no one in my world knows what year it is currently."_

The older hedgehog looked slowly from Sonic to the silver hedgehog and back again before replying, _"And that cat... Blaze... is from this same world?"_

_"Yep!"_ the silver hedgehog replied brightly. _"She's also my best friend."_

_"Practically your girlfriend,"_ Sonic teased, much to the younger hedgehog's apparent dismay.

_"N-no! I- We're not... It's not like that!"_ His protests only seemed to further prove that Sonic was right, and Sonic seemed to know it. However, despite his grinning, he refrained from even further teasing. ...For a moment.

Ivo watched intently as the two of them began a light-hearted banter that bespoke of a close bond that hadn't been entirely hinted at before. In one way or another, the banter evolved into simple joking that even the relatively stoic-seeming older hedgehog was somehow dragged into. It was very soon after this that the trio finally decided to head inside the house the were still standing on top of. Ivo felt slightly disappointed -maybe he wouldn't get any decent information this time- when suddenly, it happened. Once single line told him everything he needed to know about the three of them for the time being... and even then some.

_"Hey Dad, I'm gonna take ol' grandpa here to the kitchen, 'kay?"_ the silver hedgehog grinned as they turned to the door leading back inside, the door that someone had apparently left open. _"__There's lots of good food in there, and I wanna eat while we talk."_

_"Alright, just don't make a mess,"_ Sonic replied with a faint smirk.

_"Alright!"_ the young hedgehog cheered. He then grabbed the older hedgehog's right wrist and proceeded to drag him inside. _"C'mon, grandpa!"_ he grinned with decided wickedness.

The older hedgehog's expression was carefully blank as he mumbled, _"Please don't call me that,"_ allowing himself to be dragged inside.

Soon, Sonic was left alone on the roof. He glanced warily around, his arms crossed and his eyes faintly shining with concern. It was so perfect. He was alone, vulnerable. An easy target. Ivo almost, _almost_ fired. But, in the end, he didn't. He wanted to, but he refrained._ For now._ He doubted this tiny bot was adequately equipped to kill the hedgehog, anyway. Besides, he didn't want to reveal himself just yet. Not when there was still so much to do. And now that he knew their about their little family... He grinned yet again and closed off the video feed, calling back the bot for now. He had work to do.

**~ソニック~ **

"You alright?"

Sonic, who was leaning sideways against a wall with his arms crossed, looked away from the downstairs window he'd been gazing out of. His eyes fell on Locke, who seemed to have just come from the kitchen where Sonic knew Silver and Kaden still were. He looked away again. "I'm fine," he said simply, his voice calm and quiet.

"You don't seem like it." Locke came to a stop by Sonic, standing more fully in front of the window Sonic was still gazing out of. Sonic, expression mostly concealed, merely shrugged in response, and Locke was struck once again by just how different Sonic was from the kid he'd once been. And yet... in a way, he was still largely the same. It was odd how much people could change while still being essentially the same in the end.

Finally, Sonic sighed. "There's way too much happening at once," he finally admitted, though seemingly with some reluctance. "Dark Gaia, Ivo, trying to deal with Jet and the others, then all this with Kaden and my mother-" he cut himself off then, clearly growing a bit uncomfortable at the mention of his parents. He sighed again. "I just don't know how we're supposed to deal with all of this." His expression became a bit angry then, though seemingly more at himself than anything, if his next words were any indication. "I can barely even handle Ivo most of the time, even with help."

Locke remained silent for a moment, gazing thoughtfully out the window as Sonic's expression smoothed over into something largely unreadable again. _So different, yet still so much the same. _Steering his thoughts to the problem at hand, he was unsurprised when he came to the conclusion that Sonic was, in fact, entirely right. Locke knew from his own nightmarish personal experiences just how massively huge of a problem Dark Gaia was (it was powerful enough to shatter the planet, after all) and he also knew that there was really no known way to defeat it. Sealing it away again didn't even seem to be an option anymore. And then there was Ivo. Locke knew a bit about Ivo from what he'd heard from Amy and a little bit from Knuckles. If the man was anything like his grandfather... well, that was saying enough. It took Gerald practically committing suicide for him to be defeated. And even then, he was sure that plenty of his robots had lived on for sometime afterward. Locke only knew of Jet, and even then Sonic had never told him much about the bird. He made a mental note to ask Sonic about that later. And, as far as Sonic's parents went... This sort of thing would be hard on anyone. Knuckles was almost certainly no exception. However, Locke knew that, as far as this went, at least, things would be alright in the end for Sonic. Kaden and Analia were never going to push him, and Kaden had so far completely exceeded Locke's expectations when it came to patience and understanding. Not that Locke had expected his friend to act any differently to begin with, but even still. Locke knew that Analia would be no different. Kaden had handled things with his son perfectly so far. The fact that Sonic was no longer freaked out was proof of this. _Yeah. Things'll be alright in the end. _

Sonic seemed to read Locke's mind on that last sentence, if the slight smirk that titled at the corner of his lips was any indication. "You've always been so sure of things, Locke."

"Yeah," Locke chuckled. "Kinda dangerous at times, to be honest. I just can't help being optimistic."

"How?" Sonic asked, his expression turning serious once again. "How can you be so hopeful even during times like these?"

"I'm not really sure," Locke admitted. "However, I do know one thing." Sonic looked at him. "_You_ have that same ability to hope. You just don't notice it most of the time, I think. I've seen it, though. Even way back when we were fighting Gerald, you always held onto at least a tiny sliver of hope. So, really, _I_ should be asking _you_ how to stay certain of the future, rather than the other way around." Sonic looked down with a frown, not saying anything. After a moment, Locke spoke up again. "You sure you're okay?" he asked quietly. "I mean, besides what you already told me about, you seem... I dunno. Troubled or something." Sonic shrugged unconvincingly, and Locke suddenly zeroed in on the source of his friend's troubles. "When was the last time you slept?" he suddenly demanded.

Sonic had to take a moment to think about that one. He really hadn't slept much, when he'd slept at all, between his recovery from the events of the jungle to when he was dragged into Silver's world. All in all, he'd had maybe an hour or two of sleep in as many weeks. Then they'd spent close to fours or five days in Silver's world in total, and he'd exhausted himself twice (once by transforming while fighting Iblis and again by defeating Mephiles somehow, resulting in him losing consciousness) without having any rest. He hadn't slept at all there, and being unconscious was _not_ the same thing as sleeping. Since then, he'd only dozed lightly on the wing of the X-Tornado on the way to Future City. He hadn't even attempted to try to sleep since then. So... all in all... he'd had _maybe_ two-and-a-half hours of sleep in about four or so weeks. That probably wasn't good, but sometimes it couldn't be helped. Like in Crisis City, for example. When was he supposed to have rested then? Even while everyone else was resting, he'd had to stay awake to watch over everyone so that no one surprised by an attack in the dead of night. Plus he'd had to keep an eye on Jet, whose wound was so bad that it could have easily killed the bird while he was unconscious. So, really, when was he supposed to have rested? Pushing such thoughts away, he shrugged again.

"I'm willing to bet that that means that it's been a while," Locke said, crossing his arms. Sonic offered no confirmation of any sort, but Locke wasn't fooled. He watched as Sonic turned his head to look out the window again. _What's with him and not getting enough rest? _To a point, Locke understood why it happened. Sonic and his friends were constantly in danger, after all. Sonic himself had been fighting for his life since he was a kid, back when his battles to save the world had first begun. Perhaps it was simply a habit by this point, avoiding rest so as to not be caught unawares by any sort of enemies. Still, that didn't make it any better. _Everyone needs sleep. _He was about to open his mouth and say something about it, too, when Sonic suddenly sighed again.

"'M tired," he mumbled. An admission. "I'm going to bed." Locke said nothing, not wanting to accidentally deter Sonic from doing just that (though logically he had no idea how he'd do that, since Sonic seemed set in his decision). Sonic pushed himself off the wall and headed for the stairs, probably heading for the roof. Locke couldn't quite suppress a small smile. It seemed that Kaden wasn't the only one who was comfortable sleeping on a roof.

Just as Sonic nearly disappeared up the stairs Locke called out, "Night."

Sonic said nothing, but a slight flick of his right ear told Locke that his voice had been heard. That was acknowledgement, the kind Locke was used to receiving from Kaden was his quiet friend didn't feel like talking. Smiling a bit wider, Locke headed back to the kitchen. He'd promised to keep an eye on Silver and, thus, the kitchen, after all. _It's probably for the best that Amy's parents are asleep now. Their kitchen's likely a mess by now. _Allowing himself a small chuckle, he headed into the kitchen.

**~ソニック~**

Amy climbed out of bed at close to one o'clock that afternoon and, following her ears, she headed downstairs. She wasn't at all surprised to find that Silver was awake and sitting with Blaze in the living room, talking animatedly about something while Blaze just sat beside him and listened with a small smile. Also in the living room was Kaden, who appeared to be dozing as he laid back on the second couch with his arms behind his head and his ankles crossed, his expression as serious as ever. Smiling, Amy turned away from the scene and headed to the kitchen. Much to her relief, though there were some dishes in the sink, the kitchen was entirely in order. She didn't want her poor mother to wake up to her kitchen being a disaster. Once again turning away, she passed through the front room where she had greeted Sonic earlier that morning and headed down a short hall to the family library. The door was open, so she peeked in for a moment to see who was there. Locke was inside, standing before one of the many shelves crammed out of books, perusing the titles available. Not far away from him was Cheese the Chao, who was playing happily with some little toy that probably belonged to Cream. Suspecting that the young bunny was upstairs and knowing that there were no more rooms downstairs, Amy headed back up the stairs. She she passed by, she quietly opened the door to the room beside her own. Inside, Knuckles was passed out and sprawled out on his bed, snoring quietly. Laughing softly to herself, she shut the door again and continued on her way. Not long afterward, she passed by the room where Vanilla was staying. The door was open just a crack, revealing Vanilla and her daughter sitting on the bed talking quietly. Smiling, Amy walked by her parents' room without looking in (she knew for a fact that they were still sleeping, having been up all night much like Amy herself) and continued down the hall.

She hadn't seen Sonic yet, and though she felt silly for worrying, she didn't think she could ease said worries until she'd checked on all her friends here. There was really only one place left where he could be, anyway. And so, destination in mind, she approached the door at the end of the hall and quietly opened it. She didn't know why she'd bothered opening the door so slowly and quietly, but looking at Sonic as she stepped outside, she was immediately grateful for her choice to do so. He was fast asleep. She hadn't seen him sleep in ages. Suppressing the urge to sigh and smile at the peaceful sight before her, she settled for just a smile and went back inside. Now satisfied that all of her friends both old and new, as well as her family, were safe, she prepared to head downstairs to get something to eat. But as soon as she shut the door, she was struck by a terrible feeling. Whipping around, she jerked the roof's door open again and, fighting to suppress her panic, her desperately searching eyes quickly fell on Sonic. He was still sleeping, despite the noise she and the door had just made, and she heaved a silent sigh of relief. He was safe; nothing had happened to him since she'd last seen him barely a moment ago. He, like everyone else, was safe here... at least for now. As she headed back inside for the second time, she struggled to make sense of her sudden panic, caused by the incredibly bad feeling she'd just been struck by. Her worries weren't entirely unfounded, but there was no danger here. It was safe. Ivo was in space. Dark Gaia's was dispersed, and it's creatures wouldn't return until night fell once more. Even if danger should come, everyone here could take care of themselves and each other, at least to a point. She had no reason to be so afraid right now. There was no reason for it. And yet... her reaction had been real enough.

**~ソニック~ **

Kaden cracked an eye open lazily when a particularly bright beam of sunlight fell on his face. Both eyes now only barely open, he shifted so that one arm could come out from behind his head to shield his eyes. Resting that same arm across his face, he closed his eyes again. Behind him he could here Silver's voice as the young hedgehog continued to tell Blaze all about the new foods he had tried today. Kaden must not have dozed off that long ago, then, if they were still having that conversation. Sighing softly, he tried to let himself doze off again -who knew when he would get another chance to just lay back and _rest_\- only to have his best intentions derailed when a loud crash signalling the shattering of the nearby window caused his eyes to snap open. He barely had a chance to jolt up into a sitting position before some odd coil off some kind slammed into him and wrapped itself around him. Silver and Blaze had just leapt to their feet behind him when a large metallic arm shot through the hole where the window used to be. An equally large hand grabbed Kaden in a painfully tight grip and, after the now closed fist punched Silver and Blaze back hard enough that they cracked the nearby wall, he was pulled forcefully out of the house. Once outside, he glance up just in time to see Sonic get sent flying from the roof. His son landed some distance away, closely followed by a pack of at least three robots. If there were more, he never had the chance to see them before the fist swung around so that he was facing the main body of the large robot that had captured him. Kaden glared as he struggled, even as the man inside the robot laughed. Despite being separated by a thick dome of glass, Kaden could hear his captor clearly with ease.

"Well, well, well, who have we _here_?" the man sneered. "A hero of old, come back to save the day?" The man burst out laughing again, and Kaden gritted his teeth.

"Who are you?" he demanded angrily.

"Ah, how very rude of me. Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Ivo Robotnik." The man executed as much of a bow as one could manage while sitting down, but Kaden didn't buy it for a minute. A bow was a sign of respect; this man clearly didn't know the meaning of true respect. "Your son once fought legions of robots as a child in a desperate bid to prevent the world from being taken over."

"My s-" Kaden cut himself off in an instant, instead demanding, "How in the hell do you know that?" For once, Kaden didn't care enough to retain the dignified speech he'd had instilled in him as a child by the elders. He was far too upset to care. How did he know that Sonic was Kaden's son? And how did he know that Sonic once battled robots as a child?

"He battled my grandfather, you see," Ivo continued as though Kaden had never spoken. "My grandfather was defeated, in the end, if only because he underestimated his opponent." Ivo grinned again, like a madman. Like someone who was willing to kill to get what they wanted. Like someone who wouldn't care even if a child was tortured to death before him. "I, however," he said with great deliberation. "will not make the same mistake." Then, without any warning, the robot's free right arm lifted. Kaden realized for the first time that, instead of a hand, a massive gun was attached at the end of that arm. "This is a new weapon of mine," Ivo explained. "It's a prototype, really, but I'm quite certain that it will work. You see, when Dark Gaia dispersed last night I stole a small portion of its energy using a special robot of mine that I had in the area. I had hoped to borrow some energy to begin with, but Sonic made the task much easier with his little stunt back there." Ivo raised the gun as the three robots that had flown off after Sonic exploded into individual balls of flame. Ivo aimed, seemingly using the computer inside the bot to help him to do so despite not being able to actually see his target in person. Kaden struggled harder, not that he hadn't been struggling before, but his odd restraints and the fist together held him firmly in place. "Now how about we give this new weapon of mine a try?"

**~ソニック~ **

Silver and Blaze new that Sonic and Kaden were both in trouble. The two of them had both been knocked out for a couple short minutes, but they were most definitely awake now. Silver had already seen Locke in the distance flying off to help Sonic, seemingly trusting that Kaden would be alright, but Locke also hadn't seen those strange coils that had the older hedgehog trapped... Decision made, Silver raced outside with to try to do what he could while Blaze split off to help Locke and and Sonic. However, just as he made it into the sky, prepared to launch an attack that would tear the arm that Kaden was trapped in off, the other arm, pointed somewhere off to the right, fired a beam of some kind. The beam curved oddly downward before some clock tower, then hit the ground with enough force that there was a minor quake because of it. A ball of light exploded from the crash site like an explosion (just without the ensuing devastation) before slowly fading into nothing. Alarmed, Silver called forth his powers and, engulfing the robots arms, he quickly ripped them off, though not without a great deal of surprising difficulty. Kaden hit the ground on his rear, still wrapped in the strange coil. However, he at least still had his legs. He was no longer helpless, not that being trapped had made him so to begin with. Gritting his teeth, Silver prepared for another attack, only to pause when their enemy spoke for the first time Since Silver had come outside.

"Well, this is most certainly _not_ the result I was expecting." He was looking at a screen, perhaps looking at whatever damage he'd caused with his strange beam earlier. Suddenly, he grinned. "Interesting." His gaze lifted then, and locked with Silver's. "Doubly interesting," he murmured, almost seeming to analyze the green light surrounding Silver, signaling his use of his powers.

Then, without any warning, the robot's chest opened up and four huge missiles launched from it. Kaden dove to the side, narrowly avoiding getting blasted by one of them. Silver, meanwhile, was pursued high into the sky before he finally managed to get far enough away that he had the time to whirl around and throw a few sickles at the missiles, exploding them a safe distance away. By the time the explosions and fire died down, Ivo was gone. Silver suspected that the suspicious dark shape flying away higher in the sky than he was had something (or a _lot_) to do with their enemy's disappearance, but now wasn't the time to care. Swooping back down, Silver watched as Kaden struggled visibly with his restraints.

Alighting, Silver quickly approached him. "Here, let me see if I can get it." After a moment, Kaden heaved an irritated sigh through visibly clenched teeth and relented. Satisfied, Silver tried to used his powers to pull the restraints apart... only for the green energy to fade into nothingness as soon as it came into contact with the coils. Puzzled, Silver reached a hand out to pull them apart by hand. However, the second his fingers grazed the coils, he jerked it back. "What the-?!" It felt like the coils had just zapped some of his power from him all at once, draining it from him as if the task were exceedingly easy. "Did it just do what I think it did...?" he asked quietly. Kaden said nothing, but the concern was there, in his eyes. Yes, that's exactly what those coils had been doing. Draining power. _And they drained that much from me even when I barely touched them for a split second... _They needed to get those coils off _now_. "It's gonna take a lot of power all at once to break those apart," Silver murmured, ears drooping slightly. Could Kaden even manage that after being trapped in them for all this time. "You have to try," Silver decided, voice firm. _They could kill you otherwise. _Kaden nodded once, seeming to completely agree, and slowly stood again. More on instinct that anything else, Silver took a few wary steps back. Slowly, incredible power began pouring out from Kaden in visible waves. But, extraordinary though it was, more was still needed.

Gritting his teeth even harder and clenching his fists, Kaden squeezed his eyes shut and called forth even more of the power hidden deep within him; power he never used unless he absolutely had to. The last time he'd used this much power, he'd been fighting Dark Gaia. And even then, he hadn't been strong enough. This coil... there was no denying what it was. It was a piece of Dark Gaia's pure energy, probably taken straight from the beast itself before it had dissipated. It was only a piece, but that meant nothing. Ever piece of Dark Gaia's energy was as strong as the whole, as impossible as that sounded. At least, they usually were. This one was weaker for some reason, probably due to being separated from the rest of that energy for too long. Still, it was powerful, regardless. However, he was almost certain that he could free himself. He just needed a little more... In one last powerful burst of power, blue flames erupted around him, encasing him within it. And, with that, the coil vanished, disintegrating as though it had never even existed to begin with. That was a bit of power that the beast would never get back. _Good. _Suddenly exhausted, Kaden braced himself with his hands on his knees as the intense light around his faded and took a moment to breathe even as Silver stared at him in what seemed to be open shock.

Meanwhile, Locke too was staring in shock at something that he most certainly should _not_ have been seeing. Or rather, some_one_. It was Sonic, but... not the same. It was definitely still him, though, lying there unconscious on his stomach on the pavement. It was Sonic... and he was only ten years old.

**~ソニック~**

**So this ended up being 4,627 words. I hope you enjoyed. ...Sorry this took so long, by the way. Posted 06-28-15.**


	106. Another Reunion of Sorts

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! ...Not... exactly. He's not really _classic_ Sonic per se, but he _is_ a kid again, for sure. :P**

**Hello, astroshadow! Wuh-oh indeed. Yes, yes he does. For now, anyway. We all know this can't be permanent, right? I mean, Sonic has a kid to take care of and all. :) Yes, I should hope so! Yes, that's a very nice side-effect! Haha, yes he is. XD I'm guessing you enjoyed that part at least a bit? :)**

**Hello, Firerider007! Nope, not Generations. Although... the Time Eater will probably make an appearance at some point in this story. :) But yes, it will likely be harder for him to win now. Aw, that's so nice of you to say! I know I say this a lot to, well, pretty much everybody, but I really mean it when I say that I'm so happy you're enjoying Hero! :D Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review!**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! ...Uh... This, apparently. XD**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! NO, I WILL NOT STOP IT. XD Well, wait no more! Sorry this came later in the day than it should have! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm so happy you enjoyed, Pyro-kun! I did my best with Ivo last time, so I'm happy you approve. XD Well, you'll see. :) As always, I will do my best.**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Your first review to Chapter 105: No, not quite. There's only one Sonic here, after all. My Generations adaption will likely just include the white world and the Time Eater, not so much the two versions of Sonic and Tails. :P**

**Your second review to Chapter 105: Wow! Awesome calculations! Did you take into account the fact that it is stated (indirectly) that Sonic had lived for a least a couple hundred years before visiting the Master Emerald with Locke for the first time? I just had to ask. :P But, wow! You really pay attention! As I said, these calculations are so cool! :D It's fine with the symbols. I understood.**

**Your third review to Chapter 105: Don't be so hard on yourself. It really is fine, I promise. And besides, I don't judge. :)**

**Hello, Anonymous! I'm glad you think so! Nope, not Generations. That arc will probably ****just include the white world and the Time Eater, not so much the two versions of Sonic and Tails. :P ...Why? Yeah, I've heard the horror stories from my friends and stuff. :l Makes me glad I only have sisters. XD Oh, of course. Man, I hate that. Well, there's always Wonder Trade! Yes, you sure can. Man, I've always loved Eevee. And I always felt so accomplished as a kid when I finally got one while I was playing FireRed on my GameBoy. XD Watch GameTheory on YouTube! I'm almost certain that he did a video on that very question of "why only six?". :P**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yes, yes he did. It's quite literally in his job description. *Shows you said job description as proof* Anyway, no need to apologize. I understand. Besides, that rant made me smile like a fool towards the end for some reason, so I approve. XD Well, to be perfectly honest, it just felt perfect with the ending being like that. And besides, maybe I _wanted_ you to be confused! Maybe that was my evil plan all along! XD *Laughs evilly for a few moments* Ahem. Anyway, it's the same Sonic that we've been following this whole story, just made younger again. :P I hope you enjoy!**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 5; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 3. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**~ソニック~**

Not long after freezing at the sight of the _child_ on the ground before him, Locke froze for second time when he suddenly felt a burst of pure, raw _power_ emanating from near Amy's home. Locke whirled around, facing in the direction that the waves of power were coming from. He'd only ever felt so much power coming from his friend once before... and that had been back when they had been fighting Dark Gaia. He swallowed hard and did his best to banish the memories for the time being. Turning again, his eyes fell upon Blaze as she came running up to him.

"Can you feel that?" she asked, her eyes a bit wide, the sight at odds with her usually calm expression.

"Yes," he nodded once. "That's Kaden. I'm sure of it."

"Silver is with him," she murmured. She seemed concerned, and rightfully so. What in the _world_ could cause Kaden to go nearly all-out like that?

"You should head back and give them a hand, if needed," he instructed briskly. There was no time to waste. Whatever was going down, it had to be big. "I'll take care of things here."

Blaze glanced at the robots that were walking toward them, then at the small form on the pavement. Her eyes widened again. "Is that...?"

Locke nodded. "Yes. I don't know how, but that's him." Blaze swallowed hard, visibly so, before nodding once and taking off to help Silver and Kaden, should they need the help. _With Kaden utilizing that much of his power, her assistance probably won't even be needed. _By the time the waves of power ebbed (though not before reaching a climactic peak), Locke had moved to stand between Sonic and the robots that were closing in intently on him, fists at the ready. Letting out a low growl, he let his punches fly, defeating the minor bots with an ease that bespoke of years of battle experience. Then, turning, he knelt down and gently scooped up the child, carrying him as he had only done maybe twice before, so many years ago. _To think that he's even the same age as he was during our adventures back then... _

Suppressing a sigh that was more concerned than anything else, he took to the air and glided as best as he could with the use of only one arm, the other holding his burden in a careful grip. It barely took him a minute to fly back to where Kaden and the others were, now that he wasn't fighting bots all the way to his destination as he had been when he'd rushed off to help Sonic earlier. He landed hard enough that he had to jog forward a couple of steps to catch himself before he fell. Looking around, he quickly noticed that Silver and Blaze were nowhere to be seen. _They must have gone back inside. _Turning his attention to his friend, he asked, "You alright?"

Kaden nodded once. He seemed tired. But, honestly, Locke wasn't surprised in the least. Kaden had used a lot of power, after all, and he only very rarely did that, to put it lightly. "Fine," he replied, his voice deceptively calm even to Locke's ears, highly trained though they were to detect the subtle nuances of his friend's tones. His friend's eyes never moved from Sonic's small, sleeping form, and Locke shifted the child slightly in his arms. "Is _he_ alright?"

"I think so," Locke sighed, "but obviously he needs some rest." He gave Kaden a firm look that left no room for argument. "And so do you." Kaden merely shrugged in response, but when Locke moved to head inside, he allowed Locke to place a hand on his shoulder and guide him there as well. Together, the three of them headed upstairs. Locke led Kaden to the room he himself had slept in for a while earlier and gestured for him to lay down. Kaden seemed ready to agree, but his eyes lingered on his son before he stepped into the room. "He'll be fine," Locke promised quietly. "I'm just going to put the kid to bed in the next room." Seeing the lingering concern in his friend's eyes, Locke added. "I'll keep an eye on him, I promise." Finally, Kaden nodded his agreement and went inside, closing the door softly behind him. Satisfied, Locke did as he'd promised and headed straight into the next room. Without a word, he headed in and laid the child on the bed and covered him up. Then, with a soft sigh, he sat down heavily in a padded chair beside the bed, running a hand over his face as he did so. _Man... what a mess this has all turned out to be._

**~ソニック~ **

Sonic awoke with a gasp and sat bolt upright in bed, his heart pounding. _W-What the-? Where-?_ Barely a second later, a familiar voice reached his ears.

"Whoa, easy does it there, kid. You took one heck of a hit earlier."

"Locke?" Sonic quickly kicked the blankets off and hopped out of bed. Looking around, he quickly realized that he had _no_ idea where he was. He didn't remember ever seeing this place before. For that matter, the last memory he _did_ have did nothing to explain how he'd ended up _here_. _The last thing I remember is finding the last Chaos Emerald in that forest. _"Where are we?" he asked quickly, trying to make sense of the situation. "What the heck is this place?"

"Um..." Locke hesitated for a moment before heaving another heavy sigh. He'd forgotten how inquiring Sonic had been as a kid. "That's... kind of hard to explain."

"So?" Sonic asked, crossing his arms. A pause. Then, "C'mon, at least _try_."

"Yeah, yeah, just be patient." The look in the kid's eyes bespoke of very little patience, and Locke had to suppress a smirk. _Yep, he's definitely the same kid from back then. _"Okay, so, long story short- Oh, for pete's sake, stop tapping your foot like that. You're distracting me." Sonic sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, and Locke thumped him on the head.

"Hey! What the heck was that for?!"

"Do you want an explanation or not?"

Sonic glared somewhat rebelliously for a moment before finally looking away and mumbling, "Yes."

"So stop bugging, then."

With a huff, Sonic fell silent and waited for Locke to begin.

**~ソニック~**

"I'm, uh... sorry about your window, Ma'am," Silver mumbled.

"Oh, don't worry about it, sweetie," Amy's mother smiled. "I know it wasn't your fault."

"We've dealt with those robots before," her husband added. He was washing the dishes and handing them to Silver, who then handed them to Amy's mother to be put away. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

"I still feel bad," Silver mumbled. "I mean, windows are impossible to replace in my world. Isn't it still hard, here?"

"Not at all," Amy's mother smiled. "There are people who fix and replace windows for a living. It's no trouble. It'll just cost a little bit of money, that's all."

"And that's no trouble, either," her husband assured, "so you have nothing to worry about."

"Okay." After that, they all fell silent. All that could be heard was the sound of the dishes as they made their short journey from the sink to the towel and then into the various places where they would wait until they were again needed. However, the silence was finally broken by Amy's mother.

"So how old are you, sweetie?"

"Um, fifteen," Silver replied, dutifully looking at the plate he was drying and nowhere else.

"And you're a friend of Amy's?" asked Amy's father as he scrubbed a cup.

"Yes, sir," Silver replied. He handed Amy's mother the plate.

"You needn't be so formal," her mother smiled, taking the dish. "We appreciate the politeness, truly, but you can call us by our names."

"Really?" he asked in surprise as the freshly cleaned cup was handed to him to be dried.

"Of course," she said cheerfully. "I'm Marie."

"And I'm Harold."

"It's nice to meet you," Silver said with a small smile.

Harold handed Silver another cup. "So how did you come to meet our daughter, anyway?" He asked casually.

"Well, to be honest, it's a bit of a crazy story," Silver replied with a small laugh. "But, long story short, I fell through a portal from my world into this one. I met her then."

"That's right, she did mention her adventures in your world a bit. You met your father, that Sonic fellow, then too, didn't you?"

"That's right."

"Our Amy seems quite attached to that boy," Marie smiled, moving to put away the cup Silver had just handed her. "I wonder if those two are really just friends."

She really didn't seem to be asking him if he knew, but Silver replied anyway. "I wouldn't know about that," Silver said with a small, almost nervous laugh. "But I do know that they're pretty close. They're good friends, if nothing else. They really trust each other."

"It's nice to see that Amy finally has some more friends," Marie smiled. "Of course, that's not to say that her having only a few friends before was a bad thing. She just seemed lonely sometimes, that's all."

"Yeah, I can believe that. She's really... I don't know. Social or whatever."

"She certainly is."

It was quiet again for a moment before Silver broke it. "...So... just to be sure... I'm _not_ the only one who saw what happened to my dad, right? I didn't imagine it?"

"If you did, then you and I are having the same hallucination," Harold replied calmly. He handed Silver a few spoons he had just cleaned.

"Yes, I saw him as well, when that man, Locke, carried him in," Marie said, leaning against the counter with one hip. "To think that a blast could do something like that... I hope the effects are only temporary."

"But... what if they're not?" Silver asked quietly, barely noticing his worried reflection in the spoon he was holding. "What if he stays like that?"

"I don't know, sweetie," she murmured. Then, her voice quiet but sincere, she added, "I'm sorry."

Silver shrugged weakly in response and handed her the spoons. As he waited for the next dish to be passed onto him (he really wished he hadn't helped to make so many of these dirty, or else he wouldn't have felt obligated to help with this) he couldn't stop multiple worried thoughts from passing through his mind. One in particular, however, sang louder then the rest. _I just got my dad in my life such a short time ago... I don't want him to be gone again. _Even if he wasn't really physically _gone_, he may as well have been, in a way. He was just a child again now, after all. _I really hope this wears off or something... and soon. _With an imperceptible sigh, he took another dish.

**~ソニック~ **

To be honest, Locke was a bit surprised at how easily Sonic had just... _accepted_ what Locke had told him. But, after a bit of further thought, it occurred to the echidna that Sonic had, at times, been very accepting as a child. There was no way he could have been so adaptive if he hadn't been that way at least some of the time. Still, one thing seemed to be troubling the now-young-again hedgehog. _And I'll bet I know what it is. _

"So, my... my _dad_ is here, too...?" Sonic finally asked.

_Bingo. _"Yeah," Locke nodded. Something in Sonic's eyes lit up, equal parts wary and hopeful. _This may actually be a good thing, _Locke decided. At ten years old, Sonic hadn't quite closed himself off to the idea of one day meeting his parents. A part of him, however small, had still held onto a hope that he _could_, in fact, meet them and that everything would work out and that they would end up being a family again. That part of him was and had been small, but it was still _there_. And the fact that there was a good chance that Sonic would retain at least _some_ memory of whatever happened to him while he was like this... _If things go smoothly, this could help bring him and his parents closer. ...Or at least him and Kaden. _He wished, again, that Analia was here right now, but Chip had needed her (possibly still did), and Tails's house had been the only safe place for them at the time. _She'll come back when she can, _he told himself. _And, anyway, that's not my biggest concern right now. _Sonic had slept for a good three hours or so, which meant that it was four o'clock or so now. The day was nearly over. _And "goodbye" to the sun means "hello" to trouble. _

Sonic's voice pulled him back from his thoughts. "Will... Will I get to meet him?" Hesitant, but not exactly against the idea. A good sign.

"Yes, probably. When he wakes up. He's sleeping, like you were."

"You don't gotta dumb it down, y'know. I know the difference between sleeping and being knocked out."

Locke felt a resurgence of guilt at that fact. What Sonic said was true, of course, but it really shouldn't have been. "Yeah, I know," he sighed. Whatever Locke had been about to say was cut off before he could even attempt to word it when a small knock sounded from the other side of the door. Sonic's ears perked up at the sound, wary curiosity evident in his eyes, but he said nothing as Locke moved to answer the door.

To say that Sonic was surprised when a second echidna appeared on the other side of the door was _probably_ an understatement. But, then again, Lock _had_ mentioned that this was the future and that Sonic had been seventeen before apparently being turned _back_ into a kid. And, from what Sonic understood, even back in what was apparently now the past, there had been very few echidnas in the world. So it seemed safe to bet that that still held true in this time, maybe even more so than before. And, considering that small population, _how_ likely was it, really, that there would be another echidna _besides_ a certain one in particular that looked so much like Locke? _Probably none, _he decided. _Which means that that's gotta be Knuckles, right? _

Whatever quiet conversation the two echidnas had been having up until this point, Sonic had missed it, wrapped up as he had been in his own thoughts. However, he was pulled from those thoughts quite abruptly when Locke suddenly said, "Be back later, Sonic, I have a few things to do," and left the room.

Just as Sonic started to grow both uncomfortable and wary, the stranger (who wasn't _entirely_ a stranger, since Locke had told Sonic about him before), crossed his arms and commented with raised eyebrows, "So you're the heathen that destroyed all of those factories and knocked Robotnik on his butt, huh?" It didn't seem like Knuckles was serious when he said "heathen", but Sonic still didn't like it.

Sonic also crossed his arms and turned away about halfway (though only with his body and not his head) in a decidedly stubborn way. "It's not as if he didn't deserve it," he retorted. "I'd do it again in a minute."

"I'm sure about that," Knuckles replied.

Silence. Then, "So... you're Locke's son? Knuckles?" He was already pretty sure that he knew the answer to that, but better to be safe than sorry.

"Yeah," Knuckles nodded. "Just found that out recently, actually."

"You don't seem very thrilled about that," Sonic observed.

Knuckles was struck for a moment by the obvious intelligence shining in those bright emerald eyes, but, at the same time, he knew he shouldn't have been so surprised. Young or not, this was still Sonic, after all. Sonic's observational abilities, when he actually utilized them, were truly astounding at times. "Well, no," he admitted. "Not really. I just met the guy. Why would I be?"

Much to his surprise, Sonic huffed at him. "That's stupid."

"How?" Knuckles asked with surprising calm, his eyebrows raising again.

"You just met the parent you've spent a lifetime wondering about. You should be _happy_."

And yet, despite his intelligence, he still displayed the same simplicity of logic that all children possessed. But then. Sonic _was_ a child for now. So really, there was no reason to be surprised by this. Knuckles shrugged. "I dunno." At the look he received, he sighed heavily. "Look, I'll try, alright? But I'm _not_ making any promises." Apparently satisfied with that, Sonic nodded. However, something seemed to be troubling him. Frowning slightly, Knuckles asked, "What's the matter?"

Sonic was silent for a moment, seemingly thinking something over before finally venturing to ask, "Have you met my dad?"

"Briefly, yes," Knuckles acknowledged.

"What's he like?"

The hesitance in the question truly seemed at odds with what Knuckles had seen so far of his friend's personality as a child, and Knuckles frowned slightly. "I don't know, to be honest. Like I said, I only met him briefly.' Sonic's own frown made itself known on his face, and Knuckles knelt down on one knee before the young hedgehog. "Look, I don't know him very well, it's true. But I do know enough to say that he doesn't seem like a bad guy. He's actually a lot like you. So there's nothing to be nervous about, alright?"

Sonic looked away, crossing his arms a bit tighter and down-turning his lips a bit. "I'm not nervous," he mumbled.

"Uh-huh." Knuckles stood back up then. "Anyway, I have to go help Amy with some stuff. You should try and get some more sleep before dinner." He turned and began walking away. It wasn't until he was in the doorway that he was stopped by Sonic's voice.

"W-Wait a minute," Sonic called out, jogging lightly up to him. Knuckles turned back around, and Sonic's ears lowered a bit, almost as though he'd been scolded. Knuckles was a bit puzzled by this reaction. He knew for _fact_ that he hadn't been glaring. Perhaps this was something that Locke would know about. The man had known Sonic when Sonic was this age, after all. He made a mental note to ask later. "Can... I come with you?" Sonic asked quietly, avoiding eye-contact.

Knuckles understood. If he were a child suddenly thrust into what was, to him, an entirely separate world from the one he knew, surrounded by a household of strangers and with no idea really how he got here... yeah, he'd be freaked out, too, and he doubted he would have wanted to be left alone, either. "Yeah," he replied calmly. Then, with a jerk of his head he invited, "Come on."

**~ソニック~**

**So it seems that Knuckles is actually pretty good with kids. He managed not to get angry despite Sonic's sometimes rather stubborn personality as a child, which is probably saying something. Anyway, this chapter ended up being a bit shorter at only 3,298 words, but I was satisfied with it. I hope you enjoyed! Posted 06-29-15.**


	107. An Errand

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Thanks! I'm so happy you think so! :) Oh, I'm so sorry you're confused! If there's ever anything you want to ask or have me clarify, just let me know and I'd be happy to help! Ahaha... Sorry it took so long for that to happen.**

**Hello, Guest! He will, I promise!**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! I know, right?! XD Yeah, most probably. I feel sorry for Silver, too. Poor dear. I'm glad you are! Alright, noted. Just remember, I'm doing both anyway. The voting is merely to determine which one I do first. :)**

**Hello astroshadow! I agree. Poor Silver. ...Proud of him because he didn't lose his temper for once? XD No telling he. We'll see. And as far as what Locke said about Silver... Well, I'm sure you'll find out. :)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Nope, not quite! Sonic just turned back into a kid, that's all. :P Well, I'm glad you liked it! I really liked the idea, too, hence the reason I even bothered to use it. XD As always, I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! You'll find out about the reaction soon enough. And Locke said that there is a chance that Sonic will remember, so maybe. :)**

**Hello, Anonymous! Yup, awkward indeed. Huh. Ironic indeed. Sheesh, I don't get why you're not allowed to just _catch _Latios and Latias like you could in the old games. It's so dumb. *Grumble, grumble***

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yup, it sure was! And yes, yes he did. Poor kiddo. Yeah, leave it to Locke to give Sonic a helping hand, huh? :) Yeah, he probably will, and does. He will, I promise!**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! Lol, I agree. :) Yeah... Poor thing. And yeah, probably. :P**

**Hello, Joeshmo24! Aw, thanks! I'm happy to know that you think so! I'm also very glad that you enjoy the different lifespans thing. I wasn't aware that it made the world,as you put it, believable and interesting, so when I read that it made me really happy. :) Thanks for taking the time to read and review again!**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Your first review to Chapter 106: Yup, they were good! Very good, in fact. I just tthink that Sonic is a bit older than that. After all, those four centuries are accounted for when he's fourteen. The first two from before he sees the Master Emerald, and the second two after the dark days. So, with that last bit in mind, it would seem hat two-hundred years equals about four years for him. That means that Sonic is around eight-and-a-half (or so) centuries old. Still, working with what numbers you had, you came up some very compelling numbers! :D And yeah, they most certainly have seen and experienced a lot of weird BS in their lives, huh? XD**

**Your second review to Chapter 106: Thank you! You, my dear, are one of the main reasons I got this far, so thank you tons! :D**

**Hello, SR! Thank you so much! I guess it has, huh? And to think that I only started this story in February or so... It's still so young! XD Actually, you were right the first time. It pretty much came out of nowhere. However, Locke as good as TOLD you guys why I made Sonic young again. Although, there is another reason that I left unstated as well. :P But anyway, SA and SA2 are still coming after this, I assure you. My Generations adaption will come later, and will have the white world and the Time Eater, not the younger Sonic and Tails doubles. :P Yeah, they sure do. And yes, the past heroes helping out sure is a good thing. Why is it surprising? And yeah, I can understand that. My family is weird, and therefore so am I. XD Sure, I'll tell. It was NOT Locke who named Chip. So guess who...! XD**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**~ソニック~**

**I am so sorry that this took so long! My computer got fried by the heat, so I haven't been able to do any typing lately. However, I discovered (today) that I can type in the docs on this site with my tablet, so I used that to do this chapter. Typing on my tablet, however, takes FOREVER. Sigh... Anyway, enjoy!**

**~ソニック~**

Sonic followed Knuckles hesitantly through the large, unfamiliar house, all the while trying to take everything in. Everything was so new and strange... But, at the same time, he supposed it wasn't, if what Locke had told him was true. What reason would his friend have to lie, anyway? And about something so huge, no less... No, Locke had to have been telling the truth. Sonic was sure of. So the question then became... _How to reverse this?_

As the pair descended the stairs, they passed by a row of frames mounted on the wall, each showing off its own precious memory. Pausing for a moment with his right hand resting lightly on the single, smooth rail, Sonic looked over one picture in particular. In it, there were three hedgehogs, all pink, standing together and smiling at the camera. The two in the back stood side-by-side with one hand each resting on the shoulders of the young girl standing in front of them. They all seemed so happy together, like there were no other people they wanted to be around except for each other. ...They looked like a family.

"Hey, you coming?"

Sonic blinked and turned his attention to Knuckles. The echidna now stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching Sonic with a look that the hedgehog could only describe as being curious. "Yeah," he replied, heading down the stairs once more. Once he had joined the echidna at the bottom, they resumed walking.

"You okay?" Knuckles asked as Sonic peered curiously through an open door. Inside, three hedgehogs, one silver and two pink, were doing dishes.

They kept walking. "Yeah," he repeated simply, not knowing what else to say.

Knuckles didn't seem to believe him, but thankfully he dropped the subject for the time being. Instead he informed Sonic, "Amy's outside. Like I said, I'm supposed to be helping her with something."

"Is that what Locke's doing?" Sonic asked, curious in spite if himself.

Knuckles shook his head. "No, he's just checking on something," he replied.

"Checking on what?" Sonic frowned when he didn't get a response. Instead, Knuckles apparently opted to remain silent as he led the way outside. However, a moment later, he surprised Sonic by picking up the dropped thread of conversation without missing a beat, as if there had never been a pause in their dialogue to begin with.

"A couple friends of ours are out in a house in the wilderness somewhere. We can't call them 'cause our communicators are on the fritz, so he's going to check on them."

"Oh." Barely a moment later, they came across a pink hedgehog in a red dress. She was standing not far from the entrance to the house with a simple light brown basket in her hands. _She looks like the little girl from the picture. _

"Hey, Amy," Knuckles greeted calmly.

"Oh, there you are," she smiled back, turning to face them more fully. "And you brought Sonic, I see."

Sonic said nothing as Knuckles nodded. "He didn't want to be left alone in there, so I let him tag along."

"That's fine." Then, still smiling, Amy suddenly spoke to Sonic. "You won't mind helping out a bit, will you?"

"I guess not," Sonic shrugged. Truthfully, he didn't exactly want to do that, but he didn't want to be rude, either. ...Not that he always cared about being polite, to be honest. He mostly just didn't want Locke to hit him on the head again.

"So what're we even doing, anyway?" Knuckles asked with a sort of sigh.

"Shopping!" Amy declared cheerily, holding her basket out toward him with two hands. "Here, take this one, and I'll take the other one."

"What are you shopping for?" Sonic asked, his curiosity getting the better of him again as Knuckles took the basket from Amy and Amy bent over to pick another one up off the ground.

"Food," Amy replied. "We have a lot of mouths to feed tonight." Then, with another smile, she gestured with her free hand for the boys to follow her and began walking.

**~ソニック~**

"Well _that _didn't work at all." Tails sighed and closed the video feed playing over a computer in his house. "I guess I should have known that it wouldn't."

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself," Chip said from where he floated close by. "It was worth a try. After all, who cares if a few unarmed aircraft he destroyed? It would've been worse if we had actually been up there fighting that Ivo guy instead of your robots."

"Yeah, but still," Tails replied. "I'm starting to get the feeling that, unless we actually _do_ go up there ourselves, we'll never beat him."

"You'll think of something, Tails," Chip replied. "I know you will."

"Thanks, Chip," Tails smiled. He stood, then, and headed back out into the living room where Analia was. "Any luck finding something that will help us defeat Dark Gaia?" he asked, looking over the pile of books beside the quiet female hedgehog.

She shook her head. "No," she replied. She paused, then added, "It was likely to be a fruitless endeavor from the start."

"What makes you say that?" he frowned.

"The world wished to forget Dark Gaia's existence, much as it longed to forget the war that all but destroyed my kind," she said quietly. "People do not willingly remember the pains of the past if it can be avoided."

That reminded Tails of how Sonic and his battles with Gerald Robotnik had been reduced to mere legends, bedside stories meant to teach lessons to children or, at times, merely to frighten them. "I guess you're right," he conceded. "I wish it weren't true, though. If someone had written something down, _anything_, that could help us defeat Dark Gaia..." He sighed and shook his head, leaving his sentence unfinished.

Analia closed the book and stood. Tails made a mental note to put those books away again later. Changing the subject, Analia asked, "Did you finish working on your ship?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Chip and I finished that a couple hours ago. And... my robots failed to do any good, so I guess we need a new plan."

"Perhaps it is time to regroup with the others."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing."

"Are you ready to go?" Analia asked.

"I think so," Tails replied with a nod. "You?"

"I am ready," she said simply. "And you, Chip?"

"I'm ready!" He replied with a confident grin.

"Alright, then," Tails smiled. "Let's get going."

**~ソニック~**

It was about six o'clock in the evening when Amy finally led the way back to her house, having decided that they had purchased enough food for the time being. By about six-thirty, Amy was in the kitchen with her parents, happily cooking while simultaneously shooing away any droolers who attempted to enter the large kitchen from the outside. Knuckles was pretty sure that that last bit applied mostly to Silver. _Man, can that kid eat. ...I s'ppose he gets that from Sonic. Sonic's got one helluva metabolism. _It was right about then that Knuckles thought to wonder where the kid even _was_. Shrugging, he stood from where he'd been reclining on the couch, stretched a bit, and set out in search of his young friend. He found him, just minutes later, sitting in the library. That in and of itself wasn't terribly surprising, Knuckles decided, but what _was _surprising was the fact that Sonic was in there with Kaden. Deciding to give them some time alone, Knuckles left the room.

**~ソニック~**

**So this is short at a little over 1,300 words, and I apologize for that. I hope you all enjoyed, anyway!**


	108. Closer

**Hello, Guest! I haven't actually decided what he's up to right now, to be honest. ^-^"**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Well, I'm glad you don't mind! I most certainly will, I promise!**

**Hello, Anonymous! Yeah... yet. XD Yeah, something was definitely up. :( Wow, really? Okay, I have an idea. If we learn what timezone we're each I'm, we can figure out when to get on. :) Yeah, I knew there were docs for tablets, I just thought that my tablet was one of the kinds that didn't support it. And yeah, when I'm using my computer, I just type in the docs, too. Who needs Word for FF when you have the docs? XD ...Why does your sister think it would be great if he died? And IF he had a son and that son featured in the Wii U games, WHY would that son look just like Sonic? He would have had to clone himself. I WILL NEVER BACK DOWN. XD Cool Pokémon! I have a cool team on my Pokémon Y game, too. :) Haha, great puns.**

**Hello, BlazeWriter69! Well, I'm glad you think so. :) Yeah, it does. Thanks for understanding.**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Your first review to Chapter 107: Yes, at the time. Aw, you're welcome. :) Yes, you are, dear. Yeah, that'll be interesting, huh? Yup, they reunite once again. :)**

**Your second review to Chapter 107: He's seventeen and his birthday is in January. Room right now in the story, it is about mid to late August. ...Is that what you were asking in your second line? Wow, he has lived a LONG time! Yeah,no wonder. Wait, is this in reference to the one time where he asked himself internally how long he was going to live? ...Yeah... Poor kiddo. HE'S SANE 'CAUSE HE'S SONIC AND HE CAN DO ANYTHING. XD I think you're probably right on this time. However, is this for seventeen or eighteen years old in his years?**

**Your third review to Chapter 107: It is, but I wouldn't say that it's the best. Hmm... I'm not quite sure what the best would be, to be honest. XD However, I think Dragon Soul (the English version) is also a good fit.**

**Your fourth review to Chapter 107: I knew what you meant. It's fine. :)**

**Ghostkid33! Yup, he does. About your question: _Maybe... _XD Yes, there will likely be little in this chapter. :) Yup, they're back and headed this way! *The Tornado-1 suddenly flies toward us* _Look out_! *Ducks to avoid getting hit by the low-flying plane, then chases after Tails since he'd the pilot***

**Hello, yourfan! I don't know when or if you'll see this, but I just wanted to say thank you so much for the review on Chapter 15! I'm happy that you like it and that you plan to keep reading! That really means a lot to me! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 17: He won't become dark, I promise! Once again, thanks so much for the review!**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**~ソニック~**

**So this chapter is a little longer at 2,115 words****, and we all have my mother to thank for that. She has oh-so-graciously allowed me to use her laptop while she sleeps (she has to get up at 3 a.m. to work tomorrow) and that means that I could write more efficiently. :)**

**~ソニック~**

"I still don't get what's so good about books."

Kaden couldn't suppress a small smile as he looked at his son who sat by his side on the single sofa in the library. "I don't believe that that's entirely true."

"I found a few books that were okay," Sonic admitted, "back when Locke and I were still fighting Gerald, but most of the books I tried to read were weird or boring or just... I dunno."

Kaden shifted to look at the cover of the book Sonic was currently trying to read. "_'Myths and Legends of the Sky'_, huh?"

Sonic shrugged and repeated, "I dunno. I thought it'd be interesting."

"Perhaps," Kaden agreed. A pause. Then, "You're bored with it, aren't you?"

"Yes," Sonic said with a heavy sigh.

Kaden smiled a little again. "I think I know something that will interest you a bit more."

"What?" Sonic asked, curiosity evident in both his eyes and voice.

Kaden stood and gestured for Sonic to follow him. "Come with me."

Blinking, Sonic closed the book and set it down on the cushion beside him before sliding off the sofa and hurrying after Kaden. Seemingly unable to resist, he inquired, "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," Kaden replied enigmatically, causing Sonic to huff. "Patience, my son."

"I suck at being patient," the young hedgehog grumped.

"So this will be a good chance to practice."

"Hmph."

Still smiling just enough for it to show, Kaden led his son into another room.

**~ソニック~ **

Locke was flying toward the place where he had seen Tails, Analia and Chip last, planning to fly in the direction they had gone from there, when he was suddenly startled by the faint sound of a plane flying toward him. It _was _faint at first, but it was quickly growing louder and closer. Turning a bit mid-flight, he soon spotted the plane high above him. Beside it was a bright light surrounding a solo form beside the plane (likely Analia, he decided), closely followed by a smaller shape following the plane more slowly than Analia. _That's probably Chip. _Without a word, he flew up to join the trio not far below the clouds.

"Hey!" Tails greeted with a smile once Locke was within earshot of his voice. "We were just headed back to meet up with you guys."

Locke nodded once. "Any luck?" he asked by way of greeting.

"No. I tried sending up some robots and unmanned aircraft, but they were destroyed."

"You didn't try to go up there in person?"

"No."

Locke nodded again, though this time his satisfaction was readily apparent. "Good. That would have been reckless."

"Yeah," Tails sighed, "but I still considered it."

"So long as you didn't try to follow through with that plan, that's all that matters," Locke replied.

Analia changed the subject then, gathering information in a straight-forward way that Locke was highly familiar with due to their past adventures. "You were headed toward us," she observed.

"Yes," he acknowledged, not saying anything else so as to allow her to ask what she wanted.

"Did something happen?" she inquired.

"Yes and no," he replied. At the looks he received, he was quick to reassure them. "Look, nothing _happened_. No one's hurt or anything."

"But something _did_ happen," Tails frowned.

"Yes," Locke nodded. "That's not why I came, though."

"Why did you, then?" Analia asked.

"Did you guys notice?" Locke asked in turn. "The communicators Tails and his friends use are on the fritz due to Dark Gaia's energy running rampant through the world. It's messing with all kinds of tech, televisions, radios, even cars sometimes. Amy was getting worried 'cause she couldn't call you guys, so she asked Knuckles to ask me to come down here and check on you, since everyone else was either sleeping or had other things to do."

"Oh," Tails said. Then, after a short pause he asked, "So... something happened?"

"Yeah," Locke acknowledged. Ignoring the indirect request for more information for now, Locke turned his attention to another old friend of his. "Hey, Chip."

Chip immediately perked up at the sound of his name. "Yeah?"

"How well do you know Dark Gaia's power and energy?" Locke asked seriously.

Chip's expression slowly turned completely serious as well. "As well as I know my own," he replied with a certainty that no one could doubt. "We're opposites, but we've been together since the beginning, since the day we were born. It knows me perfectly, too."

Locke nodded once, a deep frown appearing on his face. "I have a serious question for you, then."

Chip also nodded. "Okay."

"If someone were to get hit by a direct blast of a portion of pure energy taken from Dark Gaia," Locke asked slowly, "how long would the effects last?"

"That... depends," Chip replied even more slowly. "To be honest, most people wouldn't even survive such a blast."

"Well, he did."

"And he wasn't injured?"

"No."

Chip suddenly seemed to understand who Locke was talking about, if his slow, small smile and next comment were anything to go by. "He's stronger than I think I gave him credit for."

"Yeah, I'm not surprised," Locke replied. "I think he underestimates himself, too, so it's not just you."

"Wait, I'm confused," Tails cut in. "_What_ happened? And _who_ got blasted?"

Locke could feel Analia's eyes on him, searching, analyzing, but he didn't meet her gaze. "You'll see when we get back."

After a short pause, Chip answered the initial question. "My guess would be... Maybe about fifteen days, if we're lucky."

"And if we're not?" Locke demanded, albeit with an air of calm.

"Then he'll have to grow up all over again."

**~ソニック~ **

"So... I'm allowed to use this?" Sonic asked, looking over the small handheld device Kaden had picked up out of the room Sonic had been staying in after his regression. According to Locke, the device was something that Sonic had had on him during the attack that had resulted in him being turned back into a kid, so really, there was no harm in him having it now. That, and the devices attached to wires that seemed to go in one's ears, whatever they were called, that were plugged into it.

"Yes," Kaden replied. "I don't know what it's called or how it works, but it's supposed to play music."

At this, Sonic's interest visibly renewed itself, causing his eyes to light up. "Really?" he asked excitedly, looking over the device with new-found eagerness and curiosity.

Kaden nodded. "Whatever it is, it's yours. You apparently owned it already before you were turned into a kid again, so you can use it all you'd like."

"Cool!" Sonic exclaimed, apparently very happy with this new revelation. Still fiddling with the buttons, he ended up pushing one in particular that seemed to turn the device on. Blinking, Sonic messed with a few other buttons while Kaden watched, amused by the small 'o' shape his son's mouth was making as he explored the new piece of technology. A moment later, he inadvertently pressed a button that made some song start to play. The song could clearly be heard through the ends of the ear-devices, and sonic lifted one up with his free hand, frowning at it. "Why is this up so loud?" he complained, already dropping the wire and searching for a way to turn the volume down.

"Perhaps you were growing deaf in your old age," Kaden teased lightly, a small twinkle in his eyes.

"I was not!" Sonic retorted hotly. "And if I was old then _you're_ ancient!"

Kaden chuckled softly, unable to resist that and a small smile. He ruffled Sonic's hair a bit with one hand, much to the boy' obvious annoyance, and assured him, "I was only teasing, Sonic,"

"I _hate_ being teased," Sonic grumped, wearing an expression that Kaden swore almost looked like a pout. "It's bad enough Locke does it."

At this last statement, Kaden was reminded of what Locke had told him before the echidna had left to find Analia and the others.

_"Sonic... he never knew my name before I died. I don't know when he learned it, exactly, but I know he shouldn't know it now. Maybe this means he still has a few faint memories from the present." _

Shaking free of his memories for now, Kaden replied with a smirk, "Don't expect that to change, Sonic. Those who try to change him end up finding themselves facing a lost cause."

"No kidding," Sonic muttered. "He's as unchangeable as a frickin' mountain."

"That," Kaden replied with feeling, "is true." For better or for worse, Locke was largely unchangeable, much as his son seemed to be. Of course, even a mountain could be changes over time, but it was generally a long and slow process. Occasionally some catastrophic event could result in a large change happening in a very short period of time, but those events were rare, generally confined to circumstances when everything was at risk, such as one's own life, the lives of loved ones, the world, time itself... Still, such things _had_ happened, and Locke had grown and changed because of it. He had become an incredible person. He was a powerful ally, and a terrible foe... and an amazing friend. Knuckles, too, seemed to be growing into a more mature and powerful version of himself, but these things could not be rushed. Still, Kaden had high hopes for his friend's son, much as he did with his own son.

"Ah! I got it!" Kaden blinked, coming back from his thoughts at the sound of Sonic's cheering. Sonic grinned at the music-playing device. "Now I can listen to this without blasting my ears off."

"So you can," Kaden acknowledged. In that moment, however, two sets of ears perked up at the sound of a voice calling from downstairs. "However, that will have to wait, it would seem."

"And just when I figured it out, too," Sonic mumbled, clearly disappointed. However, he made no further complaints as he shut the device down and tucked it away before following Kaden downstairs.

Kaden honestly wasn't at all surprised by the general lack of argument from Sonic. True to his heritage, the young hedgehog had a large appetite to go along with his ability for using large amounts of energy. Granted, he could use far more energy and power than food could ever make up for, but even still. _Sleep certainly helps as well, _Kaden recalled as they reached the bottom of the stairs, only to be ushered toward another room by Amy. _He will need to rest more after he eats. _

Sonic peered through the door to the room Amy had led them too. "Why's everyone sitting at a table?" Sonic asked, though the question was directed at neither older hedgehog in particular.

To be honest, Kaden wasn't really sure, either, considering the fact that, during the time he was alive, dining tables weren't exactly a thing, save for in the villages that had been popping up across the world, none of which Kaden had ever actually eaten in. So, needless to say, Amy was the one who replied. "Because that's how families and friends eat together. They did that back on South Island, too."

"They did?" Sonic asked, seeming genuinely surprised and confused.

"Yes," Amy nodded. Then she asked more slowly, "Didn't... you ever eat at a table?"

"Well, my house _had_ a table," Sonic replied, "But I mostly just used it to put stuff on. I didn't really use the kitchen, either. ...Well, except for one time, but Locke made me promise not to try cooking by myself again after that."

Amy seemed to recall a past conversation in that moment, and she smiled a bit. "Well, go on in, you two. Everyone else is already eating, and you don't want to miss out."

"Thank you," Kaden said to her, causing her smile to widen a bit. It widened even more when Sonic pitched in a small vocalization of gratitude as well. Shaking his head a bit at his son, who hadn't removed his eyes from the table full of food for a full minute or so, Kaden led the way to the table so that they could eat.

**~ソニック~**

**So, there are a few references to things in this chapter that you may or may not remember, so here's a quick refresher: For one thing, at the beginning, Sonic mentions how he was reading a bit when he was having his adventures with Locke. Remember: It was Locke who got Sonic to start to read in the first place, and Sonic mentioned once as a kid while with Locke that he borrowed a few of the echidna's books. Next: The conversation Kaden has with Sonic regarding patience in the beginning is almost exactly like the conversation Locke and Sonic had in the early chapter where Locke gives Sonic the white Chaos Emerald (the chapter is entitled "Light" or something very similar). In his conversation with Chip, Locke vaguely references various times where Sonic, during his adventures with Locke, doubted his abilities and/or just doubted himself in general. However, nothing in specific is being referred to here. Toward the end, we are reminded that Sonic loves music, something Sonic first mentions after his race with Kaden not long ago. Lastly, Sonic mentions toward the very end of this chapter that he once tried to cook something in his kitchen in his house on South Island. Sonic told Amy about this in greater detail in Silver's time (in the chapter entitled "Bonding" or something very similar). **

**Anyway, that's all. I hope you all enjoyed this (slightly) longer chapter! It would have been longer, but it's a little past two in the morning on the fifth of July here, so needless to say, I'm tired. G'night! Posted 07-05-15.**


	109. And Onto the Future

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Yeah, I try. I used to be consistent, doing a chapter a day, but things keep coming up nowadays. *Sigh...* Aw, don't feel bad! I've neglected many a story as well, so it's not just you. XD Aw, thanks so much for saying that! I'm so happy that you think so! It always makes me smile when a reader says that they're enjoying my work. :) Awesome! Cookie! I love cookies! :D**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Yup, that's right. Seventeen. :) Wow, he has lived a _long_ time. :P Cool! That's awesome that you noticed most of the references! See? _See_? It's a great song, huh? And it fits him so well! :D Yeah, Skillet's song really does work for that tie, I'd say. Also, the original "Escape From the City" Song from the level City Escape in SA2, while not technically a theme song, really fits Sonic as a theme. Then there's "Live and Learn" (the main theme of SA2 as whole), "It Doesn't Matter" (his actual theme from SA and SA2), "Endless Possibility" (Main Sonic Unleashed Theme), "Reach for the Stars" (Sonic Colors), and Seven Rings in Hand (by Bentley Jones, from the game Sonic and the Secret Rings (or whatever it was called)). Those are all the actual _Sonic_ songs that I can think of that fit him. :) As far as other non-Sonic songs that fit... I'll have to get back to you on that one. :) Well, I added that because actual Sonic from the movies and TV shows and anime and video games is shown as having an avid interest and love for music and break dancing (which he does when he completes levels in most Sonic games). So, really, it's nothing new. :) Wow, Tails said that? ...I'm not the only one who thought that it was possible! :D I've always loved the idea of Sonic being able to sing and, like, play the guitar. That's so cool! Which episode was that? I wanna see it now. :P I _wish_ I could make Sonic a singer in this story but there are two problems with this: 1.) Most people would probably not like it and/or be like "WTF, yasha?!" and 2.) I just don't know how I'd make it work. :l I will do that! :D**

**Hello, Anonymous! Your first review to Chapter 108: Thanks! I'm so glad you think so! :D Haha, that's alright about the time zones. It was just an idea. :) I have no idea about the mic thing. We could certainly try, though! :) Aw, that's so cool! We got a new puppy, too. He's tiny and fluffy and he thinks he's tough. XD Our puppy's about three months, too. We just got him about three or so days ago. :) Wait, screw it up? Your family doesn't know how to handle electronics or something? Ugh, I _need_ GameCube controllers. We have two (count 'em, _two_) working GameCubes, but _no_ controllers. Don't ask, long story, but still. X( We did nothing for the fourth due to my mother being at work at the hospital all day and then having to go to bed early to leave at three in the morning today, my grandma not caring, my dad being in another city, and so on and so forth. My aunt invited us over for fireworks, but we would have had to walk (we only have one car, which my mom took to work) to get there... _in a hundred degree weather. _Needless to say, we stayed home. Sounds like you had fun. I'm glad. :) "Was that a rhetorical question?" XD That ould have been my response, too! XDD Okay, I will get on at least once a day (or try to), so unless my DS dies, I should see you. ...Right? XD Ne, do you have swapnote? If not, _get it_! We can send notes and doodles and stuff to each other to talk and stuff! It's a free download from the eShop. :) And yes, I will wait if I see you on! :D**

**Your Second review to Chapter 108: The end of this review made me laugh! XD**

**Your third review to Chapter 108: Yeah, it was fun! It's fine, I figured something came up. Yeah, who knew? Guess I need more practice. XD Actually, I didn't see you. It was your previous review that popped up that told me you were on right then. XD Yeah, I'll try my best to host next time! :D**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Wait, do you mean to grow up again or to remember everything and turn back to normal? Either way, thanks for the review!**

**Hello, yourfan! Yeah, Chapter 27 was sad. :( Thanks for reading and reviewing again!**

**Your review to Chapter 34: Honestly, I don't much care for that one, either. It could have been better, but I'm glad you're continuing to read, anyway. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 36: Yup. As Locke and Sonic once said, some species live a very long time. Hedgehogs have one of the longest, if not _the_ longest, lifespans. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 50: I'm so happy you like it! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm glad. Yeah, that one of the advantages to having Sonic be a kid again. Less awkwardness between him and Kaden. ...More for Silver, though. :P Yeah, it really is nice. And, as you said, typing on a tablet _sucks_. However, there's no telling how long I'll be able to keep using this laptop, so... we'll see. Wow, that's what you use? Oh, I feel sorry for you. :( As always, I will do my best, Pyro-kun! :D**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! I'm glad. :) That's alright, I understand. I was tired, too. XD**

**Hello, Guest! Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! :D**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

**_READ! IMPORTANT!_ So hopefully that got your attention. XD Anyway, I put my replies to the reviews I received while I was gone at the bottom of this chapter, as well as the reply to a review that I got before I left that I neglected to reply to. Also, I have put a poll out there regarding this story, and I would very much appreciate it if people would vote. ****There is no obligation, of course, but I would be grateful. :) The poll will probably be open for about a week or so. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!**

**~ソニック~**

**Otherwise titled: "Bittersweet"**

**~ソニック~**

_It had been ten years. Ten long years. He didn't know why they had called him. They hadn't wanted to see him again. And, honestly, he preferred to be alone. It wasn't like he had much of a choice but to be alone, anyway. After all, who would willingly spend their time with someone who was always on the run, always fighting, always being stalked by danger so persistent and so extreme that one could never be certain of seeing the next day? There was no one he could name that would do that. Not anymore._

_He didn't want to be here. He really didn't. There was so much to do, there was always so much for him to do, and so little time to do it. So much was happening right now. The world had never experienced peril like this before. He had so much to do... There were people to save, cities to evacuate, enemies to track down and fight, his ship was in desperate need of repair... People were in danger. The world was in danger. And yet, here he was, walking through the woods in response to a call he had never expected to receive, a call had only received because he had, by pure chance, happened to turn his communicator on earlier that morning. None of it made any sense. Why was he here? Why had they called? Why was he even doing this?_

_It was still early. Early enough that a fine mist shrouded the air, thickening the fog and covering everything in a cool, thin layer of dew. The fog swirled around his feet as he walked, limited his vision so that he could only see a few feet ahead of him. It didn't matter. He knew where he was going. He'd been here too many times, usually in secret, for him to lose his way._

_The fog thinned as he reached the edge of the forest. He emerged from the trees at a slow pace, taking his time, not hurrying. He had no desire to be here, anyway, so why rush it? He walked toward the center of the clearing to where they were waiting, where a familiar green glow greeted him, doing his best to ignore the stares sent his way. He didn't know why they were staring; they were the ones who'd called him. It wasn't like he'd just shown up out of the blue. They were the reason he was here in the first place, despite how much it had inconvenienced him, despite how dangerous it was for him to show himself, despite all the risks he'd taken to get here. Pushing those thoughts aside, he focused on the situation at hand. Why was he here? With that question in mind and his face and tone both carefully neutral (emotions were dangerous, after all), he demanded, "What?"__They seemed to know what he was asking about. It was the obvious question, after all. Why had they called him here? It should be simple enough to answer. At least, he hoped it would be. He had no time to spare, was wasting precious moments as it was. If they took too long, he would have no choice but to leave without answers. There was so much to do... It was dangerous for both him and others for him to be out in the open like this, anyway._

_Blue eyes bright with intelligence watched him almost warily, twin tails dancing behind their owner in a silent display of concern. Finally, he received an answer. At least in part. "...A lot's happening right now."_

_They seemed surprised when he answered, "I know." Really, their surprise was in itself surprising. Did they truly think that he had isolated himself so severely that he had no knowledge of what was happening? The very idea of him doing that was almost laughable, if only because he knew he would go crazy not knowing how the world was faring in his absence. Not that he was ever truly absent from the world's affairs._

_There was a brief moment of silence as the others traded troubled glances between themselves. Then green eyes almost as bright as his own turned toward him. "Of course you do," was the soft, almost apologetic reply._

_His expression never changed as he repeated his question, though this time wording it more clearly in the hopes that doing so would spur them into motion, get them to give him the answer they were dancing around. "Why did you call me?"_

_Spiked fists clenched and unclenched almost irritably from where they rested amongst crossed arms, violet eyes alight with something akin to forced calm. "There's a lot we need from you."_

_He was silent for a long moment. Finally, he spoke, giving them permission to continue. He was listening... at least for now. "Talk."_

**~ソニック~**

"I wasn't going to say anything at first, but at this point I think I have to. What in the hell are you doing?"

Sonic glanced up from his work for only a moment, just long enough to see Knuckles standing in the doorway with his arms crossed, leaning against the frame. "I'm fixing it. What's it look like?"

"Okay, but why?" Knuckles pressed. "It's not like Amy's parents are worried about that old thing. You heard them. They're replacing it."

Sonic rolled his eyes expressively before replying, "No duh. I'm not deaf. And anyway, that's _not_ the reason."

"That doesn't answer my question," Knuckles replied calmly.

"Why don't you go bother someone else?" Sonic retorted, still busy messing with the small television he'd gotten into at some point after most everyone else had gone to bed. "I'm busy."

"I can see that," Knuckles said calmly, "but you're still avoiding the question."

"Am not," Sonic replied with a frown. "I'm just busy. You're distracting me."

Knuckles was just about to reply when, suddenly, the once broken television flickered to life. However, what showed up onscreen was no T.V. show. Knuckles quickly walked over, his eyes a bit wide as he demanded quietly, "Is _that_...?"

Sonic nodded once, taking a step back away from the screen so that Knuckles could look. "Yeah. That's that space station Locke told me about. I hacked into a few cameras, ones that can fly around on their own and stuff. Now we can see whatever they do."

"Won't Robotnik notice?" Knuckles demanded with a frown.

Sonic shook his head. "Nope. Not unless he scans them for evidence of hacking, which I doubt."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah. I didn't mess with his video feed or anything, just made it so that we can see, too."

"Can we get sound?"

"Only if he turns on the volume. If we mess with it, he'll notice."

"Right." It was silent for a moment as Knuckles watched the robots patrolling onscreen. Then, smirking, he turned to Sonic. "This was a good idea," he said in a tone that hinted at praise. "Now we can keep on eye on what's going on up there. Good job."

Sonic smirked back and bit, but the look quickly faded. "There's just one problem, now."

"What's that?" Knuckles asked, growing slightly concerned.

Sonic put his arms up behind his head, looking somewhat put out. "Now that that's fixed, I have nothing to do."

Knuckles almost laughed. He swore he did. "_That's_ all you're worried about?" he asked, his tone and eyes more than conveying his supreme amusement.

Sonic glared at him but didn't reply. Instead, he plopped down on the nearby couch. A moment later he asked, "Hey, why was that Silver guy staring at me while we were eating?"

Knuckles had no idea how to respond to that. How much was safe to tell him? For that matter, how much was _fair_? Considering the fact that Sonic was only a kid right now, it wouldn't be fair to him in any sense of the word to tell him that he had a kid. There was no way that that would be fair to him. He didn't need the pressure or the stress or any of that. Not as a kid. So what to say? It was times like these where Knuckles wished, at least somewhat, that he was better with words. Maybe then this would be easier. _To say anything... or nothing at all? _That was the biggest question here, and he had no idea how to answer it.

Suddenly, Sonic's ears pricked and he turned his head toward the front room (which was connected to this one) and thus, toward the front door. "You guys said that the house was secure from those monsters, right?"

"Yeah." A pause. Then, "Why?"

"Something's coming," Sonic replied seriously. "Might be people, but I can't tell for sure. They're being awfully quiet."

Well, that explained why Knuckles couldn't hear them, then, if they were being so quiet that they were quiet even to Sonic's ears. ...Maybe they were just far away. Either way, Knuckles was on his guard now. Moving past the couch, he peeled back the curtain and peered cautiously out the window and into the night, fully expecting some hideous monster to pop up in his face on the other side of the glass at any possible moment. It never happened. Instead, he slowly became aware of three figures walking toward the house. _No, not three, _he realized after a moment. _Four. _The fourth was so small that Knuckles hadn't even noticed it at first, hovering though it was right by one of the other figure's heads. After several long, tense moments, he allowed himself to relax. "It's just them," he sighed, letting curtain slip from his fingers and shift back into place.

"Who?"

Knuckles turned to see Sonic standing near the doorway, obviously listening to the slow approach of the figures outside. "Tails and the two people he took off with, plus Locke." Knuckles honestly couldn't bring himself to call Locke his father. Not right now. Maybe not ever. He knew he'd promised Sonic he'd try, but even still. He was barely comfortable referring to his father by name, let alone calling him by the title of "Dad" or something related to that.

Sonic frowned slightly, never taking his eyes off of the front door, which he seemed to be watching from where he stood. "Tails is that fox Locke mentioned, right?"

"Probably, yeah," Knuckles replied.

"And the other two?"

"I don't know." It was true, at least. Knuckles had no idea who they were. It wasn't like he'd asked. It wasn't any of his business, for one thing.

"Hey, Knuckles?" Sonic asked after a moment.

Knuckles blinked, coming out of his thoughts for now. "Yeah?"

Sonic turned his head to look at him just as a soft knock sounded from the door. "Dontcha think you should unlock the door?"

Snorting a bit, Knuckles walked to the door, giving Sonic an almost playful shove with one hand as he went by. Out of the corner of his eye, he only just saw Sonic stick his tongue out at him in response. Smirking at the childishness of it all, Knuckles worked on letting the others into the relative safety of Amy's surprisingly (to him, at least) comfortable home.

**~ソニック~**

_A part of him wanted to be angry. Very angry. But he knew he couldn't allow that. Emotions were dangerous, especially the stronger ones like anger and happiness and fear. Even minor, weaker emotions like contentment were dangerous. That was something he had learned throughout the years... and it had been a brutal, painful lesson to learn. But now was no time dwell on that. Besides, doing so threatened to make him feel something, and he couldn't allow that. He couldn't take a chance like that, especially not now. Now was a time for action... and for suppression._

_His feet sped up even as his mind raced. Burying any and all emotions deep within himself, he thought over the meeting that had taken place earlier that morning. So much had to be done. It didn't help that now he was expected to help with an assault on The Capitol, a direct attack against the world's so-called ruler inside his mighty fortress. It was his own fault, really. If he had never let things get to this point to begin with, if he had never failed like he had so long ago, then none of this would even be happening. Maybe then he wouldn't be so alone now. Maybe then he could have allowed himself to feel to feel right now, rather than being forced to block even the tiniest flicker of emotion. __But no. Times had changed, and so had he. He'd had no choice. Being left alone after becoming used to being in the company of others would have forced anyone to change, but it wasn't just that. No, it couldn't be. The world had changed, and with it, its people. He was no exception. In order to continue fighting, to continue living, he'd had to change. Those changes had not come without sacrifices, however. He had suffered for it, yes. But there was nothing that could be done to change that. In the end, those changes had kept him alive, anyway. And, right now, him simply being alive was the world's greatest hope. According to them, anyway._

_Now wasn't time to be thinking about these things. He had to clear his head. Then, once that was done, once he was ready, he needed to disappear again. At least for now. He'd helped all the people that he could today, but he had come close, too close, to being captured. He couldn't afford to let that happen. Especially not now, not when there was so much more to do, so much more to lose. There were people counting on him again, more so than had become usual for these past ten years. He was part of a team again, however briefly, and he needed to be able to help them. And in order to do that, he needed to stay free._

_Dashing through the metal world, he avoided his mechanical enemies with a skill and ease that bespoke years of practice. It wasn't easy; his enemies were almost as populous as the world's people had once been, though the latter's numbers were dwindling, shrinking by the day. It didn't help that food and water were scarce, that everything was punishable by death and executions were arbitrary and pointless at best, that The Empire had lost interest in taking prisoners long ago, that even the largest of cities wasn't safe any longer. No one was safe, not even the smallest and most innocent children, nor were even the remotest of villages safe from the destruction and death. Even the wilderness was fraught with peril, and not just due to the same mechanical monsters that patrolled the civilizations._

_Things had changed so much since back when he was last a part of a team. And, honestly, a part of him wished that he could go back to those days, to the time when things had been hard, but not too hard, back when he had been able to feel happy, and others had been, too. However, that could not, would not, ever happen, and there was no point on dwelling in the past. He was here, this was now, and nothing would ever change that. At the end of the day, he still had to keep moving forward, no matter how much things changed. Because, after all was said and done, everything would always go back to normal. He would go back to being alone, his enemies would either die or go back to scheming, people would return to their lives, and he would always have to be ready for the next fight whether he wanted to or not. Because, at the end of the day, no matter how much he suffered for it, he was still Sonic the Hedgehog, and that would never change. Some things never did._

**~ソニック~**

Sonic shook himself free of the strange dream-like vision that had entered his mind while Knuckles had been answering the door. That was the second time this evening that this had happened. Something wasn't right about it. He felt like he was witnessing something he wasn't supposed to be seeing, like he was seeing the future without permission or something. Whether or not that was actually true was debatable, but he knew for a fact that what he had seen _wasn't_ a dream.

Shaking himself again, he watched as Knuckles opened the door and Locke walked in. He gave Sonic a brief glance and a tired sort of smirk in place of a "hello" before continuing on and heading up the stairs, probably going to bed. Behind him followed a young twin-tailed fox who froze in the doorway, visibly shocked as his eyes locked on Sonic. Knuckles murmured something to the fox, presumably Tails, that Sonic didn't care to pay attention to, and Tails nodded once, very slowly, before looking away from Sonic and following Locke up the stairs, glancing back a few times as he went. Next entered a small creature the likes of which Sonic had never seen before. The large green gem on his chest caught the dim moonlight in the room, and his little wings fluttered just loud enough to be heard. With a genuinely friendly smile and a wave, the creature flew off after Tails, never giving Sonic a chance to decide how to respond.

Last through the door was a blue hedgehog, only the second one besides himself that he'd ever seen, this one undoubtedly female. Her eyes fell on him quickly and, with a sort of cry and no other warning, she rushed forward, enveloping him in a hug that was almost too warm and almost too tight, but at the same time felt undeniably right, like a hug between a mother and her child. _That_ thought, of course, made his eyes widen, and his gaze swung to Knuckles, practically begging for answers, for confirmation. Knuckles just nodded once, smiling (actually genuinely _smiling_) faintly before locking the door once more and leaving the room, following the others up the stairs. Near frozen with shock, Sonic stood there while the woman sat on her knees and hugged him, crying silently all the while. Sonic swallowed hard. Could it be true? Was this woman who Knuckles seemed to think she was? _My... mother?_

**~ソニック~**

**So I managed to get this chapter to 3,171 words. You're welcome. ...I'm just kidding. XD Anyway, in case you couldn't tell, there was some truly _MASSIVE_ foreshadowing here. There is a very logical explanation for little Sonic's "visions" by the way, I swear. it'll be revealed eventually. Maybe even soon. Anyway, a very big plot shift is on the way... After the Dark Gaia Arc is over, of course. And, eventually, SA and SA2 and SA DX will come into play. I swear I will do my best to work at least _one_ of those in before the plot shift I mentioned before, as said shift is entirely unrelated to the games, anime, T.V. shows, and so on. BY THE WAY! Two important things: 1.) I have officially decided to adapt Sonic X at some point or another. Sorry to all you guys and gals who hate Chris, but I personally have no problem with him. 2.) Does anyone, and I mean _anyone_, have any idea of how I could get this story turned into a comic book? ...Keeping in mind that I really can't draw Sonic. Someone mentioned a Hero cominc in the reviews (you know who you are!) and now the idea won't leave me alone. :P Anyway, on to the replies!**

**~ソニック~**

**Hello, maga! I am _so_ sorry that I didn't reply to you last time! I honestly thought that I had, and by the time I realized I was wrong... well, you get the idea. Anyway, I can't blame you for thinking that at first. It honestly wasn't much to begin with. Part of the reason for that was the fact that I had very little direction at the time, and I had no ideas for a bigger plot at the time, just ideas for small snapshots into Sonic's life. Still, I'm happy that you took the time to read it and that you've enjoyed it so much! And I'm also very happy to know that you think Hero does a good job of keeping people guessing. I honestly try very hard with that one (and sometimes I fail XD). Anyway, thank you _so_ much for taking the time to read and review! That makes me so happy! (P.S.: I agree! However, I love SA2 as well. :) Oh, and Adventure DX. :D)**

**Hello, Firerider007! Uh, sorry to disappoint you there. Haha. Thanks for stopping by and checking in, at any rate! :)**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! The divider line? Is that what you're talking about? Well, either way, thanks. ^-^**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Yeah, songs outside that universe are cool, too. Especially when they fit him so perfectly. :) Yeah, I don't like that show, to be honest, but I will watch that episode just for that line. XD Thanks for letting me know! Wow, lots of fics have done that, huh? Boy, have _I_ been missing out! XD I will have to find them. Yeah, I think I _will_do a poll. That's a good idea. Thanks for the idea! :D Cool, I'll check it out! No... Not yet. :( Been busy busy, as I'm sure you know (since I frequently complain about it XD). But I still very much plan on checking it out, I promise! Yeah, sorry for the disappointment. But yes, I did have fun. :)**

**Hello, Anonymous! Your first review to "Chapter 109": (The quotations are 'cause that wasn't a chapter. XP) I mean I was in game and therefore didn't go into the friend list thing on the homescreen to see that you were online. Your review told me you were online instead. XD Well, I didn't bring my 3DS with me camping, so I haven't been playing. Sorry. I might get on later tonight, but we'll see. I barely slept at all while I was gone, so I'm ready to crash. ^-^**

**Your second review to "Chapter 109": Huh. I thought that I could still share on that. Well, darn. :( Oh well, it was a nice idea at the time. XD**

**Hello, flashyhero! Thank you, and I did. :D**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Replying for fun! XD**

**Hello, astroshadow! Thank you! I did! :D**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Your review to Chapter 108: Thanks! I'm glad you think so! Yes, he did. Well, not _everyone_ is there, as you'll see this chapter. :P I'm glad you likes it and that caught the reference. :) Yes, there was. I ensured it. XD O...M...G. He _does_? Which games? :O That's such an interesting and cool idea! :D Well, you'll see this chapter! At least somewhat! :D**

**Hello, Shadowstar146! _Aw_! Thanks so much for saying that! That means so much to hear! :D Lol, I don't have one either, so no worries. It truly does, doesn't it? XD I'm so glad you think so. Sometimes it feels like the characters are getting out of my control and that I'm losing them and their personalities in the midst of everything, so it's good to hear once in a while that they're still okay. :) I'm so happy that you like the plot as well! The plot is honestly my favorite part of this story to work on, even more so than the little, minor interactions that I like to do (you know, the ones that aren't truly important to the story itself). :) I'm very happy that the transitions, sloppy though some of them are, work well in your opinion. _Dude_, a comic book version of this would be _amazing_! I can't stop thinking about that now! But I can't draw Sonikku or his friens or anything... :( I must find someone who can! :D**

**Hello, Bluepaw265! Is your name a Warriors reference? :D Anyway, thank you! I'm so happy you like it! :D**

**Hello, SR! Yeah, that it does. And bittersweet it is. Yeah. I haven't actually decided _how_ limited it is, exactly, but thy can't stay forever. ...Man, that's gonna hit Sonic hard when the day comes. Poor kiddo. :( Yes, they will finally have their first encounter! I don't know whether to feel excited for him or nervous on his behalf. However, I don't think Sonic himself will have _time_ to feel nervous, with this encounter coming as a surprise like it is. Oh yes, very awkward indeed. Yes, it's a funny image. XD However, how else would there be an entire breed of pink hedgehogs, you know? :P It's alright. Your explanations makes sense. Like i said, my family is just weird, that's all. XD**

**Posted 07-11-15.**


	110. Wanted

**REAL QUICK! I know it says that some of the reviews are for Chapter 110, but that's just because I screwed up. It's all for Chapter 109. Anyway, onto the replies!**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Yes, yes he did. :) Yeah, it probably is. XD**

**Hello, Anonymous! What do you mean go backward...? I wouldn't be going backward, no matter what order I do the adaptions and whatnot it. :) I'm glad you did, too! And yeah, hopefully. It's fine that it's long. I don't mind reading about your Pokemon stuff. I grew up playing and loving Pokemon, after all! XD Yes, I'm aware that I don't have to, and I usually don't, to be quite honest. I just reply to the sentences that I actually have a specific reply for. :P It really is the longest I've gotten from you! Maybe even from anyone! XD And I told you once before, actually. I didn't know what else to put, so I labeled you as "Anonymous" since that's how I know you here. :P**

**Hello, Gust1995! Yup! As that first "Chapter 109" said, I was gone camping from the fourth of this month until midday on the tenth. :) Wait, good luck on what? I'm confused 'cause I'm tired. XD A "reboot" as in like redoing the story or something? No, that's not what it is at all. ;)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! OMG, this review made me smile so much, like a mad fool! XD Yes, that's exactly the kind of future it is! Haha, you're so welcome! Aw! I'm so glad you think so! Yes! We gotta love 'em! Who knows where this story would be without 'em! XD Well, I'm glad you liked it. I will do my best, Pyro-kun, as always! :D**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! Awesome! I'm glad! I finally found someone else here who likes it! XD I'm glad you enjoyed them. Well, wait no more, 'cause here's the next chapter! Aw, you did? X) Thanks! And yeah, me too. 'Cause, honestly, if I could, I'd be drawing that comic right now. By myself. The way I envision each chapter. XD **

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

Two days had passed since Locke's return with Chip and the others, and though there was much to be done, nothing really _had_ been done. They had spent the majority of their spare time watching Sonic's newly fixed T.V. and thus, watching Ivo. They kept a close eye on the man's actions in space, but they had yet to see (or occasionally hear) anything of use. They sorely needed a plan, but there was little they could do to make one at this point. After all, they had no idea what Ivo was up to, and they had even less of an idea of how to defeat Dark Gaia. Not only that, but for any plan of theirs to work, they needed _Sonic_. Not kid Sonic, but Sonic, the one who had grown and lived and fought and had more knowledge and experience than his kid self could ever have hoped too. The situation, while not actively getting worse, seemed far from getting better.

Amidst it all, Sonic did as he was told for the most part and tried to get lots of rest. From what he understood, it had been a long time since he'd really, actually slept. However, his weird dreams continued, and as such, his sleep was frequently disrupted. Whenever a dream ended, he would end up waking up whether he actually wanted to or not. He hated it. For that matter, he hated those dreams as well. He was _tired_. He wanted to _sleep_. _Guess that's not gonna happen._ Sighing, he tossed aside the blanket, having experienced yet another episode of broken sleep, and hopped lightly out of bed, moving to the square window at the foot of it. As he stood there looking out at the late-night sky and the moon and the stars that filled it, his mind drifted back to his dreams. He'd had multiple over the past few days, and he was having a hard time really making sense out of any of them. _Maybe thinking about 'em will help. S'not like I've got anything better to do, since I can't freaking sleep. _With that and mind and truly not having anything better to do, he turned his attention to his dreams. The first one was very specific in its detail and, judging by the distinct lack of mention of an attack on "The Capitol", this happened, chronologically speaking, before the visions yesterday.

**~ソニック~ **

_It had been starting to rain. It had been raining just hard enough to make seeing ahead of oneself difficult, but not impossible. He hated getting wet, but as with most things these days, he simply put up with it. He was almost there, anyway. Besides, the rain was only in a part of the area he was walking through. Soon, he left the rain behind him. He'd been walking through a very massive, mostly flat stretch of land that looked for all the world like a desert with lightly tan-colored sand and rocks of various sizes dotting the surface. However, this place wasn't truly a desert. For one thing, it wasn't hot, despite it being mid-afternoon by now. The rain was another indicator. Besides, he knew that this place had once been a forest. It was how he'd known about the place where he was currently headed. It was why he'd even thought to come here back then, back when everything had started falling apart. If he hadn't, who knew what would have happened. He would have been captured, most probably, but beyond that, who really knew? _

_Pushing such thoughts aside for now, he stepped over to the edge of a cliff standing parallel to another cliff some distance away. Without any provocation, he merely stepped off the edge and let himself fall. Landing lightly on his feet at the bottom of the canyon, he did a quick yet thorough check to make sure that no one was here. Of course, no one ever was, but there was no such thing as being too careful, especially in times like these. Turning his attention away from that, he walked over to a large boulder resting against the cliff-face he had just been standing on and, carefully stepping around it, he found himself face-to-face with a large metal door. He opened it without any hesitation and headed inside, shutting the door quickly behind him. _

_Once inside, he didn't bother attempting to light the place up. He could see just fine in the dark, anyway. Allowing himself a small sigh, he laid back on a simple mattress with no blankets on a simple raised frame, using his arms in place of the missing pillow. He stared at the ceiling for a long moment before turning his head to the side. Hanging on the wall were a group of tattered sheets of paper he'd recovered from various cities or, at times, fluttering around on the ground in his "desert" home. On each sheet was a familiar face, sometimes angry, sometimes scared, sometimes injured, sometimes just dirty... The fact that these faces were even known to the world probably wasn't a good thing, if only because too many people would likely be willing to turn these people in. Not that he could blame them. Doing so might spare whoever turned them in, but even still... It was heavy chance to take. Shaking his head, he let his eyes skim slowly over the papers. _

_The first paper showed Shadow's face glaring silently at the camera with a pistol raised in one hand by his head, pointed up at the sky. The almost overly long tattered brown scarf he wore was blowing in the wind in the desert he stood in, the very same one Sonic had walked through to get here. Besides being dirty, he seemed uninjured. He stood sideways with his head turned to the side to look at the camera. Blinking, Sonic started to read._

_Wanted:_

_Shadow the Hedgehog_

_For crimes against The Empire _

_Including but not limited to:_

_Treason_

_Evading arrest_

_Aiding in the escape of prisoners_

_Arson in The Capitol_

_Arson in the cities_

_Conspiracy to overthrow the Emperor_

_Refusal to labor in the mines_

_Joining the Freedom Fighters_

_Unauthorized ownership and use of a weapon_

_Unauthorized ownership and use of a vehicle_

_Destruction of property of The Capitol including factories, robots, and other buildings_

_Trespassing_

_Knowing and associating with Sonic the Hedgehog_

_Knowing and associating with other wanted persons_

_Withholding information_

_Meeting in secret_

_Attempting to attack the Emperor_

_Unlawful excursions to space_

_Unlawful use of one's powers_

_Aggravated assault against any robots_

_Aggravated assault with a weapon against any robots_

_Escaping custody_

_Aiding the accused_

_Escaping prison_

_Reward: 60,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_That second to last line always made him snort. As if their so-called world ruler would ever show mercy to anyone for anything._

_In the picture picture on the next poster, Sonic himself gazed calmly, neutrally at the camera, his back to it and his head turned so that he could look over his shoulder. His arms were crossed. He was dirty and injured and also in the middle of the desert, much like Shadow was on his Wanted Poster._

_Wanted: _

_Sonic the Hedgehog_

_For crimes against The Empire_

_Including but not limited to:_

_Treason_

_Evading arrest_

_Aiding in the escape of prisoners_

_Conspiracy to overthrow the Emperor_

_Withholding ancient knowledge_

_Withholding information_

_Unauthorized use and construction of machinery including bombs and ships_

_Refusal to labor in the dungeons_

_Refusal to labor in the mines_

_Refusal to labor in the deserts_

_Refusal to labor in the factories_

_Destruction of property of The Capitol including factories, robots, and other buildings_

_Founding the Freedom Fighters_

_Unauthorized ownership and use of a vehicle_

_Trespassing_

_Meeting in secret_

_Attempting to attack the Emperor_

_Unlawful ownership of a device that plays music_

_Unlawful use of a device that plays music_

_Unauthorized ownership and use of a weapon_

_Unlawful excursions into space_

_Attempted spying_

_Spying_

_Attempted Hacking_

_Hacking_

_Hiding ancient ruins and artifacts_

_Bombing Capitol property_

_Attempted theft_

_Theft_

_Aiding the accused_

_Knowing and associating with other wanted persons_

_Unlawful use of one's powers_

_Housing the accused and/or escaped prisoners in one's home_

_Aggravated assault against any robots_

_Aggravated assault with a weapon against any robots_

_Unauthorized use of tools_

_Unlawful ownership of tools_

_Reward: 1,000,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Next was Tails. He was looking directly at the camera, also over his shoulder, from where he seemed to be knelt over some piece of machinery in the ruins of an old mountain village. His expression was calm, but determined. Sonic was willing to bet that the robot that had taken this photo had barely lived long enough to send said photo off. Other than a dark brown tool belt around his waist and an equally dark brown set of goggles resting on his forehead, his appearance was unchanged from what Sonic had known._

_Wanted:_

_Miles "Tails" Prower_

_For crimes against The Empire_

_Including but not limited to: _

_Meeting in secret_

_Trespassing_

_Aggravated assault against any robots_

_Aggravated assault with a weapon against any robots_

_Attempted spying_

_Spying_

_Attempted Hacking_

_Hacking_

_Attempted theft_

_Theft_

_Escaping custody_

_Withholding information_

_Treason_

_Evading arrest_

_Destruction of property of The Capitol including factories, robots, and other buildings_

_Conspiracy to overthrow the Emperor_

_Knowing and associating with Sonic the Hedgehog_

_Knowing and associating with other wanted persons_

_Unauthorized flying of a ship_

_Unauthorized use of tools_

_Unlawful ownership of tools_

_Unlawful use and ownership of a vehicle_

_Unlawful excursions into space_

_Unlawful use of one's powers_

_Aiding the accused_

_Housing the accused and/or escaped prisoners in one's home_

_Unauthorized use and construction of machinery including bombs and ships_

_Refusal to labor in the factories_

_Unauthorized ownership and use of a weapon_

_Aiding in the escape of prisoners_

_Attempting to attack the Emperor_

_Joining the Freedom Fighters_

_Reward: 50,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Next was Amy, gazing with a great deal of what could only be called irritable calm with her arms crossed at some robot that had found her in the dead of night in some mostly abandoned looking city. Her simple black dress with its yellow sash tied loosely around her waist was unlike the bright red outfit she had always worn before. The only aspect of that outfit that still somewhat remained was her headband, and even that was different. It was black now, too, to match her dress as her old headband had done with her old dress._

_Wanted:_

_Amy Rose_

_For Crimes against The Capitol_

_Including but not limited to:_

_Aggravated assault against any robots_

_Aggravated assault with a weapon against any robots_

_Unauthorized ownership and use of a weapon_

_Joining the Freedom Fighters_

_Treason_

_Withholding information_

_Evading arrest_

_Aiding in the escape of prisoners_

_Conspiracy to overthrow the Emperor_

_Refusal to labor in the mines_

_Unauthorized ownership and use of a vehicle_

_Unlawful ownership and use of a cellphone_

_Trespassing_

_Escaping custody_

_Escaping prison_

_Meeting in secret_

_Unlawful use of one's powers_

_Attempting to attack the Emperor_

_Destruction of property of The Capitol including factories, robots, and other buildings_

_Theft_

_Aiding the accused_

_Knowing and associating with Sonic the Hedgehog_

_Knowing and associating with other wanted persons_

_Housing the accused and/or escaped prisoners in one's home_

_Reward: 48,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Next was Knuckles, glaring, as usual, with a fierce fire in his eyes at the camera. One fist was clenched and raised by his head and his sharp teeth were bared. He was only turned about halfway toward the camera, with most of his back showing in the picture. The only real change in his appearance was the hat he now wore, a gift from his father._

_Wanted:_

_Knuckles the Echidna_

_For crimes against The Empire_

_Including but not limited to:_

_Withholding ancient knowledge_

_Withholding information_

_Trespassing_

_Meeting in secret_

_Attempting to attack the Emperor_

_Destruction of property of The Capitol including factories, robots, and other buildings_

_Theft_

_Escaping custody_

_Escaping prison_

_Evading arrest_

_Aiding in the escape of prisoners_

_Conspiracy to overthrow the Emperor_

_Refusal to labor in the mines_

_Aggravated assault against any robots_

_Unauthorized use of a weapon_

_Joining the Freedom Fighters_

_Treason_

_Unlawful use of one's powers_

_Arson in The Capitol_

_Arson in the cities_

_Unlawful treasure hunting_

_Withholding treasure from the Emperor_

_Unauthorized use of tools_

_Knowing and associating with Sonic the Hedgehog_

_Knowing and associating with other wanted persons_

_Hiding ancient ruins and artifacts_

_Attempted spying_

_Aiding the accused_

_Reward: 54,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_There were more, of course, but Sonic didn't feel like looking. It was horrible, really. Even little Cream and Cheese were wanted. And it wasn't just them. Vanilla, Amy's parents, Big and Froggy, Jet, Wave, Storm, Rouge, The Chaotix... Everything was so horrible. Sighing again, he blocked out the emotions that had threatened to rise up in him, chief among them being anger and disgust, and rolled over and tried to sleep. _

**~ソニック~**

The next vision seemed to occur chronologically right after the last one. Or at least soon after it. Sonic couldn't be sure, but it seemed likely. The vision showed the same room with the same posters on the wall with the other Sonic still laying in the same position as before, so it seemed likely that this vision was from right after the last one.

**~ソニック~**

_The wall beside the posters was dark one moment and excessively bright the next. His eyes drifted open slowly. It took a great deal of willpower not to feel startled; that was an emotion, after all, and he couldn't afford that. Rolling over, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and gazed calmly at the large almost television-like screen built into the wall. It was a bit more than twice as tall as he was and, being rectangular in shape, it was even longer than that. Before it was an equally long elevated keyboard and an old black chair made out of cushioned leather. Standing, he sat down in the chair, taking advantage of its wheels in order to slide closer to the screen. Onscreen, the face of someone who looked great deal like Gerald Robotnik appeared._

_"Hello. This is your Emperor speaking. Of course, as you all know, if you are listening to or watching this broadcast on anything but one of my robots you are committing a crime and will be punished." The grin that spread across his face nearly doubled in size as he continued to speak. "Now, onto business. As all of you, my subjects, are aware, there is a high bounty on the heads of a certain hedgehog duo. I have decided to change their bounties now that the rumors have been confirmed. They have been working together, as I had long suspected, thus making them accomplices in crime. Everyone should make note of these changes, especially you, hedgehogs. Shadow the Hedgehog, for your past crimes and your newly discovered partnership, your new bounty is 120,000,000. Sonic the Hedgehog, for your past crimes and newly discovered partnership, your bounty is now 200,000,000. And, last but not least, for the crime of stealing the Chaos Emeralds from me, dormant though they are, your bounty has increased again, this time to 300,000,000. Those are precious gems, after all."_

_Sonic blinked. So his bounty had increased, then. It wasn't like it mattered. It had been worth it, for once. Yes, the Chaos Emeralds were dormant for now, but that was of his own doing. Suppressing his emotions aided greatly in that. Not that his so-called emperor could ever know that._

_"And," the man continued, "to top it off, I thought I'd add a little something extra."_

_Now Sonic was wary. ...Or at least he would have been, if he could have allowed himself to be._

_"Sonic the Hedgehog, when I finally capture you, death will not be your punishment. Not right away." A sinister grin spread across the man's face. "I'll let you figure out what that means."_

_The video feed ended. Without a word, Sonic slid off of his chair and grabbed a pen off of a nearby square table made entirely of wood. Walking over to his and Shadow's posters, he crossed off the old bounties. _

**~ソニック~**

The last vision was the most mysterious of the bunch, and not only because he had no idea when it occurred in relation to the others. In the vision, the sun was setting to the left of the hedgehog identified to him in the first vision as a person named Shadow. The hedgehog stood in the sand with his arms crossed, glaring at something, his long brown scarf from the Wanted Poster blowing to the right in the wind. As the vision progressed, the other Sonic appeared, walking toward Shadow with a neutral expression.

**~ソニック~**

_"Took you long enough," Shadow muttered. Sonic didn't reply as he stopped before the other hedgehog. Shadow tightened his crossed arms. "You know we have to leave soon."_

_For once, Sonic opted to answer with words. "Yes."_

_Shadow frowned at him, seeming to wonder about something before shaking his head and dismissing it. Then, with a jerk of his head, he turned and said. "Come on." They had a lot to do._

**~ソニック~**

Sonic was beyond tired. It had to be close to one or two in the morning by now. He was _so_ tired. And thinking over those visions or dreams or whatever they were had done nothing to help him make sense of them. Instead, he was left feeling even more confused than he'd started off feeling, if that was even possible. Sighing, he turned away from the window and exited his lonely room, creeping down the hall to a room that he'd seen earlier. As he walked there, he passed by a door that was cracked open, revealing a room with a single large bed in it and two sleeping figures with blue fur resting in it. He paused, debating, before quietly hurrying farther down the hall. He wasn't ready to let himself be that vulnerable around them yet.

Reaching the room he was looking for, he silently opened the door and stepped in, carefully closing the door behind him slowly enough that it didn't bother the person in the bed on the other side of the room. Tiptoeing it all the way, he came to stand at the edge of the bed. Hesitating for only a moment, he reached up and shook the figure under the thin blanket. "Locke, wake up," he urged quietly.

After barely a moment, Locke's eyes blinked tiredly open and he sat up a bit, bracing himself on his left elbow. "Sonic?" he mumbled, obviously exhausted. Suddenly, Sonic felt bad. "What's the matter?"

"I can't sleep," Sonic mumbled back, looking away almost guiltily and scuffing the toe of his right shoe into the dark blue carpet.

With a tired sort of sigh, Locke tossed the blanket aside and scooted over. "C'mere, then."

Sonic gratefully climbed in the bed next to him and wiggled his way under the blanket. Once he was situated, Locke laid back down and was soon asleep again. Soothed by the familiar sound of his friend's soft snores, Sonic soon felt his worries melt away and joined the rest of the house in sleep. And this time, there were no disruptions.

**~ソニック~**

Being exceedingly careful not to wake anyone, Amy crept back up the stairs from the kitchen with a glass of water in her hands. Walking slowly and sipping from the glass as she went, she headed back to her room. Once she was behind the closed door of said room, she took another small drink and set her glass down on the small nightstand beside her bed. Next to the glass was her cellphone, which she'd had charging for most of the night. Once again, something that had been bothering her popped up into her mind and she almost picked up her phone. Still, she hesitated. _Think of the time,_ she told herself. _You can't call right now. _But the _time_ was precisely why she was worried. The three of them were alone in a city full of monsters. Their city had been evacuated but, with no other place to go, they had stayed. Which meant they were in danger. Which, of course, meant she was worried. ...Even if she only did know one of the trio somewhat personally and even if she didn't exactly like one of them. Still, she worried for them. She couldn't help it. It wasn't like her worries were unfounded, at any rate. There was real danger in the world right now, especially at night. And yet, even during the day there was danger due to Ivo and his robots. _All the more reason to call,_ she decided. And so, steeling her resolve, she picked up the phone, plucked out the charger, and dialed the number she was now exceptionally grateful she had thought to ask for the last time she'd seen them.

Surprisingly, it only rang twice before someone answered. "Hello?" was the tired answer.

"Oh, Jet, it's you," Amy said, somewhat relieved. If Wave or Storm had answered, this conversation would have been much more awkward. ...And her idea probably would have been shot down right away. It might still be rejected, but at least she could be sure that Jet would hear her out. _Hopefully. _

"Amy?" he mumbled, still sounding like he was half asleep, leading her to wonder how he'd managed to answer the phone so quickly. It crossed her mind that he seemed like a light sleeper, much like Sonic was. "Why in the world are you calling at..." There was a pause as he seemed check the time. "Jeez, three in the morning?" That simple fact seemed to wake him up more, if only due to the surge of irritation it caused.

"Yeah, sorry." It occurred to her that she wasn't really that sorry. She didn't sound very much like she was, either. She ignored that fact for now. "Listen, I have a serious proposition for you."

"O-_kay_..." he replied slowly.

She rolled her eyes. "It's _serious_," she stressed.

She listened as he sighed once, heavily. "I'm listening."

Not wasting a moment, she launched in. "Future City was evacuated, right?" She was certain that she knew the answer to that, but she needed to hear it from him.

"Yeah," he said.

"And you guys are aware of the monsters that come out at night?" she pressed.

"Kinda hard not to be," was the dry remark.

She rolled her eyes again. "I was just making sure. Listen, I'm not sure if you've heard, but the news covered a story on the radio recently."

"We don't have a radio."

"So listen up, then. Future City is absolutely crawling with monsters at night, but there are other places that aren't. My home city, Apatos, is one of the places that has very few attacks at night."

There was a pause before he responded slowly, almost suspiciously, "What are you getting at?"

It seemed like he already knew what she was suggesting, but she did him a favor and spelled it out, anyhow. "I'm saying you three should come here and stay with us for a while. Pack a bag each and take your boards. There's more than enough room in my parents' house for three more people."

"That's not the only reason you called, is it," he said, his tone making it more of a statement. "It's more than just you worrying." He really was smarter than he let on, sometimes.

She sighed a little. "Yes. For one thing, we're trying to come up with a plan to strike at Ivo and destroy Dark Gaia, the thing making all these monsters appear at night, and we'll need all the help we can get."

"And?" he pressed, seeming to know somehow that there was more.

"_And_," she sighed, a bit more heavily this time, "something kind of big happened. No one's hurt or anything but... well, you'll see when you get here, I guess." He hadn't actually said that they would come, but she had a feeling that he wouldn't refuse her offer. And wherever he went, his teammates went. As much as the other two seemed to argue with him, there was no doubt that they were loyal.

There was another pause before he said simply, "You know we can't really fight, right?"

"There are other ways you can help," she replied.

"Like being a distraction or something?" He didn't seem thrilled by the idea.

"Not necessarily, but that is one possibility," she acknowledged, nodding though she knew he couldn't see it. Another pause. Then, "So you'll come?"

He sighed yet again, something she was noticing that he seemed to do a lot when he was tired. Truth be told, she had noticed it the last time she'd been around him, too. "Yeah, we'll come. Give us until morning. ...Well, later in the morning. We'll leave then."

"If you leave early enough, you should make it here by the afternoon."

"Right."

With nothing else left to say, they hung up.

**~ソニック~**

Chip was no normal being. Anyone with eyes could tell that. And those with senses special enough that they could feel the auras of others could tell with an even greater ease. Being as different as he was, Chip was gifted with multiple special senses. One of them allowed him to feel people's auras, or, in other words, the energy they gave off whether they were using power or not. One could tell a lot about another person through their aura. You just had to know had to read it. In doing this, Chip could tell with some ease that Dark Gaia's energy was still affecting Sonic. That was no real surprise; if Dark Gaia's energy were no longer affecting him, he would no longer be a child right now. Still, there was something else.

Chip had been seeing them too, these strange _visions_. They troubled him, but not deeply. It seemed that they had forged some sort of unintentional connection with a Sonic from another time, quite a ways in the future. Their visions weren't visions at all, then, but merely that Sonic's memories. They felt important somehow, like it was going to affect, perhaps even greatly so, one or more of his new friends, but he couldn't be sure. _Whatever's going on, I hope it's not as serious as it seems. _He sighed softly. _But... then again... when have things ever not been serious, when it comes to Sonic? _

**~ソニック~**

It was close to ten in the morning. In order to ward off what was essentially cabin fever, and also to just get some people out of the house, Amy had declared the day a beach day. With her she took (or rather _dragged_, in two cases) Locke, Knuckles, Cream and her family, Sonic and his parents, Chip, and Tails. Cream and Cheese were more than happy to go swimming and build sandcastles, and they were the first to dash off when they reached the beach with Vanilla following behind them more slowly, calling out a gentle, "Careful, dear," when Cream nearly tripped on her own two feet in her excitement. Chip, too, had seemed almost childishly excited by the prospect of going to the beach, and he was quick to join Cream and Cheese in the building of the day's first sand castle. Tails watched them happily from where he sat by Vanilla, laughing occasionally when Chip said or did something ridiculous.

Locke and his two old friends had seemed okay with the idea, but none of them seemed particularly _excited_ per se. Still, Analia seemed content to just sit down by Kaden's right side and enjoy the ocean breeze, Locke seemed to like the idea of taking a nap in the sun (having already laid down on his back with one arm acting as a pillow while the other covered his eyes), and Kaden had settled himself in the shade of one of Amy's umbrellas to read a book. Amy considered that a win, knowing that that was probably as good of a response as she was going to get from them. Sonic and Knuckles, however, did _not_ seem happy about any of this. Knuckles just seemed to be being his usual grumpy self, but Sonic, for one, seemed to be legitimately upset. ...And he was watching the nearby waves as though he thought they were going to chase him down and eat him alive. As she watched, he plopped himself down next to his father on the left side, hugged his knees loosely up to his chest, rested his chin on his arms on his knees, and seemed to decide to just wait for the day to be over. _I wonder what's with him...?_

A few minutes later, as Amy was settling herself down on a towel to enjoy the sun for a bit, Cream, now soaking wet, ran happily up to Sonic. "Would you like to come swimming with us?" she asked sweetly.

He hesitated. "...No... thanks." It was a simple "no thanks", but the way he said it made it seem like he was trying to verbally back himself out of some deadly trap.

Locke had cracked his right eye open as soon as Cream had mentioned swimming to Sonic and was watching the young hedgehog with serious look. He seemed to know why Sonic seemed so... _apprehensive_, to put it lightly, about the water, but he wasn't saying anything.

Much to Sonic's relief, so it seemed, Cream decided not to press the issue. "Okay!" she replied brightly. "But, if you change your mind, you're welcome to come and play with us!" With that, she turned and left.

Though Sonic didn't say anything in reply, his eyes clearly seemed to say, _I won't_, in response to her comment about him changing his mind.

Locke stood then and made his way over to Sonic, sitting down by the hedgehog's free side. "Still afraid of water, huh?" he questioned with a sort of seriousness that seemed meant to catch Sonic's parents' attention. It worked brilliantly. They were both watching Sonic and Locke now, paying even closer attention to the scene than Amy knew they already had been.

"M'not afraid," Sonic mumbled into his arms.

Locke traded a significant look with Kaden before replying, "Uh-huh," in an entirely unconvinced tone. It was silent for a moment before Locke looked away and said almost conversationally, "You know, your old man used to be afraid of water, too."

At this, Sonic perked up a bit and fixed his father with slightly widened eyes. "Really?"

Kaden didn't look thrilled that Locke had brought it up but, to his credit, he didn't bother trying to deny it. "Yes," he nodded, closing his book and setting it aside. "However, saying 'used to' is somewhat incorrect." He cast a long look at the ocean. "I'm still not overly fond of water. I just learned to tolerate it."

Sonic frowned. "How?" he asked. Judging by his tone, he'd seemed to think that doing so was impossible.

"He did not avoid his fear, for one thing," Analia replied gently. "At least, not all the time. It also helped him to learn tolerance when he first learned how to calm himself in situations where he felt anxious or afraid, such as a time when he nearly drowned during a fight."

Sonic didn't know what to think. His father had nearly drowned, too? He had always though that the reason why he himself had almost drowned in the past was because he was a child and he'd been stupid. He'd never thought that something like that could happen to an adult, let alone someone strong like his dad. Finally he asked, "But how can I do that?"

"Baby steps," Locke replied. "Kaden had to take it slow, too. Just start by being able to tolerate little things related to your fear. A good place to start for you would be learning to tolerate just being _near_ a body of water."

"I'm _already_ near one," Sonic replied. Then he mumbled more sullenly, "And a frickin' big one."

Sonic only just managed to miss the vaguely amused look Locke traded with first Analia and then Kaden. Displaying a patience only he could, Kaden spoke up again. "So stay where you are then. As Locke said, it's best to take it slow, and it's obvious that you're already uncomfortable where you are."

Sonic's next mumbled comment sounded something like a "Fine," and, with that, the conversation ended itself. As Amy looked away she realized that she had just witnessed Sonic's parents raising him together for the first time. With a soft but undeniably emotional smile, she turned her attention to the day ahead.

**~ソニック~**

_It's her again. _Knuckles watched through slightly narrowed eyes as Rouge flew slowly past their beach and over the city. She was high in the sky, but he could see more than well enough to tell that she was holding herself too stiffly, was moving too slowly. What looked like dirt and simple scratches could have easily been serious injuries. His frown deepened when he remembered the last conversation he'd had with her, back when she had, for whatever reason, _willing__ly _given him the Master Emerald back.

_"Give the emerald back!" Knuckles fully expected her to refuse, for there to be another fight right away, but instead, Rouge suddenly seemed... troubled._

_"If I do... what will happen to me?" she asked quietly._

_Knuckles's fighting stance relaxed slightly as he frowned at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"_

_With a firm shake of her head, she dismissed him. "Nothing. Just take it."_

_Suspicious though he was, Knuckles flew forward and snatched the emerald away from the bots that held it, pummeling them when they tried to fight him. Throughout it all, Rouge made no move toward him, made no attempt to try to stop him. Once the emerald was securely in his hands, she simply turned and flew away. _

Knuckles's frown deepened yet more. He knew that Rouge had been working for Ivo. He knew that Ivo had fully expected her to be successful in her mission. He knew that she had betrayed the man. He also knew that she had seemed scared during that conversation. _But of what? The repercussions? _It seemed likely, he realized as his eyes shifted to her once more. Ivo was a cruel, violent man, much as his grandfather had once been. However, in a way, Ivo was worse than Gerald could have ever hoped to have been, and for one simple reason. Ivo was completely in his right mind. That alone was terrifying. But, back to the situation at hand, it occurred to him that, being as he was, Ivo probably wasn't above punishing people for what he perceived to be a failure. Knuckles knew for a _fact_ that the man had no qualms about inflicting severe pain and/or injury to a person, even if there was no real reason for it. _He tortured Sonic back in the jungle, after all. _That thought still made his blood boil. The idea that Ivo had come even _close_ to inflicting that kind of pain on another person enraged Knuckles to the point where he literally almost saw red, despite the fact that Ivo was nowhere in sight. Biting back a growl, he forced himself to calm down before someone noticed his mood shift.

His eyes moved back up to the sky then. Rouge was still flying, but, much to his sudden alarm, she seemed to be slowly losing altitude. As the seconds wore on, she began falling faster and faster until she was dropping like a freaking_ rock _out of the sky. He let himself bite out a curse word before launching himself into the sky with surprising speed, going so fast that he left a very faint red streak behind him as he went.

Screw her mistakes. Screw the fact that she had done something horrible by allying herself with Ivo. _Screw_ all of that. He refused to let her drop out of the sky and die (and at this point he was sure that that was what would happen, given the obvious severity of her injuries), because no matter _what_ she had done, she was still a person. _And people deserve second chances. _Gritting his teeth and pouring on the speed as much as he could, he rushed forward and caught her at the last second, swerving upward just in time to avoid crashing into the pavement. Once he was upright, he allowed himself to drop the few feet now separating him from the ground, landing lightly on his feet as he did so.

Barely a second later, Sonic suddenly appeared beside him, eyes wide. "Who is _that_...?" It was _highly_ unlikely that Sonic had ever seen a bat before (at least as a child), Knuckles realized, given how rare they had used to be and how solitary and secluded they had always been.

"Doesn't matter," the echidna replied quickly as Locke landed beside them, closely followed by everyone else, minus the beach equipment. "Which way to the house?" Knuckles was sure he could find his way given the time to wander around, but he didn't have that luxury right now. And besides, Sonic was here and his sense of direction was simply astounding. Plus Amy was here as well, and she obviously knew the way to her own house. And, if worst came to worst, Locke had proven that he knew how to get back there, too.

"Follow me," Amy ordered quickly, already walking. Knuckles followed after her, doing his level best to ignore the way that one of the unconscious bat's hands rested lightly on his chest.

"What about our stuff?" Cream asked.

"Don't worry about it. Apatos has zero theft, and people leave their stuff on the beach all the time." With no other protests forthcoming, they continued walking in silence.

**~ソニック~**

**6,551 words and a bit of Knuckles and Rouge at the end for ya. Also, we delved a bit more into Sonic's fear of water and gave his parents a chance to do some actual parenting for the first time. Furthermore, the gang will soon be all back together. And, to top it off, it turns out that Sonic's not the only one seeing those visions. Hmm... ;) Lastly, Amy's dress is one from Sonic X. You can probably find the picture with relative ease on Google Images. ...Or just watch the English opening to the show. It's there, too, if I recall correctly. Also, a quick note! I don't know how many of you saw my note last time, so I'm just going to repeat myself real quick here: I have a poll open regarding this story and I would appreciate it if people voted. It's not a requirement, obviously, but I would be happy if people voted. :) That is all, my friends. I hope you enjoyed. Posted 07-12-15.**


	111. Restoration

**Hello, Anonymous! Thank you! Ah, I get it now. :) Well, I'm glad you like it, 'cause I do, too. :) Yeah, that review was _huge_! XD But hey, I like long reviews, so no worries. :D Good luck getting the ticket and your account! And get some rest, darn it! XD**

**Hello, Idalia! I'm glad you enjoy it! That means a lot for me to hear! And also, thanks so much for taking the time to read and review! That means so much! :D I fixed the poll thing, by the way. Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn't even noticed. It's on the top of my profile now. :)**

**Hello, astroshadow! Your first review to Chapter 110: Yeah, they kinda are, huh? And yes, it is bleak. Well, he said that they only _helped_ with that, implying that there are other reasons why he doesn't let himself feel and also implying that there are other ways he keeps the emeralds dormant. :P IKR? Sonic alone owns the emeralds, Ivo just doesn't know that and/or doesn't care. Still, as you said, the joke's on him! XD Yes! Yay for that! And yes, Kaden most certainly had one of those moments. XD Haha, Sonic probably would have been, huh? And I agree... Poor Rouge...**

**Your second review to Chapter 110: Yeah, I figured that that was what you meant. XD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm glad! :D And no, this is not a separate timeline or dimension. The future he is seeing is the future of the "main" timeline, the one everyone is currently in. And, seeing as how neither Silver nor Blaze were mentioned as being wanted, something is clearly wrong... 'Cause you know they'd never hesitate to fight alongside the others. :) Wait, which story? Hero in general, or the future thing I've been starting the last couple chapters? Yes, he does look like that. ...Don't kill me. I hate Sonic Boom, I just have a _slight_ fondness for some of the appearances of some of the characters. Granted I prefer the originals, but still. :P I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, AmegakureAngel! Aw, thanks! I'm glad you think so! So you like them, then? Cool! :D Well, I'm glad you liked that she called them. :) IKR? It was so _kawaii_! X3 Yeah! Go Knuckles! :D As for the poll, it's on my profile as of last night, at the top. Just read it and click "Vote Now!" :)**

**Hello, Shadowstar146! Well, as Chip stated, they're not really visions at all, but rather future Sonic's memories. The answers to those two questions will be revealed in time, I promise! :D Good prediction. Guess you'll have to wait and see, huh? ;) No worries. It's a great idea. I just wish I could draw better so that I could do it. I will try (_try_) but hopefully one day a professional can do it. ^-^ I think so, too! It would look so amazing! :D I hope so, too. :) Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed! Well wait no more, 'cause here it is! :D**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

**Alternate title: "Recovery"**

**~ソニック~**

"You know, you could have told me where your freaking house was. Then we wouldn't have had to fly around so much."

Amy smiled a bit sheepishly at Jet as he and his team walked inside. She shut the door behind him. "Yeah, sorry about that. It must have slipped my mind. I was tired."

"Huh. You aren't the only one," he muttered in response. Still, there was no real heat to his words, and she knew that she had been forgiven, if he had ever been truly upset with her to begin with.

"Uh... thanks, I guess, for, you know... Letting us stay here," Wave offered awkwardly and somewhat weakly.

Amy smiled wider. "You're welcome," she replied warmly. "I couldn't sleep because I was so worried about you guys, so I guess it was a bit selfish of me to ask you all to come here."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not sure how much longer we could have stayed there, anyway."

"Alright. If you're sure."

Jet watched with a sort of warning glare as Storm declared his intent to find a place to crash for the time being. _If he starts anything with anyone, I'll clobber him. _He only half-listened as Amy verbally directed his teammate to a room upstairs. However, before Storm even had a chance to leave, Jet spoke up again, directing his question toward the only other person in the room who wasn't on his team. "So what's this '_kind_ of big' thing that happened that you were telling me about?" he asked, crossing his arms. Immediately he could tell that Storm and Wave's interests were peaked, but he paid them no mind right now, focusing his attention instead on the pink hedgehog.

She gestured with her right hand for them to follow her and, much to their surprise, she opened up the front door again and headed outside. The trio of birds traded a few quick glances before setting their things down for now and heading outside after her. They followed Amy as she walked around to the left side of the house. Almost immediately their eyes fell on Knuckles as he reclined with his arms behind his head against three crates that were stacked so as to look like a short staircase, one leg resting on top of the other knee. Catching their gazes, Amy glanced significantly upward to the roof behind Knuckles's crates. Following her glance, they soon saw what she was trying to show them... and Jet's mouth nearly dropped open.

"No _way_..." Storm muttered.

"Is _that_...?" Wave murmured, never bothering to finish her sentence.

Knuckles opened his eyes then and responded before Amy could, smirking all the while. "Yeah, that's him. The little monster that destroyed Scrap Brain and kicked Robotnik's ass."

Sonic was beside him in an instant. "For your information, I did _not_ destroy Scrap Brain. Robotnik did that all on his own."

"Uh-huh."

Jet's gaze swung to meet Amy's. "How in the world did _this_ happen?" he demanded, watching his tongue because there was a kid around. Otherwise he would have had no qualms about saying "hell" instead on "world".

"To be honest, I have no idea," Amy answered, her gaze drifting back to Sonic, who was still arguing with Knuckles. "I just know that it has something to do with Dark Gaia or something like that."

Whatever Jet was going to say in reply vanished from his mind before it could even be voiced when he heard the familiar sound of large knuckles cracking, signaling their owner's eagerness to punch something. Or some_one_. Spinning around, Jet watched as Storm started to approach the apparently young-again Sonic. Gritting his teeth and glaring, Jet started to go after him, only to be stopped by Amy's arm sticking out in front of him.

"Wait," she said quietly, looking at Sonic. "Let him handle this."

Wave frowned at her incredulously. "Do you think he _can_?"

Amy nodded once, seriously, her eyes never leaving her young friend. "Yes. I do."

Expression turning serious from angry, Jet turned his head to watch the scene unfold. As he did, he couldn't help but agree with her. _Young or not, he's still Sonic, and Sonic can't be beaten up that easily. _Whether or not beating up the hedgehog was actually Storm's intention, however, was uncertain. Still, Jet made a mental note to deal with the albatross later. _I did say I'd clobber him if he started anything, after all... _

"Hey, runt," Storm greeted with an almost wicked sort of grin. As he spoke, he pounded one fist into the palm of the opposite hand. "Wanna have some fun?"

Sonic turned, his arms still crossed as they had been for the past few minutes, and glared at Storm. "Who the heck're _you_?"

"My name's Storm, and I'm your worst nightmare, kiddie," Storm responded, still grinning. Knuckles was glaring at him, but, having apparently heard what Amy had said, he made no move to intervene... yet. There was no doubt in Jet's mind that the echidna would let one of his wicked punches fly if things got out of hand. Jet, too, was prepared to step in at any moment, should things escalate too far.

"I'm so sure," Sonic replied with a roll of his eyes. "I'm quaking in my shoes."

"I'll pound ya into the pavement!" Storm shot back, already showing signs of temper at both Sonic's sarcasm and his obvious nonchalance.

"Uh-huh," Sonic replied, disbelief obvious in his voice. "Well, have fun with that. This is boring, so I'm leaving." He turned then and started walking away, calling over his shoulder, "Find someone else to be your punching bag."

Storm seemed flabbergasted for a long moment before he was finally able to recover enough to draw himself up and call out tauntingly, "Running away, huh? You're a coward!"

At this, Sonic completely stopped walking. Without turning around he replied, "Running away? Who do you think I am?" _Now_ he turned, fixing Storm with a challenging look, one that was completely irritated and unamused. "You're not very strong. Go train or something. Come back when you're better. Then a fight with you would be less boring." With that, he turned away and started walking once more.

Storm stood there, frozen, seemingly unable to comprehend what he'd just been told. Beside him, Jet could practically _feel_ Wave fighting not to burst out laughing. Storm had just received a _massive_ blow to his oversized ego, and she was loving every second of it. Finally, Storm's temper exploded and all Jet could think was, _Uh-oh. _If there were ever a time to intervene in this he figured now would be it, but Amy kept her arm in his way and he forced himself to stay put even as Storm rushed forward with one large fist pulled back to punch the small hedgehog.

Sonic's right ear flicked, a sign Jet remembered very well as meaning that Sonic had heard something, usually something relating to incoming danger. In a flash, moving so fast a blue streak was left behind him, Sonic jumped over Storm. Once he was behind the bird, Sonic spun midair and kicked out with one leg, sending the larger male skidding on his belly across the pavement. Clearly not seriously hurt but undoubtedly feeling sore after a blow like that, Storm quickly pushed himself up and rushed at Sonic again. Sighing almost as if he were doing a chore, Sonic feinted to avoid another punch before throwing one of his own, once again sending Storm skidding away from him with no serious injuries. Furious, Storm leapt to his feet again. "What the hell?!" he demanded.

"I _told_ you," Sonic replied seriously, "you need to train or something." It was almost like Sonic was legitimately trying to _help_ Storm, rather than trying to merely insult the bird's strength. Storm, of course, saw nothing but insult. Sonic sighed again. "Whatever." Without another word, he simply turned and took off.

**~ソニック~**

_Sonic watched as a dark portal opened up in front of him. The wind was fierce; fierce enough that entire rocks were being ripped to shreds. However, though his hair whipped around behind him, he was otherwise unaffected by the wind. A large rock came flying at him from the side and he, never taking his eyes off of the portal before him, shot a fist out to meet the rock, shattering it with no effort. Blinking, he crossed his arms once more and watched with an entirely calm expression as the once small portal widened to the point where it was about the same size as he was, perhaps slightly larger. Without a word, he waited to see what new horrors would be brought into the world this time. _

**~ソニック~**

With great effort, Sonic shook free of the vision or whatever it was and continued on his way.

**~ソニック~**

With the drama between Storm and Sonic over for the time being, Jet and Wave headed back inside with Amy in the lead and Knuckles not far behind. Without a word, Knuckles started to head to the stairs, intent on checking on someone in particular, only to pause when he noticed that everyone was gathered in the front room. Well, everyone besides Sonic, who had wandered off, and Storm who had, for lack of a better term, _stormed_ off. _What's going on here? _

"Oh, good, you're all back," Amy's mother greeted with a smile.

Knuckles's gaze drifted to the right to where Silver was standing beside Kaden, who was by the female blue hedgehog, Sonic's mother. He noticed immediately that Silver and his two companions, as well as Locke, seemed deeply troubled by something, to put it lightly, but none of them were talking. _What's with them? _

After a moment's pause, the small creature, Chip (or at least that was what the others called him), began to speak from where he hovered near the middle of the crowd. "I have some good and bad news," he said quietly. "I already told them this," he glanced to Silver, Sonic's parents, and then Locke in turn, "but everyone needs to know."

Amy took a step forward. "What's going on?" she asked almost as quietly, in accordance with the somber atmosphere encompassing the room.

"Dark Gaia's energy shifted a few minutes ago," Chip began, "in a way that can only mean that it's starting to call it's power back to itself. That means that the monsters we've been seeing at night will start disappearing, starting with the smaller and weaker ones. When it starts calling the large brutes back is when we should really start to be concerned, but, at the same time, we need to be concerned _now_, too."

Knuckles made the connection. "Because of Sonic."

Chip nodded once. "That's where the whole 'both good and bad news' thing comes in," he mumbled, scratching the back of his head a bit and looking away. "On the one hand, when Dark Gaia calls back the energy that got blasted into Sonic, Sonic will return to his normal age. But..."

"But, on the other hand," Locke continued when Chip hesitated, "Dark Gaia pulling that energy from Sonic so abruptly could hurt Sonic, and we have no idea how badly."

"But... Chip said that there's a chance that it _won't_ hurt him, right?" Silver pitched in, glancing nervously between Locke and the aforementioned Chip.

Chip nodded again. "Yeah, there is a chance, but I don't know how _big_ of one."

"So what do you propose we do?" Knuckles asked, doing his best to ignore the way Locke's gaze shifted to rest on him. "It's not like we can shield Sonic from this."

"No, but we can go find him," Amy said decisively.

"I agree," Tails said. "If Dark Gaia's doing this right now and there's a chance Sonic could get hurt from it, it'll be safer for him not to be alone, just in case. That way if _does_ get hurt we can help him right away."

"But how will we find him?" Cream asked, shortly followed by a soft exclamation from Cheese.

"This city is large," Sonic's mother (come to think of it, Knuckles was pretty sure her name was Analia) agreed. "It will be difficult, but not impossible."

"If we have people in the air and on the ground the search will go faster," Kaden said simply, ever the strategist it seemed.

"I have my plane here," Tails offered, "and I can take a passenger."

"Storm and I have our boards, too," Wave added, speaking up for the first time since this apparent meeting had begun. "Jet's is still in need of repair, but he can help on the ground."

Jet gave Wave a sidelong glance. "I seriously doubt Storm will help."

"He will if you tell him too," Wave replied.

"Why do _I_ always gotta do it? He's your teammate, too."

"But _you're_ the leader."

"Not really."

"Just do it."

Jet let out an annoyed grumble and crossed his arms but otherwise stopped arguing. With that matter settled, Amy began to speak again. "Okay, so here's what I propose we do."

The plan was simple. Those who could fly would do so and everyone else would scour the city on foot. The only ones staying behind were those who couldn't really fight (considering how late in the day it already was), namely Cream, Cheese, Vanilla, and Amy's parents. The goal was simple... Find Sonic.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic was just wandering around. He wasn't going anywhere in particular. For that matter, he wasn't _doing_ anything in particular, either. He'd just been... wandering. He was mostly just walking and looking around. Apatos was a nice enough place, he supposed, but he could have lived his entire life without coming here and been okay with that. He hated its horrible proximity to the ocean. He really, _really_ did. _And I'm supposed to learn "tolerance" or whatever... hmph. Not gonna happen. No way. _There was no way he was staying close enough to any body of water long enough to do that. There was just no way. He wasn't crazy. He didn't have a death-wish. So he'd stayed in the heart of the city more-or-less, away from the ocean, wandering among the buildings and not really caring where he was going and not really thinking about or doing anything in particular. ...That is, until he suddenly sensed a Chaos Emerald. _A... Chaos Emerald...?_ _How'd one end up here? _

Following the pull on his senses, the young hedgehog picked up the pace as he walked through the city, weaving in and out of the crowds as he went. Once there was enough room, he broke into a run. He was surprised to find how close he had been to the edge of one side of the city. He hadn't expected the city to be surrounded by windy grasslands. Still running at a light pace, he soon found himself on a seaside hill covered in bushes and lush, light green grass. One side turned into a sheer cliff overlooking the ocean, whose breeze was probably the reason why it felt so nice here. _Not that that makes the ocean any less horrible._ Turning, his eyes fell upon a very large windmill. Blinking, he focused again on his search. Walking to about the center of the flat expanse of space, he stopped and looked around. "That's weird," he murmured out loud. "It should be right here..." He swore he could feel the emerald right _here_... _...Wait. Not here. _He looked down, a deep frown marring his face. _Below__ me? _

Then, without any warning at all, there was a sudden surge of power from somewhere in the distance. He had never felt anything like it before, and there was no denying that, whatever it was, it was far stronger than he was now. Suddenly, he felt like something was getting pulled out of him. Moments later, a thick, heavy dark cloud of energy exploded to life around him as though it had just... _exited_ him. The pain he felt was minor at the worst, but he still felt himself blacking out as the cloud dissipated into nothing. Before his eyes closed, he had just enough presence of mind to realize that, whatever was happening, it wasn't good.

**~ソニック~**

Chip was wishing now that he had paired up with someone to go looking for Sonic, or that he at least had one of those cell phone things. Maybe then he wouldn't have to be flying around frantically like this in search of _someone_ to tell that they were all too late. _Dark Gaia reclaimed its energy from Sonic already. That means he could be hurt. _Finally spotting someone below, Chip swooped down and came to a rapid halt in front of their face. "Jet! Thank goodness I found you!"

Jet stopped walking and regarded Chip cautiously for a moment before saying, "Why do you say that?"

"Dark Gaia took back the energy that was in Sonic already," Chip told him breathlessly. "We need to find him _fast_."

"Tch!" Jet exclaimed softly before taking off, muttering something about wishing he had his board as he went. Satisfied, Chip went back into the sky to find the others.

**~ソニック~**

Ivo watched with a great deal of satisfaction as the data scrolled by on his screen. It seemed that Dark Gaia was reviving sooner than anyone had expected. The power boost the beast had received from the Pure Chaos beam that had awoken it had greatly increased its regenerative abilities, it would seem. Not to mention the fact that its overall power, speed, endurance, and so on had been increased. Ivo grinned. _Wonderful. _Another screen lit up at his side and he turned his chair around so that he could see it. Frowning, he focused the image until he could see Sonic slowly pushing himself up on his hands and knees off of the ground. _So he's back to normal, then, eh? _Another grin. _No matter. If I can't finish him off myself, Dark Gaia will. _Still, he saw no harm in trying to do so himself, first. With that in mind, he readied his nearest weapon for an attack.

Onscreen, Sonic barely dodged before Ivo's robot, with it's giant spiked fists, punched the ground hard enough that several thick cracks appeared beneath its fist where Sonic had just been. Landing lightly on his feet, Sonic immediately curled up into a ball. However, instead of slamming into the bot like Ivo had expected, Sonic seemed mindful of the spikes covering the bot and instead used his attack to launch himself _over_ the robot. Once behind it, Sonic attacked one of the few areas that wasn't covered in spikes. With a single punch, Sonic's fist tore through the metal. A few seconds later, Sonic yanked his hand back out, fist now clenching multiple important wires. Just like that, the robot essentially dropped dead at his feet. However, Ivo had one last trick up his sleeve. He doubted it would kill Sonic, but at least it would do some damage. Still grinning as always, he pressed a large red button and watched with the utmost glee as the robot exploded. Laughing loudly, he turned away from the screen.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic covered his face with his arms to shield it from the explosion. However, prepared though he for the blast of fire, he _wasn't_ prepared for it when the ground suddenly opened up beneath him. It occurred to him then that he'd been standing where the robots had left those ominously thick cracks, but it was too late for that realization now. Already he was sliding uncontrollably down a steep underground tunnel both wide and tall enough that a person could stand with their arms out by their sides with some room to spare. Barely any time at all had passed before he was suddenly unceremoniously dropped out of the hole, coming to a hard landing on his feet in some subterranean world. He was tempted to call it a cave, but... Wasn't this place a bit too spacious and well lit for that?

Looking up, he clearly saw another hole, this one smaller, that led to more or less where he was standing. _Well, that explains how the Chaos Emerald got in here, I guess. _Bending over, he picked up the dark blue gem. He was about to turn and walk away when suddenly. something else caught his eye. Lowering himself onto his hands and knees, he peered into a shallow dip mostly concealed by the large rock covering it. Squinting slightly, he tried to make out what it was he was seeing. Whatever it was, it had at least one surface on it that was shiny enough to reflect the light of the Chaos Emerald. Carefully setting the gem aside for now, Sonic stood again. The rock before him was bigger than he was and probably multiple times as heavy (at least), but it _was_ just a rock. The rock was resting with its back against some massive wall attached to the hole he'd fallen through, so he was going to have to push it from its side. Moving to the left, Sonic braced his hands on the cool stone and began pushing.

The rock gave way with a loud grinding sound that echoed throughout the area, painfully loud to his ears. Gritting his teeth and bearing it for now, he shoved the rock forcefully out of the way in order to reveal what he had been looking at. Turning back to the dip, Sonic immediately froze. Overcoming his shock a moment later, he quickly bent over to retrieve the damaged device. It looked for all the world like a primitive communicator, and honestly, that was essentially what it was. And this one was Sonic's. He'd already found Locke's at the trinket shop not long after he'd met Tails, and Locke had only ever made two of these. That meant that this one was Sonic's. It was in surprisingly good condition, too, even taking into account the badly cracked screen. He blinked. _How did this thing even survive? _For that matter, how had either of these things survived? ...Not that he was complaining, of course, seeing as how sentimentally valuable both of them were. Holding his newly recovered treasure in his hand, Sonic reclaimed the emerald once more.

It was right about then that Sonic noticed something else about this place. Large though it was, those two tunnels were the only way out. Which meant he'd have to climb. He really didn't want to. But, just as he started thinking about how little choice he actually had in the matter, a skidding sound from the tunnel he'd fallen through captured his attention. Looking up, he spotted, after a few moments, someone skidding down the tunnel on their feet as though riding on Extreme Gear, though their arms were out in a different position more intended to help keep the person from falling over. _Hi__s balance is as great as ever, _Sonic decided as he watched the newcomer landed lightly on his feet.

"'Bout time I found you, Sonic," Jet groused.

"And why were you looking for me, exactly?" Sonic returned calmly.

"Long story," Jet replied. "Ask that Chip guy."

Sonic nodded once before asking, "So do you think you can climb back out of there?" He pointed to the tunnel briefly.

Jet looked back at it over his shoulder. "Yeah. Piece of cake." He looked back to Sonic. "...What are you even _doing _down here?"

Sonic shrugged. "I fell. You?"

"I told you already, I was looking for you," Jet reminded him. "While I was looking for you a found a hole with a smashed robot beside it. Figured it was as good a place as any to check."

"How did you know to leave the city?" Sonic frowned.

Now it was Jet's turn to shrug a bit. "Your aura's pretty hard to not notice," he replied. "I just followed it to the general area you were in."

That gave Sonic a moment of complete pause. Once that moment passed he asked in surprise, "You can read people's auras?"

Jet hesitated. "Uh... Sort of. I guess."

"Since when?"

"A while."

Well, this was a new development. It seemed that Jet had some more abilities than anyone (maybe even Jet himself) had ever given him credit for. Sonic shook his head. "Whatever," he said mostly to himself, ending the conversation for now. "Let's just go."

**~ソニック~**

"Sonic! You're okay!" Sonic bit back his discomfort regarding Amy's hugs (and hugs in general) long enough to place a soothing hand on her head. When she pulled away, he let his hand drop. Barely a second later, she noticed what he was carrying. However, it wasn't his old communicator that held her attention, nor the Chaos Emerald. "What's...?"

He met her gaze briefly before walking farther into the room to where Knuckles, his back to Sonic, was talking with Chip. Chip gave Sonic a little wave and flew off. Knuckles had only _just_ turned around to face Sonic when Sonic suddenly lifted his right hand and shoved an old dark brown hat down on his friend's head so that it covered his eyes entirely. The hat had a blue band wrapping around the base of the main part of it. On that band were shiny yellow circles with red stars. Sonic removed his hand slowly and Knuckles pushed the hat up enough that it freed his eyes. There was a question in those eyes. "It's your dad's," Sonic said quietly. Then, turning away, he added even more quietly, "Don't lose it." Then he walked away.

As Sonic moved to walk outside, Knuckles called after him, "Where did you even find it?" It seemed like there was something else he wanted to ask instead, but for whatever reason, this was the question he went with.

"In a crevice in a tunnel I fell down," was the simple reply. With that, he walked outside. The sun was setting by now. Not bothering to look at the person he knew had followed him he asked, "Storm still gone?"

Jet looked at him. "Huh. So you remember, then?"

"Yeah. Remind me to hit him later."

"You already did that."

"I don't care."

It was silent for a moment before Jet finally spoke. "Your friends are talking about striking at Ivo and this Dark Gaia thing," he said slowly. When he received no response to that he asked, "Do you have a plan?"

Seemingly much to Jet's surprise, Sonic's expression shifted from almost overly calm to grim and determined as he answered, "Yes."

**~ソニック~**

**4,600 words this time. AND I HAVE OFFICIALLY MADE A DECISION. I know I have been putting SA, SA DX, and SA2 off for quite some time, and I deeply apologize for that. My biggest problem has been a lack of an official plan for those three adaptions. However, now that I have one, I have officially decided when they will come into play, along with this future thing I've been showing you guys. Here is my plan: The ruined future arc will come first, followed by SA2, then SA, then SA DX. SA and SA DX may be switched around, but SA2's place is fixed. it's not changing. I hope this appeases all of you who have been looking forward to any of those three adaptions. ****LASTLY! My poll is on the top of my profile for anyone who is interested in voting. Thanks to whoever already found it and voted! That's one so far! :D**

**So Knuckles is still fond of teasing kid Sonic, Sonic has another "vision", Dark Gaia is calling back its power too soon, Jet reveals that he may not feel like (or want to be) the leader of his team, Sonic gets restored to normal age, he falls into some underground world and recovers a few lost "treasures" including a Chaos Emerald, we learn that Jet seems to have been sorely underestimated (perhaps by his own doing, if his hesitance is any indication), Sonic for once tries to comfort Amy, he gives Knuckles Locke's hat and significantly tells his friend not to lose it, he reveals that he remembers everything that occurred to him while he was a kid, and finally, Sonic reveals that he has a plan... I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter of Hero.**

**EXPECT A NEW TIMELINE CHAPTER SOON! **

**Posted 07-13-15.**


	112. Our Plan of Action

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Thanks! I'm glad you think so! Yup, he is. :) Good to know we share in our hatred. XD Well, you won't have to wait too much longer! It's coming up soon! :D I will do my best, as always!**

**Hello, xXJoeyUchihaXx! I assume by your name that you are a Naruto fan? :D Wow, only three days! It would've taken me a while longer! XD Aw! I'm so glad you think so! Cool! Inspiration, huh? Well, you'll have to let me know when you start writing! I'll read what you post! :D Okay, in answer to your questions: 1.) I have no idea at this point. We can assume, though, from that first memory that it's more than ten years later. 2.) Yes. Yes it is. Well, hope this helps! :) Yes, I was happy he found it, too! To be honest, I've been planning the return of the hat for some time. XD I was sad when he lost it, too, though. :(**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Well, I'm glad it helped for a short while. Hope you're not bored anymore! :D**

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Aw, thanks so much for saying that! I'm so happy you think so! :D You really think it's getting better? Well, that's good to know. I'm always trying to improve, after all. :) Yay, unlimited cookies! *Noms the cookie you gave me* :3**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Glad you think so! Hey, no worries. It's fine. Hope you enjoyed your holiday! :D**

**Hello, Anonymous! Yes, he has a plan for the fight and I have a plan for the story. I always do, really, even if the plan is only a short-term one. XD Why do you say too many? XD Cool! Sounds like you had fun on Pokemon. Yes, I would like to think that I am, so long as I don't rush things. :) Alright, I look forward to it! Bye! :D**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

"Jet! _There_ you are!"

Jet blinked as he and Sonic walked back in the house. He was surprised to see Wave quickly heading down the stairs as Sonic shut the front door. "Yeah. Where else would I be?" he asked.

"How should I know?" she demanded, coming close enough that she was able to poke him harshly in the chest with an index finger. Jet stared at the finger for some reason he didn't quite know. "You keep taking off on your own!"

He tore his gaze away from her poking finger. "I was just-" he started to say before she cut him off.

"Well, knock it off!" she snapped, glaring fiercely at him, her gaze locked with his.

"Why should I?" Jet retorted stubbornly, crossing his arms, ignoring how almost childish he sounded.

"Or else I might be forced to do something drastic," she replied, concerning Jet when she suddenly stopped yelling and her tone became almost... _mischievous_.

"Oh, yeah?" he challenged, feigning cool unconcern. "Like what?"

Suddenly, she smirked. He grew wary. Incredibly so. "Like this." Suddenly, she leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek before turning and turning quickly to leave.

In that moment, Jet completely froze as if he'd been turned into a statue, utterly dumbstruck and staring at where she had just been standing. Just as she mounted the stairs he recovered enough to demand in what he _hoped_ was an angry voice, "W- Hey, wait a minute! What the heck was that for?!" Much to his chagrin, she just winked at him over the railing, still wearing that smirk, and vanished up the stairs. A moment later, Jet was surprised when someone he'd entirely forgotten about suddenly spoke up.

"So, that was interesting," Sonic commented in a lightly teasing tone.

Jet turned to glare at him, fighting to ignore the place on his cheek that still burned faintly from that peck. At Sonic's knowing look, Jet turned away and crossed his arms again in a huff. "Whatever."

Apparently highly amused, Sonic chuckled lightly and began walking away, clapping Jet lightly on the shoulder as he went. "Keep telling yourself that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jet demanded, already heading after him.

"It means you're not fooling anyone," Sonic replied with a smirk.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?!"

"You know full well."

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Uh-huh."

Jet paused for a moment just before mounting the first step of the stairs, thinking. Then, as Sonic was passing the third and then fourth steps, Jet hurried after him. "Hey, what about you and Amy, huh?" he asked, smirking when Sonic stiffened.

"Nothing," Sonic replied, almost too quickly, his discomfort obvious.

"Uh-huh," Jet replied, mimicking Sonic's earlier comment.

"Shut up," Sonic grumbled as they reached the top of the stairs.

"Make me," Jet muttered back. "Besides, you started it."

"Technically, Wave did."

"You're being stubborn."

"So are you."

"This is all your fault."

"It really isn't."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

Without another word, They turned into the large upstairs living room where everyone else seemed to be. Once everyone's attention was on Sonic (and really all it took to accomplish that was walking into the room) he began to talk, gradually laying out his plan. It seemed simple and straightforward at first, as Tails hesitantly pointed out.

"Do you really expect such a straightforward plan to work?" he asked. Then he shrugged. "It just seems too simple."

As Sonic continued, laying out each individual's role as well as several possible eventualities and outcomes, everyone's amazement grew. Once that part was finished, Sonic sighed and said, "But before we can do that, there are a lot of preparations we have to make."

"Will we need the Tornado?" Tails asked.

Sonic nodded. "Probably." He paused, then asked, "Can you fix it on your own?"

"Yeah, no problem," Tails smiled. "My plane's all ready to go, so I don't have anything else to do, anyway."

Turning to Wave next Sonic asked, "Did you find the plans I left in your house on how the boards work?"

"I did," she acknowledged, "I just haven't had the time to work on the boards."

"I need you to work on that, then," he said. "All of your gear needs to be repaired for your part of the plan to work."

"Right." She turned to her teammates. "Jet, I'll need your help."

"What?" Jet asked in surprise. "I don't understand that mechanic stuff."

"No, but you can help with the little things," she replied with surprising patience. "Like handing me tools or whatever."

He sighed in what seemed to be defeat, giving in with very little argument. "Fine."

"In the meantime," Wave continued, "Storm, you can help Shorty over there," she gestured with a thumb to Tails, who seemed oddly unbothered by the nickname, "by lifting the heavier pieces of metal and things he'll need to repair their ship."

Even Storm didn't dare argue with Wave when she got into this no-nonsense leader-like mode. "Fine," he sulked. No one failed to notice the pointed way he ignored Sonic's existence, but Sonic was satisfied with that. He still planned to hit the albatross later, though.

"While they're doing that, I'll work on helping evacuate the people in the cities and towns near where Dark Gaia's starting to rise," Amy said, looking to Sonic for approval. When he nodded, she looked around the room. "Can anyone else spare the time to help me?"

Knuckles, who was sitting awkwardly beside Locke with the hat strangely absent, spoke up next. "Yeah, I'll come."

"We will, too," Cream said from where she sat with Cheese. "So long as we're with you guys, we won't be in danger, even at night."

Vanilla looked to her daughter worriedly, then to Amy. Realizing the silent request for her to keep Cream safe, Amy nodded softly. "Right. Stay close to me, okay?"

"Okay!" Cream replied brightly.

"Now that I'm healed and all, I'll head back to where Dark Gaia is," Chip declared. "I'll try to hold it back as long as I can."

"I will help," Analia said unexpectedly. "I won't have as much of an effect on it, but I will do what I can."

"So that leaves Kaden, Locke, Sonic, Silver and Blaze," Amy said unnecessarily.

There was one key thing that was needed for Sonic's plan to work (or, rather, a _group_ of them) and everyone knew it. The young blue hedgehog hadn't specified _that_ part of his plan, so no one was sure what he was expecting to do. Still, they had an idea, considering how he'd used them before. "We'll look for the Chaos Emeralds," Locke said simply. "Anyone who gets finished with whatever they're doing early can help us."

"We won't be long," Wave said. "Except for Jet's, the boards don't need that much repair."

Locke nodded. "Alright."

"We need a way to keep in contact with each other," Tails suddenly piped up again, "but we don't have enough communicators for everyone."

"Who even needs one, exactly?" Knuckles asked, looking around.

"I do," Amy said. "No one ever had a chance to go back and find mine where I dropped it, and I'm pretty sure it's broken, anyway."

"Kaden, Analia, Chip and I all need one, too," Locke sighed.

"So do Cheese and I," Cream said, "and my mother."

"My parents need a couple, too," Amy added.

"That's almost ten," Knuckles frowned. "We don't have time for Sonic and Tails to make that many."

"That's the problem," Tails said. "But we can't be left without a way to communicate with each other."

"Weren't the communicators wigging out, anyway?" Silver asked, speaking up for the first time.

"Now that Dark Gaia's calling its energy back, they should start to work just fine again," Locke replied. "Probably even soon."

"That is still too many communicators to make in too little time," Blaze pointed out.

"That's exactly my point," Knuckles grumbled. "So what are we supposed to do?"

A moment later, Locke surprised just about everyone, except Sonic and seemingly Kaden, when he suddenly slapped his own face with the palm of one hand. "I feel stupid now," he muttered. "I know a way we can communicate at least some of the time." Before anyone could even ask, he looked to Kaden. "You can talk to people in their minds."

"For short periods," Kaden acknowledged.

"And Analia can use her magic to talk to people far away, too."

"She can."

"Hey, come to think of it, I can do the whole mind-talking thing, too, sometimes," Silver realized out loud. "Good to finally know where _that_ came from." Kaden gave him a vaguely amused look but said nothing about it.

"Okay, so now that that's settled, I say we get going," Knuckles said, standing up off of the couch he had been sitting on. "We're wasting daylight. Literally."

"I agree," Amy said, also standing. "Come on, Cream." She took Cream's hand and started walking toward the door. Looking to Knuckles she said, "We'll meet you outside. Don't take too long, 'kay?"

He just nodded but said nothing. Looking directly at his father in a rare moment of bravery concerning his family, Knuckles gestured with his head for Locke to follow him. Blinking in apparent surprise, Locke followed Knuckles out of the room. Shrugging, Wave stood and left as well, closely followed by Jet and Storm. After them, Vanilla left the room, murmuring something about checking on Rouge. Amy's parents left as well, presumably heading back into the kitchen, where they seemed to spend a lot of time. Blaze stood then and, with a look in Silver's direction, she too left the room.

Silver followed after her, but paused long enough to smirk at Sonic. "Good to have you back."

Sonic returned his son's smirk and reached out a hand to ruffle some silver fur atop the younger hedgehog's head. Silver's smirk widened into a grin and he left the room. Sonic turned his attention to his parents and Chip. His parents alone held his attention as he said with a promise in his voice, "We'll talk later." They nodded and, without another word, Sonic simply vanished as though he had teleported.

Left alone again, Kaden and Analia exchanged a brief but heartfelt goodbye before parting ways. Kaden leapt fearlessly out of the nearest window and took off at near full speed while Analia used her powers to transport herself and Chip as quickly as possible to where Dark Gaia was trying to rise again.

**~ソニック~**

To say that Locke was surprised was an understatement. Perhaps even a large one. It was understandable, though, he supposed. After all, how could he have _expected_ Knuckles to suddenly hand him his old hat after leading Locke into the younger echidna's room?

"Sonic found this earlier," Knuckles said seemingly somewhat awkwardly. "He said it's yours."

Locke was silent for a long moment as he stared at his hat before coming to a sudden decision. Smiling, not a smirk but a real genuine _smile_, he unknowingly copied Sonic as he used one hand to shove the hat down on Knuckles's head, though this time not covering the younger echidna's eyes in the process. Still smiling that warm, fatherly smile, Locke said, "You keep it. It's yours." Locke ruffled his startled son's head through the hat for a brief moment, allowing his hand to linger in a way that caused Knuckles to give Locke this almost rapt expression that Locke swore almost _hurt_ to see, before turning away, seeing only for the barest of moments as Knuckles slowly raised one hand up to grip the rim of the hat tightly in both of his hands as Sonic had once done many years ago. Still unable to stop smiling, Locke left the room and headed outside to begin his part of the search.

**~ソニック~**

"So where are those plans he was talking about?" Storm asked Wave as she set up shop in the backyard using a table she had borrowed and the tools she had packed in her bag.

She idly tapped the screen of her communicator with her left index finger before resuming her unpacking as though she had never stopped. "I stored the data on this. These are good for more than just prank calling people in the middle of the night, you know." This last part was said with a pointed glare in his direction.

Storm snickered unrepentantly and went in to go help Tails as he'd been ordered to while Jet lifted Storm's board onto the table, per Wave's order. Her plan was to work on the least damaged board first to get it out of the way. For once, that board happened to be Storm's. Normally it was Wave's or Jet's. Usually Wave's. She was, after all, the most careful out of the three. Not that Storm was really that careless, though. He just wasn't exactly _gentle_ with anything, not even his board. No, as far as pure recklessness and risk-taking went, Jet was the worst of them all. Not that he would ever admit to that, she was sure.

"Okay," Jet said with a sort of sigh. "What do you need me to do?"

She pointed to her toolbox, already focused on Storm's board. "To start with, hand me that screwdriver."

Jet did as he was told without complaint or argument. The _last_ thing he wanted was for her to do something "_drastic_" again. He stiffened briefly at the thought before releasing the tension with a slow, near silent sigh. _Best not to think about that_, he decided as he handed Wave her tool.

**~ソニック~**

"So how are we gonna do this?" Amy asked, deciding it best not to say anything about the hat Knuckles was currently sporting. She'd heard the brief, quiet conversation Sonic had had with Knuckles when Sonic had given it to him. She knew that hat was Locke's. It was best not to mention it for now, she was sure.

"We're gonna fly," Knuckles replied as though it were obvious, tilting the hat on his head so that it blocked the harsh sunlight from hitting his eyes. The sun was beginning to set. They needed to hurry.

"But I can't fly," Amy protested with a frown.

Knuckles gave her an annoyed look. "I have hands, don't I?"

Immediately she understood, and any further protests died on her lips. "Oh. Okay."

Without a word, Knuckles gestured for Cream to climb on his back. She did so with a bit of help from him, and Cheese moved to cling to Creams' shoulder. Once they were situated and holding on, Knuckles took low to the air and grabbed Amy's raised hands in a firm but not overly tight grip. With that, the four of them took off into the sky.

**~ソニック~**

"Okay, so what am I supposed to be doing?" Storm fairly demanded, crossing his arms at Tails as they walked outside through the front door.

"Well, first of all, we need to get to where the rest of the wreckage of the Tornado is," Tails replied, unconcerned by Storm's attitude. "My plane is nearby, so we can take that. Once we're there, I'll mostly just need your help moving the bigger chunks of wreckage. I used a lot of the debris to fix up my plane, but I can still get the Tornado fixed enough to transport it back to my workshop in one piece. I can finish working on it there. Plus, while were there, we can keep an eye on Ivo on my computer."

"Fine."

Smiling unconcernedly, Tails led the way to the Tornado-1 and hopped inside the pilot's seat. The _only_ seat. Storm hesitated for a moment before climbing heavily up onto the back and grabbing onto the handle meant for the one passenger this plane could carry. Once he was ready, Tails turned his attention back up front and started up the propeller. After giving it a moment to warm up, Tails lifted the plane and together he and Storm flew off.

**~ソニック~**

_Finding the Chaos Emeralds isn't gonna be an easy feat, _Locke decided as he flew over the windy grasslands and windmills surrounding Apatos. _Sonic and I were lucky that we were able to do it in a day that first time._ Last time it had been luck. This time, however, it was a requirement. They _had_ to have the emeralds before the end of the next day. There was no time. 'Course,_ it always helps that he can sense them when they're close enough, but even still. If he were able to expand the range of that sense, that would help a lot more. _He sighed. _This is gonna be a chore._

**~ソニック~**

Kaden ran lightly through the darkening city streets. He had no idea where this place was, but he _did_ know that this was the third city he'd passed through already. However, though he didn't know where he was exactly, he _did _know where he was going. He couldn't be sure that the Chaos Emerald was there, of course, but he had a feeling, and he usually trusted his feelings. Picking up the pace once he was free of he crowds (which were already thinning due to the time and the attacks that would begin once darkness fell), he raced through the city. Within minutes he was back in the wilderness once more, heading to the far East as he had been since he'd left. He could only hope that he was right about this. There was no time to waste. Not this time.

**~ソニック~**

Vanilla was pleasantly surprised when she walked into the room to find her patient already awake and trying to sit up, clutching at her bandaged stomach with one hand and gritting her teeth visibly in pain as she did so. "Don't try to sit up, dear," Vanilla gently scolded, setting the wooden bowl of water she'd been carrying down on the nightstand beside the head of the bed. "You're injured and you haven't had enough time to heal."

The young bat's eyes opened and she made no attempt to lay back down. "Where am I?" she demanded in a strained voice.

"You're in a house in Apatos," Vanilla replied, clasping her hands in front of her waist like the gentle lady she was. "A young man named Knuckles saw you falling out of the sky and carried you here."

"Hmph!" the younger woman exclaimed in apparent disdain. "I never asked for his help."

"You could have died, dear,"

"It's partly his fault that I'm hurt, anyway."

"He bandaged your wounds for you."

"Taking advantage of an unconscious lady? That's low, even for him."

"You don't mean that, dear."

It was silent for a moment before the bat seemed to let go of some of her irritability and asked, "Where is he, anyway? Taking a nap somewhere?"

"He went with my daughter and Amy to evacuate some cities and towns," Vanilla replied. "Almost everyone is gone right now."

"'Everyone'?" Rouge echoed with a frown.

Vanilla nodded once, still wearing the soft smile she always seemed to have on her face. "Yes. Amy brought all of her friends here, including me and my daughter."

"Who's 'everyone', exactly?"

"Sonic and his family, a small creature named Chip, Knuckles and his father, a cat named Blaze, Tails, and three birds who love to race."

"Huh."

"Now lay back down and rest," Vanilla gently commanded, turning her attention to the bowl she had carried in. Picking up a small white rag off of the nightstand, she dipped it into the water and wrung it out before carefully dabbing it on Rouge's forehead. "Your fever won't go away with you being up and about. Besides, resting will help you heal faster."

With great reluctance, Rouge laid back down and, perhaps for the first time ever in her life, allowed someone to take care of her. _For now. _She'd rest a little while longer, just long enough to get this woman off of her back and to help ease her fever a bit and then she'd take off. Something big was getting ready to go down and, whatever it was, she refused to be left out of it. _I'll get my kicks in, too, even if it means crashing the party for old Egghead. _She was wary of seeing the man again, but if it meant seeing him truly and utterly defeated for the first time… well, it would be worth it.

**~ソニック~**

A loud, obnoxious ringing echoed throughout the house, closely followed by a booming voice. "_Charmy, answer the phone, will ya_?!"

"Alright, already!" a smaller, angry voice yelled back. Charmy flew into the room grabbed the phone, muttering a "_Sheesh_!" as he pulled it off of its wall mount. "Hello?"

_"Hey, Charmy,"_ said a familiar voice.

"Whoa, no way!" Charmy exclaimed, a huge toothy grin spreading across his face. "Sonic, is that really you?"

_"Yeah. Listen, is Vector there? I need to talk to him."_

"_That_ grump? Yeah, he's here. …Say, how'd you call, anyway? I thought you didn't have a phone."

_"I don't. I used a thing called a Communicator."_

"Oh. Cool!"

_"Go get Vector, okay?"_

"Alright!" Charmy quickly set the phone down on the counter and sucked in a breath of air before cupping his mouth with his hands shouting as loud as he could, "_Vecto-o-or_!_ Sonic's on the phone and he wants to talk to you_!"

A moment later, Vector hurried into the kitchen where the wall phone was. "Sonic is?" Without waiting for a reply, he snatched up the phone. "Hey, Sonic! Long time, no see! Got a case for us?"

_"Not exactly,"_ Sonic replied. _"Listen, we need your help. A lot's been going on lately…"_

**~ソニック~**

"Initiate reentry sequence," Ivo ordered his computer. "I want all my ships back on the planet by tomorrow. We leave within the hour."

_"Understood." _

Grinning to himself, Ivo turned his attention to another computer of his, one that was reading how much energy Dark Gaia was drawing back into itself at any given moment. Still grinning he said, "This is going too slow for my liking. I think I'll just speed things up a bit. I'm sure the beast won't mind the help from my machines." Chuckling darkly, he pressed a button and watched as the levels of energy being restored to Dark Gaia slowly increased. "_Much_ better." He turned away from his screen and returned his attention back to the first computer that he had been talking to just moments before. "Now all that's left to do is prepare for Dark Gaia's enslavement. Of course, I'll have to wait for the perfect moment to do so, but it will be worth it. Oh, yes, it _will _be worth it…" Laughing out loud, Ivo waited for the time to come when he would return to the planet below.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic skidded to an abrupt halt in the midst of the rocky flatland he had been sprinting through. Going the opposite way as him was someone he hadn't seen in a while, and they too skidded to a halt, putting the two of them at about an equal distance apart from each other. Sonic crossed his arms. "Huh. It's you."

"Sonic," the black and red hedgehog greeted him coolly, if somewhat irritably, his fists clenched at his sides.

Sonic's gaze flicked to the sky. Brightly painted metal caught his eye. "That a friend of yours?" he asked calmly.

The other hedgehog didn't bother following his gaze. "None of your business."

"That doesn't really answer the question, you know," Sonic replied lightly. He was in a good mood for some reason, and he was finding that he rather liked goofing around with people, even if it meant joking around when they were being grumpy.

"I don't _have_ friends," was the simple reply.

"Uh-huh." Sonic's gaze returned to the sky when the rocket thrusters above that had been doing a number on his sensitive ears suddenly powered down enough to lower the robot attached to them down to the ground beside the other hedgehog. Despite his apparent double's words, Sonic noted that the other hedgehog didn't react the robot like a threat or an enemy. _No friends, huh… _

**_"Scanning," _**the robot suddenly said. A moment later it spoke again. **_"Greetings, Sonic the Hedgehog." _**

"Uh… Hey."

**_"Data suggests that you have knowledge of our teammate's whereabouts," _**the robot said, all business.

_'Our'?_ Sonic's gaze flicked to the silent hedgehog across from him. _Ah. So that's it. _He looked back at the robot. "That depends," Sonic replied slowly. "Who's this teammate of yours?"

**_"Rouge the Bat has been allied with Shadow the Hedgehog for some days," _**the robot replied.

"A bat, huh?" Sonic echoed thoughtfully. "I've only ever seen one bat before, and she's back in Apatos. I'm sure your scanners or whatever will be able to find her once you get there."

**_"Affirmative."_**

Apparently finished with this conversation, Shadow turned away. "Let's get going, Omega." Without another word, Shadow took off, closely followed by the heavily damaged Omega once it took once more to the air.

Sonic watched them go for a moment before also turning away and continuing in the direction he'd been going. _Shadow… huh?_ He smirked a bit. _I'll remember that. _

**~ソニック~**

Two forms hovered in the air high above Dark Gaia as it roared and struggled, not at its full size or power but still putting up a terrible fight. It was a good thing that the nearby civilizations were being evacuated and that there were few civilizations here to begin with. Chip winced as he and Analia struggled, their powers creating painfully bright lights, light green and pure white. "Dark Gaia's… getting stronger… too… _fast_…" he bit out, his hands stretched out in front of him as he focused his abilities, trying to hold the monster down and back for as long for as possible to buy the others time that they desperately needed.

"Perhaps… someone is aiding it," Analia replied, her voice also sounding strained for once. Her hands were also stretched out in front of her for the very same reason as Chip's.

"It's… probably that Ivo guy… then," Chip muttered with some effort.

"…Perhaps," she responded after a moment's struggle with Dark Gaia below.

Chip gritted his teeth and poured more of his power outward. He was going to need to use all the strength he could spare. _We have to hold it here as long as possible… I just hope the others realize how little time we have. They have to hurry… We can't hold it here much longer…!_

**~ソニック~**

**4,553 words this time. Also, IMPORTANT NEWS! Tomorrow will be the last chapter for about five days or so. I'm going on another trip. I _may_ be able to take my computer with me, but don't count on it. Also, because I'm going to be gone for those five(ish) days, I've decided to leave the poll open until I get back. I know I said before that it would just be open for a week or so, but whatever. Thanks to those five of you who already voted! :D Posted 07-14-15.**


	113. Assault

**Hello, flashyhero! I will, thanks. :)**

**Hello, Guest! Yup, he is. Haha, probably being a thorn in Eggman's side. XD**

**Hello, xXJoeyUchihaXx! Yeah, young love is cute. My favorite (last chapter, at least) was Jet and Wave (though slight SonAmy was mentioned). X3 Yes! I love Naruto and Crunchyroll as well! :D _Dude_... That's such a cool idea! I hadn't even _thought_ of that! Well done! :DD Blazing Sonic... Sugoi... And yes, he will, along with a few others. ;) Glad you liked the introduction! And I will do my best. Sayonara!**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Well, he _did_ fail in the game, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything for this story, considering how much it deviates from the canon stories. Still, I don't want to spoil it, so I won't answer that here. :) Fun but depressing, huh? Sounds eventful. Ah, a trip with school, then? I love those, usually. I will, thanks! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yes, they're finally here! However, I'm sorry to say that they may not all have as a big of a role as you may have been hoping. However, I can say that Espio will for sure have some direct involvement in the fight. :) I'm so happy you enjoyed! I'm glad you liked the implementing of all the characters and stuff. I purposefully left the plan and the individual roles each character will play very vague and mysterious, so I hope you can bear with me on this. :) I will, thanks! As always, I will do my best! (P.S.: I did, actually. However, as the comics aren't considered canon and I hate that name, I generally choose to ignore that the name exists. XD)**

**Hello, Guest 2/Anonymous! You're first review to Chapter 112: Yup! I That's really cool! I don't have much else to say, because I think cool about sums it up. XD Awesome work! And nah, don't worry about it. I don't mind the length. :)**

**Your second review to Chapter 112: That's alright, I knew it was you the moment you mentioned your OC. :)**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Yes! Action! :D I like him, too. :)**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

**There's something at the bottom for you all to enjoy while I'm gone, by the way! :D**

**~ソニック~**

Kaden was running through a dark forest when s voice suddenly entered his mind. He frowned slightly as he focused on it so that he could hear it more clearly despite the distance that was separating him from the thought's sender.

_"Hey, Gramps, I found an emerald! I told the others already, but I figured you'd wanna know, too."_

The consideration was appreciated, but... Kaden sighed internally. _"I asked you not to call me that." _

_"Oh well!" _He could _hear_ Silver's laughter in his head. Well, that was fine, he supposed. Silver was hardly himself when he wasn't goofing around.

When the connection faded, Kaden focused once more on his own thoughts, speeding through the trees as he did so. Speeding up even further, Kaden disappeared into a dark blue streak of light that flashed over the land with exceptional ease. He wondered briefly if he should tell his friend about what had been weighing on his mind but, at the same time, they were all so busy... Still, this was important. _And I'm being ridiculous, stalling like this. _Sighing to himself again, Kaden poured on as much more speed as he dared, still racing to the place where he had a feeling an emerald now rested. _For now._

As he ran, the sudden appearance of a new sound caused him to turn his head to the right. Without any warning, the large robot that had been making the loud sound flew right up to him, leaving barely a few feet between them. Glancing with just his eyes to the left, Kaden saw two more robots approaching. Just as the three of them started shooting, he literally vanished, only to reappear behind the first robot he'd seen. Without a word, he kicked out with his right leg just as the limb became encased in bright blue flames. The robot exploded and he redirected the fire with his hands so that it slammed directly into the second robot. When that one went down the last robot tried to retreat for whatever reason. Frowning, Kaden vanished again, reappeared in front of it, punched a hole through it's rotund stomach, and sent a blast of fire raging throughout the robot's inside. Ripping his fist free, he turned away and closed his eyes just as the robot exploded into a blue fireball much larger than the first one. Sighing, he resumed his run. Yes, Locke definitely needed to know about this.

**~ソニック~**

_So Silver has one already, huh? _Locke thought as he flew rapidly through the sky, keeping his eye on the ground below. So far, he had yet to see anything that looked even remotely like treasure, let alone anything that looked like a Chaos Emerald. _Damn, where are they? We still need five more. _Even with all of them scouring the land like this there was no guarantee that they would find the emeralds before the night was over. It wasn't like they had a _choice_ in the matter, though. Chip and Analia really couldn't hold it much longer than that. _Calm down, _he scolded himself. _We still have plenty of time. It just got dark. We have time. ...Not much, but still. _

It was right about then that a calm, smooth voice entered his mind. "_Locke."_

Locke blinked at the sound of his name, presumably said in place of a 'hello'. _"Hey," _he replied in his mind, knowing that Kaden would hear so long as Locke was directing his thoughts at him. Having noticed his friends subtle concern (as emotions could sometimes be sensed through this mental connection), he asked, _"What's the matter?"_

Kaden's next reply was exceedingly simple, but Locke understood his meaning well. _"It's happening again." _

If Locke hadn't been flying, he was pretty sure that he would have frozen. _"Oh. Well... Shit." _After a moment's pause, it _really_, truly hit him what Kaden was saying and his whole body tensed. His fists clenched. He gritted his teeth and fought not to growl. _"Shit." _

A largely unemotional, noncommittal hum was Kaden's only response. _"Hn." _

_"How long?" _Locke demanded.

_"I'm not sure," _Kaden replied honestly. _"At least since night started to fall." _

_Come to think of it..._ Locke thought to himself with a deep frown. _He was being way more quiet than usual when we had that meeting earlier. Was this happening even then? _Returning his attention to Kaden he responded, _"How did this happen?"_

_"I'm not sure,"_ Kaden replied.

_"Are you after an emerald right now?" _Locke demanded.

_"Yes."_

_"Alright. As soon as you have it, come find me. I don't want you being alone any longer than you have to be while this is going on."_

_"Fine." _

Locke remained tense and deeply concerned even after Kaden dropped the connection between their minds. Memories of the last time this had happened flowed through his mind and he forced himself to remain calm. _The last time this happened, he wiped out an entire army of hundreds of thousands in a few seconds by himself. _However, he knew that the sudden incredibly drastic increase in his friend's power had been too much, too soon. _He lost control then... It could happen again. _Granted, Kaden had been younger and less experienced the last time, but even still. His power was so extreme now, even before this increase, that him losing control again would be absolutely _devastating._ _Much like if Sonic lost control. ...Maybe even worse. _Sonic's normal form wasn't quite as strong as his father yet. But then, he was young yet.

Locke briefly considered telling Analia, but in the end, he decided against it. She hadn't been there the last time this had happened, but she wasn't stupid. She knew something had happened on that day, even if she didn't know the full extent of the damage and destruction that had been caused. _She'll find out about this eventually, anyway. Kaden won't keep it from her forever. _

It seemed like Kaden was maintaining control for the most part right now, but who know how long it would last? Already Locke was aware of subtle changes in his friend's voice and his earlier behavior. _It's happening again. _Locke wanted to go after him right _now_, but he forced himself to refrain for now. Kaden had said he was after an emerald, and that was immensely important. _I'll give him an hour,_ Locke decided seriously. _No longer. I can't take the risk of waiting any longer. _Decision made, he focused once more on trying to locate an emerald.

**~ソニック~**

"Okay, I think I'm about finished here."

Storm crossed his arms and watched silently as Tails finished up whatever he was working on on the Tornado. After a moment he commented, "You work _fast_. Even faster than Wave. ...Don't tell her I said that."

Tails laughed a little. "I won't, I promise." He closed up the side with practiced motions before hopping down off of the ship. "And anyway, it's only 'cause I've had practice. I'm sure she does fine, too."

Storm said nothing as Tails walked over to the monitor that had been showing them what Ivo had been up to. Tails only just barely looked at it before some exclamation of alarm escaped his lips. "What is it?" Storm demanded, walking over.

"H-He's coming back already!" Tails replied with wide eyes, pointing with one index finger at the screen. On the screen they could clearly see Ivo's massive cluster of ships flying rapidly back into the atmosphere, with Ivo's main ship among them. "I mean, I know we suspected he would come back soon, but not _this_ soon!"

"So what do we do?"

"I-I have to call Sonic." Without waiting for a response, Tails quickly began trying to get ahold of Sonic on his communicator. Barely a moment later, Sonic responded.

_"Yeah, Tails?" _

"Sonic, this is bad!" Tails exclaimed. "It's Ivo! He's heading back down here already!"

Sonic sounded concerned. _"What?" _

"What do we _do_?" Tails asked desperately.

Sonic started to respond before a spat of gunfire on his end cut him off. _"Hang on,"_ he muttered quickly before silencing his end of the call momentarily.

Finally, Storm spoke. "You _know _what you can do, you know," he said seriously. "You were there when he told us the plan. You know what to do."

"But I wasn't expecting to be by myself," Tails mumbled, his ears drooping.

"You won't be," Storm replied. Then he muttered begrudgingly, as though praising someone he hated, "Sonic wouldn't let you go in alone."

Tails perked up at this reminder. Then he drooped again, just a bit. "But everyone else is busy."

"He'll figure something out."

Slowly, Tails smiled. Faith restored, he replied, "You're right. He always does." When Sonic returned to the call, Tails spoke first. "Sonic, I'm going in. I'll drop Storm off first, but then I'm heading in. Early or not, this still works with the plan, anyway."

_"You won't be alone."_

"I know."

When the call ended, Tails and Storm climbed into the X-Tornado. Forced to leave the Tornado-1 behind in the workshop, they flew off into the night sky.

**~ソニック~**

Closing her eyes, Analia focused her mind and, barely murmuring ancient words, she called forth more of her power to aid her in her quest. "_Anella tren du furthen si..." _As she focused, ancient glowing markings began to appear all over her, a sign that she was using a great deal of her power. She wasn't using all of it, she didn't dare go all-out before the battle even truly began, but she was using significantly more than she would have used for a normal foe. Still focusing, she kept murmuring those words. This wasn't magic, though she could use that too, but anyone who might have heard could have been tempted to say that she was whispering spells to herself. "_Anella tren du furthen si... Marka dil meien ahnfu si... Tresden nahi moor les si..._" As she spoke, the already painfully bright white that her powers were making increased exponentially.

Beside her, Chip squinted his eyes mostly shut. He didn't dare risk closing them entirely, however. He needed to keep an eye on Dark Gaia. Gritting his teeth, he too focused his powers even further in an effort to hold down the monster below. It was still calling back it's power, and at an ever more alarming rate than before. This was... troubling, to say the least.

Suddenly, Chip's concentration was shattered when he felt a sudden spike of power in the distance. He resisted the intense urge to whip his head around in the direction the feeling came from and instead risked a glance at Analia. Her slight frown immediately told him that she had felt it, too, and had recognized who that immense power belonged to. _It's Kaden... __Oh, man. _Chip hadn't been there the last time this had happened, but that Locke had told him everything that had happened afterword. Chip had _seen_ the aftermath with his own eyes. The pure, raw destruction that had destroyed all those creatures, the craters, the lingering fires, the smoke, the debris... He'd seen everything. And Kaden... it had almost been too much for him. That sort of power surge could kill just about anyone. He was lucky it hadn't killed _him_.

Taking a breath, Chip looked away as Analia continued her soft murmuring. "_Vuelah du noris vi un si..._" Looking into her face, Chip could see her thoughts as clear as day.

_Take care of yourself... Kaden._

**~ソニック~**

"Jet, look."

Jet paused in his motions, having been in the process of removing his board from Wave's table, and followed Wave's gaze up. As they watched, the window that had captured their attention opened fully and the room's heavily injured occupant flew somewhat unsteadily out into the open air, gaining some level of stability once she was farther into the air. Blinking, Jet turned his attention to Wave, picking up his board slowly as he spoke. "She we go after her or something?"

Wave was frowning a bit. "I don't think so. Somehow, I think she'll be alright."

Jet tucked his board under his right arm and shrugged. "If you say so."

Not long afterward, they both were startled by a sudden new sound. Looking up once again, they quickly spotted the X-Tornado in the sky heading toward them. "Huh. That shorty works fast."

Jet said nothing as the ship lowered close enough to the ground that Storm was able to safely jump out. The albatross picked up his board while Tails spoke to the three of them. "Ivo's back already," he said quickly. "I'm going after him. You guys should help find the remaining Chaos Emeralds. There's only four left now."

Jet quickly jumped onto his board, suddenly feeling incredibly grim. This wasn't his first fight (that wasn't possible, considering the fact that he'd once traveled with _Sonic_), but he was still uneasy. Things were reaching a boiling point now. He just hopped that no on on their side would end up getting burned. "We'll do what we can," he told Tails. "Don't forget what you need to do. Don't let Ivo distract you."

"Same to you."

Without another word, the three racers took off while Tails closed the cockpit and flew off, going back in the direction he had just come from. There was no time to waste.

**~ソニック~**

Rouge was only mildly surprised to see Shadow standing on a roof not far from the house she had just escaped from, nor was she especially surprised to see that all of Omega's focus was on her. She landed silently beside her grumpy black and red furred companion. "So I see you two were tracking me. You really know how to make a lady feel special."

"Hmph," was the muttered response.

"Well, I don't know what you're planning on doing, but I'm heading after Ivo," she said, crossing her arms in much the same manner as he already had before her arrival. "You two can do whatever you'd like."

"You're injured," he replied simply.

"Hm?" she murmured in mock surprise. "Why, Shadow, I had no _idea_ that you cared so much," she teased seductively. "I'm truly flattered."

"You're being ridiculous," he replied, a sharp edge to his otherwise nonthreatening comment.

It was then that the as-of-yet silent Omega decided to speak up. **_"My scanners indicate that you are in no condition to fight."_**

"Hmph!" she exclaimed haughtily. "Watch me! I'm going to give that man a taste of his own medicine and nothing's going to stop me! Not even you, shadow."

Shadow gave her a hard look. "Don't expect me to save you."

"I wasn't counting on it," she returned. After a vaguely tense moment she inquired, "So what will you do?"

**_"We will strike at Ivo in his ship,"_** Omega intoned.

"Oh?" Rouge asked, immediately looking back at Shadow. "That's interesting. I thought you said you had no interest in paying him back for what he did to you."

"I don't."

He seemed serious about that. "So why...?"

"It doesn't matter," he replied. Then, "Let's get going."

She nodded once and took to the air. Omega rose up close to her and together they took off with Shadow in the lead below.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic curled into a ball and slammed relentlessly into and through a line of robots quite a bit larger than he was. Growling lowly, he raised his communicator to his lips again. "Knuckles, are those people evacuated yet? Ivo's sending out way more robots than we thought he would already!"

_"No, not yet,"_ came the slightly static-y reply. _"Almost, though. We just have to deal with this last little town. I guess most of the people in this area had already fled, thankfully."_

"Good. Listen, Tails went up after Ivo a little while ago. I'm sending him some help, but I'll need you to hurry up what you're doing." Knuckles's role in the plan had a lot to do with Tails's which meant that Knuckles needed to get up there, too.

_"Got it. Give me maybe ten more minutes. I think Amy and Cream can handle it from here, but just in case..." _

"Okay. Hurry."

_"Right." _

Hanging up, Sonic jumped high into the air and tore through a bot feet first as though he were some blue dart. Landing again, he took off once more. he could feel an emerald nearby, he just needed to get to it. This was pure luck, of course. He'd come here on a hunch, and somehow, that hunch had proved to be correct. It was a good thing, too, because why else would have thought to check some random mountain forest? _Almost there..._ He had just destroyed another cluster of robots that had been headed his way when a voice suddenly entered his mind.

_"Dad!" _

_"Yeah?" _he thought back quickly.

_"I've gotta be quick," _Silver informed him urgently. _"Lots of bots around. Anyway, I have good and bad news. Good new is, we have another emerald now. Locke just found it somewhere."_

_"Okay, good. And the bad news?"_

_"I'm not sure, exactly. Locke wasn't very specific, but he said something was wrong with your dad. He said he was heading over there to check on him or something like that."_

Sonic frowned, feeling a wave of concern wash over him. _Wrong__? _He swallowed hard. _"And that's all he said?" _Sonic pressed.

_"Pretty much," _Silver replied somewhat apologetically. _"Oh, he did mention that Gramps was after an emerald, though."_

Sonic resisted a sigh at the lack of information. _"Okay. Thanks for letting me know."_

_"Sure thing. ...Uh-oh. Gotta go! Robots! Bye!" _

The connection ended before Sonic could even reply. Frowning deeply, he ruthlessly punched his way through yet _another_ group of bots before practically diving to the side to avoid the resulting explosions. Racing forward, he fought his way through a crowd of Dark Gaia's creatures. Once he emerged, he jumped straight up and landed lightly on the branch of a tall, sparsely covered tree. Jumping up again, he caught the branch above him, swung up and propelled himself forward enough that he was able to land on the vertical wall of the mountain where the emerald was. Running straight up it with ease, he made his way toward the peak where the emerald had buried itself with some force into the ground upon impact. Snatching it up without a pause in his running, he dashed off again.

**~ソニック~**

Tails soared through and around Ivo's many ships, firing at anything and everything in range as he did so. Explosions tore apart metal like it was nothing, shattering the once relative quiet that had filled the air. Twisting the plane around into a barrel roll, he narrowly dodged a cluster of missiles that had been coming at him head-on. Righting the newly repaired ship Tails pushed several buttons and let fly several of his _own_ missiles, cheering briefly when they hit their intended target, stationary though that target had been. His celebration was short-lived, however, when he suddenly realized that he was headed straight for one of Ivo's ships. Steering away in the nick of time, Tails gritted his teeth in determination. _I won't lose!_

**~ソニック~**

_**SPECIAL BONUS! **_**Here I have compiled a list of songs that I have decided are the characters' theme songs for this story. In choosing these songs, I paid attention more to the lyrics than anything else. ...Although, at least a couple are instrumental and have no lyrics. _Then_ I focused more on the overall sound rather than the words. Yes, they pretty much all have more than one. Especially Sonic, considering the fact that he _is_ the main character. Funny thing is, though, Kaden ended up the longest list. XD The characters that aren't listed haven't been slighted, by the way. I just couldn't find songs for everyone yet. For this list, I have stayed away from songs that are already from the Sonic universe, as they all already fit some character or another. I'll list how and where to find these songs is someone asks. A * means that this is the main theme I want for them. Want to see the list? Look below!**

**~ソニック~**

_**Sonic:**_ ***Dragon Soul (English opening to Dragon Ball Z Kai)**

**Destiny of the Chosen (By Immediate (The title alone should tell you why I chose this for him. Fun fact: I was listening to this song when I wrote the chapters where South Island was destroyed all those ages ago.))**

**You Haven't Seen the Last of Me (By Cher)**

**Superman (By Five For Fighting (I used this to right a chapter, remember?))**

**You Found Me (By Kelly Clarkson)**

**Okay (By Backhouse Mike featuring Elizabeth Gillies)**

**Sanctuary (English Version; From Kingdom Hearts; by Utada Hikaru (You can do the slow or normal. I don't think it matters. I like the slow version (with "After the Battle" in the title) for him the best, though.))**

**Simple and Clean (Orchestral Version; From Kingdom Hearts; Original version by Utada Hikaru)**

**Once in Every Lifetime (From Eragon; by Jem)**

**_Amy:_ *Real Emotion (From Final Fantasy X-2)**

**Simple and Clean (English version; from Kingdom Hearts; by Utada Hikaru)**

**Ordinary Girl (by Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus (For the record, I hate the new Miley Cyrus.))**

**If I Die Young (By The Band Berry)****This is the Life (By Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus)**

**Keep Holding On (From Eragon; by Avril Lavigne)**

**Ordinary Day (From Radio Disney; by Vanessa Carlton)**

**_Knuckles:_ ****You're the Best Around ( By Joe Esposito)**

**Immortals (From Big Hero 6; by Fall Out Boy (Kinda fits Kaden, too, huh?))**

**_Tails:_ I'll Be There For You (Theme song of Friends)**

**A World Without Danger (Opening to Code Lyoko; by Noam Kaniel (Only some of these lyrics fit, but whatever.))**

**The Time Has Come (From Pokemon, the episode "Pikachu's Goodbye)**

**_Kaden:_ *Centuries (By Fall Out Boy (Bad ass... Just like he is. XD))**

**Castle of Glass (By Linkin Park)**

**I Will Not Bow (By Breaking Benjamin (I dunno, Kaden just seems like he has a secret... _darker_ side, you know? Something that rarely shows itself. ...Kinda like Sonic with his Dark form.)**

**Evil Angel (By Breaking Benjamin)**

**Get Out Alive (By Three Days Grace)**

**In the End (By Linkin Park)**

**Uma Thurman (By Fallout Boy (This fits, excluding certain lyrics. If you listen to it you'll know what I mean. The first part of the song, before the short guitar part, is what I like best for Kaden.))**

**My Immortal (Rock Version) (By Evanescence)**

**Attack (From Pearl Harbor (I feel like this fits him when he's going all out... It's epic enough. :) )**

**Thanks for the Memories (By Fall Out Boy (****This fits, excluding certain lyrics. If you listen to it you'll know what I mean.))**

**Faint (By Linkin Park)**

**New Divide (Linkin Park)**

**What I've Done (Lyric and official instrumental versions; by Linkin Park)**

**_Cream:_ *Got to Get it to Get it (from Pokemon X and Y (this song just felt so perfect for her. It's sweet and peaceful like she is. :) ))**

**_Analia:_ *****Only Time (By Enya)**

**There You'll Be (From Pearl Harbor; by Faith Hill)**

**The Inner Light (From Star Trek: The Next Generation)**

**Jinora's Light (From Avatar: The Legend of Korra)**

**...And Then I Kissed Him (From Pearl Harbor)**

**_Rouge:_ Material Girl (By Madonna)**

**Sleigh Bells (By Riot Rhythm)**

***Beautiful (By Christina Aguilera (This might fit Amy, too, to a point.))**

**_Chip:_ Menu Selection (The menu selection screen from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker)**

**_Locke:_ Burn It Down (By Linking Park (Anyone else think that this sort of fits Kaden, too?))**

***Find Yourself (From Cars; by Brad Paisley (Why does this feel like Locke's life story...?))**

**No Easy Way Out (Robert Tepper)**

**_Silver:_ *Aero Chord - Mortar (I think Aero Chord might actually be the artist, but this is how I've always seen the title of the song, so... yeah.)**

_**Vector:**_ **Benny Hill Theme (I have no idea who this is by or where it's from. For some reason, this makes me think of Vector running frantically from some sort of trouble he's gotten himself and maybe Charmy into, every time. XD)**

**_Shadow:_ Animal I Have Become (By Three Days Grace)**

**The Good Life (By Three Days Grace)**

**_Wave:_ You Don't Know Me (By Elizabeth Gillies (This song fits her fairly well, I think.))**

**_Blaze:_ *Sonic Generations OST 17 - Blaze Theme (By YouTuber ****McDonald's Rules, Suckers! (Despite what they titled this, this isn't a real Sonic song. It fits, however!))**

**_Vanilla:_ I Hope You Dance (By ****by Lee Ann Womack (This feels so perfect for her...)**

**_One more thing!_ I feel that this song called Tears on the Wind from Perfect World fits one of the Characters, but I couldn't decide who. Opinions?**

**LASTLY! The official theme song to Hero Chronicles: the opening song to the game Children of Mana (DS). :)**

**Any ideas for themes for characters I missed? Let me know!**

**About 3,200-something words this time. Ish. Posted 07-15-15.**


	114. My Part!

**Hello, Firerider007! Sorry I missed your reply before. It wasn't intentional, I swear! Yup, it is. ...When I'm not gone or overly busy. :) Hm... Perhaps. ;) ...Why do you think they'll _die_? D: They won't though, I can tell you that now. :) You'll see what Vector's up to here, at least briefly. I'll try to give him and the Chaotix a bigger role in this story later on. Probably during the Sonic X adaption. You'll see him here, I promise. :) And perhaps he _was_. You know how sneaky he can be. :P I'm glad you like it!**

**Hello, xXJoeyUchihaXx! I'm so glad you think so! *Dries up your man tears with a napkin* Well wait no more, 'cause he's the next installment! I'm super excited about this one! :D Yeah, I like that, too. But, then again, this is a different version of Sonic than normal, ad running away just doesn't generally fit his personality, you know? Haha, I think they will be, too! I love those two. X3 Why did you say that about Storm? I'm confused. XD Wow, you actually _played_ it? I watched a playthrough on YouTube and it was painful to watch... I really don't want to play it myself. Still, I understand how you got the inspiration for Blazing Sonic from it. :) Oh, I would love that! Whenever you have an idea you'd like to share, just PM me or leave it in a review! I can't guarantee that I'll use everything, of course, but even still, I'd love to see your ideas. :D**

**Hello, Guest 1! Well, by Omega's telling, it was "some days" before Sonic saw Omega and Shadow together for the first time. So probably about a week or so ago in the story, more or less. Maybe even longer. No specific date has been set yet. :) They may have even been a team, or at least known each other, since right after the Crisis City Arc ended.**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Yeah, it really is powerful. It's definitely one of my favorite songs. I thought it fit the fall of South Island perfectly, as well. It certainly inspired the island's demise. On another note, I'm glad you enjoyed! :D Yes, I tried my best with that. :)**

**Hello, Anonymous! Well, I'm glad you enjoyed. Oh my gosh, happy late birthday! :DD ...I _do_ keep track. There's always a date at the bottom to tell readers when I posted a chapter. :) Yes, everything's fine. I've just been writing so slowly lately that it's been taking up all of my time. ^-^"**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm so glad you think so! :D Not necessarily a dark past, but otherwise yes. More about that is explained here... courtesy of a certain friend of ours that has been missing for a while. :) I'm glad you think it's cool! I do, too! :D Well, he doesn't transform here. Sorry. However, I more or less _tell_ you what the transformation is here, so I hope that will suffice. And, though I haven't decided yet, I'm thinking that he somehow stopped himself. Otherwise, Locke probably stopped him. He was there, after all, as he heavily implied. :P Haha, that mix up was great. Made me laugh. XD As always, I will do my best, Pyro-kun! (P.S. Glad to see that we are in agreement. :P)**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Yes, we most certainly are. :) Yeah, I remember you mentioning that before. That certainly _does_ sound depressing. I hope you enjoyed, otherwise. :(**

**Hello, Guest 2! Your review to Chapter 75: Well, after re-reading that chapter, I see what you mean. Allow me to clarify: they are iblis's creatures, just made out of mephiles's shadows and darkness instead. Sorry I confused you! ^-^ Thanks for the review! :D**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yes, it is! Yup, and though the battle will be brief (sorry about that) I promise you that I tried to make it as epic as possible! There will be lots of surprises next chapter, that's for sure! :D I'm glad you liked that. So did you actually listen to any of them? About Kaden: more on that here. You'll get the answer, even if it's not _exactly_ stated directly. :P**

**Hello, Cyan Quartz! First of all, let me just say that I love your profile picture. :) Anyway, on to the replies! Your review to Chapter 94: Nope, it's just a random robot. ...Now that you mentioned it though, if I had described it a bit differently I _could _have made it that robot, huh?**

**Your review to Chapter 95: It's not either of them, though those were very good guesses! Emerl doesn't exist yet, I don't think. ...Unless Ivo's already made him in secret. I haven't really decided yet. :P Anyway, as I'm sure you saw later on, that guardian is implied to have been Analia. :) Well, with the Rouge thing, I think you know by now that nothing happened off page, if only because you know now that Rouge one. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 100: Hahaha! That made me laugh so hard! XD**

**Your review to Chapter 101: Yay, somone else likes Sonic X! Yes, it's very nostalgic for me, too. :) Ah, so you caught that subtle reference, huh? I'm proud of you! You're the only person who did! ...Well, that I know about. No one else _said_ anything. :P**

**Your review to Chapter 109: Well, they are, just not in that chapter. One of them is in this chapter a bit. :) Haha, yeah. I like to do one a day uploads. That's certainly what I aim for, at any rate. Thanks! :D**

**Hello, ScarletTheCat14! *Gasp* Is that a Warriors cat as your profile pic? :D Anyway, I actually saw this review thirteen minutes after you posted it, and it made me smile so much. :)) I'm so happy that you're enjoying it so much and that you think it's that good! That means a lot for me to hear! :D Haha, that scene pretty much made me do that, too, and I'm the one who was _writing_ it! XD Lol, any of my friends probably would have done the same to me. XD Wow, we share a lot of the same music likes! Cool! :D Yes, I _love_ that song! Plus I just feel like it fits Kaden perfectly. :) By the way, have you ever tried turning the volume up really loud when listening to that song? If you do, the beginning sounds _so_ epic! You know, when they're doing the chorus in the beginning. :D Oh, I will, I promise! (_Aw_, I have a _fan_...! XDD)**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

Lasers flashed across the sky, illuminating thin stretches of metal before either burning perfect circles in and through some random inanimate victims or missing everything entirely. Turrets and robots fired wildly at their target, a lone ship that flew amongst the larger airships with ease, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake. Explosions shattered the fragile tranquility that had once blanketed the forested area below. Massive amounts of gunfire resulted in the dropping of many empty bullet shells which then peppered the ground below. Search lights illuminated the sky and the clouds, trying to keep a constant visual on that lone ship. It was chaos.

The X-Tornado spun around, making a tight U-turn in-between two of Ivo's larger ships. As the smaller of the three ships sped off, a single missile large enough to destroy one of Ivo's own ships shot after the Tornado like a rocket. As Tails watched in horror, still doing everything he could to try to lose the tail, the missile somehow moved in to his left side. As it was edging its way closer, prolonging the seconds until impact, there was a sudden faint purple-ish flash. Tails stared, astonished, as familiar amber eyes briefly met his own as their owner crouched on the right wing of his ship. Then the newcomer all but vanished, only to reappear midair at the nose of the missile. With a single spin and then a solid kick, the missile was knocked completely off-course. It crashed forcefully into one of Ivo's many ships, detonating upon impact. The ship, being only somewhat bigger than the Tornado, was utterly destroyed in a bright orange ball of fire.

Unable to suppress his excitement, and the huge smile accompanying it, Tails opened the cockpit just as his unexpected company landed once more on the ship, this time crouching on the left wing instead of the right. "Espio!"

Espio acknowledged the greeting, such as it was, with a nod and then a calm, "Greetings."

"You're here!" Tails continued, absolutely thrilled. "But how?"

The reply was simple, but said everything it needed to. "Sonic called."

Tails blinked. "You know Sonic?" he asked in surprise.

"Indeed."

Tails's smile never faltered. "Thanks for coming."

Espio nodded. "Of course." He turned his head away so that it was facing forward, looking around with his eyes. "I have been informed of the plan. I am here to lend aid where I can."

Now it was Tails's turn to nod as he became serious once more. "Let's get going, then." He shut the cockpit once more and took off with Espio in tow, and Sonic's voice echoed back into his mind, telling him part of the plan back in the room where they'd had that meeting before.

_"Tails, you, Knuckles, and whoever else we can spare will strike at Ivo before anything else," Sonic explained in a matter-of-fact tone. "__We have to get him out of the way. The goal is to destroy as many of his ships as possible, take out his weaponry and defenses. Don't worry about trying to defeat him entirely right now. We'll worry about that later. Until I call you back, just focus on crippling him, so to speak. When I call you, head to where Dark Gaia is. Most everyone else should be there already by the that time. I'll tell you what to do from there when we all meet up."_

_"But what if we can defeat him before you call us?" Tails asked._

_The reply was simple. "Then that'll be one less thing for us to worry about."_

The memory faded as Tails fired multiple missiles of his own at another ship in front of him while Espio jumped down onto a ship below, one of many small ships in a tight cluster, taking out many of the robots that were there upon landing. As Tails destroyed yet another ship, Ivo's enraged voice boomed over the many intercom systems connected to all of his ships. "_You annoying little rat!_" he bellowed. "_What do you think you're doing?!_"

Just then, a small explosion blasted a hole with sharp, jagged edges in the Tornado's cockpit right above Tails's head. Tails gritted his teeth before shouting back a response at the madman, not caring whether or not Ivo actually heard him. "My_ part_!" With that, he pushed a button and an arsenal of bombs dropped from the Tornado at the same time as a wide array of missiles fired from it in nearly all directions, destroying everything in their path. Now some distance both behind and below Tails, Espio somehow managed to blow up two ships on his own. Somewhere ahead of him, Tails saw a faint red streak crash through a massive turret, causing it to go up in flames briefly before exploding entirely. Over his communicator, Tails suddenly heard Knuckles's voice.

_"Sorry I'm late!"_

Tails smiled even though he knew his friend couldn't see it. "No problem!"

"_I see you already wreaked some massive havoc here." _He sounded... proud.

Tails beamed. _"Well, I had some help," _he admitted. He glanced around, checking the position of his other friend before letting yet another missile fly. "A chameleon named Espio is here, too."

Knuckles sounded surprised. _"That guy? When'd he get here?"_

"A little while ago." Tails paused then, almost visibly, his thoughts ceasing for a moment. "Wait. You know him, too?"

_"Only sort of. I've met the Chaotix a few times."_

"Huh," Tails replied, genuinely surprised. "And here I thought I was the only one in our group who knows them."

_"Guess not." _More explosions, and Ivo continued to vent his fury by trying to end their lives as quickly and as violently as possible. _"How'd he know to come, anyway?"_

"He said Sonic called him."

_"Huh."_

"Yeah." With nothing else to say on the matter, Tails refocused on his task. They'd all done brilliantly so far in the surprisingly short time that they'd been here. Ivo only had about ten or so ships left by now, versus the hundreds that he'd started off with. And, even better than that, only about three of those ships were in any kind of a condition to do anything besides fly slowly to wherever it was that they were going. Tails had an idea of where they were headed; Sonic had as good as told them what Ivo was planning.

_Knuckles frowned at Sonic after the blue hedgehog finished telling him and Tails what they needed to do. "What's the point of going after Ivo?" he questioned. "Isn't Dark Gaia our biggest concern right now?"_

_Sonic closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. "Ivo's the one that woke Dark Gaia up in the first place. There's no way that that was for no reason." Bright emerald eyes opened once more, looking directly at Knuckles. "We already know that he has knowledge of his grandfather's technology. That means that he probably knows how Gerald was able to enslave living things and take away their minds and free will, and he's already shown that he's capable of stealing Dark Gaia's power."_

_"But what does that have to do with-"_

_"Think about it."_

Tails frowned deeply. _Ivo was planning from the beginning to enslave Dark Gaia. He learned about the legends of Dark Gaia somehow, which explains how he knew about Analia and the others, too. That also explains how he knew that Dark Gaia was sealed deep within the planet, and that it would take an incredible amount of power to free it._ His sharp blue gaze locked onto the main ship, the one that Ivo himself was in. _I __doubt he'd let some artificial intelligence do this for him. He'll want all the glory, to be able to revel in the fact that he captured such a powerful monster. _His grip tightened on the controls of the Tornado as he sped up and redirected his course so that he was headed straight for that main ship. _That means that's the ship we have to destroy!_

**~ソニック~**

Knuckles was, for once, one step ahead of Tails. He'd already begun a massive assault on the main ship while Espio expertly destroyed the two smaller support ships flying on either side of it. Once those were destroyed, the chameleon turned his attention to the remaining ships as Tails began aiding Knuckles in his attack on the main ship, taking out enemies from afar while Knuckles went in close, almost recklessly (though he was never really careless), and punched his way through as always. A few minutes later, when the ship's rear end went up in flames, Knuckles decided it was time and smashed his way through walls of thick steel to find himself inside Ivo's large control room. "This ends now!" he snarled, landing on his feet near the hole he'd just created in the wall.

Ivo turned his chair around to face Knuckles and fixed him with a look that was oddly grim and serious. "I must say, I'm impressed that you made it this far," he commented almost lightly. "However, this attack was far too elaborate and carefully premeditated for someone like _you_ to have thought of. Even your little fox friend couldn't have pulled this off." Knuckles growled and, if anything, Ivo's expression became even more serious. "So the hedgehog put you up to this, then? How very cunning of him."

Knuckles snarled again. "That doesn't matter, Ivo! Either way, this is the end of the line!"

"Well I hardly think so." Ivo abruptly turned away about halfway and flipped open a small square case made of glass that had been covering a large red button. He paused then, his index finger hovering over the newly freed button. "It seems I've followed in my grandfather's footsteps, after all."

Knuckles couldn't stop the bewildered frown from appearing on his face. "What are you talking about? he demanded, his tightly clenched fists lowering slightly.

Ivo turned to him again. "I underestimated my opponent." He pushed the button. "But never again." Then Ivo ejected in his odd hovering chair vehicle and the ship self-destructed, along with all the rest that hadn't already been destroyed.

**~ソニック~**

Three thin lights streaked across the sky, racing as their creators knew so well how to do. Tails had given the signal, and now it was time to move. Sonic's orders during the meeting had been clear.

_"Eventually, we will destroy Ivo's ships and force him to flee. When that happens, Tails will call you. It'll be up to you guys to catch him."_

_"What do they do with him when they do?" Amy asked._

_"Take him to the authorities," Sonic replied with a shrug. "They pretty much demanded it, and I don't feel like arguing with them about it. They've had a high-security prison ready for him for a while, I guess."_

_"And if it can't hold him?" Knuckles demanded._

_"Then at least we know he'll be relatively defenseless for a while without his ships."_

Jet smirked as he pulled up along the left side of the left side of the Ivo was attempting to escape in. "Man you're an easy guy to catch. That wasn't a challenge at all."

Ivo glared and sped on ahead, only to have his flight cut short when Wave suddenly stopped in front of him with her arms crossed and only her head facing him. "And where do you think _you're_ going, Eggy?"

Growling as best as he could despite his lack of animal traits, Ivo quickly turned to the left, only to find his way blocked once more by Jet. If his chair hadn't been so badly damaged, he probably would have just shot them and been done with it. However, it honestly seemed like his chair could barely even fly right now. Whirling around again, he spun to the right side, but he quickly found Storm in his way. Storm was grinning wickedly, his right fist raised, clenched, and ready to fly. "Lights out." The punch flew, striking Ivo in the head faster than the man could even try to dodge, resulting in the first direct blow he'd ever taken from any of Sonic's friends or allies. As Ivo slumped over, Strom moved behind the hover-chair and braced his hands on it, pushing while Wave and Jet steered from the sides.

Raising his wrist to his face, Jet radioed in. "Ivo in custody."

**~ソニック~**

Locke met Kaden as the edge of some massive ruins that were nestled safely away in the high north-eastern mountains. Though his friend's energy remained restless, Kaden was still in control, and Locke allowed himself a near-silent sigh of relief as he landed beside his old friend. Looking around, he inquired softly, "Is this...?"

Kaden nodded once, never taking his eyes off of the ruins. "Chun-nan."

Locke gave him a careful look. "Your home."

Kaden nodded again, his expression guarded. "And my clan's."

Now it was Locke's turn to nod as he looked away, taking in some of the ancient destruction that had once laid waste to this place. Nothing had been disturbed in a very long time. He doubted the world even remembered that this once thriving city had ever even existed. He continued looking around at the destruction. Some of it was from when this place had come crashing down here from South Island when that ancient land mass had been destroyed, but... He saw the craters, the evidence of raging fires, the deep claw marks that had been gouged into walls and floors by the dark creatures that had once attacked this long-dead city in the shadows of the night... Locke noted again how Kaden was having to struggle, at least somewhat, with himself to remain in control. _This is where it happened last time. _He returned his attention to Kaden's face. "How did you know this was here?" Kaden just shrugged in that mysterious way of his and remained silent. Locke decided to rephrase his question a bit. "Why did you come here?" Still not saying a word, Kaden pulled out the emerald that Locke hadn't even noticed that his friend had had. Green shone brightly in his palm. "Oh."

Kaden blinked and crossed his arms again, still holding the emerald in his right hand. "How many more are needed?" His voice was still a bit lower and quieter than usual, much as it had been when he had spoken to Locke earlier with his mind, a clear sign that the change was _definitely _close to happening again. Kaden didn't seem to notice the change in his voice, not that he could really be expected to, but he had clearly noticed the shift in his power (and how could he _not_?). This really wasn't good.

"From what I understand," Locke replied, "that was the last one."

Kaden finally looked at Locke for the first time since the echidna's arrival, tearing his gaze away from the past. His normally bright green eyes were slightly darkened, but only because he was looking for it did Locke notice. "You're sure?"

Locke nodded once. By the time he spoke just seconds later, Kaden had already sent out a message with his mind to let the others know that the final emerald had been found. Now it was time to head to where they were all supposed to meet... the place where Dark Gaia would rise. "Yes." Locke frowned slightly, hesitating, before saying, "You could teleport the last time this change happened." Kaden's frown deepened more than was usual for him at this information. "Do you think you can do it now? It'll get us to Dark Gaia faster." Kaden's expression smoothed over and he nodded once. In a moment, they were gone.

**~ソニック~**

When Locke and Kaden reappeared, there was a blinding flash of light and a deafening roar and Kaden was near instantly struck by a blow so heavy and fierce that it could have killed some people. It didn't kill him, or even severely injure him, but still the blow was powerful enough to slam him into the ground and send him skidding a ways as everything went black for the barest of moments. When he regained consciousness, he slowly pushed himself up on his hands and knees, feeling a bit dazed, and looked up. Dark Gaia was definitely free now. His eyes told him as much. He could _see_ the beast rising above the surface, could _see_ the destruction it was bringing upon the area. However, the rest of him was having a hard time processing that information. Because if Dark Gaia was free, then that meant...

Starting to recover now, Kaden's gaze swung diagonally down and to the left, quickly spotting Chip who lay on the ground unconscious in front of Locke, who was sitting on his rear with his head in one hand while the other was on the ground supporting him as he leaned. Kaden looked to the right then, his gaze landing on who he was looking for, and he felt his blood run cold. Quickly regaining his feet, he ran over to the woman in white who was laying on her right side a short distance away from him, facing the spot where he had landed. Dropping suddenly to his knees with enough force that he skidded forward a few centimeters and probably scraped up both his knees and his legs (not that he noticed if he did), he gently shook her shoulder with his right hand while his left was pressed into the ground, supporting him as he knelt there on his knees. "Analia?" he asked quietly.

She stirred, but not quickly enough. Gritting his teeth and biting back a growl, Kaden quickly, yet carefully, scooped her up bridal-style and jumped backward just in time to avoid a massive tentacle as it slammed into the ground with enough force to send large chunks of earth shooting up into the air. He landed lightly on his feet a relatively safe distance away and, turning his head slightly, he soon saw that Locke and the apparently conscious-again Chip were headed toward him. He didn't have to wait long for them to reach the place where he was standing.

"She alright?" Locke demanded, his concern obvious, as Chip's eyes grew wide.

Kaden forced his tightly clenched teeth to loosen enough that he could speak. " I don't know," he admitted stiffly. He quickly looked around, still holding Analia close to him in his arms. "The others aren't here yet," he muttered, growing more concerned than he had been previously.

"No," Locke replied, his voice tense.

Chip spoke up then. "I can't hold Dark Gaia back anymore, even with help. I think it absorbed the Pure Chaos energy that was in the blast that woke it up. Dark Gaia's _way_ more powerful than it should be even in its perfect form." The fact that the monster wasn't even _in_ it's perfect form yet was the worst part.

Locke nodded seriously. "We'll stall it as long as we can, just until the others get here," he said quickly, trading a heavy look with Kaden. He looked back to Chip. "Protect Analia."

Chip returned his nod and, without a word, Kaden reluctantly relinquished his hold on Analia as Chip used what was left of his once extraordinary power to lift her into the air and carry her with him to someplace safe. Kaden, his fists clenched so tightly that they hurt, tore his gaze away from Analia's limp and unconscious form after a long moment and fixed his gaze on his friend. Expression and voice hinting at none of his anger, he gave a simple command. "Locke, Blaze On."

Locke smirked suddenly. There was something almost... _wild _in that look. "Thought you'd never ask." Kaden leapt backward and high into the air, becoming utterly surrounded in bright blue flames as he did so, his power increasing exponentially and allowing him to fly. Once Kaden was out of the way, Locke punched the ground with his right fist with so much force that a crater exploded around him with him in the center. In the same instant, he too became shrouded in flames, these ones bright reddish-orange in color. Together, the two flame-users went in for their first attack.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic was both relieved and a little surprised to suddenly hear his father's voice in his mind as he ran across the rocky terrain with the Tornado not far behind.

_"Sonic, where are you?"_

Did his father's voice sound... _different_ somehow? _"I'm on my way. Knuckles, Tails, and Amy are with me in the Tornado."_

_"And the others?"_

_"Silver and Blaze are headed your way, too. Amy got Cream back to her house in Apatos with Tails's help before I caught up to them. These three detectives that I know are there to help protect her, Vanilla, and Amy's parents, since there are still robots around. Jet and the others are still transporting Ivo."_

_"Alright. Hurry."_

_"Right." _It was silent for a moment before Sonic ventured to ask, _"Dad, are you alright?"_

It was silent again, though this time the moment lasted longer than before, stretching out to nearly a full minute. Finally, Kaden responded. _"I'm fine."_

Sonic didn't believe those quietly spoken words, but, though he frowned deeply, he didn't press the matter. ...For now. _"Okay. Don't start fighting unless you have too."_

_"Chip can no longer hold Dark Gaia back," _Kaden replied gravely. _"And your mother is... unconscious."_

Sonic felt a slight stab of fear pierce his heart. He couldn't lose even just _one_ of his parents. Not again... _"Do what you can," _he said simply, doing his best to conceal his reaction.

It seemed to work. Either that, or Kaden was simply too distracted by Dark Gaia to say anything about it. _"We will."_

As the connection faded, Sonic jumped up onto the nearest wing of the X-Tornado. When Tails opened the cockpit, Sonic quickly filled him, Amy, and Knuckles in on what he'd just been told. Expression grim and lips pursed together in a silent display of concern, Tails boosted up the speed of the Tornado as much as he could. Before he closed the cockpit again, however, he spoke. "Um... Sonic?" he asked slowly. "There's something a forgot to tell you."

Sonic blinked at him. "Yeah?"

"While I was fighting Ivo by myself, before Espio showed up, I thought I saw that black hedgehog, the bat-lady, and some big robot fighting together there, too."

_So Shadow and his team struck, too, huh? _"That's fine. They helped you and Knuckles do your part. That's all that matters." Tails nodded in acceptance of his response and there was a brief pause before Sonic spoke again. "You know Espio?"

Despite the circumstances, Tails somehow managed a small laugh. "I was going to ask _you_ that!"

"Yeah, yeah, save the chitchat for later!" Knuckles barked from the third seat while Amy remained quietly serious. "We've gotta move!"

Both Tails and Sonic nodded. The cockpit closed and Sonic jumped back down to the ground far below, resuming his hurried run with ease. However, much to his momentary alarm, the scenery around him slowly faded away and he found himself in a white world that was by now incredibly familiar to him. _This place, huh..._

_"Hello, Sonic."_

Sonic stopped running, if only because he knew that this was all in his head. "Hey, Voice," he greeted casually, crossing his arms, "long time no see. Care to explain that last cryptic message you left me with back in Crisis City?"

As per usual, the voice of the Master Emerald didn't deign to answer his question. Instead, it changed the subject entirely. _"There is much that is troubling you, young one."_

Sonic snorted and rolled his eyes. "Like _that's _anything unusual." He'd as good as _admitted_ that the Voice was right. He'd admitted that something was troubling him, which was something he wouldn't normally have done. However, he'd learned by now, if only from experience and nothing else, that trying to hide things from this mysterious entity was utterly pointless. It always just seemed to... _know_ everything.

_"You have finally remembered what occurred during your fight with the creature Mephiles."_

Sonic _winced_. "You know about that, huh?" Really, he wasn't surprised that it did. He'd just been hoping to avoid this conversation. _Leave it to the Voice to bring up the worst subjects at the worst possible times..._

_"The darkness is not something to be feared, Sonic."_

Sonic glared straight ahead of himself, if only because there was really nothing to glare at. Had he known where the Voice was coming from, he would have glared _that_ way instead. "I don't fear it," he bit out, suddenly irritated.

_"You have tried denying that it exists." _He opted not to respond to that. Denial was _not_ the same thing as fear. _"There is much about yourself that you need to understand."_

Sonic nearly snorted again. "Yeah? Like what?"

_"Chaos is more than pure destruction. There exists a balance between light and dark within it, though neither is innately good nor truly evil. This perfect balance and the power it creates is Chaos. Within it, you will at times find a darker side of yourself. But darkness does not always mean the same thing as evil. Your darkness will only become evil if you allow it. Changed or not, Dark Sonic is still you, young one, and you will always have the choice to create your own path and decide what actions to take."_

Sonic was silent for a long moment before finally releasing a heavy sigh. "It sure _felt_ evil."

_"The evil that you felt was not yours. It was Mephiles's influence. Did you not notice, young one? Despite him forcing you to change physically, you fought against your enemy and stayed true to your own heart and goals. Nothing he did could have changed that."_

Another long moment of silence passed before Sonic finally relaxed and his once rigid posture eased. He managed a smirk that somehow managed to look grateful. "Thanks for not being vague and prophetic, for once." It was more than just that, though, truly. The Voice had actually been... _helpful_.

For a short time, it didn't seem like the Voice would respond. Then, just as Sonic was starting to wonder why he was even still _here_ if the Voice was done talking to him, it spoke again. _"Yet more is troubling you, child."_

Normally, Sonic would have bristled at being called a child, but he buried the reaction in favor of responding in a light tone, "Aw, c'mon, _you're_ the Almighty Voice. Surely you of all people knows what's going on." Surely it did. There was no doubt about it. Besides, this could actually work in his favor. The Voice was answering his questions for once, for whatever reason, and so he decided to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The reply was simple, but it was enough to make Sonic grow serious again. _"I do." _It was silent yet again as Sonic waited for a reply. Finally, the Voice opted to speak once more._"The perfect balance of light and dark within you does not exist without reason. It is a matter of inheritance." _Sonic had a vague feeling that he knew what the voice was implying, but it wasn't until the voice recited something that sounded vaguely like an ancient lullaby or poem that he truly understood. _"The mother's is the hand that guides and protects even on the lightest days. The father's is the hand that fights and defends even in the darkest hours. Only in unity, and the product of such companionship, can even the most powerful of evils be vanquished."_

Immediately Sonic's mind was flooded with images that he knew right away weren't from his own memory. He saw a woman clad in white summoning powers so bright that they were nearly blinding. The scene vanished in a flash of pure white light that completely destroyed the dark creatures swarming below her as she hovered high in the sky under the full moon. Next she saw that same woman showing an uncharacteristic amount of anger as she looked back on a man standing and smirking within the burning forest that surrounded them both. The man spoke and she spun around, attacking him without reservation. When that scene vanished, he saw a man with indigo fur surrounded by a dark aura very similar to Dark Sonic's utterly destroying an army of dark creatures in an abandoned, seemingly dead city with incredible and impossible ease. After that, he saw that same man selflessly saving a small child at great risk and expense to himself, ending with her safe and him injured severely. As these images faded from his mind, Sonic once more heard the Voice.

_"Neither truly good, yet neither truly evil... There exists a balance within all people, though that balance is more shifted toward the light for some and more toward the darkness for others. However, that does not automatically make someone 'good' or 'evil'. Everyone has a choice. Your parents, like you, chose to forsake the evil in them in order to do good. She is the Light, and he is the Darkness. And yet, they are both equally capable of being either. Neither has ever been evil, nor have you. Your darkness can still be good if you wish it to be. You are what you make yourself, Sonic."_

With that, the white world faded and Sonic found himself once more running as fast as he could without losing the others as they headed to the place where their greatest foe yet waited restlessly for the battle to begin. Sonic frowned deeply as he recalled some of the things that had been said to him not long ago.

_"You are what you make yourself, Sonic."_

_"There exists a balance within all people."_

_"You will always have the choice to create your own path and decide what actions to take."_

Sonic's gaze hardened, shining with incredible resolve and determination. _If that's the case... then I will always choose to be good! And I won't let anyone change that!_

**~ソニック~**

**5,197 words this time. So who all listened to any of the songs? And, those of you who did (no worries if you didn't :) ), what did you think? Any specific opinions on any of the songs? So you have any suggestions? Let me know in a review or a PM! I'd love to see what you guys think! :D Lastly, thanks to the six of you that voted on the poll! I appreciate it! I actually got the answer I was hoping for, so I'm happy with the results. :) Posted 07-20-15.**


	115. So Fragile, Your Light

**Hello, ScarletTheCat14! Your review to Chapter 114: I'm so happy you think so! I know I say stuff like that all the time, but I promise that I really mean it. :) Cool, I'll have to check it out! Yeah, my Warriors fic is stuck, too. :( I _love_ Pokemon! I grew up playing that! My first Pokemon game ever was Pokemon blue on my *ahem* _super_ cool red GameBoy. XD I'll check that fic out, too, when I have time! :D Well, of course I responded! I respond t everyone else, so I refuse to leave you out. :) Wow, you're going to re-read it? That means a lot, coming from you it seems! I'm flattered! Wow, I feel bad for you. YouTube is amazing, and not having it sucks. Haha, that all-caps portal comment made me laugh so hard! XD Yeah, that was when he met Silver. Well, soon after, but whatever. I liked writing that arc. However, I think this Dark Gaia one is my favorite so far. And yet, I am _very_ much looking forward to the ruined future one coming up next... :) Nah, I don't think it's weird. You and I are very similar, it seems. I'm kinda into darker stuff like that, too, hence the reason for this somewhat darker version of the Sonic universe that I created for this story. :P I like Markiplier. He's cool. Wait, why would they leave forever? D: Alone again, naturally...! I love that song. :) Oh, I'm not rushed, I promise. I prefer to upload once a day anyway. I just don't know what to do with myself when I can't right, you know? :) Okay, have fun with that! I hope you enjoy this chapter too, by the way! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 97: Oh, hey, I know that song! I never even _thought_ of considering that one! I'm so proud of myself. XD I agree that it fits! Dude, all that _sucks_. I am so sorry about that. I hope things get better with your darned phone soon. :(**

**Hello, astroshadow! Your first review to Chapter 114: The stunt being lying about being okay, right? XD But yes, I agree that Sonic, by now, probably has an uncanny ability to recognize when people do just that. Yup, that is most definitely where he got it from, I'm sure. Well, we'll see about whether or not things will be okay, huh? Yeah... poor them. I know! It was actually _helpful_ for once! XD And yes, yes it is. About Kaden's list: I'm glad we agree! I think Centuries is perfect, as well. :) Yeah, with Thanks for the Memories and Uma Thurman, I can't blame ya. Hence the warning in parenthesis, you know? Yeah, I liked that soong for Silver, too. Now that you mention it, it _is_ kinda like Dreams of an Absolution, in a way. (I listen to _all_ the versions of that song. XD) Thanks for the song suggestions! I really appreciate it! :D For Heroes, I liked it for Sonic specifically, rather than the story as a whole, so that Sonic went on his list. Also, I _loved_ The War Inside for Shadow! I feel like it fits him so perfectly! :D I really liked Stars Align, too. Definitely not what I was expecting to hear, given the title, but I liked it a lot. However, I don't feel that it fits Espio like Shadows. Still, it _does_ fit him, so it's on the list. :) Did you know that Lindsey does a cover of Senbonzakura? O_O One of my favorite Japanese songs ever, now played on violin! XD Anyway, I liked Trouble well enough, but I didn't feel like the lyrics fit Jet very much. If it makes you feel any better, though, I found another Imagine Dragons song for him that fits him perfectly, title and all. :) Angel With a Shotgun is perfect, by the way. I haven't decided how canon Shaodw's past is yet, but we'll know soon enough. Thanks again for the suggestions!**

**Your second review to Chapter 114: HAHAHA SEE WHAT I MEAN?! XDD Well, maybe not the Chaotix as a _whole_. Espio's too cool for that. XD**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Yes, I packed as much action as I could into that. :) And glad you enjoyed! And yeah, it wasn't, for once. XD**

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Yes, yes it does. Yeah, poor _everyone_. Sheesh, they have their work cut out for them, huh? Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed! Ooh, cookies! Arigato! *Takes some and passes the rest around* Aw, you think it's amazing? Thanks for saying that. :)**

**Hello, BlazeWriters69: Your first review to Chapter 114: It's in the reviews, dear. And your vote has been noted. :) Thanks for the vote and the review! I appreciate it!**

**Your second review to Chapter 114: Well, normally I upload one a day. But, as you so perfectly put it, life gets in the way sometimes. :l**

**Hello, xXJoeyUchihaXx! Well, I'm glad you enjoyed. :) And yes, he is. Perhaps that could be it, yes. Haha, yeah, I see what you mean about Storm. However, I don't think he'll care that much. He's just not... _lovey_ enough to get together with someone, you know? XD Well, they won't be hooking up that soon. For one thing, Jet is still very much in denial of his feelings, despite how obvious it is that they're there. XD Haha, that last paragraph you wrote made me laugh! XD But anyway, yes, he burst into flames. _Man_, that took a lot of build-up to get to. I had to start small; Knuckles randomly being hit by flames and being fine back in Crisis City was the start of it all. Still, I'm glad I finally got to unveil Locke's secret power! :D I'm so happy you enjoyed! I'm also really sorry about the near heart-attack! XD**

**Hello, Anonymous! That's alright, no worries. It wasn't required, anyway. Haha, love that movie. :) Sure thing! Well, have fun when vacation finally comes! And yeah! Smash time (at some point)! :D**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 5. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

**Want to see two cool Sonic videos? Search for "The Firstborn Hedgehog MEP - Part 2" and "Overlock {Sonic} CANCLELD!" by Amazingly Default! (With the Overlock one, there is a space between each letter in "Overlock", Cancelled _is_ misspelled like that, and there are supposed to be two exclamation points at the end (FF just won't let me do that)).**

**~ソニック~**

Kaden was starting to suspect that he knew why he was having to struggle to remain in control right now. Last time this change had happened, all those years ago, the change in him had been triggered by anger. This time, however, he hadn't been feeling angry when the change had started to come close to occurring. Sure, he was feeling angry _now_, but that was only because Analia had gotten hurt... But no, he hadn't been angry initially. It had something to do with Dark Gaia this time. He was sure of it. As Chip had said, the beast was _far_ stronger than normal now. It had been even when Dark Gaia had first awoken, back when Sonic had first confronted it. The dark aura it was giving off could be felt all over the world, but it was especially intense when one was actually _near_ the beast. Kaden and the others had been near the beast for some time. However, Kaden was more sensitive to dark influences, though not evil ones, than most people. He always had been. Analia, however, was his opposite in that regard and therefore more than likely had felt no such influence. And yet, she'd been immensely careful, had been guarding herself as closely and carefully as possible. That alone was a huge indicator of just how much more dark and dangerous Dark Gaia's aura was. Which, of course, meant trouble for Kaden if he wasn't careful, too. _I'll have to be._

"Kaden!"

This sharp command snapped Kaden out of his thoughts and he briefly berated himself for allowing himself to become lost in thought in the midst of battle to begin with. _That was careless... _he thought as he barely managed to dodge an attack that he wouldn't have been able to avoid had Locke not gotten his attention. Biting back a growl, he turned his hands sideways and, palms facing forward and fingers bent, he pressed the heels of his palms together and deliberately unleashed a massive, destructive stream of hellish bright blue flames. They struck their intended target with deadly accuracy, causing the beast to roar in pain and then lash out powerfully. Removing his hands from their position, and thus ending his attack, Kaden leapt high into the air to avoid a high-energy blast that Dark Gaia unleashed from it's massive maw. The blast then struck the ground where he'd just been standing.

Locke joined him high in the sky. "You okay?" he demanded.

Kaden nodded once. "Fine."

Locke gave him a significant look. "You're sure?"

Kaden really hated it sometimes that Locke could read him so well. "Yes." It fell silent. A moment later, Kaden's gaze slid to the right. "They're here."

Locke followed his gaze and together they watched as Silver flew in with Blaze following on the ground below. Silver's eyes were wide as he looked at the pair. "_Whoa_."

No one had a chance to say anything more before before the X-Tornado suddenly arrived with Sonic riding in a crouch on the right wing. Dark Gaia made a move to attack, then, and Sonic jumped fearlessly off the wing to avoid the tentacle even as the ship swerved in the opposite direction as him. Without any hesitation, Sonic curled into a ball midair, slamming with a great deal of force into one of their enemy's monstrous eyes. That single move had probably just bought them a minute or two of time, Kaden reflected as the beast recoiled in agony and Sonic landed on the ground below, skidding backward a bit on his feet as he did so. The Tornado landed near him then, a safe distance away from the enemy, as did Kaden, Locke, and Silver. As the cockpit opened and the ship's occupants jumped out, everyone gathered near it.

Sonic gave Locke and Kaden a vaguely surprised look as he glanced at the flames still surrounding them, but he was quick to turn his attention away from that and focus on the matter at hand. "I need the emeralds," he instructed shortly, not speaking to anyone in particular. There was no time to explain, and everyone who had an emerald relinquished it quickly and willingly. One from Kaden, one from Locke, one from Silver, one from Blaze that had been given to her by the Riders, one from Amy, and lastly, the two that Sonic himself had found. Minutes before his arrival Sonic had explained this part of his plan to everyone in their minds. So, as Blaze powered up with her flames in a similar fashion to Locke and Kaden, Silver, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles gathered around Sonic. Sonic glanced around at them, the emeralds hovering in place in a circle around him. There wasn't much to say. "You guys ready?"

Amy was the only one who responded with something more than just a nod. "Yes."

No one spoke anymore as the emeralds moved to hover in a circle around them before beginning to spin rapidly, going faster and faster until a huge, painfully bright golden flash filled the clearing. When the light died down, Sonic wasn't the only one who had changed. Everyone who had gathered in that circle of sorts around him was glowing like he was, each and every one of them visibly overflowing with power, their eyes reflecting an immense shock and awe that words simply could not express. Knuckles was the only one who grew upset after a moment. "Aw, did I have to be _pink_?"

Amy, who had turned golden like everyone else except for Knuckles, put her hands on her hips as she turned to face him. "And what's wrong with pink?" she demanded.

He gave her a vaguely wary look. "Uh... nothing."

Tails looked at the two little birds that were suddenly flying around him. "Where did the flickies come from?"

Silver summoned up his normally green powers, visibly awed at their now golden color, as well as how much stronger they were. "This is... _amazing_..." he murmured.

Seeing that they still had a moment, Sonic said and did nothing to try to rush his friends into battle when the distraction continued. _He_ sure wasn't in a hurry to fight. _I suppose I never really am. _As he watched, Knuckles approached Locke and looked him over.

"Well, this explains a lot," he commented casually, arms crossed.

"Oh?" Locke asked, eyebrows upraised. "Like what?"

"How I can get blasted by fire and not get injured, for one thing."

Locke looked somewhat surprised. "I hadn't realized that you'd learned about that already."

Knuckles shrugged. "It was a freak accident," he said with fake seriousness. "If it wasn't for this apparent ability, I'd probably be dead."

Locke smirked as he reached out and ruffled his son's hat-covered head. "Well I'm glad things worked out differently, son."

As the echidna's dialogue faded, Silver spoke up. "So time for an all-out attack now, right?" he asked, his gaze focused on Sonic. There was none of his usual excitement or humor, only a seriousness that showed itself when necessary.

"It will be necessary," Blaze replied, her flames creating a bright orange light around her. "Dark Gaia absorbed a large amount of Pure Chaos energy from the emeralds." Silver nodded at her.

"When we defeat it, the energy will be restored to the Chaos Emeralds, right?" Amy asked with a worried glance at Sonic.

"It should be, yes," Locke answered.

Just then, there was a mighty roar that shook the ground and toppled numerous nearby trees. "Uh-oh, time's up, guys!" Knuckles said quickly. "Let's move!" He took off without any other warning with Tails and his flickies not far behind. Now close enough to her hammer to finally call it back to her, Amy summoned it and took off after them. Locke and Blaze followed after her.

Sonic glanced to Kaden, who stood nearby him. "Be safe," he said quietly.

Kaden looked to him as well and nodded slowly. "Same to you." There were things that could have been said, things that probably _should_ have been said at the brink of what was sure to be a small war, but neither of them had ever been the type to say those things. And so, with no other words forthcoming, they too rushed into battle.

**~ソニック~**

Amy slammed her hammer with incredible force into one of Dark Gaia's tentacles, sending it falling limply toward Blaze, who then utterly vaporized it with a blast of intense fire. Up above, Kaden and Locke worked in perfect tandem, alternating between blasts of fire and close-combat melee attacks depending on what the situation called for as they assaulted the main body of their foe. Tails, too, was working perfectly with his two new partners, the two little flickies that were flying constantly around him. He fought with simple, direct attacks, usually kicks of various kinds, as he aided in the attempt to destroy Dark Gaia's numerous tentacles. Also attacking the main body were Sonic, Silver, and Knuckles. Though they appeared to be working separately, using their individual powers to strike at Dark Gaia with deadly force and accuracy, anyone who knew them could tell that they were, in actuality, assisting each other as much as they possibly could. Things were going okay... for now. But who knew how long it would last? Dark Gaia was, after all, _massively_ overpowered while the Chaos Emeralds were left significantly weaker than they were supposed to be. It just wasn't _fair_.

Chancing another glance up between attacks, Amy watched in horror as Silver was hit in the back by a tentacle that no one had managed to catch. He sailed downward at alarming speeds, his face scrunched up in pain, but, by some miracle, Sonic managed to come between him and the ground and catch him just in time. However, due to the force with which Silver had been struck, they both ended up hitting the ground anyway, landing heavily on their feet as a result. Still, neither of them were hurt, and Amy allowed herself a small sigh of relief before returning to her task.

**~ソニック~**

Locke listened, more than a little surprised, when Sonic suddenly approached Kaden, who was still flying near the echidna, and spoke. "_Hachaun,_" he murmured, immediately getting his father's attention. _Dad._

"_Nanja?_" Kaden asked, turning around to face him while Locke moved in to cover their backs so they could speak. _What? _

"_Essenya... Kono no heian ma nda._" _This isn't working... We need to defeat it soon. _

Kaden made a small sound of agreement. "_Detta ni ho?_" _How long? _

"_Ne chara effun lakala no si._" _I can hold it a while longer. _

"_Etta__?_" _And after?_

"_Kaoso Emeralda ne ha-o nelani heh._" _The Chaos Emeralds will scatter. _

"_Chido ka hana._" _And you'll all go back to normal. _

"_Sa._" _Yes. _

Kaden nodded once, signalling his understanding of the situation. "_Keitan ha__._" _So we'll have to be fast, then. _Sonic returned his nod and they separated again with Sonic flying up to rejoin Sonic and Knuckles higher in the sky. Alone again, save for Locke, Kaden returned his focus to both Dark Gaia and remaining in control of himself. That dark aura was so strong here... Shaking his head a bit, Kaden dodged another attack that had been sent his way. Dark Gaia was _ridiculously _overpowered right now. It was all anyone could do to just hurt the beast even a _little_, And Analia had taken a direct hit from one of Dark Gaia's most powerful attacks... His concern, as well as his anger, redoubled at the memory, but he forced the emotions back... for now.

Just then, Tails's sharp cry of alarm caught everyone's attention as the boy was sent hurtling backward by the wind caused by an attack that had only _just_ missed him. Amy jumped up and saved him before he could hit anything while Blaze attacked Dark Gaia in order to give the pair a brief window of opportunity to get away. They escaped just in time... and in that moment, Kaden knew his error.

Becoming distracted in battle was an incredibly dangerous thing to do. It wasn't like him at all. He'd been trained, even brutally so, _not_ to allow himself to become distracted by anything during a fight. It was for exactly this reason that he'd been taught such a harsh lesson. He whirled around to face his opponent just as most everyone else also returned their attention to the enemy. But it was too late. Dark Gaia had charged up it's energy attack to power levels far beyond anything it had done before and unleashed it. However, a painfully bright light suddenly appeared in its way, protecting Locke and Kaden while the pair hovered in shock while simultaneously pushing the blast back at Dark Gaia, who also pushed back against the barrier, creating a struggle of epic proportions. Kaden whirled around, this time facing the direction in which Chip had flown off with Analia earlier. His gaze immediately fell upon a battered form standing beside a large tree with one hand raised toward Dark Gaia. _Analia... _

She was barely standing, Chip flying by her side, glaring fiercely at their enemy as she continued to hold that attack back. However... in her condition, there was only so much she could do. Locke had _just_ dropped to the ground to do who knew what, when, without any warning, Dark Gaia unleashed a _second_ blast that combined with it's first, shattering the powerful barrier Analia had created at Kaden's back and striking him dead-on. The last thing he heard before everything went black was Locke's almost desperate, "_Kaden!_"

The others could only watch in horror as Kaden was sent flying, slamming into the ground some distance away and skidding so that a deep gouge was carved out of the ground, ending several miles away with a large, bright explosion while everyone, Locke and Sonic especially, watched in horror. Barely a moment later, Analia collapsed again and Chip dropped down to her side, trying to wake her. Now that everyone was distracted and thus an easy target, Dark Gaia struck again, using a single tentacle to send both Tails and Amy flying through the trees. In the same instance, Blaze met a similar fate at the hands of a second tentacle. Things were falling apart.

Knuckles and Locke, now together on the ground, were nearly stuck by a third tentacle, but Sonic intervened from a distance. "_Chaos Spear_!" he shouted furiously, waving his hand forcefully. The echidnas were visibly stunned for a brief moment as multiple spears made of pure golden light pierced the tentacle before vanishing, forcing Dark Gaia to pull back the offending appendage as it roared in pain. Knuckles gritted his teeth as he took once more to the air. Meanwhile, his father rushed to Analia's aid and Silver flew after Blaze, Tails, and Amy. Normally Knuckles wasn't prone to such negative and pessimistic thoughts, but... _This is hopeless... If it can defeat us so easily even when we're transformed like this... _The thought trailed off, left unfinished, when he looked up and saw Sonic's deep frown of thought. Frowning slightly as well, Knuckles flew up the remaining few feet that it took to hover by his friend's side. His first _real_ friend... He pushed that thought away for now. "What are you thinking?" he asked quietly.

Sonic frowned a bit deeper, never taking his eyes off the raging beast below. "I think..." He hesitated for a brief moment, but soon drew himself up and continued more strongly, "I think I know how to end this."

If he was hesitating, then there was a catch. There had to be. And Knuckles needed to know what it was. "But?" he prompted tensely.

"But," Sonic sighed, "I have no idea what will happen if I do this."

Knuckles was sporting a deep frown now, too. "Can you do it as you are now?" He'd rather Sonic _not_ do whatever it was he planning, because if Sonic was so concerned then something _had_ to be wrong with this, but it was clear that his friend's mind was set. There was no changing Sonic's decision now.

Sonic shook his head slowly. "I'll need to take back the power I gave you guys."

Knuckles nodded once, doing his best not to think about what Sonic might be planning, not that he had any idea what it was, anyway. "We're faster like this," he said simply. "Give us a minute to get away."

Sonic returned his nod. Once again, there were things that should have been said, especially now that everything, _everything_, could be all over in the next couple of minutes, but Sonic was still Sonic, and he had never been the type of person to voice those things. "Get _far_ away."

"Right."

Locke, undoubtedly having heard the entire conversation, traded a quick, yet serious look with Knuckles before gently scooping up Analia and grabbing Chip. He gave Sonic a long look, but Sonic never turned around, never looked back. Locke flew away with Analia and Chip while Knuckles followed. As they flew, Silver and the others slowly rose up to follow them. The only ones missing from the group were Kaden and Sonic.

Their minute was up. Sonic couldn't wait any longer. He knew what Dark Gaia was getting ready to do (it was using _his_ power, after all), and he had to strike first. If Dark Gaia used the same attack he was planning on using... Once he was sure that the others were a safe distance away and that they were no longer using his power to fly, he raised his right palm to the sky and closed his eyes, calling his power back from them and drawing it back into himself, thus intensifying the golden aura surrounding him. His eyes opened slowly and he lowered his hand so that the palm of it was now directly facing Dark Gaia. _I could die if I do this. _Gritting his teeth together, Sonic forced back his hesitation and spoke two words in a voice that was as calm as he strangely felt, despite the grim certainty hanging over his head of how this could all end. "Chaos Control." And a pure white light like nothing the world had ever seen before overtook everything.

**~ソニック~**

**So the question becomes... who were our heroes fighting, really? Dark Gaia? Or, in a way, were they actually fighting Sonic? About 3,135 words this time. Posted 07-21-15.**

**~ソニック~**

**So here's the updated song list. Some songs have been added or removed, and a couple new characters have joined the list! A * still means that this is the character's main theme (by my own choosing). I hope you enjoy! :)**

**~ソニック~**

_**Sonic:**_ **Dragon Soul (English opening to Dragon Ball Z Kai)**

**Destiny of the Chosen (By Immediate (The title alone should tell you why I chose this for him. Fun fact: I was listening to this song when I wrote the chapters where South Island was destroyed all those ages ago.))**

**Superman (By Five For Fighting (I used this to write a chapter, remember?))**

**You Found Me (By Kelly Clarkson)**

**Sanctuary (English Version; From Kingdom Hearts; by Utada Hikaru (You can do the slow or normal. I don't think it matters. I like the slow version (with "After the Battle" in the title) for him the best, though.))**

**Simple and Clean (Orchestral Version; From Kingdom Hearts; Original version by Utada Hikaru)**

**Once in Every Lifetime (From Eragon; by Jem)**

***Heroes (By MaÌŠns ZelmerloÌˆw (I feel like the "he" mentioned in the song could be Kaden, assuming that Sonic is the narrator of the story being told in this song.))**

**The Phoenix (By Fall Out Boy)**

**Clash of Titans (By Immediate (Another that suits the fall of South Island.))**

**The Last Firstborn (By Celldweller)**

**Overlock (By Blue Stahli (This is listed on YouTube as "Over klock", but whatever.))**

**_Amy:_ Real Emotion (From Final Fantasy X-2)**

***Simple and Clean (English version; from Kingdom Hearts; by Utada Hikaru)**

**Ordinary Girl (by Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus (For the record, I hate the new Miley Cyrus.))**

**If I Die Young (By The Band Berry)**

**This is the Life (By Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus)**

**Keep Holding On (From Eragon; by Avril Lavigne)**

**Ordinary Day (From Radio Disney; by Vanessa Carlton)**

**_Knuckles:_ *****You're the Best Around ( By Joe Esposito)**

**Immortals (From Big Hero 6; by Fall Out Boy (Kinda fits Kaden, too, huh?))**

**_Tails:_ I'll Be There For You (Theme song of Friends)**

**A World Without Danger (Opening to Code Lyoko; by Noam Kaniel (Only some of these lyrics fit, but whatever.))**

**The Time Has Come (From Pokemon, the episode "Pikachu's Goodbye)**

**_Kaden:_ *Centuries (By Fall Out Boy (Bad ass... Just like he is. XD))**

**Castle of Glass (By Linkin Park)**

**Get Out Alive (By Three Days Grace)**

**In the End (By Linkin Park)**

**Uma Thurman (By Fallout Boy (This fits, excluding certain lyrics. If you listen to it you'll know what I mean. The first part of the song, before the short guitar part, is what I like best for Kaden.))**

**My Immortal (Rock Version) (By Evanescence)**

**Attack (From Pearl Harbor (I feel like this fits him when he's going all out... It's epic enough. :) )**

**Faint (By Linkin Park)**

**New Divide (Linkin Park)**

**What I've Done (Lyric and official instrumental versions; by Linkin Park)**

**_Cream:_ *Got to Get it to Get it (from Pokemon X and Y (this song just felt so perfect for her. It's sweet and peaceful like she is. :) ))**

**_Analia:_ *****Only Time (By Enya)**

**There You'll Be (From Pearl Harbor; by Faith Hill)**

**The Inner Light (From Star Trek: The Next Generation)**

**Jinora's Light (From Avatar: The Legend of Korra)**

**...And Then I Kissed Him (From Pearl Harbor)**

**Vuelie (From Frozen)**

**_Rouge:_ Material Girl (By Madonna)**

**Sleigh Bells (By Riot Rhythm)**

***Beautiful (By Christina Aguilera (This might fit Amy, too, to a point.))**

**_Chip:_ Menu Selection (The menu selection screen from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker)**

**_Locke:_ Burn It Down (By Linking Park (Anyone else think that this sort of fits Kaden, too?))**

**Find Yourself (From Cars; by Brad Paisley (Why does this feel like Locke's life story...?))**

***No Easy Way Out (Robert Tepper)**

**_Silver:_ *Aero Chord - Mortar (I think Aero Chord might actually be the artist, but this is how I've always seen the title of the song, so... yeah.)**

_**Vector:**_ ***Benny Hill Theme (I have no idea who this is by or where it's from. For some reason, this makes me think of Vector running frantically from some sort of trouble he's gotten himself and maybe Charmy into, every time. XD)**

**_Shadow:_ The War Inside (By Switchfoot)**

**Angel With a Shotgun (By The Cab)**

**_Wave:_ You Don't Know Me (By Elizabeth Gillies (This song fits her fairly well, I think.))**

**_Blaze:_ *Sonic Generations OST 17 - Blaze Theme (By YouTuber "****McDonald's Rules, Suckers!" (Despite what they titled this, this isn't a real Sonic song. It fits her, however!))**

**_Vanilla:_ *I Hope You Dance (By ****by Lee Ann Womack (This feels so perfect for her...)**

**_Espio:_ Stars Align (By Lindsey Stirling)**

***Shadows (By Lindsey Stirling)**

**_Jet:_ *Thief (By Imagine Dragons (This fits him _so perfectly_... And this is one of my new favorite songs.)**

**_One more thing!_ I feel that this song called Tears on the Wind from Perfect World fits one of the Characters, but I couldn't decide who. Opinions?**

**LASTLY! The official theme song to Hero Chronicles: the opening song to the game Children of Mana (DS). :)**

**Any ideas for themes for characters I missed? Let me know!**


	116. Say Farewell

**Hello, Shadowstar146! Your review to Chapter 114: I love him, too! And yeah, since I knew from the start that he wouldn't be in that chapter very long, I did my very best to make him bad ass. :D Yes, I liked that part, too. Ivo's first real failure. ...Except, according to the future visions Sonic had, things really turn around for him, huh? Well, if you read what happened, I hope you enjoyed it! I did my best to make everything epic, despite how short it was. I saw your art! I don't know if you saw my comments, but I _did_ comment. :) Also, I did describe him (briefly) according to IronShadowZ's art back in one of the memories that Locke showed Sonic toward the end of the Crisis City Arc.**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Well, I'm glad you think so! :D And mostly fun is good. :)**

**Hello, ScarletTheCat14! Your review to Chapter 115: ...I left a cliffhanger. That's what. AND BECAUSE I FREAKING WANTED IT TO BE THERE. XDD Yes, you did see that. It's there. Haha, I know, right? I'd have to live on my computer more than I already do. Lol! :P I'm glad you liked the cliffhanger! Sure thing! I like that song, I just didn't even _think_ about it when making the playlist initially for whatever reason. Nope, no one else suggested it before you. Meadow Starlight suggested it sometime after I posted the chapter before this one, though. ...You do? You like them? To be honest, I feel like they kinda suck (Sonic Lightning especially) but I still have high hopes for Life With a Song. I'll get back to that one eventually. :) I _love_ Inuyasha! My all-time favorite anime ever! If you do look into it, I hope you become a Sesshomaru fan like I am! XD I normally don't review, either, to be honest. But, as you said, it does help motivate and whatnot. I appreciate that you take the time to read and review. It means a lot. :) To be honest, for the _longest_ time, I preferred the idea of Sonic remaining a long wolf (so to speak), but over the years I've seen how SEGA and the anime and various fics and whatnot have made the pair work, so I've developed an appreciation for them as a couple. :) Eh, I don't care much for Sally. I tolerate her and all, I just don't _like_ her. And, to be honest, I personally can't see Sonic and Blaze getting together. :P Wait, you're fire-proof? How about we send Locke and Kaden over with their flame powers to test that? XD**

**Your review to Chapter 1: I'm so glad that you like it so much! This story has been a long time in the making, and I'm so happy to know that it is loved! :D Nah, I don't feel like you're stalking. Besides, I don't mind. Well, with Chapter 114, it was only like nine o'clock PM in my time. :P Wow, no computer access? I would die. ;_; Hahaha best review ever! XD Lucky. You had fast-food. I almost didn't have anything to eat. ;_; Yeah, see ya! :D EEEWWW... NASTY KEYBOARD... DX**

**Your review to Chapter 2: I put it in! I liked all the lines, personally. And I _love_ daughtry! Home and No Surprise are my personal favs. :) Oh, and I put Learn My Lesson by Daughtry in Sonic's list, too. :D**

**Hello, Anonymous! ...You've gotten better? Whelp, I'm dead XD Haha! I haven't been practicing. XP The KO cry part made me laugh, by the way! That was great! XD ...That... was an incredibly good idea. Too bad I wrote this chapter ahead of time and therefore already decided what was going to happen. Still, that was a great idea! :D**

**Hello, flashyhero! Yup, pretty much. Spot-on. :P Thanks for the review, as always! :D**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Yup, I did yesterday. It's on Sonic's list. :D ScarletTheCat also recommended it, and it's a song I know anyway. The three of us have very similar taste, it would see! XD I'm glad you enjoyed! AND BECAUSE I WANTED TO. XD Yes, yes there is. More so than usual, huh?**

**Hello, Firerider007! ...Did you _mean_ to review on Chapter 1? Well, whatever, thanks for the review, anyway! :D I'm glad you enjoyed! Aw man, you have a fever? That sucks. I hope you feel better really soon. :( Aw, thanks for saying that! You're sweet. :)**

**Hello, xXJoeyUchihaXx! Yes, they are, but I'm so glad you enjoyed anyway. :) Haha, now that you mentioned it, I can't get that image out of my head! Hahaha! XD**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

**More awesome fanart! Shadowstar146 did their own interpretation of Kaden's appearance on DeviantArt! Check it out! And don't forget that IronShadowZ did the original, plus a few others! :D**

**Also, this beginning scene was one of the visions little Sonic had of the future (just in case you forgot).**

**WE HAVE 700 REVIEWS NOW! Oh my gosh, thank you _so_ much to anyone and everyone who has ever taken the time to read this story and review on it! That means _so_ much to me! :DD**

_**LASTLY!**_** I very highly recommend listening to the song I chose as Jet's theme! The more I listen to it, the more absolutely _perfect_ it sounds! You should check it out! :D**

**~ソニック~**

When reality returned, all that was left of Dark Gaia was the Pure Chaos energy that it absorbed, which then went shooting back into the emeralds where it belonged. There wasn't even a crater. As the Chaos Emeralds scattered, Sonic fell limply down to the ground far below. In the distance, three flashes of white light, unintentional after-effects of that Chaos Control, shot up like beacons in the sky, briefly illuminating the area around them before vanishing without a trace just as suddenly as they had appeared, leaving nothing but an old brown hat behind.

**~ソニック~**

_Sonic watched as a dark portal opened up in front of him. The wind was fierce; fierce enough that entire rocks were being ripped to shreds. However, though his hair whipped around behind him, he was otherwise unaffected by the wind. A large rock came flying at him from the side and he, never taking his eyes off of the portal before him, shot a fist out to meet the rock, shattering it with no effort. Blinking, he crossed his arms once more and watched with an entirely calm expression as the once small portal widened to the point where it was about the same size as he was, perhaps slightly larger. Without a word, he waited to see what new horrors would be brought into the world this time._

**~ソニック~**

Amy landed ungracefully on her stomach in a cloud of dust with her arms before her, the sand forcing her to squeeze her eyes shut as she coughed. Barely a second later, Tails crashed onto the ground next to her, somehow managing to land on his rear, facing whatever they'd fallen out of while she was facing away from it. He, too, began coughing when the sand flying around in the air filled his lungs. Mere moments later, Knuckles, too, shot out of whatever the three of them had been mysteriously falling through, also facing the opposite direction of Amy. He landed on his back with an "_oof_!" as the breath was knocked out of him by the impact. The ground was _not_ very forgiving. After a brief bout of coughing, Knuckles, his eyes also closed like Tails and Amy's, finally spoke. "Ow... what the _hell_...?"

"That's what _I'd_ like to know," Amy grumbled, pushing herself up on her hands and knees and letting out another small cough.

"Where _are_ we, anyway?" Tails asked as Amy sat back on her knees and he shook sand and dust off of his head.

"I don't know."

Knuckles opened his eyes then... and was surprised to see calm emerald eyes looking down at him. A blue eyebrow rose slightly. Knuckles was immediately on his feet, and those eyes never left him. "Sonic? What the hell? What-?" Sonic blinked as Amy and Tails quickly got to their feet as well, but said nothing. Knuckles only barely noticed the change in his friend's appearance from what was usual. "What is this place?" Knuckles demanded after a moment, finishing the question that he'd cut off just a moment before. "What happened to Dark Gaia?"

At this, a slow frown appeared on the hedgehog's face. When he spoke, his voice was oddly... neutral. "Dark Gaia... That was years ago."

The three of them froze. "_What_?" Amy demanded, her green eyes wide with shock and maybe just a hint of fear.

"That's not possible!" Knuckles snapped, unwilling to believe it despite his incredible and unwavering trust in this hedgehog. "We were just there fighting it!" Sonic said nothing, still frowning at him, his arms crossed.

"Oh no..." Tails suddenly moaned.

"What?" Amy asked warily, turning to her adoptive kid brother. "What's wrong?"

"I _thought_ it felt like we were falling through a portal just now..." he replied slowly and in despair. "I just didn't think that it was _true_. But, if it's been _years_ since the fight..."

Knuckles's gaze swung back to Sonic, who hadn't moved. "How long has it been?" he demanded.

Sonic shifted then, placing the majority of his light weight on his right foot, and his expression smoothed over. Steel caught the dull light filtering through the dark grey clouds covering the evening sky overhead, and Knuckles's eyes widened when he truly noticed for the first time the sword that Sonic had resting on his back, angled in such a way that it would be easy for him to grab it with his right hand. A thin black string-like strap that wrapped around his front was the only thing holding it in place. "A long time," Sonic replied vaguely, drawing their attention back to him and away from the sword.

"_How_ long?" Knuckles pressed.

Sonic didn't look like he was going to answer that; they were all soon distracted by a robot that flew up to them, anyway. Sonic turned his head to look at it. Normally, he would have been glaring. And yet, for some reason, he wasn't this time. His gaze remained entirely neutral, much like his voice had been the two times he had opted to speak. The robot seemed to have no other purpose than to be some sort of portable, flying intercom, if the speaker covering it's whole front side was any indication. It relayed it's message without hesitation in a shrill, tinny voice that grated on everyone's ears. "_Wanted, Sonic the Hedgehog. Wanted, Knuckles the Echidna. Wanted, Miles "Tails" Prower. Wanted, Amy Rose. Capture is inevitable. Surrender now."_

They all watched as a larger, more powerful robot flew toward them at high speeds. Sonic looked away and closed his eyes. Dismissive. In a single, fluid movement, he grabbed the hilt of his sword, swung the blade around, and sliced cleanly through both the intercom-bot and the other robot that had only just then moved behind the intercom. They exploded almost instantly, and he replaced his sword in the sheath at his back. "Hmph," he murmured coolly, still no inflection notable in his tone as he crossed his arms again, ignoring the momentary burst of flames as well as the debris flying past him. Then, without another word (or sound, as it were), he abruptly turned and began walking away.

"H-Hey! Wait a minute!" Amy called, already running after him. "You're not going to leave us here, are you?"

Sonic's right ear flicked ever-so-slightly, a sign that they recognized easily. He paused, then, and turned back about halfway, his gaze still impassive as he met Amy's gaze only briefly before allowing his gaze to sweep over Tails and Knuckles for the barest of moments. Turning away mostly, he spoke to no one in particular. "It's dangerous outside." With that, he turned away again and continued on his way.

Exchanging confused and concerned glances, Knuckles and the others hurried after him. They had no better plan, anyway. It was Knuckles who finally spoke up again, breaking the silence. "What the hell is this place?" he asked again. From where he was walking, Knuckles could see it when Sonic blinked.

"It was a forest."

"What happened to it?"

"A lot." This Sonic didn't seem fond of talking. Not that present-day Sonic generally was, either, but this future Sonic seemed to speak only when he felt that it was necessary. That wasn't like him at all. Not the him that _they_ knew, at any rate.

It was Amy that spoke next. "So... why do you have a sword?" To this Sonic replied with a small one-shouldered shrug that really didn't answer anything. "Is it because robots like that one you destroyed have weapons, too?" Knuckles knew that she knew first-hand how helpful having a weapon could be when fighting against armed enemies. At this, Sonic relented and nodded.

Tails spoke next. "Where are we going?"

Sonic didn't respond again. Instead, he calmly approached a sheer cliff-face and, without any warning, he just jumped down. Running to the edge, they saw him land lightly on his feet and approach a large boulder. Once again exchanging a few quick glances, Knuckles and the others quickly went down after him, with the boys flying and lowering Amy safely down onto the ground below. Once they were all safely on their feet in the canyon, they hurried after Sonic as he carefully stepped around that large boulder. He opened a large metal door and headed inside, leaving the door open behind him. Suspecting that that was as much of an invitation as they were ever going to get, Knuckles led the way in after him.

It was dark inside at first; then there was a small click and a dim overhead light positioned in the center of the ceiling not far from a small table turned on. The room was small, but not overly so. They all fit more-or-less comfortably inside. Amy slowly closed the surprisingly heavy door while Sonic pulled his sword off, sheath and all, and laid it on the simple mattress on the other side of the room. He then knelt beside the bed and slid an old cardboard box out from under it, riffling through the numerous pages stacked somewhat carelessly inside of it. While he was busy, Tails soon found him distracted by, and in awe of, the large computer system across the room from the bed and began checking it over while Knuckles hovered tensely beside the door, unsure of what to do with himself. Meanwhile, Amy's attention was caught by the numerous posters tacked to the wall near the computer. Her voice called Tails and Knuckles over to her.

"Oh no... You guys... you need to come see this."

Knuckles walked over to the posters, his eyes, much like theirs, going wide with shock and alarm. "'_Wanted_'...?" he read softly. Glancing quickly over the posters, he saw nothing but familiar faces and names. It seemed like everyone they knew was here. Except... "Wait a minute, where the hell is Silver?" He quickly turned and, without a word, Sonic pulled out a random paper (seemingly not the one he was looking for) from the box he was still going through and tossed it forward so that it fluttered lifelessly onto the ground. Knuckles walked over and picked it up, turning it around to find yet another wanted poster. This one was very similar to the others, save for the single, emboldened red word that had been printed across the photgraph at the top, the word going diagonally down from the upper left-hand corner of the picture to the bottom right. _**TERMINATED.** _Knuckles almost couldn't breathe."Oh my god..." Amy walked briskly over to him and snatched the paper out of his hand so that she could see. Her eyes barely had time to widen in shock and horror before Tails did what she had done to Knuckles and snatched the paper out of her hands. His eyes quickly took on a tell-tale shine and he blinked rapidly as he slowly set the paper down on the nearby table with shaking hands. Knuckles gritted his teeth and snapped his gaze back to Sonic. "And what about Blaze?" he demanded, his anger only for show. No response. "Her, too?" Sonic nodded once. Knuckles _almost_ hesitated, but after a moment, he decided that he had to know. "And our parents? What happened to them?"

Sonic blinked but said nothing, finally seeming to find the paper he was looking for. He stood and, shoving the box back under the bed with a foot, he walked over to his impressive computer and began typing rapidly, the paper laying loosely on the keyboard near his hands. Knuckles didn't really understand what was on it; all he could make out where a bunch of algorithms and equations and short, hastily-written notes that didn't make any sense to him. He could tell that Tails and Amy were looking, too, but somehow, Knuckles wasn't too sure that even Tails understood what was on that paper. Finally, something appeared on the computer's screen, and the three of them gathered around to see. Sonic glanced up for the barest of moments at the seemingly infinite supply of numbers and letters and words scrolling from the top of the screen to the bottom, then looked away, still typing rapidly. After a long moment, a bright green box surrounding equally bright green letters appeared in the center of the screen, overlaying the data that was still scrolling by. "**_ACCESS_ GRANTED**." Then, without any warning, a smaller box appeared onscreen over everything else. Nothing but audio played, but the voice was so familiar that they didn't_need_ to see a face to know who it was.

_"Sonic, have you bypassed The Capitol's security, yet?"_

Amy turned wide eyes on Knuckles. "Is that... _me_?" she whispered.

Sonic responded simply to the other Amy, not wasting words or time. "Yes." In a way, it seemed like he was answering the Amy that was currently in the room with him, too.

_"Good. Hurry over here, then. We plan to attack in a few hours. We need to go over the plan with you before then."_

Once again, his reply was simple. "Fine." Then the audio box onscreen disappeared and Sonic abandoned his computer to grab his sword off of his bed. Putting it back on as it had been before, he headed toward the door, tossing a simple order their way as he went, never once looking at them. "Stay here." With that, he pushed the door open, stepped outside, shut the door again, and was gone.

**~ソニック~**

With Sonic gone to who-knew-where for the time being, Knuckles, Tails, and Amy took the time to look over their wanted posters, as well as the posters belonging to others. They looked at Shadow's, Rouge's, Tails's, Amy's, and Knuckles's before finally seeing Sonic's. His bounty, like Shadows, was impossibly high, and there were also two new "crimes" listed in pen on the side. "He stole the Chaos Emeralds from this Emperor guy, huh?" Knuckles mused aloud.

"And teamed up with that black hedgehog, Shadow," Tails replied.

Meanwhile, Amy ran gentle fingers over a different wanted poster. Looking at it, Knuckles saw Cream's face. The photo was zoomed in enough that not much else was visible, save for her Chao friend beside her. Still, enough of her clothes were visible that it was obvious that she was still wearing the same clothes as usual. Her expression was uncharacteristically brave and determined, but there was still an element of fear in her eyes, as could only be expected considering her young age. her bounty was alarmingly high, considering who she was and how _young_ she was.

_Wanted:_

_Cream the Rabbit_

_For crimes against The Empire_

_Including but not limited to:_

_Joining the Freedom Fighters_

_Aiding the accused_

_Sheltering the accused and/or escaped prisoners in one's home_

_Aggravated assault against any robot_

_Attempted theft_

_Theft_

_Destruction of property of the Capitol factories, robots, and other buildings_

_Withholding information_

_Evading arrest_

_Treason_

_Conspiracy to overthrow the Emperor_

_Unlawful use of one's powers_

_Escaping custody_

_Knowing and associating with Sonic the Hedgehog_

_Knowing and associating with other wanted persons_

_Unlawful creation of art_

_Trespassing_

_Meeting Secret_

_Aiding in the escape of prisoners_

_Refusal to labor in the mines_

_Reward: 30,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

Charmy, they noticed, was wanted for virtually all the same things as Cream, and his bounty was about the same at 28,000,000. He looked the same as he had in the past. Vanilla, a cat and frog pair by the names of Big and Froggy, and Amy's parents were wanted, too, but not for much. Their bounties were 10,000, 600, and 20,000, respectively, and they all looked the same as the usually did. The next poster that _really_ caught their attention was Jet's. He looked like someone had, as Knuckles so beautifully put it, "beat the living shit out of him." He was flying on his board to the left side of the picture, his head turned so that he could glare at the camera. His appearance was unchanged beyond how obviously injured he was. His bounty, too, was surprisingly high.

_Wanted:_

_Jet the Hawk_

_For crimes against The Empire_

_Including but not limited to:_

_Joining the Freedom Fighters_

_Aiding the accused_

_Aggravated assault against any robot_

_Attempted theft_

_Theft_

_Destruction of property of the Capitol factories, robots, and other buildings_

_Withholding information_

_Evading arrest_

_Treason_

_Racing_

_Conspiracy to overthrow the Emperor_

_Escaping custody_

_Knowing and associating with Sonic the Hedgehog_

_Knowing and associating with other wanted persons_

_Aiding in the escape of prisoners_

_Refusal to labor in the mines_

_Withholding ancient knowledge_

_Trespassing_

_Unauthorized use and ownership of a vehicle_

_Unlawful use and ownership of any racing gear, including vehicles and racing goggles_

_Attempting to attack the Emperor_

_Unlawful dating_

_Escaping prison_

_Unauthorized use of a weapon_

_Aggravated assault with a weapon against any robot_

_Unlawful treasure hunting_

_Hiding ancient ruins and artifacts_

_Spying_

_Attempted Spying_

_Unlawful use of one's powers_

_Reward: 60,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

Amy turned her wide gaze on Knuckles. "Jet has _powers_?"

Knuckles frowned. "I guess. Look, so do his teammates, according to these posters."

Amy looked. Wave was next. She was wanted for very similar things, though her bounty was noticeably lower for whatever reason at 45,000,000. Storm, too, had a lower bounty than Jet, perhaps because the hawk was their leader. His bounty was 42,000,000, and he too was wanted for very similar things as Jet. He and Wave, like Jet, were riding their boards in their wanted photos and their appearances were unchanged. After them was Espio. His appearance was entirely unchanged and his expression was calm as he gazed over his shoulder at the camera that had taken his picture.

_Wanted:_

_Espio the Chameleon_

_For crimes against The Empire_

_Including but not limited to:_

_Joining the Freedom Fighters_

_Aiding the accused_

_Aggravated assault against any robot_

_Destruction of property of the Capitol factories, robots, and other buildings_

_Withholding information_

_Evading arrest_

_Treason_

_Spying_

_Attempted Spying_

_Unlawful use of one's powers_

_Conspiracy to overthrow the Emperor_

_Escaping custody_

_Knowing and associating with Sonic the Hedgehog_

_Knowing and associating with other wanted persons_

_Aiding in the escape of prisoners_

_Refusal to labor in the mines_

_Trespassing_

_Attempting to attack the Emperor_

_Escaping prison_

_Training others in Ninjutsu_

_Practicing Ninjutsu_

_Unauthorized use of a weapon_

_Aggravated assault with a weapon against any robot_

_Reward: 70,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

Next was Vector. Besides the uncharacteristically serious look he had at he glared with crossed arms at the camera, he looked exactly the same.

_Wanted:_

_Vector the Crocodile_

_For crimes against The Empire_

_Including but not limited to:_

_Theft_

_Attempted theft_

_Robbing Capitol banks_

_Joining the Freedom Fighters_

_Aiding the accused_

_Aggravated assault against any robot_

_Destruction of property of the Capitol factories, robots, and other buildings_

_Withholding information_

_Evading arrest_

_Treason_

_Conspiracy to overthrow the Emperor_

_Escaping custody_

_Knowing and associating with Sonic the Hedgehog_

_Knowing and associating with other wanted persons_

_Aiding in the escape of prisoners_

_Refusal to labor in the mines_

_Trespassing_

_Unauthorized use of a weapon_

_Aggravated assault with a weapon against any robot_

_Reward: 15,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

Swallowing hard, Amy slowly turned away from the wall and gently picked Silver's poster back up. The three of them looked together. They had to know.

_Wanted:_

_Silver the Hedgehog_

_For crimes against The Empire_

_Including but not limited to:_

_Unauthorized use of one's powers_

_Joining the Freedom fighters_

_Unlawful time traveling_

_Unlawful use of portals_

_Aiding the accused_

_Aggravated assault against any robot_

_Attempted theft_

_Theft_

_Destruction of property of the Capitol factories, robots, and other buildings_

_Feeding laborers and/or prisoners_

_Withholding information_

_Evading arrest_

_Treason_

_Conspiracy to overthrow the Emperor_

_Escaping custody_

_Knowing and associating with Sonic the Hedgehog_

_Being the child of Sonic the Hedgehog_

_Knowing and associating with other wanted persons_

_Aiding in the escape of prisoners_

_Refusal to labor in the mines_

_Spying_

_Attempted spying_

_Attempting to attack the Emperor_

_Escaping prison_

_Unauthorized use of a weapon_

_Aggravated assault with a weapon against any robot_

_Trespassing_

_Reward: 120,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

Amy forcefully blinked back tears, her grip tightening so much on the paper that it crumpled harshly. "_None_ of this was worth killing him for," she swore softly and furiously. "_None_of it."

Tails walked away for a moment and pulled out the box that Sonic had been rummaging through earlier. A few minutes later, he pulled out a new paper and walked back over to them. It was Blaze's wanted poster, also with the official **_TERMINATED _**mark across her picture. The only thing that was different on her list of "crimes" was that she was also guilty of arson on two separate counts, in the Capitol and in the cities, specifically. "This is horrible..." the young fox murmured.

Knuckles scowled at nothing in particular. "I don't understand..." he muttered. "Everything's so screwed up..." He looked back up at the wall of posters. Sonic had clearly been keeping tabs on his friends, keeping an eye on those close to him as always. "What the hell went wrong in the past...?"

"At this point..." Amy sighed, placing Silver's poster face-down on the table once more, "...I think only Sonic can answer that."

"He seemed really reluctant to answer _any_ of our questions," Knuckles pointed out tensely, "and he completely ignored me when I asked how many years it's been. He flat-out refused to answer just about anything I asked him."

"So what do we do?" Amy asked, turning back to face the echidna. "He's not here for us to question, and it's not like we know where he is."

"No, we don't," Tails mumbled, frowning at his feet in serious thought, "...but... maybe I can find out some stuff." He looked up at them, answering their questions in a determined tone before they could even be voiced. "He has a computer; he may have it locked up tight with pass-codes and all that, but I saw how he got in. Besides, I'm a hacker. I can do it."

Amy nodded once, giving her permission. "Alright. Just do him a favor and don't damage his computer's defenses."

"I won't."

Knuckles watched tensely as Tails slowly gained access into the computer. By now, Sonic had been gone for a good hour or so. _Future Amy said something about attacking this "Capitol" or whatever in a few hours. That was about an hour ago. That means that, whatever attack they're planning, it'll be happening soon. _Knuckles's crossed arms tightened._Damn it all... just be careful you two... I don't know what's going on here, but it's bad enough that two people are already dead. We don't need to add anymore names to that list._

Tails finally got into the computer. "That was a lot harder than I thought it'd be..." he murmured, still clicking away at the keyboard, his eyes locked on the screen. Suddenly, something from the database Sonic had hacked into earlier popped up onscreen. It was a digital copy of a wanted poster. Another terminated friend. "Oh my god..." Tails whispered. "Storm..." He clicked on something, and several more posters appeared. "And Vanilla and Charmy..."

"_What_?" Knuckles snarled. He didn't like Storm, but that didn't mean the albatross had deserved to die. And Vanilla and Charmy... _dead_?

"These are all from a few months ago," Tails continued, his voice barely audible. He swallowed hard, then continued speaking. "And it looks like... This cat and frog, Big and Froggy, are in jail. So are your parents, Amy. Vector, too. It doesn't say where. It looks like Vector was just caught a few days ago. According to this report, Espio was with him, but he got away. Big and Froggy were captured last year. Your parents were just caught a week or two ago. It looks like all the jails are in the Capitol." A chill ran up the fox's spine suddenly and he shivered hard.

"What is it?" Amy demanded, covering her emotions under a veil of impatience. No one was fooled.

"Th... There are execution dates set," he replied in a shaking voice. "It looks like your parents are being kept alive as bait for now, so is Vector, but everyone is scheduled to be executed in a few days."

Knuckles understood suddenly. "That's why Future Amy seemed so rushed. They don't have a lot of time if they're going to save Vector and the others."

"If they even know about this," Tails returned. "I mean, Sonic hasn't pulled down Charmy's poster or Vanilla's like he did with those other two and they've been..." he swallowed hard again, "..._gone_ for a while now."

"Information is limited here, it seems," Amy murmured. "They may very well not even know that there are prisoners right now. Well, future me might know about my, _our_, parents, but maybe not the others."

Tails shivered again. "What is _wrong_ with this place...?" he asked quietly. "What _happened_...?"

Knuckles heaved a heavy sigh. "The only one who can answer that is Sonic." He looked back to the door over his shoulder. "And he's not here."

**~ソニック~**

Several hours later, Knuckles was the only one awake in the small room that they had been staying in while waiting for Sonic to return. The light was off now, had been for some time, and Amy and Tails were curled up on Sonic's bed fast asleep with Amy at the head of the bed and Tails at the foot. Knuckles was sitting against a wall with his arms behind his head when Sonic's computer suddenly lit up, causing him to quickly open his eyes. He stood, glancing briefly at the others to make sure that they were still asleep before quietly making his way to the computer. His searching eyes soon came across a message that said that four prisoners and a frog that were associated with Sonic the Hedgehog had escaped from prison and that anyone viewing the message on anything but a message-bot was committing a crime and would be punished. Knuckles focused on the escaped prisoners part. _They're free... Good. That means that Sonic and the others succeeded, at least somewhat. _Even some success was better than none, truly.

Suddenly, the door opened. Knuckles spun around to see Sonic step in. In his right arm he carried Cream, who was resting on his hip, her head under his chin, sound asleep with her arms looped loosely around his neck. Cheese was nowhere to be seen. Behind him, Jet walked in with his board under his arm. The hawk met Knuckles's gaze for a brief moment, obviously surprised, before simply turning away and closing the door quietly. "What the hell?" Knuckles blurted out before he could stop himself.

Sonic looked at him, a slight frown appearing on his face. "Shut up," he said simply, glancing at the sleeping duo on his bed. Knuckles wisely bit his tongue for now as Sonic gently laid Cream on the bed beside Tails, somehow not managing to wake either of them. Stepping away, Sonic went to his computer and shut it down as Jet settled himself against the poster wall for the night. Once the room was entirely dark again, Sonic moved to the door and sat down beside it, placing his sword on the floor beside him, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. Knuckles gritted his teeth as he reluctantly sat down with his back against the bed frame. Whatever questions he had would have to wait until morning, it seemed, because it was clear that Sonic wasn't going to be doing anymore talking tonight. Knuckles doubted that Jet would be very helpful at this point, either, if only because the hawk seemed just as tired and beat up as Sonic looked. _I'd better get some damned good answers tomorrow. _With that thought, he too closed his eyes.

**~ソニック~**

Back in the present, Chip stared almost sadly at the place where Dark Gaia had vanished. When words failed, he merely listened as Locke slowly bent down and picked up the hat that Knuckles had been wearing, shoving it down on his own head after a long moment. Finally, Chip turned to him. "Knuckles and the others will be alright," he promised quietly instead of saying what was really on his mind. "You know Sonic wouldn't let anything bad happen to them."

Locke nodded once, but worry still clouded his eyes. "Yeah... I know." Silence settled between them again. Locke carefully shifted Analia in his arms while Silver, who had been standing frozen beside him, his eyes locked on the place in the sky where father had been, finally overcame his shock and shot through the sky, headed back to where the earlier battle had been taking place. Finally, Locke spoke again, watching for a brief moment as Silver flew away. "Guess it's finally over. ...For good this time."

Chip nodded. "Yeah..." Yet another moment of silence. A small, sad smile spread across his face. "Guess this means that I can finally go home."

Locke frowned a bit. "Yeah. Guess so." He met Chip's gaze somewhat concernedly. "Can you even find your way back? You and Dark Gaia came from someplace pretty deep in space, right?"

"Uh-huh." Chip's smile became a bit braver. "I know my way back, though."

Locke's head canted a bit, insightful as always. "I thought you'd be more excited to go home."

"Of course I am," Chip returned. "Everyone's waiting for me." His smile faltered then, and he looked down. "But... at the same time... I'm going to miss everyone here. You're all my friends, especially you and Kaden and Analia. We... We may never see each other again."

Locke wanted to offer reassurances, but none were forthcoming. He refused to lie. "No. We probably won't." Then an idea struck him. "But," he said slowly, "maybe... Maybe someday you can see Sonic and the others again. Sonic's always been interested in space. There's no way he'll stay away from it forever."

At this, Chip's small smile returned, this time filled with more hope and less despair. "I'll look forward to it, then."

"And, if you can swing it," Locke smirked, "maybe you can try using those powers of yours to visit us in the Master Emerald from time to time."

Chip's smile only grew. "I'll do my best." He flew closer and gave Locke a quick but no less meaningful hug. Still smirking, Locke carefully used one hand, mindful of Analia, to hug him back. When Chip pulled back, he placed a small, gentle hand on Analia's forehead. "Do me a favor?" he asked quietly, looking into her face.

Locke nodded. "Anything."

"Tell her and Kaden that I said goodbye. I wish I could do it myself, but..."

Locke nodded again. "You have to go." Now it was Chip's turn to nod. "I'll tell them," Locke promised simply.

Chip looked up into somber violet eyes. Despite his earlier words, his next sentence was full of confidence and certainty. "We _will_ see each other again."

Locke smiled and inclined his head slowly. "I look forward to it."

With one last quick, friendly hug, Chip flew off into the sky.

**~ソニック~**

**So the sword I mentioned is the one from Sonic and the Black Knight. I just wasn't sure how to describe it. Anyway... IT'S FINALLY HERE! THE RUINED FUTURE ARC! YAY! XD Once again, the updated playlist is below. I will compile a more complete one at the end of this story to include songs that fit specific events and whatnot, too. :) 5,380 words this time. Posted 07-22-15.**

**~ソニック~**

**Official Theme of Hero: ****The Last Firstborn (By Celldweller)**

_**Sonic:**_ **Dragon Soul (English opening to Dragon Ball Z Kai)**

**Destiny of the Chosen (By Immediate (The title alone should tell you why I chose this for him. Fun fact: I was listening to this song when I wrote the chapters where South Island was destroyed all those ages ago.))**

**Superman (By Five For Fighting (I used this to write a chapter, remember?))**

**You Found Me (By Kelly Clarkson)**

**Sanctuary (English Version; From Kingdom Hearts; by Utada Hikaru (You can do the slow or normal. I don't think it matters. I like the slow version for him the best, though.))**

**Simple and Clean (Orchestral Version; From Kingdom Hearts; Original version by Utada Hikaru)**

**Once in Every Lifetime (From Eragon; by Jem)**

***Heroes (By MaÌŠns ZelmerloÌˆw (I feel like the "he" mentioned in the song could be Kaden, assuming that Sonic is the narrator of the story being told in this song.))**

**The Phoenix (By Fall Out Boy)**

**Overlock (By Blue Stahli (It's listed on YouTube as "Overklock" for some reason, but whatever.))**

**It's Not Over (By Daughtry)**

**Learn My Lesson (Bu Daughtry)**

**_Amy:_ Real Emotion (From Final Fantasy X-2)**

***Simple and Clean (English version; from Kingdom Hearts; by Utada Hikaru)**

**Ordinary Girl (by Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus (For the record, I hate the new Miley Cyrus.))**

**This is the Life (By Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus)**

**Keep Holding On (From Eragon; by Avril Lavigne)**

**Ordinary Day (From Radio Disney; by Vanessa Carlton)**

**_Knuckles:_ *****You're the Best Around ( By Joe Esposito)**

**_Tails:_ I'll Be There For You (Theme song of Friends)**

**A World Without Danger (Opening to Code Lyoko; by Noam Kaniel (Only some of these lyrics fit, but whatever.))**

**The Time Has Come (From Pokemon, the episode "Pikachu's Goodbye)**

**_Kaden:_ *Centuries (By Fall Out Boy (Bad ass... Just like he is. XD))**

**Castle of Glass (By Linkin Park)**

**Get Out Alive (By Three Days Grace)**

**In the End (By Linkin Park)**

**My Immortal (Rock Version) (By Evanescence)**

**Attack (From Pearl Harbor (I feel like this fits him when he's going all out... It's epic enough. :) )**

**Faint (By Linkin Park)**

**New Divide (Linkin Park)**

**What I've Done (Lyric and official instrumental versions; by Linkin Park)**

**_Cream:_ *Got to Get it to Get it (from Pokemon X and Y (this song just felt so perfect for her. It's sweet and peaceful like she is. :) ))**

**_Analia:_ *****Only Time (By Enya)**

**There You'll Be (From Pearl Harbor; by Faith Hill)**

**The Inner Light (From Star Trek: The Next Generation)**

**Jinora's Light (From Avatar: The Legend of Korra)**

**...And Then I Kissed Him (From Pearl Harbor)**

**Vuelie (From Frozen)**

**_Rouge:_ Material Girl (By Madonna)**

**Sleigh Bells (By Riot Rhythm)**

***Beautiful (By Christina Aguilera (This might fit Amy, too, to a point.))**

**_Chip:_ Menu Selection (The menu selection screen from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker)**

**_Locke:_ Burn It Down (By Linking Park (Anyone else think that this sort of fits Kaden, too?))**

**Find Yourself (From Cars; by Brad Paisley (Why does this feel like Locke's life story...?))**

***No Easy Way Out (Robert Tepper)**

**_Silver:_ *Aero Chord - Mortar (I think Aero Chord might actually be the artist, but this is how I've always seen the title of the song, so... yeah.)**

_**Vector:**_ ***Benny Hill Theme (I have no idea who this is by or where it's from. For some reason, this makes me think of Vector running frantically from some sort of trouble he's gotten himself and maybe Charmy into, every time. XD)**

**_Shadow:_ The War Inside (By Switchfoot)**

***Angel With a Shotgun (By The Cab)**

**_Wave:_ You Don't Know Me (By Elizabeth Gillies (This song fits her fairly well, I think.))**

**_Blaze:_ *Sonic Generations OST 17 - Blaze Theme (By YouTuber "****McDonald's Rules, Suckers!" (Despite what they titled this, this isn't a real Sonic song. It fits her, however!))**

**_Vanilla:_ *I Hope You Dance (By ****by Lee Ann Womack (This feels so perfect for her...)**

**_Espio:_ Stars Align (By Lindsey Stirling)**

***Shadows (By Lindsey Stirling)**

**_Jet:_ *Thief (By Imagine Dragons (This fits him _so perfectly_... And this is one of my new favorite songs.)**

**_One more thing!_ I feel that this song called Tears on the Wind from Perfect World fits one of the Characters, but I couldn't decide who. Opinions?**

**Official theme song to Hero Chronicles: Children of Mana (DS) Opening Theme**

**Any ideas for themes for characters I missed? Let me know!**


	117. Revelations

**Hello, Mage The Hedgehog! Yes, clearly. He was even directly stated (more or less) to be the emperor in one of Sonic's visions from before. :P Interesting theories, but that's not how it happened. You'll see eventually. :) Thanks for the review!**

**Hello, ScarletTheCat14! Me too! Glad I'm not the only one! :D I do! I love it! I actually imagine Sonic (during the day) as how the Sonic in this story looks, rather than Sonic X style. :P Yeah, I like the Night levels. However, because I like going _very_ fast and Homing Attacking things and whatnot, the Day levels are my favorites. :) Haha, I haven't finished it yet, either, but I watched all the cutscenes on YouTube, so... yeah. I cheated. ^-^" About the song: I thought so, too! Glad you agree! *Laughs as you run away from Kaden and Locke while they stare at you in confusion* Well wait no more, 'cause here it is! It's not terribly eventful, but there's a lot of information... I hope you enjoy! :D (P.S.: Yes, I think it's stupid. -_-)**

**Hello, BlazeWriter69! Your first review to Chapter 116: Ah, thanks for that. I found some good pics. :) Yeah, I didn't imagine a face. The pictures I'd seen of the sword before had it angled so that no face could be seen... XP Cool, glad that we think alike! :D**

**Your second review to Chapter 116: Well, it's about midnight on the 22nd as I'm posting this. However, I promise that I _tried_. ...Sorry. :P**

**Hello, John! Hey, long time no see! And yes, it is. :) ..."Restrain"...? May I ask what you mean by that? I'll happily answer your question once I have a better idea of what you're talking about. :P Oh, I'm sorry I confused you! More will be explained later, I promise (probably more in the SA2 Arc coming up after this one)! Anyway, thanks as always for the review! It means a lot! :D**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! I'M NOT HORRIBLE! IT WAS NECESSARY TO KILL THEM. AND THINGS WILL GET BETTER EVENTUALLY. XD Anyway, you'll get a few answers in this chapter, so I hope this helps. :)**

**Hello, Princessunicorn18! I'm so happy that you think so and that you enjoyed! That means a lot to hear! :D Well, I can answer that first question partially. In one of little Sonic's visions from Chapter 110 (maybe 109?), we learn that one reason for it is that he can make the emeralds dormant by closing himself off and blocking his emotions. However, it's implied that that's not the _only_ way he can do so, nor is that the only reason why he closes himself off. The rest of your questions, as you predicted, will be answered with time. :) At least three of them will be answered (at least in part) in this installment, actually! And, about Rouge, I made an error... she was supposed to be listed as one of the posters they saw in Sonic's wall last time. ...I fixed that. Sorry! ^-^" I'm so happy that you enjoyed! And don't worry, this chapter is (much) longer than normal, so it won't end too soon! XD I'm glad you're enjoying the way the story is being put together so far! Yeah, I got that reaction with Silver and Blaze from a friend of mine who also reviewed... She called me a terrible person. XD Yes, he does give some answers this time! :D Haha, glad you enjoyed Caliburn! Thanks! I will do my very best!**

**Hello, Anonymous! I'm happy you enjoyed! :D ...Why do you think your ideas don't matter? Ah, writer's block. Thou art a heartless bitch. ...Or was that gravity? XD Lol, anywa, my sister and I are both trying to write Pokemon fics and have writer's block on them as well... *Sigh* It sucks. _Dude_, that story idea is so _cool_! _Do it_! :D Well, I'm glad the boys warmed up to you. :) And I will do my best to get on my DS sometime soon so we can do some Smash. :)**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

**Okay, one quick note: the Caliburn in this story has no face. Anyway, carry on and I hope you enjoy. :)**

**~ソニック~**

Locke watched Chip slowly disappear into the sky and, with a heavy sigh, he jumped into the air and made his way over to Silver. Silver was on his hands and knees behind Sonic, who was laying on his left side on the ground. It occurred to Locke again just how beat up and exhausted Sonic had been before he'd been turned back into a child. As a child of course he'd been uninjured, but the moment he'd been turned back his injuries had returned. _And he never had a chance to recover from them. _Frowning deeply, Locke landed just a few feet away from the two hedgehogs and very gently placed Analia by his feet. Once his arms were free, he walked over to Silver.

"He won't wake up," Silver said without provocation. He must have heard Locke approach. Considering how sharp Sonic and Kaden's hearing was, that was really no surprise. Silver took a deep breath and sat back on his knees, seemingly trying to stay strong. "His wounds aren't that bad, though. So he'll be okay, right?"

Locke thought that one over for a moment before replying. "I think so. Whatever in the hell he did, it took a lot out of him. I think he'll be okay, though. He just needs rest. He's been running himself ragged for god knows how long. He couldn't even tell me when the last time he slept was."

Silver nodded. "Okay." He stood up and turned around to look at Analia. "What about her?"

Locke wondered fleetingly if Silver and Analia had ever even really met, beyond just seeing each other a few times. _If not, that's something we need to remedy. They're family, after all. _"She'll be alright. She needs rest, too, and eventually, when she's stronger, she'll start to heal herself." A moment later, Locke's gritted his teeth together tightly when he saw over Silver's shoulder the deep gouge that had been carved into the earth when Kaden had been struck earlier. Locke forced himself to take a deep breath, but he couldn't seem to make his fists unclench. _This isn't the same as last time, _he told himself. _He's not dead. _Turning his attention back to Silver, he instructed, "Stay here. I'm going to find Kaden." Silver nodded his agreement and Locke took to the air again, gliding as fast as he could while he followed the deep scar in the earth. At the end of it, several miles away from the battlefield, he found his friend. Dropping to the ground so hard that he had to run forward a few paces to keep his balance, he quickly picked his way through the rubble to kneel by Kaden's side. He didn't bother shaking his friend; it was clear that he was unconscious. Locke once again had to force himself to breathe. The last time he'd seen his friend in such condition, Kaden had ended up dying in the end. He just prayed that it wouldn't happen again. _We all got stronger before this battle... Sonic and his friends, too. Maybe... maybe that means we'll all survive this time. _Swallowing hard, he quickly made his way back to Silver.

Silver frowned when he saw that Locke had returned alone. "Did you-"

Locke cut him off. "Yes. I'll need you to carry him, though. You can use your powers to carry him so that he's not being jostled around too much. I can't do that, and he needs to keep as still as possible."

Silver nodded once to signal his understanding. "Okay. I'll carry dad, too, then." Locke returned his nod and once again scooped up Analia. As he watched, Silver used his incredible powers of psychokinesis to lift his male relatives carefully into the air. Together, he and Locke began the long flight back to Amy's house.

**~ソニック~**

Amy's mother, Locke learned, was a very high skilled (and not to mention highly trained) doctor. When she saw that she had patients, she immediately dropped everything to help them. Locke and Silver were told to wait in another room than the room she had set up to be a make-shift hospital room. It had been a couple hours; tending to the wounded wasn't something a person could rush. Locke and Silver were sitting together on a couch in the upstairs living room. Silver had fallen asleep a while ago, his head resting on Locke's left shoulder and Locke's arm draped comfortingly over the smaller hedgehog's shoulders. It was so late and the battle had been so harsh that Locke wasn't at all surprised that the kid was asleep. Besides, Silver really _was_ just a kid. He was only fifteen. Fights took a lot a lot out of anyone, especially kids. _Hell, even I'm tired. _

Concern was the only thing keeping him from turning in for the night. And it wasn't just concern for the three hedgehogs in that hospital room. Knuckles, Amy, and Tails were gone. There was no telling where they were, or maybe even _when_ they were, and Locke couldn't suppress the overwhelming worry he felt. And, god, how was _Sonic_ going to feel? No, screw that, Locke already knew. Sonic was going to blame himself. Immensely. Probably even after they were returned safe. _And they will be returned. He'll make sure of that. _The echidna was pulled from his thoughts when Amy's mother walked into the room. She gestured silently with her hand for him to follow her before leaving the room again. Looking back at Silver, Locke carefully removed his arm and laid the younger male down on the couch. He crept out of the room then and followed the pink hedgehog downstairs into the kitchen where they could talk without worrying too much about waking anyone. "How are they?" he asked, still keeping his voice low just in case.

She grabbed a cup from a cupboard and filled it with some water, taking a small sip before replying. "As you predicted, Analia has begun to heal herself."

Locke blinked in a silent display of surprise. "Already?"

She nodded. "Yes. I believe you may have your friend to thank for that."

_Chip? _Locke suddenly remembered how Chip had deliberately placed his hand on Analia's forehead before saying goodbye and leaving. _He must have done it then, _the echidna realized. A small smirk spread across his face. _Thanks, buddy. Truly..._

"I wish I had more good news," the hedgehog continued softly, a sigh in her voice, abruptly pulling Locke from his thoughts as she took another sip of her water.

"What's wrong?" he demanded, unable to keep the trace of fear that he felt from entering his voice.

She sighed softly, resignedly. "I'm not certain, but it seems like Kaden may be in a coma. The blow he took was much more severe than it appeared. There was more internal damage than his surface wounds hinted at."

Locke felt like there was ice in his veins. "And Sonic?" He almost didn't dare to ask, but he couldn't bear not knowing. Whatever the news, he had to know.

"He's pretty deeply unconscious, too, but I don't think he's in a coma. Still, this is one of the worst cases of exhaustion I've ever seen. He needs a _lot_ of rest. I don't know how he's managed to stay awake for so long. He should have lost consciousness a long time ago, just from lack of sleep alone." She paused then to take yet another sip of water. "He's covered in wounds but, by some miracle, most of them are minor. The worst injury he sustained was a bad laceration down his leg. I don't know what caused it, but it's healing alright, so I think he'll be okay."

Locke frowned a bit, forcing himself to focus on Sonic's condition rather than Kaden's if only because he knew he would panic or something if he thought about his friend's past death again. "How long does he need to rest?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, exactly," she admitted. "More than a few days, though, once he wakes up. After that, _maybe_ he can walk around and whatnot, but I'll need to look him over before we let him do that." A small smile tugged at her lips then. "I have a feeling that I'll need your help keeping him in bed."

At this, Locke couldn't resist a full-blown smirk. "Heh, got that right." Then he assured, "Don't worry, I'll keep a eye on him when he wakes up."

She nodded. "Thank you." Her head tilted a bit then and she looked into his eyes carefully. She made a startling connection then, it would seem, if her next words were any connection. "Locke, if you're so certain that things will be alright... then why are you so afraid?"

Locke's smirk vanished to be replaced by a frown. "And you aren't?" he asked. "_Both_ of our children are gone, you know."

Much to his surprise, she smiled softly at him. "I have faith in them," she told him with incredible certainty, "just as much as I believe in Sonic. They _will_ be alright." He shrugged in response to that, unsure what to say, and she placed her cup on the counter. As she walked by, she stopped and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Get some sleep, Locke," she instructed gently. "I'll tend to you and Silver in the morning." Without another word, she left the room, leaving him utterly alone with all his thoughts and worries.

**~ソニック~**

Knuckles woke up still leaning against Future Sonic's bed frame. Looking around, he realized that the bed's three occupants were still fast asleep, as was Jet. Sonic, for all appearances, seemed to be asleep as well, but Knuckles _highly_ doubted that that was the case. Knuckles was seriously beginning to wonder if the hedgehog suffered from insomnia or something, though he was sure that it had more to do with the whole fighting-all-the-time-to-save-the-world thing than anything else. Either way, he was certain that Sonic was awake.

Sure enough, the moment Knuckles moved, Sonic's eyes cracked open, though he was looking at the ground and not at Knuckles. When Knuckles stood and moved toward him, however, he looked up, still wearing that neutral expression. Knuckles gestured silently with his head for Sonic to follow him before heading outside without waiting for a response. Knuckles waited on the other side of the large boulder concealing Sonic's door, closing his eyes and crossing his arms and enjoying the cool late-night air. About a minute later, he opened his eyes, unsurprised to find that Sonic had followed him so silently that Knuckles hadn't even noticed him, standing just a couple feet away with his arms crossed. _He's doing more than just being silent, _Knuckles knew. _He's concealing his entire aura, too, but I have no idea how. I didn't realize people could do that. _

That slight frown was back on Sonic's face. That seemed to be the only expression he ever wore, when he wan't being completely closed off. "What?" he asked simply, his tone neutral as always. Knuckles noticed that Sonic had abandoned his sword inside. Now he looked more like the Sonic that he knew.

_Mostly. _Knuckles also frowned, though his frown was more easily noticeable. "I have a lot of questions, and I want some damn answers." Sonic said nothing, so Knuckles pressed on. "First of all, who in the hell is this 'Emperor' mentioned on all those wanted posters?"

Sonic's reply was only one word, but it said enough. "Ivo."

Knuckles stiffened. For a moment, he was unable to respond. Finally he bit out, "How in the _hell_ did he become the so-called _Emperor _of the freaking _world_?"

Sonic gave another of his one-shouldered shrugs. "It was years ago."

"_How_ many years ago?" As with before, Sonic simply refused to answer that question. After a moment, Knuckles decided to press that matter later. He had too many other questions that he needed answered. "What is this 'Freedom Fighters' group or whatever it was called that was mentioned on those wanted posters? And you founded them? What the hell do they do?"

Sonic shifted, once again resting his weight on his right foot as he had not long after Knuckles and the others had met him above the canyon. For once, his response wasn't terse, wasn't vague, though his tone remained the same as ever. "We're the rebellion," he said simply. "No one else can stand up and fight, so we do. We do what we can to help people and take down The Empire. Yes, I founded them, but that doesn't matter."

"The hell it doesn't," Knuckles said in response to that last sentence. Sonic regarded him calmly, not saying a word. Knuckles took a moment to process what Sonic had just told him before continuing, glancing around the equal parts rocky and sandy canyon that they stood in. "You said this was a forest once?" Sonic nodded. Knuckles met his gaze again. "What the hell happened to it?"

This time, unlike the last time Knuckles had asked that question, Sonic opted to answer. "Ivo, like Gerald, doesn't care about nature," he replied. Knuckles _hated_ that Sonic was being vague again, forcing Knuckles to come to his own conclusions and hope that they were right.

"So, what? He tore it down for materials or something?"

"Yes."

A low growl escaped the echidna before he could stop it. _That bastard... _Recovering some of his composure after taking a deep breath, Knuckles spoke again. He almost hated to ask this... but he needed to know. "And Silver?" he asked with less harshness than had been present in his tone before. "What happened to him?"

For only the barest of moments, Knuckles swore that Sonic almost... _flinched_. Sonic looked away, his gaze drifting to the sky. He was silent for so long that Knuckles didn't think he would respond. But, just as Knuckles opened his mouth to speak again, to demand answers, Sonic finally spoke. "He and Blaze were in one of the cities, trying to salvage anything they could from a recent fire. They were ambushed by a pack of robots, newer models that could withstand just about anything anyone could throw at them. The two of them destroyed some of them but, in the end, it was just too much for them alone." Sonic blinked, his eyes reflecting the innumerable stars shining distantly in the deep, dark blue sky. "By the time we learned of the attack, several days had already gone by. There was nothing anyone could do."

"Did you at least go _check_?" Knuckles demanded, unable to stop himself. "Maybe there _was_ _something_-"

"No," Sonic cut in. His voice almost... had a _tone_ to it. Just almost... That fact, if nothing else, was what really shut Knuckles up. Sonic was silent for a short moment before continuing. He was frowning again. "Of course I went and checked. I had too." Another pause. "It was too late."

"And what about Vanilla and the others?" Knuckles asked almost too quietly. "Did you know about them?"

"I knew about Storm."

"And you found out about Vanilla and Charmy during the attack on the Capitol or whatever it's called?"

"Yes."

The mention of the attack brought Knuckles to his next question. "You guys were planning that for a long time, weren't you?" he assessed. "It was way too careful, and too successful, for that to have been planned overnight." Sonic nodded his assent. "How long did it take you all to plan that simple jail-break?"

Sonic met his gaze evenly, his expression blank once again. "A couple years."

"What? _Years_?!" There was no way that Ivo's fortress or whatever the hell it was was _that_ heavily fortified... was there?

"Yes," Sonic said simply in reply.

Knuckles frowned at him silently for a long moment. "Okay, next question." Much to his surprise, Sonic nodded. He seemed to have accepted Knuckles's questioning... for now. _Good. Makes my job easier, for once. _"You never answered my question before, when I asked what happened to our parents."

At this, Sonic's frown returned for a brief moment before his expression smoothed over again. "Locke and my mother returned to the Master Emerald where they came from."

That didn't make any sense. "Just them?" No response. "What about your father?"

Sonic stared at him for a long moment before finally answering. "He's been in a coma since the fight."

Knuckles's gaze sharpened. "With Dark Gaia?" A nod. "And he can't return to the emerald like that?"

"No," Sonic responded shortly.

Knuckles scowled at the ground for a long moment. Finally he spoke. "I thought they were going to stay," he muttered.

Sonic's next words offered no comfort, no reassurances, just cold, hard logic. "Things changed."

Knuckles wasn't sure how long he just stood there, wrestling with the idea of his father leaving again, before finally forcing himself to change the subject, meeting Sonic's gaze again as he did so. "You brought Jet back with you." Another nod. "Why?"

"We have things to take care of," Sonic replied simply.

"Things?" Knuckles echoed pointlessly. "Like what?"

Sonic held Knuckles's gaze steadily for a long moment. He almost seemed to be deciding whether or not to answer that. "There's always a lot to do," he finally said. And with that cryptic statement hanging in the air between them, Sonic turned and went back inside.

**~ソニック~**

Several days passed relatively uneventfully. Sonic and Jet came and went regularly, always returning with whatever food they could manage to find for Knuckles and the others to eat, though they rarely ate anything themselves. The two of them always seemed to be getting into fights; everyday each of them was sporting at least a few new injuries, though they were, thankfully, always minor. Sonic had taken Cream to stay with Future Amy not long after the bunny had woken up after spending that single night in Sonic's home. Knuckles and the others were instructed to stay put at all times and to never, _never_, leave the safety of the small one-room home that they had been staying in. Even Jet insisted that they stay inside. It didn't make any sense to Knuckles, really. Sure they'd seen a robot on their first day in this desert-like place, but they hadn't seen anything else since. What could possibly be so horrible that _Jet_ and _Sonic_ of all people were that concerned?

Everyday while the two of them were gone, Tails dug around the database that Sonic had hacked into, searching for any information at all on how the world had come to be this way. He never found anything. He did, however, one day find numerous files on various persons of interest. After calling Knuckles and Amy over, he pulled up whichever file his mouse happened to be on. It was Rouge. Knuckles's attention was caught just by that name alone. Inside the file were various photographs and videos, a digital copy of her wanted poster, and then, more interestingly, a short list of notes that had been taken on her.

_Is allied closely with Shadow and, before its dismantlement, was also allied with Omega._

_A world-renowned treasure hunter._

_Has knowledge of many rare and ancient treasures._

_Joined the Freedom Fighters and continues to work with Sonic._

_Capable of long flights and highly destructive kicks._

_Can hear far better than most and has astounding night vision._

_Can be highly intuitive and insightful at times._

_Knows more than she tells._

_A highly skilled thief._

_Has knowledge of Angel Island and the Master Emerald._

_Is friends with Knuckles._

_CURRENT LOCATION: UNKNOWN_

Knuckles snorted at the last line in the file. "Us? _Friends_? No way. Not happening."

Amy gave him a sly sort of look. "Uh-huh. You can stop hiding it, Knuckles. We all know you like her."

Knuckles froze, his face heating up just a bit, and Amy laughed knowingly. Embarrassed beyond belief, Knuckles whirled on her. "Oh, shut up!" he snapped. "It's not like that!"

"Sure it's not," she replied cheerfully.

Tails, who had been smiling at them, turned his attention back to the computer and, after saving Rouge's file to Sonic's computer and removing it from the database, he clicked on the next file. It was Charmy's. Once again, there was a list of notes.

_Could fly for long periods of time, perhaps without ever tiring._

_Could be considered smart for his age._

_Aided in the solving of many cases given to the Chaotix detective Agency._

_Had an uncanny ability to make friends with anyone._

_Joined the Freedom Fighters and worked with Sonic in life._

_Was acquainted with Knuckles._

_Was a close acquaintance to Sonic._

_Was incredibly annoying._

_DECEASED_

"Well _that_ wasn't very nice," Amy frowned, placing her hands on her hips. "Honestly, calling a child annoying..."

No one responded to her as Tails once again saved the file to Sonic's computer and deleted it from the database. Then he opened the next one, Storm's. Once again, there were notes.

_A member of the Riders and a master racer._

_A member of the Babylon Rouges since birth._

_A master thief._

_Joined the Freedom Fighters and worked with Sonic in life._

_Boasted significantly higher-than-average physical strength._

_Had knowledge of ancient ruins and artifacts, including that of the Babylon Garden._

_Had sharp eyesight. and __unfailing trust in his team's leader._

_DECEASED_

Amy sported a bewildered frown. "'Babylon Rouges'? 'Babylon Garden'? What the heck is it talking about?" She and Tails turned to Knuckles, who was also frowning, though more because he was deep in thought. "Knuckles, it said something about ancient ruins and artifacts when it mentioned that 'Babylon Garden' thing," Amy said. "Do you know what that is?"

Knuckles nodded slowly. "I think so. I remember hearing about it before, but I don't remember much about it. Something about a key and the desert..." He shook his head. "I don't know. I'll let you know if I remember anything."

She nodded. By the time their conversation ended, Tails was already opening the next file. "This one's Shadows," he murmured.

_Created to be the Ultimate Life Form by the late Gerald Robotnik and left to sleep and age in the Space Colony Ark._

_Design heavily based on Sonic the Hedgehog._

_Designed to be stronger and faster than Sonic was at the time._

_Can run at the speed of sound, boasts incredible physical strength, and can, at times, use the Chaos Emeralds._

_Joined the Freedom Fighters and works closely with Sonic._

_Is known to care for and fight to protect Cream._

_Is close allies with Rouge and, before its dismantlement, was also allied with Omega._

_Has a great fondness and skill for using weapons, guns especially._

_Has gone Super at least one before.  
_

_Knows more than he tells._

_Is a strong solo fighter, though he is known to work well in groups._

_CURRENT LOCATION: UNKNOWN_

"He was... _created_?" Tails asked softly. "And his design was based off of _Sonic_?"

"So... does that mean they're like... _brothers_ or something?" Amy asked just as quietly.

"I don't know," Tails replied slowly, a frown marring his face as he considered the possibility. "It never said anything about using Sonic's DNA or anything..."

"That doesn't mean anything," Knuckles cut in. "It said that Gerald created him. There's no telling what the madman did to make him." Knuckles scowled at the words on the screen. _Of course, this begs the question of why in the hell Sonic trusts him... Unless he doesn't know about this? _Knuckles shook away the thought, dismissing it at erroneous. _He's not stupid. He knows that all the black hedgehogs went extinct ages ago, just like the red ones did, which means that he couldn't have been born naturally. Sonic's not stupid... He has to know that something's up with this Shadow guy. _

"What's the 'Space Colony Ark'?" Amy asked then, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Who knows?" Tails replied with a shrug. A pause, then he answered his own question. "Maybe Sonic knows."

"Maybe," Knuckles agreed with a shrug of his own. Barely a minute later, they were looking at the next file. This one was on Vanilla.

_Descended from a close childhood friend of Sonic's, Merry._

_Mother of Cream._

_May have had knowledge of various Chao Gardens near her home._

_Incredibly insightful._

_Known to disobey even direct orders from the Capitol if she felt that she was protecting others._

_Joined the Freedom Fighters, though she only indirectly aided the group (such as by providing food and shelter)._

_No known powers._

_DECEASED_

_A childhood friend, huh? _Well, this was the first time that they had heard of this "Merry". But, then again, it wasn't like Sonic ever spoke of his past very much. And, to be fair, it wasn't like anyone ever asked, usually. Knuckles decided to ask Present-Day Sonic about her sometime. _Whenever we actually manage to get home, anyway... _

The next file was on Cream.

_Descended from a close childhood friend of Sonic's, Merry._

_Daughter of Vanilla._

_Known to have inherited Merry's one-of-a-kind ability to, at times, see the future, though she can't seem to purposefully use this ability._

_Has extensive knowledge of many kinds of Chao and various Chao Gardens across the world._

_Incredibly insightful at times._

_Can use her large ears to fly, though it isn't known how long she can do so._

_Joined the Freedom Fighters and works with Sonic._

_Is known to stay with Amy at times, whom she has a sisterly relationship with._

_Is close friends with a Chao named Cheese, as well as Big the Cat and his frog, Froggy._

_Known to be stronger than she should be at her age, especially when fighting with her Chao._

_Is intelligent for her age._

_Can read auras._

_CURRENT LOCATION: UNKNOWN_

"Cream can... see the future?" Amy whispered. No one had a response to that. There was just too much to take in here.

Next up was Omega.

_The only known robot to have ever developed its own intelligence and to have acted independently and of its own accord._

_Was allied with Shadow and Rouge, but was dismantled before the founding of the Freedom Fighters._

_Boasted high levels strength and speed._

_Was virtually perfect in terms of accuracy when shooting._

_Scanned many people during its times of activity. _

_Destroyed the data it collected from its scans before it could be collected from it before dismantlement._

_Is known to have aided in the escape of prisoners, including Amy Rose on multiple occasions._

_Could fly._

_DISMANTLED_

Amy murmured something about it being horrible that Omega was dismantled before saying more clearly, "It was a good robot. It didn't deserve that."

Knuckles snorted. "I've never heard of a robot being _good_."

"Well Omega was,"she retorted stubbornly, obviously considering the matter closed.

Knuckles huffed and rolled his eyes while Tails moved onto the next file. It was Tails himself.

_DNA has proven that he is directly descended from an ancient clan of foxes with members all known to have had astounding IQ's._

_Has a mutation that caused him to be born with twin tails._

_Can use his twin tails to fly for long periods of time and at high speeds, though he still lacks much stamina._

_Has an IQ that rivals even that of most foxes, though he can be naive._

_Is especially good with machines and mechanics in general, and c__an build and repair just about any machine._

_Can pilot any ship with great mastery._

_Is a master hacker._

_Has gone super at least once._

_Joined the Freedom Fighters and continues to work with Sonic._

_Has been to space._

_Is close friends with Knuckles and is known to have once been very close friends with Sonic._

_Is known to have been close enough with Vanilla to refer to her as his mother, and has a sibling-like relationship with Amy._

_Is surprisingly strong._

_CURRENT LOCATION: UNKNOWN_

Amy spoke first. "Tails, you're... you'redescended from an ancient clan...?"

Tails's eyes were wide. "I... I guess?" he offered weakly. "I've never heard of a fox clan before. I had no idea that such a thing existed."

"I've heard of 'em before," Knuckles said, causing their gazes to swing to him. "I don't know much, though. Just that, like this report or whatever said, they were known to be insanely intelligent. There were only a few of those clans, too. Like, maybe three, if even that."

Once again, Amy was the first to speak. "And you never mentioned this before _because_...?"

He shrugged. "I never thought about it. Besides, like I said, it's not like I know a whole lot, anyway."

Tails stared at Knuckles for a moment, curiosity evident in his gaze, before shaking his head slightly and doing with this file what he had done with all the others. A moment later, he spoke up again. "Hey, this next one's on you, Amy."

"Really?" she asked. "Let me see."

Tails opened it and they began to read.

_Boasts incredible strength as shown by her c__apability to wield her Piko Piko Hammer a though it weighs next to nothing._

_Known to have once been close friends with Sonic and is currently close friends with Knuckles and Jet._

_Joined the Freedom Fighters and continues to work with Sonic._

_One of the few remaining hedgehogs._

_A master driver of any land or water-based vehicles._

_Highly perceptive._

_Has been to space._

_Has great medical knowledge, though no healing powers._

_Her anger is known to occasionally give her boosts of strength._

_Has a sibling-like relationship with Tails._

_Is surprisingly fast._

_Has gone Super at least once._

_May have knowledge of various types of Chao and the location of numerous Chao Gardens across the world._

_Can use her hammer to launch herself or others high into the air._

_Known to organize many of the Freedom Fighter's meetings._

_CURRENT LOCATION: UNKNOWN_

"Wait, 'known to have _once _been close friends with Sonic?" Amy echoed in disbelief. "What does it mean '_once_'?"

"I don't know," Tails murmured, his gaze troubled.

"Hold on, didn't it say that on yours, too, Tails?" Knuckles asked with a frown.

Tails paused for a moment, thinking, before nodding slowly in response. "Yeah..." He stared at the screen. "I don't understand... Why would we no longer be friends with him?"

"I don't know," Knuckles replied tensely. "None of this is making any sense. Everything's so screwed up here... And we still don't know _why_."

Amy gave him a serious look. "You said you were going to try to get Sonic to answer some more of your questions when he gets back today, right?"

He nodded. Meanwhile, Tails opened Wave's file.

_A member of the Riders and a master racer._

_A member of the Babylon Rouges since birth._

_Joined the Freedom Fighters and continues to work with Sonic._

_Is very agile and a __master thief._

_Has knowledge of ancient ruins and artifacts, including that of the Babylon Garden._

_Has sharp eyesight and can read auras._

_Has unfailing trust in her team's leader._

_Has high intelligence, resulting in her being very good with machines._

_Known to be dating Jet._

"Aw, they're dating!" Amy smiled, apparently incredibly pleased by this. "I _knew_ they liked each other!"

"Forget _that_," Tails said, his eyes wide, "look at the second to last line!"

Blinking, Amy. along with Knuckles, read the line, plus the one below it.

_Known to have psychic abilities, though the strength of them is unknown._

_CURRENT LOCATION: UNKNOWN_

"Guess she does have powers, after all," Knuckles mused. After a moment's thought, he added, "Storm, too, with his great strength and all."

"And she's a Babylon Rouge, too, whatever that is," Tails added.

"I wonder when they got their powers," Amy wondered aloud, changing the subject back to what Knuckles had set it on before Tails has spoken. "It's pretty clear that they either don't have these powers or don't know about them in the present-day."

"I dunno," Tails replied with a frown, "Storm seemed pretty strong to _me_. And he sure knew it."

"The Storm we know isn't _that_ strong," Knuckles said. "Otherwise, don't you think Sonic would have had him directly help us in that fight against Ivo?"

"Oh," Tails said after a brief moment's pause. "Yeah. You're right."

"That still doesn't answer my question," Amy said. "But, then again, it's not like this file tells us when they got these powers, either..."

Tails turned back to the computer. A couple moments later, they were all looking at Vector's file.

_Not overly strong compared to other Wanted persons, but known to still be strong enough to take on various types of robots on his own._

_Will do nearly anything for money, provided that he doesn't feel as though he is endangering people or aiding his enemies._

_Joined the Freedom Fighters and continues to work with Sonic._

_Is known to care a great deal for Cream and i__s also known to have cared a great deal for Vanilla when she was alive._

_Intelligent enough to aid in the solving of various cases given to the Chaotix Detective Agency._

_Acquainted__ with Knuckles and i__s a close acquaintance to Sonic._

_CURRENT LOCATION: UNKNOWN_

With nothing to say on that one, they simply moved on to the next file once Tails was done saving Vector's file to Sonic's computer and deleting it from Ivo's database. The next file was on Blaze.

_Came from a ruined future in an alternate timeline._

_Had an ancient power that allowed her to control flames that had light pure enough to entirely cancel out powers of darkness._

_Could, at times, use her powers to heal and w__as immune to flames as a result of her powers._

_Capable of jumping to extraordinary heights and running at great speeds._

_Very strong and could read auras._

_Very close friends with Silver and, when working with him, could open portals._

_Possessed a great deal of knowledge._

_Joined the Freedom Fighters and worked with Sonic in life._

_Could use her flames to boost her powers exponentially, resulting in her becoming shrouded in flames._

_DECEASED_

No one knew what to say about this file either. Thinking about Blaze, now that they knew she was dead, just hurt too much. Knuckles gritted his teeth together. _She didn't deserve to die. No one did. Certainly not her and Vanilla and Charmy and... _His thoughts trailed off.

The next file was, quite appropriately, on Silver.

_Only child of Sonic the Hedgehog._

_Grandson of Kaden and Analia._

_Came from a ruined future in an alternate timeline._

_Close friends with Blaze and, when working with her, could open portals._

_The last silver hedgehog._

_Had astounding powers of psychokinesis and could read auras._

_Boasted incredible speed, agility, and strength._

_Could fly using nothing but his powers, thus potentially allowing him to never tire._

_Joined the Freedom Fighters and worked closely with Sonic in life._

_Had gone Super at least once before death._

_Possibly had the ability to use the Chaos Emeralds._

_DECEASED_

"Wait, it says something about going 'Super' here," Amy said. "Come to think of it, it said that in mine, Tails, and Shadow's files, too. What's it talking about?"

Tails seemed to give that some serious thought before posing his own question in response. "Maybe it's talking about that golden form that we all got when Sonic let us transform with him," he suggested. "I mean, that's the only thing _I_ can think of."

"I still don't see why I had to be pink," Knuckles groused.

Amy rolled her eyes while Tails opened the next file. This one was for Espio.

_Strong enough to destroy many robots on his own and i__s known to be a master of Ninjutsu._

_Can teleport short distances and read auras._

_Is known to use shuriken, kunai knives, and ordinary daggers in battle._

_Can focus no matter what's going on around him._

_Boasts a confidence and peace of mind that allows him to be virtually unshakable in battle, rendering psychological attacks useless on him._

_The most intelligent member of the Chaotix Detective Agency._

_A close a acquaintance to Sonic and is also__ known to be acquainted with Tails and Knuckles.__._

_Is a master spy and is v__ery stealthy._

_Has been shown to be highly skilled in training others in stealth and hand-to-hand combat._

_Joined the Freedom Fighters and continues to work with Sonic._

_CURRENT LOCATION: UNKNOWN_

"He can teleport, huh?" Tails said. Then he smiled suddenly. "Well, I guess this explains how he just suddenly appeared on the X-Tornado's wing when we were fighting Ivo." Knuckles and Amy didn't respond to that, so he just opened up the next file. Tails blinked in surprise. "It's Analia."

_A blue hedgehog from an tribe of magic-users hidden away in the mountains._

_She is descended from nothing but powerful magic users and healers, thus making her a powerful magic user and healer as well._

_Also boasts incredible powers of pure light that next to nothing is known about._

_Becomes covered in ancient markings when she is using a great deal of power._

_Sonic's mother._

_Highly perceptive._

_Has incredible knowledge of and skill for healing and can read auras._

_Can use her powers to fly, lift things, talk to people from afar, and so on._

_Has extensive knowledge and understanding of many things including ancient languages, technology, and people._

_Enhanced senses, particularly vision and touch (using the latter, she can read vibrations in the ground to "see")._

_Known to have been killed by Dark Gaia many years ago._

_Kaden's life-partner (as marriage did not exist in her time)._

_Close friends with Locke and a being named Chip._

_Known to have used her magic to seal much of Sonic's power into the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald with Kaden's aid._

_Vanished before the establishment of The Empire._

_CURRENT LOCATION: UNKNOWN_

They were too stunned to speak. _Sonic's power... sealed in the emeralds...? _This explained so_ much_... _Like that damned connection he has to those jewels. _Knuckles had a feeling that Present-Day Sonic already knew about this. If that was true, the question then became... _Why did he never tell us? _

Knuckles was pulled from his thoughts suddenly when Tails said, "Hey, Knuckles, this one's on you."

Frowning, Knuckles began to read.

_The last echidna and only child of Locke._

_A world-renowned treasure hunter._

_Boasts incredible strength and an extensive knowledge on ancient ruins, artifacts, people, and so on._

_Friends with Rouge and was once close friends with Sonic._

_Has been to space and can read auras._

_Guardian of both Angel Island and the Master Emerald._

_Has an understanding of the ancient language._

_Knows more than he tells._

_Can fly or "glide" for very long distances and ha__s been shown to be surprisingly fast both in the air and on his feet._

_Is known to be acquainted with the Chaotix._

_Has an incredible ability to climb and dig._

_Can be honest to a fault at times and has been shown to have great protective instincts._

_Is close friends with Amy and Tails._

_Has gone Super at least once._

_Has proven to be a great driver of most land-based vehicles, though he can't pilot._

_Has the incredibly rare and ancient ability to control flames, rendering them harmless to him._

_Can control the Master Emerald to a point, such as to make small portals to take him elsewhere in the world (though not outside of the planet)._

_Has been known to lose his temper when his friends get injured or captured and h__as shown a great deal of anger toward anyone or anything that has harmed Sonic._

_CURRENT LOCATION: UNKNOWN_

Nothing about this list was surprising, so no one said anything. Instead, they moved on to the next file, which was on Locke, appropriately enough.

_An ancient member of the echidna tribe that lived on Angel Island and father of Knuckles._

_Sonic's godfather._

_Known to have somehow used the Master Emerald to end a war long before Sonic's birth._

_Close friends with Analia and a being named Chip and v__ery close friends with Kaden since childhood._

_A world-renowned treasure hunter with e__nhanced senses, particularly vision._

_Possesses all of the same powers as Knuckles, though he is known to still be at least somewhat stronger than his son._

_Can be honest to a fault at times and can read auaras._

_Possesses astounding knowledge of ancient ruins, technology, people, places, languages and artifacts, and literature._

_A highly skilled thief (though he is known to have only stolen from people who were considered to be "evil")._

_Known to have been killed during the destruction of South Island._

_Vanished before the establishment of The Empire._

_LOCATION: UNKNOWN_

"Wait a minute, he's Sonic's _godfather_?" Knuckles asked no one in particular, his eyes wide. This was certainly news.

"I guess so," Tails replied, his eyes also wide.

Amy sighed a bit. "What do you boys wanna bet that Sonic has no idea?"

Though they agreed that she was probably right, neither male exactly responded to her question, rhetorical as it was. Instead Knuckles commented, "And he was a thief, huh...?"

"Well, I guess when you're treasure hunting, you've gotta do what you've gotta do," Tails replied. "And besides, it says he only stole from bad guys."

Knuckles shrugged. "Whatever." It wasn't like he was mad about it, anyway. After all, _he_ certainly wasn't above stealing from his enemies. _Lord only knows that I've stolen from Ivo enough times to be called a thief, too... _

They moved onto the next file. This one was on Jet.

_The leader of the Riders and a master racer._

_A member of the Babylon Rouges since birth._

_Leader of the last remaining Babylon Rouges._

_Has knowledge of ancient ruins and artifacts, including that of the Babylon Garden._

_A master thief._

"Look, there's that name again," Amy said, pointing at the screen. "The 'Babylon Rouges'..."

"And Jet's their leader, apparently," Knuckles added neutrally. He didn't know anything about these "Rouges" or whatever, so he had no opinion on the matter. Of course, he felt like he _did_ know something about it, he just couldn't _remember_...

"D'you guys think that them being thieves has something to do with it?" Tails asked. That single comment nearly dislodged the memory that was eluding Knuckles, but in the end, it still refused to show itself.

_Has sharp eyesight._

_Joined the Freedom Fighters and continues to work closely with Sonic._

_Known to be close friends with Amy and Sonic._

_DNA has proven that he is directly descended from the race of alien birds that once attacked South Island._

_Is surprisingly fast on his feet and is__ also surprisingly strong._

_Is known to be dating Wave._

_Closely guards himself; isn't very trusting._

_Knows more than he tells; is more intelligent than he lets on._

_His father may be alive._

_Can read auras._

_Has multiple powers, though little is known about them._

_His greatest known power is his ability to control the wind._

The "race of alien birds" part was surprising to say the least, but they said nothing about it. Amy was the first to speak. "Wow... he can control the _wind_?" she murmured in apparent awe.

Knuckles surprised himself a bit by smirking. "If you ask me, it kinda fits his personality, in a way."

"Not completely, though," Tails said with a smile, though he seemed to agree with Knuckle's statement. "And he and Wave can both read auras, too, apparently..."

They turned their attention back to the screen after that. There was only one more line to read.

_LOCATION: KNOWN._

They all froze. "Oh, _shit_," Knuckles said quietly, though with feeling. Then, when that last line in the file _really_ sank in, he repeated, "_Shit_."

Amy's hands were placed over her mouth as her eyes shimmered with obvious fear and concern. Tails, his lips pursed together, did with this file what he had done with all the files before it; he saved it to Sonic's computer and deleted it from Ivo's database. When that was done, he clicked on the second to last file. It opened. It was Kaden's.

_Descended from an ancient clan of blue hedgehogs that lived in the ancient city of Chun-nan._

_Has the ancient and rare ability to control flames; l__egends say that he was born with the ability of Dragonfire._

_Can use his flames to increase his powers exponentially and to fly._

_Is incredibly fast and has extraordinary strength._

_Very close friends with Locke since childhood and is __Analia's life-partner._

_Can teleport at times and c__an read auras._

_Aided in the sealing of Sonic's power._

_Can use spin-based attacks and has powerful strength in his kicks._

_Enhanced senses, including an incredible sense of hearing._

_Known to be descended from nothing but warriors, assassins, soldiers, knights, and so on._

_Known to be a master sword fighter and__ a master of hand-to-hand combat._

_Known to have been highly trained in fighting by a group of six clan elders._

_Known to have been killed by Dark Gaia after sealing it away in the planet almost entirely on his own._

_Remains comatose after the most recent battle with Dark Gaia._

_LOCATION: UNKNOWN_

Amy and Tails didn't seem to know what to say and Knuckles kept his thoughts to himself._ Chun-nan, huh...? How'd Ivo find out about that place? It's not like it's heavily mentioned in anything but ancient texts, and it's not like he can read the ancient language, anyway. _Knuckles didn't know what to think about the "Dragonfire" line, so he skipped over that part for now in favor of thinking about something that was more relevant. _So he uses swords, too, huh...? That doesn't explain how Sonic got a sword or learned how to use it, but it's interesting. _He read a bit further, only to stiffen at the third to last line. _He sealed it away... almost entirely by himself...? ...Damn... no wonder Sonic's so damn strong... His parents are ridiculously powerful... _

"Hey, Knuckles?"

Knuckles blinked, returning to reality from his thoughts at the sound of Tails's voice. "Yeah, Tails?"

Tails and Amy were both staring at the screen. "The last one's on Sonic."

Knuckles swallowed hard and nodded. "Open it."

Tails returned his nod. Moments later, the file opened, revealing what was by far the largest file of them all. This one, like all the others, had photos and videos, as well as the list of notes. The pictures were all random; some were old, some were _very_ old, some were new, some very new, some showed him fighting, some showed him resting or walking, some showed him as a kid, some showed him as a teenager, some showed him as an adult... the list went on and on. At Amy and Knuckles's silent insistence, Tails clicked on a video. The video was of very poor quality, telling them right off the bat just how old it was, as if seeing Sonic as a child wasn't indication enough. In the video, one seemingly taken on a very small camera-bot of sorts, Sonic and Locke (who was wearing his hat) were shown walking through a forest talking. For a few seconds, there was no sound. Then, all at once, Locke's voice filtered into the video feed.

_"I told you, you'll see when we get there." He winked at Sonic. "Think of it as a surprise."_

_"I hate surprises," Sonic grumped._

_"Well this one will be good, I promise."_

_"You can't make promises about things you don't know."_

_"I'm pretty sure you'll like it."_

_"Assumptions are stupid."_

_"They can be."_

_"...Are we there yet?"_

_"Nope. Not yet."_

_"... ... ...Now?"_

_"Be patient."_

_Sonic crossed his arms, a small pout appearing on his lips. "I suck at that."_

_"Then this will be good practice," Locke replied with a smile._

_Sonic let out a small "hmph" but otherwise didn't reply. _

The video experienced a great deal of static after that and was cut short. Frowning, Tails opened another one. This video was incredibly short... but it was horrible beyond words.

_In the video, somehow, all of South Island could be seen from a distance. Despite the distance separating the lone camera from the ancient land mass, the fires raging over the land could still be clearly seen, as could the numerous small-seeming (due to the distance) explosions, the mountains that were being obliterated, the villages that were all but vanishing, the packs of robots that were swarming all over the island... Then there was a deafening roar. A terrible white light emitted from some indiscernible point in the distance, spreading slowly ever and ever outward in a giant all-consuming sphere. Winds more powerful than a hurricane tossed Angel Island like a pebble from its place in the center of South Island to a spot nearly a mile away from the larger island. Within minutes, the white light engulfed all of South Island. Seconds later, horrific and cataclysmic explosions tore the land apart. __Then, without any warning, the camera zoomed in close enough to Angel Island that they could see it when ten-year-old Sonic was sent hurtling off of it by the shock waves and winds caused by yet more explosions on South Island. Or at least... where South Island used to be. As they watched, he fell into the clouds that once kept light from reaching the land below South Island. He was tossed this way and that by fierce winds. The hat he'd been so desperately holding onto his head (Locke's hat, they realized with a start) was suddenly ripped from his grasp. Then, just as he reached out for it, his fingers only barely grazing the rim for the barest of moments, both he and the camera were struck by lightning and the video ended._

Amy was crying now. Tails's eyes and mouth were so wobbly that he looked like he was ready to cry as well. Knuckles was just as horrified as they were, but he refused to let himself get _that_ emotional. Still, he couldn't keep the rage and horror out of his heart. So much suddenly made sense... They way Sonic behaved, for one thing, his attachment to Locke and Locke's hat, _Why he told me not to lose that hat... _Knuckles suddenly felt guilty for doing just that. Immensely so.

"Let's... not watch any more videos," Amy all but whispered, her voice hitching a bit due to her crying.

"Yeah," Tails agreed weakly, sniffling softly. Without another word, he pulled up list of notes on their friend.

_The last blue hedgehog and father of Silver._

_Son of Kaden and Analia and __Locke's godson._

_Founder of the Freedom Fighters._

_Close friends with Jet and c__lose Allies with Shadow; works closely with both._

_Close acquaintances with Espio; works closely with him at times._

_Can build and pilot any aircraft with incredible mastery and c__an build and drive any land or water-based vehicle with great skill._

_A master sword fighter who is highly evasive and stealthy._

_Can run at speeds significantly higher than the speed of sound and c__an vanish from radar._

_Can, at times, teleport and is extremely agile and flexible._

_A master of spin-based attacks, hand-to-hand-combat, aerial combat, and weapon-based combat._

_Capable of using nearly any weapon he gets his hands on._

_Can withstand an astounding amount of pain and injury and c__an go long periods of time without sleeping or eating._

_Is capable of delivering punishing blows that can shatter even the toughest materials._

_Can deliver kicks powerful enough to go right through most enemies._

_Known to fear water, needles, hospitals, and the deaths of his friends and family._

_Can control the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emeralds, sense them, and even call the Chaos Emeralds to him at times._

_Can control who can use the emeralds or not and even make them dormant (including the Master Emerald in both instances)._

_Cunning and a master strategist (though he doesn't always take the time to plan)._

_A skilled liar, though he never cheats._

_Can conceal and even prevent himself from feeling any emotions._

_Can be very insightful at times and is highly observational._

_Prefers silence and therefore has always been quiet rather than talkative._

_Possesses very high intelligence that is sometimes marred by his youth, inexperience, and so on; knows more than he tells._

_Has gone Super more than once._

_Has gone beyond Super at least once._

_Has gone Dark at least once._

_Highly enhanced senses, particularly sight and hearing._

_Has a great deal of ancient knowledge and c__an speak in and read the ancient language._

_Can build and repair just about any machine and h__as great knowledge of machine-based weaponry such as missiles and bombs._

_Very closely guarded and closed off; not very trusting._

_Inherited many more powers from his father than his mother._

_Was once close friends with Tails, Amy, and Knuckles._

_Has been fighting since childhood and is h__ighly rebellious when faced with authority._

_Has extensive knowledge about swords and a large knowledge of weapons in general._

_Has been to space and is a master hacker._

_Known to organize many of the Freedom Fighter's meetings._

_Has many powers that may or may not be known to The Empire._

_Is known to have survived being struck by a large bolt of pure lightning._

_Has little patience at times and extraordinary patience at others._

_Is known to take care of Cream at times._

_May have knowledge of various types of Chao and the locations of numerous Chao Gardens across the world._

_May have more knowledge of Cream's abilities than The Empire has._

_Is known to have both briefly slowed down and entirely frozen time more than once in the past._

_Seems to be able to control the wind to a point._

_Has been shown to be highly skilled at training others in stealth, various forms of combat, and so on._

_Has proven to be capable of adjusting his teaching style depending on who he is working with._

_Capable of surviving free-falls from space back to the planet, even when he lands on the ground and not in the ocean._

_The Empire's most wanted criminal._

No one even had a chance to _try_ to process any of the information that they'd just read before their eyes fell upon the last line.

_LOCATION: KNOWN_

**~ソニック~**

**Whew! 9,355 words this time! By _far_ my longest chapter ever (that isn't a timeline)! :D This one's jam-packed with stuff, so I hope you've all got your thinking caps on. Also, the first video talked about involving Sonic and Locke was comprised of a small scene taken directly from Chapter 7 of this story. I think it's obvious where the second video came from. :) And yes, I made fun of Knuckles's shyness involving women in this chapter... but it's not like I'm the first! Sonic OVA did it as well. Besides, I think it's adorable how shy he is. X3 Anyway, no new songs to add to the playlist this time. I hope you enjoyed this extra long chapter! Posted (at 12:00 a.m.!) 07-23-15.**


	118. Not Quite Alright

**Hello, Firerider007! Ues, you did, but it's fine. By the way, your "Over 9000" joke made me laugh. I love that reference. XD**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Yes, I know, this one is as well. There's just so must to do in each chapter! ^-^" Yeah, it's sad, but more on that today. Well, ScarletTheCat14 pretty much guessed it already, if you wanna look. Otherwise, Sonic will tell them sooner or later. :)**

**Hello, Mage The Hedgehog! Yup, that's exactly what he knows. And that's stated to be Sonic's home, more or less. Their "base" (or HQ) isn't mentioned until this chapter. :)**

**Hello, John! Well, I'm glad you enjoyed. :) Eh... That's... _not_ intentional. Future Sonic being unemotional is intentional but, otherwise, I do my best to incorporate the characters' real emotions. However, I often do this without directly _stating_ what the characters are feeling. I try to reveal it more through dialogue and actions, you know? And he doesn't "drain" emotions, he just presents himself from feeling and expressing them. :P Anyway, thanks for the review!**

**Hello, ScarletTheCat14! I'm so happy you liked it! Yes, now they have a great deal more information to wrap their heads around. And this is the most they've ever learned of their secretive, elusive friend. And I don't think they judge him... Well, maybe Knuckles at times, but you know how he is. XD Nice observation, catching that little detail about Cream! You've pretty much got it! An exact date will be revealed by Sonic sooner or later. Perhaps sooner. :) Yup, I as good as _told_ you guys that he was when I showed you all Locke's final memory of Kaden's death, the one where Kaden cryptically told Locke to take care of Sonic right before dying. That simple sentence was as good as passing the baton, so to speak, of parental responsibilities from Kaden to Locke. To be honest, though, Locke may not have even realized that, maybe still doesn't. But, then again, it's not like he thinks about that scene much. If you ask me, he seems traumatized by his friend's death... and he probably is. Poor dear. :( Well, not that Knuckles knows it, but it's not truly _lost_. Locke found it and is wearing it, after all. Since Chapter 116, even. :P Yeah, it could be insomnia. However, as Locke thought once, we know that part of him not sleeping is also probably due to just a general inability to let his guard down due to all the fighting he's experienced since childhood. Anyway, they didn't really have a _chance _to react last time, but I remedied that in this chapter. That's the biggest part of the reason for the high wordcount today. ^-^" I'm so happy you enjoyed it! I will do my very best, I promise! :D**

**Hello, Anonymous! Haha, yeah, it was long... this one is, too. :P Well, have fun drawing your OC! :D**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

Several days had passed since the battle with Dark Gaia. By now, the Chaotix had returned home and Jet and his team had come back to the house. The three racers were informed of the events of the battle, and in turn, they relayed what had happened between them and Ivo. So far, there was no news regarding whether or not the prison was succeeding in holding their enemy, so everyone just did their best to hope that things were going well. It was all they could do.

A couple days after the Riders returned, while Silver, Wave, Storm, Cream, Cheese, Vanilla, and Amy's parents were sleeping, Locke walked through the disturbingly empty-seeming house to the roof. Stepping outside, he was momentarily surprised to see Jet sitting there. His right leg was stretched out before him while his left was bent at the knee, providing a resting place for his left arm. Blinking, Locke closed the door and sat down a couple feet away from the silent hawk, taking on a similar sitting position. Jet never removed his gaze from the stars, never even blinked. The silence between them persisted until Locke decided to speak, briefly recalling as he did so how Sonic had once, as a child, told Locke to his face that he had no appreciation for silence. "So you're one of Sonic's friends, huh?"

Jet snorted softly, his expression shifting a bit, though only subtly. "I don't think 'friends' is exactly the right term."

"Sonic seems to think so," Locke commented calmly.

Jet finally turned his head to look at him, giving him a long look before finally looking away again. His reply was quiet and his eyes contradicted his what his words were implying. "He can think what he wants."

Locke smirked knowingly. As the minutes wore on, silence settling between the two once more, Locke slowly grew more serious. He looked at Jet through the corner of his eyes. He knew what, and in a way, _who_, Jet was. The hawk's light green feathers and piercing blue eyes were a dead giveaway. It was a painful reminder, truly. Still, Locke couldn't let this go. His next words were cryptic at best, but he was sure that Jet would understand. "So... Laralei, huh?"

Jet's head whipped around. "How do you know that name?"

Locke met his gaze evenly. "How do _you_?" he challenged calmly. He was certain that he already knew the answer to that, but he needed to hear it to be sure.

Jet looked away with another snort, returning his gaze to the starry night sky. "I asked you first."

Locke shrugged amiably. "Alright." He too looked up to the stars. "I was there when she led her hundreds of thousands of alien bird warriors in an attack on South Island, thus starting a war."

Jet frowned at him for a long moment before looking away again. He was silent for several minutes before admitting, "She was my grandmother."

Now it was Locke's turn to frown as he thought that over. "Just your grandmother, huh?" A nod. "I hadn't realized that you all lived so long." Jet shrugged in response to this. It was silent again, but just for a moment. "So is your mom alive, then?"

Another shrug. "I don't know. Never knew her." His nonchalance was either genuine... or brilliantly faked.

"And your old man?" Locke asked more out of curiosity than anything else.

Jet _winced_, but only just enough for the reaction to visible. "I don't know," he repeated, his voice tense.

Locke frowned again. "You don't know?"

"I don't _care_," Jet bit out, now glaring as he continued to gaze into the sky, his fists clenching as he spoke.

Locke's instincts were sharp and he trusted them immensely; they were screaming at him right now that something was wrong here, something that, as both a parent and just a good person in general, he should have recognized the signs of. However, whatever it was, he couldn't put his finger on it. So, after several minutes of deep thought, he changed the subject. "How old are you, anyway?"

Jet's rigid posture relaxed a bit. He seemed relieved by the change of topic. "Seventeen," he replied. Then, "Why?"

Locke shrugged. "Just curious." Finally, after a long moment, Locke stood to leave. However, he paused before actually turning away. "You know..." Jet turned his head to look at him. "Your family may have a bad history, but that doesn't make _you_ bad." He gave Jet a heavy look under the rim of his (no, _Knuckles's_) hat. "You can overcome their legacy if you really want to. You can be who _you_ want." With that, he finally turned to leave.

Jet's voice stopped him just as he reached out a hand and touched the doorknob a minute later. "If... _If_ my old man was alive..." he began slowly, his voice tense, "...what am I supposed to do?" Locke turned to find the young hawk scowling at his tightly clenched fists. "He was never exactly... _fond_ of the idea of Rouges doing anything but being... Rouges."

Locke took a moment to think of a good response to that. He sensed somehow that whatever response he gave was going to have a big impact here... He just wasn't entirely sure _why_. _Something's definitely wrong here, _he realized again. _But what...? _Though he wracked his brain, he couldn't think of an answer to that, nor could he think of an appropriate response to Jet's question.

He must have taken too long to reply. Jet sighed softly, his eyes closing briefly and his head lowering as he shook it slowly. "You know what? Never mind. It doesn't matter, anyway." Without another word, Jet stood and walked to the edge of the roof, dropping down to the ground below without a word. As Locke watched, a lone board soared high into the sky before disappearing into the distance.

Feeling troubled, Locke walked inside.

**~ソニック~**

By the time Sonic and Jet returned to Sonic's small home, Tails had gotten off of the computer and was entertaining himself by doodling with his finger on the bed while he laid on his stomach with his cheek resting in a hand and his legs in the air. Amy was sitting near him, her legs resting over the edge of the bed, looking over Silver's wanted poster again. Knuckles was just standing by the foot of the bed, lost in thought. However, they were all soon distracted from their activities by the sound of the door opening. Jet and Sonic walked in without a word. As usual, Jet leaned his board against the wall by the door after closing it while Sonic tossed a small wrap with food in it to Knuckles, who caught it easily in one hand. While the echidna busied himself with undoing the knot keeping the wrap closed, Sonic walked to his computer, never bothering to take his sword off. Knuckles noted this with a frown. _That must mean that he's planning on going out again soon. _Sonic turned on his computer, leaning on his palms on the edge of the keyboard where no actual buttons were. He quickly saw all the new files that had been saved on it... and he immediately straightened and turned around halfway to look at Tails.

Tails laughed weakly, looking incredibly guilty. "We, uh... did some poking around," he explained with a nervous sort of smile. "I... hope you don't mind."

Sonic held his gaze for a long moment, then looked back to the computer, allowing his eyes to sweep over all the files, taking in the names attached to each one. Finally, he just turned back around and began typing. Whether or not he cared about what Tails had done was uncertain, but Knuckles doubted Sonic was upset. Those files contained useful information... information that Ivo no longer had access to. _I'd say that's a win, _Knuckles thought decisively, taking a bit of food from the wrap and handing it to Amy, who also took some before giving the remainder to Tails.

While they ate, Jet joined Sonic by the computer, watching as the hedgehog once again tapped into Ivo's extensive database. "Did you find it?" Sonic shook his head, frowning slightly at the screen. "Did he remove it?"

Sonic shook his head again. "No."

"So where is it?"

"I don't know."

Knuckles _hated_ how left in the dark he was. He wanted to know what in the hell was going on... and told Jet and Sonic as much once his food was gone. Sonic continued to type while Jet turned to face Knuckles, crossing his arms as he did so. "We're looking for a file that Ivo has on some ancient technology that he shouldn't even know about. If he finds it, we're all gonna be in for a hell of a lot more trouble than normal. That's why we're trying to find the file; so we can delete it."

Knuckles frowned deeply in thought, slowly putting the pieces together. _Ancient technology... Babylon Rouges... Alien Birds attacking South Island... Master Thieves... Jet and his team's knowledge of ancient ruins and artifacts... Babylon Garden... _Whatever realization that had been about to hit him was shoved rudely from his mind when Sonic made a small sound of annoyance, the first emotion he'd shown at _all_ since Knuckles and the others had arrived here. That small sound was more than enough to catch _everyone's _attention... and make them all (excluding Jet) all but freeze.

"Tch."

Jet whipped around. "What?"

Sonic's eyes sparked with annoyance for a very brief moment before his eyes just became... _blank_ again. Alarmingly so. Jet was the only one didn't seem bothered or even remotely startled by the reversion. "_Now_ he removed it," Sonic muttered, his voice toneless once more.

Jet frowned, suddenly looking concerned. "Did he find out we were looking for it?"

Sonic shook his head slowly. "No." He paused before admitting, "I don't know what he's doing."

Jet scowled. "Let's find out, then."

Sonic nodded once, and the pair turned to leave once more. Knuckles, suddenly remembering the questions he had for them, Sonic in particular, started to call out to them, but the door shut, cutting him off before he could even voice a single question.

**~ソニック~**

Several days had passed since Locke's troubling conversation with Jet, and Jet had been avoiding the echidna ever since that night on the roof. He had _no_ desire to have the past brought up again, especially when it involved his father... As he sat alone in his room late one night, his mind drifted back to part of the conversation he'd had with Sonic back when they'd first met.

_"My dad," Jet said suddenly, "used to tell me you had an attitude."He didn't like talking about his dad, but he had to admit, the older bird had been right._

_The blue hedgehog frowned, suspicion obvious in his expression but especially his eyes, as he looked down at his strange board. "How would he know?"_

_"He knew you," Jet replied. Then he added, "Sort of."_

_"I doubt it," the hedgehog retorted._

_"It's true," Jet insisted, though without much feeling._

_"I don't believe it," the hedgehog dismissed with a hint of irritation in his tone._

_"Well it's true." The two boys glared at each other before Jet relaxed and smirked a bit. "My name's Jet," he confided. "I'm a hawk."_

_The other boy was silent again for a moment before replying, "I'm Sonic."_

_Jet nodded. "Thought so." His dad had told him as much._

_Sonic, who had been kneeling on the ground this whole time, stood and brushed his legs off, ignoring his board for the time being. "You're dad..." he let the sentence hang, but Jet understood the implicit request for information._

_"He's a hawk, too," Jet told him. Then he said seriously, "You knew 'im."_

_"I couldn't have," Sonic insisted. "Back then- it was a long time ago." Though the Dark Days weren't directly mentioned, they both knew that that was when they were talking about. "Maybe your if it was your grandfather-"_

_"No, definitely my dad-"_

_"I'm telling you there's no way-"_

_"There is-"_

_"But he couldn't still be alive-"_

_"It wasn't that long ago-"_

_"Over two hundred years-"_

_"That's not that long-"_

_"Almost no one is still around from then-"_

_"Well he is." Jet crossed his arms. He was being stubborn, but he didn't care. He was right, and he knew it. He just had to convince Sonic of that fact._

_"If its your dad-" Sonic cut himself off and shook his head. "He can't be."_

_"Ross." Sonic visibly froze at that name. Jet looked away. He really didn't like talking about his dad, but it was necessary for Sonic to understand. "My dad. His name is Ross."_

_Sonic didn't seem know what to say to that, but after a moment, he spoke anyway. "He couldn't have lived this long."_

_"We're not regular birds," Jet said simply. He wasn't supposed to talk about this to people outside of his race, per his father's order's, but screw that. Somehow, Jet knew he could trust Sonic. It wasn't like he had anyone else to trust, anyway. "We're like... descendants of an alien race or something like that. We live really long."_

_Sonic was silent for a long moment. Finally, he asked. "Jet, huh?"_

_"Yeah. It sounds strong. That's why it's my name." Jet scuffed his shoe in the dirt. "Or at least that's what my dad says." Not that Jet believed a word of it._

_Sonic's next comment, said with a scowl, was simple, but spoke volumes. "Your dad's a jerk."_

_Jet continued looking down at the dirt. "Yeah."_

Jet snorted softly to himself, staring with half-lidded eyes at the ceiling of the room he was staying in for now while he laid with his arms behind his hand and one knee bent to provide a resting place for the other leg. _Saying that he's a jerk is being ridiculously nice. He doesn't deserve nice. _Jet sighed, once more turning his conversation with Locke around in his mind. _I can be what I want, huh..._ His father's angry face flashed into his mind, soon followed by other things that Jet didn't want to remember. Ever. His once calm look hardened into a scowl, his anger concealing other things that he didn't want to be feeling. _As if I could be. _Still scowling to himself, Jet rolled over and tried to sleep.

**~ソニック~**

Knuckles, who was standing near the foot of Sonic's bed, frowned at Tails when the young fox sat in Sonic's chair and got on the computer yet again. "What are you doing?"

Tails spared him a glance before returning his attention to the computer. "I've been thinking about Sonic's file," he admitted. "I have... questions."

Knuckles thought he understood. "About the notes?"

Tails nodded, already opening the file. "Yeah."

"I have questions, too," Amy said suddenly. She turned to Knuckles from where she was sitting on Sonic's bed. "Don't you?"

Slowly, Knuckles nodded. "Yeah. I do."

"Okay. So let's all look together, then. Maybe we can help each other understand."

"Fine."

The two of them walked over to Tails and, together, the three of them began to read. The first two lines of notes made perfect sense on their own, but the third line held a tidbit of information that Knuckles realized that Tails and Amy knew nothing about.

_Founder of the Freedom Fighters._

"What's 'the Freedom Fighters'?" Tails asked, a small confused frown appearing on his face.

"Sonic said that they're the rebellion," Knuckles supplied. "They're the one's who've been fighting Ivo, the so-called emperor, and trying to destroy The Empire."

Tails didn't seem to know what to say to that. "Oh."

"Did Sonic really found them?" Amy asked, crossing her arms, though the posture seemed more for comfort's sake rather than for displaying irritation or something of the sort.

Knuckles shrugged. "He said he did."

They moved on to the next line of interest, the one that said that Sonic was close allies with Shadow and close friends with Jet. The part about Shadow made some sense; one of Sonic's "crimes" as listed on his Wanted Poster was teaming up with Shadow, after all. Still, Knuckles had never considered Jet and Sonic to be "close". They worked well together, sure, but friends? _Close_ friends? _Since when? _

He wasn't the only one who was confused by that, it would seem. "Jet and Sonic are always saying that they're _not_ friends, though," Tails said, frowning in confusion again. "I don't get it."

Amy smiled softly at the words on the screen. "Their relationship is complicated, Tails," she said simply. "They _are_ friends, though, they just won't admit it. Trust me on this one."

Tails turned his bewildered expression onto her. "But why would they deny being friends if they are? It doesn't make any sense."

"Like I said, " she shrugged, "it's complicated." After a moment, Tails seemed to accept her vague explanation and they moved on. "Look at this one," Amy cut in, pointing to a certain note.

_A master sword fighter who is highly evasive and stealthy._

"I still don't understand how he became a master sword fighter," Amy continued once they were all done reading. "I mean where, and when, did he even _get_ a sword?"

No one had an answer to that. It just didn't make any sense. _But then again... _Knuckles thought, frowning a bit, _Sonic did say that it's been years... even if he won't say how many. He could have easily gotten, and mastered, a sword if its been years. _

The next line that caught their attention was the one that mentioned Sonic's apparent ability to teleport. After thinking that one through and talking it out (with Tails, especially) it made sense. Teleportation, according to the fox, required a great deal of speed (to put it lightly) all at once. Sonic could manage that, easy. The line that called Sonic a master of weapon-based combat was, at first, surprising, but they soon remembered his apparent mastery of swordplay, so it became less confusing then. Still, the note that said that Sonic could use just about any weapon was a bit surprising, considering the fact that, before seeing him use that sword, they had never seen him use a weapon before. Ever. The next line _really_ got their attention, if only because Sonic was so fearless generally.

_Known to fear water, needles, hospitals, and the deaths of his friends and family._

The part about Sonic fearing the deaths of the people close to him made perfect sense, so no one said anything about it. But... "Why is Sonic afraid of water?" Tails frowned. "I mean, I knew he didn't _like_ it, but he's _afraid_ of it?"

"I don't know why he's afraid of it," Amy said slowly, "but Locke knew that Sonic was afraid of water as a kid. I heard him talking to Sonic about it when we had that beach day." It was silent for a moment before Amy spoke up again. "Come to think of it, since when is Sonic afraid of needles and hospitals?"

Tails straightened a bit. "That's right, Sonic freaked out when we took Jet to the hospital in Future City that one time," he said. "When I asked him why he took off, he wouldn't tell me. He just said that he was fine."

"But why?" Amy asked, frowning a bit as she tried to make sense of this.

"I can answer that," Knuckles sighed. "Just do me a favor and don't tell him that I told you."

Tails and Amy were both silent for a long moment before both nodding slowly, seriously. Amy was the only one who spoke. "Alright."

Knuckles took a deep breath before launching in. "Tails, you remember how Sonic was captured back in the jungle, right?"

Tails straightened again. "Yeah, and you went into the mountain to save him, and when you both came back he was _so_ beat up..."

That was putting it lightly, Knuckles personally believed, but whatever. It didn't matter, anyway. "Yeah. That's 'cause Ivo was..." Knuckles hesitated, unsure if he could even voice such atrocities, before finally forcing the words out. "Ivo was testing on him. I saw the ruins after Sonic destroyed the place. It looked like a damn hospital had been blown up. I saw more than a few broken needles laying around, too. When I asked, Sonic said that Ivo didn't manage to get any information on him from that, but Ivo sure as hell tried. ...Sonic never actually _said_ what happened to him, but I've seen wounds like the ones Sonic had before. He was definitely tested on."

"That... that sounds like..." Amy murmured, her eyes wide with horror, seemingly unable to finish her sentence.

Knuckles nodded once, tensely. "Yeah. Torture." He bit back a growl, gritting his teeth together. "That's exactly what it was."

Amy was blinking back tears now. Tails's lips were pursed together in a display of emotion that Knuckles didn't care to try to read. Several long minutes had to go by before Amy could regain her composure. Once she did so, they read the next note of interest.

_Can control who can use the emeralds or not and even make them dormant (including the Master Emerald in both instances)._

Only one part of this not was surprising. _He can... make the emeralds dormant? _Whatever Tails and Amy said on the matter was lost on Knuckles as he turned that around and around in his mind. _Then again... if these notes are to be trusted, the emeralds house his power... With the amount of control he has over himself and his power in this time, he could very well be capable of rendering the emeralds essentially useless._

Amy's voice suddenly pulled Knuckles from his thoughts as she made one of her startling leaps in understanding, noticing connections that others wouldn't necessarily pick up on. "Hey, guys, look at this. Maybe it's connected to the whole dormant emeralds thing."

Blinking, Knuckles quickly read the note.

_Can conceal and even prevent himself from feeling any emotions._

Well, they'd certainly seen the proof of this for themselves since being here. That wasn't the point, though. _Maybe Amy's right... _Knuckles mused slowly. _It's possible... _And, according to Tails (not that Knuckles was exactly listening to him), it made some logical sense. _But... is that the only reason why Sonic blocks his emotions like this? _Somehow, Knuckles doubted it.

The next line they read stated that Sonic possessed high intelligence and knew more than he told. That, Knuckles reflected, was extremely true. And, if _Ivo _of all people was calling Sonic highly intelligent... that had to mean something. _Come to think of it, he called Jet and a few others intelligent, too. _Knuckles suddenly smirked. _Ah... I see what's going on here. Feeling threatened by their brains, huh, Ivo? _Knuckles couldn't suppress his smirk at that thought. _Good. _

"Hey, guys," Tails said, pointing, "look at these notes."

Knuckles and Amy did as they were bid and read quickly.

_Has gone Super more than once._

_Has gone beyond Super at least once._

_Has gone Dark at least once._

"There's that mention of 'Super' again," Tails murmured.

Amy seemed to ignore that comment in favor of voicing her concern over the last line. "Gone... _Dark_...?"

All was silent for a long moment. No one really knew what to say about that. _Sonic... has a dark form...? _Knuckles shook his head. _I won't believe it until I see it. ...If I ever see it. _Looking back to the screen, he blinked. "Hey, wait a minute. He's gone '_beyond_' Super?"

"That's right," Amy said slowly, "You weren't there, were you?" She didn't wait for him to reply before continuing. "Sonic transformed again not long after Locke and the others first showed up. He started off being pure white with icy blue eyes-"

"But then then he used a bunch of power to disperse Dark Gaia and got red eyes and a multi-colored aura," Tails cut in.

Knuckles blinked. "Okay, so I saw that last one, but not the one before that." A pause. Then, "How in the hell did he go _beyond _Super?"

Tails shrugged. "We have no idea." He turned his attention back to the screen, only to speak again barely a moment later. "Why does Ivo think that having knowledge of Chao and Chao Gardens is important?" he frowned.

Amy was the one who answered. "Chao can be pretty powerful sometimes, especially if they're really close with whoever their fighting with. Like Cream and Cheese, for example. That makes Chao Gardens important, if only because that's where they live."

Tails blinked. "Oh."

Amy spoke up again a moment later, pointing to a different note. "Look, it mentions Creams powers again. It says that Sonic might know more about them."

"That's right," Tails said, "it said that she was descended from a childhood friend of his, and that Cream got her powers from that friend."

"All the more reason to ask Sonic about that girl," Knuckles decided aloud.

Amy nodded. "And since you're the one that's supposed to be questioning Sonic anyway, you can handle that."

Knuckles returned her nod. "Fine." He, along with the others, returned his attention back to the notes after that.

_Is known to have both briefly slowed down and entirely frozen time more than once in the past._

_Seems to be able to control the wind to a point._

"I've never heard of him doing either of those things before," Amy murmured.

"Maybe they're Chaos powers?" Tails suggested.

Knuckles shrugged. "It's possible."

With nothing left to say on the matter, they read on further, soon noticing the parts about Sonic training people. It made sense; Sonic was the founder and leader of the Freedom Fighters, after all, and not everyone in that group was really that great of a fighter. It made sense that he would feel the need to train some people.

The last note that really caught their attention was, as with the first time they'd read through this file, the last line.

_LOCATION: KNOWN_

Knuckles felt himself tense up. _This is bad..._

**~ソニック~**

Jet felt like he had only _just_ fallen asleep, laying on his side in the bed in "his" room in Amy's house, when he suddenly felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. That soft touch already had him awake even before the hand shook him ever-so-slightly. "Jet?" Wave whispered. He opened his eyes to look up into her face. Her hand slid up from his shoulder, across the side of his throat, and came to rest lightly on his cheek. He fought not to shiver. A small frown made itself known on her face. "You okay?" she asked quietly, still kneeling by the bed. "You feel warm."

He sat up. "I'm fine." He watched as she stood before asking, "What's the matter?" Wave knew that he didn't generally sleep much, so the fact that she was waking him had to mean that something was up. Not necessarily _wrong_, though, he hoped.

She didn't seem to believe him when he said that he was fine, but she didn't press the matter. "Sonic's awake," she said instead. "I thought you might like to see him."

Jet was immediately on his feet, ignoring Wave's knowing look as he walked out of the room. He only half-listened as Wave exited his room and headed back to wherever it was that she had been before waking him. As he walked down the hall, he found himself wondering briefly how Wave had known that Sonic was even awake. After a moment, he decided that it didn't really matter. Not bothering to knock, Jet opened Sonic's door and walked in, closing the door behind him. Immediately noticing Sonic sitting in the windowsill, gazing out at the stars, Jet crossed his arms and commented, "You know, I'm seriously starting to believe that you have insomnia or something."

Sonic spared him a glance. "I could say the same thing about you, you know."

Jet shrugged and moved to sit at the edge of the foot of the bed by the window. After a long pause he commented lightly, "So it turns out that your friend Locke has no idea how to enjoy peace and quiet."

Sonic snorted, a note of humor evident in his eyes. "He really doesn't. He talks too much sometimes."

"Got that right," Jet muttered. A pause, then Jet reluctantly admitted, "I guess... he _is_ pretty smart, though."

"Yeah. He really is." After a moment, Sonic turned his head to look at Jet. "What was he bugging you about?"

Jet shrugged unconvincingly. "Nothing much."

Sonic's expression said it all. He didn't believe a word of it. "Uh-huh."

"It doesn't matter," Jet said simply.

"Sure it doesn't." Sonic was silent for a long moment. A frown appeared on his face. Finally he asked in a fairly quiet tone, "What's bugging you, Jet? You're never like this."

Jet paused. Sonic almost never called people directly by their names. But, that was beside the point. Jet wished Sonic would stop asking. "It's nothing," he insisted lamely, his tone doing nothing to help him convince the suspicious (and concerned, perhaps?) hedgehog. "I just have a headache, that's all."

"Stop lying to me," Sonic muttered, never looking away. "I already told you that you're terrible at it."

Jet gave him a half-hearted glare. "How in the hell can you always tell?" he sighed.

Sonic surprised Jet then by actually rolling his eyes. "Jet, I've known you since we were _fourteen_. Of _course_ I can tell when you're lying to my face."

Jet looked away, uncertain how to respond to that and unhappy that they were even having this conversation to begin with. "Whatever."

It was silent for a long moment before Sonic finally broke it again. "You know..." he said slowly, "...you can probably get some medicine from Amy's mom. For that headache, I mean."

Jet just shrugged. "I'll be fine."

"Maybe if you slept more you wouldn't even _have_ a headache."

"You need sleep more than I do."

"Still."

"It's got nothing to do with sleep," Jet retorted. "And anyway, I already told you that I'm fine."

"And _I_ already told you to stop lying to me," Sonic countered.

Jet sighed. "Whatever." He stood then and turned to face Sonic more fully. "Seriously, though, get some damned sleep."

Sonic gave him a long look before finally looking away. "Same to you."

Jet nodded. "Fine." With that goodbye, such as it was, out of the way, Jet walked back out of the room, shutting the door behind him again. Instead of heading straight back to his room, though, he walked to the upstairs living room where Silver slept at night. Stepping into the room, Jet approached the couch closest to the door, bent over, and gently shook a silver shoulder. "Hey, kid, wake up."

Silver's eyes blinked open. "W... Wha...?" he mumbled sleepily.

Jet removed his hand and straightened back up. "Your dad's awake," he said simply. "You can go see him now." Without another word, Jet left the room to go back to bed. He doubted he'd get anymore sleep, but he and Sonic had both promised each other that they'd at least _try_. And, if all that hell he'd gone through for Elsa's sake was any proof at all, Jet never went back on his promises.

**~ソニック~**

Knuckles, Tails, and Amy all jumped when Sonic's door suddenly burst open and Jet rushed in, his board under his arm. It had been hours since he and Sonic had left, and it was beyond late. "Everyone out!" he ordered harshly. "We've gotta move!"

"What's going on?" Amy asked, quickly getting off of Sonic's bed.

"Just go!" Jet snapped. "I'll explain on the way!" He waited for the three of them to finally get off their butts and leave before pulling an ancient-looking curved dagger from the strap around his waist. The dagger shaped in a way that gave it a sort of deadly elegance and beauty. Clutching it, he did as he'd been ordered and shoved it through Sonic's computer, utterly destroying it. With his task complete, he yanked the dagger back out, returning it to its place at his right hip, and quickly exited the room. Without even bothering to close the door, he threw his board ahead of him and jumped on, taking off after the others. Once he was caught up, Tails and Knuckles, who were flying while carrying Amy with one hand each, lowered themselves so that they could fly closer to Jet while Sonic ran smoothly over the ground below, his sword ominously drawn.

"Alright, so spill!" Knuckles snapped. "What the hell's going on?!"

Jet quickly checked the skies for any signs of enemies. There were none in sight, for now. He didn't bother checking the ground; Sonic had that covered. The skies were Jet's problem, not the ground. Never taking his eyes off of the empty air ahead of him, Jet answered, "Ivo found Sonic's home somehow. He learned that we were sheltering you guys there, too. He's on his way to attack the place right now. We're _lucky_ that we got back there before he did."

Knuckles growled softly as Amy spoke. "We were going to tell you guys, but you left so fast..." Jet fixed her with a hard look over his shoulder. "Those files that Tails found said that Ivo knew your location, and Sonic's."

Jet's blue eyes sharpened. "Were anyone else's locations known?" he demanded.

Tails shook his head. "No. Just you two. It had a lot of information on you all, though, and us. ...Well, Future us, I guess."

"And you deleted those files from his database?"

"Yeah."

Jet sighed softly and looked away again. "Good."

Suddenly, Sonic's voice sounded from below, raised to be heard over the roar of the wind but still holding no real tone. "Jet!"

Jet's gaze snapped downward just as Sonic unstrapped his communicator from his right wrist and threw it up. Jet reached out and snatched it in one hand. He could feel three pairs of eyes on him as he stared at the screen, looking at the small digital copies of two Wanted posters. The names read Vector and Big... and both were listed as "_**TERMINATED**_". "_Dammit_!" Jet swore aloud and with great feeling, unable to restrain himself.

"Jet, what's wrong?" Amy asked, a trace of fear in her voice.

Gritting his teeth together so hard that they hurt, Jet tossed the communicator back at them without actually looking back. Knuckles seemed to be the one who caught it, if his sudden bout of swearing was any indicator. While he quickly informed Amy and Tails of what he had just read, Jet risked a glance downward to check on Sonic. As he watched, Sonic jumped a few feet in the air, spun, and lashed out with his sword, slicing all the way through a heavy-set robot that was in his way. Landing lightly on his feet, Sonic took off ahead again. The hedgehog seemed to have decided where they were headed, so Jet allowed him to take the lead. He trusted Sonic; Sonic knew the best places to hideout, anyway. _Besides, it's not like I have a plan. _He certainly didn't have a place to take them. Future City, being so technologically advanced, had been considered a threat to The Empire. It was gone within a day. Nothing was left of it, now.

"Knuckles, my arm's getting tired!" Tails suddenly said behind him, forced to raise his voice to be heard.

"Here, Amy, take my other hand!" Knuckles said quickly.

Jet turned around enough to look at them. "No," he cut in before she could move. "Put her here. You guys may end up having to fight, and you can't do that if one of you is holding her."

Knuckles nodded, accepting the explanation easily enough, and together he and Tails carefully lowered Amy onto the back of Jet's board. Amy gasped a bit and quickly grabbed Jet's shoulders, causing him to tense a bit against his will. "Can you even _drive_ this thing with a passenger?" she demanded fearfully.

Jet wanted to roll his eyes (of _course_ he could "drive" his board!) but he refrained this time. Instead, he just nodded. "Yes. Just don't move around too much. ...And hold on." She nodded once, shifting to wrap her arms around his waist, mindful of his sharp dagger, to ensure that she would have less of a chance of falling off. Though he tensed a bit further, for the most part, Jet ignored how uncomfortable he was. Her safety was more important. A moment later, his attention was abruptly snatched away from that matter to the skies before him, anyway. With a muttered "Shit," he got ready for battle. "Sonic, we've got company!" he shouted.

For once, Sonic deigned to reply, his voiced raised to be heard but otherwise sounding like normal. "I know!"

Knuckles flew up beside Jet. "Can you handle things up here?" he demanded quickly.

Jet immediately understood. "Yeah, I'm fine," he replied just as quickly. Knuckles nodded. As the echidna dropped down to lend Sonic a hand, Jet called after him, "Don't be careless, alright?!"

"Like I would be!" was the only reply.

Tails was flying by Jet's left side now. "Are these the same type of robots that killed Silver and Blaze?" he asked quietly.

Jet nodded, wondering only fleetingly how Tails even knew about that. "Yeah. We know how to defeat them now, but it takes a lot of strength in a small period of time. You can't fight them alone, either; they'll overwhelm you if you try that. If you're going against them, it's best to have a partner."

"That's why you and Sonic always go out together."

"Yeah." Jet tensed again a moment later. They bots were nearly upon them.

"Oh man- _I__ncoming_!" Tails shouted when the first wave of enemies suddenly hit them.

Already they were about to be surrounded. Jet hadn't realized at first how many robots they would actually be facing. He gritted his teeth and, stopping his board entirely, he called forth one of his abilities. With a forceful sweep of his hand, he unleashed a powerful torrent of air ahead of him that blasted numerous enemies out of their way. Taking advantage of the opportunity as it came, Jet resumed his flight, accelerating to full speed all at once. As he watched, many of the robots dropped to the ground far below, utterly destroyed after having taken a direct hit from that blast of air. It wasn't good enough. _There's so damn many... _

While Tails kicked away a robot with surprising force and Knuckles and Sonic fought below, Amy murmured at Jet's back, "The file _said_ you could control the wind. I wasn't sure if I believed it until now."

Jet glanced dryly back at her, his eyes half-lidded with unconcern. "Huh."

Amy was silent for a brief moment before speaking up again. "If you slowed down, then I wouldn't have to hold onto you," she said suddenly. "Then I could summon my hammer and actually _help_ you all."

"Nuh-uh, not gonna happen," Jet replied firmly. "There's no _way_ I'm slowing down. You just hold on, alright?"

She huffed, but much to his relief, she relented. "Fine."

Sighing softly, Jet rushed forward, eager to escape the cloud of robots surrounding them.

**~ソニック~**

"Dad! You're awake!"

Sonic winced slightly from where he sat on the edge of his bed when Silver suddenly slammed into him, hugging him tightly. Sonic was quick to hug him back. "Easy does it, kiddo," he admonished gently. "I'm not severely injured or anything, but I _am_ sore."

Silver didn't bother to move. "Sorry."

"Don't be. Just be careful, 'kay?" Sonic gave his son a genuine smile when Silver pulled back a bit to look at him, and Silver was quick to return the smile.

"Okay." Silver released Sonic then and, in a surprising move, suddenly put his hands on his hips, still standing before the bed. "Say, aren't you supposed to be _resting_?"

"If either of us should be asleep right now, it's you," Sonic returned. "_You're _the kid."

Silver smirked at him suddenly, seeming triumphant. "Yeah, but _you're_ the one who was put on bed-rest."

Sonic immediately felt miserable. "_Bed-rest_?" he echoed in disbelief.

"Yup!" Silver replied cheerfully. "So lay down." His grin turned sly then. "Unless you'd prefer me to get Locke so he can _put_ you down."

Sonic tensed. "Uh... no," he said slowly, vaguely nervous. "That _won't_ be necessary."

"Aw, don't like being hit on the head?" Silver teased.

Sonic scowled lightly. "No."

Silver just grinned merrily and, after that, he gave Sonic another quick hug. "Anyway, I really _am_ tired, so I'm going back to bed," he said, pulling away again. He smiled brightly. "I'm glad you're okay, Dad."

Sonic returned his smile easily. "I'm glad you're okay, too."

Silver turned to leave, giving a small wave as he went. "Night, Dad."

"Night." Once Silver was gone, Sonic did as he'd essentially promised both Jet and Silver and laid down to try and get some sleep. ...Not that he was tired, though. He just didn't want Locke to hit him on the head again, as the echidna was so fond of doing. With another sigh, he pulled the blankets up and closed his eyes.

**~ソニック~**

The battle with the robots was over for now, much to Jet's relief. _I'm too damn tired to be fighting all the time like this. _He sighed internally, checking the skies again for any sign of their enemies. It seemed that they were truly gone for now, though. Not that Jet was complaining. He glanced down below to check on Sonic and the others. Sonic's sword was sheathed; the danger must have really passed, then, if Sonic was that relaxed. Not far below Jet's board was Knuckles, who was flying with Tails sitting on his back. Tails really didn't have enough stamina to fly so fast, and certainly not for so _long_, but Knuckles seemed to be fine, so Jet looked away, deciding to play it safe and checking the sky once more.

It was right about then that Amy, who still clung to him, decided to break the silence. "So... where's Wave?" she asked quietly. "I thought she'd be wherever you were."

"She's with Amy." He paused for a moment and glanced back at her. "Well, the other Amy."

"Why?"

"They're planning another attack on The Capitol."

"Oh." She fell silent for a long time but, finally, she sighed heavily. "How did things come to be this way, Jet?"

Jet glanced back at her again, noticing, perhaps for the first time, how stressed and worried this younger version of Amy seemed. He'd forgotten how much Amy had worried in the past. Not that she didn't still worry now, though, she just dealt with it, and hid it, better. She was one of the leaders of the Freedom Fighters, after all. She had to stay strong for others. Jet sighed as well. "A lot of stuff happened," he told her. "We can pinpoint Ivo's first major victory to a certain incident, but it doesn't matter anymore. Not in this time. It's already behind us."

"But... it matters to us."

He nodded. "Yeah. It does." He gazed slowly up into the sky. "You guys, if we can get you home somehow, can change things for the better."

"How?" she asked. "What do we have to do?"

"Lots of things," Jet sighed.

A pause. Then Amy said quietly but no less seriously, "Tell me."

Jet frowned a bit, gathering his thoughts and knowledge, before finally speaking. "Protect Sonic's father."

He felt Amy straighten behind him. "Kaden?"

Jet didn't bother to answer that, or even to nod. "He's been in a coma since the fight with Dark Gaia, but that doesn't mean he's powerless. Ivo took advantage of that... at a heavy price for the rest of us. Ivo's actions are the reason why Kaden still hasn't woken up."

He heard Amy swallow hard. "Okay," she said quietly. "What else?"

"You _have_ to make sure that Ivo doesn't get control of Shadow," Jet said seriously. "He did for a short while, made Shadow turn on all of us, and because of that, we weren't able to stop one of Ivo's biggest plans. That's how we lost, how he had that first major victory."

Amy was growing tense. "But how are we supposed to do that?" she asked. "We barely know him!"

"You can do it," Jet said simply. "You and Sonic. Sonic can reach his head; you can reach his heart."

It was silent for a moment. "Are you... sure?"

Jet nodded once. "Yes."

Another pause, then she sighed softly. "Okay. I believe you."

Without replying to that, Jet continued on. When he spoke next, his voice was tense and his posture was a bit more rigid. "There's a hawk named Ross," he began slowly. "He knows about some stuff, a lot of stuff, relating to a place called Babylon Garden. Sonic and I found out earlier that Ross told Ivo about it a long time ago. You guys have to prevent that from happening in your time."

"Babylon Garden?" Amy echoed. "Is this about that ancient technology thing you were telling Knuckles about earlier?" Jet nodded. She was silent for a moment, processing this, when a thought suddenly struck her. "The files on you and your teams said that you all know about that Garden place, too," she said.

Jet scowled at nothing in particular. "_We_ never told Ivo about it."

She nodded. "Those files also said that you guys are Babylon Rouges," she said slowly. "What does that mean?"

Jet was silent for a long time. Finally, he replied. "It means we're thieves," he sighed. "Our families were all Babylon Rouges, all the way back to the start of our family lines, so we're Rouges, too."

"And that's related to this Babylon Garden place?" she pressed.

"Yes," he admitted, though with some reluctance.

"How?"

He was silent again for another long moment. "It doesn't matter," he finally said. "So long as you keep Ross from telling Ivo about it, it won't ever matter." Without another word, he returned his focus to the flight and keeping an eye out for enemies.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic looked up at Knuckles, who was still flying overhead with Tails on his back. Somehow, Tails was asleep. "Knuckles," he called out, barely raising his voice.

Violet eyes glanced down at him, and Knuckles angled downward to fly nearer to him. "Yeah?"

"My communicator." The request was vague, but Knuckles seemed to understand. He tossed the communicator that he'd been holding since seeing those two digital Wanted Posters earlier down to Sonic, who caught it easily in his sword hand. Without even so much as a "thanks", Sonic began typing rapidly on the screen. Moments later, a set of coordinates appeared on the map he was looking at. Satisfied that they were on the right course, Sonic started to lower his hand, only to stop when he suddenly received a call. Frowning slightly, Sonic answered it. Shadow's face appeared onscreen. Without waiting for the other hedgehog to speak, Sonic bit out, "Where the hell _are_ you?" There was just the barest hint of irritation in his tone that he strove to banish, but Shadow clearly noticed it.

_"I got held up back in Cantero."_

Sonic, for once, had to consciously _force_ his tone to remain level and neutral. "For hours, Shadow?"

Shadow shrugged minutely onscreen. _"There were robots everywhere, and Rouge called for help."_

Sonic bit back his annoyance, forcing it down and away. "Fine. Just meet us at the base."

"Fine."

Without another word, Sonic hung up and strapped his communicator back on his wrist. As he ran, a familiar but wholly unwelcome presence entered his mind.

_"Feeling is not always such a terrible thing, Sonic."_

Sonic allowed himself a slight scowl, but only for the barest of moments. _Shut up, Voice. _

**~ソニック~**

**That scene from Jet's memory is from Chapter 36, though I altered things a bit to make it from Jet's point of view, as the original was in Sonic's. 8,375 words this time... and I didn't even get everything that I wanted into this chapter. :l Oh, well. There's always next time. :) Anyway, this one has a lot of information, too, but I did my best to implement some action as well, so I hope that makes up for me making your brains hurt lately. XD I hope you enjoyed! Posted (at about five-forty p.m.) 07-23-15.**


	119. The Storm

**Hello, astroshadow! Yup, truly. And yes, that's a nice way to summarize it. However, Future Jet said that there "lots" of things that needed to be done in the past... he only listed three. So the question becomes, what did he leave out? ;) Haha, not! XD Easy to say, nearly impossible to do. Our poor heroes need a break, huh? It's one thing right after another for them, usually. Yes, we finally learn some things about Jet's past, including uncomfortable references to his father... who may or may not be worse than Jet's willing to tell, if his thoughts are any indication. ...Poor thing. :( Haha! YES! I _loved_ that part, brief though that scene was! :D Yes, the Voice _is_ being its usual annoying self. And I totally agree that it's always funny when Sonic tells it to shut up, even though the Voice does what it wants. XD And yes... maybe the Voice does have a point. Come to think of it, it usually does...**

**Hello, ScarletTheCat14! Yes, it's back! XD You're very welcome. I'm just so happy that you enjoyed! :D Because of you, I have a new song in my YouTube playlist, by the way. XD Uh... The story won't play out _quite_ like that, but I can't guarantee that it will be totally different. ...Sorry. :P (P.S. Yes, I figured that's what you meant. ...And really? It is? *Gulp* O_O)**

**Hello, Anonymous! Glad you enjoyed! ...Wait, you got grounded because of something your _puppy_ did? That sucks. :l Haha, good night! ...Or good morning, I guess. :P**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Yeah, there really is. This chapter's shorter (though still _super_ important), so I hope that helps. ^-^" Goodnight! ...Or good morning, as it were. XD**

**Hello, Mage The Hedgehog! Something else entirely. It's some sort of weird, all-knowing, mysterious entity in the Master Emerald. That's all that anyone really knows, at this point. :l Thanks for the review! :D**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

It had been three days since Sonic had woken up, and he and Jet were sitting in Sonic's room talking. Or at least, they _had_ been... before Amy's mother had shown up and had started talking to them. Jet was the first to speak. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked slowly, glancing at Sonic, who was looking at the other hedgehog.

Amy's mother nodded. "Yes. The fresh air will do you all some good. I doubt that I'll be able to convince Locke to go with you, but the rest of you can go, at least."

Jet bit back a sigh. He really didn't want to spend the day wandering around the city. That sounded boring. Plus he still had that damn _headache_... But, before he even knew what was happening, Sonic was agreeing to a day in the city. Jet resisted the urge to glare at him. _He probably just wants to get out of this damn room. _Jet couldn't blame him. Not really. Still, he really had no desire to be out and about or even really _doing_ anything. But, then again, he seemed to have an uncanny ability to get dragged into things that he would rather have nothing to do with. _Is wanting to just lay down for a day really so much to ask? _It seemed to be. And, scarcely ten minutes later, he, Wave, Storm, and Sonic were all standing outside, trying to decide what to do while Vanilla, Cream, Cheese, and Silver headed off to the beach.

"I don't want to walk around here," Wave complained, crossing her arms. "There's nothing to _do_ in this city."

"There's another city nearby," Sonic said in turn. "It's about a twenty minute flight at your guys's speed."

"Whatever," Storm muttered. "Let's just get going." He got on his board and took off without waiting. Wave and Sonic exchanged exasperated looks before Sonic simply took off after him, going noticeably slower than usual due to his exhaustion, though still managing to pass Storm with ease.

Jet watched them go for a moment before getting on his board. Wave got on hers, too, and quickly moved in front of him, blocking his way before he could even _attempt_ to go anywhere. Not that he wanted to be going anywhere to begin with. "What?" he asked, feeling a bit irritable. He blamed it on the headache, and on Amy's mom. Without her, he could be kicking back somewhere and then maybe his headache wouldn't be so bad.

Wave was quiet for a moment. Instead of saying what she seemed to want to say, she asked, "How's your headache?"

Jet scowled. "It's fine." At her look he added, "_I'm _fine."

She narrowed her eyes at him in a sort of glare and, without any warning, she suddenly leaned forward and placed her hand on his cheek like she had done a few nights ago. He felt his an uncomfortable twist in his chest at the slight concern shining in her eyes. Wave was _never_ concerned about anything... and certainly not about him. He stood perfectly still, uncertain how to react when she moved her hand to his forehead from his cheek. Her expression soured softly. "Fine, huh..." He opened his mouth to reply, but she spoke again before he could. "Just take it easy today, okay?" she asked, finally removing herself from his personal space. He swallowed hard and, unable to do anything else, just nodded. He doubted she would have accepted any other response, anyway. Apparently satisfied with his agreement, she turned to follow Storm and their former team leader. After taking a deep breath, Jet followed after her.

**~ソニック~**

Knuckles watched tensely as Sonic slowly approached the entrance to the cave they were staying in for the night. The entrance, large though it was, was almost entirely blocked by a giant boulder. It was a tight squeeze, but they could _just_ make it past the boulder by walking sideways to get in and out of the cave. Sonic edged sideways toward the crack between the boulder and the wall, his back to the boulder, staying just barely out of the bright, unnatural light that was pouring into the cave. His ears were pricked and his eyes were locked on the outside. He edged just slightly closer, his hand slowly reaching behind him to grasp the hilt of his sword. A moment of breathless silence passed and the light suddenly intensified. Sonic's sword slipped very slightly out of its sheath with a near inaudible _hiss_ of metal. Then, with a short series of unintelligible beeping noises, the light vanished. With a sort of sigh, Sonic let his sword slide back into its sheath and moved silently back to his seat near the opposite side of the boulder to where he had been, crossing his legs and arms and closing his eyes once more.

Knuckles frowned at the crack where the light had been pouring into their lonely cave just a moment ago. That was the third time that some of Ivo's robots had tried looking for them in here. Thankfully, though, it seemed that they hadn't been found yet. Still, Knuckles held little hope that they would be able to stay here until morning. But, at the same time, it wasn't like they had much of a choice. Tails was already asleep, Amy looked beat, too, Knuckles himself was in need of some rest... Hell, even Sonic and Jet looked exhausted. That had mean something. Knuckles didn't exactly want to stay here, but... _Guess we don't have a choice. _

Several hours passed in relative silence before Amy found herself slowly waking up for some reason. Sitting up, she looked around, quickly identifying the source of her disturbance: a small square of bright light just a few feet away from her. Getting up, she carefully picked her way past Jet and Tails (Knuckles had been on her other side and was therefore not in the way) before coming to kneel by Sonic's side. He glanced up at her but said nothing. "What are you doing?" she whispered. Without a word, he turned his wrist so that she could see his communicator screen. She blinked in surprise. "You can access that database on your communicator?" He nodded and she moved to actually sit down beside him. "Why didn't you do that before?" she asked with a frown. "Why did you use your computer before?"

His response was extraordinarily vague. "Risk."

She frowned a bit deeper, trying to understand what he was trying to say. "Using your communicator... is riskier than using your computer?" He nodded once and her frown faded away. "So what are you looking for this time?" He just shrugged unhelpfully. Her head tilted a bit in thought. Decision made, she spoke again. "I have some questions."

A long moment of silence passed. Finally, he responded, never once looking up from that little screen. "Ask."

She settled herself more comfortably against the wall before speaking again. "I hope you won't mind if my questions are kind of... all over the place." He just shrugged again. Deciding that he probably didn't care, she voiced her first question. "Where did the sword come from?"

He blinked. "I found it."

"Where?" she pressed, curiosity egging her on more than anything else.

"In some ruins," he replied vaguely.

"Ruins?" she echoed.

He blinked again. "Chun-nan."

Amy recognized that name. _Isn't that where those files said that Kaden is from? _"So you just... took a random sword you found in the ruins of an ancient city?" In a way, she supposed she understood. Weapons seemed to be highly necessary when it came to survival in this time.

Sonic continued typing on his screen. "It isn't random."

That surprised her. "It's not?" she asked. He gave the barest shake of his head in response. "How?"

For whatever reason, he was silent for a long time again. When he finally spoke, she understood his reticence. "It was my father's."

"_Oh_," she breathed. His reluctance to mention Kaden made sense, considering what had happened involving him so far. _I still don't get how Ivo used Kaden's power. _She sighed internally. _Somehow, I doubt Sonic will be willing to tell me about it. _Swallowing hard, she asked another question that had been weighing heavily on her mind. "What happened to Vanilla?" Knuckles had told her and Tails what Sonic had said about the deaths of Silver and Blaze, but none of them knew what had happened to poor, sweet Vanilla, nor any of the others who had died.

Much to her surprise, he actually sighed. It was soft, barely audible, but she heard it nonetheless. "I don't know."

She frowned slightly. She had been hoping for answers. "What about the others?" she asked seriously. "Do you know about them?"

Sonic's voice was neutral. "I know about Storm."

She nodded faintly. "What happened to him?"

Sonic didn't speak for a long moment; when he did, he stopped typing entirely, his arms lowering a bit. "He was out on a mission with Wave," he said, his voice low. "They were trying to rescue some people who had become trapped in a mine where Ivo was forcing them to work. They got the people out, but part of the mine collapsed with Wave inside. She was trapped for a couple hours. By the time she managed to dig herself out, a group of Ivo's robots had already struck." He didn't exactly say that those robots had killed Storm, but the implications were clear.

"Oh," she whispered. "That's..." She hesitated for a moment, unable to even voice how horrible that was. "That's..." Sonic said nothing as he resumed his typing. Despite his obvious focus on his task, Amy knew that he was listening to her, waiting for her to speak again. Swallowing hard, she decided to change the topic to something less... awful. "So... when did you and Jet start calling each other friends?" At this, Sonic paused entirely and lifted his head to give her a blank look. Had this been present-day Sonic, she was pretty sure that he would have looked confused, instead. She allowed herself a small smile. "Your guys's files said that you two are close friends. Now how would Ivo know about that unless you two said something? He doesn't exactly know what friendship looks like."

Sonic, still looking completely blank, turned his head a bit to look at Jet's sleeping form. He looked at the battered and exhausted hawk for a long time before finally looking away again, returning his attention to his communicator. His response was exactly what she'd expected to hear. "We're not friends."

Her smile widened, just a bit. "Okay. If you say so." He didn't reply to that, so she let the matter drop. She knew the truth, anyway. She was about to voice her next question when she suddenly saw a very slight frown appear on his face as he looked at his communicator. "What's wrong?" He was still for a moment before suddenly taking his communicator off of his wrist and handing it to her. Heart pounding, Amy began to read.

_UPDATED LIST OF WANTED PERSONS IN ORDER OF MOST WANTED:_

_Sonic the Hedgehog (Bounty: 360,00,000)_

_Jet the Hawk __(Bounty: 160,000,000)_

_Shadow the Hedgehog __(Bounty: 140,000,000)_

_Knuckles the Echidna __(Bounty: 120,000,000)_

_Cream the Bunny __(Bounty: 100,000,000)_

_Miles "Tails" Prower __(Bounty: 98,000,000)_

_Amy Rose __(Bounty: 92,000,000)_

_Wave the Swallow __(Bounty: 91,000,000)_

_Espio the Chameleon __(Bounty: 90,000,000)_

_Rouge the Bat __(Bounty: 87,000,000)_

_LIST OF MISSING PERSONS WANTED BY THE EMPIRE IN ORDER OF MOST WANTED:_

_Kaden the Hedgehog __(Bounty: 270,000,000)_

_Locke the Echidna __(Bounty: 222,000,000)_

_Analia the Hedgehog __(Bounty: 200,000,000)_

Amy's eyes were wide with horror. _Everyone's bounties went up so much... Even Kaden and the others have a bounty, now... They didn't have bounties before... _Her gaze swung to Sonic. "Why did everyone's bounties go up so much?" she asked desperately.

He didn't answer her, didn't even look at her. "Keep reading."

Swallowing hard and heart still pounding, she scrolled down and did as she was told.

_GENERAL NOTICES TO THE PUBLIC:_

_1.) Sonic is considered to be the Empire's most wanted criminal; however, capturing the Babylon Rouges (A.K.A. the Riders) has become The Empire's top priority. Their knowledge and skills are necessary. Their leader, Jet, is indispensable and must be captured alive at all costs. His last teammate, Wave, should be captured, but she is disposable. __Wave has not been seen in three months. Jet's last known location was in a canyon bunker near the Therian district. He is known to be traveling with Sonic._

_Warning: Due to their higher-than-average speed and strength, they are capable of destroying and evading robots with relative ease. Their continually evolving powers are yet another threat. Both have displayed new abilities previously unknown The Empire; Wave managed to completely mind-control multiple loyal servants of The Empire while Jet (through as-of-yet unknown means) is known to have leveled two cities at once by himself at some point in the past. Jet is known to be armed; he caries a dagger and, at times, other weapons. Wave at times carries a dagger as well. _

_2.) Any knowledge about Sonic's blade Caliburn must be submitted to The Empire. Punishment for withholding such information is death._

_3.) Any knowledge regarding the whereabouts of Sonic and Knuckles's parents __must be submitted to The Empire. Punishment for withholding such information is death._

Doing her best not to panic on behalf of her friends, the Riders especially at this point, Amy scrolled down yet further. She wanted to know why everyone's bounties had increased so much, but she didn't seem destined to find out. Scrolling down to the bottom of whatever file or whatever it was she had been looking at, Amy's eyes fell upon two brief, vague lines... one that made her nearly sag with relief, and the other which nearly made her freeze in terror.

_Current Location of Sonic and Jet: Unknown_

_Location of the Freedom Fighters' Headquarters: Known_

**~ソニック~**

Sonic and Jet had set off on their own upon reaching the city. Wave had been insistent on going to a massive store dealing in nothing but technology and, unsurprisingly, Storm had immediately decided to go elsewhere, wandering off to who-knew-where. As they walked, Sonic and Jet talked, much to Jet's growing annoyance. Jet would have crossed his arms, had he not be carrying his board under one of them, so he was forced to display his irritation through other means. "Hmph."

"I'm serious," Sonic muttered. "Something's bugging you, and it's bugging you pretty damned much if even Storm can see it."

Jet scowled. _Of course Storm chooses now to suddenly be observant... _"I _told_ you already, I _don't_ want to talk about it."

"And _I_ told you that I don't _care_ what you want." Sonic moved to stand in front of Jet with his arms crossed, blocking the hawk's path and forcing him to stop walking. Sonic frowned at him. "If whatever's on your mind is bothering you so badly that you're getting even _less_ sleep than usual, there's a problem," Sonic said tensely. Jet opened his mouth to reply, but Sonic cut him off. "Now don't _give_ me any crap about being fine and tell me what the hell is going on!"

Jet nearly flinched. It wasn't often that Sonic raised his voice at someone like that. He wasn't actually yelling, but raising his voice just a bit like that was as close as he ever got to doing just that when just speaking with someone. Jet looked away. _I really don't want to talk about this. _

"Well?"

But... Jet had to acknowledge the fact that Sonic was one of the only people that he could trust with this information. Sonic was one of the only people who would _understand_. Reluctant but resigned, Jet finally began to speak. This was a touchy subject, one that he avoided at all costs normally, but it just couldn't seem to be helped anymore, so Jet forced the words past his lips. "It's just-"

A scream suddenly cut him off, and he and Sonic both froze for a moment. "Oh, damn it all..." Sonic muttered in a rare vocal display of annoyance. He looked to Jet. "I'll be right back."

Jet nodded, just glad to have gotten out of talking about this for now, and with a rush of wind, Sonic was gone. Sighing, Jet just turned and began aimlessly walking again with no destination in mind. He didn't let himself worry about Sonic; exhausted or not, Sonic could handle whatever this damn city threw at him. Jet wasn't worried, anyway. _It's not like we're friends or anything. _With this in mind, he rounded a corner, not really paying attention to where he was going, brushing by numerous crowds of people as he went. As he walked, his mind kept drifting back to what was troubling him. _Maybe I should tell Sonic, _he admitted reluctantly. There was a chance that it would make him feel a bit better, he knew. That had to count for something, at least, right? _Besides, it's not like he's going to let this go. _He really hated how stubborn the hedgehog was, sometimes. _He's even worse than Storm. _

A couple minutes after that thought crossed his mind, Jet suddenly returned to reality when he found himself in an abandoned lot surrounded by a circle of old, run-down buildings that were clearly no longer in use. He blinked. _Huh. How did I- _Before that thought even had a chance to finish itself, Jet was suddenly hit in the back so hard that the breath was complete knocked out of him. He hit the ground hard, somehow managing to catch himself on his hands so that he didn't hit his face. Unable to stop himself, he coughed a little a couple times, temporarily winded and therefore unable to react when his board was kicked away from where it had fallen next to him. _What the hell? _He stood slowly, not eager to rush into a fight and still trying to catch his breath, only to freeze just before turning around at the sound of a deep voice full of contempt that was the source of numerous of Jet's nightmares.

"You're still weak, Jet."

Jet whirled around against his will. He really didn't want to face the owner of that voice, but it was too late now. He became so tense that for a moment he swore that he'd turn to stone. "D... Dad?" He choked out, absolutely _hating_ how weak his voice sounded.

His father was as big and tall and strong and proud as ever, if appearances were anything to go by. Time had certainly not done him harm. He stood there with his large arms crossed, all but glaring down at Jet as though he were talking to a bug. "You were never worthy of being called a Babylon Rouge... why the last remaining members of our race choose to follow you is beyond me."

"What are you _doing_ here?" Jet demanded in the bravest voice he could manage.

Ross didn't buy the act at all; he saw right through it. "You're still a coward, Jet, and a weakling. I'm starting to remember why I disowned you and threw your sorry ass out."

At this, some of Jet's long-buried anger finally showed itself. "You didn't kick me out!" he snapped, his blue eyes sparking with signs of true temper. "I _left_, and you damn well know it!"

Ross's equally blue eyes flashed. "And look where that's gotten you," he said in disdain. "A little boy playing around on racetracks with his pathetic friends..."

"My friends are _not_ pathetic!" Jet snapped back.

"Oh, really? Then why are they just like _you_?" Jet flinched, suddenly vividly remembering many of the scathing comments he had endured during his childhood. "A little boy playing around on racetracks," Ross repeated, "and a petty thief at best..."

Jet's anger returned full-force all at once. "I'm a better thief than _you_ _ever_ were! At least _I_ never managed to have our entire race's treasure stolen from right under my nose like y-" Before he could even finish that sentence, there was a sudden explosion of pain in his right temple and he was flung to the ground for the second time. Once again he managed to somehow catch himself enough that he avoided hitting his head, but he was still dazed and in pain. By looking at the shadow on the ground before him, Jet could see that his father's fists were still clenched, one still in the air after delivering that blow.

"Speak to me like that again and I will _gladly_ help you revisit your childhood, Jet," Ross all but growled. "...Assuming that you're actually brave enough to stand up to me again." Jet was silent, holding a hand to his head as he stared at the ground. Ross snorted in utter contempt. "Pathetic," he muttered. "Broken down to nothing in a matter of minutes... and this time, your dear friend _Sonic_ isn't here to whisk you away into a '_better_' life." At this, Jet gritted his teeth and stood again, albeit a bit uncertainly after that blow (and that combined with the headache he'd still head before), and walked stiffly away, his left fist clenched at his side, to retrieve his board. As his right hand was still clutching his freshly injured head, he was forced to use his left hand to grab his board and pick it up. Not that it really mattered. Nothing did right now, except for getting out of here. However, he had barely started to lift his board up off the ground when Ross's heavy foot suddenly pressed it back down. "And where do you think _you're_ going?"

Ross took a step forward, so Jet stepped back. "Stay away from me," he bit out.

"You and I have unfinished business to take care of, _son_." That last word was spoken like a cruel joke.

Jet glared as best as he could manage. "I'm _not_ your son."

"You're right. You're too pathetic to be." Ross took another menacing step forward. "You're a disgrace, Jet."

Jet took another hurried step back. He was starting to feel panicked again. "I said stay away from me!"

Ross ignored him. "Just imagine how ashamed our ancestors must be," he murmured, moving yet closer in a slow progression that had Jet backpedaling and desperately seeking a way out now that he no longer could reach his board. "And your _mother_..." Jet flinched again. "How _disappointed_ she must be..."

Ross was too close now. Jet tried to back away further, only for his back to hit a wall. Feeling even more panicked now, Jet glanced back at the wall in what could only be described as disbelief. His gaze then swung back to Ross's face, only to see fist already flying toward him for the second time that day. Heart missing a beat, Jet ducked on reflex; that fist hit the wall with some much force that the stone was cracked. Not knowing what else to do, Jet could only dodge again and again as punch after punch was thrown at him. Before he even realized what was happening, he was backed up against another wall. Fear blending with a sudden burst of intense anger, Jet simply reacted to the threat on an almost instinctual level, thrusting his palms out before him and shouting, "_Stay away_!" Then all he could do was watch in shock as a burst of powerful wind carried Ross off his feet and hurled him into one of the abandoned buildings across the lot, smashing him all the way through a thick wall in the process.

Breathing hard, Jet rushed forward and snatched his board, only to find that it had been damaged (_again_) at some point during his growing confrontation with his father. When it had been dropped initially, perhaps? When Ross had kicked it? When he had stepped on it like he was trying to snap a twig? Some time after that? Jet really had no idea, but either way, his board, while still capable of flight, was _not_ going to get him out of here fast enough to avoid Ross, who had already been headed toward Jet again by the time Jet had even grabbed his board. His father stood between him and the only exit from the area that Jet could reach in reasonable time on foot. It was like reliving a nightmare... or his worst memories. _It's happening again... _

Then, suddenly, without any warning, a large body dropped to the pavement before him from the air above, landing heavily on their feet and entirely blocking his view of Ross. Large grey arms crossed and hard eyes glared at the source of Jet's anxiety. "Alright Pops, fun's over."

_Storm? _Jet looked up, feeling like he wanted to go limp with relief. _And Wave... _

Wave dropped to the ground beside Storm, abandoning her board on the ground just as Storm had done. "_Leave_, Ross," she commanded harshly. "You have no business being anywhere near Jet."

"No business?" Ross echoed. He laughed then, only briefly, but the sound was as menacing as Jet remembered it, and he shivered against his will. "I have plenty of _business_ with him."

Storm's large knuckles cracked ominously when Ross moved to approach Jet again. "Do it again and I'll knock that proud head of yours clean off your shoulders!" For once, Jet knew that his teammate's threat was more than just empty words. Storm was serious about this, as was Wave.

"You're not going anywhere _near_ Jet, do you understand?!" Wave snapped, her tone surprisingly threatening and her fists clenching tightly by her sides. "_Leave_!"

Jet's mind slowly drifted off from the scene unfolding before him as he unconsciously retreated within himself as he always had as a child, only too willing to escape reality and disappear within. He didn't really know how long he was just _there _(though not really), simply existing in that spot where he stood, before Ross's voice yanked him harshly back out into the real world. "You're _lucky_, Jet!" Ross shouted furiously as he retreated out of the area. "But that luck won't last forever, you damned brat!" With that, Ross vanished around a corner and out of the lot.

Jet felt like he was going to be sick. He was so tense that it hurt. His head was in far worse pain than it had been before and his vision occasionally swam a bit because of it, causing him to sway slightly. He couldn't seem to unclench his fists or his teeth. He felt like he could hardly breathe. Slowly, his teammates' voices filtered into his mind and he became aware of the fact that they were arguing. _...Again. _

"It's _your_ fault he got away!" Wave snapped in response to something Storm had said that Jet had missed. "If you weren't so damn _slow_-"

"Well if you weren't so damn _weak_-"

"I can take you, easy! I'll show _you_ who's weak!"

"I'd like to see you try, Pinky!"

"How about I just pluck all your damn feathers, instead?!"

"Just try it, Shorty!"

"What did you call me, Storm?!"

Jet felt himself tensing further, his fists clenching even tighter to the point where it actually hurt.

"You heard me! I called you short, Shorty!"

"Well you're _stupid_, so there!"

"Who're you calling stupid?!"

"_You_, that's who!"

Jet's eyes slowly closed, a deep scowl appearing on his face. His fists clenched even tighter. His teeth were clenched together to the point that they were starting to show between his lips. They, like his fists, were starting to hurt from the sheer force with which he was clenching them. His friends' sentences slowly began to blur together until he could scarcely tell what either was saying.

"How about I let my fist show you how smart I am, then?!"

"You idiot! That doesn't prove intelligence!"

"But it'll do wonders to shut you up!"

"Dammit-!"

"I hate-!"

"You're so-!"

"I'll pummel-!"

"I'm so going to kill-!"

That was it. Jet couldn't _take_ it anymore! "_Will you both just shut the hell up?!_" Wave and Storm both froze in an instant. Jet yelling at them was nothing unusual, but he'd never yelled at them like _that_... Just as his teammates exchanged a look that seemed to communicate a great deal of guilt, Jet shifted and, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand while the other arm rested across his torso as though he was crossing both his arms, he took a slow, deep breath. He didn't think he'd ever lost his temper like that before, and he didn't like it. Not at all.

A hand smaller than his own came to rest on his right arm. "Jet?" Wave asked quietly. "Are you okay?"

Jet hated being touched. He really did. This encounter had him vividly remembering _why_. Still, he didn't jerk away like he wanted to. Instead he just chose to remain still, not even bothering to open his eyes. "No," he somehow bit out, barely able to voice even that one word because his teeth were so tightly clenched and he was so tense, so angry... He hated feeling like this, but at this point, it seemed like he had no control over it.

Storm was the next to speak, sounding incredibly angry, but not as angry as Jet _felt_. "I'm gonna go find that bastard and give him a piece of my mind."

He was pretty sure that Wave nodded. "Give 'im hell, Storm," she said quietly, her tone holding no irritation toward her teammate for once, only resentment and anger toward Ross.

"Damn right I will." With that, Storm audibly picked up his board and took off.

Jet was no longer pinching the bridge of his nose when Wave returned her attention to him, but he was still visibly tense as he stood there with his eyes shut and arms crossed, a deep scowl on his face. She had never seen him so angry before... and she knew that he had never lost his temper like that ever before. The wind in the area was as agitated and angry as he was, whipping their hair around and filling her ears with its dull roar. Her grip on his arm tightened just enough that she hoped that he would notice and be reminded of her presence. "Jet," she called softly. No response. There were dark storm clouds appearing in the sky from nowhere at all. The winds weren't dying down. "Jet," she called again, somehow keeping her voice level. "Look at me." His eyes finally snapped open. Lightning flashed ominously in the sky, distant but still too close for comfort. Jet's piercing blue eyes sparked and crackled with years and years of pent-up anger that had by now built up into an all out fury that couldn't seem to be lessened. She swore she could see the lightning in his eyes. The wind felt like it was tearing right through her. Rain started pelting the ground with enough force that it was like it had been storming out her for hours. Jet still wasn't moving. Wave refused to let him go. _What's going on here...? What's happening...? _

**~ソニック~**

**Well, I'm sorry if you hate Jet, 'cause I love him. I never really focused on him like this before, anyway. I mean, I gave him some attention back in Crisis City, but I think that he and Knuckles (as far as the main characters go) really need some more love. Tails, too, probably. ...I'm working on it. ^-^ Anyway, this was posted SUPER early... about four a.m., actually. I'm not even tired, somehow. 5,439 words. Posted 07-24-15.**


	120. Who's to Blame

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Well, good, I'm glad. :) I'm happy that you're enjoying them! I love writing them, too! And yes, Future Sonic likes to be vague as hell. XD when I read that line in your review, I nearly busted up laughing. XD I'm glad you think so, and I happily accept these cookies! :D (I need the food, anyway. :P)**

**Hello, flashyhero! Your review to Chapter 118: Yup, it's back. :) And yes, at certain pints, he was.**

**Hello, ****ScarletTheCat14! I'm so happy you enjoyed! Well, no explanation this time, but I think it's safe to assume that it was a robot attack. It may or may not be explained later. :P Yes, yes it does. I love those two together. There's some more of them today, too. X3 About the ageing thing: You're right about that, again. But, as you'll see here, all is not a it seems... Things with Cream are no longer exactly... normal. ;) Well, Sonic's 17 _now_. He was ten when he met Merry, and it's never actually stated when she died or how old he was when she did. _He_ doesn't even know. :P Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :D Ah, a demo, huh? I'll have to watch Markiplier or someone else play it, then. :)**

**Hello, astroshadow! Yup, it really does. Yeah, a gold mine it is. And about time, huh? All these chapters and his past was never really delved into before... Well, better late than never. XD Yeah! Go Team Riders! Ross must pay! Anyway, yes, this is most definitely their debut. More about their sudden appearance is explained by Sonic today. :P Yes. Extremely ticked. Years and years of burying your anger toward someone has a tendency to make that anger grow into something much stronger, huh? :l Yes, I did say that once... however, I think I screwed up when I said that. You see, in the story, Sonic is known to have been alive for a couple hundred years before going to Angel Island for the first time. Then he spends an unknown amount of time on South Island before the Dark Days. By the time he meets Jet at age fourteen, we know that more than two more centuries have passed. ...I suck at math, but Sonic and Raven fan figured it out. Keeping in mind that Sonic is only seventeen right now, here's what they said: "****So, Sonic's currently total years are...1139 O.O...Wow, Sonic's old. And when he's gonna be 80, he'll be 5360...I feel sorry for him...And hundred at his years are 6700 in total. No wonder he outlived everyone! There Sonic, your question is answered, you'll live about six thousand years!" ...I don't actually know if this one is more accurate, but I _think_ it is. You guys are way better at math than me, so... yeah. XD It's really cool that you tried to figure it out, by the way! Thanks for sharing your results with me! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! ****Your review to Chapter 114: OMG, HI! YOU'RE ALIVE! Nah, I'm just kidding. XDD ANyway, it's good to hear from you, Pyro-kun! I missed you! :D It's fine, I understand, I took a vacation, too, so I get it. :) I'm so happy you enjoyed! Yeah, I love Chun-nan. It really is heavily based off of China. However, that creates some issues for me, if only because I have made the hedgehogs very... Japanese-like in behavior. For example: bowing to one's elders and just out of general respect. ...Ah well. :P BTW, I found some songs that are for Chun-nan on this story's playlist. I think those songs will apply more to Hero Chronicles, but whatever. I also chose the official theme songs of Hero and Hero Chronicles. :) Just thought I'd let you know so you knew they were there next time I post the updated playlist. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 115: I'm so happy you liked it that much! And, as you already know, he didn't die. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 116: ...Yeah. Yeah, he is. :( I agree! Damn you "Emperor" Ivo! D: I'm happy that you enjoyed the farewell. I liked writing that part, somewhat sad though it was. :) As always, I'm so happy you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Your review to Chapter 117: You thought it was epic? I'm glad! I did, too! :D Well, considering where you and I decided where his flame powers _come_ from in the first place (keep it a secret for now, 'kay? ;) ), I thought it was appropriate. :) Well, it was Amy, but whatevs. And now that you mention it, I can totally see that! "Uncle Shads"... seems like something Silver would say. XD Uncle Shadow would probably be reserved for serious situations, assuming that Silver ever comes to call Shadow by the term of "Uncle" in the first place. :P**

**Your review to Chapter 118: Haha, yes they did. Yes, I liked that quote as well. By the way, did you notice? I snuck in some details in the beginning of this chapter of the war Locke and the others were in, the one Hero Chronicles will largely be focused on. :P I know I say this a lot (okay, _all_ the time), but whatever: I'm so happy you enjoyed! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 119: I'm happy you think so! I do, too! :D Aw, I'm glad! That always means so much to hear, Pyro-kun! Thank you! And thank you for always taking the time to read and review! :DD Yeah, he clearly wants to do just that, huh? :l Oh man, that is a definite clash waiting to happen. I imagine that Kaden (if he's awake at the time) and Analia will probably be calm about the whole thing, but Ross and Locke may end up getting into a fist fight... Especially if Locke finds out about what Ross did/does to Jet. Locke's pretty protective of everyone, and he seems to have taken at least a _slight_ liking to Jet if he went so far as to try to help and comfort him. Ross'll probably be pissed, too, though for other reasons. So, yeah, there may end up being an angry fist fight when they meet. ...Wuh-oh. D: As always, I will do my best, Pyro-kun! :D**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Yeah, same. And yes, it really must be. :( Well, I'm sure your question will be more than answered here. :P**

**Hello, BlazeWriters69! ****Your review to Chapter 117: Well, you're right, but SEGA calls Silver's powers psychokinesis, so that's what I'm sticking to. :P**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

Sonic, for once, wasn't glaring at the sky for suddenly unleashing a downpour on him. Instead, the expression he wore as he gazed deep into the sky was confused... and concerned. _This storm came out of nowhere... And it keeps getting worse. _The rain fell so hard that he honestly felt like he was being pelted by thousands upon thousands of needles (though he did his best not to think of those horrid objects). It was terribly cold. The thick blanket of ominous black storm clouds grew ever thicker as lightning cracked in the air and thunder boomed across the skies. The wind was raging so fiercely that Sonic suddenly found himself struck by a fear that a tornado could form. Maybe even more than one. _But... none of this makes any sense. The skies were clear today, up until a few minutes ago. _But then, all at once, this storm was unleashed, and Sonic had no idea _why_. Lightning flashed across the sky again just as Sonic spotted movement in the air. Squinting a bit, Sonic could just barely make out the shape of a board. Moving quickly, he leapt onto the side of a building, ran horizontally across it, jumped to the side of another building and then another, then finally ran up the length of a taller building to stand on the edge its flat roof.

Storm must have seen him; he pulled up near the hedgehog without hesitation. "I was wondering where you'd gone," he muttered, crossing his arms.

Sonic frowned slightly, noticing the rigidity in the large bird's posture, the deeper-than-usual scowl in place on his face. "What's going on?" he demanded, his concern only growing more when he saw the flash of anger in Storm's eyes. As temperamental as the albatross tended to be, he never got _this_ angry, and certainly not over nothing.

Storm, unlike Jet, didn't hesitate to voice things that were upsetting him, especially if they were angering him. As such, Sonic was filled in immediately. "Me and Wave found Ross cornering Jet in some stupid abandoned lot a few miles away. He was getting ready to hit Jet like he used to, might've even been beatin' up on him already, before we got in between 'em."

Sonic froze for just the barest of moments before his ears snapped back about halfway and his teeth bared in a snarl. "_What_?"

Storm didn't bother reply to that, instead just continuing on with his explanation. "The bastard got away, and Jet lost his temper somethin' fierce. Never seen him so angry. It wasn't long after that that I left to find his piece of shit dad and give him what-for, and this freak storm rolled in about the same time."

Sonic forced back another growl so that he could speak. "Is Wave still with him?" he bit out, angry beyond words. _I should've dealt with Ross when I had the damn chance, all those years ago... _Clearly removing Jet from the situation back then hadn't been enough. Ross needed to be taught a lesson, and a harsh one. _Abusing your own kid... What the hell is wrong with you, Ross?! _

Storm nodded once. "Yeah. Dunno what they're doing, but I think she's trying to calm him down."

Sonic returned his nod. _Good. _There was no denying that Wave and Jet were close; the hawk trusted her with his life and, considering the fact that he didn't trust _anyone_ normally (and with a father like _that_, it was no wonder why), that was really and truly saying something. Sometimes Wave was the only one who could reach Jet when he was closing himself off or turning his back on the world or when he was growing angry... _And... unless I'm mistaken... he needs her a lot more than usual right now. _In a way, they all did. Sonic had known for many years, through personal experience mostly, that some people's powers were only unlocked through extreme surges of certain emotions. However, the problem with unlocking one's powers in such a way was that said powers tended to go out of control upon awakening with very little anyone could do about it. _That's definitely what'__s happening here. _Sonic was sure of that fact. This storm was Jet's doing, however unintentional it was. _Still, the fact that he's had this much power buried inside of him for all these years... _It was shocking, to say the least, but that was something to be thought about later. Sonic turned his attention back to Storm. "Come on," he muttered. "Let's go find Ross." _Because he has hell to pay._

**~ソニック~**

"I was wondering when you'd get here, Sonic." Sonic said nothing as Amy, the one from this time, leaned in the metal doorway with her arm loosely crossed, her posture relaxed and her expression serious but still calm. "I was beginning to think that you'd gotten lost."

Sonic didn't even blink. "I don't get lost."

It was so strange talking to her again. When she, Tails, and Knuckles had called him to Angel Island out of nowhere those two years ago, it was the first time he'd heard from them in ten years. Even before then they had only been in minimal contact with him. It was hard to say exactly when they had stopped being friends with him, but he knew that it had occurred not terribly long after Ivo's first major victory against them, the one that had helped lead to the establishment of The Empire. And yet, somehow, despite all the years of separation, they had managed to reconcile with each other enough in these last two years to consider each other more than distant allies. They still weren't friends by any means, but they were at least re-acquainted with each other. It was odd and, had he actually allowed himself to feel, he knew he probably would have been uncomfortable.

Amy and the others almost felt like strangers to him. Espio and the others did, too, but not quite as much. The only people he'd been in regular contact with this whole time were Shadow (though only for missions), Jet, and by extension, Wave. He had grown accustomed to being completely alone most of the time, and suddenly being surrounded by people again was a sort of shock, in a way. One thing he'd forgotten about was how much _dialogue_ was expected of him when he was with people. That was one part that he wasn't especially fond of. He preferred _not_ to talk, and talking all the time was taxing on him in its own way. There was so much that he had to re-learn, so much that he had to re-adjust to, but he wasn't sure if it was even worth it. Why should he bother when he would almost certainly just end up out on his own again in the end?

Amy's gaze flicked behind him to Jet and the others, and she frowned a bit. "So the rumors were true, then..." she murmured. Then she sighed and pushed off the doorway to stand normally. She jerked her head, making the invitation-like order general. "Get inside." Without waiting for a response, she disappeared inside.

Blinking, Sonic stepped inside, letting the three people from the past go in ahead of him. Jet followed them and, with a quick glance around, Sonic went in as well, shutting the door behind him and securing it well. Everyone else had already followed Future Amy through the halls and deeper into the underground compound, but Sonic knew where he was going. And, even if he hadn't, his ears were more than sensitive enough to pick up on the sound of their footsteps. He found them easily and fell in step with them at the back of the group while they walked through a long metal corridor. It had been a while since Sonic had been to this bunker in particular, but it really hadn't changed at all. Not that Sonic had expected it to. It was just a large bunker. There wasn't much to it, so what was there to be changed? Most of it was just hallways, anyway. They walked in silence, eventually passing by a closed door that had been sealed tight years ago. Sonic's impassive gaze locked on that door for just a moment before he forced himself to look away. _That was where Silver slept. _

Future Amy spoke again, presumably to Sonic and Jet in particular. "Have you seen any of the others?" she asked crisply, in full business mode.

It was Jet who answered. "No, not since we dropped Cream off with you." He paused before asking, "Are she and Wave still here?"

Amy waved him off. Literally. "Yes, they're fine. They're in the control room." She glanced back over her shoulder then, looking directly at Sonic before turning her attention back to the front. "So what's happened since we last saw you?"

What kind of a question _was_ that? What kind of answer was he supposed to give? Quite a few things had happened since he'd last seen her and the others. Too many things to tell. It would take a tiresome number of words for him to explain, and he really didn't care much for talking. "A lot of things," he murmured enigmatically.

"You're as vague as ever, I see," she murmured back.

Knuckles snorted. "You don't know the half of it." Sonic gave him a blank look. Knuckles ignored him.

It was silent for a moment as they rounded a corner and began walking down yet another hall. Finally, Tails spoke up. "So what are we supposed to be doing here?"

"Nothing right now," Future Amy replied. "The rest of us aren't here yet, and we can't do anything without them. We're the only ones here, besides Wave and Cream. We have to give the others time to get here. We're going to need every member of the Fighters that we can get."

"How long are we going to wait for them?" the other Amy asked.

Future Amy spared her a glance over her shoulder. "A few days. We can't wait longer than that."

Past Amy nodded and the group fell silent again. Barely a minute later, they reached their destination; the control room. This room, unlike most of the others, had an actual carpet on the floor. It was a big room full of wall-mounted computers and television screens and seats. In the center of the room was large pillar-like structure that went through both the floor and the ceiling. Unsurprisingly, Tails's eyes immediately locked onto that structure. "Is that what's powering this whole place?" He was as intelligent as ever, Sonic noted.

Amy just nodded once before abandoning them to walk deeper into the room to look at one of the smaller television screens that was showing a wobbly video feed of sorts. Near the door was a bright orange couch that Cream was laying all the way back on in such a way that one of her ears was draped over the edge. Her feet were closest to the door and, as she laid there, she idly stroked the thin fur of a stuffed toy of some kind. She gave Sonic a small but no less warm smile. "Hello, Mr. Sonic." Her voice was still as soft as ever, but it sounded far more mature than it ever had before, and it had nothing to do with her age. It had also lost that almost unnaturally sweet tone that it had once held.

He acknowledged her greeting with a subtle nod before moving to lean back against the wall by the door. Shrugging, Jet walked past him and seated himself in a lonely arm chair, putting his feet up on the table that was resting before it. Wave, who had been conversing softly with Future Amy up until this point, left the hedgehog's side to sit on the arm of Jet's chosen chair. Neither bird was very overly affectionate; the only sign that either of them gave of their feelings for each other was a small but no less significant touch of their hands when she sat down. Knuckles lingered tensely by the door while Past Amy and Tails went to sit down. Amy sat in one of the chairs near Cream's head while Tails simply plopped down on the floor beside it. It was Knuckles who finally broke the silence. "So we're all supposed to just sit around and wait for the others to show up?" he groused.

Sonic spared him a glance. "Yes."

"Is there anything to do here?" Tails asked no one in particular.

"Not really," Jet responded.

"It's terribly boring," Cream commented softly in that strangely mature voice of hers. "It's dreadful, really."

"There _must_ be something we can do," past Amy said firmly. When no one voiced any ideas, she took it upon herself to suggest one. "We could actually _talk_, for one thing."

Jet glanced at Sonic and then gave past Amy a sort of look that seemed to say, "Good luck with that".

Knuckles snorted softly. "And what would we talk about, exactly?" he asked. "How ugly that robot we saw earlier was?"

Past Amy rolled her eyes. "We don't have to talk about something _serious_," she replied. "We'll be having a _conversation_; conversations can be about anything."

Cream rolled onto her stomach then and gave Amy a curious look. "Are you really from the past, Amy?" Sonic still didn't understand why the young girl insisted on referring to him so respectfully if she was so comfortable being casual in her speech with others.

"Yes," past Amy nodded. Then she tilted her head a bit. "You didn't know that?"

"I wasn't certain," Cream replied simply. "I'm not allowed to look behind me; only forward." Sonic knew what she was talking about: her visions.

Amy didn't seem to know how to respond to that, so Tails spoke up next, directing his question at Wave. "So do you really have psychic abilities?" he asked excitedly, his eyes bright with curiosity.

"Yeah. I can't always do a whole lot with them, though, considering the fact that most of our enemies are robots."

"Can you read minds?"

"I don't think so. I can control them once in a while, but only with a lot of effort and concentration."

Tails's smile was wide. "That's cool."

Wave shrugged unconcernedly. "If you say so, Shorty."

Sonic literally almost rolled his eyes at that nickname. Some things just never changed. _For better or for worse... _

Once again, an unwanted presence decided to put it's two-cents into the conversation, though he was the only one who could hear it. _"You are correct, Sonic. Change can be both good and bad. However, it is up to you to decide which it will be." _

Sonic frowned minutely at the empty air before him, not really seeing it, nor the frown that Knuckles was also wearing and aiming in his direction. _I already told you to shut up. _He got no reply from the Voice, not that he'd expected one. Either way, he was just glad that it was gone again. _For now. _

It was past Amy's voice that finally pulled his from his thoughts again. "Say, can I ask you two something?" she asked, looking at Jet and Wave. Upon seeing their expressions she assured, "It's nothing serious, just something that I've been curious about."

Wave shrugged again. "Shoot."

"How long have you two known Sonic?" she asked, casting Sonic a vaguely apologetic look for talking about him as though he wasn't there. He raised an eyebrow at her slightly but otherwise didn't respond. She looked away again.

"Shit Amy, did you have to ask such a hard question?" Jet grumbled in annoyance, closing his eyes and running a hand over his face briefly. "I suck at math... And it's not like I was counting the years." He was quiet for a moment before continuing. "We age about as slowly as he does, so it's been a long time. Just trust me on this one."

"They were fourteen when they met," Wave supplied, answering the question a bit more clearly than Jet had. "Storm and I were fifteen by the time we met the two of them. Like Jet said, it's been a long time."

Another moment of silence had to pass before it was broken again. "Your guys's house in Future City is cool," Tails smiled. "I only ever saw it from a distance, but Sonic told me a little about it. I wish I could've gone in and looked around."

"It's just a house," Wave said with yet another shrug. "By Future City's standards, the technology we had wasn't even that highly advanced. It was better than the rest of the city, sure, but not by much. It was just a normal house."

"_Nothing_ in that city is normal," Knuckles muttered. In a way, Sonic had to agree. There had been hovering plates there, after all.

"There's no such thing as normal, really," Cream said suddenly, still laying on her stomach with her upper body being held up by her elbows and her legs bent up in the air behind her. "Things change too often for anything to ever really be normal."

Silence. Then, Knuckles blurted out, "When in the hell did she get so damn smart?"

"We have no idea," Wave said in a lightly teasing tone as she looked at Cream. "It's an anomaly." Cream may as well have not heard her for she ignored the comment so perfectly, focusing entirely on her stuffed toy again. "And _that__'s_ something she gets from Sonic," Wave smirked. "She's a master at ignoring people now. That's what happens when you let impressionable young people hang around him for too long." Sonic gave Wave a vaguely disapproving look, though only his subtle frown hinted at that.

"Ignoring isn't the same as not being able to hear," Cream informed her, clearly unconcerned by the bird's words.

"Yeah, yeah," Wave replied, waving her hand dismissively.

Another moment of silence passed before Tails spoke again. "So I guess you all know each other pretty well, huh?" he asked, his eyes sweeping over everyone who hadn't come with him from the past. "Everyone in the Freedom Fighters, that is."

"Sure we do," was Wave's reply. "We spend too much time hanging around each other for us to _not_ be at least well-acquainted." Her mouth twisted in a mischievous smirk. "I've learned a few secrets about people, too. Nothing incriminating, but still interesting nonetheless."

Cream gave Wave a vaguely bored look. "Like what?"

"Well, for one thing," Wave started, still smirking, "a little bird told me that you have crush on a certain bunny boy you've saved before."

Cream looked away, apparently having lost interest in this conversation again. "That's not true and you know it."

"I also know," Wave continued, as though Cream hadn't spoken, "that a certain red friend of ours has a secret fondness for a bat we all know."

Knuckles snorted, not admitting to anything. Sonic was just glad that Knuckle's hadn't yelled like his future self did every time someone insinuated something like that about the echidna's complicated relationship with Rouge. Every time someone yelled, Knuckles especially, Sonic's ears ended up paying the price for it. _Why must people be so loud...? _

Apparently having realized that none of Wave's "secrets" were anything bad, Tails asked, "So what do you know about Amy? Well, Future Amy I guess, but still."

"Say it and I swear I'll kill you, Wave," Future Amy said in a no-nonsense tone.

"Liar." Wave looked back to Tails. "She has the biggest sweet tooth of anyone I've ever met. She likes sweets even more than a child does."

Sonic huffed lightly, the sound so soft that no one caught it, not even Knuckles, who was sitting closest to him. _Why was that "secret" so terrible? _He didn't think he would ever truly understand Amy. She was a real enigma at times. She kept him constantly guessing, as much as he did it to her. That push and pull aspect of their relationship never seemed to lesson. It was annoying. ...Or at least to would have been, had he been allowed to let himself feel that, or anything else.

Tails and past Amy were both laughing, agreeing with great cheerfulness that Wave was absolutely correct. Once their laughter died down, Wave spoke up again. "That reminds me, I have some dirt on _you_, Jet."

Jet gave her an irritable look. "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, but would," she replied, her eyes sparkling with amusement and mischief. "You see, everyone, Jet here-"

Jet lunged for Wave and she leapt away laughing before he could grab her. "Don't you _dare_ tell them, Wave!" Jet snapped, not clearly not finding the humor in this at all.

"Aw, you're no fun," she teased with a fake sort of pout. Jet just scowled at her.

"Do you have anything else?" Amy asked, diverting the attention away from whatever Wave had been about to say about Jet.

Wave obviously saw through the ruse, but she went with it anyway. Sonic doubted that she had truly let the matter drop, though. "I've got tons of stuff," she said matter-of-factly.

"None of your 'secrets' are very interesting," Cream informed her in a heavily calm tone, the one she always seemed to have. "They're boring, really." She was always bored, it seemed, even when she was fighting. She was so _different_ than the little girl she'd once been... and they still weren't entirely sure why. Her ageing and traumas had nothing to do with this. This wasn't that kind of a change. And, come to think of it, her ageing was something that was no longer making sense anymore, either. She was a bunny, and therefore was supposed to age like one. She should have been older than this by now.

"I dunno, it's kinda entertaining," Knuckles said with a smirk aimed in Jet's direction. Jet looked away from scowling at Wave long enough to give Knuckles the benefit of an irritable glare.

"Alright, so next secret, then," Wave said with a smirk, sitting down cross-legged on the carpet. "I think you'll find this one especially interesting." She caught Cream's look and said to her, "Okay, so maybe _you_ won't, but the others might." Cream looked away again and Wave leaned back on her palms, legs still crossed. Wave glanced significantly at Sonic. Everyone else followed her gaze. He stared blankly at her. "He," she said simply, "has an amazing singing voice."

He felt multiple pairs of eyes staring at him and he allowed himself a sigh as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the cool metal wall. "Why would you tell them that...?" he asked, his voice entirely neutral.

"Because I could," she replied, completely unrepentant. "Besides, it's true. I heard you once, back when you were still living with us in Future City. You were playing the guitar, too. It was weird to hear you actually take something _slow_ for once, instead of rushing through it like you'd had nothing but energy drinks for your meals."

"Wave, be nice," Future Amy cut in. "Stop teasing him."

"Aw, but I'm having fun for once," Wave replied in a tone of entirely faked disappointment. Amy probably gave Wave a look, if the swallow's next words were any indication. "Alright, alright, fine. You win." She paused. When she spoke next, Sonic swore he could hear the smirk in her voice. "I've still got Jet's secret, anyway."

"_Wave_..." Jet muttered warningly.

Wave sounded absolutely triumphant. She wasn't sorry at all. "Jet fell asleep in my room one time when we were still kids and ended up cuddling with my stuffed unicorn in his sleep."

"Dammit, Wave!"

**~ソニック~**

"You don't know when to quit, do you?" Sonic watched with a scowl and crossed arms as Ross whirled around. They were both soaked to the bone from the massive storm raging outside the abandoned building they stood in. The wind was so powerful that it was rattling the windows and its dull roar was a constant sound in Sonic's ears. Thunder vibrated the ground not long after lightning lit up the room which already had some light courtesy of a nearby streetlight which gave off a bright white glow that was dimmed by the downpour. It was only about noon now, but it was so dark outside that it seemed more like it was the middle of the night. The rain pelted the windows and the walls with so much force that it was hard it was hard to hear anything over the sound of it, save for that wind. The Storm had gotten so bad that Sonic was beginning to worry about having to evacuate people. The streets were already flooding a bit. The water had been up to his ankles by the time he'd found Ross taking shelter here.

Ross glowered at him, his strong arms crossing in a manner that was decidedly more arrogant than the way Sonic's own arms were crossed. "Hmph. So you _are_ still hanging around Jet, then."

Sonic growled lowly. "You have no right," he bit out, "no _right_ to be coming anywhere near him."

"No right?" Ross echoed in disdain. "I have _every_ right. A disgrace or not, he is _my_ flesh and blood."

Sonic glared fiercely at the tall bird. "I told you before to stay the hell away from him or you'd be sorry, and I meant it."

"And what are you going to do?" Ross challenged. "_Fight_ me? You and I both know that you won't do that. You can't bring yourself to fight someone whom you can't convince yourself is 'evil'. That's why you're _weak_, just like he is."

"Jet is far from weak," Sonic growled.

"If he's so strong, then why is it that he never fights back?" Ross challenged harshly. "Why is it that he always cowers in fear of me? Why is it that he's so _willing_ to be someone's punching bag?"

Something in Sonic snapped. He was yelling now. He almost never yelled. But, then again, he was almost never this _angry_ at a single person, either. "Jet's not _willing_ to let you beat him up!" he snapped. "You don't give him a choice! You never did! He grew up knowing only pain and abuse because of _you_! If he doesn't know how to stand up for himself, than that's _you're_ fault! You've done nothing but hurt him and belittle him and tear him down and _lie_ to him for his entire life! Of course he's afraid of you!"

"Fear is a sign of weakness!" Ross yelled back. "If he can't overcome his fears, than he's _weak_!"

"Does _this_ look like weakness to you?!" Sonic demanded with such harshness in his tone that even Ross seemed momentarily taken aback. Multiple windows suddenly shattered from the sheer force of the winds raging outside. Sonic had to fight not to be carried off his feet by the intense rush of air as his hair whipped around behind him. Lightning struck multiple buildings with enough power to blast holes through them. The ground rumbled when the thunder roared. The sky was completely black with a blanket of clouds that slowly grew ever thicker and darker. The rain was flooding the streets far worse than before. Several funnel clouds were forming in the sky. People were fleeing as fast as they could, but there was no way that everyone would be able to escape, even with Sonic's help.

Ross finally seemed to understand just what was causing this storm; the storm that he had all but ensured would hit. "Bloody hell..."

"Do you get it now?" Sonic snapped as more lightning cracked just outside of the window closest to him. "Because of you, _this_ is happening! Jet's lost control and hundreds of thousands of people could damn well end up dead all because you decided one day to start hitting your kid! If you had ever bothered to pay attention to him and read the signs then you would have _known _that he'd inherited these powers and you would have been able to train him to control them! If you had ever cared at _all_ you would have paid attention enough to notice! Now _everyone's_ lives are in danger!"

Ross fixed Sonic with a menacing glare. "He wouldn't _dare_ harm me!"

"Do you honestly think he has a _choice_ now?!" Sonic shot back. "He has _no_ control over this! _None_! And you're _lucky_ that he doesn't because you can bet your _ass_ he would've attacked you by now if he could've!"

"He wouldn't dare!" Ross repeated furiously. "And neither would you! You're both _weak_, Sonic! Neither of you has what it takes to be strong!"

Sonic growled menacingly. "Strength is about more than being able or willing to physically harm someone!"

Ross's already deep scowl deepened even further and he went in for a low-blow. "If that were true, then your precious friend _Locke_ would have survived the Cataclysm! He would have been strong enough to make it, but he _wasn't_!"

Sonic's boiling anger suddenly escalated into an oddly calm feeling of cold fury. The air around him shifted threateningly and Ross grew visibly tense. "You don't know anything," he said quietly, finally lowering his voice.

For once, Ross seemed to know when to hold his tongue. ...Mostly. "Hmph. Believe what you want. It doesn't change anything."

Sonic turned away. "Have fun surviving this," he said coolly, "'cause I'm not helping you. You're on your own." With that, Sonic exited the building and vanished into the storm.

**~ソニック~**

Amy fought to control her racing pulse as she and everyone else read the report that Future Amy had pulled up on one of the computers.

_Espio the Chamleon: Location: Known_

_Condition: Uninjured_

_Knuckles the Echidna: Location: Known_

_Condition: Heavily injured_

_Rouge the Bat: Location: Suspected to be known_

_Condition: Injured_

_Miles "Tails" Prower: Location: Suspected to be known_

_Condition: Suspected to be uninjured_

_Kaden the Hedgehog: Location: Known_

_Status: Conscious_

_Condition: Exhausted but uninjured_

Behind her, Amy felt Sonic freeze the moment he read the part about his father. Just as she turned around to look at him, he abruptly spun around on his heel and stalked off. She knew that Sonic felt estranged from his father; she had been aware of that for some time. After all, years had gone by here and, while Kaden had been asleep, Sonic and everyone else here had been forced to deal with the destruction of the world, the establishment of a cruel empire, the deaths of their friends, the constant fighting just to stay alive... Sonic had grown and changed so much, and there was no going back to the way he had once been. Kaden, however, was going to be the same as he had been back then. How was Sonic supposed to handle this since he refused to let anyone get close enough to him emotionally to help him, since he refused to let anyone in? How was he supposed to deal with this at all, especially alone? _...No... not alone, _she realized suddenly as she watched Jet run out of the room after Sonic, calling his name as he went. _Even if Future me, Tails, and Knuckles aren't friends with him anymore, Sonic still has Jet. One friends is better than none. _Sighing, she turned back to look at the screen. _I just hope that things will turn out alright with him and Kaden. Sonic needs something good to happen for once. For once... _

**~ソニック~**

Wave had no idea how she was supposed to stop this. She knew what was happening to Jet, and why, but how was she supposed to stop this, stop _him_?

Without even thinking, earlier, she had abruptly grabbed him and dragged him closer to her, embracing him as tightly as she could. Even now he just stood there, not reacting to her at all. There was a chance that he couldn't. She wasn't even sure if he was aware of her anymore, at this point. It had been close to half an hour since this had begun, making it about twelve-thirty or so in the afternoon. If she couldn't calm him after a full half hour or so of trying, what was she supposed to do? She couldn't let this storm rage on. Already she could see a twister preparing to reach down enough that it could just touch the tops of the tallest building in the area. A quick glance around with her eyes showed that there were three of these twisters forming, and one of them was terribly close to where they were standing. What was she supposed to do? It was incredibly dangerous to stay here, but she refused to leave him. She had to think of _something_.

A sudden flash of lightning illuminated bright orange metal, and she tensed when she saw over Jet's shoulder a large pack of robots that she somehow hadn't noticed before, just standing there, their guns-for-arms all raised, aimed, and ready to fire. One did just that. Whether it was a misfire or a warning shot or something else entirely, Wave had no idea. Either way, the robot fired and the laser struck the ground dangerously close to Jet's foot, burning a hole through several centimeters of concrete. _That_, Jet reacted to, possibly only because that was a threat. He only seemed to respond to what he perceived to be threats while he was like this. So, she realized, it was actually probably a _good_ thing, in a way, that he hadn't been reacting to her. It meant that he trusted her, was alright with being near her, was okay with her touching him. Perhaps that meant that she could still get through to him. She just had to figure out _how_.

Jet pulled away from her, turning away so that his right side was facing her and his left was facing the robots, seemingly either ignoring or unaware of the fact that she was still holding his right arm tightly with both her hands. As he turned his head to look at the robots, another shot was fired. This time the laser went right by his face. He didn't even blink. Expression blank, he lifted his left hand, his fingers bent somewhat, so his palm was aimed at their enemies. A thin, bright blue outline appeared around him. It was exactly like the green outline Silver became surrounded by when using his colors, with the tint of color to the eyes and everything, just blue instead of green. Then, without any warning, white-hot lightning raged through the robots, utterly destroying them in a matter of seconds. But even after they were demolished, that lightning continued to attack them fiercely. It wasn't until there was virtually nothing left of the robots that the blue outline vanished and Jet finally lowered his hand, staring impassively at the heaps of smoking rubble.

Wave's heart was pounding so hard that it was almost painful. This wasn't him. Not really. This was pure, raw, untamed power, _not_ her friend. But he was still _in_ there somewhere. She _knew_ he was. She just needed to find _some _way to wake him up. "Jet," she called softly, moving one hand off his arm to grasp his left shoulder. He didn't turn back to face her like she'd hoped. Instead, his gaze slowly traveled across the empty space of the lot to land on a tall, muscled form a short distance away. Wave quickly followed his gaze and immediately felt herself tense up, feeling her own flash of anger suddenly. It was Ross... He'd come back.

**~ソニック~**

**Not quite as long as some of more other recent chapters, but still super important. I'm posting this at one-thirty(ish) in the morning, an hour later than I had planned. ...Oh, well. :P 6,195 words this time. Posted 07-25-15.**


	121. Calm the Heart

**Hello, John! Your review to Chapter 118: I'm glad you think so! Yeah, I think so, too. :) I have literally _no_ plan. I never did, actually. At least, not regarding the length of the story. :P**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! *Gasp* Oh-noes! D: Well, since we already discussed the rest of your review in a PM I don't have much else to say here. :l Thanks for the review, as always! :D**

**Hello, BlazeWriters69! Your review to Chapter 118: I know, right? I thought so, too. XD**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Lucky. You have a job. I need one, but there are _zero_ opportunities where I live. ...Plus no one around here wants recent high school graduates working for them. -.- Wow, I'm sorry that you're so busy, but hey, at least you have a job! Be grateful, my friend! :D Anyway, yes, yes he does. :) HA! "Poor Ross", nothing! He deserves to get sucked into a tornado or something! ...Although, he seems to have a _slight_ change of heart today... But still. :l I have _seriously_ considered a comic book. However, I have learned that I can _not_ draw Sonic to save my life. *Sigh...* Do you know anyone who can help, by any chance? :D Yeah, I was laughing, too! I figured the Future part of the story needed a bit of a lighter scene, so that's what happened. I'm glad I added. It worked out well. :) Ah, that would be why I didn't know about it, then. One of the few Sonic games that I have never had the pleasure of playing. :(**

**Hello, Shadowstar146! Well, not quite. Not yet. ...He deserves it, though. :( Yes, he is! He isn't really shown here, but he should be soon (unless plans change)! :D He does know. However, he's been known to cover up his concerns and whatnot _very_ well, to the point where even people close to him don't notice. One can reasonably assume that that's what he's been doing since he woke up. :P**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Haha, it really did. XD ...Wow, I hadn't even thought about that until you mentioned it. You're so right! XD Aw, thanks! I'm glad you think so! :D I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Yes, I added it. Even if people had voted "no" on the poll I probably would have added it, anyway. I _love_ the idea too much to ignore it. :D Yeah, that would be awesome for them to add! :DD That's fine, I understand. I went on vacation, too, for five days. XD Aw, thanks! I'm so glad that you've enjoyed! :D Yup, the visions have finally been explained, more or less. I'm so happy you think so! I think these have probably been my favorite to write so far! :D Here you go! I hope you enjoy! XD**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

Knuckles walked slowly back to the control room of the large metal bunker he and the others were staying in. He didn't know how late it was, exactly, but he did know that it was late. He wasn't really tired, though, just troubled, and with good reason. A lot had happened, and was still happening, after all. There were so many things on Knuckles's mind that he didn't even know where to begin.

1.) Years had passed since the battle with Dark Gaia, though he had no idea how many. Still, he suspected that it had been some time. He wasn't sure _how_ long, exactly, but he planned on finding out. If Sonic wouldn't tell him (and Knuckles didn't get why Sonic was being so stubborn about that), then he would ask someone else. Either way, he was going to find out. He was _also_ going to find out why in the hell Sonic refused to tell him. There had to be a reason. Sonic didn't do things without a reason. He certainly didn't withhold important information unless there was a purpose behind doing so.

2.) Vector, Charmy, Big, Silver, Blaze, Vanilla, and countless helpless civilians were dead, and Omega had been dismantled. That was so horrible that Knuckles didn't dare think about it too much. He was _so_ going to kill Ivo for this, _especially_ for the death of Silver. _Sonic already lost Silver once... how dare Ivo take his son away from him again!_

3.) Locke and Analia had returned to the Master Emerald and, if Knuckles understood Sonic's unspoken implications correctly, they might not have done so willingly. But what did that mean, exactly? _Did Ivo have something to do with it? _After a moment's thought, he cast out the idea, denouncing the possibility. _No... he doesn't have that kind of power. Besides, he's listed them as "missing" in his database. He does't know anything about what happened to them. ...So... what in the hell happened, then? _

4.) Kaden had been in a coma all this time but now was suddenly awake and, as of a few hours ago, had vanished. He was now considered missing by the Empire once again. This was a recent development that could and almost certainly _would_ have a big impact on the state of the world. According to Jet, his power had been used (almost certainly against his will and probably without his knowledge) to help Ivo essentially destroy the world and thus take it over. What would Kaden do when he found out about that, if he didn't already know somehow? Knuckles honestly felt incredibly sorry for him.

5.) On a related topic, Sonic seemed torn between a need and desire to find his father and the need to follow Future Amy's orders ans stay put in the bunker (because, as she had said, the world needed him _alive_, and going out alone was stupid and dangerous). Knuckles wished that he knew how to help his friend, but he knew that it wouldn't have mattered if he _did _know. Sonic would almost certainly refuse any help Knuckles or anyone else tried to give.

6.) Espio was uninjured but his location was known. His own future self was heavily injured and _his_ location was known as well. Future Tails and Rouge had quite possibly been found, too, and Rouge was also injured.

7.) According to present-day Amy, The Empire was actively hunting Jet and Wave, and sought to capture at least Jet alive by any means necessary. Ivo considered Jet to be indispensable for whatever reason, and that almost certainly wasn't a good sign. Also, according to Ivo's database, Jet housed enough power in him to wipe out two cities at once. That was _not_ something to be taken lightly. _What the hell does Ivo want with him, and with Wave, for that matter? Why is he hunting them, specifically? _None of it made any sense. Did it have something to do with what Jet had been telling present-day Amy about during their escape from Sonic's home, the ancient technology associated with Babylon Garden and thus the Babylon Rouges? Ivo certainly seemed to think that Jet and Wave being Rouges was important.

8.) The world had become so dangerous that Sonic (and even Jet and Wave) now felt the need to carry a weapon and, for whatever reason, (according to present-day Amy, at least) Ivo was doing everything he could to find out more about Sonic's sword, apparently named Caliburn. Plus, on top of that, Sonic and Jet and the others felt so threatened by Ivo that they felt the need to hide out constantly in various secret bunkers and natural hideaways spread across the land. That wasn't normal for them, nor was it a good sign.

9.) For whatever reason, Sonic refused to let himself express emotions and, seemingly, even feel them in the first place. Knuckles, present-day Amy, and Tails suspected that part of that was for the purpose of making the emeralds dormant, but there was more to it than that. Something else was going on here. Something big.

10.) For whatever reason, Sonic had become isolated from nearly everyone up until a couple years ago, and he seemed to be only distantly allied with the people who had once been his closest friends. What in the hell had _happened_? What could have been so terrible that their once tight-knit group was torn apart and Sonic was cast out and left all alone in the world?

11.) Sonic and Jet were incredibly concerned about what was outside but, by their own telling, it had nothing to do with the robots. That meant that there was an even worse danger outside that Knuckles and the others hadn't seen yet. _But what could be worse than robots that are powerful enough to have wiped out Silver and Blaze when they were fighting all-out together?_

12.) Sonic had a lot of information about many things, a _lot_, perhaps more than anyone else, but he refused to trust anyone with it. He only very reluctantly shared his knowledge with people, even Jet, who seemed to be his only remaining friend (which was in itself troubling). The lack of trust that he displayed spoke volumes about what he'd been through, but Knuckles suspected that lack of trust wasn't the _only_ thing keeping Sonic's mouth shut. _So what else is shutting him up, then? _

13.) Jet and Sonic were being run ragged, and Knuckles had no idea how long it had been since either of them had _really_ rested. To make matters worse, Ivo had somehow tracked down Sonic and Jet, despite their incredible caution, prompting the pair to flee rather than actually fight. That made no sense at all. They were both incredibly powerful, and they were a near unstoppable force when they were together. So _why_ would they not fight? _It doesn't make any sense. __They can fight, so why won't they?_

14.) Somehow, Ivo had learned the location of the Freedom Fighters' main headquarters. _How_ had he found out, though? And what did that mean for the Freedom Fighters themselves?

15.) According to Jet, Shadow was one of the main reasons why Ivo had been able to take over the world. Shadow had been _created_, and by a madman on top of that, seemingly for the purpose of destroying Sonic considering that he was designed to be faster and stronger than Sonic had been at the time. And yet, for some reason, Sonic worked closely with him on many missions. Sonic chose to trust him. But Sonic didn't trust _anyone_. Not really. Not in this time. _So why does he trust Shadow? _

16.) Twice Knuckles had seen Sonic frowning at nothing in particular, seemingly irritated with someone even though no one had been interacting with him either time. The first time had been after his brief conversation with Shadow on his communicator the day they had fled his canyon home. The second had been earlier today, during the random conversation in the control room of this bunker. It had almost been like Sonic was arguing with something, or something like that... but no one had been talking to him. _What in the hell is going on with him? _

17.) According to present-day Amy, everyone's bounties had increased significantly. Locke, Kaden, and Analia even had bounties now, and they were high. To make matters worse, _none_ of the Freedom Fighters seemed to know why their bounties had shot up. They seemed to have an idea, to a point, of why it had happened, but no one seemed to know for sure. Knuckles just had one question he wanted answered: what in the hell had these rebels done _this_ time?

18.) Ivo seemed dead-set on finding Locke, Kaden, and Analia. There was no explanation needed as to why that was troubling, especially considering _who_ those three were and what they were capable of.

19.) Cream was _very_ different from how she used to be. Overly calm (like Sonic), bored all the time, weirdly observant and intelligent, able to see the future, bluntly honest, younger than she should have been considering the fact that _years_ had passed, too quiet (again, just like Sonic), no longer so sweet and innocent, seemingly unaffected by the death of her mother and the mysterious absence of Cheese, strangely mature, more than willing to ignore people (despite how respectful Vanilla had raised her to be), mostly unconcerned by the affairs of others... Something was going on with her. _Something seems to be going on with everyone in this damn place. _

20.) Everyone seemed to think that there was something going on with him and Rouge. That mostly had him ticked off rather than troubled, though. There was _nothing_ going on between them. _Nothing_.

Grumbling softly to himself about "stupid busy-bodies" who "don't know what they're talking about", he walked back into the control room. Future Amy and Wave were the only ones who weren't in there still. They had received a distress call sent to them specifically and had gone to answer it, leaving behind strict orders (seemingly to Sonic and Jet more than anyone else) for everyone else to stay put in the bunker. So, here they were. When Knuckles left the room about an hour ago to take a walk and think, Cream, present-day Amy, and Tails had been the only ones asleep. However, spon re-entering the room, Knuckles was quick to notice that Jet was asleep now, too. Turning to the wall beside the door where Sonic had been camping out all day, he wasn't surprised to find the hedgehog still sitting there, his sword strapped to his back, his arms and legs crossed, and his expression unreadable. However, Knuckles was soon startled to notice that Sonic, like the others, was actually _asleep_. Knuckles blinked, momentarily taken aback in a way, before it suddenly dawned on him that this actually made sense. Sonic, by his own acknowledgement, hadn't slept in some time, after all.

_Knuckles looked from Jet to Sonic. He had just finished questioning the hawk on when he'd last really slept (as in for more than an hour or two in between missions, fights, and so on), to which Jet had replied that he had no idea. Knuckles focused his gaze on Sonic. "And when was the last time __you__ slept?" he asked pointedly._

_Sonic held his gaze evenly. His answer wasn't one Knuckles liked, but at least the hedgehog was being honest instead of lying about being fine or whatever like past Sonic was so fond of doing. Of course, this Sonic just kept quiet when he didn't want someone to know the real answer to a question directed at him, but still. "I don't know." _

It was a good thing that Sonic was sleeping. Still... on the _floor_? The carpet was so thin that it couldn't have been comfortable, hence the reason why everyone else was sleeping in chairs (or, in Cream's case, on that bright orange couch). Knuckles knelt before the sleeping hedgehog and gave his shoulder a small shake with one hand. "Come on, if your going to sleep, at least go lay down. There's another couch."

A frown appeared on Sonic face as he turned his head away from Knuckles so that it was leaning sideways against the wall, facing Cream's couch. He only seemed to be half awake (which just went to show how tired he was, since he was normally so easily awakened) when he responded. "Leave me alone, Knuckles," he muttered so lowly that Knuckles barely heard him.

Shrugging, Knuckles stood again. "Alright. Just don't blame me if you're sore in the morning."

Sonic didn't respond to that. He was probably already asleep again. The frown lingered on his face. Looking away, Knuckles moved to find a place to settle down for the night.

**~ソニック~**

Ross stared with crossed arms at his son, who stared back with such a blank expression that for a moment Ross swore he wasn't looking at the right hawk. Power flowed in and through and around Jet, but his pinkish-purple friend didn't even seem to feel it despite her proximity to him, nor did she seem to fully realize that her hold on his arm, insignificant though it really was, was the only thing preventing Jet from lashing out and attacking right now. She couldn't sense those things... but Ross could. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as one of the three massive tornadoes that had been forming in the sky finally touched down, ripping apart a sky scraper as it did so. The twister was so close that Ross had to fight against the pull of the wind. Jet's friend was fighting it, too. Only Jet was unaffected. Lightning continued to strike structures, obliterating large sections of whatever they hit each time. Thunder continued to make the ground rumble. The rain was falling so hard now that there was almost no visibility. It was impossible _not_ to hear the roar of wind as it raged around them, just as much as it was impossible not to hear the massive amounts of water that were flooding the city. Somehow this lot was the only place that wasn't flooded, the only place where the rain was falling hard but not _that_ hard, the only place where the tornadoes seemed unable to come to, and the only place where those deadly lightning strikes weren't occurring. That was probably Jet's doing. He was undoubtedly, however unconsciously, trying to protect his friend. As pathetic as Jet'd friends were, Ross had to acknowledge the fact that this was actually a good sign. Jet wasn't _completely_ gone if he was still trying to protect that girl. He hadn't lost himself entirely to this surge of power. That meant that this could still be stopped. Still, Ross's frown deepened. _To think that he inherited one of Queen Laralei's most legendary powers... _

"What are you doing here, Ross?!" Jet's friend demanded furiously over the roar of the wind.

Ross's gaze flicked to her. After only a moment, he looked away again, returning his focus to his son's face. "This storm isn't an accident," he muttered.

"You think I don't know that?!" she snapped.

He didn't reply to that. Instead he said simply, "It can be stopped, but not easily."

Despite how much she obviously hated Ross, she seemed to know when to listen to what he was saying. That fact alone made her more intelligent than Jet in Ross's eyes. Jet had never listened to him. Not really. _And the brat wonders why he gets smacked around..._

"How?" she demanded.

Ross looked to her again. "You're a close friend of his." It wasn't a question, merely a statement, an assessment. "You're closer with him than the others. That makes _you_ the key."

At this, her tone turned desperate. "But what am _I_ supposed to do? Nothing I've tried to do is working!"

She really couldn't see it, then. Perhaps she wasn't as intelligent as he'd just given her credit for, after all. If she was, he wouldn't be forced to spell it out for her. "Whatever you've been doing, it's already working."

Now she looked utterly confused. "What?"

He scowled at his son's blank face. Jet hadn't moved at all since he had noticed Ross not long ago. Ross was certain that if Wave let Jet go the younger hawk would lash out. "If I had returned here earlier, he would have attacked me without reservation. He might have even killed me without a second thought. You've calmed him down enough that he's able to hold himself back more than before. He's holding himself back right now. He's doing that because _you're _stopping him. Without you, he has no control."

"But the storm's not stopping!" she pointed out desperately. "If what you're saying's true, then why is this still happening?"

"The storm won't stop until he comes back to himself entirely," Ross said. "He's still not awake yet. Not in the way he needs to be. Once he wakes back up, he'll be able to bring the weather back under control and stop the storm."

"But there might not be a city _left_ by the time that happens!" she protested. "What I've been doing may be helping, but it isn't enough!"

"It will be." And, with that last statement, Ross turned and walked away. Her actions would have to be enough. _Because if Jet's anywhere near as powerful as his grandmother once was, he can do far worse things than just level a city. _

**~ソニック~**

Sonic was standing in his usual place (leaning against the wall by the door) with his arms crossed when Wave and Future Amy returned. However, _they_ weren't who held his, and everyone else's, attention. As he watched, Wave set a small, purple, furry body down on the floor. Feline ears were pricked with obvious curiosity. Wide, innocent amber eyes looked up at him; a child's face. "Sonic, I need a favor from you," Future Amy sighed. "You have the most experience with kids out of anyone here, and Wave and I have to go back out soon anyway, so I need you to watch her." There was no further explanation. Neither woman gave him a chance to respond (not that he planned to, anyway) before they turned away and walked over to one of the computers to do who-knew-what.

Sonic, his gaze still locked on the small girl-child sitting before him, watched as those wide amber eyes blinked and a small thumb went into a mouth sporting two tiny but no less sharp fangs. That gaze betrayed absolute trust in spite of the fact that he and this extraordinarily young girl had only just met. Ignoring the stares he was receiving, Sonic watched silently as the young girl removed her thumb from her mouth and used her hands on the floor to push herself off the floor. She toddled slowly toward him and, without any warning, latched onto his right leg with an entirely innocent and happy smile aimed up at his face. Sonic leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes as he did so, and sighed softly. He didn't want to be doing this. He wanted nothing to do with this girl. It was nothing personal against _her_, but even still. Taking care of Cream was one thing, but all these other kids...? No, he wanted nothing to do with them. It was too hard, too much of a reminder. And yet, despite his well-known reservations regarding caring for the random kids Wave and Amy constantly rescued, this was by no means the first time he'd had a child dumped on him like this. It was almost always Amy's doing, too. How did he always get stuck in positions like this...?

Present-day Amy, who had, along with everyone else, been watching Sonic this whole time, turned her attention to the communicator she had been borrowing from Knuckles since the night before... only to realize that it was gone. She looked around for a minute or two before finally spotting it. "Jet, what-? When did you-?"

"Master thief, remember?" he replied nonchalantly, never looking up from the small screen in his hands as he lounged in the same chair that he'd been in the day before.

The fact that he'd just called himself a thief surprised her. Hadn't he been reluctant to do that before? "But it was strapped to my wrist and everything!" she exclaimed in surprised confusion. She was so confused right now. _How did he manage to get it off of my wrist without me or anyone else even noticing? _

"So?" was the distracted reply.

She huffed and stood up, walking over to him. "What are you even _doing_?"

"Since Wave and the other you are hogging the only decent computer in this place, I figured I'd use this to check up on some things."

"Why don't you just use your _own_ communicator?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I haven't had my communicator this entire time. It got destroyed a while ago by some damn robot."

Amy leaned on the arm of the chair. "What are you checking on?" He tilted the screen enough that she could see. _Oh... he was looking to see if anyone was... S_he swallowed hard. _...terminated. _Thankfully, no new names had been added to that list. It was a small detail, but one that was more than worth being happy about.

Cream, who was laying on her stomach on the orange couch in the same manner as she had been the day before, suddenly spoke up. "No one's going to die for a while, Jet."

Everyone's eyes were immediately on her. Jet responded quickly while everyone else remained silent. "You're sure?"

She nodded once, not looking up from her stuffed toy. "Yes." Jet seemed to take the young bunny at her word, as did Sonic and the other Fighters, but past Amy, Tails, and Knuckles were a bit more hesitant to accept this.

Another moment of silence. Then, Tails spoke. "Well, that's one thing to be grateful for, I guess."

"She said no one would for a _while_," Knuckles replied tensely. "That doesn't mean that we're all safe. And who knows how long 'a while' is, anyway?"

Once again, all eyes turned to Cream. However, she gave no response to that somewhat rhetorical question. They were all soon distracted by the other Amy, anyway. "Hey, guys, come look at this. Wave and I found a file you should see." Present-day Amy had no idea if her future counterpart was just talking to the Fighters or to everyone, but the present-day group moved to look as well. Sonic was the only one who didn't try to get closer to see. With his eyesight, he could probably see it from where he was, anyway. Swallowing hard, present-day Amy began to read.

UPDATE ON WANTED PERSONS:

_Espio the Chameleon: __Location remains known, but he has so far avoided capture. Remains uninjured. Has nearly managed to escape the Ferltar District, in which The Empire's robots have had him trapped in. Is alone and minimally armed but is in full health and as such remains a threat._

_Knuckles the Echidna: Location no longer known. Unknown how he escaped detection. Last seen near the Freedom Fighters' headquarters. Heavily injured. Suspected to still be alone. Unarmed. Still considered a threat in spite of his poor condition._

So Future Knuckles had escaped detection. That was very good news. However, he was heavily injured, probably alone, and was unarmed. Amy feared for his life.

_Miles "Tails" Prower: Location no longer known. Last seen in the abandoned mountain village of Melan. Escaped in a small ship. Armed and uninjured. Is more of a threat than usual due to his ship._

Well, at least Future Tails was doing alright. _He's usually fine in the air. He'll be alright. ...I hope._

_Rouge the Bat: Location remains known. Remains trapped in the city of Laos. __Injured, but not severely. __Is currently battling The Empire's robots. Currently considered a minimal threat._

Ivo seemed pretty confident that Rouge would end up captured, if him calling her a minimal threat right now was any indication. Amy felt a sharp stab of fear. _Cream said no one would die for a while... she never said that no one would get captured. _

_Kaden the Hedgehog: Was intercepted and nearly captured near the Therian District early this morning. Location no longer known. __Unknown how he escaped detection. __Remains exhausted but uninjured. A large threat._

Amy frowned slightly. _The Therian District? Isn't that near where Sonic's home was?_

_Locke the Echidna: Location remains unknown. Details about his disappearance remain nonexistent._

So Ivo had no idea what had become of Locke and thus, probably Analia. _Good._ That was one less thing for everyone to worry about.

_Shadow the Hedgehog: Location remains unknown. Escaped detection by escaping under the cover of multiple explosions caused by destroying robots. __Last seen in the city of Cantero. __Armed and minimally injured. A large threat._

_Amy Rose: Location remains unknown. __Unknown how she escaped detection. __Last seen in the city of Trestur more than a month ago.__ Known __to be armed and uninjured. Remains a threat._

_Wave the Swallow: __Location remains unknown. __Unknown how she escaped detection. __Last seen in the forests near what was once Empire City more than three months ago. Suspected to be armed and uninjured. Remains a threat._

_Analia the Hedgehog:_ _Location remains unknown. __Details about her disappearance remain nonexistent._

_Crea__m the Bunny:_ _Location remains unknown. __Escaped detection through Amy's aid. __Last seen in the city of Haltru directly following her mother's death approximately three months ago. Suspected to be uninjured and unarmed. Remains a threat._

_Jet the Hawk: __Location remains unknown. __Unknown how he escaped detection. __Last seen fleeing Sonic's home with Sonic and other Freedom Fighters near the Therian District. Known to be armed and minimally injured, although exhausted. Remains a large threat._

Amy frowned again. _Ivo thinks that Tails, Knuckles, and I joined the Freedom Fighters? _Truthfully, they may as well have, but even still...

_Sonic the Hedgehog: __Location remains unknown. __Last seen fleeing his home near the Therian District with Jet and other Freedom Fighters. __Unknown how he escaped detection. Known to be armed and suspected to be minimally injured, although exhausted. Remains a large threat._

Sonic didn't really have much of a chance to think about anything he'd just read before he suddenly sensed great danger. He barely had a chance to snatch up the small child that had been clinging to him and leap backward into the hallway before an energy beam of some kind suddenly blasted through the roof and hit the spot where he'd been standing, making both the ceiling and ground explode forcefully. _Dammit... How did they find us...? _Leaping backward again to avoid the sudden burst of fire accompanying the explosion, Sonic prepared for battle... only to tense when he heard a deep, unnatural roar. _Shit__. _Gritting his teeth, Sonic searched for an opening in the flames so that he could get to the others, but there were none. He couldn't risk braving the fire with a child in his arms, nor could he simply abandon her... There was only one thing left to do, then. Turning away from the flames, he took to his heels and ran.

**~ソニック~**

Locke watched tensely as the storm he had been seeing from Amy's house's roof slowly, ever-so-slowly, died down. The storm had become so large and severe that, according to someone on the news on the radio inside, it had encompassed two entire cities and all-but destroyed both of them. The number of casualties remained unknown at this point, but Locke was sure that the number would be high. He's seen a monster storm like this once before, way back when he, Kaden, and Analia had been fighting that war on South Island. Laralei had been the owner of those extraordinary powers, and she had wiped out an army comprised of thousands of warriors in a matter of minutes. The storm Locke had just been observing was no natural occurrence. That was the power of a Babylon Rouge, of Laralei's true heir, specifically. But Jet, Locke knew, was _not_ like his grandmother. The fact that Sonic treated Jet like a friend was proof of this. _So what brought this storm on, then? And for that matter, what in the hell stopped it? _Not daring to take his eyes off of the sky, Locke could only wait until Sonic and the others returned to get the answers he sought.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic bolted out the front door of the bunker, the only door leading outside, with multiple robots hot on his heels. He _hated_ that he was running so slow, but there was nothing he could do about it, nothing anyone could do about it, and it had nothing to do with the child he was carrying. He was just so tired... But it wasn't like it was ever safe enough for him to sleep, normally. Nothing could be done about that. Until Ivo was defeated and The Empire was destroyed, the world would never be safe enough. Until that day, if it ever came, he would just have to deal with his exhaustion. There was nothing else he could do.

The child was oddly silent, he noticed. Most children, especially ones as young as her, would have been crying. A lot. She was silent. It didn't make any sense, but then, it wasn't like he really had time to think about that. Finally managing to shift the uncooperative girl to his left arm, Sonic snatched his sword's hilt and skidded to a sideways halt in the dirt, stopping so forcefully that the action was actually clearly audible. The _moment_ the robots were withing range, he unsheathed his blade and swung powerfully, slicing clean through the first one. A second swing served to dispatch the second robot, but then Sonic was forced to jump backward to avoid a blast from a gun attached to the third.

Steeling himself to the pain he knew he was about to experience, Sonic ducked low and spun around, kicking the robot with his right leg with enough force that the metal tore like wet paper. Sure enough, a sharp stab of pain that had nothing to do with the metal shot up his leg and Sonic winced, his teeth bared slightly and his ears slightly lowered, before forcing himself to move. He had to ignore the pain. He was in a fight. There was no time to allow himself to get caught up in the pain of old injuries. Swinging his sword again, Sonic slashed through the fourth robot with ease. The sound of steel cutting air reached his ears and he whirled around, his sword immediately coming into forceful contact with another one with a loud _clang_. The blades clashed so forcefully that sparks occasionally flew from the point of contact, the spot where the blades were actually touching. Finally, Sonic lunged forward, his blade still pressed against the robot's, lashing out with as much force as he could muster given his exhaustion. Somehow, it was enough. The robot's blade snapped and Sonic finally managed to slice through the robot itself.

With the robots finally taken care of, Sonic turned his attention to the monster that had blasted a hole into the bunker, thus allowing Ivo's robots to enter in the first place. It wasn't natural; Ivo had created it, and many others just like it, through unknown means. People had no real name for the beasts. They were just large, shiny black creatures that vaguely resembled Dark Gaia's monsters. The man had probably used data of Dark Gaia's creatures to make these beasts. It was, unfortunately, a rather large possibility.

These creatures were the real threat of the outside world. Of course the robots were a massive threat (how could they _not_ be?), but these creatures were worse. _Far_ worse. They were worse beyond words. His grip tightened on Caliburn's hilt when the beast looked up at him and then crouched, ready to pounce and attack him. Then, as if things couldn't get any worse, a second creature stalked up behind him, making its presence known with heavy, growling breaths that made him tense against his will. Turning halfway so that there was one beast prowling toward him on either side and he could see them out of the corners of his eyes, he prepared to fight for his life.

**~ソニック~**

As the storm finally, _finally_ died down, Jet went limp in Wave's arms, his legs giving out from underneath him and his eyes falling shut. Because he was heavier than her, she was forced to drop to her knees when he fell, if only because she refused to let him go. She shifted him enough that she could see his face from where his head was resting against her shoulder. His expression was no longer blank, thankfully, but there was a frown on his face that shouldn't have been there, and he seemed a bit out of breath. Concern redoubled, she placed her hand on his forehead for the first time since that morning. She had suspected since the night that Sonic had woken up after the battle with Dark Gaia that Jet had had a fever, but she hadn't actually confirmed it until today. And now his fever had been heightened by Jet exerting himself so much and using so much power (however unintentional that had been on his part). His use of so much power was also the reason why he had lost consciousness, she was sure. The fever had probably helped, though. She had a feeling that she knew why he had a fever, too. He'd spiked a fever like out of nowhere like this once before. However, that was something to worry about later. Right now, she had to figure out how to get him out of here. It wasn't like she could take him on her board like this, after all, and certainly not him _and_ his board.

It was right about then that she suddenly realized that she had _no_ idea what had happened to Sonic and Storm. She couldn't have cared _less_ about what had happened to Ross (even if he _did_, for whatever reason, help Wave figure out how to stop Jet and thus the storm), but she was very concerned for her teammates, both former and current. _What happened to them? _Gently laying Jet down on his side on the soaked pavement, she quickly ran over to where hers and Jet's now massively wrecked boards were laying amongst the rubble of a section of building that had collapsed. With a great deal of effort, she somehow lifted a large chunk of cement off of her board and pushed it aside, thus freeing her Gear. She then quickly bent down and picked the board up, along with Jet's, and hurried back to Jet's side, dropping the boards near him. Resting a hand gently on the side of his face, she lifted her communicator to her face and immediately tried calling Sonic. She had never been happier about the existence of waterproof technology than she was right now. Except... Sonic wasn't answering. The only response she was getting was never-ending static. _His communicator's broken? _With no other option left, she hung up and called Storm. When he finally answered she demanded, "Where are you? Are you alright?"

_"Yeah, I'm fine. I got carried to the edge of the city by some freak winds, but I'm fine. How's the Boss?" _

"He's alright," she sighed, more relieved about Storm's safety than she would ever admit. "He's unconscious now and he has a fever, but he's okay."

_"Wait, a fever? Since wh-" _

"I'll tell you about it later," she cut in quickly. "Do you know where Sonic is? I can't reach him. I think his communicator might be broken."

_"I don't know about that, but I saw him in a fight with some robots a while ago. One of them knocked him off a building. I think he might've gotten carried away by the flood." _

Wave had to force herself to breathe as her fear for Sonic's safety grew. That flood had been severe enough that it had been tearing down buildings. And besides that... _Sonic's afraid of water. _He was _especially_ afraid of large bodies of it, she knew, and when those large bodies of water were so fast-moving and powerful, his normally manageable fear grew into something bordering on terror. She had seen the proof of that back when they'd still been kids. He'd completely frozen in fear, something that normally _never_ happened, and Storm and Jet had had to rush in and save him. What if Sonic had frozen like that again, only this time _in_ the water, thus rendering himself unable to swim? _No,_ she told herself firmly, _I can't think like that. _"Storm, you have to see if you can find him. He could be in trouble."

_"Yeah, I know. I've seen how he is with water." _His next sentence surprised the hell out of her, to say the least. _"I'm already looking for him." _

She blinked in surprise but, in the end, decided that she didn't have the time to comment on that. "Okay. Let me know when you find him. I'm going to try and get Jet home somehow. ...Well, to Amy's home, that is."

_"Right."_

Without another word, they hung up.

**~ソニック~**

Jet pushed himself up on his hands and knees, a large, heavy piece of metal on his back. It shifted and ground against the floor, tearing up the carpet and screeching harshly on the metal paneling underneath. Raising his hands on either side of his head, he braced his palms on the metal and moved so that he could place one foot on the ground, still resting on the other knee. Teeth gritted in effort, he slowly stood about halfway, pushing the metal up with him and freeing a few of the other people who had been trapped underneath it. Coughing due to the smoke from the fires raging throughout the room, past Amy quickly crawled free, Cream's hand grasped firmly in her own. Tails crawled out after them and Knuckles, now no longer sheltering the three of them, was able to help Jet lift the metal more completely so that Wave and the other Amy could also crawl free. Once everyone was out, the two males allowed the metal to drop, sending the nearby flames into a frenzy due to the rush of air caused by that action. Jet coughed uncontrollably for a moment when a blast of smoke hit him-full force in the face. The flames were closing in. Knuckles was the only one among them who could get through the fire unharmed, but it was clear that he refused to leave the group behind. Jet coughed again, raising a fist in front of his mouth to cover it up. "Everybody out of the way!" he ordered hoarsely. They obeyed without question and Jet, coughing again into his left fist, thrust his other palm forward, releasing a controlled blast of air that eliminated the flames in the doorway long enough for them to escape the room.

The entire bunker was on fire now, and there was only one exit. The group made a run for it, fighting off robots all the way. Jet coughed again as he looked around after having sent a robot careening into the flames with a well-aimed kick. _Where in the hell is Sonic? _They could only hope that he had escaped the initial explosion and was already outside. There was no time to look for him. There were robots everywhere, and sections of the bunker were already starting to collapse due to the fire. As they neared the front door, Jet took the lead so that he could once more blast a pathway through the flames. Still running, he spun and waved his arm, releasing a blast of air more forceful than the last. He hoped it would be enough. He was so tired that he couldn't manage much more strength than that. Thankfully, it worked. Once there was a path, he urged everyone with a quick gesture of his hand to go on ahead. He needed to stay inside in case the fires started to close in on them again. The two Amys ran out together, following close behind Tails and Wave, with past Amy still clutching Cream's hand in her own. Jet coughed again against his will as Knuckles ran out after the others. Fighting to breathe in spite of the smoke, Jet raced after him, only for his way to be abruptly blocked when a section of the ceiling that was engulfed in flames caved in, sealing off the exit. But, barely a second later, a hole was punched through it.

It was Knuckles. "_Come on_!"

Without wasting a second, Jet did as he was told, only too eager to escape the heat and the smoke. Outside, he immediately noticed the destroyed robots laying around, and he felt a wave of relief. If these robots were destroyed, then that meant that Sonic was out here. After all, this group had only _just_ escaped the burning bunker. Not really giving himself the chance to catch his breath, Jet quickly ran to the place where he and Wave had stashed their boards: a secret compartment under a boulder near the door. Pressing against it with what strength he had left, he somehow managed to shove the oversized rock aside. Once he could get to them, he grabbed the boards and headed back to the others, handing Wave her board once he was close enough. Wave immediately climbed on her board, extending a hand to Future Amy. "Come on, you're hurt. You can't fight. I'll take you and Cream someplace safe." Future Amy nodded her agreement, despite how reluctant she obviously was. Still, her arms were badly injured. She needed her arms to wield her hammer and, thus, to fight. She was no good here, and she knew it. She climbed onto Wave's board behind the bird and Wave looked to Jet. "I'll take them to the bunker near Trest. I shouldn't be gone too long."

He nodded once. "Right."

Future Amy looked around the group, giving them a once over. Her tone holding nothing but leadership and command in it, she spoke. "Tails, you and Amy are hurt, too." It was weird hearing her talk about past Amy like she was a different person. "I want you to stay out of whatever fights the others might get into before Wave gets back. I'm putting Sonic in charge for now. He'll tell you when you two can fight again. I want _everyone_ to listen to him. Do _not_ argue with him. He's the real leader of the Fighters, anyway, so I want you all to follow whatever orders he gives. Is that clear?" Nothing but serious nods answered her. With a crisp nod of her own, she carefully moved her injured arms to hold onto Wave. Cream stepped up behind Amy, holding onto the hedgehog's dress loosely. She couldn't fly fast enough to keep up with Wave's board. "Let's go," Future Amy murmured.

"Hang on," Wave replied. They shot into the sky and were soon out of sight.

Jet looked away, gazing around the dirt-filled clearing. _Where the hell is Sonic? _No sooner than that thought entered his mind a terrible, unnatural roar echoed up to the group from some point a couple of miles away. _Oh no... Not those__ things again...! _Jumping onto his board, Jet took off toward the source of the sound, not bothering to say anything to the others. There was no time to explain. If they knew what was good for them they'd stay here and wait, but he doubted that they would. Either way, Jet wasn't waiting for them. _Those things fight in packs... Even Sonic can't take on those things by himself when he's tired, especially not with a kid clinging to him. _Gritting his teeth, Jet poured on the speed as much as he could and raced forward to help his friend.

**~ソニック~**

**FUTURE SONIC HAS OFFICIALLY JOINED THE PLAYLIST! He has his own theme song now! Want to hear it? It's "The Light Behind Your Eyes" by My Chemical Romance. I just feel like it fits him so perfectly... :) Anyway, this chapter was posted around one in the morning. 7,649 words this time. Posted 07-26-15.**


	122. Raiga

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Haha, yeah, he kinda was, huh? XD Yup, there really is a lot going on. I apologize to your poor mind. ^-^" I will, I promise! :D**

**Hello, Lukewinter! I don't know if you'll _ever_ see this, but whatever. Your review to Chapter 2: ...What the hell are you talking about...? Clearly I know English if I'm writing a story is said language... -.-**

**Hello Sonic and Raven fan! Your first review to Chapter 121: Yeah, I think it's beautiful, too. It just fits so perfectly... Well, you'll get the answers to those questions eventually. :P AND I AGREE. IVO MUST PAY. And through many things that I've been hinting at for a while. Things involving Shadow, Kaden, Ross, and so on. You'll get some more details this time. :)**

**Your second review to Chapter 121: Yeah, he really was, huh? That was my bad. Whoops. ^-^" Well, he's not really unconcerned, he just knows how to block out his fears when its really necessary. And, to top it off, when he's angry like he was before, his fear probably becomes the last thing on his mind. :P Haha, they probably would! XD Not like either of them would ever call each other friends aloud, anyway, I'm sure. :P Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed!**

**Your third review to Chapter 121: Yeah, it's really a sad song, huh? And like I said, it fits so perfectly... :( *Cries with you***

**Your fourth review to Chapter 121: Thanks for the opinion! I went back and listened to it again, and I finally decided who to give it to (see the end of the chapter to see who). Thanks again! I probably wouldn't have come to a decision without you! :)**

**Hello, Anonymous! Before I get to the actual reply, I have to say this: for some reason, FF won't show the reviews I've gotten today, so I have to look at the emails. However, the email only shows so much before it cuts it off and tells me to go to the actual site to see the rest. As such, I can only reply to part of your review due to its length. Sorry. :( Anyway, I'm glad you've enjoyed. Ah, I'm happy to know that you like Jet and the Rogues! I personally love Jet. He's awesome, and in the games, he's proven to be more of a complex character than I think people generally give him credit for. :) I've considered adding the wisps, but I haven't decided yet. I might not even do a Lost World or Colors adaption. I haven't decided yet. :P Haha, that scene with pink Knuckles and the one with Wave spilling secrets made me laugh, too! XD Nah, my fingers won't get tired. I'm way too excited to write those other stories for me to _let_ them! XD With the comic thing, I'm running into the same problem. I feel your pain. :(**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yay! I'm glad! :D Yes, there is. IKR?! SERIOUSLY, WTF IVO?! Well, guess you'll find out, huh? :d Yeah, finally, huh? Well, he isn't missing for long, thankfully. :) Well, here it is! I hope you enjoy! :D Yes, I am a member of both (just with different usernames). I checked her out. She's awesome! I'm just not sure that she'd be willing to help me... :( Thanks for pointing her out to me, though! :D**

**Hello, xXJoeyUchihaXx! Haha, sorry about that. ^-^" Well, I'm glad you think so! I'm so super happy that you like the Future Arc! :D Yeah, it's definitely creepy. However, with his legions of robots, it makes sense. HE HAS EYES EVERYWHERE. O_O I'm glad you do! Ooh! Yeah! Let's go! I'll race you! *Runs off without waiting for you* XD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm so happy you think so! :D ...When? When he was yelling at Ross? Yeah, it did kinda seem that way, huh? ^-^" Wait, why would _Silver_ slug Ross? (Although it would be hilarious if he did)! XD I think that idea is super cool! :D I talked it over with a friend of mine, too. Your idea had been Meadow of Starlight approved. XD I will do my best, Pyro-kun! (By the way, your art for Kaden has inspired another artist! Congrats! :D)**

**Hello, John! I'm glad you enjoyed! :) Haha, yeah. The Dark Gaia Arc had a slower pace. However, there _was_ a point to that, what with all the reunions and all. :P Anyway, I'm glad that you like the development, too. That means a lot. Yes, he should be showing up soon. He'll also be playing a very important role in the next arc. You can expect lots of him then, especially. :)**

**Hello, Shadostar146! Yes, he does. Locke probably told him, to be honest. Hey, it's fine! :D Yup... for now. 'Course, we all knew from the start that he survives, 'cause he lives long enough to tell Ivo about Babylon Garden sometime before the future Amy and the others are in. Nah, it's not evil of you. I think it's hilarious! XD Thanks! I'm so happy you enjoyed! :D _Aw_... You called it "awesome"... ^-^ Anyway, here's the official description from Chapter 92: "Before her knelt a beautiful blue hedgehog with bright green eyes that shone with kindness and a smile that was as soft as the voice she'd just heard. On her wrists were a single gold ring each, and her outfit was a simple, yet utterly beautiful thing that looked like something out of a history book, as did her shoes. Around her chest was a band of thin white plain cloth with short ruffled sleeves attached to it. Her skirt went to about her knees and was of the same color, and it too was ruffled in design. Her elegant sandals were white as well." Her sandals, I would imagine are probably open-toed (though they don't have to be) with thin straps wrapping elegantly up her ankles. :) If you ever make a picture, let me know! I'd love to see it! :D**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

**Alternately titled: "Your Mission"**

**~ソニック~**

Not wasting a moment, Jet raced to where Sonic was battling, stiffening when he saw that Sonic was facing off against more than ten of those unnatural beasts by himself. And, with a child in his arms, there wasn't much Sonic could do in the way of defending himself. The moment he was close enough, Jet shouted at him, "Sonic, move!" Sonic's gaze flashed his way for only split second before he jumped high into the air, removing the only obstacle preventing Jet from attacking. Barely a moment later, a small twister of sorts surged through the crowd of beasts, sending every one of them flying. There was no way that any of them had been killed or even remotely injured by that minor attack, but Jet hoped that they would at least stay down long enough to give him and the others a moment, particularly to figure out what to do with the child Sonic was still carrying. _Honestly, of all the times Wave and Amy could have dumped a kid on him, they choose today... Great choice, guys. _

Sonic landed lightly on the ground and, leaping backward close to ten feet a couple times, he came to a halt at the top of a small cliff a ways away from what had become the battlefield, sword still in hand. Jet pulled up beside him at about the same time that Tails landed behind Sonic. Knuckles soon followed, carrying Amy with him. Soon they too where standing on that small dirt cliff. Sonic tore his gaze away from their enemies long enough to turn around and look Amy and the others over. A minute frown appeared on his face when he noticed the layer of soot covering everyone, as well as the injuries that Amy and Tails were sporting. Tails had managed to sustain the worst injuries, but they weren't really bad. Just bad enough that him fighting was a bad idea right now. "There was a fire," Amy murmured, though Jet was sure that Sonic had already known about that. "It spread really quickly. We were trapped under this large piece of metal, too..."

Sonic nodded once, meeting Amy's gaze fully as he said, "Take her."

Despite the vagueness of his statement, Amy clearly understood. With gentle hands, she took the small cat-child into her arms. The child tried to cling to Sonic, but she was pried away. Her expression was distressed, maybe even highly so, but she didn't cry. It was weird, in Jet's opinion. Weren't little kids obnoxiously loud all the time? _What's wrong with this girl? _There was something odd about her

"What the hell _are_ those things?" Knuckles demanded suddenly, looking pointedly at the dazed creatures that Jet had blasted.

"Creatures that Ivo made," Jet replied quickly. "Probably designed using data on Dark Gaia's creatures. Way worse than robots." He looked to Sonic. "We need to get rid of them, fast. You up for it?"

Sonic gave him a calm look that somehow managed to seem vaguely challenging. "Are _you_?"

Jet snorted. "Don't have much of a choice but to be, do I?"

Sonic shrugged and turned to walk away, and Jet moved higher into the air on his board, ready to resume the fight. The creatures were getting back up now. They hadn't been dazed for very long, not that he'd really expected them to be. They really damn powerful. As he watched, Sonic abruptly stopped walking and yanked his communicator off his wrist. Then, turning back, he walked up to Amy and placed it into her hand. "Take this," he murmured, closing her fingers gently around the device using his own hand.

"Sonic, why...?" she murmured back, her eyes wide.

He looked away. His response was so quiet that it was hard to hear. "Just in case."

Without another word, he turned and ran to the edge of the cliff, jumping off and racing off to resume the fight. Jet took off after him without a moment's hesitation. Knuckles moved to stand closer to Amy and Tails, clearly intent on protecting them should the need arise. Amy looked down at the communicator in her hand, shocked to see immense amounts of data and files and knowledge buried within, showing in countless folders and links onscreen. Sonic hadn't given her this for nothing. This data wasn't insignificant. Sonic gathered years and years worth of knowledge on this single device, knowledge that they needed but that Ivo _couldn't_ get ahold of, and he had given it to her just in case the worst possible outcome of this battle should occur. Sonic had entrusted her with the future.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic finally managed to break the surface of the water, gasping for breath when he did so. He didn't know how long he'd been underwater, but it had been long enough that he had legitimately come close to drowning. Coughing and shaking water off his head so that he could see, he blinked his eyes open in time to see a familiar figure headed his way. A large grey arm reached down, hand extended and, not hesitating a second, Sonic took the hand and allowed himself to be pulled free of the water and onto the back of a board. He coughed again against his will. "Thanks, Storm."

"Yeah, whatever," was the irritable reply.

Sonic ignored the attitude in favor of looking around. He'd somehow ended up getting dragged out all the way into the ocean. It made some sense. The city he'd been in had only been a couple miles inland from the sea. He stiffened. _The city. _"What happened to Jet?" he demanded quickly. "Is he alright?"

"Yeah, Wave said he's fine,' Storm replied, already steering them back to Apatos. "She said something about a fever, though."

Sonic frowned. _Jet mentioned having a headache... could that be why? _"Did she take him back to Amy's house?"

"She said she was gonna try. Guess we'll find out once we get there."

"Right." With nothing left to say, Sonic fell silent. It was in quiet moments like these that his concern over Amy and the others pushed its way to the front of his mind. When he was kept busy, he was able to not worry as much, but there was no getting rid of the feelings entirely. He sighed internally. _I hope they're okay..._ Because if they weren't, if something bad had happened to them, he'd never be able to forgive himself.

**~ソニック~**

Kaden skidded sideways, ducking under a low metal structure that seemed to have been mostly destroyed by some sort of massive collision more than a few years ago. It seemed like it had been a house once, but now most of it, save for this small section, was buried in hot yellow sand. Panting, he pressed himself back against a wall of sorts that was made almost painfully hot due to the intense heat of the desert surrounding him. The afternoon sun beat down unforgivingly, causing the heat to make visible waves in the air. It was shady here, thankfully, but it was still so hot... But, then again, this _was_ a desert. He'd been trapped in this area for hours, unable to truly escape the legions of robots that had been hunting him since he'd woken up. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, still struggling to catch his breath. He was so tired... but he knew he'd have to run again soon. He could barely fight like this. Running was his only choice.

Where was he, really? Besides knowing that he was in a desert, he really had no idea. He'd woken up in some sort of metal bunker on a heavily forested mountain. The bunker had been comprised of only two rooms, the one he'd been in and some room filled with computers and machines. None of the computers had been in working condition, nor had any of the other machines. The place had been in such a state of disrepair that even the lights had stopped working some time ago. The only exit had been blocked on the outside by some sort of a cave-in that seemed to have occurred years ago. The rocks had been large and heavy enough that he'd been forced to draw on what little power he'd had left to _blast_ his way out of the bunker. Since then he'd been on the run almost non-stop. What _was_ this place? How long had he been unconscious? What had happened to Dark Gaia and everyone else? Why had he been alone in that bunker? What the caused that cave-in? Why was he being hunted so doggedly by these robots? He had so many questions and no way to answer them. He didn't have time to try, anyway.

There was suddenly an explosion and he quickly turned his head to the side and threw his arms up to protect his face from the debris. Leaping to his feet, he dodged under a spat of gunfire and began his flight across the desert anew. There was nothing else he could do.

**~ソニック~**

It was late now. Sonic and the Riders had been home for some time by now. Jet was still unconscious, but that was fine for now. He needed the rest. Wave and Storm were almost constantly in his room watching over him. Storm was also constantly on the lookout for Ross, but Sonic honestly doubted the older hawk would show up. Besides the fact that it was nearly impossible that Ross even knew that Jet was here, Sonic was almost certain that Ross had learned his lesson, in a way. Jet very well could have killed his father today, and near-death experiences always had an effect on people, even if that effect was only temporary. Sonic doubted that Jet would have to face his father again anytime soon. _Never_ again would have better, but what were the odds of that happening, really?

Shaking his head a bit, Sonic returned his attention to attempting to fix his communicator. Locke had questioned him earlier about what in the hell had happened, but after Sonic had promised to tell him later, he had let the matter drop. Since then, he'd been in "his" room, sitting at the desk, just trying to fix his communicator. He moved his small screwdriver slightly and almost immediately started a bit when his communicator screen suddenly lit up. He stared at the screen in confusion. His communicator was nowhere near fixed yet. How was it on? _What...?_

Suddenly, the blank white screen faded into a dark blue screen with a single, thin line stretching horizontally across the screen. Then there was a noise, seemingly coming from the other end of a call, and sections of the line spiked with the sound like a heart monitor, only to fall flat when the sound ended. Then, a voice. _"This message is prerecorded," _said a voice that sounded vaguely familiar but was different enough that he didn't recognize it. That was quite possibly due to the damage that his poor communicator had suffered today. The voice sighed. _"Sonic, this is Amy." _

Sonic stiffened. _Amy? _

_"I'm not the Amy you're thinking of, though. Not really. I am her, but from a different time." _His frown deepened. _"I'm in the future."_ Another sigh._ "There's a lot you need to know."_

He stared seriously at the screen. _What's going on here?_

_"__By the time you get this message, Dark Gaia should have already been defeated. If not, then I pray that this message reached you early rather than late." _He didn't even have a chance to wonder about that last sentence before she continued. _"Listen closely, Sonic. In this time, the future was ruined. I won't disclose more than that. However, you can prevent this future from ever happening. By now we've already defeated Ivo and ended what he's been doing, but the world will likely never fully heal from the damage he's caused. Nature has been destroyed. Robots are still prowling around, even without their creator to give them orders. Lives have been torn apart. Trust amongst people has all but vanished. Fear has long since taken over peoples' hearts. Friendships have been ruined, families torn apart and destroyed. People are dead. I'm sorry that I can't tell you much more than that."_

Sonic felt himself freeze. _People... dead? _

_"I'm leaving you with a mission. Your friends from your time already know what to do in part, but you need to know everything." _

Sonic remained tense. _What exactly is "everything"?_

_"This is your mission. _

_Learn everything you can about a young girl named Maria. Get Shadow on your side before Ivo can. With him, Rouge and Omega will come, too. You need them more than you may realize. You need to do this as soon as possible. Should you fail, you have to try and make him realize the truth about Maria and her wish for him. If you fail then, Ivo will win._

_Protect your father by any means necessary. Don't let Ivo get anywhere near him. If Ivo gets ahold of him, everything will be over. Everything. No matter what you do, the moment Ivo gets his hands on your father, the battle will already be lost. If you can, find a way to wake him up as soon as possible._

_If you can't wake Kaden, then talk to Locke. Ask him about Caliburn. He'll know what you're talking about._

_Ask your mother about the Dragonfire when she recovers. You may need it._

_Learn all you can about the Babylon Garden from Jet. His teammates know some things about it, but he knows everything. Learn it all, but don't let Ivo do the same. Don't let him learn anything. Part of the key to doing this is stopping Ross. Prevent him and Ivo from ever meeting. Find and protect the Ark of the Cosmos. Then, when you can, go to Mazuri. Just trust me on this one. _

_Get the X-Tornado ready to go to space. You'll need it. You'll see why when you get there._

_Gather the Chaos Emeralds as quickly as you can and hide them, protect them. The Master Emerald, too. Ivo will need them for his plans to work, and you can't let him have them. Make them dormant if you can. You've done it in this time, so I know it's possible. You just have to find out how._

_In this time, the Voice of the Master Emerald still talks to you. You mentioned it once to your time's Knuckles when he was here, and I heard of it sometime afterward. Listen to me. No matter what happens, you can't turn your back on the Voice. What it tells you is always important. Even if things end up terrible like they did here, never stop listening to it like my time's Sonic has. _

_Do what you can to protect Cream. Ivo should have learned of her hidden power by now, in your time. Don't let him touch her._

_Don't let the Biolizard awaken. If it can't be helped, then destroy it as soon as possible. _

_Destroy the ARK."_

Before Sonic even had a _chance_ to try to process all of this, the Future Amy continued.

_"I'm sorry for throwing this on you all at once, but it can't be helped. This is important beyond words. You can't know how bad this future is without seeing it. The future is ruined. It's dead. You have to prevent it. No matter what it takes, you have to save the future. Because... otherwise..." _

Before she could ever finish her sentence, the sound faded away and his communicator went dead again.

**~ソニック~**

Amy's attention was abruptly pulled from the fight when Sonic's communicator vibrated almost imperceptibly, having received a notification of some sort. Glancing down, she soon discovered that a new notice had been sent out by Ivo in his database. Swallowing hard and her hand shaking faintly, she read quickly, her eyes widening in horror as she did so.

_Shadow the Hedgehog: Location: Known._

_Status: Not captured; Currently engaging in combat; Injured._

_Directive: Kill._

_Espio the Chameleon: Location: Known._

_Status: Nearly captured; Currently engaging in combat; Heavily injured and exhausted._

_Directive: If unable to capture, kill as soon as possible._

_Wave the Swallow: Known._

_Status: Not Captured; In pursuit; Minimally injured._

_Directive: Capture if at all possible, otherwise kill as soon as possible._

_Jet the Hawk: Location: Known._

_Status: Not captured; Currently engaging in combat; Injured and heavily exhausted._

_Directive: Capture alive through any means necessary._

_Cream the Bunny: Location: Known._

_Status: Not captured; In pursuit; Minimally injured._

_Directive: Kill._

_Amy Rose: __Location: Known._

_Status: Not captured; In pursuit; Injured._

_Directive: Capture if possible, otherwise kill._

_Miles "Tails" Prower: __Location: Known._

_Status: Captured; Injured._

_Directive: Transport to appropriate prison for execution._

_Knuckles the Echidna: __Location: Known._

_Status: Captured; Heavily injured and exhausted._

_Directive: Transport to appropriate prison for execution._

_Sonic the Hedgehog: __Location: Known._

_Status: Not captured; Currently engaging in combat; Injured and heavily exhausted._

_Directive: Capture alive through any means necessary._

_Kaden the Hedgehog: __Location: Known._

_Status: Not captured; In pursuit; Minimally injured but heavily exhausted._

_Directive: Capture alive through any means necessary._

_Rouge the Bat: Location: Known._

_Status: Captured; Exhausted and heavily injured._

_Directive: Transport to appropriate prison for execution._

Amy's heart was pounding. Everyone was in trouble. Everyone was being tracked, everyone at least somewhat hurt, nearly half of them were exhausted, Espio had nearly been captured, Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge _had_ been captured, Ivo was prepared to execute just about everyone... _I thought Cream said that no one would die...!_

**~ソニック~**

Sonic ducked beneath a vicious swipe of dark claws before lashing out with his sword, stabbing it clean through the beast before him. He didn't dare risk holding it there; the moment he stabbed it through, Sonic yanked his sword free and jumped clear just in time for the creature to howl and unleash a dark beam of sorts from it's mouth. He landed harder than he'd intended, hitting the ground in such a way that his right leg once again experience a surge of pain. He hissed softly between clenched teeth before rushing forward to attack his enemy again. _Damn leg..._ It didn't hurt him as often as it had used to, but every now and then he just had one of those days were every little thing caused it pain. And of course_ today _was turning out to be one of those days.

Jet noticed Sonic's pain immediately (very subtle though the signs were) and, as soon as he had the chance, he moved in close enough to the hedgehog that they could speak. "What's wrong?" he demanded quickly. "Is it your leg again?"

Sonic didn't look like he wanted to answer that but, to his credit, he didn't deny the truth. "Yes."

_Great. _Jet didn't have time to think anything else about it before he was forced to swerve away on his board to avoid a beam that had been fired directly at him. Then, before he had a chance to react, one of the creatures pounced, sending him flying off his board. He tumbled and rolled but somehow managed to end up on his feet in a crouch as he skidded backward a few more feet. Sonic was by his side in an instant. "I'm alright," Jet told him before Sonic even had a chance to ask. Sonic nodded once and Jet stood. More and more creatures rushed into the fight, running toward them in a deadly wave from the front. Taking the proper stance, Jet prepared to unleash a hell storm of wind if he could manage it, only to stop when a sudden idea struck him. This was a move he and Sonic rarely did (and with good reason) but... it would be enough to end this. ...Right? _Either way, we might not have a choice but to try. _He jumped far to the side to avoid another beam at about the same time that a lone creature attacked Sonic, it's claws screeching against the blade that Sonic held in both hands before him. "Sonic!" Jet snapped, despite his reservations. There was no time to hesitate anymore, and they would only have one chance. "We have to do the Raiga!"

Sonic's expression, if at all possible, grew even more serious than normal. He was silent for a long moment. Finally he murmured, "So be it." He threw the creature off of his blade, sending it flying back into the crowd of other creatures. The pack was nearly upon them. Without another word, the two of them called forth one of their most deadly and powerful abilities, becoming surrounded by a thin, bright blue outline as a result. Tense and ready, they waited for the perfect moment to strike as lightning began erupting from the ground around them, cracking open the earth in the process. Lightning flowed through and around them, chirping and crackling with deadly intent. They would only have on shot.

**~ソニック~**

**"Raiga" literally just means "lightning fang", more or less. Anyway, _FUTURE TAILS, AMY, CREAM, AND KADEN HAVE JOINED THE PLAYLIST! _There songs are "****The Time Has Come" (From Pokemon Indigo League, the episode "Pikachu's Goodbye"), "****Reflection" (By Christina Aguilera; from Mulan), "****Tears On the Wind" (From Perfect World International), and "****Unshakable" (By Slapshock), respectively. ****This one is shorter than most of the other recent ones... Oh well. 3,624 words. Posted 07-26-15.**


	123. The Less You Know

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! I'm glad you think so! :D Wow, I'm sp proud of you. XD**

**Hello, xXJoeyUchihaXx! Well, the problem should be fixed now. It wasn't letting me see the new reviews, either, but I can view them now. :P I really liked the combo move, to! That line Jet said about "We have to do the Raiga!" hit me in the dead of night when I was getting ready to go to sleep. I seem to get a lot of ideas around that time of day/night. XD Yes, you're right about the Naruto stuff. So guess where I got the inspiration from. ;) About that last part: Lol! XD**

**Hello, NicktheGreek! First of all, cool username. :) Anyway, I'm so happy you think so! Well, he doesn't have control of _everything_ (there's a powerful group of rebels running around, after all), but pretty close! And yes, he's definitely on a killing spree. I mean, six heroes and countless civilians are dead, plus Omega was dismantled... Dark stuff. :l Well, thanks to you, I have a new song to listen to. And you're right! It _did_ make it more epic! :D I update so fast because I'm on summer vacation and therefore have excessive amounts of free time. ...And I literally have no life sometimes. XD Thanks for taking the time to read and review! It means a lot! I hope you enjoy today's installment! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Ne, Pyro-kun, you never answered my question of why Silver would punch Ross if he found out that Ross was Jet's dad. XD Anyway, yes. He really has a _lot_ to do. I mean, damn, Future Amy! He's busy enough as it is! XD Yes, it has been approved. I don't know when I'll add it, though, so I ask for patience. :) Haha, you _know_ what it is! You and I made it up! XD Anyway, I think she'll probably be waking up within the next couple of chapters or so, though probably not the one _directly_ following this one. I will do my best, Pyro-kun! :D**

**Hello, Anonymous! Of course _now_ the problem is fixed. I looked at the rest of your review from before. I think using the 3D models to draw is a good idea. :) Anyway, why were you speechless? XD Thanks for the consideration, but as I said before, the problem's fixed now. It inexplicably fixed itself not ten minutes after I emailed the FF support team for help, and before they even responded to me, too. Yeah, it would be hard, truly. But, like I said, I just haven't decided yet. :) Yeah, I think it really is the shortest! XD**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

"So that's what happened, huh?" Locke muttered, his arms crossed and his fists clenching tightly.

Sonic nodded once. He and Locke were standing side-by-side out on the roof of Amy's house, overlooking the city. It was late. Sonic had only just filled Locke in on what had happened with Jet in the city. "Yeah," he bit out.

Locke growled. "If I ever meet this Ross guy, I'll kill him." Locke did _not_ take child abuse lightly. It was one of the few things that could legitimately piss him off when it was just_mentioned_, even in passing.

"Go for it," Sonic muttered darkly. "I won't stop you. Hell, I might even beat you to it." It was silent for a long moment. Finally, Sonic sighed and forced himself to change the subject. "Hey, Locke?"

Locke glanced at him. "Yeah?"

"What's... Caliburn?" Sonic asked slowly.

Locke gave him a surprised look. "How'd you find out about that?"

Sonic sighed again. "Don't ask," he muttered in slight irritation. "I'm still trying to figure that out."

A puzzled frown appeared on Locke's face for a moment before it faded and he looked back out over the city once more. "Caliburn was your old man's sword," he finally answered. "He lost it a long time ago, though. I think someone might've stolen it, but I really don't know."

_Stolen it? _Either way, whether or not that was correct, it seemed the sword was missing. Sonic was honestly shocked that his father had even _had_ a sword in the first place. And, for whatever reason, that future version of Amy seemed to think that Sonic was going to need it. _And something called "Dragonfire"... _He turned his head to look at Locke. "Where can I find it?"

Locke gave him a long look. Finally he asked, "Why do you _need_ it?"

Sonic sighed and looked away. "If I knew how to answer that, I would."

Locke was silent for another long moment. He looked back out over the city, his gaze serious. "That's no ordinary blade, Sonic," he said quietly. "It's special, and it's powerful, more-so than any normal sword."

Sonic snorted. "It'd have to be, if my father used it."

Locke blinked in response. A frown slowly showed itself on his face. "I think... Chun-nan would be a good place to check," he said slowly. "That's the city where your father's from, him and his clan. There's a chance that the blade could've ended up back there, somehow."

Sonic nodded. "Where's Chun-nan?"

"In the high north-eastern mountains," Locke replied. "The ones that make it impossible to reach that section of the sea without crossing them or flying over them. The ruins are hidden pretty deep in the mountains there."

Sonic nodded again. "Right."

Silence fell between them again for a moment. Then Locke asked, "When will you leave?"

Sonic hesitated. "Not until after Jet wakes up," he answered tensely. He wanted to make sure that Jet would be alright after that encounter with his father. Jet already had nightmares, usually in the form of flashbacks, almost every time he slept, and they were always about the things Ross had done to him as a child. He still had trust issues to this day. He tended to doubt himself, to underestimate his capabilities, his intelligence, and so on because of Ross's cutting words. He avoided even casual relationships generally to avoid even just the _possibility_ that he would come across someone like Ross and because he could barely bring himself to let someone in like his father had once been when he was younger. And those weren't all the things that Jet had to live with, either. There were so many problems... How much would these issues, and others, be heightened now that Jet had been so vividly reminded of his childhood? Sonic didn't like the possibilities one bit. _I have to make sure he's okay._

Locke nodded once. "Makes sense." A pause. Then, "Go to bed, Sonic. I'll come get you if he wakes up before you. I'll be up."

Sonic didn't bother to argue. Instead, he just turned and walked back inside.

**~ソニック~**

It was time. Jet raised his right hand, his fingers slightly bent, and aimed his palm at the pack. At the same time, Sonic raised his sword and pointed it at them as well. The blue outlines surrounding each of them grew brighter as the power they were calling forth intensified. The lightning around them was so overcharged now that the light was painful to the eyes. The ground continued to split open from the sheer power of the lightning that the pair was calling forth. Lightning flashed and crackled in the sky overhead as well in response to what was going on below. It was time. No words were spoken as they unleashed their attack. What started off as a formless wave of pure lightning quickly morphed into a serpentine-like dragon that, with a mighty roar of pure power, surged through the pack of beasts, hitting them all at once and obliterating them to the point where there was nothing left. The dragon slowly vanished. Several lone bolts of lightning struck the ground in numerous locations and lingering electricity sparked around Sonic and Jet for a long moment before the attack died down fully. It was over now. The pack was gone.

Jet had to force himself to breathe normally as his exhaustion suddenly grew to the point where he felt like he might black out. He bent down and braced his hands on his knees. Once he felt better enough to lift his head, he glanced to the right side. Sonic swayed dangerously on his feet, a sign of weakness that he _never_ showed if he could help it. Looking away again and closing his eyes for a moment, Jet took a deep breath to gather himself before opening his eyes again and quickly heading over to Sonic just as the hedgehog swayed again. Jet grabbed Sonic's left arm and pulled it over his shoulder to keep him standing. Sonic blinked somewhat blearily before somehow managing to recover enough to hide the exhaustion showing in his eyes. He gave a small nod that somehow managed to seem grateful. Together, the pair turned and began slowly walking back to the others. Sonic was limping, but only enough for it to be noticeable. His leg was really hurting him, it seemed. That wasn't good.

Knuckles and the others met them about halfway to the cliff. Jet and Sonic stopped walking. Knuckles crossed his arms, letting his eyes sweep over the pair and then the destruction that they had wrought. Finally he looked them dead in the eye and commented, "That was one hell of a last resort."

"Huh," Jet scoffed, looking away. "You have no idea."

Amy approached Sonic. Sonic met her gaze, surprised to see the... _gratitude_ that was shining in her eyes. She extended her free hand forward. In her hand was his communicator._Oh._ He should have realized. _So that's it. _That was why she felt gratified. Because of that. He was just too tired all of a sudden. That was why he hadn't seen it before. Looking back up from her hand, he shook his head lightly. "No."

She tilted her head. Confused. "What...?"

He decided to clarify, but only because she needed to understand. He was sure that she would have discovered his meaning soon enough on her own, but she needed to understand the importance of what he was telling her as soon as possible. He had decided to trust her. He wasn't going back on that now. "Keep it."

Understanding dawned in her eyes. "_Oh_..." she breathed. She visibly swallowed hard and held the communicator, that small, precious piece of technology, close to her chest as she whispered, "Okay."

Tails was staring at Sonic and Jet with impossibly wide eyes. "Since when can you guys do _that_...?" he asked quietly, apparently in awe.

"A while." For once, Sonic wasn't the one being vague.

"How long is a _while_?" Tails pressed, curiosity shining brightly in his eyes.

"A long time, kid," Jet sighed. "Let's just leave it at that, okay?"

Knuckles frowned at Jet, considering, before turning his attention to Sonic. He didn't think he had ever seen the hedgehog so tired. Not since coming to this time, at any rate. It was extraordinarily troubling. He looked to Jet again before turning his attention back to Sonic. _That attack took a lot out of both of them. _Still, Sonic was the most exhausted of the pair. It made sense. He had gotten by far the least amount of sleep of anyone here, after all. Knuckles waited until Sonic met his gaze. "Wave took the other Amy and Cream to some other bunker where they'd be safe," he told him. "Amy was injured. She left you in charge." Sonic's nod of understanding was faint at best. "So what do we do?"

For a moment, Knuckles could have sworn that Sonic sighed. "Wait for Wave," he replied simply.

"And then?" Sonic didn't answer that. He shifted his balance slightly, and Knuckles noticed for the first time that Sonic was only barely putting any of his weight on his right leg. When Jet moved slightly, forcing Sonic to move with him due to the way Jet was holding the hedgehog's arm over his shoulders, Sonic... limped. "What's wrong with your leg?"

Sonic looked away. "Nothing." Jet gave him a bland look that seemed to say otherwise.

Knuckles decided to tack this to the long list of questions he was going to ask Sonic... later. "Fine. Whatever."

Sonic said nothing as he sheathed his sword, and Knuckles watched as Jet glanced around, his eyes finally landing on his badly damaged board. The hawk turned his head back to the front and met Knuckles's gaze. "Here, take him a minute, will you? I'm gonna get my board."

Sonic shook his head and pulled away. "I can stand."

Jet gave him a long look, almost seeming like he wanted to argue that point, before finally just shrugging and looking away. "If you say so."

While Jet wandered away to retrieve his damaged gear, Knuckles watched as the small cat-child Amy had been holding up until this point squirmed in Amy's hold and reached out to Sonic, who was standing just a couple feet away from the two girls. With a soft, barely audible sigh, Sonic extended his arms and carefully took the girl from Amy to hold her in his right arm. Then, without giving anyone a chance to say anything about it, he turned away from them to face the battlefield again, his gaze drifting to the sky. Barely a moment, Wave came into view in the sky. "Well that didn't take long," Amy commented.

"She said it probably wouldn't," Tails replied with a shrug.

Jet returned to the group with his board safely tucked under his right arm and together the group watched in silence as Wave pulled up before them and jumped lightly off her board. "What happened _here_?" she demanded immediately by way of "hello".

"Take a guess," Jet remarked dryly. His mood seemed to have soured a bit compared to usual, though that could probably be blamed on his exhaustion.

Wave frowned at him. "You guys did your lightning strike, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Jet nodded. "We didn't have much of a choice. Those creatures were everywhere. We're just lucky we manged to pull it off."

"But you practically destroyed your board," she returned, clearly unhappy though not exactly irritated. "_Again_. Honestly, Jet-"

"It wasn't _me_!" he cut in. "I told you, those creatures were everywhere!"

Knuckles decided to speak before the argument could escalate even further, shifting his gaze from the couple to Sonic. "So, leader, what next?"

Sonic gave Knuckles a look at being called "leader" as though it was his name. Though his expression remained calm and closed off like usual, he almost seemed... confused. Or annoyed. Maybe both. He looked away. "We need to go someplace safe," he replied vaguely. He had by no means given an order. It seemed like he knew where he wanted them all to go, but for whatever reason, he omitted that information from his sentence.

"How will we get there?" Tails asked. He had a valid point. Jet's board was busted and Sonic was too exhausted to run. It wasn't like Wave could take them both on her board, either. Just one. Knuckles was strong enough to carry one of them (provided that either of them would _accept_ the help), but he was already going to be carrying Amy in his hands and Tails on his back if the young fox tired. So what were they supposed to do, then?

At this, Jet and Wave exchanged a look. "We know a way," Wave said. "Getting there will be tricky, considering, but we have a way to get us all across the land to wherever it is Sonic wants us to go."

Sonic seemed to know what she was talking about. "It's still there?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Completely hidden. Doubt ol' Eggy even knows it exists."

Now it was Sonic's turn to nod. "Good."

"Okay, but how are we going to get there?" Knuckles all but demanded. "_Walk_? With robots and those creatures from hell prowling around?"

Wave actually had the gall to roll her eyes at him. "Obviously we're not that stupid," she replied bluntly. Then she added, "We'll fly."

"But how?" Amy asked. "I mean-"

"You three just worry about yourselves," Wave interrupted. "We know what we're doing. This isn't the first time we've been in a position like this. There's _kind_ of a war going on, you know. Things like this are bound to happen sometimes."

Knuckles, Amy, and Tails all exchanged looks. Finally, with a small shrug, Tails began rapidly spinning his namesakes and lifted into the air. With a sigh, Knuckles took to the air, too, staying low enough that he could grab Amy. She strapped Sonic's communicator carefully to her wrist, then reached up and took his hands. He lifted her off the ground to join Tails higher up. Wave jumped back onto her board and Jet climbed on behind her, his board angled under his arm so that it wasn't at risk of hitting her. Then, in a surprising move, Jet looked at Sonic and extended his hand in silent invitation. Sonic didn't hesitate. He took the proffered hand. Wave lifted the board into the air. Jet held onto Sonic's hand, taking the hedgehog with them. Then Wave took off. With no other option but to follow, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy did just that.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic walked quietly into the room and sat down at the edge of the bed near Jet's legs. The hawk lay on his side, slightly curled up and facing the wall away from Sonic. Though his eyes were closed, Sonic knew that he was awake, at least somewhat. "How are you?" Sonic asked quietly.

"M'okay," Jet mumbled faintly. He was exhausted still, clearly. Not that anything else could be expected, considering.

Sonic frowned a bit at him. "You're sure?" He knew that Jet knew that he wasn't just referring to the hawk's physical condition.

Jet managed a small nod, speaking more clearly than he had just a moment before, though his voice was still low. "Yeah. Just tired." After a moment, Jet finally opened his eyes and turned his head enough to look at Sonic out of the corner of his eyes. "What in the hell happened?" He seemed a bit more awake now.

Sonic paused for a moment, considering, before posing his own question. "What do you remember?"

Jet frowned a bit and looked away again. "I remember yelling at Wave and Storm. Not much else after that."

There was another pause, this one a bit longer than the first. "You created a storm," Sonic finally said. "Leveled the city, and the one next to it. But... somehow, you managed not to kill anyone. Everyone got out before things got really bad, by some miracle. Wave calmed you down eventually and then the storm stopped. After that, she took you back here."

Jet was still frowning. "How long was I asleep?"

There was no point in lying about it. "A day."

Jet fell silent, processing the information he'd just been given, before finally daring to ask, "What happened to Ross?" His refusal to call his father by a respectful title like "dad" spoke volumes.

Sonic shrugged, striving to keep his anger at the older hawk under wraps. Jet didn't need that right now. "He got away, I think."

"Oh." There was nothing else to say about it, really. Sonic doubted that Jet really wanted to be talking about it, anyway, despite the fact that he'd been the one to bring it up in the first place.

Another moment of silence passed, only for the moment to be broken when Wave suddenly walked in. "Here, Jet," she said by way of greeting, coming to stand by the the head of the bed, "I brought you some water."

Jet rolled over and sat up, pushing himself up on his right arm and accepting the water in the opposite hand with a quiet, "Thanks."

She just nodded as he took a small drink. Then, with a peck to his temple that made him visibly tense, she turned and left the room again, calling back over her shoulder, "I'll be outside fixing our boards if you need me."

Jet watched her go, a sort of torn expression on his face, before finally sighing. "I really hate girls sometimes."

Sonic smirked. Unable to resist, he teased lightly, "Aw, you know you like her."

Jet glared at him but didn't forcefully deny the statement like he usually did. Instead he just muttered, "Shut up." He really was tired.

"You can't make me," Sonic replied, still smirking. "Besides, you know I'm right."

"Remind me to kill you later."

"And why would I do that?"

"I swear I'll blast you."

"Jeez, you only _just_ discovered your powers and you're already threatening people. Shame on you."

"I'm serious. I'll blast you through the damn wall."

"No you won't."

"What makes you so sure?"

Sonic, still smirking in amusement, was about to make some sort of a smart-ass comment, really and truly unable to resist, when Silver suddenly walked by the room, pausing mid-step as he did so. "Oh, hey! You're awake!" Sonic turned to see his son standing in the doorway smiling in that friendly manner that seemingly only he could manage.

"More or less," Jet muttered noncommittally.

Silver shrugged good-naturedly. "Well, I'm supposed to be helping Blaze and Amy's mom clean the kitchen again, so I'll see you guys around."

"Okay," Sonic replied.

Jet sighed. "Don't be a pain, alright, kid? Her mom's got enough to worry about without you being a pill or something."

Silver grinned. "Nah, I won't give her problems."

"I'm serious," Jet muttered over the rim of his cup as he took another small drink.

"So am I." Silver grinned again before turning away, a hand raised in farewell. "See ya, Uncle Jet."

Sonic froze and Jet coughed, nearly spitting out his water. "_What_?" they both demanded, somehow managing to speak in unison.

Silver turned back around. "Oh, come one. Everyone can see it. You two practically act like brothers, especially with the way you fight. So, yeah, Uncle Jet." He grinned again. "Deal with it."

Jet and Sonic turned their heads away as Silver disappeared down the hall, giving each other what could only be described as horrified looks. "There is _no_ way," Sonic said.

"_Not_ gonna happen," Jet agreed.

"I mean, _us_? Practically brothers? No. No way."

"Not possible."

"Ridiculous."

"One of the stupidest ideas I've ever heard."

"I don't even know where he _got_ the idea."

"He's _your_ kid. That means he's _your_ problem."

"Your staying here with us, too, so that makes him your problem in a way, too."

"He's more _your_ problem than mine."

"Still, you have to deal with him as well."

"Not if I never leave this room."

"You know you won't hole yourself up in here forever."

"Try me."

"I'll drag you out of here if I have to."

"Do it and I'll kill you."

"No you won't."

"What makes you so sure, huh?"

"Because we're _family_!"

"Dammit, Sonic! Don't ever say that again!"

"I was joking, I promise!"

"I don't care!"

"Now you sound more like yourself."

"Shut up."

"You can't me me."

As the banter continued, neither of them realized just how much they sounded like the fourteen-year-olds they had once been, arguing over whether or not it was possible that a board could fly or that a certain hawk could have lived for so long.

**~ソニック~**

The flight was long. It was early evening by the time they reached their destination, the faint light from the sky giving everything below a sort of dull bluish tint. They landed before a truly massive cave with a mouth that seemed stupidly and even impossibly wide and tall. It, like the mouth of the cave they had stayed the night in before reaching the bunker, was blocked entirely by a boulder. The only difference was that there was no space to squeeze past this boulder, nor was there a crack between it and the cave itself that was large enough to peer through. Knuckles frowned. _What are they hiding here...? _Once everyone was safely on the ground beside the rock, Knuckles gave the oversized stone a once-over. "So I'm guessing that we need to get in there."

"Yeah," Jet nodded. "Normally Sonic and I can move the rock ourselves, but..."

Knuckles also nodded, understanding what Jet was getting at. "Right. I'll move it." Cracking his knuckles, he approached the rock. He assumed the necessary stance and closed his eyes. He took a breath. Then, his eyes snapping open, he threw a single powerful punch that all but tossed the rock aside and entirely out of the way. The rock landed with a heavy thud that sent a large vibration racing through the ground, causing it to shake briefly. Knuckles straightened and turned back with a smirk. "You're welcome."

Jet, tired though he was, managed to smirk back. Wave caught Jet's arm then, drawing his attention to her, and nodded significantly to Sonic, who was watching the child in his arms as she tried to use one of her small hands to catch a butterfly. Jet nodded to Wave and approached Sonic. "Can you walk?"

Sonic looked away from the child and met Jet's gaze. "Yes."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

Jet released an annoyed sigh. "I wish you weren't such a damned good liar. I can never tell when you're actually telling the truth or not."

Sonic just shrugged in response, not admitting to anything, and moved to follow when Jet turned away and began leading the way into the cave with Wave by his side. The moment the group entered the cave, Tails stopped dead in his tracks. "_Whoa._"

Amy turned wide eyes on the three Freedom Fighters. "You guys have an _airship_?"

Sonic shook his head. "_They_ do," he corrected simply, glancing at Jet and Wave.

"This ship belongs to the Babylon Rogues," Wave explained, turning around to face them. "That means, since we're the only ones left, it's rightfully ours now. We've had it for years."

"Won't this be hard to keep off of Ivo's radar, so to speak?" Tails asked, frowning in concern. "I mean, it's kinda... big..."

"We can take this thing up over the clouds," Wave replied, waving a dismissive hand. "We should be okay up there."

"Then how will we know where we're going?"

"We won't need to. Just trust Sonic's sense of direction. We'll be fine so long as we do that."

Knuckles decided to change the subject. "Can either of you actually _pilot_ this thing?"

"Jet can," Wave replied simply.

Jet scowled when the three members of the group from the past all turned to stare at him. "Don't look so surprised," he muttered.

"But... you told me you'd never been in a ship before," Amy said slowly. "On the way to Future City that one time, remember?"

"I said I'd never been in _plane_," he corrected her irritably. "And I'd never been in a ship like your guys's before."

"But-"

"I'm not stupid, Amy. I can pilot a damn airship."

Knuckles suddenly remembered something he'd read in Jet's file back in Sonic's home before they'd been forced to abandon it. _"Knows more than he tells; is more intelligent than he lets on." ...Huh. Guess so._

Without another word, Jet turned and led the way inside the ship, closing the door behind them and securing it well once everyone was inside. Within twenty minutes, they were out of the cave and soaring into the sky. Less than ten minutes after that, the ship was where it needed to be: flying high above the clouds where it couldn't be seen from below. Knuckles, Sonic, and Jet were the only ones who were still up. Everyone else had been instructed to go to bed, per Sonic's order, and so they had done just that, with Amy taking the small child with her. Jet, having just finished moving the ship up there, turned to look at Sonic. "Where are we going?"

Sonic met his gaze evenly, his arms crossed. He'd said they'd go to someplace safe... and he'd meant it. "Angel Island."

Jet blinked, seeming surprised, before simply turning away to steer them in the right direction. Knuckles looked to Sonic. "What are we going there for?" he asked. "I highly doubt you and the other me left the Master Emerald there."

Sonic blinked. "No. We didn't."

A pause. Then, "So?" No response. "Why are we going there?"

Sonic gave him a neutral look that seemed to communicate something, but Knuckles couldn't tell what. Finally, Sonic pushed himself off of the wall he'd been leaning against and turned away, walking out of the room at an unhurried pace, tossing a, "Figure it out," over his shoulder as he went, though he never looked back.

Growling lowly in annoyance, Knuckles just watched the hedgehog leave. Just as Sonic vanished from view, Jet spoke up again, effectively surprising Knuckles. The hawk only seldom spoke to him normally, but this now made third time today that Jet had opted to converse with him. "Don't mind him," he said in that nonchalant way that only he could seem to manage. For all his seriousness, he was way more laid back than he tended to let on. "He's just... him." Jet turned to look at Knuckles directly. In a moment of surprising insight, he asked, "You have a lot of things you want to ask him, don't you?"

"Yeah," Knuckles relented with a nod.

Jet gave his own answering nod. "Now would probably be the best time to corner him somewhere and ask whatever questions you have, you know. We're on a ship. He can't exactly take off and avoid you or anything up here."

Jet had a point. The worst thing Sonic could do right now was simply refuse to answer the questions that Knuckles asked. So, with that in mind, Knuckles set out to find the elusive blue hedgehog. It didn't take long to locate him, standing alone with his arms crossed behind the railing of an outside balcony. Knuckles walked up beside him, arms also crossed, and followed the hedgehog's lead by also gazing out over the thick blanket of clouds stretching endlessly out below them. Their hair blew gently in the wind, but though it _was_windy, it was quiet out here. It was strangely... peaceful. Knuckles almost never got that feeling from anything, save for when he was listening to the sounds of nature on Angel Island, his home. _I almost don't want to know how much it's been changed. _Without ever turning his head, he finally spoke. "So are you actually going to answer my questions this time?"

Sonic sighed so softly that the sound was almost stolen by the wind. Then, for once, he asked a question of his own. "Why do you keep asking?"

"Because I need to know," Knuckles replied. Silence. Then, "For one thing, why do you keep refusing to tell me how many years it's been?"

"Because it's pointless," Sonic answered shortly. "There's nothing to gain by knowing. No one will benefit."

Well, that was a longer answer than Knuckles had been expecting. _And he actually spoke in full sentences for once. _"There _is_ a point," he argued calmly. "There's plenty to gain by knowing. Tails, Amy, and I will benefit. If we ever manage to get back to our time, we'll need to know how many years we have before we can expect this all to happen, should we fail to actually change anything."

Sonic was silent again for a long before finally sighing again. "It's been a century since Ivo's initial victory." Knuckles fought not to freeze at that statement. "Immediately following the battle of Dark Gaia, there was a period of about a month where he somehow remained imprisoned. He escaped after that and within three months he had already achieved victory. That was when all of this started."

Sonic was being way more talkative than normal, but that was a good thing. He had clearly been paying close attention to the passage of time, which meant that now Knuckles knew exactly how long they had to change the past, and, as a result, the future. _But... what happens to everyone here when we do that? _He pushed the thought aside for now. He had other more important questions to ask right now. "What the hell's wrong with your leg?"

Sonic glanced down at the offending thing before looking away again. "An old injury." A pause. Then, "It's nothing."

He gave no more details on it, and Knuckles somehow doubted that he would be able to wring anything more from Sonic on the matter. He made a mental note to ask Jet about it later, since the hawk very clearly knew about it. "Locke and your mother didn't return to the Master Emerald willingly, did they?" he asked out of the blue. Sonic shook his head. "So how did they get dragged back there?"

"I don't know."

Well that was just great. He'd really thought that Sonic had known the answer to that. Shaking his head and trying not to worry about it, he moved onto the next question. "How did Ivo find your guys's headquarters?"

Sonic glanced at him. "You already know."

Knuckles frowned. "By using his robots?" Sonic nodded. "I didn't think that they _all_ had cameras."

"They don't need to," was the simple reply, "so long as they can report in."

He nodded. There was a pause before he continued. "Why do you trust Shadow?"

Sonic's gaze drifted slowly up into the sky. His expression turned almost... contemplative. "It's complicated," he finally murmured.

"You know how he came to be, right?" It wasn't meant to be an accusing question, but he really needed to make sure that Sonic knew who he was involved with.

Sonic's reply was overly simple, but it said enough. "Yes."

Another pause. "So... Gerald got ahold of your DNA, huh?"

Sonic shook his head slowly. "Not mine."

Knuckles looked at him in surprise. "Then who...?" Then, suddenly, realization hit. Shadow had been created to be like Sonic, but faster and stronger. At the time, there were only two people in existence who had been like Sonic while still being better in a way, and whose DNA therefore could have been used. _Oh..._

"My father's," Sonic said simply. Even _mentioning_ Kaden seemed to make him tense. "Gerald got it out of an ancient bloodstain in Chun-nan."

Knuckles frowned deeper. "So Shadow's... an imperfect clone of your dad, then?"

Sonic shook his head again. "No."

"Then what-?"

Sonic's sigh cut him off. "I said it was complicated," he muttered. He was quiet for a long time but, somehow, Knuckles knew better than to speak up if he wanted an answer. Sonic just seemed to be trying to figure out _how_ to provide the answer Knuckles sought. "I trust Shadow because he's not evil like his reputation makes him seem," he finally said. "There's more to him than his mistakes. He's a better person than people give him credit for." His next sentence was spoken with exceeding slowness. "And... because, technically... we're half-brothers."

Knuckles's eyes widened. He nearly froze with shock. "You're _sure_?" he demanded, more due to his shock than anything else.

Sonic nodded once. "I found the files kept on Shadow's creation," he informed Knuckles, "a long time ago. Gerald manipulated the DNA in such a way that Shadow may as well have been born naturally, with a mother and a father."

"And that father was... yours." Sonic nodded yet again. "What the hell provided the rest of the DNA?"

"Some alien life form," Sonic replied with a shrug. "Gerald didn't give it a name in his files."

Knuckles fell silent to give himself time to process this before finally venturing to ask, "Does past you know about this...?"

"He won't for a while," Sonic replied. He was starting to be vague again. That probably wasn't a good sign if Knuckles wanted more answers. And he did. A lot. Suddenly, Sonic cut Knuckles an almost-glare that looked... _threatening_. That look made Knuckles completely freeze. That was the strongest expression he'd ever seen on this Sonic's face. "_Don't_ tell him," he ordered, a warning clear in his tone, which was normally kept entirely flat and neutral. That fact alone made Knuckles's decision for him, and he knew that he'd follow this command whether he wanted to or not. "Let him find out on his own. He won't accept it until he sees the proof for himself, anyway."

That _did_ sound like past Sonic, in a way, if Knuckles was being honest with himself. "Fine," he agreed. Sonic gave a curt nod and looked away, his expression slowly becoming neutral once more. Knuckles decided to change the subject to something less... weird. "So... what's going on with Cream?"

Sonic gave a small, one-shouldered shrug. "We don't know."

Knuckles frowned again. "You don't?"

"Not exactly."

"But you do know about her powers."

"Yes." Despite the implicit request for information, one that Sonic was sure to have picked up on, the hedgehog said nothing more. The request was ignored.

_Aaaand... he's back. _Honestly, Knuckles considered himself lucky that he'd gotten as many answers as he had out of Sonic. Sonic seemed done answering his questions now. Still, there were more things on Knuckles's mind that he just had to ask. _Like Jet pointed out... the worst thing he can do is not answer me. __Still, even an indirect answer would be better than nothing. _This next question would be hard to ask, he knew, and Sonic undoubtedly wouldn't appreciate having it brought up, but Knuckles needed to know because it didn't make any _sense_. "So, if Kaden's been in a coma all this time and he hasn't been with _you_ guys, then where in the hell was he? How did Ivo not know where he was?"

A frown appeared on his friend's face. His posture grew noticeably more tense. "He was safe," Sonic muttered. "That's all that matters."

Well, Sonic wasn't happy now, but there was no taking the question back. _Might as well press on, then. _"And how did Ivo use your old man's power to... do whatever in the hell it is that he did to defeat you guys?"

Past Sonic would have at _least_ been scowling now, Knuckles was sure. However, this _wasn't _that Sonic. This Sonic's expression became almost frighteningly blank, his tone becoming extremely neutral once more. "He uses machines for everything, Knuckles."

Knuckles sighed internally. _Well, I did say that an indirect answer is better than none... _And really, what else could be expected from this Sonic? Still, there had been a cutting edge to that remark in spite of the neutrality of his tone, the only sign that Sonic was even more unhappy with Knuckles than he had been before. Knuckles decided to play it safe and change the subject, because this Sonic showing a spark of irritation was _not_ a good sign, but also to spare his friend from whatever it was that he clearly didn't want to remember. "Why is Ivo hunting Wave and Jet, besides the fact that they're Freedom Fighters and all that? And why Jet, specifically?"

"Because of Babylon Garden," was the simple reply. That slight cutting edge in his tone had vanished. That was probably a good sign. Changing the subject had been a good idea.

"Babylon Garden?" Knuckles frowned. He still felt like he knew about that, but he really couldn't remember anything in particular beyond general information, such as how it was connected to the Babylon Rouges, and thus, Jet and Wave and, in the past, also Storm.

"We _will_ get you three home," Sonic said suddenly and with such conviction that Knuckles didn't doubt him for a second. "When you get back to your time, ask Jet about it. Or you can ask me."

Knuckles had a feeling that Sonic was referring to the other him. He accepted the response with a nod. "Fine." There was a long pause before Knuckles finally dared to ask, "Why in the _hell_ are we not your friends anymore in this time?"

At this, Sonic turned his head to give Knuckles a heavy look. After a moment, he looked away again. "It doesn't matter," he finally said. "It's over now."

"But you guys still aren't friends."

"We're allies."

"That's _not_ the same thing and you know it."

Sonic sighed suddenly, his eyes closing. "Just... don't let it happen in your time," he said quietly. This time it wasn't a command. It almost seemed like a... _request_.

"I won't," Knuckles promised fiercely and without any hesitation. _I won't let anyone or anything tear us apart. _And maybe it was selfish, but part of the reason for his resolve was that, without their group, Knuckles would be alone again, too. Tails and Amy would at least still have each other. _Maybe it is selfish... but I don't care. I won't let it happen. I won't._He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts when Sonic turned away from the railing and started walking away. "W- Hey, I still have more questions!"

Sonic didn't even turn around. "No, Knuckles."

"And why the hell not?!" Knuckles demanded hotly.

Sonic paused in the doorway. "The less you know, the better." And with that, he disappeared inside and shut the door.

**~ソニック~**

**Just so we're clear, the whole things with Jet being able to pilot their whole airship by himself isn't made up. Anyway, a quick shout-out: Thanks to Meadow of Starlight for letting me bounce around ideas with her! It helped a lot! :) Thanks to her ideas and her help, you guys have a lot of cool stuff to look forward to. ;) 6,728 words this time. Posted 07-27-15.**


	124. A Meeting in Paradise

**Hello, flashyhero! Yup. I'm putting Sonic Riders into the Future Arc. Not my initial intention, but I like where's it's going. :) Thanks for the review!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm so happy you think so! :D Yes, you will, I promise. Yes! The brotherhood is real! If you ask me, they always kinda acted like distant brothers in a way in the canon story. :P (About your nickname comment: HAHAHA XD) Ah, makes sense. I think they could be friends. And Jet already _did_ kind of act like an uncle to him last chapter, what with the whole telling him not to cause problems thing, as if he was lending Sonic a hand in parenting (which, from my experience, aunts and uncles sometimes do :P). I've already devised a scene where Silver can deck Ross... *Grins evilly* I'm excited for it! It's gonna be hilarious! XD Anyway, I'm aiming for next chapter in the reveal, but I make no promises. It'll happen sooner or later, though! :DI will do my best, as always, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! I'm glad you enjoyed! And yeah, about time Sonic told them something, huh? XD Yeah, he kinda is, huh? And _he's_ only responsible for Caliburn. The other two things weren't his fault. He was used against his will and/or without his knowledge for those last two. :P Wait, you thought that was fun?**

**Hello, Shadowstar146! YES. YES IT FREAKING DOES. XD It's fine, I love dragons, too. Yup, he was! And yes, it is. Haha, yeah. Sonic _finally_ let some of his knowledge out so that Knuckles could get some answer! ABOUT DANG TIME, MAN. XD Okay, cool! A few quick things that I forgot to imagine about Analia: I always imagine her having hair that's very much like Amy's, save for the slightly spiky part Amy has in the front (and Analia's hair would obviously be blue). I think Sonic got his naturally spiky hair from a distant ancestor somewhere down his mother's line. I also tend to imagine her having a small, thin gold tiara, the kind that only has a short band to wrap around your head (you know, that only goes about halfway, maybe less). ...Sorry I forgot to mention that before. ^-^" I eagerly await news of your work! (Don't worry, by the way, I'm a procrastinator, too. XD) Thanks for the review!**

**Hello, Anonymous! Nah, you were actually early. :P Well, I thought it was more annoying than funny. I had _just_ emailed the staff for help when the problem fixed itself. -.- Anyway, yeah, it _was_ kinda weird, huh? XD Haha, I liked that part, too. That was the most fun to write. And yes, you're absolutely correct. They proved his point perfectly. XD ...You can _do_that? O_O Haha! No one controls _me_! You cannot force _me_ to write! *Does an epic Raiga to defeat you and leaves* XD**

**Hello, xXJoeyUchihaXx! I'm so happy you enjoyed! :D I'm really glad to know that you liked the Raiga! And yeah, it's about time! *Glares pointedly at Sonic for holding his tongue for so long. He is not amused. ...He ignores me* Anyway, no, he's not. Locke said in his first appearance (Chapter 7 or so) that most species live a long time. hedgehogs just live the longest. No, Cream won't outlive him (she's probably not too far over a hundred or two-hundred by now, and in her years she's only about seven or eight. Sonic was ten by the time he had lived more than two centuries.) She _is_ aging slower than she should be, though! Thanks! Like I said, I'm glad you enjoyed! :D Wait, you can _publish_ fanfiction? :DD**

**Hello, John! Your review to Chapter 122: I'm so glad you think so! :) Yeah, you do. Sorry. That's more SA2 (which is next!). This is just helping buiild up to it, among other things. :P**

**Chapter 123: I know I say it all the time, but whatever. I'm so happy you're enjoying! :D I'm glad you do. :) To be honest, I just don't know what to do with myself when I'm not writing. :)**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

**_SOME QUICK, IMPORTANT NOTES!_ 1.) The official theme of the Future Arc has been added to the playlist! (Is anyone even paying attention to that, anymore? XD) I _highly_recommend listening to it! More information (i.e. the title) is at the end of the story, below the definitions.**

**2.) Yes, there are definitions at the end. They're pretty important to understand the ending scene of this chapter, so do yourself a favor and read 'em, 'kay? ;)**

**3.) The updated playlist is at the very end of the chapter! You all can look forward to a bonus chapter eventually with the full thing. :)**

**4.) Yes, the Bonus Timeline chapter I mentioned a while back is still coming. :P**

**~ソニック~**

"What are you doing?"

As Knuckles watched, Jet, who was kneeling on the ground in a doorway, continued rummaging through the single closet located in what was apparently his office. Wave was in another room working on Jet's board while Tails and Amy explored the truly large ship with the child in tow. "Going through all the junk in here," the hawk replied without looking away from his task. "There's a mountain of stuff. I don't even know where half of this shit came from."

"You didn't put it there?"

"Obviously not."

"But it's _your_ closet in _your_ office."

"That doesn't mean shit and you know it."

Sonic, who, as per usual, was leaning against the wall right by the door with his arms crossed and eyes closed, decided to speak up them. "Stop arguing," he muttered. "It's annoying."

Jet and Knuckles exchanged a highly surprised look and wisely shut up. _Sonic just admitted to being annoyed... What the actual hell...? _If _that_ wasn't abnormal and troubling (and_highly_ so), then Knuckles had no idea what was. A moment later, his thoughts on the matter were interrupted when Jet abruptly tossed a cloth sack over his shoulder. The sack hit the ground with an audible thud, fell over on it's side, and the strings keeping the opening at the top shut loosened, causing piles of gold and silver coins, gems, and even jewelry to come spilling out. "What the hell?" Knuckles blurted out in confusion, a frown appearing on his face as he stared at the treasure.

Jet let out an irritable sigh. "How many times do I have to say it?" He sat back on his heels and looked at Knuckles over his left shoulder. "I'm a Babylon Rouge. That means I'm a thief. I've participated in _many_ heists. I've stolen lots of things. A sack of treasure in an airship belonging to a band of thieves _really_ isn't _that_ mysterious."

Sonic spoke up again before Knuckles could. "Jet..." he muttered, a warning in his tone. That was just as troubling as his earlier muttered comment, but Jet didn't seem bothered this time, as if he'd just... accepted it.

Jet rolled his eyes and looked away. "Yeah, yeah. Stop arguing. I got it."

Silence fell for a moment before Knuckles's curiosity finally got the better of him. He wasn't much of a thief, but he _was_ a treasure hunter. He didn't have much of an interest in the jewelry, but the coins and gems had succeeded in catching his attention. He walked over to the closet to stand behind Jet. "What the hell have you got in here?"

"I told you, I don't know what half this stuff is. It's not mine."

"There's a _lot_ of junk."

"I wasn't joking when I said there's a mountain of shit."

"Clearly." A pause. Then, "Mind if I have a look?"

Jet shrugged. "Have at. Just don't touch the stuff on the shelves. That's mine."

Knuckles nodded and moved to kneel beside Jet. "It's not like we can reach the shelf yet, anyway, you know," he commented as he picked up a random book of some kind to look it over.

"Still." Jet finally finished going through the box of papers he'd been rummaging through and shoved it carelessly away and behind him. "Honestly, this whole damned ship has become a storage unit," he muttered, clearly less-than thrilled by that fact.

"Who all's been putting stuff on the ship?" Knuckles asked, more out of idle curiosity than anything else. When the book lost his interest, he placed it on the ground outside the closet where it would be out of the way.

"Pretty much everyone," was the somewhat distracted reply. Jet was going through yet another stack of papers now. "The other you, Wave, Espio, Shadow, Vector and Charmy when they were alive, Rouge, the other Tails and Amy, Cream, Storm when he was around... like I said, pretty much everyone."

"Not Sonic?" Knuckles picked up a crowbar and, frowning at it, tossed it away. He doubted it would make a good weapon. _I'd probably end up breaking it if I tried to hit anything with it using any sort of strength._

"You saw his place. He doesn't _own_ anything that he can store. I mean, he had papers, but those were disposable." The papers Jet was looking at seemed to be junk. He added them to the stack in the box he'd been going through before, turning his attention to something else.

"Yeah." Knuckles reached under a random jacket, only to jerk his hand back with a short curse. Tossing the jacket behind him, he quickly discovered a fully-sharpened shuriken lying on the ground. He'd just pricked his finger on it. Hard.

Jet smirked. "And _that_ would be Espio's contribution to the mess."

Not finding the humor in this at all, Knuckles just picked it up and threw it behind him, never noticing how perfectly the shuriken spun before embedding itself in the side of Jet's large wooden desk. "One would think that _he_ of all people would know better than to leave a damn weapon lying around on the floor," he muttered.

"One would think," Jet agreed.

Twenty minutes later, they had nearly reached the middle of the closet. So far next to nothing they had found had been anything of value. The only things that they had found that really weren't junk were three or four of Espio's shurikens, the book that Knuckles had found (though it was just a fictional novel), an old communicator that Tails or Sonic could easily fix, a page with a list of random names that Jet had insisted was important and should have been in his desk, and some sort of a scanner belonging to the other Tails. Beyond that, everything was junk so far. They had a fair-sized garbage pile sitting by the closet now.

While Jet rummaged through a chest of shiny coins and other small treasures, Knuckles stood to look over the hawk's belongings resting on the shelves lining either side of the closet. _He said not to touch... he never said I couldn't look. _As he looked, he grew more and more confused. All the things on the shelves were tech, but... _I've never seen technology like this before._ "Hey, what's all this do?" he asked abruptly, curious and confused and his interest, for once, genuinely piqued.

Jet spared him a glance. "That depends. What are you looking at, specifically?"

"Uh... The one that vaguely resembles a hand-held gun of some sort."

This time Jet didn't look up. "It's supposed to open portals."

Knuckles's eyebrows rose in shock as he stared at the odd thing. "Portals?" he echoed.

"Yeah. It doesn't work, though." There was a slight pause. "I'm still working on it."

Knuckles's gaze swung around. "Wait, _you_ built that?"

"It's a piece of crap, but yeah," Jet replied. "Like I said, it doesn't work."

Knuckles frowned slowly. _Wait a minute..._ _This ... This could be our ticket home... _"Do you think you can get it to work?" he asked quickly.

Jet turned and frowned at it. "I don't know," he replied slowly. "Maybe."

"Can you _try_?" Knuckles pressed somewhat urgently.

Jet seemed to follow his train of thought. He nodded once and turned away again. "Yeah. I'm not making any promises, though. Ancient technology is hard as shit to understand, let alone to make from scratch and actually get to work."

Knuckles nodded to signal his understanding. There was a significant pause before Knuckles ventured to ask, "And you started making this _because_..."

Jet hesitated. It wasn't like him to hesitate, not according to what Knuckles had learned about him since meeting him. He straightened, casting a sort of concerned glance outside the closet in spite of the fact that only his desk and the floor could be seen from in here. Then, looking back down at whatever he was going through now, he answered quietly, "To help Silver and Blaze. You know, with getting back and forth between their world and ours. It took a lot of power for them to do it on their own, really drained them sometimes." He paused. "Never had a chance to finish the damn thing before they were killed."

Now Knuckles understood the hawk's hesitation. Now it made sense. Speaking about those who had died, especially Silver and Blaze specifically, wasn't something _any_ of these people were comfortable doing, and understandably so. Jet's concern made sense, too. Sonic had probably heard every word. _Like he needs the reminder of what happened... _Tilting his head a bit, Knuckles looked over the other various handheld pieces of odd tech resting on Jet's shelves. _Ancient technology, huh? _He continued looking around slowly, highly interested, though there was little chance of him admitting to that. There was even less of a chance of him ever understanding what any of this stuff did unless Jet told him. Ancient technology wasn't something he'd ever spent much time learning about. Still, he knew a _little_. _Pretty powerful stuff. Who knows what it's capable of. _His gaze landed back on the gun. After a moment of quiet contemplation, he suddenly stiffened. ll at once, everything hit him. _The legends of the Rouges' ancient knowledge and capabilities... Ancient technology... Babylon Garden... The ancient technology in Babylon Garden... _His eyes slowly widened as he finally remembered the single, immensely important thing about Babylon Garden, one of the Babylon Rouges' most ancient and best-kept secrets... and also one of their deadliest. It was the only remaining object left from their arrival on this world, the only reminder of the incredible things their race had once achieved elsewhere in the universe. _Astral Babylon. _His eyes swept quickly over the tech still sitting on the shelves. _Oh my god._

**~ソニック~**

Now that Jet was asleep again, Sonic went to track down Wave. He had a question for her, but it wasn't exactly terribly _important_. She just seemed to know the answer to it, and it was concerning him a bit more than he would have liked to admit. Walking out the front door and closing it behind him, he soon spotted her working on her board on a fold-up table she had borrowed from Amy's mom. Jet's mostly destroyed board was resting on the ground beside the table with her toolbox. Deciding to put off his real question for the time being, he asked instead. "Need any help? It looks like you have your work cut out for you here."

She smirked down at her board as she continued to work. "Yeah, I really do," she said in response to that last remark. "But I'm fine. It's giving me something to do besides dwell on everything that's happened." There was a slight pause. "Thanks, though."

He shrugged in response, watching as she slowly twisted a small screwdriver in her hand. After a moment, he spoke again. "So you know why Jet has a fever?"

At this, she paused and turned to look at him, laying her screwdriver down on her board under hand. "Yeah," she acknowledged. "It's not very complicated, really." He frowned slightly. "He's got himself so stressed out over something that it's making him sick. It can happen to anyone."

His frown deepened. _Jet? Stressed? _That didn't sound like him at all. But, before his confusion really had a chance to manifest itself, understanding suddenly hit him. _Wait. Could this have something to do with what Future Amy was telling me about? Babylon Garden and the Arks of the Cosmos..._ He shook his head slowly, not understanding this at all. He's known since the beginning that Jet was a Rouge and therefore a thief (he'd been there when Jet had, at age fourteen, single-handedly stolen the Babylon Rouges' airship from right under Ross's proud nose), but that was the extent of his knowledge on the subject. He'd never heard of Babylon Garden before, let alone the Arks of the Cosmos. "How could you tell?" he finally asked, steering his thoughts back on track for now.

She shrugged a bit. "He got himself worked up like this once before, right after all that stuff with you and Elsa went down." Her reply was almost too casual. She knew as well as anyone else did that anything relating to Elsa was a hard subject for him to have brought up. "He never told me much of anything about it, though," she continued, "excluding that you were beyond pissed and probably weren't ever coming home."

Sonic paused for a moment, genuinely surprised. "I'd thought that you and Storm were the _only_ people who would've told about it." Still, this explained Jet's pent-up anger at himself over that whole fiasco. Even just talking about what had happened a _little_ would have helped ease those feelings somewhat, _But if he never told anyone..._

Wave shrugged again. "Guess not," she replied. "Wasn't any of our business, anyway. Besides, it's in the past now. You guys've finally moved on."

"Yeah," he acknowledged calmly. "Yeah, we did." And, if he were being perfectly honest with himself, he was really very happy about that. After all, Jet was his only childhood friend who hadn't ended up _dead_ before Sonic himself, and with Jet had come two new friends (well, one friend and a cranky acquaintance), and that had been one of the greatest things in the world for him. It had been one of the best things to happen to him in a long time, at the time. He was still _ever_-so-grateful to Jet to this day for starting that conversation with Sonic that first day, even if it _had_ resulted in a lot of arguing. Because, had Jet never approached him, they never would have met and had the argument that had, in the end, resulted in a near-instant friendship. _I'm just glad that we can go back to being like that again, after all this time._

"So I heard you're going somewhere?" Wave asked suddenly, pulling Sonic from his thoughts, a request for information clearly noticeable in her tone.

_That's right. Chun-nan. _"Yeah," he replied.

"When will you leave?" She seemed... concerned.

He hesitated. "Not until Jet's recovered," he finally answered. He paused, then added. "At least physically." _The rest could take years,... and even then there'll be scars. ...If the wounds ever heal at all._

She nodded once, her concern visibly fading away. "Thanks," she said, giving him one of her rare smiles that was actually friendly and warm rather than taunting or mischievous or sly or whatever else. "I'm sure he's grateful, too, even if he'll never admit it."

Now it was Sonic's turn to shrug. "If you say so." He turned to leave, only to pause after a couple of steps and turn back around to face her. "Listen, when I leave, I'll probably be gone for a while," he said quickly. "Where I'm going is pretty far away-"

"And you can't run as fast as normal right now," she finished neatly. "Getting some sleep until then will help, but yeah, I get what you're saying."

He nodded. "Just be careful. All of you. Ivo may be locked up, but there are still robots running around everywhere."

"Yeah. We'll be careful."

"Silver won't be coming with me, so do me a favor and help keep an eye on him, will you?"

"Sure."

"Thanks." With nothing left to say, he went back inside to try to get some sleep.

**~ソニック~**

Wave hummed softly, though Knuckles didn't know what the sound meant. "You found out about that, huh?" She never looked up from her work as she spoke, still doing her level best to repair Jet's badly damaged (to put it lightly) board.

"Yeah," he replied, his arms crossed. Then he asked, "Since when can _he_ build tech?"

"Pretty much always, I think," she replied, "though I could be wrong." There was a brief pause before she added, "I know Sonic taught him some stuff when we were kids."

"When Sonic laid out the plan for the fight against Dark Gaia and told you to fix your guys's boards and you told Jet and Storm to help you," Knuckles pointed out, "Jet said he didn't know anything about mechanics or something like that."

"He's not very good with mechanics," Wave replied, "when it comes to vehicles, but if you task him with making a gadget, he almost always comes through. He's especially good with the ancient technology, since he's had years of practice, but he knows a lot about modern tech, too."

"The way he was talking, you'd think that he was an amateur at best," Knuckles muttered, annoyed by the fact that he was once again forced to come to his own conclusions about what was actually true. Was Wave right, or had his preciously stated impressions about Jet been the truth? _Honestly... __It's bad enough that I have to do that whenever I ask Sonic anything..._

"Don't let him fool you," Wave suddenly said. "He's smarter than he likes to let people think. He knows what he's doing."

He frowned. "Then why does he act like he doesn't?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure, really," she told him honestly. Then, after a considerable pause, she added, "It might have something to do with Ross, though."

His frown deepened. "Who?"

"His piece of shit dad," she replied, venom suddenly lacing her tone. He opened his mouth to voice the obvious question of _why_ she'd referred to this Ross guy in that way, but she cut him off before he could even begin. "Don't ask. It's not my place to explain. It's his."

At this, Knuckles snorted. "Yeah, like he's gonna tell me."

Wave's sudden silence seemed to agree. "Sonic might," she finally replied, "but it's doubtful. Still, if you want to know that badly, you can go to him. He might tell you. _Maybe._"

Knuckles gave that some thought before shaking his head and brushing the idea off, uncrossing his arms as he did so. "No. Like you said, it's Jet's business."

"I doubt he'll be willing to talk about it," she told him frankly, "but you can try if you want."

Knuckles shrugged noncommittally and turned to walk away. However, just before he exited the room entirely, he paused and said slowly, "Just so you know... you two don't have to carry your people's burden alone anymore. I know the secret of the Garden." He could feel her staring at his back in what must have been open shock. He blinked, his fists clenching by his sides. "I won't let Ivo have it, either. I'll help you both protect it." With that, he left the room.

**~ソニック~**

Knuckles sat in the small cell he had been roughly tossed into when he'd been captured the day before. His hat was bent over his face in such a way that it looked like he was sleeping as he sat against the wall, his legs bent up at the knees and his wrists shackled behind his back. He was so exhausted and injured right now that even those simple metal cuffs were enough to prevent his escape. Honestly, he was pretty sure that, had his communicator not been damaged, he wouldn't even be _in_ this situation. _There were robots swarming all over the headquarters... There's no way that at least Sonic didn't know about that. He must have sent out a warning... I just couldn't receive it. _He sighed softly and shifted to push the back rim of the hat against the wall, thus moving it off of his face and back to it's proper place on his head, gritting his teeth and wincing in pain his movements caused. Then, with another sigh, he settled himself back against the wall and looked around. The ship he was on was run entirely by robots. It was large, but not massive. And yet, in spite of its size, the ward in which the prisoners were kept was small and, save for him, it was empty. Everything was made of metal and the bright overhead lights reflected harshly off of the shiny surfaces. It was giving him a headache. That had been the biggest reason for him covering his face with his hat before. He didn't _do_ bright lights if he could help it. That wasn't to say that he preferred the dark, though. He just liked things when they were... shadier.

There was a small sound in the corridor just beyond the prison ward's single door. He turned his head to look. Due to the arrogance of his robotic captors (not that they really _could_be arrogant, but still), the door had been left open. As he watched, a tiny device that looked like a yellow microchip that had been folded up like a paper airplane drifted lazily into the room. Several more had embedded themselves pointy-nose first into the walls and doors that Knuckles could see outside of the prison ward. His eyes locked on that first tiny airplane that he'd seen, which had by now landed just beside the side bars of his lonely ceiling-to-floor cage. The wiring running through it suddenly flashed multiple times. Barely a second later, every single one of those planes detonated, plus the numerous others that seemed to have covering the whole ship (if the many other explosions were anything to go by), creating surprisingly large and powerful explosions. He squeezed his eyes shut the moment the explosions began, only to open them again the moment the noise died down. Head still facing the door, he squinted hard to see through the thick cloud of smoke now filling the room. The badly sparking and flickering lights above weren't exactly helping him to see. Finally, the shadow of a figure came into view, walking unhurriedly toward him. Slowly, a familiar figure faded into view. Within moments, the person emerged from the smoke. Knuckles coughed in spite of himself. "Tails?"

Tails gave him a small, tired sort of smile, his head tilting a bit and one hand resting on his hip on the same side as his head had tilted toward. "The one and only," was the tired reply. The right lens of the goggles he was wearing on his forehead was badly cracked, Knuckles noticed, and he was injured, but not severely. His utility belt, normally so full of tools, was oddly empty, save for a few basic screwdrivers, wrenches, and other tools of the sort.

"How'd you get in here?" Knuckles asked before he could really think the question over.

Tails glanced to the tiny debris left over from the plane-shaped device that had blasted a hole into Knuckles's cage, then met Knuckles's gaze again, his smile gone. "Well... Duh."

"How'd you escape?" Knuckles asked then, straightening a bit, though only as much as he could while avoiding large amounts of pain. There was no escaping it entirely. He was injured all over. "I heard you'd been captured, too."

Tails shrugged. "Got lucky, I guess." Both his hands now at his sides, he walked into Knuckles's cage and, after helping Knuckles to his feet, he pulled out one of his small, precision tools and inserted it into the lock of Knuckles's cuffs. Within just a few seconds, they unlocked and fell to the ground. While Knuckles rubbed one of his sore wrists, Tails replaced the tool in his belt. After a quick glance at Knuckles's communicator, he spoke. "Arik called," he said quickly, "said to meet him and some others at Paradise."

Knuckles frowned, his tired mind trying to remember exactly what those code-names meant. Slowly, he made sense of Tails's message. He understood his confusion, in part, about the first name at least. ..._He usually goes by "Sen". _It made sense that Tails wasn't using the actual names that those code-names stood for. Damaged or not, this _was_ still Ivo's ship, and he had eyes and ears everywhere. Once they got off this ship, they'd be fine, but while they were here it was safer not to speak so openly. "Oh. Yeah. Okay." He looked Tails over. Tails's injuries weren't sever, no, but he couldn't fly on his own. There was _no_ way that Knuckles could, either. "How will we get there?"

Tails rolled his eyes, not that that was surprising. He'd gotten an attitude over the years. He could be really sarcastic sometimes, too. "You seriously think I came here unprepared?" he asked in annoyance. Knuckles gave no response, save for a dry look that communicated no amusement. He wasn't in the mood for this. "I stole a small ship from the carrier I was locked up on."

Knuckles nodded. "Right. Who's he with?"

"Lei and Mana are," Tails answered, "plus the newcomers we heard about."

Knuckles nodded. "And the others?"

"Saga is with Arrosa someplace else, someplace safe," Tails answered. "I don't know specifically where. Keme is still is custody, and Shanghai is still fighting. They'll meet us in Paradise if they can. If they can't, there's not much we can do to help them."

It was silent for a moment. _Shaghai usually goes by the name "Rama". _On another subject, though, Knuckles was surprised that they weren't being attacked right now. _Tails must have destroyed all the robots with those little gadgets of his._ After a moment, he just had to know. "So is it true?" Tails's eyes betrayed no understanding. "Is Agni really awake? I heard he's raising some massive hell in the East."

Tails nodded once. "Yeah, it's true. According to Sen, at least." _There_ was the code-name Knuckles was familiar with, the one that Arik normally used. "Dunno how he found out, but he did, somehow."

"And Balroc and Freyja are still in the Aili, right?" Knuckles asked seriously.

"From what I understand, yes," Tals replied.

"And Sen still has the Wonders, right?" They both knew without words that what Knuckles actually meant was the "Seven Wonders", but adding the word "seven" would have been a dead-giveaway to Ivo if he was listening and, should he learn the meaning of that code-name, he would learn who Sen was. That would be bad.

"Yeah. Dunno where, but he has them."

"Right."

There was a pause before Tails posed his own question. "Where's your weapon?"

Knuckles blinked. "I left it in Paradise last time I was there." Tails gave him a dry look and he scowled. "Look, I know it was a stupid idea, alright? Let's just get going." Tails frowned at him again before just nodding and leading the way out of the room. With all of his questions out of the way for now, Knuckles quickly followed Tails to the ship so that they could meet the others at Paradise.

**~ソニック~**

**Here are the definitions of the code-names I used earlier. I'll let you all decide who or what is being referred to in each name. ;)**

**"Arik" means "noble leader" in German.**

**"Paradise" is self-explanatory.**

**"Sen" doen't mean anything specific. It is a formery monetary unti in Japan equalling 100 yen. I just thought it sounded cool.**

**"Lei" means "thunder" in Chinese.**

**"Mana" means "psychic gift" in Hawaiian.**

**"Saga" means "seer", as in a clarivoyant or someone that reads the future.**

**"Arrosa" means "rose" in Basque and Spanish.**

**"Keme" means "secret" in Algonquin (a Native American language).**

**"Shanghai" is a city.**

**"Rama" means "black", "dark", or "darkness" in Hindi. It's the mythical name of a hero of the Ramayana.**

**"Agni" means "edge (of a sword)" in Old Norse.**

**"Balroc" means "strong warrior filled with love and hope" in American English.**

**"Freyja" means "norse goddess of love and magic" in Scandenavian.**

**"Aili" means "Light" in Irish.**

**~ソニック~**

**HERE'S THE _OFFICIAL_ THEME OF FUTURE ARC (like if it had an anime opening or something)!: ****Pokemon Battle Frontier Japanese OP**

**You can find it on YouTube by searching "Pokemon – Opening 09 Battle Frontier [Full] Japan" by Jhoung100. You can find the English lyrics through a Google search. (The word Pokemon is never mentioned in the song, just so you know. :)**

**Also, on the line that ends with the question "Are you okay?" in the song, I pictured something really cool. In order to get a visual, go to Google Images and search "sesshomaru and kagura opening". The third picture should be the one with the green background that fades to blue with a man with silver hair and a woman standing behind and off to the side of him. Now, picture Sonic where the man is standing, his sword strapped to his back as he looks down with that neutral expression of his while Amy (still wearing that black dress from Sonic X that I described her wearing on her wanted poster before), standing where the woman is, gazes back over her shoulder at him with a calm yet sad expression on her face. As that line I mentioned before plays, she slowly rises higher on the screen while he slowly lowers. Then, after the "Are you okay?"part of the line, the scene changes to something else. Just like an anime opening. ...I love it. XD**

**I highly encourage you all to imagine your own anime openings for this arc (with just the future characters and Knuckles and the others), while listening to this! :D**

**~ソニック~**

**(For this playlist, some of these songs will apply more to Hero Chronicles, such as Chun-nan's themes.)**

**_EVERY SONG LISTED CAN BE FOUND ON YOUTUBE._**

**Official Theme Songs of Hero:**** *****Tears of Life (Pokemon the First Movie OST)**

**Hero (By Skillet)**

**Official Theme Songs of Hero (Future Arc):**** *Pokemon Battle Frontier Japanese OP**

**The Last Firstborn (By Celldweller (Esp. a certain part that's repeated multiple times. The first time it plays is at 1:14-1:27, more or less. However, I recommend listening to the whole track, just because it's so cool.))**

**Official theme Songs to Hero Chronicles:**** *****Children of Mana (DS) Opening Theme**

**~Symphony of the Lugia~ (By YouTuber DJ Sakke)**

**Characters:**

**_SONIC:_** ***Dragon Soul (English opening to Dragon Ball Z Kai)**

**Superman (By Five for Fighting (I used this as inspiration for Chapter 35 way back when, remember?))**

**Once in Every Lifetime (From Eragon; by Jem)**

**Heroes (By MaÌŠns ZelmerloÌˆw (I feel like the "he" mentioned in the song could be Kaden, assuming that Sonic is the narrator of the story being told in this song.))**

**The Phoenix (By Fall Out Boy)**

**Learn my Lesson (By Daughtry)**

**Wanderer's Lullaby (By Adriana Figueroa (Her username is "adrisaurus".))**

**_FUTURE SONIC:_** ***The Light Behind Your Eyes (By My Chemical Romance)**

**Surrender the Night (By My Chemical Romance)**

_**AMY:**_ **If I Die Young (The Band Perry)**

**Keep Holding On (From Eragon; by Avril Lavigne)**

***Ordinary Day (From Radio Disney; by Vanessa Carlton)**

**Can't Help Falling In Love (From Lilo and Stitch; I don't know the artist. It might be A-Teens.)**

**Beautiful Disaster (By Kelly Clarkson (Maybe not every line fits, but still.))**

**_FUTURE AMY:_**** Reflection (By Christina Aguilera; from Mulan)**

**Alice (By Avril Lavigne)**

_**KNUCKLES: **_***You're the Best Around ( By Joe Esposito)**

_**TAILS: **_***A World Without Danger (Opening to Code Lyoko; by Noam Kaniel (Only some of these lyrics fit, but whatever.))**

**I'll Be There for Your (Opening of Friends)**

**_FUTURE TAILS:_**** The Time Has Come (From Pokemon Indigo League, the episode "Pikachu's Goodbye")**

_**KADEN: **_***Centuries (By Fall Out Boy (Bad ass... Just like he is. XD))**

**My Immortal (Rock Version; by Evanescenc)**

**Castle of Glass (By Linkin Park)**

**Get Out Alive (By Three Days Grace)**

**Faint (By Linkin Park)**

**Immortals (By Fall Out Boy)**

_**FUTURE KADEN:**_** Unshakable (By Slapshock)**

_**CREAM: **_***Got to Get it to Get it (from Pokemon X and Y (this song just felt so perfect for her. It's sweet and peaceful like she is.))**

**The Avatar's Love (From Avatar: The Last Airbender (Excluding the epic part at the end.))**

**_FUTURE CREAM:_**** Tears On the Wind (From Perfect World International)**

_**ANALIA: **_**The Inner Light (From Star Trek: The Next Generation)**

***Jinora's Light (From Avatar: The Legend of Korra (I feel like this especially fits when she's going all out with her pure light powers. :) ))**

_**ROUGE: **_**Material Girl (By Madonna)**

***Beautiful (By Christina Aguilera (This might fit Amy, too, to a point.))**

**_FUTURE ROUGE:_**** Sleigh Bells (By Riot Rhythm)**

_**CHIP: **_**Celebi Revived (OST from Pokemon the Movie 4Ever)**

_**LOCKE: **_**Heritage of the Wolf (Balto OST (This one fits so well that it just fits perfectly. :) ))**

**Find Yourself (From Cars; by Brad Paisley (Why does this feel like Locke's life story...?))**

***No Easy Way Out (Robert Tepper)**

_**SILVER:**_***Aero Chord - Mortar (I think Aero Chord might actually be the artist, but this is how I've always seen the title of the song.)**

**Send Me On My Way (By Rusted Root)**

**_VECTOR:_** ***Benny Hill Theme (I have no idea who this is by or where it's from. (For some reason, this makes me think of Vector running frantically from some sort of trouble he's gotten himself and maybe Charmy into, every time. XD))**

_**SHADOW: **_***The War Inside (By Switchfoot)**

**Angel With a Shotgun (By The Cab)**

**Overlock (By Blue Stahli (It's listed on YouTube as "Overklock" for some reason, but whatever.))**

_**WAVE: **_**You Don't Know Me (By Elizabeth Gillies (This song fits her fairly well, I think.))**

_**BLAZE: **_***Sonic Generations OST 17 - Blaze Theme (By YouTuber "McDonald's Rules, Suckers!" (Despite what they titled this, this isn't a real Sonic song. It fits her, however!))**

**Stars Align (By Lindsey Stirling)**

_**VANILLA: **_***I Hope You Dance (By****by Lee Ann Womack (This feels so perfect for her...))**

_**ESPIO: **_***Shadows (By Lindsey Stirling)**

_**JET: **_***Thief (By Imagine Dragons (This fits him**_**so**__**perfectly**_**... And this is one of my new favorite songs.)**

**Trouble (By Imagine Dragons)**

**The Fall (By Imagine Dragons)**

**DARK GAIA'S CREATURES: *****Golem Celebi Theme (Also known as The Evil Celebi Theme; OST from Pokemon the Movie 4Ever)**

**IBLIS:**** *The Phoenix King (From Avatar: The Last Airbender (Especially the epic vocal part at the end.))**

**Places:**

**CHUN-NUN (DAY):****Reminiscence of the Red Lotus (Beautiful Chinese Music)**

**Wind Moon and Fireflies****(Beautiful Chinese Music)**

**Immortal Rain Reverie****(Beautiful Chinese Music)**

**ANALIA'S CLAN (DAY):****A Tune of Yearning****(Beautiful Chinese Music)**

**THE ECHIDNA TRIBES (DAY):**** Lost City (OST from Perfect World International)**

**CRISIS CITY:**** The Last Agni Kai (From Avatar: The Last Airbender (This is a song from when two flame-users duke it out epically, so I figured it fits. Plus it's dramatic enough. :) Unless I'm mistaken, the title means "Victory at the edge of a sword" or a "Strong" or "Unbreakable sword". Look up the definitions of Agni and Kai and you'll see.))**

**Events:**

**THE FALL OF SOUTH ISLAND: ****Destiny of the Chosen (By Immediate (I was actually listening to this song when I wrote the chapters where South Island was destroyed all those ages ago.))**

**Clash of Titans (By Immediate)**

**A BEAUTIFUL VICTORY: ****Peace (From Avatar: The Last Airbender)**

**FACING AN ARMY: ****Barbossa is Hungry (From Pirates of the Caribbean)**

**A BEAUTIFUL MORNING IN PARADISE:****The Red Plum Blossoms****(Beautiful Chinese Music (Traditional))**

**ASSAULT ON IVO'S BASE/THE CAPITOL IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT (FUTURE):**** Aang Faces Ozai (From Avatar the Last Airbender)**

**AN ECHIDNA IS BORN:**** The Circle of Life (The Lion King OST)**

**AN ANCIENT BATTLE OF FLAMES (LOCKE VS. KADEN): ****Aang Faces Ozai (From Avatar: The Last Airbender)**

**PREPARATION FOR A DRAMATIC BATTLE:**** Iroh's Speech (From Avatar: The Last Airbender)**

**Miscellaneous:**

**SONIC'S SADNESS: ****Fragments of Tenderness (Japanese Title: Yasashi no Kakera; from Inuyasha (This is instrumental.))**

**KADEN'S FLUTE SONG:**** Bamboo Flute (Beautiful Chinese Music; Find on YouTube by searching: "Beautiful Chinese Music – Bamboo Flute" by the user TaiGekTou (I think this fits Future Sonic, too. It's just so sad…))**

**THE SUN SHINES THROUGH THE CLOUDS IN SPITE IF IT ALL:**** To the Grand Line (One Piece OST (Excluding the ending part where it sounds like there's danger or something.))**

**A WALK THROUGH CHUN-NAN (DAY):**** Chinese Flute Music – Tibetan Flute (By ****Wu Guo Zhong, but posted on YouTube by user "Swift Flute" (The part for this scene ends at 5:21.))**

**Any ideas for themes for characters/events/places/etc? Let me know!**

**~ソニック~**

**Not much to say this time, except that I'm sorry for how mostly uneventful this was. Still important, though! :) I'm also sorry that this is late. 4,656 words. Posted 07-29-15.**


	125. When the Past Returns

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! To be honest, I liked that, too. I'm not sure why. ...And _my_ closet is clean! XD I'm so glad that you're enjoying, Star! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yes, it was Shanghai. XD Okay, so I'm officially aiming for next chapter! I _swear_ I will try to get it in there. Once you read this chapter and see how much is going on, I think you'll see why I put it off once again. :P I'm happy you enjoyed! Well, guess you'll just have to read and find out, huh? ;) I'm so glad you liked them! I did, too! I had to do a bunch of research to find those names, though (excluding Sen, Shanghai, and obviously Paradise and Seven Wonders). ^-^ I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, xXJoeyUchihaXx! Yeah, it was. Oh, well. I'm glad you managed to enjoy, anyway! :D Haha, why were you _gasping_? XD Well, to be honest, I have no idea when they'll get home. I know what big event will happen right before then, but everything in the middle is still a work in progress at this point. :P And yeah, I'll be doing my best to make that next Arc as cool as the hype is making it out to be! ^-^"**

**Hello, Shadostar146! I'm so happy you're enjoying that! Picking and choosing different things like that is one of my favorite parts of writing this story. :) Dude, those little planes always seemed so cool to me when I was a kid and a watched that episode (episodes? I can't remember.) that they were in. I just couldn't resist! XD To be honest, I don't really have a method or anything. I just take what I personally like/liked and run with it, twisting things to fit the story as needed. ^-^ Haha, yeah. Sorry about that. Well, beyond what I described to you, I never really had a specific design in mind. I did find something you could use as a model, though, but I'm not going to be picky about how you draw her tiara. :) Anyway, for the pic, just go to Google Images and search "gold wedding tiara". The second result she be a tiara with a plain black background and the tiara itself she be partially cut off on the right side of the picture. That's kind of how I picture her tiara, but like I said, I won't be picky. :) Aw, thanks! I'm so happy you enjoyed! I hope you enjoy this one, too! :D**

**Hello, SR! Lol! That first sentence was funny. XD Haha, yeah, they got really long, huh? I;ve found that I enjoy writing longer chapters now. :P No apologies needed. I understand completely. :) Believe it or not, I got the inspiration for Super Amy from a really cool high-quality CG picture on DeviantArt. XD Anyway, yes, things have been slow in the Future Arc but, as you put it, I've been setting the stage. There's been a lot of necessary information dumping, you know? :P Dude, how could a fight like that _not_ happen? The future is ruined! It needs saving! Our heroes won't leave it like that! I won't let 'em! XD Yes, you are absolutely right. That is by far the biggest reason. However, there _is_ another reason that has been subtly hinted at. Well, it will probably be revealed more directly sooner or later. :)**

**Hello, BlazeWriters69! Your review to Chapter 1: ...Which chapter was this supposed to be for...? Ah, well. :P I'm so glad you think so! No apologies needed. I feel your pain. I lost internet for a while today, too. :(**

**Your review to Chapter 1: I was so confused when I read this until I read the one after it. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 10: Haha, I can tell! XD**

**Your review to Chapter 124: I'm so happy you think so! :D Thanks for the reviews!**

**Hello, John! Well, I'm glad you think so, even if it _was_ pretty uneventful. There was a point to it, I promise. ^-^" No, I didn't mention it before. And even if I had, no apologies would be needed, 'kay? :) Anyway, no, not for this Arc. That will probably debut in the SA2 Arc, the one coming up next. :P**

**Hello, Anonymous! I'm so happy you think so! :D I laughed about our "battle", by the way. XD Cool! I want all those games, except for Lost World. I watched a playthrough, and I loved the graphics and music and all, but I _hate_ the way they made Sonic out to be a meat-head who just smashes stuff in the cutscenes. -_-**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

**_A QUICK, IMPORTANT NOTE!_ 1.) ****There are more definitions at the end.**

**2.) This chapter focuses entirely on the future.**

**~ソニック~**

There were only ten Freedom Fighters left, excluding the group of three from the past. Of them, seven had had working communicators lately. As of today, due to the communicator that had been found in a closet (which had been easily repaired), one more Fighter had a communicator again. That meant that only those eight people looked down at their communicators late that night when their leader sent out a message from his own communicator, which was technically now owned by someone else and which he was now borrowing for the sake of sending this message tersely worded message.

**_Sen:_**

_En route to Paradise. Estimated arrival time in two days. Meet there as soon as possible. Make sure you're not followed. Can only wait a few days. Unable to send aid to those who need it. Help each other whenever possible. Stay safe._

Almost immediately, messages that were short and to the point like his had been began being sent to him and to others. Because of the way his communicator worked, he could see every message, even if it hadn't been sent to him, that way he could always keep an eye on things and remain knowledgeable of what was going on. Each Fighter used their code-names and other various code-words just in case Ivo was spying, but it was highly unlikely that he'd managed to hack into any one of the communicators. Still, it was far better to be safe than sorry. However, sometimes it couldn't be helped. Sometimes they just didn't _have_ a code-name for things.

**_Lei:_**

_Arrival may be sooner. Making good time._

**_Saga:_**

_On my way._

**_Arrossa:_**

_Was recovering using powers. Healed now. On my way with Saga. No new information to share from our research from downtime._

**_Rama:_**

_Fighting. Be there after I save Keme. Keme in need of medical assistance as soon as possible. With him currently._

**_Arrossa:_**

_Come to the bunker near Letross. Meet you there. Can provide aid._

**_Rama:_**

_Noted._

After that, a Fighter who rarely used her communicator sent out a message.

**_Leila:_**

_Headed toward Paradise. Might make it in time. Unlikely._

Normally, "Sen" didn't respond after sending out a message. However, this time he did, if only because it was necessary.

**_Sen:_**

_Try your best. Need everyone we can get._

**_Leila:_**

_Right._

**_Mana:_**

_Checked database. Robots on the move. Saga and Arrossa located._

**_Saga:_**

_Noted._

**_Arrossa:_**

_Enemy engaged already. No aid needed._

**_Mana:_**

_Noted._

Then someone "Sen" hadn't heard from in some time sent out a message.

**_Zeki:_**

_One my way to paradise. In small ship with Ryker. Ryker's communicator is down. Unable to fix currently._

Once again, "Sen" decided to reply.

**_Sen:_**

_Noted._

Now that he'd gotten a status report on everyone and everyone who _could_ check in had, "Sen" prepared to give his communicator back to its new owner, only to stop when "Saga" sent out a new message. This one was longer than the messages she usually sent out, hence the reason why it caught his attention.

**_Saga:_**

_Threat eliminated. Bad news. We're no longer protected. Someone might die soon. No certainties, but absolute possibility. Don't know anything else._

Frowning, "Sen" typed quickly, his fingers moving rapidly across the touch-screen keyboard that had appeared on his screen.

**_Sen:_**

_Everyone exercise greater caution than normal. Take no unnecessary risks. Stay together. Get here as quickly as possible._

"Saga" sent out one last message then, this one far more cryptic than the last.

**_Saga:_**

_The light of life will be restored soon._

She said nothing else. Everyone else was distracted by trying to either get to the meeting place, finish their battles, or whatever else had come up since he'd last looked at their messages. Frowning at that last cryptic message from "Saga", potentially describing a vision as her other message seemed to, "Sen" went back inside to give the communicator back to its new owner.

**~ソニック~**

It was about ten in the morning. Jet, Knuckles, Amy, and Tails were all leaning over the important paper that had been dug up in the closet in Jet's office (which was still only halfway gone-through). The paper was laid flat on Jet's desk. On it was a list of names that no one but Jet, out of the four of them, recognized and understood. He pointed to the first one. "'Sen' is the code-name Sonic usually goes by, but sometimes he uses 'Arik'." He pointed at the next name, the one below "Arik". With each new name he listed, he pointed to it. "'Lei' is my name and 'Mana' is Wave's. 'Saga' is Cream. 'Arrosa' is the other Amy. 'Keme' is Espio. 'Shanghai' is Shadow, though he usually goes by 'Rama'. 'Leila' is Rouge and 'Ryker' is the other Knuckles. 'Zeki' is what the other Tails goes by. The ones that are crossed off belonged to people who... didn't make it this far."

"Wait, if that's everyone, then why are there more names?" Amy asked, also pointing with her index finger.

Jet shook his head. "These code-words aren't just used for people. Some are for places or things. And anyway, that's _not_ everyone."

It took her barely a moment to catch his meaning, her eyes widening in sudden understanding. "Oh, you mean..."

He nodded. "Yeah." Pointing again, he continued, "'Agni' is the name we gave Kaden. 'Balroc' is what we call Locke and 'Freyja' is for Analia."

Tails frowned slightly, never taking his eyes off of the list. "What are these other words for?"

"'Paradise' is what we call Angel Island," Jet explained. "The 'Seven Wonders' should be obvious. We usually just call them the 'Wonders', just in case Ivo might be spying. The 'Aili' is the Master Emerald." Tails was frowning deeper, clearly striving to commit this all to memory, as well as the other names that Jet hadn't explained yet, when Wave suddenly walked into the room. Jet gave her an annoyed look. "Okay, dating or not, I still say you should knock." That sentence was surprising to Amy and her group from the past. That was the first time they'd ever heard him openly say that he and Wave were dating.

Wave apparently ignored his comment. "Your board's done. I didn't feel like carrying it back here for you 'cause my arms and hands are tired."

Jet shrugged and, without a word on the matter, headed off to follow her to get it. With nothing better to do, Tails and the others followed. As they were walking down the hall, Knuckles spoke up for the first time in about ten minutes, directing his words at Jet as Amy watched. "I have a question for you."

Jet turned his head to frown at him. Suspicious. It seemed that Sonic wasn't the only one with trust issues. "Okay," he replied slowly.

"What happens to you guys once we start changing the past?" Knuckles asked, not making eye contact, just looking straight ahead, his expression somewhat... contrite.

"Uh..." Jet turned his head to the front to look at Wave's back. "Wave?"

Amy doubted that she was the only one who noticed that Jet seemed to know how to answer the question himself. Wave seemed to notice it, too, but she said nothing about it as she continued leading the way down the hall. She glanced back for just a moment as she replied, looking at Knuckles as she did so. "The moment the events in your time start to deviate from what happened to cause all of _this_, in this time, we'll just become part of a different timeline. We won't stop existing or anything, if that's what you're worried about."

"But, wait, that means us changing the past won't help you guys at all!" Tails cried out desperately. "That can't be right! There _has_ be a way we can change this future for you all!"

Wave shook her head. "There isn't." After a lengthy pause, she amended, "Well, I guess you guys being here has the potential to help us, but going back to the past won't do squat, Shorty. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is." Without another word, she pushed open the door to her small workshop and the others followed her in. She pulled Jet's board off the table and handed it to him. "Be careful with it this time, Jet. I _mean_ it."

Jet rolled his eyes. "Like it's _my_ fault that that stupid creature pounced on me and decided to use my board to vent it's anger."

"I don't care. I'm not fixing it again."

"Uh-huh."

"I _mean_ it, Jet!"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." He turned away then, his board tucked under his arm, and raised his left hand in silent farewell as he started walking back out. "Thanks. I'll see you later."

"Where are you going?" she called out after him.

"I still have work to do," was his only reply as he disappeared out the door.

Wave looked on after him for a moment before shrugging and returning her attention to Amy and the others. "Okay, everyone out!" she ordered, making "shooing" motions with her arms and hands as she herded the group toward the door. "I have work to do, too."

"On what?" Tails asked, his curiosity evident as he tried to peer past Wave to see. "Your board wasn't broken."

She practically pushed them all out the door. "Make sure to hang around Sonic tomorrow morning and you'll see." With that vague statement, she shut her door.

Tails fairly pouted, clearly not happy that he didn't get to see whatever Wave was working on. Smiling a bit at him, Amy shook her head lightly and led the way back to Jet's office. They really had no better place to be. Somehow, they managed to walk fast enough to catch up with Jet just as he was opening the door to enter the room. He stopped in the doorway, his head turned to the right, and frowned at something. Or, seemingly, some_one_. "Why are you always hanging out in here?" he asked, seeming somewhat exasperated. "This is _my_ office." Then he muttered, "And right by the damn door, too..." No response. Jet shook his head and sighed, walking all the way into the room as he muttered an annoyed, "Whatever."

Amy walked in next, closely followed by Tails and Knuckles. Feeling their eyes on him, Sonic, who was sitting on the floor against the wall with his arms and legs crossed, opened his eyes about halfway, though he was looking at the floor and not them. He looked up, unintentionally meeting Amy's gaze specifically. She tilted her head at him. "Where's...?"

He gaze traveled slowly across the room just as Jet bent down behind his desk. Barely a moment later, he straightened and, carrying the small girl Amy had been about to ask about, he set her down on the other side of the desk. He gave Sonic an annoyed look. "Keep a better eye on her, alright? She was getting into my drawers."

Sonic just blinked, not really responding otherwise. His attention drifted inward again, back into his mind where it had been before Jet and the others had come into the room again. His thoughts were specifically focused on the two messages that "Saga" had sent out earlier. Though the topic was troubling, he didn't allow himself to feel that way, nor any other way. He shut himself down, emotionally speaking, and focused on the facts and not the feelings that would normally accompany them. _We're no longer protected... Someone might die, but she doesn't know who or when, or if it will even happen. _He stared at the floor as he went over that in his mind, trying to deduce who was in the most danger of everyone who wasn't currently on this ship. _Amy's healed and Cream was never really injured, but she and Cream were already located by robots once since leaving the bunker. They could still be being tracked. It's unlikely that they have any real way to travel, not unless they manage to steal a vehicle, which, depending on what they try to steal, could mean another fight with robots by themselves. Shadow's helping Espio, but he said that Espio is in urgent need of medical care. Shadow's injured, too. The last time Shadow reported in, the two of them were still fighting. They might not be able to meet Cream and Amy in time to save Espio. Kaden and Rouge are both out there alone, but only Rouge knows to come to Angel Island. Rouge is injured and they're both exhausted. We have no way of reaching Kaden and we have no idea where either of them are. Tails and Knuckles are together, but Knuckles is heavily inured and exhausted, and his communicator's broken._ He sighed so softly that no one heard it, tilting his head up to the ceiling and closing his eyes. _What to do..._

It was right about then that Amy and Tails suddenly started laughing. Focus broken, Sonic opened his eyes. He soon saw that even Knuckles and Jet were at least smirking. They were all looking at the small cat-child, who was still doing whatever odd activity that had earned the others' amusement. Shaking his head lightly and closing his eyes again, Sonic dismissed the scene and tried to re-focus, only for a voice that he had _no_ desire whatsoever to hear decided to speak up yet again.

_"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter, Sonic."_

He bit back the growl that threatened to bubble forth, fighting to not let the scowl show on his face. _Go away,_ he ordered the Voice in a tone of icy neutrality.

Of course, it ignored him. _"You must enjoy the little things in life, Sonic. You know they do not last forever."_

He gritted his teeth as memories of things he had no desire to remember were suddenly brought back into his mind, some good, most bad. Horrible, really. He was helpless against that slight scowl now. _Shut up._

_"You must be grateful for the good memories you had with your friends and family,"_ it continued, completely ignoring him again in much the same way as he tended to ignore it._"Do not hide from the memories or dwell on the hardships and pains of the past. Focus on the good things that are happening to you now."_

He tensed at the indirect mention of all those who had passed, and the iciness in him, a predecessor to actual anger, grew. _I said shut up._

It was still ignoring him. And, come to think of it, this was the longest it had spoken to him in some time. ...That couldn't mean anything good, could it? Just _what_ was going on that it felt the need to speak to him at length for the first time in years? _"Laugh and smile and be happy without fear of the future," _it said simply, not replying to his internal command from just a moment before. _"Happiness is light, Sonic. You have been missing that light in your life for too long."_

Sonic _almost_ couldn't bite back his growl that time. _And why the hell do you think that is? _he snapped internally before he could force the emotions back. _Just shut up and leave me the hell alone!_

And yet it _still_ didn't leave. He wished it would. For that matter, he wished the Voice had a physical body, if only so he could punch it. _"The enemy's success is not final, Sonic. Your failure is not fatal. You must continue to have the courage to keep moving forward, just as much as you must once again learn to smile. The light cannot return without happiness, however small the moments are that bring it."_

Sonic was done with this. He was so, _so_ done. _Leave. Me. Alone,_ he said with deliberate slowness, his icy tone one that had, in the past, made people absolutely freeze with fear for their lives. But, this wasn't a person he was talking to, nor was it something living. He doubted it could feel anything, let alone fear. And yet, for some reason, it still listened to him (finally) and he felt it's presence fade away from his mind. _Good riddance, _he muttered inwardly, completely and thoroughly irritated. He didn't allow the feelings to linger. He pushed them away with an ease that he only managed due to years of practice. A long time ago, banishing such strong feelings (such as irritation bordering on anger, as the case was now) would have been much more difficult for him. At least that was no longer the case now. That was one less thing to worry about (at least figuratively speaking, on the whole "worry" part).

Suddenly, his thoughts were once again broken into, only this time by Jet's voice specifically. "Oh, damn it all, Storm! What the hell?!"

Amy, after quickly checking to make sure that Knuckles was still keeping an eye on the child, stepped around the closet door to join Jet inside. "What happened?" she asked, thoroughly confused by the verbal outburst. Wasn't Storm...?

Jet moved slightly off to the side from where he was crouching in about the middle of the closet so that Amy could see the sandwich laying limply on the floor. It was old and hairy and… _blue_. "_Ew_!" she exclaimed, her face scrunching up in the universal expression of one who was just severely grossed out by something, _Such as a moldy, hairy sandwich that looks like it could come to life any minute!_

"Only Storm would throw some damn food on the ground and leave it there," Jet muttered, clearly disgusted. Then he added, "That's wretched."

"It _stinks_," Amy complained, covering her nose with her hands. It hadn't smelled in the closet _before_ the sandwich had been uncovered, but now that whatever had been on top of it had been moved, the room was starting to absolutely _reek_.

"No shit," he agreed with feeling. He stood then and raised his right hand. A small amount of wind flowed from his hand to the rotting sandwich and lifted it into the air. Turning around, he walked quickly out of the closet, still using that small gust of wind to carry that nasty sandwich, and walked to the single large window behind his desk. Pushing the window open with his free hand, he blasted the sandwich out into the open air and let it fall. Then, leaving the window open, presumably to air out the room, he turned away and went back into the closet while Tails lingered by Jet's desk, examining the shuriken still embedded in the side of it. Elsewhere, Knuckles continued to keep an eye on the child while Sonic remained in his seat on the other side of the room. As Amy watched, Jet sorted through piles of junk. There were a couple books, lots of random shirts and jackets, a shoe, many random sheets of paper, a few toys and an old MP3 player with ruined earbuds (presumably belonging to Charmy when he was alive), a screwdriver that could have belonged to multiple people, a fine diamond necklace (one that almost undoubtedly belonged to Rouge), a couple dresses that Amy knew were the right size and style to fit her and the other Amy, a stuffed toy that was probably Cream's, Vector's headphones... There was _so_ much junk but, somehow, with Amy's help, Jet managed to finally reach the back of the closet. There was still a bunch of stuff there, but they were nearing the end of their work.

"Wow, you really weren't kidding about the whole 'mountain of junk' thing," Amy commented, examining an old mirror she'd found on the floor. _It probably belongs to the other me._

"When am I _ever_ kidding?" was the unamused reply.

"I don't know," she shrugged. A pause. Then, "I've seen you kid around with Sonic before. Not since being here, but still."

A snort of sorts was his only reply to that. It took a few minutes before he spoke up again, muttering something about, "Damned idiots and their stupid weapons".

Amy turned to face him. He was crouched on the floor, closer to the back wall than she was. "What?" she asked in confusion.

Jet stood and turned around, a fully loaded pistol with a shiny black finish resting lightly in his right hand. "I didn't think that _anyone_ would be dumb enough to leave weapons lying around on the freaking floor, but this makes the second time that I've been proven wrong. That's what I get for overestimating people."

Amy stared at the gun. "Someone left a _loaded_ gun on the _floor_?" she asked incredulously, hardly believing it despite the evidence before her.

"Yeah," Jet nodded, clearly not thrilled (to put it lightly). "You can thank Shadow for that. We're just lucky this damn thing didn't go off, 'cause it sure could've."

"Maybe he's not the one who left it there?" she offered weakly.

"It's _his_ gun." Not that proved anything. Outside the closet, Tails walked by, headed off toward the side of the room where the door and Sonic were, before Jet's voice stopped him. "Hey, kid, think fast," he called, tossing the gun as he spoke. Tails made a small sound of surprise and caught it in both hands, though he nearly fumbled it in the process. "Put that on my desk, will you? I'll find a better place for it later."

"O-Okay," Tails stammered, clearly still startled.

Amy turned away just as Tails carefully set the weapon down on the corner of the desk closest to the door. "Where do I put this mirror?" she asked.

Jet didn't even bother looking to see what mirror she was talking about as he once again set to work on the pile at the back of the closet. "I don't care. Set it on the floor or something where it's out of the way. I'll find a place for it later." She shrugged and did as she was told, placing the mirror on the floor by the wall nearest the door. Before she even had a chance to turn back around to face him at the back of the closet, he suddenly raised his voice and called out, "Hey, Sonic, I think you should come see this!"

Sonic's eyes slowly opened. He'd been meditating, in a way, but now his focus was lost. That was at least the second time today. With a sigh, he uncrossed his arms and stood, walking over to the open closet at an unhurried pace. As he reached the side of Jet's desk that was nearest to the closet, his eyes flashed toward the still-open window. Ignoring the multiple sets of eyes that were staring at him, he snatched up the gun that Tails had placed on the wood surface not long ago. His right side facing the window, he lifted his arm on the same side, aiming directly out the window. He fired, once, twice, the sound caused by each shot making everyone but the two Freedom Fighters wince both times. Blinking, Sonic lowered the gun. The robot flying outside the window had been hit in it's minuscule weak point dead-on. It was smoking dangerously. Then, with a small explosion, it dropped like a rock and was soon out of sight. Sonic looked away, gently replacing the gun on the table before calmly walking into the closet as if nothing had even happened. "What?" he asked simply, directing his question at the one who had called him over here in the first place.

Jet gestured at a mound behind and to the right of him that was leaning against the wall. "It's in there."

Blinking at the vagueness of the explanation, Sonic approached the mound, noting quickly that it wasn't really a mound at all. It was a pile of random clothes, particularly jackets, that seemed to be covering some larger object. Blinking again, he reached a hand out and carelessly pulled out a shirt from the middle of the pile. Just like that, there was a small avalanche of clothes that quickly revealed a familiar object that he hadn't seen in years. Sonic felt himself freeze. _That's... That's the... _Before him rested a truly beautiful acoustic guitar with a perfect finish that caused the wood to shine faintly in the light. In spite of having apparently been shoved into the back of a junk-filled closet without his knowledge, it was in pristine condition. There wasn't a single scratch, ding, smudge, speck of dust or otherwise anywhere on it. He hadn't seen this object in years. Had it been anything else but this guitar, he might not have _cared_ about that fact but... This guitar was special. _Silver gave it to me._ Despite the fact that Sonic didn't ever celebrate his birthday and didn't even know _when _he'd been born, Silver had once insisted on a celebration and, somehow, he had even come up with the money on his own to buy this very guitar. And then, one day, not long after Silver's death, Sonic had found himself unable to find the guitar. It certainly hadn't been where he'd left it. _To think that it was here... all this time... _With nothing to say on the matter, Sonic remained silent as he slowly reached out with his right hand to grab the guitar and carefully lifted it free of the pile of clothes. Then, still not saying a word, he turned and left the room.

**~ソニック~**

Knuckles watched with deceptive calm as Jet worked with Tails and Amy in replacing (_neatly_) in the closet the things that weren't junk that had been previously pulled out. Half his attention was focused on the child, who was idly playing with the fibers of the carpet (he was still trying to figure out how he'd gotten stuck with her), but most of the rest of his attention was focused inward. Calm though he appeared on the outside, inside he was boiling. He'd confronted Sonic in a hall in the early hours of the morning and asked, rather bluntly, why Jet's dad was, as Wave had put it, a "piece of shit". He scowled at nothing in particular, his eyes locked on the still-open window on the other side of the room. His mind drifted back to the conversation, particularly the part where Sonic had, after a lot of his usual silent outright refusals, ignoring, and whatnot, finally answered Knuckles's question. Knuckles wasn't sure _why_, exactly, Sonic had answered the question, but he wasn't complaining. Because now he _knew_. _And if I ever meet this "Ross" guy, I can do something about it... even if I have to wait 'till we get home. _Scowling, he focused on the memory.

_Sonic stared at him for a long moment, his arms crossed, before finally making a low growling sound and looking off to the side, a sort of scowl on his face. That expression, and that growl, instantly had Knuckles on edge and shut him up. 'What's going on with him?' It didn't make any sense. This Sonic wasn't that expressive. And yet, the night before, he'dglared at Knuckles, his voice had gained a tone at the same time, today he'd admitted aloud that he was annoyed... None of it made any sense._

_"He's an abuser, Knuckles," Sonic finally answered, abruptly pulling Knuckles from his thoughts._

_Knuckles frowned. "An abuser?" he echoed, not really sure if Sonic meant what Knuckles thought he did. He hoped that he was assuming the wrong thing. He really did._

_Sonic nodded once, curtly. "Yes." The scowl on his face deepened a bit. "He was especially fond of beating his son, but he wasn't above doing other things." Despite the fact that he was still glaring off to the side at the wall, he seemed to notice Knuckles's confusion. "Ross refused to feed him, made him fend for himself if he wanted to eat. Jet starved most of the time, especially when he was younger. Ross was highly adept at emotional and mental abuse as well, especially through actions, but also through words. He was fond of locking his son in the basement, too, sometimes even the attic. That's the only thing that Ross stopped doing, but only because Jet broke the doors to both rooms from the inside."_

_"Didn't his mother ever do anything about it?" Knuckles demanded, suddenly furious. "Did she even try?"_

_"I don't even know if she was alive," Sonic replied bluntly. "Jet never met her, never knew anything about her. Ross never talked about her. There wasn't even a single picture of her in the house."_

_"And how long did this go on?" Knuckles growled._

_"Until I took Jet away from the situation, away from him," Sonic answered simply, vaguely._

_"When did it start?" Knuckles was still growling. He so wished that Ross was here right now, if only so Knuckles could pummel him into smithereens._

_"When he was seven," was the stiff reply. "Maybe even earlier."_

Knuckles was suddenly startled out of his thoughts, and thus the memory, when the child he was supposed to be watching suddenly sneezed. Loudly. He cut a glance at her from the corner of his eye and, upon seeing that she had resumed her quiet, happy play with the carpet, he turned his gaze back to the window... only to stiffen. "Uh... Jet?" he called.

"What?" came the reply from somewhere in the closet, where the hawk, Amy, and Tails all were.

"I don't suppose you know how to use a gun...?"

"What?" Before Knuckles even had a chance to answer that, Jet quickly emerged from the closet, his eyes locking on what Knuckles had seen outside the window. "Aw, you have_got_to be kidding me!" he exclaimed in an unexpected vocalization of something akin to frustration, though it might have been something a bit stronger.

Outside the window was a small group of robots. There were maybe about three of them. Knuckles could defeat them all on his own, realistically speaking, but he couldn't risk leaving the child alone in here with danger so close by. He couldn't pawn her off on someone else, either, because Amy needed both her arms to use her hammer, should the need arise (such as when and if more bots showed up) and Tails was relatively new to combat and didn't need the added stress of having someone to protect. Beyond that, there was just Jet, Sonic, and Wave. He knew Wave was busy. Her workroom didn't have any windows; she probably hadn't even noticed the danger. He had no idea where Sonic was but,_Shouldn't he have noticed these guys by now?_ And yet, the blue hedgehog wasn't out there fighting them, strangely enough. That just left Jet. _It's not like I know how to use a gun, anyway, beyond how to pull the trigger. _The robots were far enough away that, so long as Jet was a good shot, he could probably pick them off without risking injury to himself. The robots didn't look armed for anything bu hand-to-hand combat, anyway; they looked more like the kind of bot that tended to use their oversized arms for grabbing people and carrying them away as prisoners or whatever.

Jet wasted no time. He snatched the gun up, much like Sonic had don earlier, and quickly moved to the window, leaning out just a bit and bracing his elbows on the bottom frame and. Barley taking the time to aim, he fired three times in rapid succession. The first and third shots took down their targets the first time, but the second shot didn't quite hit where he'd wanted it to. Cursing softly to himself, he fired again. This time the robot went down, smoking all the while as it fell lifelessly through the clouds. That was all of them. Sighing softly, he started to move out of the window, only for an unexpected sound _above_ him to suddenly reach his ears. He reacted more on reflex than conscious thought; he fired straight up without even looking. He heard the bullet hit its mark and then the telltale sound of those massive arms releasing... Which meant it had been holding something. Which meant that there was a prisoner.

_Shit._

Once again, Jet reacted without thinking, his gaze snapping up to see who was now falling toward him. The face he saw immediately had him tensing up and his heart pounding with old anger, but this wasn't the time for either of those things. There was a life on the line. _And I'm nothing like my father._ Setting his personal thoughts and feelings aside however temporarily, he threw the gun behind him as quickly as he could and, in an especially dangerous move, leaned out the window so far that his feet almost came off the ground. His hands snatched a large feathered arm that was almost too far down by this point for him to reach. A familiar face, usually marred by anger and pride and derision and all manner of other things that Jet had no desire to remember stared up at him in open-mouthed shock. Jet said nothing as he roughly hauled the bigger bird up and all but tossed him onto the floor. Then, now that the danger on the man's life had temporarily passed, Jet let out some of the anger that had spiked inside of him. "You're _lucky_, Ross!" he snapped. "If I were_anything_ like you I would have just let you fall to your goddamn death!" Then, whirling around, he stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him with so much force that the ground vibrated.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic hadn't even realized that he fallen asleep when he'd reclined on his bed earlier. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes a bit, he glanced out the single window to see how much the position of the sun had changed. He frowned a bit. How had he managed to sleep through practically three whole hours? Granted, he'd been exhausted but... had he really been_that_tired? It had been barely eleven or so in the morning before, but now it was nearly one in the afternoon... He looked away from the window, his eyes landing on the guitar he'd leaned against the wall near the foot of the bed eariler. Suddenly, he felt like he couldn't breathe. Quickly getting off the bed, he grabbed the communicator that Amy had insisted he take back (since he, in her own words, "[needed] it more than anyone else") and strapped it back onto his wrists before leaving the room to take a walk. Getting some fresh air on the balcony sounded like a good idea, too. Within three minutes he was leaning on his elbows on the railing of the balcony, looking out over the clouds as the wind blew his hair around behind him. Despite his attempts to let the peacefulness of the day clear his head, memories played through his mind like a string of short films, and he found himself helpless to stop the flow.

(-)

_"Come on, slow poke! We don't have all day!"_

_This provoked a small laugh from Sonic and he poured on the speed, easily catching up to the other hedgehog. "Was that a challenge?" he asked lightly._

_"Maybe it was," Silver replied with a smirk._

_"Are you sure you want to race me?" Sonic asked almost teasingly._

_"Why not?" Silver retorted, still sporting that confident smirk. "I'll win."_

_"Oh, really?"_

_"Of course!"_

_"Guess we'll just have to find out then, huh?"_

_"Yup!" Silver turned and started flying backwards almost tauntingly. "You ready?"_

_"Are you?" Sonic taunted back._

_"Any day!" Silver exclaimed. Then he turned around and said slowly, "On your mark... get set... Go!"_

(-)

_They burst out of the tunnel they were racing through and were quickly forced to stop... but only because they were laughing so hard._

_"You- You- Oh my god, I can't believe you did that!" Silver gasped out._

_"Only because you slammed into me!" Sonic replied, barely able to speak past his laughter._

_"It was an accident, I swear!"_

_"Sure it was!"_

_Somehow, they managed to suck in a few deep breaths of air as their laughter calmed. Still chuckling a bit, Silver asked, "Your head okay?"_

_"Yeah," he replied, also still chuckling lightly. "I'm fine."_

_"Good." Then, with a smirk, Silver added, "I don't know what the others would say if I knocked you out."_

_"Good luck doing that," Sonic replied, also smirking._

_"Was that a challenge?"_

_"I really don't want to be knocked around anymore, thanks."_

_"Aw, you're no fun."_

_"Says you."_

_"I just did!"_

(-)

_Upon discovering that Silver didn't seem to be sleeping well, Sonic walked over to him and knelt by his side. Silver's expression was distressed, and Sonic's frown deepened. Reaching out, Sonic gently smoothed a hand over the fur on his son's head._

_Silver's eyes blinked open drowsily. "Dad...?" he mumbled._

_Sonic nodded once, not removing his hand. "Go back to sleep," he murmured._

_Silver yawned and nodded sleepily, his eyes already drifting shut as he replied faintly, "Okay._

_Sonic lingered for a moment, watching as Silver's expression became more peaceful, before standing and turning away._

(-)

_"Then again, when you were passed out, it was nice and quiet around here."_

_Sonic snorted softly, nearly laughed. "I don't see how, with the way Knuckles was snoring. I swear the ground was almost shaking."_

_At this, Silver's smile grew. "Just don't tell him that. He'll kill someone."_

_"Yeah, and it'll probably be me," Sonic returned, smiling a bit wider, "because I'm the one who started it."_

_"Betcha if we called him Toes he'd try to kill both of us."_

_"Probably."_

_"We should totally do it, anyway."_

_"We should. I'd love to see the look on his face."_

_"Same here."_

_By now, they were both chuckling quietly, the tension of the aftermath of the battle with Mephiles all but fading from their minds._

(-)

_"Maybe... Blaze and I can join you guys in a few weeks?" he suggested somewhat hesitantly. "That'll give up enough time to say goodbye to everyone and find a way to open the portal."_

_Sonic also gave that some thought before nodding once again. "Alright. If you're sure."_

_"I am." Silver rushed forward then, surprising Sonic with a sudden hug that he was quick to return. "I'll miss you."_

_Sonic closed his eyes. These next few weeks were going to be long. "I'll miss you, too."_

(-)

_"Don't do anything too fun without me, 'kay?" Silver winked._

_Sonic smirked at him. "I make no promises. Adventure seems to love me."_

_"You're full of it," Silver laughed._

_"Says you," Sonic laughed back._

_"I do say so!" Silver grinned._

(-)

_Sonic burst out of the trees and continued running... only to be lifted into the air and swung up high. Twisting around at the sound of laughter behind him, Sonic couldn't quite suppress a small smile._

_"You should have seen your face!" Silver laughed, clutching his stomach in one hand and pointing with the other. "You looked like a startled deer or something!"_

_"Oh, shut up," Sonic replied, though not without a note of humor in his voice._

_"You can't make me!" Silver replied, sticking his tongue out at Sonic._

(-)

_"She's pretty hard to trick," Sonic commented, eyebrows upraised._

_"It's not like I was trying to!" Silver exclaimed._

_"Uh-huh."_

_"Okay, maybe I was, but only a little!"_

_Sonic couldn't help but smirk. "I hope she smacked you."_

_"Hey, who's side are you on, anyway?!" Silver demanded, causing Sonic to laugh. Silver crossed his arms grumpily. "Jerk."_

_"Aw, you know you don't mean that," Sonic teased, still smirking._

_"No, maybe not, but I do mean this!" Silver exclaimed, suddenly smiling again._

_Before Sonic even knew what was happening, he was falling back down to the ground. He landed safely with ease, but that didn't stop Silver from laughing about it. Sonic crossed his arms and huffed at him. "Was that really necessary?"_

_"Completely!" Silver said cheerfully as he landed before Sonic._

(-)

_"Whew... it's just you."_

_"Yeah. Who else would it be?" Sonic teased. "You, from Dimension 3?"_

_Silver stuck his tongue out at Sonic, though he was smiling as he did so._

(-)

_Sonic shrugged. "I don't really celebrate that, Silver. It's not a big deal."_

_"Of course it's a big deal!" Silver exclaimed. "Now we're celebrating your birthday whether you like it or not, and you're gonna like it!"_

(-)

_"Do you... really like it, Dad?"_

_Sonic looked up from the gift Silver had given him, a beautiful, perfect guitar, and forced his surprise back long enough to smile and reach a hand out to ruffle his son's head. "Of course I do, Silver."_

_Silver smiled brightly at him. "Happy Birthday, Dad."_

(-)

The flow of memories was finally interrupted when his communicator suddenly vibrated almost imperceptibly on his wrist multiple times in rapid succession. Looking down at it, he quickly discovered that another typed-out conversation was starting. If only for the sake of monitoring what was going on, he began to read.

**_Rama:_**

_Keme is dead. No time to give details. Being pursued. Will try to get to Paradise ASAP._

**_Arrossa:_**

_Dead?_

In spite of it being a typed message, her shock was obvious, as was the shock of the next person to reply. Had Sonic been allowing himself to feel, he doubted that shock would be the only thing he would be feeling.

**_Mana:_**

_When the hell did this happen?_

**_Rama:_**

_Ten minutes ago. Have to go. No more time to type long messages._

**_Mana:_**

_Arrossa, weren't you and Saga supposed to help Keme?_

**_Arrossa:_**

_Never even saw him, or Rama. Couldn't wait for longer than an hour. Too many robots around._

_**Mana:**_

_Oh._

A few minutes later, the subject was abruptly changed.

_**Zeki:**_

_Locked on to Sen's communicator. Found his location. Sending coordinates to everyone. Try to get to him ASAP. Safer to go to Paradise together._

_**Rama:**_

_Received._

_**Saga:**_

_Got it._

**_Arrossa:_**

_Received. En route with Saga in an off-road vehicle. Will try to keep in regular contact._

**_Leila:_**

_I got it, but I can't fly that high. Going to try to make it on my own._

At this, "Sen" finally decided to speak up. She was being damned stubborn, and he refused to let that be the death of her. He rarely ever asserted his authority, truly, but stunts like what she was trying to pull, stunts like _that_, occasionally forced his hand.

**_Sen:_**

_No. Meet up with at least one other person. You're injured and it's a long flight._

To her credit, she didn't bother trying to fight him. He would have won that fight, anyway. He would have made sure of it.

**_Leila:_**

_Fine. Zeki, where are you?_

She didn't seem happy. Oh well, then. At least she would be safe. Didn't she get that that was all he was trying to do? _Just so long as I can keep them alive..._ That was all that mattered, half the time. Fighting The Empire was nowhere near as important as trying to keep all these people _alive_.

**_Zeki:_**

_Sending coordinates._

**_Leila:_**

_Got 'em. Headed your way, I guess._

Once again the subject was changed, though this time the change occurred barely a moment after "Leila's" last message.

**_Arrossa:_**

_Lei, current estimated arrival time?_

**_Lei:_**

_Same._

"Sen" was well aware of the fact that all of these messages were short and to the point, but did this message seem especially... _terse_ compared to the others? Sighing, he pulled his attention away from his communicator and turned to head back inside. He'd deal with "Lei" later. Whatever was going on with him could probably wait. And if it couldn't... well, it wasn't like the bird had any reservations about waking him. Either way, Sonic really did want to just go back to sleep. Because now Espio was _dead_, along with so many others, and it was just too much for him to handle right now. But one troubling thing lingered on his mind even as he crawled slowly back into bed, the last cryptic message that "Saga" had sent out the night before. What had she meant by those words? And how were the Voice's cryptic statements related? They _were_ related, he knew. Both had talked about life and light. They couldn't _not_ be related. There was just no way. But...

_"The light of life will return soon."_

What did that even mean?

**~ソニック~**

**"Leila" means "night thief".**

**"Zeki" m****eans "intelligent" in Turkish, ultimately from Arabic ذكيّ (dhakiy).**

**"Ryker" means "tough" or "strong". Also, people with this name are "****are dynamic, visionary and versatile, able to make constructive use of freedom. They fight being restricted by rules and conventions."**

**~ソニック~**

**7,675 words this time. And this is late... again. Sorry guys. This may be happening a lot. My family is starting to do a lot of packing as of today (we're apparently moving... yet again), so my posting schedule will probably be messed up. But, at the same time, it might not be. We'll see. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Posted (at nearly three in the morning) at 07-30-15.**


	126. Right There, Ride On

**Hello, BlazeWriters69! Yeah, that's why I had Jet explain. Sorry if you were confused! ^-^" And thanks for the review! :D**

**Hello, John! I'm so glad you enjoyed! :D I've been doing my best on the wordcount, truly, and I've actually found that I enjoy writing long chapters. I don't think the length of my chapters is going to be shrinking anytime soon. :P**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Thanks! I'm glad you think so! I MADE MYSELF CRY, TOO T^T Yeah, it was _so_ sad... :(**

**Hello, xXJoeyUchihaXx! Yeah, I thought they were touching, too. I had to really dig around in the past chapters to find all those scenes, save for the last two (which are new). :P Aw, I'm sorry I made you cry! If it makes you feel any better, me and at least two other people (that I know about) cried, too. ;_; *Hands you a tissue* Hahaha! "Bombastic"? XD Anyway, I'm so happy you enjoyed, and thanks for the wish of good luck! I'll probably need it. :)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Haha, yeah. There was _lots_ of activity, huh? ^-^" With the codenames (save for "Sen" and "Shanghai", the definitions were a dead giveaway if you really know the characters. :P Yeah, Ryker was one I didn't have to do research for. I knew that one, too. I think it fits him perfectly. :) Yeah, me, you, Star, and Joey. That guitar, man... T^T Well, I already have a plan for the guitar, but, between you and me, I think I can make that work. Plus one other song... ;) Nope, never heard that version before. I'll look it up! :D I will do my best!**

**(P.S.: The reveal is today! However, I left out the species of the clan in which the fire comes from, because I want to save that secret for Hero Chronicles. Hush-hush, 'kay? ;))**

**(P.P.S.: Can I ask your opinion on one of the tracks in the last playlist? I want to know if you listened to the track for Kaden vs. Locke. You helped me created Kaden and his abilities, so I wanted to hear your thoughts on the music I chose for a huge fight that once occurred between him and Locke. :P)**

**Hello, Shadowstar146! Yeah, he's one of my favs, too. I hated to do that to him. But, sadly, it was necessary. ;_; But, hey, at least he's still alive in the past! That means, if our heroes succeed, he and the rest will live on in a separate timeline from this ruined future. :) Yes, she does to a point. I've hinted at her importance already. ;) Yeah, it made me and a couple readers cry. T^T I have no idea how he did it, either. Aw, thanks! I'm so glad you think so! :D That's alright if it ends up being different! I'm excited to see your version of her, either way! :D And besides, like I said, I won't be picky. :)**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

**I think it's safe to assume that the next chapter will be entirely in the future again. Not this one, though. It switches back to the past at the end of this one. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :D**

**~ソニック~**

**_Lei:_**

_I'm serious. Just leave it be. If he gets out of hand, I'll deal with him._

**_Knuckles:_**

_I don't see why you're being so damn stubborn about this._

**_Lei:_**

_Because it's my problem, not yours._

Knuckles scowled down at his communicator as he typed out a reply to Jet, who was sitting in his office with Ross. Knuckles was wandering around the halls while Tails and Amy played with the child in another room, as they had been for the past hour or two. It gave Knuckles a chance for some alone time, if nothing else, so he wasn't complaining.

**_Knuckles:_**

_I still say you could use the help._

**_Lei:_**

_Let it go, Knuckles._

Jet was being oddly impassive about all of this. That in itself was troubling. _I__t seems like he's learned a thing or two from Sonic about covering up his emotions._ Still frowning, Knuckles typed out a short response.

**_Knuckles:_**

_No._

**_Lei:_**

_And you say I'm being stubborn..._

**_Knuckles:_**

_Because you are._

**_Lei:_**

_Whatever._

**_Knuckles:_**

_At least let me punch him. Seriously. I really want to._

**_Lei:_**

_No._

**_Knuckles:_**

_Why the hell not? You and I both know that he deserves it._

**_Lei:_**

_He may deserve it, but doing that would mean stooping to his level. It's not worth it._

Suddenly, an unexpected person joined the conversation (which was supposed to be _private_, leading Knuckles to wonder how in the hell this person had even gotten into it).

**_Sen:_**

_What the hell are you both talking about? My communicator is going crazy because you two won't stop messaging each other._

That was probably one of the most relaxed sentences he had ever "spoken" since Ivo's world takeover. Or, at least, from what Knuckles had seen, anyway. It was a reasonable guess. Still, Knuckles decided to just go with it. That was what Jet usually seemed to do and, from what Knuckles had seen, the less of a big deal people made about it, the less Sonic seemed to notice his slip-up and, therefore, the longer he generally remained relaxed and more open, if only somewhat.

**_Knuckles:_**

_About time you woke up._

**_Sen:_**

_...You went into my room?_

**_Knuckles:_**

_I might have poked my head in._

**_Lei:_**

_It doesn't matter, Sen. Just leave it alone._

**_Sen:_**

_No. What's going on?_

**_Lei:_**

_Nothing._

**_Knuckles:_**

_Liar._

**_Lei:_**

_Whatever._

**_Knuckles:_**

_Ross is here, uh... "Sen"._

For whatever reason, it took a moment for the reply to come.

**_Sen:_**

_What?_

**_Knuckles:_**

_Yeah. "Lei" saved his butt for whatever stupid reason, so now he's stuck here until we can dump him somewhere._

**_Lei:_**

_It wasn't a stupid reason._

**_Knuckles:_**

_Unless you tell me what your reason actually was, I can't be a good judge of that._

Once again, it took a moment for a reply to be sent.

**_Lei:_**

_I did it because letting him die was something he would have done, had he been the one standing in the window. I'm nothing like him._

**_Sen:_**

_No, you're not._

There was another pause.

**_Sen:_**

_Where is he now?_

**_Lei:_**

_In my office._

**_Knuckles:_**

_They both are._

**_Lei:_**

_Don't worry about it, Sen. He's not trying anything right now. I can handle it if he does._

**_Sen:_**

_I'll help you keep an eye on him._

"Sen" was starting to speak in shorter sentences again. Now he sounded more like himself. ...Maybe he just hadn't really been awake before. It was a possibility. If his first message had been any indication, it seemed like he'd just been woken up before.

_**Lei:**_

_I've got it._

_**Sen:**_

_I don't care._

Oh, yeah. He was back.

_**Lei:**_

_Fine. Whatever. Just not right now. I'm busy._

_**Sen:**_

_Later, then._

_**Lei:**_

_Fine._

_**Knuckles:**_

_Hey, Sen, how come he listens to you..._

_**Sen:**_

_Ask him._

_**Knuckles:**_

_...Whatever. Anyway, I think someone should be watching him at all times, especially because there's a kid on board._

_**Lei:**_

_Yeah. I'll keep an eye on him._

_**Sen:**_

_Not all the time. I'll watch him at night. You haven't slept in the last day or two._

_**Knuckles:**_

_I'll help watch him during the day, then._

_**Lei:**_

_Fine. Whatever. Now leave me alone. I said I'm busy._

_**Sen:**_

_Fine._

Just like that, conversation ended and everyone went on with their business. Jet returned his attention to the paper he'd been writing on at his desk. It was covered in equations and notes and even a few sketches. He needed to figure out how to make that portal gun work, because Knuckles and the others probably couldn't get home without it, but damn it all, it was so complicated! This was by _far_ the hardest he'd ever had to work to try to get a single piece of tech to work. It was so _beyond_ frustrating. If this weren't so damn _important _he knew he wouldn't even be bothering with working on it to begin with. He would have just left the thing in the closet. _I basically promised that I'd try, though... me and my damn mouth. _He bit back an irritable sigh and scratched out a small note he'd made earlier before quickly jotting down a new one with his pencil. He didn't even need to look up to know that there was movement not far away from his desk as the only other person in the room attempted to edge toward the door. "Do it again and I swear I'll blast back out the goddamn window."

Ross glared at him irritably, his arms crossed. "You wouldn't dare," he muttered.

"Try me," Jet returned coolly, "see how right you are." For once, Ross seemed as if he'd suddenly taken the threat seriously. _Good._

However, it didn't seem destined to last. After a short moment, Ross's usual attitude returned. "This is _my_ ship. I have every right to leave this room."

"It hasn't been your ship in well over two-hundred years, Ross," Jet replied with an air of supreme calm, still never looking up from his work. "This is my ship now. And you have no such right."

Ross probably would have growled, if birds were capable of making such a sound. "You will _not_ disrespect me," he bit out angrily. "You have no right to be calling me by name."

Jet snorted. "Good luck with that." An icy silence filled the room after that. It wasn't pleasant by any means, but Jet preferred that to yelling and fighting, though he was sure that would come later, knowing Ross. _Might as well enjoy the silence while I can. _He had only just begun writing out another note beside one of his sketches of the portal gun when his communicator suddenly went off again. "Oh, damn it all..." he muttered in annoyance, dropping his pencil and answering the call. "What?"

It was Wave. _"Hey, come out to the balcony, alright?" _

He blinked in surprise. "What? Why?"

_"Please, Jet?" _Now that _really _surprised him. She almost never asked for anything, let alone did so _nicely_. And she sounded so hopeful... It was _weird_. But, at the same time, it was kind of... sweet. _"I have a surprise for Sonic that I've been working on for ages,"_ she said suddenly. _"I think he'll take it better if you and the others are out there, too." _There was a pause. Then,_ "Please?"_

He sighed. He couldn't say "no" to that. Not when _she_ of all people was asking him so sweetly to do something. "Alright, fine. Be there in a minute."

_"Thank you!"_ she replied brightly. Then she hung up.

Jet almost smiled as they hung up. Her happiness had succeeded in making him feel a bit better in spite of what was going on. Even if it hadn't been intentional on her part (she probably didn't even know that Ross was here yet, though she very well could have simply been ignoring it like Jet was mostly doing), she _had_ made him feel better. He appreciated that, truly. He stood then, his icy neutrality returning in an instant. "Let's go, Ross. I don't trust you in here alone. Not around my tech and papers."

Ross glared at him, stubborn and rooted to the spot. "You can't make me do anything."

Jet gave him a cool look. "Do you really want to test that theory?" he asked, a subtle but very clear threat evident in his voice.

Ross's glare hardened. "I don't need to. You and I both know that you're too weak to do anything to me."

"So why is it that you've been acting so cautious?" Jet challenged calmly, the barest hint of a smirk appearing on his face. "Concerned, are we? I don't suppose you remember that storm all those years ago, Ross? 'Cause I sure do."

Once again it seemed like Ross would have growled if he could. "That makes no difference!" he snapped. "That wasn't something you could control consciously, and it never will be! You're _weak_, Jet!" Back to the same old thing, then. Jet had expected this, but it didn't stop him from growing coldly furious about it. "You'll never-"

Jet lashed out before Ross even had a chance to finish that next sentence. His foot shot out, kicking his desk across the room with a great deal of force and causing it to slam painfully into Ross as it went. Jet's papers fluttered to the ground as Ross, now on the floor by the door, shoved the (by some miracle) undamaged desk off of him and picked himself up off the ground. Jet walked by him without a glance. "Let's go." This time he knew his command would be listened to, if only for now, and he didn't bother looking back to see if he was being followed or not.

**~ソニック~**

Ross was standing by the door on the balcony while Jet and Sonic leaned against the balcony itself. Despite her words, Wave had yet to show. Right now it was just him, Jet, and Sonic standing out here. His presence was being largely ignored, but that was fine by him. It gave him an unprecedented opportunity to study these two people whom he had never truly understood and probably never would. They had both changed so much since the last time he'd seen either of them, during the great storm Jet had created all those years ago, thus resulting in said hawk leveling two cities. The weapons they each carried on their persons were a testament to how _much_ they had each changed. A sword and a long, curved dagger... Neither had used weapons before, and he had never known Jet to be capable of combat of any kind in the first place, hence some of his reasoning behind considering the younger hawk a failure, weakling, and disgrace. Still, looking back, Ross realized, perhaps for the first time, that Jet had shown signs of great potential since early childhood. Shakinf his head, Ross turned his thoughts away from that.

The dagger Jet carried was clearly well-used, but it was also well taken care of. Even more than that, Ross had seen with his own eyes how Jet had taken down those robots earlier with a single shot each, save for one, which had then only needed one more shot to be dispatched. He'd even destroyed the robot that had had Ross, and without even looking. That could be considered luck, but... Who was Ross kidding by trying to dismiss it as such? No, that had been skill. He was sure of it. And then the way he'd kicked the desk across the room like it was nothing earlier... He'd clearly gained a great deal of physical strength in his legs at least. That much was obvious. Though, come to think of it, hadn't he always had that strength? How else could he have broken down the doors to the attic and the basement in their old home?

And then there was Sonic. From what Ross had seen in the past, Sonic had always been fairly closed off. Still, he hadn't been shy about showing his anger, among other things, when he'd felt it was necessary. He'd been serious then, too, but he'd also been laid-back and relatively carefree when he could afford to be. Now, however, he was visibly neutral. Blank. It was more than just concealment, though. It was like he wasn't letting himself feel anything to begin wirh. That took skill, as wielding that sword he had strapped to his back surely did.

Ross had just begun wondering where the two of them had even _gotten_ such ancient weapons when some muttered comment Sonic made suddenly caused Jet to laugh. Even when that short laugh died away, the smile remained on the younger hawk's face. That small scene gave Ross a moment of complete pause as a thought came to his mind unbidden. When was the last time he'd even seen his son smile, let alone laugh like _that_? When was the last time he'd seen his son _happy_?

After several long moment's, he pulled his attention away from the pair in favor of looking out over the clouds. _It doesn't matter, anyway. _

**~ソニック~**

Ten minutes after Wave called Jet outside, Knuckles, Tails, and Amy (who was holding the child) finally showed. Knuckles was lightly clutching something in his hand as he approached Jet while Amy and Tails walked more toward Sonic. "Hey, what were these fans doing in the kitchen?" Jet suddenly and wordlessly snatched the two "fans" away from Knuckles and slapped him over the top of the head with a flat side of one. "_Ow_! What the hell was that for?!"

"These aren't _fans_, stupid," Jet replied calmly as if nothing had even happened. He moved them so that he was holding one in each hand now. Which meant... he was ambidextrous? Knuckles wasn't sure. "These are _Bashosen_," he continued, "and I have no idea why they were in the kitchen. I haven't been in there since we started this trip."

"They _look_ like fans, excluding the damn handles," Knuckles grumbled, still rubbing the top of his head. Then he added, "Man, that smarts."

Jet grinned at him. "I'm not sorry at all," he told the echidna frankly. When Knuckles just glared, Jet shrugged, still smirking. "Hey, it could've been worse. In case you haven't noticed, these have razor sharp edges. I could've cut you."

"Yeah, whatever," was the muttered reply.

Tails suddenly spoke up then. "I've heard of Bashosen before," he said with a smile, his curiosity evident in his eyes. "Can I... can I see you use them?"

Jet shrugged again. "I guess so, kid." Then, barely a second later, he whirled around, sweeping the fans forward from his sides as he did so, unleashing a highly concentrated blast of wind over the balcony and out into the open air. Then, without a word, he turned back around and resumed leaning against the railing.

"That was so cool!" Tails exclaimed, his eyes and smile wide. "_How_ did you master those? They're supposed to be next to impossible...!"

Jet glanced at Sonic, who caught the look and minutely raised his right eyebrow in response. Jet looked away, jerking his had toward the silent hedgehog. "He's trained lots of people in the past. Granted he hasn't had to do it in years, but still. He used to train us, the Fighters, all the time. The only reason the training stopped was because everyone started separating and, back then, he wasn't exactly... _close_ with certain members of the group."

Amy glanced between Jet, Tails, Knuckles, and Sonic, clearly thinking something, but whatever she was thinking had no chance to be voiced before the door suddenly opened, revealing Wave in the doorway. Jet approached her, seeming ready to ask what she had called them all out here for, specifically, only to stop when he saw that she had his board in her hands. She then tossed it at him with a quick, "Here, Jet, catch."

Forced to drop the Bashosen, he quickly let them go and they clattered to the floor, freeing up his hands just in time for him to catch the board and thus prevent it from hitting him full in the face. While Knuckles stooped to pick up the hastily discarded weapons, Jet started to ask, "Wave, what-?"

"Shut up and let me show you," Wave cut in. His mouth wisely shut. She turned her attention to Sonic while everyone else watched. Sonic met her gaze evenly, not saying anything. "Okay, so this is something that I've been working on for a few years," she continued. "I had to build it from scratch since the original was destroyed, but it ended up taking a lot longer than I had planned because I didn't have the original plans from when the first one was built. If it's a bit different than you remember, that's why." By now, a slow frown had appeared on Sonic's face, a testament to his confusion and the only sign that he was feeling anything at all. By some stroke of luck, he didn't seem to have realized what Wave's surprise was yet, which meant that it was still a surprise. She reached inside to the wall beside the door, grabbing something that seemed to be leaning against said wall. "Catch."

A blue and white board flew at Sonic without any other warning. Sonic caught the board easily in both hands. For once, he actually seemed speechless. If Wave's smirk was any indication at all, she considered that a win. Jet grew excited in an instant, suddenly immensely grateful to Wave for having grabbed his board for him. He whirled to face Sonic. "Hey, let's go have a race!" he suggested excitedly, unable to suppress the feeling, sudden as it was.

Sonic frowned at him. "No. No way." He was _done_ racing. He'd _been_ done racing for _years_. And, save for that pathetic race with Storm he'd had once, he'd stayed true to that. On another subject, though, Wave seemed to have expected a reaction like this. Her good mood hadn't changed at all, nor had Jet's. He remained as excited as before, and his eyes were bright with the feeling. Suddenly, Sonic found himself frowning a bit at himself. _When was the last time he was actually...? _

"Come on!" Jet urged, suddenly seeming full of energy. "We used to race _all_ the time when we were still a team, and we haven't had a single race since! It'll be fun!"

He really did seem excited... And Sonic couldn't say "no" to that, because his friend was actually _smiling_ and, _When was the last time he actually gave someone a real smile? _The one earlier hadn't been real. Not quite. It had been close, but not quite there. But Jet was happy now, he was _excited_, and weren't Sonic's reasons for stopping his racing career all those years ago inconsequential now, anyway? _I can't say no to him about this,_ Sonic suddenly realized. And, just like that, he caved, his resolve vanishing in an instant. "Fine," he sighed.

Jet's smile only grew. "Great!" He turned on Knuckles. "Put those in my office for me, while you? Just, on the desk or something." Seeming to know that Jet was talking about the Bashosen, Knuckles nodded.

Wave frowned warningly at Jet. "Don't do anything reckless."

Jet gave her a wry, toothy smirk. "Me? _Reckless_? I don't know _what_ you're talking about." Then, without any warning, he spun on his heel, ran back to the balcony, jumped right over the railing, and let himself fall, never once attempting to get on his board.

Wave shook her head, a faint smile on her lips. "And there he goes... Reckless, 'till the bitter end."

Smirking a bit, Sonic turned and jumped down after Jet, also allowing himself to free-fall. Just before hitting the clouds nearly half a mile below the ship, both Riders mounted their boards and, following some unspoken, mutually understood signal, they lined up with each other, ready to go. "First one to make it six miles ahead of the ship and back again wins!" Jet announced over the roar of the wind.

Sonic's smirk grew against his will, showing the barest hint of teeth, a sharp fang revealing itself in his mouth. "Fine by me." Grinning again, Jet fell silent. Barely a moment later, they both took off in unison, passing up the ship entirely in under a minute. Soon the ship was nothing but a distant memory as the pair lost themselves in the beautiful roar of the wind and intense thrill of the race itself. Neither had had this much fun in so many years... and the race had only just begun. Suddenly, Sonic had an idea. One that made _him_ a bit excited. And, for once, he permitted the feeling... If only for a moment. "Hey, Jet!" he called.

Jet caught his eye. "Yeah?"

"Wanna spar while we race?"

Jet's grin returned full-force. "Hell, yeah!" And yet, there was one important problem. "I only have my dagger though. My-"

"I can get them," Sonic cut in. The he added. "If you want them...?"

"Hell, yeah!" Jet repeated, clearly as eager for this sparring match as Sonic was.

Smirking, Sonic called forth an ability that he only rarely used, due to the fact that it took a lot of energy to use it more than once within a certain period of time. Then, out of the blue, two simple katana with equally simple, light brown wooden sheaths appeared midair above Jet, having been teleported from the ship. He caught them with ease and used the thin black string-like straps to place them on his back so that the sheaths made an 'X' shape behind him and the straps made the same shape on the front of his torso. Still grinning, Jet unsheathed the blades, one in each hand. "Better?" Sonic asked.

"Much," Jet replied as Sonic unsheathed _his_ blade. Pouring on the speed, Jet suddenly moved in close and slashed at Sonic twice in rapid succession, using each blade one time and forcing Sonic to rush to parry the blows. Sonic lashed out quickly with his own sword, forcing Jet to parry as well before quickly swerving away to avoid another slash from Caliburn. "Too slow!" Jet taunted.

"Just no using the wind to cheat!" Sonic returned.

"As if I would!" was the quick reply. "For that matter, no transferring _your_ speed to your board! You and I _both_ know you can do that!"

"I won't if you won't!"

"Deal!"

With that matter settled, they took off at top speeds again. However, barely a moment later, Jet suddenly dove straight into the clouds, purposefully dropping off his board as he did so. Unable to suppress a slight grin, Sonic did the same. Within moments, their blades were clashing again as they fell at high speeds straight down through the clouds, their boards not far away from them. Each blow delivered was quick and powerful, but neither was taking this sparring match very seriously. By the time they exited the clouds, they had both separated again and were in the process of reclaiming their boards. However, their progress was hindered when a few robots suddenly appeared. Robots rarely patrolled above the clouds (since, as far as Ivo knew, the Fighters had no way of getting up there), but down here there were plenty of robots flying around. Jet used his wind to propel himself forward, his blades crossed in front of him, and lashed out at the first robot he could reach, slashing a deep 'X' through the metal on its front. It went down immediately, sparking and smoking all the while. Meanwhile, Sonic spun and slashed out in a simple move that proved more than adequate enough to take down the two remaining robots more-or-less at once. With the threats eliminated, the pair mounted their boards and soared back up through the clouds.

Suddenly no longer interested in sparring for the time being, they sheathed their weapons and focused solely on the race. Sonic pulled ahead for only a moment before Jet caught back up to him. It went on like that for several minutes, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. The racers were neck and neck, completely tied the whole way through. Before either even realized it, their six miles were up. They spun around on a dime and began heading back. And, just like that, the sparring resumed, almost as if the match had never been stopped to begin with. Their blades clashed with so much force that sparks flew. Sonic was more experienced with swordplay than Jet; Jet had to use both swords at once to equal the strength of Sonic's swings (though Sonic really _wasn't_ being serious about this), and thus parry Sonic's blade. At this point, this was more than a sparring match. This was serious training... the first lesson Sonic had taught in more than ten years. Today's lesson wasn't about anything in particular; it was about sword fighting in general. Sonic could see right away that Jet was learning something, adapting his technique and whatnot right before Sonic's very eyes. Sonic stayed one step ahead of Jet the whole time, silently taunting and challenging, doing everything within his power to keep Jet on his guard and force him to keep up. By the time the ship came once more into view, Sonic noted with some measure of pride that his stubborn friend had actually improved.

"Alright, that's enough!" Sonic decided aloud. "Let's finish this!"

Jet seemed to know what Sonic was talking about: the race. He grinned and they both sheathed their blades. "Alright!" he all but cheered. "See ya at the finish line, Sonic!"

"Hey, this is supposed to be for _fun_, remember?" Sonic asked, though he was only teasing.

"Are you kidding?" Jet returned. "I only race to win!"

"Guess I'll just have to beat you, then, won't I?"

"Have fun trying!"

Just like that, they both poured on the speed, shooting forward like rockets across the sky, leaving bright blue and green streaks behind them. The ship very rapidly grew closer and closer. The balcony suddenly came into view. The group still standing there wisely backed away as the two racers jumped off their boards. Jet and Sonic landed lightly on the railing at the same time, facing each other as they balanced the thin metal bar, their boards under their left and right arms, respectively. Neither had won. Neither had lost. It was a tie. And they were okay with that, because they had both had _fun_, something that neither of them had experienced in far too long. Grinning, Jet extended his left fist forward. "Ride on," he said with a genuine smile, speaking a familiar phrase among all the Riders, one that neither had spoken to each other and too many years.

Sonic didn't return the smile, not exactly, but the light in his eyes said it all. He bumped his right fist against Jet's left. "Ride on."

**~ソニック~**

"I didn't realize you were awake." Sonic leaned calmly in the doorway of a room that wasn't his own, his arms crossed in spite of the lack of anger or irritation or anything of the sort in him.

On the bed in the room sat his mother, whose smile was perhaps a bit sad. He understood why. It made sense. After all, _s__he_ was awake, but not... "You were asleep when I awoke, my son," was the soft reply.

Sonic blinked in response to that. He had no reason not to believe her; what reason would she have to lie to him? And besides, he _had_ been asleep for a while. Close to six hours, in fact. That was the longest he'd slept, let alone all at once, in a long time. Shaking his head lightly, he steered his thoughts in another direction to something much more important. "Mom, I have a serious question for you."

Analia inclined her head softly. "Alright." She gently patted the mattress beside her. A silent invitation.

He moved to take the offered seat, taking the short amount of time it took to get there to gather his thoughts. Once he was seated, he began speaking again immediately. "Listen, I was told to ask you to ask you about something a might need." The next part was spoken as a question of sorts, a request for information. "Something called 'Dragonfire'...?"

She was quiet for a moment before speaking. "You have already seen it, my son."

He straightened, understanding immediately. "You mean, Dad's...?"

She nodded. "Yes. That is the Dragonfire, so called due to the ancient clan from which that power hails from." It was quiet for another moment before she resumed her explanation in greater detail. "In our time, mine, Locke's, and your father's, there were four Great Civilizations. Each civilization was divided into smaller clans or tribes, sometimes both. Sometimes there were many of these divisions. One such clan was the clan of the hedgehogs, which was then further divided into many smaller clans and even a few tribes. The divisions were usually based on culture, but sometimes it was based on the breeds of the hedgehogs living in the area. Sometimes it was both. The latter was true for the city of Chun-nan, your father's clan. The hedgehogs were by the far the most populous species, and our clans and tribes were considered to be the most powerful for many years, though that was not always the case. Your father was the reason why our power became heightened so greatly that we were able to surpass our only rivals."

"Dad was?" Sonic asked, his eyes a bit wide in surprise.

She nodded again. "Yes."

"How?"

"He was born with an ability that he never should have had; to this day, no one understands how he came to possess it. That ability was the Dragonfire. Our greatest rivals were also mainly divided into clans, much as we were, and they tried to claim that we had stolen their power, though this did not happen until they learned of your father's existence, which was the day he turned sixteen. They started a war over it, a war which he won almost entirely on his own using his now legendary blade, Caliburn, and the ability of Dragonfire. Because he fought for his clan and for our Civilization, the hedgehogs as a whole became the new Great World Power, and it remained so until the end of our time."

Sonic was quiet for a long time as he processed this. Finally he asked, "So I can... use this fire, too?"

She nodded once, seriously. "It is highly likely. You must simply learn how."

He fell silent again. After a moment, he decided to change the subject. He couldn't learn to use this power until his father woke up, anyway, and he had other questions he wanted to ask. He especially wanted to know what this other Civilization was, but it didn't seem like she particularly wanted to talk about those people. So he asked instead, "You said there were Four Great Civilizations?" A nod. "What were the other two?"

"The Civilization that was always only somewhat behind us in regards to strength was the Civilization of the echidnas. They were divided solely into tribes, with the divisions being made based on which tribe claimed what bit of land as their ancestral home. Proof was often needed for this, but that doesn't matter now. The echidnas were generally quiet and peaceful people and were the hedgehog's closest allies. We regularly shared in our knowledge, strength, and riches, engaged in much trade, and even roamed freely among each other's lands. Eachof their tribes was led by a single elder, much as our tribes were, while each of our clans was run by a group of them. The echidnas possessed an astounding knowledge of the past that they seldom shared with anyone but themselves and the hedgehogs. They kept their ancient traditions alive and taught their youth everything they could about the history of their tribes and of our world. They also taught the history of the other Civilizations, passed on knowledge of ancient technology and languages, and so on. They treated nature as the world's greatest treasure, and fought fiercely to protect it, each other, and their allies. For all their general peacefulness, they were powerful warriors that were feared and respected throughout the land." Analia smiled suddenly. "It is good to see that such things still live on in your friend, Locke's son."

Sonic returned her smile. "Yeah. You pretty much nailed him in your descriptions, there." After that he asked, "What was the last Great Civilization?"

"The foxes were the final Great Civilization," she responded. "They were divided solely into clans based on the particular kind of knowledge each group of foxes in an area had. Once there were many fox clans, each possessing a truly astounding amount of knowledge and skill in certain specific areas, but over the years their numbers dwindled for unknown reason. They made sure that there knowledge was not lost, however; they recorded everything and passed on whatever they could to the rest of their kin. Because of that, by the time your father, Locke, and I were born, their clans were highly diverse in their knowledge and skills. However, by that point, there was only three clans left. They had become highly reclusive people by that point, but they were still very much our allies. In times of need, the aided both us and the echidnas in any way possible. Their reclusive behaviors may have even ultimately saved their kind; there are far more foxes in this day and age than there are hedgehogs, of which their remain but a few. Knuckles is the last echidna, and you are the last pure blue hedgehog that will ever exist. The foxes, however, will likely continue to live on for some time."

Sonic's head tilted a bit as he considered that. After a moment he said, "Well, besides me and Silver, there are nothing but pink hedgehogs left. There are enough of them that _they_ could probably live on for a while longer, especially since they have a _long_ history of staying out of the world's conflicts."

"That is true," Analia agreed, inclining her head softly.

"So were there other civilizations besides the Four Great ones?" he asked, more for the sake of curiosity than anything else.

Her head inclined again. "There were," she acknowledged. "There were many, in fact. The cats had small clans of their own, as did the raccoons. The bears lived in tribes much like echidnas did, though with far less ancient knowledge and traditions. The lizards, regardless of their species, tended to live in groups in the woods, as did the bees, crocodiles, and monkeys, though they all slowly adapted to clan life and built their own civilizations. The birds of our world always lived in tribes as well, and the race your friend Jet hails from were no different in the end, after they decided to call this planet home. They settled in what is now Mazuri, which, much like Chun-nan, is one of the few locations that somehow survived the destruction of South Island."

Suddenly, Future Amy's insistence that Sonic travel to Mazuri made sense. It was connected to Jet's people, just like Babylon Garden and the Arks of the Cosmos. _But what am I supposed to do there, exactly? _He had a feeling that he'd need the Babylon Rouges with him, but beyond that, he had no idea. But, as his mother continued, describing her world and all the different kinds of people and civilizations that had once lived there, Sonic found his worries slowly fading away. For now, he decided to just enjoy this peaceful time in his mother's presence. Who knew when he would next be able to just sit with her and talk like this? _Best enjoy it while I can._

**~ソニック~**

**Jet kicking a desk across the room actually happened in one of the Riders games. Sonic being able to transfer his speed onto other objects is a real thing (such as on those bin-things in the Plant Wisp Act 2 stage in Generations). That comment Jet made about only racing to win is true to his canon character, but was also inspired by the song "Race to Win", which actually hails from the Sonic universe, though I'm not sure specifically which game it's from. Likewise, the title was inspired by the title of a Sonic song by the same name, though the origins of this song is also a mystery to me. **

**6,194 words. Posted (at about twelve-thirty in the morning!) 07-31-15. **

**(****P.S.: My B-Day is tomorrow! Super excited! :D)**


	127. Must Be Strong

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! THANK YOU! :D ...Honestly? Because I kept forgetting that it was coming up. XD Well, we already talked about the rest of this in a PM, so I don't have much to say beyond the usual, "I'm happy you enjoyed!" :D**

**Hello, BlazeWriters69! ****Your first review to Chapter 126: I'm glad you like the title. I do, too. :) I love all those songs as well! :D Ah, okay.**

**Your second review to Chapter 126: It is. I said that in my author's note at the end. :P**

**Your review to Chapter 125: Ah, okay. Thanks for letting me know where they're from! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm so happy you enjoyed it! I enjoyed writing that history! It was fun and it was interesting to see the world of Hero Chronicles opening up before my eyes. :D Oohh! More art! Yay! Can't wait to see what you do! And thank you for the happy birthday, Pyro-kun! :D As always, I will do my best!**

**Hello, Anonymous! No apologies needed. I understand. My posting times have been weird lately, as you seem to have noticed. XD That quote you put in was hilarious, by the way. Totally made me laugh! I have to thank you for that. I needed a good laugh. :) What do you mean by "past memories"? Do you mean the past characters...? Well, either way, I'm glad you've been enjoying! Yeah, I liked that moment with Ross as well. It added some more depth to his characters (even if only slightly), even if not much else was accomplished during that particular scene. :P Yes, it's August 1st. Thank you very much for the happy birthday! Wow, Knuckles seriously says that? I saw all the cutscenes on YouTube, but I don't remember that. XD Yeah, I never played the Riders games either, but I've been watching and rewatching playthroughs of them on YouTube for a couple of years now. I love those games. I want them. Sadly, I am broke. *Sigh...* -_- Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. That's always good. :) Yes, it could potentially be messed up (though maybe not) due to packing. My family and I are apparently moving... yet again. This is literally more than the twelfth time in my lifetime (and I'll only be eighteen tomorrow!). It _sucks_. :( Haha, yeah, that was an early one, huh? Don't worry, I'm not tired. I slept in after posting that one. XD Yes, it _was_ the longest! And yes, being literal can be fun. :P Thank you again! :)**

**Hello, Firerider007! ...That reference was completely unintentional on my part. I hadn't even thought of that until you mentioned it. XD Well, I'll admit that they were mellow and low-key and relatively uneventful, but I promise they weren't fillers. I don't ever do fillers. Every chapter is important in its own way. Besides, not everything needs action and adventure, even in a story like this. Not even our heroes' lives can be _that_ hectic, you know? ;) Aw, you're welcome. I'm just glad that you're feeling better! Being sick _sucks_. :( I haven't decided if it will or not, but we'll see. As far as why it's so important, the answer will come in time. And yes, Sonic has been stated to have the element of wind. However, no one ever said that that had to be his _only_ element. Jet has wind and lightning, _and _rain (as seen in those chapters with the great storm), after all. ;) Sonic said in the chapter "The Less You Know" that it's been a hundred years, by the way. Yes, they will be answered, just not today. ^-^ Thanks, as always, for the review! :D**

**Hello, xXJoeyUchihaXx! I'm so happy you enjoyed! And yes, he is changing... Subtly, but not so subtly that the others aren't noticing. ;) Haha, I know! It only took him, like, Jet's whole _life_ to do it! XD No, I don't think they're mass-produced. They only ever show up in Sonic and the Black Knight with Jet's character. In Hero, I think it's safe to assume (based on Tails's comment about the difficulty regarding their mastery and Knuckles's mistaking them for ordinary fans) that Bashosen are a rare weapon. :P Yes, I agree that he should consider that. Don't worry, I have a plan for that. :) You can call me yasha, by the way. That's fine. Everyone does it (and sometimes with a "-chan" at the end). XD I know I said it before, but what the hell: I'm so happy you enjoyed! :D Aw, thanks! Haha, it was only 8:00 p.m. on the 31st when I got your review. It's not even 11:30 on the same day here yet. XD Thank you, anyway, though, truly!**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

**This chapter is entirely in the future again.**

**~ソニック~**

Tails and Amy were sitting on the floor in Jet's office playing with the child while Knuckles stood guard by the door, keeping a wary, angry eye on Ross, who wasn't far away. The large hawk was just standing there, leaning against the wall and not really doing anything, but Knuckles didn't trust it for a moment. Jet himself was sitting at his desk, working on his portal gun. Knuckles didn't really know where Wave and Sonic were or what they were doing, but he was quick to dismiss it as being unimportant right now. "How's it coming?" he called out, directing his question quite clearly at Jet.

"Fine," was the short reply. Then he was quick to add, "Still can't get the damn thing to even turn on, though."

Suddenly, and without any warning, Ross spoke up, never looking away from the wall across from him which he'd been staring at for the past hour. "Did you wire it correctly?"

Much to Knuckles's supreme surprise, Jet didn't bristle at being spoken to by Ross like he normally seemed to do. He just remained... calm. "Yeah, pretty sure. ...Why, do you think that's the problem?"

Ross shrugged unhelpfully. "It might be."

Jet sighed irritably, though the emotion seemed more directed at his gun than anything else. "I really don't want to have to take this whole damn thing apart to check."

"At least check your power crystal, then," was the equally strangely calm reply. "It might not be strong enough to power that."

"It's the only crystal I have left."

"There should be many on this ship. You stole it with all my belongings still on board."

"Yeah, but that was over two-hundred years ago. Things have a tendency to disappear when they haven't been touched in years. And I've used the crystals I found here already."

"Surely there's a gadget you'd be willing to sacrifice by taking the crystal out."

"Not really. I built those gadgets for a reason. I kind of need them."

"Those are your only options at this point, unless you want to scour the ship for another crystal."

It fell silent for a moment. Then Jet sighed. "Guess I'm checking the wiring, then. Damn it..."

After that muttered comment. the weird (and weirdly calm) conversation ended as suddenly as it had begun, leaving the room mostly silent as it had been before, save for the quiet sounds made by the trio playing on the floor. Amy giggled softly when the small girl tugged at some of the fur on one of Tails's namesakes, causing the young fox to yelp in both surprise and pain. Knuckles pulled his attention away from the scene once more and refocused on keeping an eye on Ross.

Jet had only just began trying to figure out how to dismantle his gun without damaging it when his focus was abruptly broken by the buzzing of his communicator, which had been resting on the desk beside him. Setting the gun down for now, he picked up the incessantly vibrating device to answer the call. "Wave, we're on the same ship," he told her dryly before she even had a chance to speak. "You could just, oh, I don't know, walk down here and talk to me in _person_ instead of calling me all the time."

_"Whatever, just get down here!"_ she hissed, apparently trying not to be heard by someone. _"You've gotta come see this! The others, too!"_

"See _what_?" he demanded. She didn't seem to think there was danger, so he wasn't concerned, but he _was_ confused. _What's she talking about? _

_"Hurry up!"_ was her only reply. With that, she hung up.

"Oh, for Pete's sake..." Jet sighed as he strapped his communicator back onto his wrist where it belonged. He then stood and walked around his desk. "Well, you heard her. Guess we should get going before she decides to do something drastic again."

Tails followed immediately behind him. "Like what?"

"Like some sort of cruel prank, for one thing," was the reply.

Amy picked up the child and fell into step with Tails by the fox's side. "A prank?"

Knuckles waited for Ross to leave the room before following suit as Jet replied. "Yeah. Trust me, she's not above doing that. Where else would Storm have learned it?" Talking about his lost teammate was hard, but, at the same time, _not_ talking about him was worse, in a way, as if they were trying to pretend that he had never even died. In a way, that made his death utterly meaningless, since forgetting his death meant forgetting how hard he'd fought for the safety of the world before his life had been ended, and Jet _hated_ it. _Best not to forget it, then. _The conversation trailed off after that and the group rounded a corner to find Wave standing with her ear pressed against a door that Jet knew led to a sitting room that was pretty much never used. "Wave, what-?"

"_Shh_!" she hissed, a finger to her lips. Then she used a hand to hastily wave them over. Exchanging confused looks, the group hesitantly came closer with Ross remaining a few feet away. Once they were all gathered around the door, Wave very carefully pulled it open just a crack. The door apparently hadn't been latched. Inside, they saw Sonic sitting by himself on a cushioned chair with no back, his guitar resting lightly in his arms. He seemed lost in thought; so much so that when Wave next spoke, her voice barely a whisper, he didn't even notice it at all. "He's been playing it," she told them so quietly that they almost couldn't hear her. "I think he might sing. Thought you guys might like to hear."

"Why would we do that?" Knuckles frowned, arms crossed. If nothing else, he followed her lead and kept his voice low.

She smirked at him. "Amazing singing voice, remember?"

At this, Knuckles relented, though seemingly only because everyone else seemed to have no interest in leaving, save for Ross, not that anyone bothered to take his opinion on the matter into consideration. Inside the room, Sonic sighed, the sound so soft that it was nearly inaudible. A moment later, apparently still unaware of the group gathered outside the door, he began strumming quietly on his guitar. Jet's expression softened a bit. _It must be hard for him... since Silver was the one who gave that to him... _

Then, the song began.

"So long to all my friends.  
Every one of them met tragic ends.  
With every passing day,  
I'd be lying if I didn't say  
That I miss them all tonight.  
And if they only knew what I would say...

If I could be with you tonight,  
I would sing you to sleep.  
Never let them take the light behind your eyes.  
One day I'll lose this fight.  
As we fade in the dark,  
Just remember you will always burn as bright.

Be strong and hold my hand.  
Time—it comes for us, you'll understand.  
We'll say goodbye today,  
And I'm sorry how it ends this way.  
If you promise not to cry,  
Then I'll tell you just what I would say.

If I could be with you tonight,  
I would sing you to sleep.  
Never let them take the light behind your eyes.  
I'll fail and lose this fight.  
Never fade in the dark,  
Just remember you will always burn as bright

The light behind your eyes...  
The light behind your-

Sometimes we must grow stronger and  
You can be stronger when I'm gone.  
When I'm here no longer,  
You must be stronger and-

If I could be with you tonight,  
I would sing you to sleep.  
Never let them take the light behind your eyes.  
I failed and lost this fight.  
Never fade in the dark,  
Just remember you will always burn as bright."

Whether or not the song was done by that point, Wave suddenly opened up the door fully and commented with a smirk, "See, what did I tell you? Amazing singing voice."

Sonic jumped, clearly startled, and was on his feet in an instant, seemingly more on reflex than anything else. "What the hell, Wave?" he demanded, his ears snapping back a bit. Jet was pretty sure that Sonic would have been immensely embarrassed, had the hedgehog actually been allowing himself to feel more. Right now he just seemed... defensive. Still, that was an emotion.

Jet frowned subtly as he leaned backward against the door frame, his arms crossed as he looked at the hedgehog. _He's been way less closed off lately than normal... something's going on here. _Whatever it was, he just hoped that it wasn't a _bad_ "something". _Like we need more shit going on in our lives right now. _

Sonic's somewhat irritable gaze flicked past Wave to look at Tails and the others. Knuckles, a troubled look in his eyes, turned on his heel, whistling innocently as he walked away, Ross not far behind. Wave smirked at Sonic with a wink and also started off down the hall. In spite of her smirk, there had been a certain sadness in her eyes that she his fairly well. Amy, her eyes shining with unshed tears, turned to follow after giving Sonic a deeply sorrowful and somewhat apologetic look. Tails, with a quick cry of, "W-Wait for me!" hurried off after her, also looking saddened by what he'd heard. That left Jet and Sonic alone.

After a moment, Sonic visibly buried his emotions. Still, in spite of that, he muttered, "I'm going to kill her later." He was probably talking about Wave. He looked at Jet with his eyes. "And you, too."

Jet knew he was guilty; he'd been spying, just like everyone else. And yet, he really didn't feel sorry. He didn't know _what_ to feel after hearing that song. Furious at Ivo for all he had done? Overwhelmed with grief for those who hadn't made it this far? Terrified for those who still might not live to see the end of this war? None of those options were appealing, so he decided to try to lighten the mood, and not just for his own sake. "If it makes you embarrassed, I might just spy on you while you sing again. Actually, screw the 'might'. I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

Sonic practically glared at him, somehow managing to do so while still keeping expression neutral. "You wouldn't dare."

"Go ahead and sing again, then. Only way to find out."

"Jet..."

Jet snickered quietly. "Okay, okay, you win," he conceded. Then he added, "But hey, it could've been worse."

Sonic did _not_ seem amused. Of course, with the way he was making himself neutral right now, he probably really wasn't feeling anything. But still. "How?" he demanded as best as one could without the use of tone or feeling.

"I have my communicator on me. I could've taken a video and sent it to everyone."

Suddenly, a foot swung out to meet him. Had this been a serious fight, Jet would have had no chance of dodging the attack, such as it was; however, this wasn't serious at all, not really, so he was able to jump out of the way in time. Laughing loudly, he sprinted down the hallway back to the relative safety of his office.

**~ソニック~**

It was, by now, nearing eight-o'clock in the morning of what was supposed to be the final day of their trip. According to Jet, they were still making good time. They weren't the only ones, either, if some of the messages Sonic was receiving were any indication. He walked from his room as he read, having been in there for the purpose of putting his guitar away and grabbing another weapon. They were supposed to be landing today, and, when out in the open, one always needed to be prepared for battle.

**_Zeki:_**

_Still in small ship with Ryker. Estimated arrival time by mid-afternoon tomorrow. Maybe somewhat later._

**_Leila:_**

_With Zeki currently._

**_Rama:_**

_With Saga and Arrossa._

**_Arrossa:_**

_Currently traveling in a small ship Rama stole. Should reach Paradise in two days, perhaps earlier._

**_Saga:_**

_Lei?_

**_Lei:_**

_Yeah?_

**_Saga:_**

_Will you all make it on schedule?_

**_Lei:_**

_Yeah, we should._

**_Mana:_**

_We're actually closer to Paradise than we'd expected to be by this time._

**_Arrossa:_**

_So you'll be early, then._

**_Mana:_**

_Perhaps, yes._

After that, the conversation abruptly shifted to something more troubling. By now, Sonic had reached the balcony outside and was leaning backwards against it.

**_Arrossa:_**

_Zeki, how's Ryker?_

**_Zeki:_**

_Stable. Still needs medical attention, but he'll make it._

**_Arrossa:_**

_Noted._

**_Mana:_**

_The other Arrossa's with us. Get here ASAP and she can probably treat him._

**_Zeki:_**

_Noted._

Sonic's attention was pulled from the conversation when he suddenly received a private message from Cream.

**_Saga:_**

_Sen-san, what have you been doing?_

Sonic blinked at her use of an honorific from hedgehog culture, only to frown when he read the rest of her message. Still frowning, he typed out a response to her odd message.

**_Sen:_**

_...What do you mean?_

**_Saga:_**

_"The light of life will return soon." That's what I told you before, remember?_

So that message _had_ been directed at him, then. She'd made the message public before, so he hadn't been sure... But here was the proof.

**_Sen:_**

_Yes, I remember. What were you talking about?_

Instead of answering his question, she said something else entirely.

**_Saga:_**

_The light has been growing, Sen-san._

That gave Sonic a moment of pause. _What?_ Suddenly, he remembered what the Voice had told him during his last unwilling conversation with it.

_"Happiness is light, Sonic."_

His frown deepened as he realized, with some measure of surprise, for the first time that he _had_ been feeling a bit happier these last few days. It was hard to pinpoint a specific reason _why_; he supposed that the race had helped. Being around the people who had once been his friends certainly wasn't hurting, if he were being truly honest with himself. Seeing his last remaining friend from this time laughing and smiling for the first time in _too_ many years was undoubtedly helping as well. Of course, there were things weighing down on that happiness; people were dead, and he always did whatever he could to not let himself feel to begin with. As he thought all this through, he began to slowly understand, at least in part, what Cream had told him. _If happiness is light, then I guess she's right in saying that the "light has been growing". But... that doesn't explain what that has to do with life. _

**_Sen:_**

_Why are you telling me this? What's going to happen?_

**_Saga:_**

_I'm not sure. I just know that, in order for this to come to pass, you can't shut out the light._

**_Sen:_**

_Emotions are dangerous, Saga. You know that._

She was probably the only person who knew that. Sometimes he suspected that Jet did, but Cream was the only person whom he knew for sure _really_ knew; she that his emotions were dangerous, and highly so. She also knew _why_. It wasn't like he'd told her, though; she'd figured it out on her own, somehow. Thankfully, she'd kept it a secret between them, but still, it wasn't something that she'd really needed to learn. _There's no changing it now, though... _

**_Saga:_**

_It will be alright this time, Sen-san._

**_Sen:_**

_Saga-_

**_Saga:_**

_Trust me._

Exhaling slowly through lightly clenched teeth, Sonic took a moment to gather his thoughts before typing out a reluctant reply.

**_Sen:_**

_Fine._

**_Saga:_**

_Thank you, Sen-san._

His next message contained a sort of warning.

**_Sen:_**

_If anyone else had asked this of me..._

**_Saga:_**

_I know._

With nothing left to say to each other, their private conversation ended and Sonic resumed looking over the messages being sent out by the others.

**_Rama:_**

_Robots ahead. Can't talk._

**_Arrossa:_**

_I'll keep everyone posted. Stuck in back of the ship. Can't participate in aerial combat._

**_Leila:_**

_Be careful._

**_Arrossa:_**

_Of course._

**_Zeki:_**

_Hey, does-_

**_Saga:_**

_Yes. Sen-san has his communicator on._

**_Zeki:_**

_...Okay. Anyway, Sen, I think we might actually make it there tonight. I could be wrong, but keep an eye out._

**_Sen:_**

_Noted._

Almost immediately after sending that message out, Sonic's attention was pulled away from the various conversations onscreen when a sudden unexpected sound below stole his attention and caused his ears to prick. Growling lowly, he quickly typed up a private message.

**_Sen:_**

_Get out here._

The reply came to him in under a minute.

**_Lei:_**

_Out where?_

**_Sen:_**

_The balcony._

**_Lei:_**

_Why?_

Jet didn't normally question him like that, not when Sonic gave such a clear and direct order, and they didn't have time for the hawk to start doing so now.

**_Sen:_**

_Just do it. Bring your weapons. I don't care which ones. Just have something besides just your dagger. Hurry._

No reply message ever came. Barely two minutes later, Jet came running out onto the balcony. His Bashosen were strapped on his back in the same way as his katana had been during their sparring match/race before and, as per usual, his dagger was on his waist, held there by the usual thin black string-like strap. All the weapons were within easy reach, as were Sonic's. He still carried his sword on his back, of course, but he now also carried the black pistol Jet had found in the closet in a holster on his right hip. Beyond that, he just had a dagger, but he'd left that in his room. He, unlike Jet, wasn't terribly fond of using of small blades. He could train others to be at least proficient in their use, but he personally preferred an actual sword to a dagger. Still, he kept it... Just in case.

"What's going on?" Jet demanded.

Sonic jerked his head to indicate the clouds below. Quickly approaching the railing, Jet gripped it in both hands and leaned over a bit to see what Sonic was talking about. A moment later, there was a flash beneath the thick layer of clouds, probably some sort of a beam attack from some robot. Despite it being the middle of the morning, the flash was bright enough that it was clearly visible to the two of them. Jut muttered a curse and Sonic's frown deepened subtly. "We need to deal with whatever that is, before we end up getting caught in the crossfire. We're an easy target in this thing." The ship, while reasonably fast and more than large enough to carry a group of people across long distances, had no combat capabilities. At all. Which made no sense, of course, considering that it had been built to be used by a band of master thieves.

"Yeah, we're sitting ducks up here," Jet agreed, his grip on the railing visibly tighter than it had been before. Suddenly, he released the bar and turned to face Sonic, his gaze completely serious. "You need to stay here with the others, just in case this fight goes south. That way they'll still be safe. Besides, you can land this damn hunk of metal if I'm not back before you guys reach Paradise."

Sonic's teeth gritted against his will. _Jet's... going in alone? _He didn't want to allow it. He wanted to make an order, to forbid Jet from heading into what was clearly a large and ultimately very dangerous battle, but Jet was right, in the end. And, at this point, what other choice did they have, really? _...None at all. Damn it..._ "Fine," Sonic replied stiffly. Jet nodded once and braced his right foot on the railing to step up. Sonic caught his arm. Jet looked at him in surprise. "Be careful, Jet," he muttered, a deep frown on his face. "I mean it."

Slowly, the surprise faded from the hawk's eyes to be replaced by a seriousness that reflected Sonic's own. "'Course. I have no interest in dying, after all." He turned away after that, and Sonic released his arm. Drawing his Bashosen, Jet stepped up onto the railing, then dropped off, diving through the sky with his arms at his sides and the fans pointing down toward his feet. Within moments, he disappeared into the clouds. He hadn't even taken his board.

Teeth still tightly gritted and memories of those he had already lost raging like a tornado through his mind, Sonic forced himself to turn away. By now, he'd learned how each of his past allies had died, even if he didn't know the finer details. He knew about all of them.

_Omega, captured while trying to protect some animals in the woods and dismantled in The Capitol..._

_Silver, shot to death by a new type of robot during an ambush..._

_Blaze, killed in the same way and in the same location as Silver..._

_Storm, shot down outside a mine that Wave was trapped in while he tried to save her..._

_Charmy, captured by robots while trying to help a child and executed by gunshot in The Capitol..._

_Vanilla, stabbed on the street by a large robot with a sword while trying to get Cream and Cheese to someplace safe..._

_Cheese, shot the same day while trying to flee with Cream after Vanilla's death and not considered important enough by The Empire for the death to even be reported..._

_Vector, ambushed by robots while trying to rescue a dying man and shot to death..._

_Big, captured while in hiding and executed by sword in The Capitol..._

_Espio, clawed to death when those creatures joined the fight he and Shadow were having against a small army of robots..._

Fists clenched at his sides so tightly that they hurt, he forced the memories away and headed back inside, fighting not to think of the many ways his remaining allies could die. Struggling to maintain his neutrality, he stepped inside and shut the door.

**~ソニック~**

**San (さん [saɴ]) (sometimes pronounced han (はん) in Kansai dialect), is the most commonplace honorific and is a title of respect typically used between equals of any age. Although the closest analog in English are the honorifics "Mr.", "Miss", "Ms.", or "Mrs.", -san is almost universally added to a person's name. "-san" can be used in both formal and informal contexts, and for any gender.**

**The song Sonic sang is "The Light Behind Your Eyes" by My Chemical Romance. It's his (Future Sonic's) official theme for this story. The only lines of the song I left out were the ones at the end where "The light behind your eyes" was repeated multiple times.**

**3,793 words this time. Sorry this is short, but it had a bunch of important things in it. Also, because tomorrow is my birthday (I'm posting this at about 11:05 p.m. the night before), there may not be a chapter tomorrow. I will try, though! :) Posted 07-31-15.**


	128. Commencement

**Hello, BlazeWriters69! ****Your first review to Chapter 127: Yeah, it's really sad, but I love it. ;_; Aw, thanks! That's so sweet of you to say! :)**

**Your second review to Chapter 127: Thank you! :D I did. Wow, sounds like a cool present! You'll have to remind me when it comes closer so I can tell you happy birthday! :D (I have a terrible memory when it comes to birthdays... XD)**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! ****Your first review to Chapter 127: Thank you! :D No apologies are needed, dear. I understand _completely_. ^-^" Well, Locke is basically Knuckles, just wearing Knuckles's hat from Sonic OVA (you can find pics pretty easily online). The robots from the first chapters were just generic robots. They can look like whatever... or you can go by the classic robots from the original games. It doesn't matter terribly much to me. Gerald wasn't in the Dark Days (he died, remember?), but when he was alive, I believed I described him as looking like classic Eggman from the firs game or two. Otherwise, just go by Gerald's appearance in Sonic X. For young Sonic, I always imagined him in his Sonic OVA style (again, easy to find pictures), but I _guess_ you can go by his appearance in the cutscenes in Sonic CD. Gerald's robot from the fall of South Island basically looks like the Big Arm Boss from... I think Sonic and Knuckles. It's just black and isn't covered in spikes. It's fine. I hope this helps! :) ...Ne, why do you need to know? What are you _planning_...? (XD)**

**Your second review to Chapter 127: I don't think anyone expected it, honestly. XD Yeah, I love Silver, too. ;_; *Cries* But, hey, at least he's only dead in the future! The other him is still alive! :D Yes, the emeralds are a big reason for why he doesn't let himself feel. There is another reason that has been subtly hinted at, but more will be revealed later. Yeah, they're all becoming more like their old selves, huh? :) I'm glad you liked the conversation. Well, the two weren't really "arguing" as in fighting. They were having a sibling-like banter of sorts. They really weren't arguing, per se. :P Thank you again! I did have a good time, by the way. :) I DON'T WANNA GO TO SCHOOL EITHER. T^T**

**Hello, flashyhero! Thank you very much! :D Yeah, it was. Made me cry a bit. ;_;**

**Hello, ScarletTheCat14! Yeah! He finally sings! XD ****No apologies are needed. I understand. :) Haha, you nailed it, alright! XD Well, with Jet, you'll just have to wait and see! ;) Yeah, poor Sonic. He'd be _beyond_ devastated by the loss of his best friend since childhood. :( I'm glad you enjoyed them both! I personally love that song. As sad as it is, it's one of my favorites. :)**

**Hello, Meadow Starlight! When I read this yesterday, I immediately said, "_Aw_!" in sympathy, causing my mom to look at me like I was weird. ...Which I am. XD Anyway, yeah, it was depressing. :( I'M SORRY, OKAY? ...Wait... no I'm not! XD Thank you bunches, Star! :D**

**Hello, GeekGirlForLife! Aw, thank you so much for your kind words! That really means a lot to me! I'm _so_ happy you've enjoyed Her up until this point! :D Haha, I doubt that that will ever happen, but that's a nice thought. XD I definitely will, I promise! :) Oh wow, you're new? ...Like, "new to Sonic as a whole" type new? Well, don't take my story as being an accurate representation of what SEGA and the TV shows and movies have done. I pretty much ignore the canon stuff (mostly). ^-^" Well, either way, like I said, I'm so happy you enjoyed! Thank you for taking the time to read and review! It means a lot! :D**

**Hello, Anonymous! Well, I'm glad you like my weird schedule. XD Well, thanks for the present, such as it was, then. I very much appreciate it. :) Haha, I remember that cutscene! I loved it! XD Thanks again for the happy birthday. And yes, I am, but that doesn't do much for me right now. I'm still a student who lives at home with her mom and sisters and who can't find a job and therefor can't move out. -_- Ah, well. Such is life, I guess. :P Wow, only _twice_? ...Lucky. I envy you immensely. :( Don't worry, I don't mind the length. I like long reviews. :) And yes... between writing and packing, things are in constant motion around here if you know what I mean. X(**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yes, loads more! Yeah, that made me smile _so_ much. And you are so right! Best friends from the moment they met until the moment they die... and even when they die I have a feeling that they'll still find a way to remain friends. :) They'll just probably never openly admit it, as you said. XD Yeah, it was _so_ sad! T^T Yeah, I agree. Man, one of these days he's just gonna snap or something... and probably take out Ivo or an army or something while he's at it. O_O Thank you very much, Ghostkid! :D**

**Hello, astroshadow! Thank you, astroshadow! :D Yes, he is! It's a small but noticeable change, and it doesn't seem like it's going away... especially since he promised "Saga" to not shut out whatever happiness he feels when h feels it. Yeah... poor Sonic. I agree that neither can exist without the other. :( Yeah, it's _very_ sad, but it really does fit his character almost perfectly. And yes, it truly is very literal for him. Haha, yeah, those were two of my favorite scenes in that whole chapter! XD By the way, sorry I forgot to answer some of your questions before! Here are my (late) answers: Yes, Jet's lifespan is about the same, if not exactly so. Yes, we know that some from Kaden's time did live to old age and probably died of it eventually, as we learned (in the Dark Gaia Arc) that he was raised by a group of elders. However, the elders of their race probably will never _look_ very old per se. Just... old_er_, if you know what I mean. Mobius... Mobius is probably millions of years old at _least_, but I don't have an exact age. Hope this helps and I apologize again fro being late with this! ^-^"**

**Hello, Shadowstar146! Thank you! I did have a great time, but we couldn't afford a cake. We _did_ have a nice dinner, though. :) ...Why would I lie about that? :/ Anyway, sorry for the wait! It makes me happy to know that you look forward to these chapter! :D Yes, very interesting indeed... especially those three parts. "What's going to happen" indeed... ;) Lastly, thank you (and congratulations!) for being the 800th reviewer of this story! :DD**

**Hello, Randomblackberry! ****No apologies are needed, dear. I understand. :) Haha, wow. That's a lot of reading. ^-^" Yeah, he is. And yes, he _did_ answer them, even if only in monosyllables like you said. :P Yeah, it really is, I'd say. But, then again, how can it _not_? :( If you want to hear it, you can listen to the song on YouTube. I put the title and band in the author's note at the end of last chapter. :P Well, I'm glad you thought it was cute. XD Aw, thanks! I didn't have a cake yesterday, so this makes my birthday complete! :D *Blows out the candles* XD Anyway, I'm so happy you enjoyed! I will, I promise! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yes, he did. :)I'm glad you enjoyed it! (Don't worry, Superman can still happen eventually. ;) ) Yes, it does fit him well, huh? Well, you won't find out here (you know, today), but the answer is coming soon! :D As always, I will do my best, Pyro-kun! :)**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

**This chapter is entirely in the future again. I _promise_ I haven't forgotten the present , guys! I just haven't had anything for them to do recently, and the chapters have been so jam-packed that I didn't want to overstuff them with events from the future _and_ the present. The present-day group will return soon, I promise!**

**~ソニック~**

"Sonic, where did you get those?"

Sonic, who was standing in a long hallway, glanced up from the papers he was holding to find Amy looking at him, the child was mysteriously missing _(Probably with Tails, then_) and her light green eyes alight with concern. He wasn't sure what the cause of such feelings in her was, though he had multiple guesses. He decided not to bring it up; he'd wait her out instead. That was easier than actually trying to be the one to start the conversation. Returning his gaze to the papers, he shrugged in a manner that was truly unhelpful. She opened her mouth to speak again, but he headed off her next question before it could even be voiced. "They're wanted posters. Most of them."

She smiled softly at him. "You must know me too well, if you were able to guess that that's what I was going to ask." He just shrugged again. She walked around him to stand by his side. "Here, let me look, too." Blinking, he shifted the stack so that she could see. Without a word, they read together. The first page was a simple list rather than a wanted poster.

_TERMINATED WANTED PERSONS (IN ORDER OF DATE KILLED):_

_Omega_

_Silver the Hedgehog_

_Blaze the Cat_

_Storm the Albatross_

_Charmy the Bee_

_Vanilla the Bunny_

_Vector the Crocodile_

_Big the Cat_

_Espio the Chameleon_

_WANTED PERSONS (IN ORDER OF HIGHEST BOUNTY):_

_Sonic the Hedgehog_

_Jet the Hawk_

_Kaden the Hedgehog_

_Amy Rose_

_Analia __the Hedgehog_

_Shadow __the Hedgehog_

_Miles "Tails" Prower_

_Locke_

_Wave the Swallow_

_Cream the Bunny_

_Knuckles the Echidna_

_Rouge the Bat_

_Knuckles the Echidna (Past)_

_Miles "Tails" Prower (Past)_

_Amy Rose (Past)_

_Ross the Hawk_

After that they began to read the first wanted poster. Every person who had had a poster before hadn't really gotten a _new_ one, though. They had merely been issued posters with new pictures and bounties. He was sure that there were strong reasons for the drastic bounty increases that were listed, but he didn't know what those reasons were. The rest of the posters were full, newly issued wanted posters. The posters were by no means in order, so the first one they read wasn't guaranteed to be a person with a high bounty... and it wasn't. It was Ross. The picture showed nothing but his scowling face and some of the random background. He seemed to be uninjured. Blinking, Sonic began to read.

_Wanted:_

_Ross the Hawk_

_For crimes against the Empire_

_Including but not limited to:_

_Attempted theft_

_Theft_

_Withholding information_

_Treason_

_Evading arrest_

_Escaping custody_

_Trespassing_

_Refusing to labor in the mines_

_Unauthorized use of a vehicle_

_Unlawful use of a weapon of any kind_

_Unlawful use of a pistol_

_Reward: 9,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Location: UNKNOWN_

Sonic frowned slightly in confusion. _Ross... committed treason? I thought..._ His head tilted a bit. _I thought he was staying neutral in all of this, save for the time he told Ivo about Babylon Garden. _Shaking his head lightly, he waited for Amy to finish reading before moving on to the next poster. She seemed to have nothing to say about Ross's poster, and neither did he.

The next one was Cream's. The picture was clearly newer. She stood by herself in the midst of a pile of ruins from some stone building, her hands behind her back and a solemn, almost bored expression on her face as she seemingly waited for her picture to be taken so that she could move on with whatever she had been doing before she had been found. She was filthy, but whatever injuries she might have had had were so minor that they weren't really visible in the picture. This picture had been taken in the same area in which Sonic and Jet had found Cream before rescuing her and taking her to Sonic's small home not long after Past Amy's group had shown up, so he was pretty sure that the photo had been taken sometime before he and Jet had found her. The outfit she wore was the same one she'd always worn.

_Wanted:_

_Cream the Bunny_

_Reward: 160,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Location: UNKNOWN_

The next poster was for the Tails from this time. His picture, too, had been updated since the last time. He stood on a large carrier ship with thick, wispy grey clouds of smoke twirling around him. His left hand was on his hip beside his strangely mostly empty utility belt while his other hand was up next to his head while he used the thumb of that same hand to push on the underside of the right lens of his goggles, seemingly to push said goggles a bit higher up on his forehead as he glared at the camera. He was inured, though not severely, and he was filthy. This photo seemed to have been taken during his recent escape from custody.

_Wanted:_

_Miles "Tails" Prower_

_Reward: 250,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Location: UNKNOWN_

The next one was Shadow's. His new picture showed him standing with one arm by his side as the other held up a black pistol which was aimed directly at whatever camera had snapped this photo. His expression was deadly serious, but he wasn't really glaring as he aimed for the shot that had undoubtedly destroyed the robot just after it had sent out this photo. He, too, was injured, though not really severely, and he was somehow only somewhat dirty. His tattered dark reddish-brown scarf, which was wrapped around his neck as usual with both ends hanging loosely behind him, reached about his waist, which was normal. Shadow wearing a scarf was something that had been normal for years now, such as with Tails and his belt and goggles. It seemed like this photo had been taken sometime not long after the battle that had ended with Espio's death, if his wounds were anything to go by.

_Wanted:_

_Shadow the Hedgehog_

_Reward: 268,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Location: UNKNOWN_

The next one was his mother's. She, like Locke and Kaden, had been careful during their time outside the Master Emerald during the small war against Dark Gaia and, as such, The Empire had no photo of her. This was also her first wanted poster. Why Ivo had only decided to issue one for her _now_ escaped Sonic, but he read on anyway.

_Wanted:_

_Analia the Hedgehog_

_For crimes against the Empire_

_Including but not limited to:_

_Being Kaden's life-partner_

_Being mother to Sonic the Hedgehog and __grandmother to Silver the Hedgehog_

_Being close friends with Locke the Echidna and __Knuckles the Echidna's godmother_

_Being a member of Kaden's team (unnamed alliance)_

_Knowing and associating with any/all other wanted persons_

_Unlawful use of a dagger_

_Unlawful use of one's powers_

_Withholding information and __ancient knowledge_

_Treason_

_Practicing magic_

_Reward: 280,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Location: UNKNOWN_

"Wait, she's his godmother?" Amy asked, her eyes wide again.

"Don't look at me," Sonic muttered when her gaze swung to him. "It's news to me, too. I had no idea."

The conversation ended after that. Next up was Wave's poster. In her new picture, she was in the process of aiming a small gun at the camera. The gun was already clutched in one hand as the other hand swung up to help steady the gun from the bottom of the handle. Her mouth was open as if she was shouting something, her expression fiery and fierce. Her outfit was no different than it had ever been, and she was standing on a rocky outcropping in the middle of what had probably been a forest. She was a bit dirty, but not very, and she was clearly uninjured. There was no telling when this photo had been taken, though Sonic guessed that it was from sometime before his own home had been discovered.

_Wanted:_

_Wave the Swallow_

_Reward: 210,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Location: UNKNOWN_

The next poster was for Past Tails. Strangely, there was no photo of him. This was his first wanted poster.

_Wanted:_

_Miles "Tails" Prower (Past)_

_For crimes against the Empire_

_Including but not limited to:_

_Being close friends with Amy Rose (past), Knuckles the Echidna (past), and Sonic the Hedgehog (past)_

_Being friends with Cream the Bunny (past), Jet the Hawk (past and current), and Wave the Swallow (past and current)_

_Being close allies with Amy Rose (past), Knuckles the Echidna (past) and Sonic the Hedgehog (past and current)_

_Being a member of (past) Sonic the Hedgehog's team ("Team Hero")_

_Being a member of (current) Sonic the Hedgehog's team ("Team Hero"/"The Freedom Fighters")_

_Unlawful time traveling and use of a portal_

_Unlawful use of one's powers_

_Knowing and associating with any/all other wanted persons_

_Aggravated assault against any robot_

_Treason_

_Hacking into The Empire's Database_

_Stealing files from The Empire's Database_

_Reward: 80,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Location: UNKNOWN_

There was nothing to say about this, so they moved on. Past Knuckles was up next. As with the poster before, there was no photo and this was his first wanted poster.

_Wanted:_

_Knuckles the Echidna (Past)_

_For crimes against the Empire_

_Including but not limited to:_

_Being Locke's son_

_Being Kaden and Analia's godson_

_Being a member of (past) Sonic the Hedgehog's team ("Team Hero")_

_Being a member of (current) Sonic the Hedgehog's team ("Team Hero"/"The Freedom Fighters")_

_Being a treasure hunter_

_Being the current guardian of the Master Emerald (in the past)_

_Being close friends with Amy Rose (past), Miles "Tails" Prower (past), and Sonic the Hedgehog (past)_

_Being friends with Cream the Bunny (past), Espio the Chameleon (deceased), Silver the Hedgehog (deceased), Blaze the Cat (deceased), and Rouge the Bat (past)_

_Being close allies with Amy Rose (past), Miles "Tails" Prower (past), and Sonic the Hedgehog (past and current)_

_Unlawful time traveling and use of a portal_

_Unlawful use of one's powers_

_Knowing and associating with any/all other wanted persons_

_Aggravated assault against any robot_

_Treason_

_Reward: 90,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Location:_

There was nothing to say about this one. The whole "godson" thing was no longer a surprise, after all. Appropriately enough, Locke's (first) poster was up next. For the same reason as Analia, he had no photo on his poster. Sonic once again had no idea why Ivo was only making wanted posters for Locke and Analia _now_. It didn't make any sense.

_Wanted:_

_Locke the Echidna_

_For crimes against the Empire_

_Including but not limited to:_

_Being Knuckles the Echidna's father and __Sonic the Hedgehog's godfather_

_Being close friends with Kaden the Hedgehog, Analia the Hedgehog, and Sonic the Hedgehog_

_Being friends with Silver the Hedgehog Jet the Hawk_

_Being a member of Kaden's team (unnamed alliance)_

_Being a treasure hunter_

_Being the former guardian of the Master Emerald_

_Unlawful use of one's powers_

_Knowing and associating with any/all other wanted persons_

_Unlawful use of a dagger and sword_

_Withholding information_

_Withholding ancient knowledge_

_Treason_

_Reward: 240,000,00 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Location: UNKOWN_

"He's-" Sonic started to ask before cutting himself off.

Amy looked at him, apparently having understood what he was about to ask. "You didn't know he was your godfather?" Sonic just shook his head slowly. Amy looked away to frown at the poster. "What _I_ want to know is why no one told you." A pause. Then, "Maybe he didn't know?" Silence answered her. A moment later, she looked at him again. "Since when can he use blades?" Sonic shrugged. A moment later, he just moved on to read the next poster.

Next up was Future Amy. She was wearing her usual outfit (that black dress with the yellow sash around her waist) in this new photo as she stared calmly (yet seriously) at the camera, the back of one hand resting lightly on her hip. She was uninjured but a bit dirty and standing in the middle of some abandoned city, seemingly waiting for the robot that had taken this picture to make the first move. There was no telling when this photo had been taken and, as with the posters before, Sonic only read the new crimes (if they caught his eye).

_Wanted:_

_Amy Rose_

_Reward: 360,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Location: UNKNOWN_

Next was Rouge. Her outfit, like Wave and Cream's, hadn't changed at all from what it had once been. She was flying through the sky from the right side of the photo to the left, her arms by her sides, as she looked in mild surprise at the camera with just her eyes, her lips making a small 'o' shape on her face. She was uninjured and very clean in spite of the rugged conditions in which everyone lived in in this day and age. There was no telling when this photo had been taken.

_Wanted:_

_Rouge the Bat_

_Reward: 110,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Location: UNKNOWN_

Kaden's first wanted poster was after that. As with Locke and Analia, he had no picture (which was probably some sort of miracle, considering how many run-ins he'd had with The Empire's robots since he'd been awake).

_Wanted:_

_Kaden the Hedgehog_

_For crimes against the Empire_

_Including but not limited to:_

_Being Analia's life-partner_

_Being Sonic the Hedgehog's father and __the (unnatural) father of Shadow the Hedgehog_

_Being Silver the Hedgehog's grandfather_

_Being close friends with Locke the Echidna and __Knuckles the Echidna's godfather_

_Being the leader of his team (unnamed alliance)_

_Unlawful use of one's powers_

_Unlawful ownership and use of any weapon_

_Unlawful ownership and use of a dagger and sword (former)_

_Unlawful use of a handgun_

_Speaking in the ancient language_

_Treason_

_Evading arrest_

_Aggravated assault against any robot_

_Aggravated assault with a weapon against any robot_

_Withholding information and__ ancient knowledge_

_Hacking_

_Stealing files from The Empire's Database_

_Aiding laborers and the accused_

_Destruction of any property of The Empire (i.e. robots, buildings)_

_Theft_

_Theft of weapons (specifically: guns)_

_Escaping custody_

_Reward: 470,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Location: KNOWN_

Sonic didn't even want to think about this, about him, right now. It was far too hard. And so, ignoring the stab of concern he felt and without even waiting to see if Amy had anything to say, he moved on to the next poster.

The poster for the Knuckles from this time was up next. He was standing in front of the Freedom Fighters' headquarters, a fist pulled back far and ready to fly. His teeth were bared and his eyes were alive with anger. As usual, the hat which had once belonged to Locke was on his head. He was filthy. However, he was uninjured, which meant that this photo had been taken before his recent capture.

_Wanted:_

_Knuckles the Echidna_

_Reward: 140,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Location: UNKNOWN_

The next poster was for Past Amy herself. Thankfully, there was no photo of her on this, the first wanted poster that had ever been made for her.

_Wanted:_

_Amy Rose (past)_

_For crimes against the Empire_

_Including but not limited to:_

_Being close friends with Miles "Tails" Prower (past), Knuckles the Echidna (past), Cream the Bunny, Jet the Hawk, __Silver the Hedgehog (deceased),__ and Sonic the Hedgehog (past)_

_Being friends with __Blaze the Cat (deceased), Big the Cat (deceased), Locke the Echidna, Kaden the Hedgehog, and Shadow the Hedgehog_

_Being close allies with __Knuckles the Echidna, Miles "Tails" Prower, Jet the Hawk, __Sonic the Hedgehog (past and current), Shadow the Hedgehog, and Cream the Bunny_

_Being a member of (past) Sonic the Hedgehog's team ("Team Hero")_

_Being Tails's "brother" and__ Cream's "sister"_

_Unlawful time traveling and use of a portal_

_Knowing and associating with any/all other wanted persons_

_Treason_

_Unlawful ownership of a Piko Piko Hammer_

_Reward: 75,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Location: UNKNOWN_

The second to last poster belonged to Sonic himself. This photo, he knew, had been taken the day he'd taken the Past group into his home, specifically at the time when he'd been headed to the Freedom Fighters' headquarters to help organize and lead the assault against The Capitol. In the photo, he was in midair immediately following a high jump, with his sword still on his back but his right hand already clutching the hilt of it in preparation to swing. Due to the angle at which the photo had been taken, nothing else could be seen besides him and the cloudy sky. Still, he knew he hadn't been far from home by that point, which meant that he'd still been in the desert. He wasn't dirty or injured by that point, but only because that had been the first real fight he'd had in a short while. He'd managed to lay low for a while and recover, so he'd been fine then. Sonic wasn't terribly interested in reading about his own bounty, but Amy was already reading, so he just read as well.

_Wanted:_

_Sonic the Hedgehog_

_Reward: 560,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Location: UNKNOWN_

The final poster in Sonic's stack was Jet's. Thinking about the hawk made his heart pound a bit as he remembered the fight his friend was in right now, but Sonic shoved the feeling aside to focus on the poster. In the photo, Jet was standing on his board (which wasn't going anywhere) high in the sky, dirty but uninjured. A familiar bright blue outline surrounded him and his right hand was raised high into the air as he stared calmly directly into the camera. The storm clouds above him were alive with lightning and were swirling as if to form a tornado. Jet rarely used so much power all at once, Sonic knew, but one glance into the background explained why. There were well over two-hundred robots swarming all around, and Jet had clearly been alone whenever this photo had been taken. Sonic's concern returned and he forced himself to look away from the picture (and thus, the robots) so that he could read.

_Wanted:_

_Jet the Hawk_

_Reward: 540,000,000 and temporary clemency_

_Crimes punishable by: Death_

_Location: KNOWN_

Instead of asking some sort of question regarding this information, Amy apparently decided to speak the obvious. "His location's known..." she murmured.

"He's fighting a bunch of robots," Sonic muttered back. "Of course his location's known."

There was a pause before Amy asked quietly, "Do you think he'll be alright?"

"I don't know." It was the truth, but... it was a hard truth to accept. Sonic gritted his teeth together. _I never should have let him go in alone... _He had to force himself not to growl just then. _Damn it all..._ _Jet_,_ you'd better come back in one piece, or else I'll kill you myself._

**~ソニック~**

It was somewhere around eleven-o'clock by the time Sonic and the others finally landed at Angel Island. Sonic landed the ship in a clearing toward the center of the island in order to try to help keep the ship hidden, just in case. Once they landed, Tails and Amy were quick to disembark with the child in tow. Knuckles followed close behind with Ross and Wave. Sonic, after shutting everything in the ship down for now, exited as well. He didn't bother closing the door right now and instead just left it open.

"Ahh...! I feel like I've been cooped up forever," Wave said, stretching her arms high into the sky.

Sonic gave her a dry sort of look. "It was your idea to take the ship."

"So?" she replied, her eyes closed as she continued to stretch.

He huffed and looked away, his right hand now on his hip. It was Knuckles who spoke up next. "So when can we start expecting the others to show up?" he asked, speaking directly to Sonic.

"Maybe by tonight," Sonic replied with a small shrug.

"And if not?"

"Then by about mid-afternoon tomorrow."

"Who's with who?" Wave asked in all seriousness, still stretching while Amy and Tails looked around in obvious curiosity. "How are they getting here? Who's expected to arrive first?"

"Shadow stole a small ship of some kind, and so did the other Tails," Sonic answered briefly. "Shadow's with Cream and the other Amy. The other Tails is with the other Knuckles and Rouge. The other Tails's group is supposed to arrive first. Shadow's group is expected to get here in a couple of days, maybe a bit earlier."

Wave stopped stretching to fix Sonic with a serious look. "Shadow's group is cutting it a bit close," she said. "We almost can't wait that long."

Sonic inclined his head in silent acknowledgement before saying, "I know."

Tails walked back over to the group then. "Say, can I go look around? I mean, you said it's safe here, right?"

Sonic nodded slowly in response to the last part before answering. "Just don't go too far, just in case."

"I won't!" Tails replied brightly. Then he grabbed Amy's hand and excitedly led her and the small child away through the trees.

Sonic watched them go for a moment before looking down at his communicator to check on everyone via the messages they were sending out. There were surprisingly few this time around.

**_Arrossa:_**

_No longer battling robots. No one injured. Still en route to paradise. Estimated arrival time has changed._

**_Rama:_**

_Ship somewhat damaged. Flying slower than normal. Will still get us there, but arrival may be a few hours later than before._

**_Zeki:_**

_Estimated arrival time is still by tonight. Ryker doing okay._

After reading those three messages, Sonic quickly typed up one of his own.

**_Sen:_**

_Arrived at Paradise. Will wait as long as possible. Probably can't wait longer than three or four days._

**_Rama:_**

_Noted._

**_Arrossa:_**

_Noted._

**_Zeki:_**

_Noted._

After that, Sonic turned his attention away from his communicator and, jumping into a branch of a nearby tree, he reclined, put his arms up behind his head, and tried to take a nap.

**~ソニック~**

It seemed like barely any time had passed at all since Sonic had fallen asleep before his communicator suddenly started going off. Somehow, the sound had managed to turn on in spite of him usually keeping the thing on vibrate, so a loud ringtone of sorts instantly started to play alongside the vibrations, causing Sonic to start so severely that he fell off of his branch and out of the tree with a short cry. Sitting up with his eyes shut and teeth clenched and slightly bared, he rubbed the back of his head with one hand, pointedly ignoring Wave's cackling and Knuckles's snickering from where they were somewhere nearby. He could just imagine Jet falling over on his rear and laughing at Sonic while pointing at him, but thinking about him made Sonic's concern return, so he pushed aside the thought in favor of just opening his eyes and answering the call. "Hello?" he muttered, not at all happy about his rude and sudden awakening.

_"Damn it all, Sonic!" _It was Rouge. She sounded pissed, or at least close to being so._ "The least you can do is answer the first time I call! Tails had to hack into your communicator to turn the damn sound on so that you'd answer!"_

"I was _sleeping_," he muttered pointedly._ That explains why the hell the volume was on all of a sudden, though... _He made a mental note to get on Tails's butt about this later, once he and his passengers got here.

_"Whatever," _was the irritable reply. _"Listen, Tails is almost certain that we'll make it there by tonight, but that's all the good news I have."_

A frown appeared on his face. "What's going on?" he demanded.

_"It's Knuckles." _Sonic felt himself tense up. _"He's been fading in and out of consciousness for a while now. He's not dying or anything yet, but he needs to be treated as soon as possible. Tails is pushing the ship to go as fast as it can, but there's not much else we can do for him by ourselves."_

"Alright. Call me if his condition worsens."

_"Fine, but it won't do any good. It's not like you knowing will help him if it gets to that point. You won't be able to do anything about it."_

"_If_ it gets to that point," Sonic replied, "then there _is_ something I can do, even if it's hard."

_"Wait, you mean teleporting?" _

"Yes."

There was pause before she finally said, _"You've said that it's exhausting."_

"It can be," he acknowledged.

Another pause. _"Fine. But if you have to do that, do yourself a favor and make things easier on yourself by just teleporting him there by himself. Tails and I will be fine flying the rest of the way on our own."_

"Fine," he agreed.

_"Anyway, that's all I have to say. See you tonight... maybe."_

"Bye." With that, they hung up and Sonic quickly turned the volume off on his communicator before standing again, brushing some of the dirt off of himself as he did so. Turning around, he leveled both Knuckles and Wave with a dry sort of glare. "You can _both_ shut up at any time," he told them somewhat irritably.

Wave's laughter mellowed out a little after a moment and she replied, "But that- was too- _funny_! You- you fell out of-"

Knuckles snickered again and, with a huff, Sonic rolled his eyes and turned away, intent on jumping back into the tree and resuming his nap, only to be stopped by Tails's voice. "Hey, Sonic! Come look what we found!"

Turning around, Sonic quickly saw Tails running up to him with a fully-sharpened blade carefully clutched in his arms. Blinking, a slight frown appearing on his face, Sonic jogged (something he rarely did) lightly to meet Tails halfway as Amy walked quickly to catch up, still carrying the child. "Where did you find this?" he demanded, though not harshly.

"In the woods," Tails replied breathlessly. He seemed to have run a good distance to get here. "It was... in a cave," he continued. Sucking in a breath of air, he finished disjointedly, "On the ground."

Sonic nodded once and took the weapon carefully from Tails, looking it over from top to bottom. His thoughts quickly traveled to the owner of said weapon, and he had to force the scowl off of his face. _Honestly... he's lucky this didn't get damaged or something. _

"What is it?" Tails asked as Knuckles and the others approached.

"I'm pretty sure it's a sword, Tails," Amy answered. "...One with... spikes."

It was true. There were two lethal-looking spikes on the sharpened end of the blade. It was an... interesting design, but it fit the sword's wielder quite nicely. "Yes," he answered shortly, never looking up from his examination of the blade. "It's a sword."

"Who's?" Amy asked.

"Knuckles's." He paused then, visibly so, and glanced at Knuckles before returning his attention to the blade. "Well, the other one's."

"Wait, the other me can use a sword?" Knuckles asked, now sporting a surprised and confused frown (and overall expression) on his face.

Sonic nodded once. "Yes."

"How? Since when?"

Sonic resisted the urge to sigh heavily at all the questioning and instead answered simply, "For a long time, and because I trained him to. _And_," he added pointedly when another question was clearly about to be voiced, "I did it because he asked me to." He cut Knuckles a dry look. "Happy now?" Knuckles just scowled at him.

"Sonic," Amy said suddenly, drawing his attention back to her, "I've... I've been thinking." He blinked when she hesitated, deciding to just wait her out rather than ask. It would be easier for him that way, after all. He didn't have to wait long; she began speaking again in under a minute. "Could you... train _us_?" she asked slowly, a hopeful light in her eyes, though that hope was more heavily outweighed by a seriousness that wasn't typical of this Amy. "This battle- this war you're all fighting in- it's not like the other fights we've been in. You've all had to grow so strong and yet people are _still_ dying. We don't have the skills or knowledge or even the experience we need to keep up with you all, let alone survive out there. Even if we _might_ have the necessary strength, we _need_ the training."

A slow frown appeared on his face. He hadn't even _considered_ training them, but... He allowed his gaze to sweep over the group from the past. _She has a point. _Returning his focus to Amy's face, he accepted her request with a nod. "We'll need to work quickly," he warned, looking at all of them again, "and I don't have the time to go easy on you." Nothing but serious nods answered him. Sonic abruptly tossed the sword at Knuckles then, who caught it in both hands, and turned to walk away, heading to a more open area of the clearing the ship had landed in. "Let's get going, then."

**~ソニック~**

**5,071 words this time. Expect a bonus chapter the day after tomorrow (no, not the promised playlist(s) and timeline, those will come later). Also, I know I said this before to each individual, but thank you _all_ for wishing me a happy birthday! That really meant a lot and helped make my day even happier! Seeing you all taking the time to do that for me really made my day! :D Posted 08-02-15.**


	129. Concerns Come to Light

**Hello, Shadowstar146! Ah, okay. :) Yes, I know _of_ the game, but I've never played it. I mostly just know if it from PewDiePie animated and GamerCat. XD Yeah, he's adorable, truly. X3 Yes, this has been planned for a while. I just had to _get_ them to Angel Island so that they had a safe enough place to train in the first place. ...Man, that took a lot of building towards! XD Anyway, yes, I very much do! Yeah, nothing major, just very subtle things, small moments and so on. I love those parts, too, especially the ones with WavexJet and SonicxAmy. I am _slo-o-owly _building up Knuckles and Rouge (if only because they are a canon couple that I can appreciate), and I plan to have more Silver and Blaze in the future. Trust me, I won't be dropping this aspect of the story. :) Ne, are the any couple you want to see involving characters that I haven't already, in a sense, paired off? Lol, you should! That took great timing XD**

**Hello, Anonymous! Well, I _did_ have one for the third, I just didn't get it done in time. *Sigh...* X( Haha, I love your storm joke. And yes, I feel bad for him, too. XD At the end, were you talking about what I said about Sonic in Lost World? If so, then I wasn't saying that Sonic smashing things was abnormal. However, in that game, they made him a meathead who does nothing _but_ smashing things. _That's_ where I have an issue with it. :l See ya! :D**

**Hello, Meadow Starlight! Yeah, too many extreme emotions lately. I had to tone it down a bit. I was worried I might kill someone, particularly one of you poor readers. XD Well, I didn't go into terribly much detail here, but then, Knuckles already knows how to fight really well, so... I think Tails and Amy will get more description, Amy especially (probably). :P**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! You're welcome. :) Okay, I'm greatly looking forward to it, then! :D Just don't push yourself to finish it if you don't want to, 'kay? Yes, they are potentially in danger, but Cream saw something in the future and insisted that everything will be alright... so I guess we'll see. :) Yes, that is it, more or less. The pain and grief and anger and all that is probably just too much, you know? Haha, I like their relationship, too. It's fun to write. Yeah I feel the same way about my sisters. ...My older sis likes to bug me when I'm writing. Even worse than that, she's quiet when I'm not listening to music, but then the _moment_ I start listening to something she suddenly starts talking to me. My little sister does it, too. X(**

**Hello, Mage The Hedgehog! Probably, to a point, yes. :P**

**Hello, Shibakyuu! Aw, thanks! I'm so glad you think so! That means a lot to hear (read? XD)! Well, I don't think it's _flawless_, but I try my best. :) Thank you _so_ much for taking the time to read and review! :D**

**Hello, BlazeWriters69! Okay. :) I'm glad you enjoyed! Yeah, me and Past Amy think it's a good plan, too, and Future Sonic seems to agree. :) Past Tail and Past Knuckles seem to be just kinda going along with it, if you ask me. XD**

**Hello, astroshadow! Haha, I loved that scene, too! I was smiling like a fool the whole time I was writing that part. XD And yes, I can see him doing that as well. ...I'm worried about him, too, but some of our concerns (or at least yours) may be alleviated today. :) Yes! It was _so_ epic! I wish I could draw it. Jet in his element, indeed! :D Yeah, it'll probably hurt. But, as you said, they learn quickly and will probably be okay. :P Haha, true, but I rarely get jumbled up like that. Normally I'm okay, honest! XD Anyway, you're right. I didn't even think about that. So, maybe around six billion, then? :l No need to apologize! I enjoy it! it helps me out with things like this, anyway. And, to be honest, I can be like that sometimes, too. ^-^**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

**And the present-day returns (_finally_)! ...Only for one scene, but still. XD**

**~ソニック~**

Sonic led Knuckles out to what had become their temporary training field. He only had about a day to work with each member of Amy's group and try to teach them all he could. That in and of itself was a problem, but there were others as well.

1.) Knuckles was undoubtedly going to be stubborn about anything Sonic tried to teach him. Of course, there was a chance that Knuckles could prove him wrong on this, but even still. Just in case Knuckles _did_ decide to be stubborn and uncooperative, Sonic decided to get the hardest day out of the way first and train Knuckles before the others.

2.) They all needed weapons, but only Amy really had one. Granted Knuckles had that sword for now, but the other him was going to need it back. They needed to find some sort of a replacement for him, and fast, but Sonic didn't know where to look for another blade that was suitable. Also, Tails had no weapons to begin with. He could easily get or make various bombs and whatnot for himself, but he needed a weapon that wouldn't run out. Finally, they all needed to learn how to use a gun. However, only Knuckles really seemed okay with doing so. Long-range combat could and often _did_ save lives, so they _needed_ to learn how to shoot. The question was, would they be _willing_ to?

3.) Training Amy, specifically, was going to be challenging for personal reasons he really didn't want to get into, but also for the simple reason that she had a hammer. He knew how to use it, of course, and so did she, but how was he supposed to spar with her if she had a hammer and he had a sword? Sparring was a necessary part of training, but with such different weapons he wasn't sure how well it would work. Unless he abandoned his sword entirely and did hand-to-hand combat against her...? He wasn't sure that that was such a good idea, either, to be honest.

4.) The Tails, Amy, and Knuckles from this time had skills and whatnot that they had gained without Sonic's help over the years. How was he supposed to teach these three past versions of them how to do those same things when he wasn't even sure how such abilities had come to light in the first place? He supposed that he could try to convince their future selves to train them, but he wasn't sure if they would do it. Either way, he knew he had to try. What other choice did he have?

With all of this in mind, he began showing him the basics: how to hold the sword, the proper stance, and so on and so forth. As they worked, Amy and Tails sat nearby with the child while Wave relaxed a bit farther away, keeping a keen eye on Ross as she did so. Knuckles grasped the basics surprisingly quickly. Sonic was surprised (and relieved, mostly due to their limited time)... but he was also a bit proud of his former friend. Pushing such thoughts aside, he returned his focus to the task at hand. Within minutes, they were sparring, practicing basic attacks and blocking. Knuckles was doing very well. He seemed to have a natural talent for swordplay. Well, that finally explained how the other him had picked up the art so quickly (and on his own, no less).

Knuckles delivered a powerful blow that Sonic quickly parried, though doing so didn't stop him from being pushed backward a few centimeters as their blades collided. Breaking away, Sonic moved in for his own attack, going significantly slower than normal so that Knuckles could track his movements. As Knuckles's confidence grew, the two of them began slowly sparring more and more fiercely. In under an hour after starting their match, their audience had been entirely forgotten. All that mattered right now to either of them was the training. After all... they only had so much time, and time was always on the move. Therefore, they had to be, too. With that in mind, Sonic went in for another attack.

**~ソニック~**

"Jet, you've gotta talk to me."

Jet glanced at Wave out of the corner of his left eye. They were both sitting on Amy's roof in Apatos with only a foot or so of space separating them. The sun was shining brightly in the cloudless sky, but the cool ocean breeze that always seemed to be present here kept the day from being hot or even too warm. It was warm, yes, but only enough for it to be pleasant and not awful. Jet had been out here all morning, gazing at up into the sky, sitting with both legs bent at the knee, his left leg on its side and providing a resting place for the same arm and the right leg propped up to provide a resting place for his right arm on his knee. Wave had only just come out here a few minutes ago, and she was sitting one leg bent and on its side while the other stretched out before her. Her hands were resting lightly in her lap as she gazed at him, her expression serious and somewhat... concerned. She really was sitting too close for comfort. Being near her always seemed to make him feel something uncomfortable and foreign, and he didn't like it at all. Still, this time he chose to ignore it... in much the same way as he ignored her. Returning his eyes back to the sky, he said nothing.

"Come on, Jet," she insisted somewhat earnestly. It almost seemed like she was trying to be... _gentle_ or something. If anything, that only made him more irritable. "You've got yourself so worked up and stressed out that you've been running a near constant fever. I mean, sure you're fine right _now_, but you and I both know you won't be again in a while if you don't let out whatever's worrying you."

At this, Jet snorted and finally decided to speak. "I'm not worried," he muttered.

"Well I am," she shot back, causing him to glance at her with his eyes again. Finally, she was sounding more like herself. She honestly worried him sometimes when she didn't show at least a _spark_ of temper. "I'm worried about _you_, Jet. And I'm not the only one, either. Sonic and Silver and that Locke guy are all worried, too, and Storm's about as worried as an idiot like him can be. Hell, even Analia and Amy's parents are worried, and they barely even know you!" Jet had no comment on that, so he just looked away again. There was only a small pause before Wave decided to speak up again. "Whatever's bugging you must be pretty damn big if you're _this_ concerned about it." Another small pause. Then her tone gentled again and she asked quietly, "Why won't you tell me?"

That gave him a moment of pause. Why _di__dn't _he tell her? It had nothing to do with a lack of trust, he knew. She was one of the few people he trusted at _all_, one of the only people he even _could_ trust to begin with. _No, it's got nothing to do with that. _He supposed that part of the reason for his silence was the simple fact that she didn't _need_ to know (at least, _probably_ not). And yet, the answer wasn't that simple, he knew. Telling her would put her in danger, for one thing. Telling _anyone_ would put them in danger, because this was powerful knowledge and there were ruthless people in the world who would do anything to get such knowledge. That was a huge reason to keep quiet about all of this. _But is that all? _If there were other reasons, he hadn't really thought of them. His thoughts were soon derailed anyway when, without any warning, Wave suddenly scooted even closer to him (thus increasing that uncomfortable feeling in him) and put her right hand on his left in a touch so gentle that it seemed entirely at odds with the personality she usually displayed. He looked down at their hands, suddenly feeling a bit jumpy inside and unable to tear his gaze away for a moment, before finally lifting his head and turning it to the side to look at her.

"You know you can talk to me, right?" she asked softly. "I know it's hard for you, but... you know that you can trust me... right?" Swallowing hard, he somehow managed a nod. A small smile appeared on her face. "Okay," she murmured with a sort of sigh. "Just making sure." She looked away. "Sometimes it just seems like you forget that... that's all." She slipped her hand away then, which did nothing to alleviate that uncomfortable feeling he had, and stood. Within moments she had returned inside, leaving him in the solitude and silence he claimed to prefer.

**~ソニック~**

Amy winced sympathetically as she watched Sonic deliver a serious of quick, powerful blows to Knuckles's blade, steadily forcing the echidna to give ground. Knuckles finally seemed to find an opening and swung as well, forcing Sonic to parry and leap away to avoid a second swing. Amy shook her head slowly in wonder. "I don't get it," she admitted aloud. "They've been at it for hours now. How are they not tired?"

Tails, who had been examining what was apparently a truly fascinating palm-sized, rounded gray rock, looked up and turned his head to the right to look at Sonic and Knuckles. A small smile was on his face as he watched them. "I think they're too stubborn to let themselves be. Or at least Knuckles is. Sonic has way more stamina than us, but Knuckles has a lot, too. So, like I said, it could be stubbornness, but it could also just be that they haven't run out of steam yet, so to speak."

"If you say so." Looking away from the sparring match for a moment, she looked at the small girl she was holding. The child had fallen asleep in Amy's arms some time ago, her expression peaceful and her tiny hands clutching at Amy's dress. Amy blinked, her head tilting a bit. "I wonder what her name is..." she murmured.

"I dunno," Tails replied, back to examining his rock. "It's not like she's old enough to tell us. She's barely old enough to be starting to learn her first words."

"But what if she's mute?" Amy asked, voicing a concern that had been on her mind for some time. "I mean, she never cries or giggles or babbles or _anything_ like other children her age do."

Tails looked up to frown at the girl. Amy knew what that particular frown meant; he was trying to figure something out. "She _might_ be," he replied slowly after a moment, "but I don't think so."

Amy blinked at him in surprise. "You don't?" she asked. "Why not?"

Tails, who had been on his hands and knees up until this point, sat back on his heels. "In our time," he started, "I got into a few discussions with Locke about a bunch of things. During one of our conversations, Knuckles somehow came up and he ended up telling me about Knuckles when he was a baby. According to Locke, baby Knuckles was quiet most of the time, too, only crying when he was _really_ upset about something, like if he got really freaked out or something. When I expressed concern over that, Locke said that it wasn't unheard of for some few babies to just be naturally quiet or even near-silent. It has a lot to do with personality, I guess." He looked at the child again, his frown fading away to be replaced with a smile. "I don't think you need to worry about her. Not regarding that, anyway."

Tails resumed his examination of the rock, getting back down on his hands and knees. Silence settled between them for a couple of minutes before Amy finally sighed and spoke again. "I _am_ still worried, though. And not just about her."

Tails didn't look up this time. "Why?"

Amy glanced up to make sure that Knuckles and Sonic, particularly Sonic, were still distracted before replying. "Well... since we're on the subject..." she began slowly, "I've been worried about who's going to take care of this little one once we go home, whenever that is."

Tails looked up with his head, frowning at her in puzzlement. "Sonic's been taking care of her."

"Yes, but he doesn't seem to _want_ to most of the time," she returned. "I mean, I don't mind taking care of her or anything, but the way he's acting concerns me. It's like he's trying to... to avoid her or something, and that's not normal for him. You've seen him before, Tails. You know how good he is with kids. He enjoys taking care of them, too, so long as they're not being brats."

Tails sat back on his heels again. "A lot's changed in this time, Amy," he said seriously, casting a long look to Sonic as the hedgehog parried a blow, leapt backwards to avoid another one, then swung out with his own sword. "We really have no idea the full extent of what he's been through, what he's seen and experienced and all that." The following pause was brief. When Tails resumed speaking, his voice was quieter than before. "But..." he continued slowly, "...I think a lot of it has to do with Silver." Tails looked back at the child and continued before Amy even had a chance to speak. "I mean, she's a lot like him, and we know Silver..." He visibly swallowed hard. "...well... _died _and all..."

_Come to think of it... Tails is right. ...She is a lot like Silver. _Even if the girl didn't really laugh, she _did_ smile a lot. Pretty much all the time, in fact. She was goofy, too, and did silly things quite often during each day. She didn't seem to hold onto the past too much and seemed to enjoy making other people happy, making them laugh and smile and enjoy themselves as much as she was. _She really is just like him... And I didn't even see it. _Amy shook her head slowly. "I can't believe I was so blind for all this time," she murmured.

"It's 'cause you're a girl," Tails said simply. "Girls get distracted and stuff." By the time she realized he was teasing, she had already punched him in the arm. Hard. "Ow! Hey, what was that for?!" Giggling softly, she looked away from her angrily grumbling kid brother to resume her silent observation of the sparring match ahead of her. After a while, Tails ceased his grumbling and, with a sort of huff, he once again returned his attention to his rock. After a moment, he spoke up again. "So you said there're other things bugging you?" he prompted carefully.

"Yes," she sighed, "but they're not the sort of things that someone can just fix. Even you with your big brain can't magically solve these problems."

His response surprised her. "Try me."

She blinked, genuinely surprised, before just launching in. "I'm worried about how everyone in the past is doing, especially since everyone was hurt and exhausted after that fight with Dark Gaia. I'm worried about what Ivo is doing both then and now for obvious reasons in both cases. I'm worried about Jet and the other Freedom Fighters because he's out there fighting alone and the rest of them are in constant danger of attack, even when they're together. Plus future Knuckles, the other you, Rouge, and Shadow are all known to be injured already. I'm worried about this time's Cream, because Ivo seems far too interested in her powers and she isn't as strong as everyone else, which also puts her in more danger. I'm worried about how we're going to get home to our time. I'm worried about what will happen to everyone else here when we _do_ manage to go home, like if they'll be able to defeat Ivo or not." She sighed heavily, yet quietly. "Just... things like that."

Tails was quiet for a long moment. "You're right," he finally said. "I can't magically solve any of those problems." He looked up and gazed at Sonic. "We'll just have to trust that _he_ can. Even if it means leaving some problems unsolved, we have to believe that he can take care of at least some of those things. That's all we can do."

Amy followed Tails to watch Sonic as well, her gaze locked on his calm face, his bright emerald eyes. _I don't have to force myself to give my trust to Sonic... He already has it. _Her eyes slowly closed. _But... will that trust be enough__? _

**~ソニック~**

The sun had completely set by the time anyone reported in on their communicators. It was early evening now, casting everything in a soft greyish-blue light. It was cool outside with a nice breeze and lengthy shadows filled the clearing. Sonic and Knuckles were done for the day. Tomorrow was Tails's turn, and Amy would be the day afterward. Then, if there was any time left, Sonic would do his best to train them all yet further, though he would probably have to do so for each of them on the same day. Pushing such thoughts away for now with a light shake of his head, Sonic looked at his communicator, his sword sheathed once more, while Amy, Tails and the others headed inside the airship for the night.

**_Rama:_**

_Couple hours away. Will be there tonight._

If they were only a couple miles away, then, considering the fact that everyone had been locked onto Sonic's communicator's location and thus was following the route he's been taking, that meant they had to be about where Jet was fighting, though they probably weren't flying up that high. That ship probably couldn't even _reach_ that altitude.

**_Zeki:_**

_Should arrive by tonight as well, probably before Rama._

**_Leila:_**

_Ryker's doing alright, but he still needs medical attention._

**_Arrossa:_**

_The other me won't be able to do much for him, but take him to her if you get there before me. She can help, at least. I'll finish the healing when I get there._

**_Zeki:_**

_Noted._

Suddenly, there was an abrupt change in subject.

**_Saga:_**

_Sen-san is worried about something._

Sonic had to force himself not to curse. _Why couldn't she have just said something in a private message instead of telling everyone? _Truthfully, he was pretty sure he knew the reason why. She just _knew_ things sometimes (how else could she have known that he was worried?), and as such, she had probably sensed somehow that he wouldn't have told her what was worrying him if she had asked. _So she resorts to getting the others involved, instead... _He bit back an irritated growl.

**_Arrossa:_**

_Sen?_

It was an implicit request for information, for answers, one that he refused to respond to. A moment later, the other Tails pitched in.

**_Zeki:_**

_Sen, what's going on?_

Gritting his teeth in irritation, he typed out a reply.

**_Sen:_**

_Nothing._

Of course, they ignored him. They clearly didn't believe him at all.

**_Leila:_**

_Did something happen?_

**_Sen:_**

_No._

_Not exactly. _He refused to add that little thought to his message, of course, and instead just watched as the next reply came.

**_Zeki:_**

_Was there a fight?_

Yes, there was at least one if not two battles going on that held his attention and were causing him concern, but it wasn't like they were _here_, which meant that there was nothing he could do about it.

**_Arrossa:_**

_Is someone hurt?_

Sonic felt his teeth grit together tighter. Two familiar faces flashed through his mind. _Th__ey'd better not be. _

**_Saga:_**

_Sen-san, whatever, or whoever, you're worrying about will be alright._

**_Sen:_**

_You don't know that. Not this time._

**_Saga:_**

_No, but that doesn't mean I can't be hopeful._

**_Sen:_**

_Hope is dangerous._

**_Arrossa:_**

_It can be, yes. But... a lack of hope creates a very dark, bleak world to live in. At least with hope life becomes somewhat more bearable._

**_Zeki:_**

_Arrossa's right, you know._

**_Saga:_**

_You're the one who taught us all how to hope no matter what, Sen-san. You used to be the most hopeful person we knew. You still are, sometimes. You can be like that again._

When he didn't reply, she sent another message.

**_Saga:_**

_Hope isn't always such a terrible thing, Sen-san._

Sonic didn't deign to respond to any of that. Lowering his wrist, he turned away from the ship to take a walk through the woods surrounding the clearing. He needed time to think, and about more than just what Cream and the others had just finished telling him. There was the training, the little girl he was supposed to be taking care of, Jet, his father, Ivo, the most recent deaths of his friends and allies, Future Amy... That last part made his steps falter briefly. Shaking his head, he pushed her out of his mind and continued on his way.

**~ソニック~**

_"I... wasn't expecting you to call me."_

Amy sighed softly after the past version of her was done speaking on the other end of the call. "I just needed to check up on things, that's all," she replied a bit wearily. Then she asked, "So Sonic's alright, then?"

_"Yeah, as far as I know,"_ was the reply. _"He went to take a walk a few minutes ago."_

Amy sighed again. _He usually only does that when there's something on his mind... _It wasn't like he'd tell anyone what was worrying him, though she knew, as their earlier typed-out messages clearly proved. _Honestly, that boy... He's too closed off for his own good. ...But... then again... it's not like the rest of us really even try to take his thoughts and feelings into account anymore, do we? We don't exactly make it easy for him to share most of the time, huh...? Maybe that's partly why, then. Maybe... maybe he doesn't feel like he can share with us. _Pushing such thoughts away for now, she replied, "Alright. How are the others?"

_"They're all fine. I mean, Knuckles is exhausted and pretty beat up, but otherwise we're all fine." _Once she was finished speaking, she seemed to realize what she had just implied, for she was quick to add, _"Oh, no, no, no, we didn't get into a fight or anything. We're all safe. Sonic was just training him, that's all."_

At this, Amy's usually relatively calm expression shifted to one of genuine surprise. _But... he hasn't trained anyone in years...! _"He's... training you all?" she asked slowly, almost cautiously.

_"Yeah." _Then, _"I asked him to." _

It was a good choice, she had to admit. "So how is the little girl?" she asked suddenly, changing the subject back to more-or-less what it had been before.

_"She's fine. She's sleeping right now."_

Amy nodded pointlessly. This wasn't a video call, after all. This was more like a phone call. Just... on a communicator. "Okay. That's all I needed to know. Thanks."

_"Sure. Be safe, okay?"_

She had never imagined that she would one day hear herself tell herself to be okay as if the other her was someone else entirely (_Which she may as well be_). It was... _weird_, to say the least. "Of course. You, too. Let me know if something happens before I get there, since Sonic's not likely to call."

_"Alright. Goodbye."_

"Bye." They hung up after that and Amy looked up at the sky from where she sat in the third seat of the small ship Shadow was piloting. Her contemplation of the clouds would have been peaceful... had there not suddenly been a bright yellow flash within them. The flash was almost instantly followed by an explosion that was powerful enough for the shock waves to travel through the air and knock their ship around a bit. No one had a chance to say or do anything in response to that before there was a second explosion, this one more powerful than the first, and, suddenly, something shot down out of the sky, hitting the right wing of the ship with enough force that it caused the ship to tilt that way significantly for a moment before Shadow could right it.

Amy gasped against her will as a familiar person whipped around onto his stomach, having landed on his back, to quickly regain his feet and crouch on the wing, his gaze locked on the sky. "Jet!"

Shadow glanced to the wing with a sort of glare. "Tch..." he muttered in irritation, though he made no attempt to dump their new passenger off.

Jet, his Bashosen clutched in his hands, acknowledged the trio with the barest of glances before abruptly standing fully and jumping backward off of the wing. Barely a moment later, a beam that had clearly been charging up for several moments was fired directly at him. His decision to jump off of the wing had probably just saved the ship from being hit and thus crashing. "Shadow, go back!" Amy ordered quickly. "We have to help him!"

Shadow turned his head to give her a hard look over his shoulder while Cream stared silently out the cockpit in the direction in which Jet had fallen. "He can handle himself," Shadow said, "and we're on a time limit. Sonic and the others can only wait for us for so long."

"I don't care!" Amy snapped. "Turn around! _Now_!"

It was rare for Amy to lose her temper nowadays, and that flash of anger was all the convincing Shadow needed to turn around and do as he was told, even if he _did_ growl a bit in the process. Amy turned her attention away from him and called Jet. The moment he answered she spoke. "Jet, stay put! We're coming to help you!"

_"No!" _he replied quickly, though his voice was nearly lost amidst the sounds of battle around him. _"Just go! I've got this!"_

"We are _not_ leaving you to fight by yourself!" she snapped, losing her temper for the second time. "_Especially_ since there are so many robots swarming around! Honestly, how long have you been out here fighting on your own?! For that matter, _why_ in the _hell_ are you alone to begin with?!"

_"That doesn't matter!" _he snapped back. _"I'm fine! Just get going! The others are waiting for you guys!"_

"You think I don't know that?!" she shot back. "And you are _not_ fine! You look like hell, Jet!"

_"I can handle this, Amy! Just go away!"_

"No!"

_"Sonic won't be happy if something happens to you guys!" _

Well, then. Two could play at _that_ game. "Yeah, and he'll kill me if I left you here alone!" Silence answered that particular remark, not that she'd bee expecting anything else. "You're not winning this argument, Jet," she told him seriously. "We've almost reached you, anyway. Just stay put and _wait_ for us. I _mean_ it!"

His response was anything but happy. _"Yeah, whatever."_

Well, she could live with that response. He wasn't fighting her about it anymore, so she considered that a win. Still, she sighed internally. _I'll never understand why I chose such stubborn people to be my friends..._

Cream's calm voice broke into her thoughts. "Get ready."

Amy looked up and out the cockpit. Ahead of them was a cloud of shiny metal bodies. Every so often, there would be a small blast of wind or a small jolt of lightning and some robots would be destroyed and fall, but Jet wasn't taking out enough of them fast enough. His attacks held next to none of their usual strength. A deep frown appeared on Amy's face. _He and Sonic have been running themselves ragged for months, at least... When was the last time he slept? _Clearly his exhaustion was starting to get the better of him, finally. That wasn't good. Gritting her teeth, Amy prepared to jump out of the ship and lend her friend a hand.

**~ソニック~**

**4,908 words this time. ...Well, It's still the third somewhere in the world. ...Maybe. ... ... ... ...Sigh... I tried. Don't worry, the bonus chapter for the day is still coming. Just... _later_ in the day. Posted (at around 12:35 a.m.) 08-04-15.**


	130. Bonus Chapter 3: Ivo's Files

**Hello, Randomblackberry! I'm glad! :D Yeah, I like that ability, too. But no, she can't normally do that. Yeah, it is pretty intriguing, huh? :) Well, a "while" as Knuckles pointed out when she said that, is an undefined amount of time that can be either short or long. Of course, he didn't quite put it like that... XD**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Your first review to Chapter 129: I love her, too. And yes, it did do something. Her plan, whatever it was, seems to have been a marvelous success. XD Well, when Amy said "kill" she didn't mean it literally. She meant basically what you said: that he'd possibly lose his temper or something. And yes, he would likely worry about Jet... not that he'd ever admit that out loud! XD Yes, Tails is interesting in many things, including rocks and thus geology. :P I know, his curiosity is adorable. XD Yeah, I can understand. Don't worry about it, 'kay? If you don't wanna do it, then don't! It's fine and I'll understand. :)**

**Your second review to Chapter 129: Oh, cool! Thanks! :D ...Wait, you're actually paying attention to the playlist still? I didn't think anyone really was anymore. XD**

**Hello, BlazeWriters69! I'm glad! :D Well, some things might remain the same, but some things might not. Guess we'll have to wait and see. ;) I like her, too. Well, everyone has been forced to change. Remember, they're living in a ruined world with a cruel "Emperor", people are dying all the time, she was there when her mother and Cheese were killed, she can see the future and as such probably sees bad things a lot... how could she ever really be more like she used to be, you know? :( DUDE... That would be awesome! :DD How would he achieve it, though? I mean, he doesn't have epic Chaos powers like Sonic does. Ideas? :P**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! I'm glad you enjoyed! :D She will be here for a while yet, I promise! And things with her will get very interesting later on... ;) Well, no, he's not causing the problems. Well, in the past I guess he sort of is, but only because, as he revealed last time, he's trying to protect Wave and the others by not telling them anything. In the future, he tried to avoid problems by sending Sonic off with the others and then, later, trying to get Future Amy and her group to just go on ahead to Angel Island. The fact that they took a risk and stayed was Amy's doing. :P**

**Hello, Shadowstar146! They probably were! I can't imagine that there's much to do on Angel Island. XD They probably wandered a round and stuff, too, though. :P Aw, thanks! I'm glad you approve! Shadow is so complex that I try to be really careful with him. Like I said, I'm glad you approve! :D ...He might have been... ;) Remember, a century has gone by, so Future Sonic has had more time to figure out what he might feel (or not) toward Amy. So, yeah, he might have been hinting that. XD Well, Tails and Cream wouldn't work because Past Tails is fourteen while Past Cream is about seven. ...I've heard of Cream and Charmy before and Cream and Bokkun (after Bokkun becomes good somehow), but I'm not sure about either of those two pairings. What do you think? :/ Yes, Shadow and Amy is definitely complex and interesting. :) True about the Sonic being jealous thing, but, then again, this story's Sonic doesn't seem very prone to such feelings. Still, we'll see. :P No need to apologize! I asked, after all! XD**

**Hello, GreatestSoldier! Thank you so much for the review! The fact that you took the time to read and review truly means a lot! :D I don't read many DBZ fics personally, but I have seen many Inuyasha stories with higher review counts than mine. I hope to one day be that good. We'll see. :) Oh, I would love to work with you! That sounds like a lot of fun! :D Omg, the "legend in story-telling" part made me smile so much! XD**

**Hello, SR! Thank you so much! That was very sweet of you. I appreciate it. :) Yeah, I as good as told you guys. I mean, when she first appeared, I described her as being a cat with purple fur and amber eyes... she looks like Blaze. And then, last chapter, we learn that she is quiet like Blaze but otherwise has Silver's personality. XD So, yes, she's their daughter... but things are a bit more complicated than that. You'll see. ;) Yes, he knows. He has eyes and ears everywhere... O_O Those darned robots. Nope, those things aren't good at all! Yep, they're almost there! :D Well, I had to get the three of them to somewhere where they could be trained, you know? :P About the emeralds... There has been a big hint regarding Sonic's emotions and the emeralds in the story. "The light of life will return." Cream saw something in the future that she's insisting is good, even if she's not entirely sure what's going to happen. I'll see if you can figure it out before it's revealed in the story. ;) Don't worry, it's coming! And something equally dramatic is coming before that, too. :P Don't worry about it. My own life is crazy and hectic enough that it's really easy to sympathize. Thank you, by the way. I'll probably need that good luck. ...Anyway, the prevention of the ruined future is tied in with the upcoming SA2 Arc. Remember, learning about Maria and Shadow and stopping and destroying the Space Colony ARK and Biolizard is part of preventing the ruined future. And don't worry, the characters in the present aren't being idle. There will be more from them at some point during this Ruined Future Arc. :) Ie, Sonic said that it took him about a month to escape and that, within three months, Ivo had won (thus starting everything in this ruined future). Yeah, they'll probably never know, and it is sad, but as you said, happiness is coming. And yet... there cannot be happiness without pain. :( Yes, you did! :D**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yes, they finally made it! :D Yeah, they really did run into trouble. There is never much of a break it seems. ...And that's my fault, since I'm the writer. ^-^" I hope so, too! We'll just have to wait and see, though. :P Haha, yes! It truly was! XD I'm glad you enjoy them! I love writing them, too! :D**

**~ソニック~**

**_FILES FROM EMPORER IVO'S DATABASE_**

_**Sonic the Hedgehog:**_

**Species:**

Hedgehog (the last remaining pure blue hedgehog in existence)

**Age:**

Seventeen (though research suggests that he should be older by this point)

**Relations:**

-The only son of Kaden the Hedgehog and Analia the Hedgehog

-The godson of Locke the Echidna

-The half-brother of Shadow the Hedgehog

-The father of Silver the Hedgehog

-Miles "Tails" Prower's "big bro"

-Knuckles the Echidna and Jet the Hawk's "brother"

-Cream the Bunny's "big brother"

-Vanilla the Bunny's "son"

-Close friends with Jet the Hawk, Amy Rose (in the past), Knuckles the Echidna (in the past), and Miles "Tails" Prower (in the past), and Cream the Bunny

-Friends with Shadow the Hedgehog, Amy Rose (somewhat), and Wave the Swallow

-Allies with every Freedom Fighter (Newest allies: Past Amy, Past Tails, and Past Knuckles)

**Team(s):**

-The first and main leader of his team, the Freedom Fighters (founded)

-The leader of his second team, Team Hero (founded; team is nearly entirely disbanded)

-A member of Jet's racing team, The Riders/Team Riders (co-founded) (unknown whether he helps lead this team)

_**Duties Performed for Team(s):**_

-Generally leading his team(s) in most situations

-Organizing and leading numerous assaults against The Capitol

-An organizer and leader of the most recent assault on the Capitol

-Organizing many secret meetings for the Freedom Fighters

-Aiding in the construction of many secret bunkers

-Training other Freedom Fighters in combat, hacking, etc.

-Training Jet and Amy in leadership of the Fighters and their own teams

-Training various Freedom Fighters (i.e. Jet, Silver, Shadow, Amy) how to teach and/or train others

-Caring for a child (specifically: Cream, among others)

-Stealing just about anything the teams need (even for the teams that he doesn't belong to)

-Theft of weapons (specifically: guns, knives, missiles, grenades, lasers, and so on)

-Providing other wanted persons with weapons

-Stealing items needed for building technology (i.e. wires, metal)

-Constructing and/or repairing weapons (i.e. missiles, lasers, bombs, swords), machines (i.e. communicators, computers), and vehicles (Extreme Gear, cars, boats, ships, and planes)

-Spying

-Hacking into The Empire's database, stealing files, and generally gathering and sharing information

-Enabling the teams to maintain communication at all times by continually building and repairing their communicators

**Weapons:**

-Known to own and use a sword, dagger, retractable steel staff (given to him by Jet), and handgun

-Known to use pistols, a knife, machine-based weaponry (i.e. missiles, lasers), a short sword, bombs, and grenades (and, on very rare occasions, Amy's Piko Piko Hammer)

**Current Bounty:**

560,000,000

**Status:**

-The Empire's most wanted criminal

-Suspected to be uninjured but not fully rested

**Location:**

Unknown

**Abilities, Skills, Powers, and Attributes:**

-Known to have inherited more powers, abilities, and so on from his father than his mother

-Data may be incomplete due Jet, Amy, and Silver (formerly) actively sheltering him from The Empire's attempts to study him and due to his own extreme caution

_**Aging:**_

-Naturally has very long lifespan, as blue hedgehogs have the longest natural lifespan of any living thing

-Lifespan has been further extended by other influences

-Ages even slower than normal hedgehogs (though the exact rate of his aging is unknown)

-Research suggests his aging may one day cease entirely (though this is highly uncertain)

_**Racing:**_

-Has a pure, raw talent for racing, especially on Extreme Gear (though also in cars, ships, boats, and on motorcycles)

-A world-class racer

_**Dragonfire:**_

-Seldom uses

-Inherited from his father

-Very powerful

-Renders him immune to flames

-Can allow him to fly when using it as a full power up, resulting in him being entirely shrouded in flames (rarely uses this power up)

_**Chaos:**_

-Seldom uses

-_Immensely _powerful

-Power can be accessed through use of the emeralds or on his own

-Has naturally been slowing his aging since his birth

_Specific powers:_

-Wind (powerful but seldom uses; can be tiring after a while; summons by waving a hand/arm; invisible)

-Spear (very powerful but uses infrequently; requires at least one emerald; can be tiring after a while; bright blue, gold, white, multicolored, or nearly black spears he summons from nothing and throws by waving a hand/arm)

-Control (more powerful than is truly known; capable of impossible things such as transporting people instantly through time and/or space; last resort; virtually never uses; requires all seven Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald (though this doesn't have to be nearby); incredibly dangerous and very exhausting; can potentially kill him when using it if extreme caution is not exercised; pure white sphere of energy that extends slowly outward from wherever he is)

-Time Stop/Slow (very rarely uses; has only ever done on accident before; effects known to last as long as ten minutes or as little as a few seconds; requires at least two emeralds; tiring; gives everything that has been frozen in time a blue coloring of various shades)

-Blast (very powerful but only rarely uses; last resort of sorts; requires a large amount of power to be expelled from the body all at once; no emeralds needed; very exhausting if used too suddenly; bright blue, golden, white, multicolored, or nearly black sphere of energy that extends rapidly outward from wherever he is)

-Rendering the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald dormant (unknown how he does this)

-Call the Chaos Emeralds to him (seldom can do; unknown how he does this)

-Sense the Chaos and Master Emeralds in order to find them

-Read the energy of the emeralds

-Control who is able to use the emeralds (always uses; unknown how he does this)

-Can temporarily bestow upon others a portion of his Chaos powers (sometimes even enough for them to go Super)

-Recall his Chaos powers from any individual or object that has it

-Transformation (very rarely does; last resort; immensely powerful; different requirements for each transformation; usually exhausting)

_Specific transformations:_

-Super Sonic (twice his usual power, speed, defense, and so on; most frequent transformation, but still only rarely uses; allows him to fly; gives him bright golden aura and fur of the same color, makes his hair stand up, and gives him bright red eyes (or golden orange; reports vary); a last resort; requires all seven Chaos Emeralds to achieve this transformation)

-Dark Sonic (twice his usual power, speed, defense, and so on; an unintentional transformation that only very rarely occurs; allows him to fly; gives him an indigo aura that is so dark it's nearly black, dark indigo eyes (though when his anger and/or hatred is extreme, his pupils will disappear entirely), fur of the same color, and makes his hair stand up; requires nothing more than extreme anger and/or hatred to achieve this transformation)

Hyper Sonic (three to four times his usual power, speed, defense, and so on; very rare transformation; allows him to fly; gives him a multicolored aura with all seven colors of the Chaos Emeralds, pure white fur, bright red eyes, and makes his hair stand up; requires all seven Chaos Emeralds to be overflowing with power in order to achieve this transformation)

-Pure Hyper Sonic (four to five times his usual power, speed, defense, and so on; extremely rare transformation; allows him to fly; gives him a pure white aura and fur of the same color, icy blue eyes, and makes his hair stand up; requires all seven Chaos Emeralds to be overflowing with power and at least some assistance from the Master Emerald in order to achieve this transformation)

_Additional notes on transformations:_

-Unknown what he is truly capable of when transformed in any way

-Personality always undergoes a notable shift when transforming, even if the shift is only slight

-It is suspected that his highest transformation (which has never been seen as of yet and which would require the use of all the power of all of the emeralds, including the Master Emerald) will unlock his full or "true" personality, which is likely to be very much like Pure Hyper Sonic's

-Known to generally only speak in the ancient language when transformed, though he has proven himself capable of understanding any other languages he's faced with while transformed

-Seems to have a raised I.Q. beyond (sometimes far beyond) his usual when transformed

-Can use his natural Chaos powers with much greater power and ease while transformed

_**Portals:**_

-Very rarely uses

-Able to open portals (occasionally) and travel through them

-Can use to travel between two or more dimensions, worlds, realms, timelines, universes, times (within his own timeline), and so on

-Unknown exactly where, and perhaps when, he has traveled before

_**Lightning:**_

-Rarely uses (use is especially rare outside of combat)

-Small amounts at times used outside of combat (i.e. to power a machine)

-Can summon from nothing and control with ease

-When used in large amounts, uses a lot of energy and is exhausting

-Can absorb lightning (artificial or natural) and shoot it back at a target

-Can be struck by lightning (artificial or natural) without being injured (though too much electricity entering him at once from an outside source caused him to lose consciousness once as a child)

-Gives him a bright blue outline and a tint of the same color to his eyes (in much the same way as Silver's powers did when he used them)

-Unknown where he gained this ability (they seem to have just appeared one day)

_Specific attack(s):_

Raiga (cooperative attack with Jet; immensely powerful even when they're exhausted; last resort)

_**Healing factor:**_

-Ability to heal rapidly and with greater finality than other people from any injury (exact rate of recovery is unknown and seems to vary depending on the injury and its severity)

-Results in slowing of aging and immunity to most illnesses and other such defects

-Capable of healing from seemingly any injury, even ones that should have killed him

-_Very _hard to kill

_**Empathy:**_

_General:_

-Ability to read and/or sense the emotions the emotions/feelings of others

_Ecological_:

-Ability to sense the overall well-being and conditions of one's immediate environment and natural setting, stemming from a psychic sensitivity to nature

_**Flight:**_

-Seldom uses (can only do when transformed or when using Dragonfire)

-Includes ability to levitate/hover

-Flight is self-sustained through use of his own energy (no wings or such needed)

-Unable to tire from flying

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Completely resistant to high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

_**Speed:**_

-Constantly uses in and out of combat, even in everyday situations

-Greatest and most legendary ability

-Speed in class of its own (though Silver and Shadow can also reach the speed of sound)

-Can reach the speed of sound and significantly beyond (can even disappear from sight, hearing, and radar)

-Speed applies to flight, running, general movements, and so on

-Results in accelerated brain activity (which allows him to think incredibly quickly and, at times, to process sensory information so fast that everything seems to be moving in slow motion while he moves at normal speed)

-Also results in highly increased reflexes, reaction times, and the ability to sense things (i.e. sound, auras) much more quickly than others

-Can, with focus and effort, transfer his speed to other objects (i.e. vehicles) to make them move faster (though not fast enough to break the sound barrier)

-Can easily avoid cameras even without running through sheer speed

-Almost never tires from running (very rare for him to become tired from doing so, unless he was already tired before running)

-Can teleport himself, other people, and objects from any place to any other, even while the subject being teleported is in motion (doesn't require much special focus, but is tiring or even exhausting when used too often in a short time or when transporting too many people/objects at once or objects that are too large)

-Completely resistant to high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

_**Strength:**_

-Can punch, kick, and otherwise smash through any material (even thick, solid steel) with ease and without injuring himself

-Physical strength primarily in legs (can stomp and create a crater; can use high strength in legs to jump and leap to nearly impossible heights/distances; can deliver devastating kicks, even without shoes on)

-High levels of strength in arms and hands (can use said strength to hang onto something while dangling and not lose his grip, even after being in said position for a long period of time; can also easily wield Amy's Piko Piko Hammer, in spite of its great weight, if he chooses to; can lift objects multiple times as heavy as he is, more-so when he is fully rested)

-Has such high control over his physical strength that he and snap an opponent's blade in half using any other blade and without damaging or breaking his own, kick a desk across the room without damaging it, and so on

-Can send enemies even larger and heavier than himself flying with a single blow

-Can smash through an entire airship with one flying kick or punch

_**Defense:**_

-Capable of surviving free-falls back to the planet from space, even if he lands on the ground or in shallow water

-Secretive to the point that he rarely shares his knowledge on any given subject with anyone, regardless of who they are

-Known to sometimes be able to create a small bright blue barrier/force field around only himself that can deflect most attacks regardless of their nature (i.e. physical, energy) and strength (presumably can do so when transformed, but has never done so as of yet)

-Virtually immune to temperature (whether hot or cold; especially resistant to the cold)

-Completely immune to flames and lightning

-Has the power to identify and escape danger without consciously thinking out a plan of action (supernatural self-preservation; differs from escape artistry)

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Relatively resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

_**Agility:**_

-Can leap between trees and from branch to branch with great ease and speed

-Can easily dodge any obstacles in his way while falling, running, on his board, and so on, regardless of the speed at which he is traveling

-Can perform expert and complex flips, spins, tricks, and so on, on the ground, on his board, during flight, and so on

-Very flexible

-A master of parkour

_**Balance:**_

-Has exceptional balance

-Can ride Extreme Gear with ease, even on a grind rail

-Can skateboard with ease, even on a telephone wire or grind rail

-Can grind on a grind rail with just his feet

-Can stand, sit, kneel, crouch, and so on, on the wing of any fast-moving ship while said ship is in motion

-Can stand on foot on any surface (i.e. the point of a spire at the top of a building)

-Can stand on one hand and hold himself still enough to aim and fire a gun with deadly accuracy

-Can ride (whether by standing or sitting) on a missile while said missile is in flight and even control which way it turns (as though he were riding on his Extreme Gear or something similar)

_**Sight:**_

-Can see very well in the dark but doesn't have true night vision

-Can see even small objects from very long distances away (more-so during the day than at night)

-Can see well enough to have near perfect aim

-Sensitive enough to sound that he can, at times, even see sound waves

_**Hearing:**_

-Can hear just about anything (excluding especially tiny sounds, such as bugs flying) within a radius of an unknown number of miles

-His right ear will often flick or twitch when he has heard something that he is paying attention to

-Can pinpoint exact location of origin of sounds he hears with startling accuracy

-Can determine what events are occurring from far away with just hearing alone

-Often tunes out much of what he hears from (whether close or far away) to avoid headaches, pain to his ears, and sensory overload (as well as for other unknown reasons)

-Can be rendered immobile (if only temporarily) by sudden, intense, and/or long-lasting high-pitched sounds

-Sensitive enough to sound that he can, at times, even see sound waves

_**Smell:**_

-If a smell is strong enough, he can follow it back to its exact source

_**Touch:**_

-Can sense vibrations in the ground well enough to determine the near exact size and shape of whoever or whatever created said vibrations

-Often ignores vibrations (for an unknown reason) unless they are large and especially noticeable

-Highly insensitive to pain below a certain level of severity (can even force himself to ignore any and all pain, at least for short periods of time)

_**Special Senses:**_

-Sensitive to people's auras (can feel them without having to consciously attempt to do so; can determine who is who by the feel of their aura alone; can, to a point, read people's feelings, thoughts, and intentions through their auras; can follow the feeling of a person's aura to locate them; generally doesn't pay attention to this sense)

_**Stealth:**_

-When in motion, he can, at times, disappear from sight, sound, and even radar

-Regardless of the speed at which he is traveling, he can move quietly enough that even those with sharp ears can't hear him

-Can easily avoid cameras even without running

-Can entirely conceal his aura (and does so a vast majority of the time) through unknown means

-Stealthy enough to be a thief with skills on par (or close) with that of the legendary Babylon Rouges

-Not prone to talking (naturally quiet)

-Very careful and highly evasive

-A known escape artist (has a long history of being so)

_**Intelligence:**_

-Has an I.Q. that may even rival Emperor Ivo's (as well as that of most, if not all, of his friends and family)

-Exact I.Q. is unknown due Jet, Amy, and Silver (formerly) actively sheltering him from The Empire's attempts to study him and due to his own extreme caution

-Intelligent enough to build and repair weapons, machines, gadgets, tools, robots, and vehicles quickly and from scratch (only very rarely is unable to repair or build something; construction only very rarely ends in a finished product that doesn't work the way it is supposed to or not at all)

-Intelligent enough to take apart machines, weapons, robots, and so on that he didn't create and either rebuild them or use the parts in new projects

-Suspected to have some knowledge of ancient technology (presumably gained from Jet)

-Knows a great deal about time travel, alternate timelines and dimensions, portals, outer space, interstellar travel, physics, mechanics, powers, astrology, and so on

-Intelligence sometimes marred by youth, inexperience, stubbornness, and so on

-Intelligent enough to lie to anyone and rarely be caught doing so

-Intelligent enough to pilot/drive any ship, car, or boat (and to build said vehicles on his own)

-Cunning, a schemer, and a master strategist, capable of thinking up complex, intricate, and utterly brilliant plans on his own (though he rarely takes the time to do so) and can create simpler but no less successful plans on the spot

-Can quickly and easily pick up new skills and understand things he previously had no knowledge of and/or experience with

-Tends to lean towards more hands-on work because of his apparent desire to learn by experience (generally; however, he isn't adverse to learning through reading, observing, and so on)

-Can understand virtually any language with great accuracy (with enough exposure to said language), even without studying it

-Can speak, read, and write in the ancient language

-Intelligent enough to learn how to wield virtually any weapon in virtually no time at all (though this skill is sometimes more based on sharp instincts rather than true intellect)

-Can be very insightful and highly observational (when he bothers to pay attention to what he's seeing, hearing, and so on)

-Possesses a long history of battle experience (has been experiencing combat since childhood)

-Very high capacity (and often willingness) to learn new things and build on knowledge he already has

-Possesses a vast knowledge of weapons in general, particularly swords and machine-based weaponry (i.e. lasers, bombs, missiles)

-A master hacker

-Can prevent anyone (except Tails, Shadow, and perhaps Jet) from accessing any computer, machine, and so on using complex codes, powerful firewalls, and so on

-Possesses knowledge (of an unknown amount) of Chao and Chao Gardens

-Possesses personal knowledge of Cream's future-seeing abilities (i.e. where they came from, how powerful they are)

-A highly skilled teacher who can adjust his teaching style easily depending on who he's attempting to teach (rarely fails at teaching someone something if he's truly trying)

**Emotions/Personality:**

-Can conceal and even prevent himself from feeling any emotion (concealment is usually perfect, though some things will, at rare times, slip through the mask)

-Generally very calm, introverted, and closed off, but can be open and goofy as well (has a strong sense of humor that rarely shows itself nowadays)

-Used to be very fun loving and could often be very happy but now is very serious, and reserved

-A known thrill-seeker (at times; enjoys excitement, not danger), but is still very careful

-In the past, was usually very friendly (in spite of how unapproachable he could seem), even if he wasn't terribly good at showing it

-Very untrusting of others, sometimes even regarding those he knows (only truly trusts his friends and allies; in spite of how untrusting he tends to be, he is known to have a firm belief in the goodness of peoples' hearts)

-Can be very reckless in spite of how careful he usually is

-Generally quiet by nature (though he could be talkative in the past), and as such enjoys peace and quiet around him

-More laid-back and nonchalant than he tends to let on and can, at times, be very easy-going and carefree

-Like Jet, he can be very much "like the wind" as far as personality goes

-Is usually very patient, but can be extremely impatient at times

-Can be very stubborn and is very reluctant to admit to anyone what he's feeling

-Can become bored easily, especially when there is nothing for him to do that is challenging either mentally or physically

-Has a very fierce temper that is rarely roused, especially nowadays (important note: there is power in his anger, even ignoring its potential to transform him into his Dark form; his anger can spur others into motion, cause them to feel the same way about who/whatever roused his anger, inspire action, and so on)

-Can be very irritable at rare times (generally hates being teased and laughed at, and such things can cause him to feel this way)

-Can, at rare times, be easily annoyed

-Usually very bluntly honest, even if that honesty has a sharp edge (usually seems to mean well, however)

-Typically a loner unless with Silver (formerly), Jet, or Shadow

-Very good with children

-Emotions only very rarely get in the way of his logical thinking, even when he's feeling something especially strong

**Misc:**

-Known to greatly dislike and at times even hate being touched by others in any way, though he is known to tolerate it for the sake of certain others

-Known to have a strong passion for and avid interest in music

-Is not known to be dating anyone but, in spite of the past strains on their friendship, he seems to be closer with Amy (of this time) than most others (he seems to have an attachment of sorts to her)

-Is known to have been learning Ninjutsu from Espio, but his level of skill is unknown

-Known to have very strong protective instincts regarding his friends, family, people in general, and nature (in the past, this has been proven to be something that can be manipulated to force him to make very hard choices that hinder him, even severely, in battle; he is especially protective of Shadow, Jet, Cream, and presumably the Amy of this time, as these are the people he is closest with)

-Known to have sharp instincts in general

-In spite of his known fear of water, he is a surprisingly strong swimmer

-Also known to fear hospitals and needles

-Was the owner of the X-Tornado (though Tails was often the one piloting it)

-Descended from nothing but powerful magic users, assassins, warriors, knights, healers, seers, recluses, psychics, artisans, and so on

-Known to be caring for a child currently (suspected to be very young)

-One of the few people who always knows the exact location of Angel Island (as the island, being one that floats, is constantly drifting across the land)

**Directives:**

-Capture alive if at all possible

-If able to capture, extract information from through any means necessary

-After extracting information or if unable to capture, kill through any means necessary

_Before attempting to capture:_

-Physically weaken him as much as possible (prevent him from resting, attack him constantly, keep him always on the move) (IN PROGRESS)

-Do whatever possible to isolate him from his friends and allies once more (if possible, destroy his friendships and alliances once more)

-Kill those currently closest to him (SPECIFIC TARGET HAS BEEN CHOSEN)

* * *

_**Silver the Hedgehog:**_

_**Species:**_

Hedgehog (was the last silver-colored hedgehog in existence; half-breed silver and blue)

**Age:**

Was around sixteen at time of death

**Relations:**

-Grandson of Kaden the Hedgehog and Analia the Hedgehog

-Only child of Sonic the Hedgehog

-Nephew of Shadow the Hedgehog

-Jet the Hawk's "nephew"

-Close friends with Blaze the Cat (deceased), and Amy Rose

-Friends with Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Jet the Hawk, and Locke the Echidna

-Close allies with every Freedom Fighter

-Dating Blaze the Cat (deceased)

**Team(s):**

-Former leader of his team, Team Inferno (founded; team no longer in existence due to all members of it being deceased)

-A former member of Sonic's team, the Freedom Fighters

-A former member of Sonic's second team, Team Hero (team nearly entirely disbanded)

_**Duties Performed for Team(s):**_

-Aiding in the organizing of numerous assaults against The Capitol

-Aiding in the organizing of many secret meetings for the Freedom Fighters

-Aiding in the construction of many secret bunkers

-Theft of weapons (specifically: guns, knives, missiles, grenades, lasers, and so on)

-Providing other wanted persons with weapons

-Hacking into The Empire's database, stealing files, and generally gathering and sharing information

**Weapons:**

-Known to own and use a dagger and lightweight sword

-Known to use a handgun and retractable steel staff

**Current Bounty:**

N/A

**Status:**

Deceased

**Abilities, Skills, Powers, and Attributes:**

-Data largely incomplete due to Sonic, Jet, Amy, and Blaze actively sheltering him from The Empire's attempts to study him and due to his own extreme caution

-Known to have inherited his powers, abilities, and so on (particularly the psychic ones) mainly from his father and grandparents (as opposed to more distant ancestors)

-Data is largely incomplete due to Sonic actively sheltering Silver from The Empire's attempts to study him and due to his own carefulness

_**Aging:**_

-Aged at a rate significantly slower than normal for half-breed silver hedgehogs (though he still aged somewhat faster than his father)

-Only one known reason for the slowing of his aging

**_Psychic:_**

_Psychokinesis:_

-His most frequently used ability

-Very powerful

-Could lift, throw, carry, smash, and so on, any object or person he chose with great skill and ease

-Could create basic objects with his mind using same powers and the aura using said powers created (he likely could have heightened this ability had he lived longer)

-Could teleport himself, other people, and objects from any place to any other, even while the subject being teleported was in motion (didn't require much special focus, but was tiring or even exhausting when used too often in a short time or when transporting too many people/objects at once or objects that were too large; could also do this using his incredible speed)

-Could create sickles/blades of energy which he could then throw by waving a hand/arm

_Mind and Heart Reading:_

-Infrequently used

-Could read people's thoughts and emotions, and could, at times, take on the feelings of others (though the purpose of the latter in unknown)

_Telepathy:_

-Infrequently used

-Could send thoughts to others regardless of the distance separating him from them

_**Portals:**_

-Rarely used

-Could to open portals (with the aid of Blaze) and travel through them

-Could use to travel between two or more dimensions, worlds, realms, timelines, universes, times (within his own timeline), and so on

-Unknown exactly where, and perhaps when, he had traveled before death

**_Spin-based combat:_**

-An innate ability of all blue hedgehogs

-All very fast and powerful

-Spin dash

-Homing Attack

_**Healing factor:**_

-Ability to heal rapidly and with greater finality than other people from any injury (exact rate of recovery is unknown and seemed to vary depending on the injury and its severity)

-Resulted in slowing of aging and most immunity to illnesses and other such defects

-Capable of healing from seemingly any injury, even ones that should have killed him

-Was very hard to kill

_**Empathy:**_

_General:_

-Ability to read and/or sense the emotions the emotions/feelings of others

_Ecological_

-Ability to sense the overall well-being and conditions of one's immediate environment and natural setting, stemming from a psychic sensitivity to nature

_**Flight:**_

-Constantly used both in and out of battle, even in everyday situations

-Included ability to levitate/hover

-Could only do when using his powers

-Flight was self-sustained through use of his own energy (no wings or such needed)

-Unable to tire from flying

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Could fly at the speed of sound

-Completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

_**Speed:**_

-Could fly at the speed of sound

-Unknown how fast he was capable of traveling on foot

-Constantly used in and out of combat, even in everyday situations

-Resulted in accelerated brain activity (which allowed him to think incredibly quickly and, at times, to process sensory information so fast that everything seemed to be moving in slow motion while he moved at normal speed)

-Also resulted in highly increased reflexes and reaction times, and the ability to sense things (i.e. sound, auras) much more quickly than others

-Could easily avoid cameras even without running

-Can run across the surface of water and lava

-Could teleport himself, other people, and objects from any place to any other, even while the subject being teleported was in motion (doesn't require much special focus, but was tiring or even exhausting when used too often in a short time or when transporting too many people/objects at once or objects that were too large; could also do this using his powers of psychokinesis)

-Relatively resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

_**Strength:**_

-Constantly used, though mostly in battle

-Most of his strength came from his use of his psychic abilities

-Most of his physical strength was in his legs

-Unknown exactly how physically strong he was

_**Defense:**_

-Capable of surviving free-falls back to the planet from space, even if he lands on the ground or in shallow water

-Known to have sometimes been able to create a small bright cyan barrier/force field (through use of his psychic abilities) around only himself that could deflect most attacks regardless of their nature (i.e. physical, energy) and strength

-Virtually immune to temperature (whether hot or cold; especially resistant to heat)

-Had the power to identify and escape danger without consciously thinking out a plan of action (supernatural self-preservation; differs from escape artistry)

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Relatively resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

_**Agility:**_

-Could easily dodge any obstacles in his way while falling, running, and so on, regardless of the speed at which he was traveling

-Could perform expert and complex flips, spins, tricks, and so on both on the ground and in midair

-Very flexible

_**Balance:**_

-Unknown how good his balance was (though it was suspected to be exceptional)

_**Sight:**_

-Due to the harsh conditions of his world, his eyes were well-adjusted to harsh lights (like that of lava) and near pitch-black darkness (like the kind caused by being utterly surrounded by thick clouds of smoke)

-Could see _very_ well in the dark but didn't have true night vision

-Could see even small objects from very long distances away (even at night)

-Could see well enough to have near perfect aim

-Sensitive enough to sound that he could, at times, even see sound waves

_**Hearing:**_

-Very sharp hearing

-Could pinpoint exact location of origin of sounds he hears with startling accuracy

-Could be rendered immobile (if only temporarily) by sudden, intense, and/or long-lasting high-pitched sounds

-Sensitive enough to sound that he could, at times, even see sound waves

_**Smell:**_

-Nothing notable ever came to light regarding this sense

_**Touch:**_

-Highly insensitive to pain below a certain level of severity (could even force himself to ignore any and all pain, at least for short periods of time)

_**Special Senses:**_

-Sensitive to people's auras (could feel them without having to consciously attempt to do so; could determine who is who by the feel of their aura alone; could, to a point, read people's feelings, thoughts, and intentions through their auras; could follow the feeling of a person's aura to locate them; generally didn't seem to pay attention to this sense)

_**Stealth:**_

-Regardless of the speed at which he was traveling, he could almost always move quietly enough that even those with sharp ears couldn't hear him

-Could easily avoid cameras even without flying

-Could entirely conceal his aura (and did so a vast majority of the time) through unknown means (presumably learned this skill from Sonic)

-Prone to talking, but knew when to be quiet

-Very careful and highly evasive

-A known escape artist

_**Intelligence:**_

-Unknown precisely how intelligent he was (due to Sonic, Jet, Amy, and Blaze actively sheltering him from The Empire's attempts to study him and due to his own extreme caution), though his I.Q. was known to have been high, especially for his age

-Knew a great deal about portals, time travel, time lines, physics, powers, and so on

-Suspected to have some knowledge of ancient technology (presumably gained from Jet and/or Sonic)

-Intelligence was sometimes marred by youth, inexperience, stubbornness, and so on

-Intelligent enough to lie to nearly anyone and seldom be caught doing so (except by, Jet, Amy, Blaze, and his blood-relatives)

-Intelligent enough to pilot any ship in spite of his lack of experience

-A schemer and skilled strategist

-Could quickly and easily pick up new skills and understand things he previously had no knowledge of and/or experience with

-Could understand virtually any language with great accuracy (with enough exposure to said language), even without studying it

-Could speak in the ancient language (and was learning how to read and write in it; being taught by Sonic)

-Intelligent enough to learn how to wield virtually any weapon in virtually no time at all (though this skill was sometimes more based on sharp instincts rather than true intellect)

-Could be very insightful and highly observational

-Possessed a long history of battle experience (had been experiencing combat since childhood)

-Very high capacity (and often willingness) to learn new things and build on knowledge he already had

-Possessed a great knowledge of blades, especially swords

-A skilled hacker

-Possessed minor knowledge of Chao and Chao Gardens

-Seemed to be a good teacher (though he himself was still learning how to teach)

**Emotions/Personality:**

-Could be calm, serious, quiet, careful, closed off and reserved, but was generally open, extroverted, happy, carefree, goofy, energetic, and a thrill-seeker

-Had a strong sense of humor and liked to poke fun at virtually anyone and anything (regardless of the dangers of doing so)

-Was naive (at times) in the past

-A known thrill-seeker (he enjoyed excitement, not danger), though he was still very careful

-Could become bored easily, especially when there was nothing for him to do that was challenging either mentally or physically

-Could be reckless in spite of how careful he normally was

-Could conceal his emotions very well (presumably learned from Sonic)

-Was very friendly and generally trusting (had a strong sense for somehow knowing who was dangerous and who wasn't)

-Had a very fierce temper that was rarely roused

-Could be very irritable at times (though only rarely)

-Was very good with kids

-Emotions only very rarely got in the way of his logical thinking, even when he was feeling something especially strong

**Misc:**

-Known to have had a strong passion for and avid interest in music

-Known to have had very strong protective instincts regarding his friends, family, people in general, and nature (in the past, this had been proven to be something that could be manipulated to force him to make very hard choices that hindered him, even severely, in battle; he was especially protective of Sonic, Amy, and Blaze)

-Known to have had sharp instincts in general

-Had no known fears

-Descended from nothing but powerful magic user, assassins, warriors, knights, healers, seers, recluses, psychics, artisans and so on.

-One of the few people who always knew the exact location of Angel Island (as the island, being one that floats, is constantly drifting across the land)

-One of the very few people who was in regular contact with Sonic when he became mostly isolated from the rest of the Freedom Fighters

**Directives:**

-Capture alive if at all possible (FAILED)

-If able to capture, extract information from through any means necessary (FAILED)

-After extracting information or if unable to capture, kill through any means necessary (SUCCEEDED)

* * *

**_Cream the Bunny:_**

**Species:**

Bunny (suspected to be pure-bred, though this is uncertain)

**Age:**

About seven (though research suggests that she should be older by this point)

**Relations:**

-The great-granddaughter of Merry

-The daughter of Vanilla

-Close friends with Sonic the Hedgehog, Jet the Hawk, Amy Rose, Miles "Tails" Prower, and Shadow the Hedgehog

-Friends with all other Freedom Fighters

-Close allies with every member of the Freedom Fighters

-Sonic, Tails, and Amy's "sister"

**Team(s):**

-A member of Sonic's team, Team Hero (team nearly entirely disbanded)

-A member of Sonic's second team, The Freedom Fighters

-A member of Amy's team, Team Rose

_**Duties performed for team(s):**_

-Aiding in the organizing of numerous assaults against The Capitol

-Aiding in the organizing of many secret meetings for the Freedom Fighters

-Looking into the future (through visions) and sharing information gained from doing so

-Generally gathering and sharing information

**Weapons:**

-Known to own and use dual Tonfa-styled blades and small daggers and knives

-Known to use pistols (though only rarely)

**Current Bounty:**

160,000,000

**Status:**

-The Empire's tenth most wanted criminal

-Suspected to be uninjured and fully rested

**Location:**

Known (with Amy and Shadow in a small ship near Jet's current location)

**Abilities, Skills, Powers, and Attributes:**

-Data largely incomplete due to Sonic, Amy, Jet, Shadow, Wave, Tails, Silver (formerly), and Blaze (formerly) actively sheltering her from The Empire's attempts to study her and due to her own great caution

-Known to have inherited her clairvoyant abilities from her great-grandmother

-Data is largely incomplete due to Sonic actively sheltering Cream from The Empire's attempts to study her and due to her own carefulness

**_Aging:_**

-Formerly aged at a normal rate for bunnies but is now aging significantly slower for an unknown reason

**_Clairvoyance:_**

-Has visions of the future, though she can't control when she has them or how often, how long they are, what she sees, or how far into the future she sees

-Able to remember even the most minute details of what she sees and can clearly communicate these things to others

-With the awakening of these powers, her intelligence has grown noticeably higher, especially considering her age

**_Healing factor:_**

-Heals faster than most people

-Naturally immune to most illnesses and other such defects

-Has so far escaped nearly being killed (is expected to likely be somewhat difficult to heal, if only due to her clairvoyance (which could potentially warn her of incoming danger) and her defensive capabilities)

**_Empathy:_**

_General:_

-Strong ability to read and/or sense the emotions the emotions/feelings of others

**_Flight:_**

-Rarely uses this ability due to risk of being caught due to lack of speed

-Includes the ability to hover

-Flies by slowly flapping her long ears like wings

-Can go long distances but isn't terribly fast

-Does eventually tire, though not quickly

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Somewhat resistant to high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

**_Speed:_**

-Can run, swim, fly, and so on, faster than most children her age, but isn't truly _fast_

-Has good stamina when running and whatnot, but does eventually tire

**_Strength:_**

-Stronger than most children her age

-Can punch and kick metal without harming herself and with enough force to leave a dent

-Most of her physical strength is in her arms (when her Chao was alive, she could throw it, while it was spinning rapidly, with enough force to allow it to smash through solid metal)

**_Defense:_**

-Known to sometimes be able to create a small bright yellow barrier/force field (through use of her psychic abilities) around only herself that could deflect most attacks regardless of their nature (i.e. physical, energy) and strength

-Fairly resistant to temperature (whether hot or cold)

-Can survive free falls from significantly high up, even if she lands on the ground or in shallow water

**_Agility:_**

-Flexible, though not highly so (perhaps due to lack of use of this ability)

**_Balance:_**

-Has good balance

**_Sight:_**

-Has good eyesight and can see objects of a certain size or larger from a good distance away

-Can see well in the dark

-Can see well enough to have great aim

**_Hearing:_**

-Has good hearing, though the exact extent of her hearing is unknown

**_Smell:_**

-Has a strong sense of smell (may even be able to catch people's scents)

**_Touch:_**

-Seems to be somewhat insensitive to pain below a certain level of severity, though she can't withstand terribly much

**_Special Senses:_**

-Sensitive to people's auras (can feel them without having to consciously attempt to do so; can determine who is who by the feel of their aura alone; can, to a point, read people's feelings, thoughts, and intentions through their auras; can follow the feeling of a person's aura to locate them; generally pays close attention to this sense)

**_Stealth:_**

-When moving slowly, she can move quietly enough that even those with sharp ears can have difficulty hearing her

-Can avoid cameras relatively well, though with some difficulty

-Can partially conceal her aura (and does so a vast majority of the time) through unknown means (presumably learned this skill from Sonic)

-Very quiet (not prone to talking)

-Very careful

**_Intelligence:_**

-Unknown precisely how intelligent she is (due to Sonic, Jet, Amy, Shadow, Wave, Tails, Silver (formerly), and Blaze (formerly) actively sheltering her from The Empire's attempts to study her and due to her own great caution), though her I.Q. is known to be high, especially for her age

-Knows some things about portals, time travel, time lines, powers, and so on

-Intelligence strangely never seems to be marred by her youth and inexperience

-Intelligent enough to pilot a small ship in spite of her lack of experience

-A good strategist

-Can quickly and easily pick up new skills and understand things she previously had no knowledge of and/or experience with (depending on what they are)

-Intelligent enough to learn how to wield blades and pistols quickly and relatively easily

-Very insightful and highly observational (due only in part to her psychic powers)

-Very high capacity (and often willingness) to learn new things and build on knowledge she already has

-A good hacker

-Possesses great knowledge of Chao and Chao Gardens

-Seems to be a good teacher (though she does not actively try to teach others)

**Emotions/Personality:**

-Very calm, quiet, and reserved, but used to be open, happy, carefree, and sweet

-Easily bored

-Conceals her emotions very well (presumably learned from Sonic)

-Was very friendly and generally very trusting in the past (can still be very trusting; has a strong sense for somehow knowing who is dangerous and who isn't)

-Emotions only very rarely get in the way of her logical thinking, even when he was feeling something especially strong

**Misc.:**

-Known to be taken care of mostly by Sonic and Amy, though Jet, Shadow, and Rouge aid in her care as well

-Highly skilled in cooking and sewing

-Doesn't seem to have especially strong instincts, save for protective ones regarding her friends and family

-Only notable ancestor seems to be her great-grandmother, Merry

-Has no known fears

-Known to have a strong interest in and passion for art

-One of the very few people who was in regular contact with Sonic when he became mostly isolated from the rest of the Freedom Fighters

**Directives:**

-Capture alive if at all possible

-If able to capture, extract information from through any means necessary

-After extracting information or if unable to capture, kill through any means necessary

* * *

**_Miles "Tails" Prower:_**

**Species:**

Fox (mutated twin-tailed; yellow; purebred)

**Age:**

Fourteen or fifteen

**Relations:**

-Parents are unknown

-Close friends with Amy Rose

-Friends with Jet the Hawk, Wave the Swallow, Knuckles the Echidna, Espio the Chameleon (deceased), Silver the Hedgehog (deceased), and Blaze the Cat (deceased)

-Close allies with Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Jet the Hawk, and Wave the Swallow

-Allies with every other member of the Freedom Fighters

-Sonic's "little bro"

-Cream and Amy's "brother"

-Vanilla's "son"

**Team(s):**

-A former member of Sonic's team, Team Hero (team is nearly entirely disbanded)

-A member of Sonic's second team, The Freedom Fighters

_**Duties performed for team(s):**_

-Aiding in organizing numerous assaults against The Capitol

-An organizer of the most recent assault on the Capitol

-Aiding in organizing many secret meetings for the Freedom Fighters

-Aiding in the construction of many secret bunkers

-Theft of weapons (specifically: guns, knives, missiles, grenades, lasers, and so on)

-Constructing and/or repairing weapons (i.e. missiles, lasers, bombs), machines (i.e. communicators, computers), and vehicles (cars, boats, ships, and planes)

-Hacking into The Empire's database, stealing files, and generally gathering and sharing information

-Enabling the teams to maintain communication at all times by continually building and repairing their communicators

-Stealing items needed for building technology (i.e. wires, metal)

**Weapons:**

-Known to use and own a dagger, bombs, grenades, and machine-based weaponry (i.e. missiles, lasers)

-Known to use a pistol and grenades

**Current Bounty:**

250,000,000

**Status:**

-The Empire's seventh most wanted criminal

-Suspected to be injured and somewhat tired

**Location:**

Unknown

**Abilities, Skills, Powers, and Attributes:**

-Data largely incomplete due Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles actively sheltering him from The Empire's attempts to study him and due to his own caution

**_Aging:_**

-Seems to be normal

**_Technopathy:_**

-Infrequently used (due to potential for sensory and mental overload from the vast amounts of data he gains)

-Ability to manipulate technology

-Manifested as a special form of electrical/telekinetic manipulation

-A special form of "morphing" which allows physical interaction with machines and a psychic ability that allows for mental interface with computer data

-Uses this ability by touching any piece of technology and focusing

**_Microwave manipulation:_**

-Rarely uses around friends and allies due to risk to risk of harming them in some way

-Ability to convert ambient electromagnetic energy into microwaves and manipulate it into various effects such as heat, light, and radiation (for him it seems limited to heat and, to a point, light; can concentrate those energies into beams that he unleashes from his hands or through special guns he builds for that purpose)

**_Healing factor:_**

-Heals faster than most people

-Naturally immune to most illnesses and other such defects

-Capable of surviving injuries that should have killed him

**_Empathy:_**

_General:_

-Minor ability to sense and read the emotions of others

**_Flight:_**

-Includes the ability to hover

-Flies by rapidly spinning his tails

-Can go long distances and is exceptionally fast

-Uses this ability frequently both in and out of combat

-Does eventually tire, though not quickly

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Relatively resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

**_Speed:_**

-Can run, swim, fly, and so on, significantly faster than most people

-Has good stamina when running and whatnot, but does eventually tire

-Relatively resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

**_Strength:_**

-Legs are strong enough for him to kick through most materials (save for especially hard and/or thick ones)

-Arms are strong enough for him to lift objects at least twice as heavy as he is (when he is fully healed and rested)

-Can send enemies even larger and heavier than himself flying with a single blow (usually a kick)

**_Defense:_**

-Has been known to build and use small, portable devices that can create temporary shields in front of him or around him (sometimes these shields can be very large)

-Largely unaffected by temperature (especially heat)

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Relatively resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

-Capable of surviving free falls from great heights, even if he lands on the ground or in shallow water

**_Agility:_**

-Flexible, though not highly so (perhaps due to lack of use of this ability)

-Can dodge obstacles with relative even when flying at high speeds

**_Balance:_**

-Has great balance

**_Sight:_**

-Has good eyesight and can see objects of a certain size or larger from a good distance away

-Can see well in the dark

-Can see well enough to have near-perfect aim

**_Hearing:_**

-Has good hearing, though the exact extent of his hearing is unknown

**_Smell:_**

-Nothing notable has ever come to light about this

**_Touch:_**

-Seems to be insensitive to pain below a certain level of severity

-Technopathy activated through touch and concentration

**_Special Senses:_**

-Seemingly none

**_Stealth:_**

-When moving slowly, he can, at times, move quietly enough that even those with sharp ears have difficulties hearing him

-Can easily avoid cameras even without flying

-Knows when to be quiet and isn't generally prone to being overly talkative to being with

-Very careful and evasive

**_Intelligence:_**

-Unknown precisely how intelligent he is (largely due to his own caution but also due to Sonic and Amy actively sheltering him from The Empire's attempts to study him), though his I.Q. is known to be high, especially for his age (his intelligence is comparable to that of Jet and Sonic's)

-Intelligence strangely almost never seems to be marred by his youth, though it can be marred by inexperience

-Intelligent enough to pilot/drive any ship, vehicle, or boat

-Can quickly and easily pick up new skills and understand things he previously had no knowledge of and/or experience with

-Intelligent enough to learn how to wield blades and pistols quickly and easily

-Very insightful and highly observational

-Very high capacity (and often willingness) to learn new things and build on knowledge he already has

-Tends to lean towards more hands-on work because of his apparent desire to learn by experience (generally; however, he isn't adverse to learning through reading, observing, and so on)

-A master hacker

-Possesses some knowledge of Chao and Chao Gardens

-Seems to be a good teacher (though he does not actively try to teach others)

-Intelligent enough to build and repair weapons, machines, gadgets, tools, robots, and vehicles quickly and from scratch (only very rarely is unable to repair or build something; construction only very rarely ends in a finished product that doesn't work the way it is supposed to or not at all)

-Intelligent enough to take apart machines, weapons, robots, and so on that he didn't create and either rebuild them or use the parts in new projects

-Knows a great deal about time travel, alternate timelines and dimensions, portals, outer space, interstellar travel, physics, mechanics, powers, and so on

-Intelligent enough to lie to anyone and rarely be caught doing so

-Intelligent enough to pilot/drive any ship, car, or boat (and to build said vehicles on his own)

-A highly skilled strategist, capable of thinking up complex and intricate plans on his own (though he doesn't always take the time to do so) and can create simpler but no less successful plans on the spot

-Can prevent anyone (except Sonic, Shadow, and perhaps Jet) from accessing any computer, machine, and so on using complex codes, powerful firewalls, and so on

-Possesses a vast knowledge of machine-based weaponry (i.e. lasers, bombs, missiles)

-Also knows a great deal about geology and astrology

**Emotions/Personality:**

-Generally calm and serious, but used to be open and happy

-Easily annoyed (and at times irritated) and easily bored (especially when there is nothing for him to do that is challenging mentally)

-Can be impatient (even greatly so)

-Very sarcastic at times (said sarcasm can sometimes have a cutting edge)

-Was very friendly and generally very trusting in the past, but is now very untrusting

-Typically a loner, though he will, at times, travel with Rouge or Amy (goes out on his own more than most of the other Freedom Fighters; his solitude is comparable to that of Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, and Jet's)

-Usually very bluntly honest, even if that honesty has a sharp edge (usually seems to mean well, however)

-Emotions only very rarely get in the way of his logical thinking, even when he's feeling something especially strong

**Misc.:**

-Has been building, repairing, and inventing machines and technology since early childhood

-Doesn't seem to have especially strong instincts, save for protective ones regarding his friends and family

-No known notable ancestors

-Known to have feared lightning as a young child (doesn't seem to harbor this fear any longer)

-No known fears currently

-Was the owner of the Tornado-1 before its destruction

-Often piloted the X-Tornado (though Sonic was the owner)

-One of the few people who always knows the exact location of Angel Island (as the island, being one that floats, is constantly drifting across the land)

**Directives:**

-Capture alive if at all possible

-If able to capture, extract information from through any means necessary

-After extracting information or if unable to capture, kill through any means necessary

**~ソニック~**

**About 8,197 words this time. I'm thinking there will be at least two more of these bonus chapters. ...In a row. I'm doing files on every surviving future character, including Locke, Kaden, and Analia. I hope you enjoyed! There was lots of new stuff in here! ;) Posted (at about 10:47 p.m.) 08-04-15. (P.S. Don't worry, the regular divider will come back in the normal chapters. :) )**


	131. Bonus Chapter 4: Ivo's Files

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! I'm glad you enjoyed! :D Haha, it _was_ long, huh? XD I liked writing about Silver, too. And I love that ship as well. :)**

**Hello, astroshadow! Yes, _lots_ of info and _lots_ more to come. ^-^" Uh... I don't actually remember. XD I live in California, if that helps at all. :P Yes, bad astroshadow! Bad! Get some sleep! XD (Not that I'm one to talk, lately...)**

**Hello, Blazewriters! ...For who? Sonic? Yeah we have. Plenty of times. He survived the destruction of South Island (and the very _long_ fall to the ground resulting from it) as a child, survived being struck by lightning as a child, survived nearly being drowned in the Chemical Plant, survived it when the X-Tornado was totaled with him in the pilot's seat that one time... the _only_ time he was ever killed (or at least brought _really_ close to being killed) was when Ivo fired a beam of Sonic's own Pure Chaos power right through him. ...Does that help that line make some more sense? ^-^"**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Your first review to Chapter 130: That's alright. You don't have to like them. :) Yes, you get nothing but info, but, to be honest, a lot of the information I "revealed" was revealed a long time ago, even if I never directly stated these things before. :P Yes, I have a plan, and there is more to this than just you guys finding out stuff. And, also, remember way back in the beginning of this Arc? There was an information dump there, too, just not as big of one. There were a lot of secret files and stuff read then, too, with new information. This is basically that, just longer. :P**

**Your second review to Chapter 130: Alright. Whatever you want to do. :) Oh, okay. I get it. :P**

**Hello, Shadowstar146! Haha, yeah. Sorry 'bout that. This one's shorter, I swear. ^-^" Yes, someone is. Someone who, up until recently, has had next to no idea about what's been going on in this future and why... ;) And yes, I imagine that Tails and the others are probably looking at it as well. :P Well, at least a "might" isn't a "no"! XD Yes, I agree that Cream and Charmy would be cute. I can totally imagine that. :D Dude, I subtle "love" triangle would be cool... Very interesting, too. :) I think... I think I can do it. Maybe. We'll see. Subtlety isn't always my thing. XD**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

* * *

_**FILES FROM EMPEROR IVO'S DATABASE**_

**_Shadow the Hedgehog_**

**Species:**

Hedgehog (unnatural; no real breed)

**Age:**

Seventeen (about)

**Relations:**

-The unnatural son of Kaden the Hedgehog and an alien life form (through DNA manipulation/experimentation)

-Sonic the Hedgehog half-brother

-Silver the Hedgehog's half-uncle

-Close allies with Sonic the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, Cream the Bunny, and Omega (dismantled)

-Allies with every Freedom Fighter (though not closely)

-Close friends with Omega (dismantled), Maria (deceased), Rouge the Bat, and Cream the Bunny

-Friends with Amy Rose, Sonic the Hedgehog, Espio the Chameleon (deceased)

**Team(s):**

-Leader of his own team, Team Dark

-A member of Sonic's second team, The Freedom Fighters

_**Duties performed for team(s):**_

-Generally leading his team in most situations

-Aiding in organizing numerous assaults against The Capitol

-An organizer of the most recent assault on the Capitol

-Aiding in organizing many secret meetings for the Freedom Fighters

-Aiding in the construction of many secret bunkers

-Learning how to train other Freedom Fighters

-Theft of weapons (specifically: guns and grenades)

-Providing other wanted persons with weapons

-Hacking into The Empire's database, stealing files, and generally gathering and sharing information

-Caring for a child (specifically: Cream)

-Spying

**Weapons:**

-Known to use and own a handgun

-Known to use many various guns, grenades, and a short sword

**Current Bounty:**

268,000,000

**Status:**

-The Empire's sixth most wanted criminal

-Known to be injured and suspected to be somewhat tired

**Location:**

Known (with Amy and Cream in a small ship near Jet's current location)

**Abilities, Skills, Powers, and Attributes:**

-Data largely incomplete due to Sonic, Rouge, and Amy actively sheltering him from The Empire's attempts to study him and due to his own great caution

**_Aging:_**

-Seems to be about the same as Kaden's (perhaps slower due to the alien DNA)

**_Chaos:_**

-When Sonic allows him to use the Chaos Emeralds, he can use Chaos Spear, Time Stop (though only for about ten seconds), Blast, and can achieve the Super transformation

**_Healing factor:_**

-Ability to heal rapidly and with greater finality than other people from any injury (exact rate of recovery is unknown and seems to vary depending on the injury and its severity)

-Results in slowing of aging and immunity to most illnesses and other such defects

-Capable of healing from seemingly any injury, even ones that should have killed him

-Very hard to kill

**_Empathy:_**

_General:_

-Minor ability to sense and read the emotions of others (though he typically seems to ignore this sense)

**_Flight:_**

-Unable to fly under normal circumstances (must be in Super form)

-When flying, he can go significantly faster than when he is running (though he still isn't as fast as Sonic when doing so)

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

**_Speed:_**

-Can run, swim, and so on, at the speed of sound

-Speed also applies to general movements

-Used constantly both in and out of combat (though he has been shown to prefer walking at times)

-Completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

**_Strength:_**

-Constantly used in and out of combat

-Very physically strong

-Can kick, punch, or otherwise smash through virtually any material

-Arms are strong enough for him to lift objects at _least_ three times as heavy as he is

-Can send enemies even larger and heavier than himself flying with a single blow

-Arms are also strong enough that he can hang onto something while dangling and not lose his grip, even after being in said position for a long period of time (he can also easily wield Amy's Piko Piko Hammer, in spite of its great weight, though he has never done so before)

-Can lift objects at least three times as heavy as he is

-Has such high control over his physical strength that he and snap an opponent's blade in half using any other blade and without damaging or breaking his own

**_Defense:_**

-Capable of surviving free-falls back to the planet from space, even if he lands on the ground or in shallow water

-Secretive to the point that he rarely shares his knowledge on any given subject with anyone, regardless of who they are

-Virtually immune to temperature (whether hot or cold; especially resistant to heat)

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

**_Agility:_**

-Very flexible

-Can dodge obstacles with relative ease, no matter what speed he is traveling while falling, running, falling, and so on

-Can perform expert and complex flips, spins, tricks, and so on both on the ground and in midair

-Can leap between trees and from branch to branch with great ease and speed

-A master of parkour

**_Balance:_**

-Has exceptional balance

-Can grind on a grind rail with just his feet

-Can stand, sit, kneel, crouch, and so on, on the wing of any fast-moving ship while said ship is in motion

-Can stand on foot on any surface (i.e. the point of a spire at the top of a building)

-Can stand on one hand and hold himself still enough to aim and fire a gun with deadly accuracy

**_Sight:_**

-Has night vision

-Can see even small objects from very long distances away (regardless of the time of day)

-Can see well enough to have near perfect aim

**_Hearing:_**

-Has exceptional hearing, though the exact extent of his hearing is unknown

**_Smell:_**

-Nothing notable has ever come to light about this

**_Touch:_**

-Highly insensitive to pain below a certain level of severity (can even force himself to ignore any and all pain, at least for short periods of time)

**_Special Senses:_**

-Sensitive to people's auras (can feel them without having to consciously attempt to do so; can determine who is who by the feel of their aura alone; can, to a point, read people's feelings, thoughts, and intentions through their auras; can follow the feeling of a person's aura to locate them; generally doesn't pay attention to this sense)

**_Stealth:_**

-Regardless of the speed at which he is traveling, he can move quietly enough that even those with sharp ears can't hear him

-Can entirely conceal his aura (and does so a vast majority of the time) through unknown means (presumably learned from Sonic)

-Stealthy enough to be a highly skilled weapons thief

-Can easily avoid cameras even without running

-Very quiet (not prone to talking)

-Very careful and evasive

**_Intelligence:_**

-Unknown precisely how intelligent he is (due to Sonic, Rouge, and Amy actively sheltering him from The Empire's attempts to study him, and due to his own great caution), though his I.Q. is known to be high

-Intelligent enough to pilot/drive any ship, vehicle, or boat

-Can quickly and easily pick up new skills and understand things he previously had no knowledge of and/or experience with

-Intelligent enough to learn how to wield blades and pistols quickly and easily

-Highly observational (at times)

-Very high capacity to learn new things and build on knowledge he already has

-A master hacker

-Possesses some knowledge of Chao and Chao Gardens

-Seems to be a decent teacher (though he does not actively try to teach others)

-Knows a some things about time travel, alternate timelines and dimensions, portals, and powers

-Knows a great deal about outer space and interstellar travel

-Intelligent enough to lie to anyone and rarely be caught doing so

-A master strategist, capable of thinking up complex and intricate plans on his own (though he rarely takes the time to do so) and can create simpler but no less successful plans on the spot

-Seems to be able to understand the ancient language when it is spoken to him (may be speak it himself, and he seems to be able to read it)

-Can prevent anyone (except Sonic, Tails, and perhaps Jet) from accessing any computer, machine, and so on using complex codes, powerful firewalls, and so on

-Possesses a vast knowledge of guns

**Emotions/Personality:**

-Generally calm and serious

-Has always been able to conceal his emotions nearly perfectly

-Not prone to feeling strong emotions (anger is a rare exception to this)

-Very untrusting of others, sometimes even regarding those he knows (only truly trusts his friends and allies)

-Personality remains largely unchanged from what it used to be

-Typically a loner unless with Rouge or Sonic

-Prone to irritability at times and can, on rare occasions, be easily annoyed

-Isn't especially skilled with children, but something about him seems to make children like him

-Emotions only very rarely get in the way of his logical thinking, even when he was feeling something especially strong

**Misc.:**

-Strong instincts regarding combat and wielding weapons

-Doesn't otherwise seem to have especially strong instincts, save for protective ones regarding specific friends and allies

-Known to greatly dislike and at times even hate being touched by others in any way, though he is known to tolerate it for the sake of certain others

-Is known to have been learning Ninjutsu from Espio, but his level of skill is unknown

-Descended from powerful assassins, warriors, knights, recluses, psychics, artisans, and so on (from Kaden's family line)

-Suspected to have more powers than are currently known

-Isn't very active in the Freedom Fighters unless Amy or Sonic specifically need/want him to be at any given time (Rouge can also get him to be active at times)

-One of the very few people who was in regular contact with Sonic when he became mostly isolated from the rest of the Freedom Fighters

**Directives:**

-Capture alive if at all possible

-If able to capture, extract information from through any means necessary

-After extracting information or if unable to capture, kill through any means necessary

* * *

**_Wave the Swallow_**

**Species:**

Swallow (alien; purebred)

**Age:**

Seventeen (about)

**Relations:**

-Parents are unknown

-Close allies with Sonic the Hedgehog, Jet the Hawk, Storm the Albatross (deceased) Amy Rose, and Miles "Tails" Prower

-Allies with every Freedom Fighter

-Close friends with Jet the Hawk, Amy Rose, and Cream the Bunny

-Friends with Miles "Tails" Prower, Amy Rose, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Storm the Albatross (deceased)

-Dating Jet the Hawk

**Team(s):**

-A former member of Sonic's team, Team Hero (team is nearly entirely disbanded)

-A member of Sonic's second team, the Freedom Fighters

-A member of Jet's racing team, The Riders/Team Riders

-A member of Jet's second team, The Babylon Rouges/Team Babylon

-A member of Team Rose

**_Duties Performed for Team(s):_**

-Aiding in organizing numerous assaults against The Capitol

-An organizer of the most recent assault on the Capitol

-Aiding in organizing many secret meetings for the Freedom Fighters

-Aiding in the construction of many secret bunkers

-Theft of weapons (specifically: guns, knives, missiles, grenades, lasers, and so on)

-Constructing and/or repairing weapons (i.e. missiles, lasers, bombs), machines (i.e. communicators, computers), and vehicles (Extreme Gear, cars, boats, ships, and planes)

-Hacking into The Empire's database, stealing files, and generally gathering and sharing information

-Stealing many things that her teams need

-Stealing items needed for building technology (i.e. wires, metal)

**Weapons:**

-Known to use and own a dagger, bombs, a handgun and machine-based weaponry (i.e. missiles, lasers)

-Known to use a pistol and grenades

**Current Bounty:**

210,000,000

**Status:**

-The Empire's ninth most wanted criminal

-Suspected to be uninjured and fully rested

**Location:**

Unknown

**Abilities, Skills, Powers, Attributes, and Personality:**

-Data largely incomplete due Sonic and Jet actively sheltering her from The Empire's attempts to study her and due to her own great caution

_**Aging:**_

-Seems to be the same as Sonic's (which may or may not be normal)

**_Psychic:_**

-Full extent of these powers is unknown (though she is suspected to be quite a bit more powerful than has previously been seen)

-Has been known to briefly mind control people (with great effort and concentration)

**_Racing:_**

-She, like Sonic, Jet, and Storm (deceased), has a pure, raw talent for racing on Extreme Gear

**_Theft:_**

-Very stealthy

-A master thief, true to her race's legacy

-Never caught by the authorities (though she is known to have been caught by friends and allies before)

-Has participated in many heists

**_Healing factor:_**

-Heals faster than most people

-Results in immunity to most illnesses and other such defects

-Has so far managed to escape nearly being killed (she is expected to likely be difficult to kill)

**_Empathy:_**

_General:_

-Ability to read and/or sense the emotions the emotions/feelings of others (pays close attention to this at times)

_Ecological:_

-Ability to sense the overall well-being and conditions of one's immediate environment and natural setting, stemming from a psychic sensitivity to nature (likely only has this ability due to her other psychic abilities awakening)

**_Flight:_**

-Seems to be incapable of flight unless she is on her Extreme Gear

-When on her Gear, she can reach incredibly high altitudes

-When she gets on her gear after having a ship take her up higher than she can normally go, she can still fly with ease (even in space)

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

**_Speed:_**

-Isn't especially fast on her own, but on her board she can keep up with Sonic so long as he is going below a certain rate of speed

-In spite of general lack of speed, she has sharp, almost cat-like reflexes and reaction times and can (presumably due to her psychic abilities) generally sense auras and whatnot more quickly than most others

-Completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

**_Strength:_**

-Most of her strength seemingly comes from her psychic abilities and she is therefore not very physically strong

-Is strong enough to punch or kick metal without harming herself and with enough force to leave a sizable dent

-Suspected to be able to lift objects twice as heavy as she is

**_Defense:_**

-Can survive free-falls from great heights, even if she lands on the ground or in shallow water

-Known to sometimes be able to create a small bright pink barrier/force field around only herself (through use of her psychic powers, presumably, though this is uncertain) that can deflect most attacks regardless of their nature (i.e. physical, energy) and strength

-Relatively resistant to temperature (whether hot or cold; especially resistant to the heat)

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

**_Agility:_**

-Can leap between trees and from branch to branch with great ease and speed

-Can easily dodge any obstacles in her way while falling and/or on her board regardless of the speed at which she is traveling

-Can perform expert and complex flips, spins, tricks, and so on, on the ground, on her board, and in midair

-Very flexible

-Reasonably skilled in parkour

**_Balance:_**

-Known to have exceptional balance

-Can ride Extreme Gear with ease, even on a grind rail

-Can stand, sit, kneel, crouch, and so on, on the wing of any fast-moving ship while said ship is in motion (though she rarely does this)

**_Sight:_**

-True to her species, she has very keen eyesight

-Can see very well in the dark but doesn't have true night vision

-Can see even small objects from very long distances away (even at night)

-Can see well enough to have near perfect aim

**_Hearing:_**

-Has sharp ears, thought the extent of her hearing is unknown

**_Smell:_**

-If a smell is strong enough, she can follow it back to its exact source

**_Touch:_**

-Can sense vibrations in the ground well enough to determine the near exact size and shape of whoever or whatever created said vibrations

-Often ignores vibrations (for an unknown reason) unless they are large and especially noticeable

-Insensitive to pain below a certain level of severity (can even force herself to ignore any and all pain, at least for short periods of time)

**_Special Senses:_**

-Sensitive to people's auras (can feel them without having to consciously attempt to do so; can determine who is who by the feel of their aura alone; can, to a point, read people's feelings, thoughts, and intentions through their auras; can follow the feeling of a person's aura to locate them; generally doesn't seem to pay attention to this sense)

**_Stealth:_**

-She can move quietly enough that even those with sharp ears have difficulties hearing her

-Can easily avoid cameras with relative ease

-Knows when to be quiet and isn't generally prone to being overly talkative to being with

-Very careful and evasive

-A master thief, true to her race's legacy

**_Intelligence:_**

-Her exact I.Q. is unknown (due Sonic and Jet actively sheltering her from The Empire's attempts to study her and due to her own great caution), but her intelligence is known to be on par (or at least close) with that of Tails's (at least regarding machines, particularly vehicles)

-Intelligent enough to build and repair machines, gadgets, tools, robots, and vehicles quickly and from scratch (only very rarely is unable to repair or build something; construction only very rarely ends in a finished product that doesn't work the way it is supposed to or not at all)

-Intelligent enough to take apart machines, weapons, robots, and so on that she didn't create and either rebuild them or use the parts in new projects

-Suspected to have some knowledge of ancient technology (presumably gained from Jet)

-Knows a great deal about time travel, alternate timelines and dimensions, portals, outer space, interstellar travel, physics, mechanics, powers, and so on

-Intelligence sometimes marred by stubbornness

-Intelligent enough to lie to anyone and rarely be caught doing so

-Intelligent enough to pilot/drive any ship, car, or boat (and to build said vehicles on her own)

-Knows a great deal about astrology

-Knows a great deal about history, ancient artifacts and ruins, and so on

-Cunning and a schemer

-A skilled strategist, capable of thinking up complex and intricate plans on her own (though she rarely takes the time to do so) and can create simpler but no less successful plans on the spot

-Can be very insightful and highly observational (when she bothers to pay attention to what she's seeing, hearing, and so on)

-Possesses a long history of battle experience (has been experiencing combat since she was a young teenager)

-Very high capacity (and often willingness) to learn new things and build on knowledge she already has

-Possesses a great knowledge of machine-based weaponry (i.e. lasers, bombs, missiles)

-A highly skilled hacker

-Possesses some knowledge of Chao and Chao Gardens

-A skilled teacher in her own right (particularly involving things such as mechanics), though she only rarely tries to teach anyone anything

**Emotions/Personality:**

-Can be very calm and serious but is generally happy, mischievous, and has a strong sense of humor that shows itself in various ways

-Also has a fierce temper that shows up often, especially when she is with or near Jet

-Can be very impatient at times

-Likes to tease and call people names

-Can be easily startled when she is deeply focused on a project

-Has been known to worry about people a great deal more than she tends to let on

-Can be harsh when criticizing people, but she generally seems to mean well

-She can be very kind, patient, caring, understanding, and gentle (though this side of her is seldom shown)

**Misc.:**

-Isn't known to have especially strong instincts, even of the protective kind (generally seems to believe that her friends and/or allies can take care of themselves and will be fine without her aid if she is unable to lend it; however, there are times when she completely goes against this and will fight to protect her friends and/or allies regardless of the dangers)

-Descended from nothing but purebred Babylon Rouges

-One of the very few people who was in regular contact with Sonic when he became mostly isolated from the rest of the Freedom Fighters

-In spite of the way she talks and acts and in spite of the way they fight, she is known to be very close with and attached to Jet

**Directives:**

-Capture alive if at all possible

-If able to capture, extract information from through any means necessary

-After extracting information or if unable to capture, kill through any means necessary

* * *

** _Amy Rose:_**

**Species:**

-Hedgehog (pink; purebred)

**Age:**

Seventeen (about)

**Relations:**

-Only child of Marie Rose and Harold the Hedgehog

-A former member of Sonic the Hedgehog's team, Team Hero

-The second leader of the Freedom Fighters

-The leader of her own team, Team Rose (founded)

-Tails's "brother" andCream's "sister"

-Vanillas "daughter"

-Close allies with Knuckles the Echidna, Miles "Tails" Prower, Wave the Swallow, Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog, Cream the Bunny, and Jet the Hawk

-Close friends with Jet the Hawk,Silver the Hedgehog (deceased), Miles "Tails" Prower, and Cream the Bunny

-Friends with Wave the Swallow, Knuckles the Echidna, Blaze the Cat (deceased), Big the Cat (deceased), Locke the Echidna, Kaden the Hedgehog, Analia the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Sonic the Hedgehog (somewhat)

**Team(s):**

-A former member of Sonic the Hedgehog's team, Team Hero (team nearly entirely disbanded)

-The second leader of Sonic the Hedgehog's second team, the Freedom Fighters

-The leader of her own team, Team Rose

_**Duties performed for team(s):**_

-Generally leading her teams in most situations

-Organizing and leading numerous assaults against The Capitol

-An organizer and leader of the most recent assault on the Capitol

-Organizing many secret meetings for the Freedom Fighters and her own team

-Aiding in the construction of many secret bunkers

-Learning how to train and better lead the Freedom Fighters

-Caring for a child (specifically: Cream, among others)

-Theft of weapons (specifically: guns, knives, missiles, grenades, lasers, and so on)

-Providing other wanted persons with weapons

-Hacking into The Empire's database, stealing files, and generally gathering and sharing information

-Spying

**Weapons:**

-Known to own and use a Piko Piko Hammer, a dagger, a handgun, and a shortsword

-Known to use pistols, grenades, and Sonic's retractable steel staff (at times)

**Current Bounty:**

360,000,00

**Status:**

-The Empire's fourth most wanted criminal

-Suspected to be uninjured and fully rested

**Location:**

Known (with Cream and Shadow in a small ship near Jet's current location)

**Abilities, Skills, Powers, and Attributes:**

-Data largely incomplete due Sonic, Shadow, Jet, and Tails actively sheltering her from The Empire's attempts to study her and due to her own great caution

**_Aging:_**

-Seems to be normal (pink hedgehogs live almost as long as blue and silver ones, which have about the same lifespan)

**_Healing factor:_**

-Is somehow able to heal at a much greater rate than others (though she had a relatively normal rate of recovery in the past)

-Almost entirely immune to most illnesses and other such defects

-Can heal from even injuries that should have killed her

-Has so far proven to be hard to kill

**_Chaos:_**

-When Sonic gives her a portion of his power, she can go Super

**_Empathy:_**

_General:_

-She possesses a strong ability to read and/or sense the emotions the emotions/feelings of others (pays very close attention to this most of the time)

_Ecological:_

-Ability to sense the overall well-being and conditions of one's immediate environment and natural setting, stemming from a psychic sensitivity to nature

**_Flight:_**

-Unable to fly under normal circumstances (must be in Super form)

-When flying, she is significantly faster than when she is running

-Mostly resistant to high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

**_Speed:_**

-Being a hedgehog, she is naturally faster than most people

-Can move at speeds somewhat below Knuckles and Tails (who are close to the same speed, with Tails being somewhat faster)

-Mostly resistant to high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

**_Strength:_**

-Most of her strength is in her arms

-She can wield her Piko Piko hammer with ease

-She can lift objects at least twice as heavy as she is (when she is fully healed and rested)

**_Defense:_**

-Can survive free falls from great heights, even if she lands on the ground or in shallow water

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Mostly resistant to high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

-Relatively unaffected by temperature (though she can be more bothered by the cold than some)

-Capable of surviving injuries that should have killed her

**_Agility:_**

-Very flexible

-Can dodge obstacles in her way when she's running with great ease, even when she's going at full speed

-Can perform complex spins and flips whether on the ground or in the air

-Fairly skilled at parkour

**_Balance:_**

-Known to have exceptional balance

-Can stand, sit, kneel, crouch, and so on, on the wing of any fast-moving ship while said ship is in motion (though she seldom does this)

**_Sight:_**

-Has very good eyesight

-Can see well in the dark but doesn't have night vision

-Can see even small objects from a large distance away

-Can see well enough to have exceptional aim

**_Hearing:_**

-Has sharp hearing, but the extent of it is unknown

**_Smell:_**

-If a smell is strong enough, she can follow it back to its exact source

**_Touch:_**

-Very insensitive to pain below a certain level of severity (can even force herself to ignore any and all pain, at least for short periods of time)

**_Special Senses:_**

-Sensitive to people's auras (can feel them without having to consciously attempt to do so; can determine who is who by the feel of their aura alone; can, to a point, read people's feelings, thoughts, and intentions through their auras; can follow the feeling of a person's aura to locate them; generally seems to pay close attention to this sense)

**_Stealth:_**

-When moving slowly, she can move quietly enough that even those with sharp ears have difficulty hearing her

-Can avoid cameras relatively well (though with some difficulty at times)

-Can partially conceal her aura (and does so a vast majority of the time) through unknown means (presumably learned this skill from Sonic)

-Very quiet (not prone to talking)

-Very careful and evasive

-Has been learning a great deal about stealth from both Sonic and Jet (though mostly Jet, as relations between her and Sonic are still strained)

-Her stealth is known to be great enough that she has become a skilled thief

**_Intelligence:_**

-Unknown precisely how intelligent she is (due to Sonic, Shadow, Jet, and Tails actively sheltering her from The Empire's attempts to study her and due to her own great caution), though her I.Q. is known to be high

-Knows some things about portals, time travel, time lines, powers, and so on

-Intelligence can be marred by her stubbornness (more than anything else)

-Intelligent enough to pilot a small ship in spite of her lack of experience

-A good strategist

-Can quickly and easily pick up new skills and understand things she previously had no knowledge of and/or experience with (depending on what they are)

-Intelligent enough to learn how to wield new weapons quickly and relatively easily

-Very insightful and highly observational

-Very high capacity (and often willingness) to learn new things and build on knowledge she already has

-A skilled hacker

-Possesses great knowledge of Chao and Chao Gardens

-Seems to be a good teacher (though she does not actively try to teach others at this point; perhaps due to the fact that she is still learning how to do so)

**Emotions/Personality:**

-Generally very calm, serious, and reserved, though she can, at rare times, still be happy and friendly

-She still has her fiery temper, but it rarely shows itself nowadays

-She can be easily annoyed by Wave's antics, but otherwise rarely comes to feel this way

-Is still very patient with others (it has been noted that she acts especially patient when dealing with Sonic)

-Still worries about and feels concern toward all her friends and allies, but she is much better at hiding it now than she used to be

-Can conceal her emotions very well (presumably learned from Sonic)

-Is generally untrusting, though she has a strong sense for somehow knowing who is dangerous and who isn't (she doesn't always trust this sense)

**Misc.:**

-Is not known to be dating anyone but, in spite of the past strains on their friendship, she seems to be closer with Sonic than some others (she seems to have an attachment of sorts to him)

-Used to be very fond of hugging people, but now limits touching to things like light, small touches on a shoulder or hand (seemingly meant to offer silent comfort, reassurances, and so on)

-Known to have very strong protective instincts regarding her friends, family, people in general, and nature (in the past, this has been proven to be something that can be manipulated to force her to make very hard choices that hinder her, even severely, in battle; she is especially protective of Jet, Cream, Tails, and Knuckles, as these are the people she is closest with, and seemingly Sonic)

-Known to have a strong interest and passion for art

-Suspected to have more powers than are currently known

**Directives:**

-Capture alive if at all possible

-If able to capture, extract information from through any means necessary

-After extracting information or if unable to capture, kill through any means necessary

* * *

**About 5,118 words this time. There is one more coming for sure, maybe two if I end up doing Kaden, Locke, and Analia. ...Opinions on whether or not I should do those three? ****I literally _almost_ said "screw it" and deleted the last chapter. Writing all this out (and hell, even just thinking about what to put!) took _so_ long... *Sigh...* Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Posted 08-05-15.**


	132. Bonus Chapter 5: Ivo's Files

**Hello, BlazesWriters69! Your first review to Chapter 131: Ah. Okay. Yes, it is. Had you been speaking to me in person, I would have (probably) noticed. XD By the way, you, my friend, are an anomaly of sorts. Did you know that I _never _get email alerts when you review? XD**

**Your second review to Chapter 131: Well, yes, but we know that other characters can do it as well. SA2 (the game) is a good example of this. For one thing, other characters can run on walls and stuff. That's parkour, too. :P**

**Hello, GreatestSoldier! Thank you so much! That means a lot! ...My brain was hurting by the time I was done with these last two chapters... ^-^ Well, I hope you enjoy! :)**

**Hello, astroshadow! Haha, no, she's not alive. I screwed up. XD Thanks for pointing those errors out to me. I went back and fixed them. However, I noticed not long ago that I have Amy's teams under "Relations" _and_ under their appropriate category, "Teams". ...Sigh... I'll fix it later. ^-^ Well, since it _is_ Amy's hammer, I wouldn't be surprised if that's what it means. And yes, that is pretty funny... especially since Future Sonic has apparently used it before. XD Hahaha, _yes_! That is _so_ Shadow! XDD**

**Hello, Sonamylover6822! Well, Jet and Wave are only dating in the future, but yes. Sonic and Amy have been slowly building up toward that pretty much since the moment they meant. It's just been subtle and with lots of small moments, kind of like with present-day Wave and Jet. :) Thanks for taking the time to read and review, by the way! :D**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! I'm glad you think so! :) And why are you surprised by that? XD So I decided to do them, which means there will be one more of these. Blaze will be with them, too, don't worry. :D**

**Hello, Shadowstar146! Yes, though like I said, I imagine that Tails and the others probably are, too. :) Yes, I will _attempt_ it. I make no promises of anything good (for that matter, I can't make promises for how subtle it will be, for reasons I explained to you before). XD Why would you laugh about that? He really _can_ do it (take SA2, for example). :) Lol, anyway, I've decided that I will do Kaden and the others, which means that there will be one more of these. Blaze will be there, too. She was originally supposed to be in this chapter, anyway. :P**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

* * *

**_FILES FROM EMPORER IVO'S DATABASE_**

_**Rouge the Bat**_

**Species:**

Bat (presumably purebred)

**Age:**

About eighteen

**Relations:**

-Parents are unknown

-Close friends with Shadow the Hedgehog, Omega (dismantled)

-Friends with Knuckles the Echidna, Locke the Echidna, and Cream the Bunny

-Close allies with Amy Rose, Miles "Tails" Prower, Shadow the Hedgehog, Omega (dismantled), Cream the Bunny, Jet the Hawk, and Sonic the Hedgehog

-Allies with every member of the Freedom Fighters

**Team(s):**

-A member of Sonic's team, the Freedom Fighters

-A member of Shadow's team, Team Dark

-A member of Knuckles's team, Team Hunters

_**Duties performed for team(s):**_

_-_Caring for a child (specifically: Cream)

-Stealing weapons (specifically: knives and guns)

-Providing other wanted persons with weapons

-Hacking into The Empire's database, stealing files, and generally gathering and sharing information

-Stealing various things her teams need

-Spying

-Treasure hunting (though this is done more for Knuckles's team than the others)

**Weapons:**

-Known to own and use knives and a handgun

-Known to use grenades and a pistol

**Current Bounty:**

110,000,000

**Status:**

-The Empire's twelfth most wanted criminal

-Known to be injured and tired

**Location:**

Unknown

**Abilities, Skills, Powers, and Attributes:**

-Data largely incomplete due Sonic, Knuckles, and Shadow actively sheltering her from The Empire's attempts to study her and due to her own caution

**_Aging:_**

-Seems to be normal

**_Healing factor:_**

-Heals faster than most other people

-Immune to virtually every illness and other such defects

**_Empathy:_**

_General:_

-Seems to possess the ability to sense and/or read people's emotions (though if she does have this ability, she appears to largely ignore it unless it will help her somehow)

**_Theft:_**

-A master thief of world renown

-Comes from a long line of thieves

-Is rarely caught by authorities (though when she is, she always manages to escape very quickly)

**_Climbing:_**

-Ability to adhere to solid surfaces, including walls and ceilings

-Can climb any surface with incredible ease and never lose her grip

**_Digging:_**

-Can dig through the ground, cliff faces, rocks, and so on, regardless of how hard they are

**_Treasure hunting:_**

-A master treasure hunter of world renown

**_Flight:_**

-Can fly quite a bit faster than she can move otherwise

-Must use wings and therefore does eventually tire (though she has great stamina)

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Mostly resistant to high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

**_Speed:_**

-Very fast (about the same speed as Knuckles)

-Mostly resistant to high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

-Faster in the air than on her feet, though she can also run very fast

**_Strength:_**

-Most of her strength is in her legs

-Can deliver devastating kicks that go through virtually material

-Punches are strong enough to dent metal

-The strength in her legs is highly comparable to the strength Knuckles possesses in his arms

-Her kicks can destroy entire ships

_-Can send enemies even larger and heavier than himself flying with a single blow (usually a kick)_

-Can lift objects at least close to twice her own weight

**_Defense:_**

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Mostly resistant to high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

-Mostly immune to temperature (especially the cold)

-Capable of surviving injuries that should have killed her

-Can survive free falls from incredible heights, even if she lands on the ground or in shallow water

**_Agility:_**

-Can dodge obstacles that are in her way with great ease regardless of the speed at which she is traveling, whether she is running, flying, falling, or so on

-Can perform complex spins and flips on the ground or in the air

-Skilled in parkour

**_Balance:_**

-Known to have exceptional balance

-Can stand, sit, kneel, crouch, and so on, on the wing of any fast-moving ship while said ship is in motion (though she seldom does this)

**_Sight:_**

-Has very keen eyesight

-Has night vision

-Can see even small objects from far away

-Sensitive enough to sound that she can, at times, see sound waves (if only somewhat)

-Has an especially keen eye for treasure and things that shine

-Can see well enough to have near perfect aim

**_Hearing:_**

-Has very sharp hearing

-Can be rendered immobile (if only temporarily) by sudden, intense, and/or high-pitched sounds

-Sensitive enough to sound that she can, at times, see sound waves (if only somewhat)

**_Smell:_**

-Has a strong sense of smell (may even be able to catch people's scents)

**_Touch:_**

-Is sensitive to vibrations, enough to where she can sense the near exact size and shape of whoever or whatever created the vibrations she is sensing (seems to ignore this sense normally, unless the vibrations are especially large and noticeable)

-Highly insensitive to pain below a certain level of severity (can even force herself to ignore any and all pain, at least for short periods of time)

**_Special Senses:_**

-Seemingly none

**_Stealth:_**

-A very highly skilled thief

-Regardless of the speed at which she is traveling, she can move quietly enough that even those with sharp ears can't hear her

-Can easily avoid cameras

-Can be talkative at times, but knows when to be quiet

-Very careful and highly evasive

-A known escape artist (has a long history of being so)

**_Intelligence:_**

-Unknown precisely how intelligent she is (due to Sonic, Knuckles, and Shadow actively sheltering her from The Empire's attempts to study her and due to her own caution), though her I.Q. is known to be high

-Knows some things about portals, time travel, powers, and so on

-Hast a vast knowledge of treasure (including jewels) and history (mainly people and places)

-Intelligence can be marred by her stubbornness (more than anything else)

-Intelligent enough to pilot a small ship in spite of her lack of experience

-A skilled strategist

-Knows a surprising amount about astrology

-Can quickly and easily pick up new skills and understand things she previously had no knowledge of and/or experience with (depending on what they are)

-Intelligent enough to learn how to wield new weapons quickly and relatively easily

-Highly observational

-Very high capacity to learn new things and build on knowledge she already has

-A skilled hacker

-Possesses some knowledge of Chao and Chao Gardens

-Seems to be a good teacher (though she does not actively try to teach others)

-Can read in the ancient language and can understand it when it is spoken to her

**Emotions/Personality:**

-She can often be very coy, coquettish, seductive, playful, and teasing, though she can also be calm, serious, and closed off

-She is known to be sly and manipulative (though she doesn't generally attempt to manipulate her friends and allies, save for when she wants little things (i.e. when she wants them to fetch something for her))

-Is surprisingly good with most children (unless she finds them annoying)

-She has a fierce temper, is easily agitated and/or annoyed at times (especially by certain people), and can become bored easily

-Very impatient (though there are times where she isn't)

-Typically a loner

-Emotions seldom get in the way of her logical thinking

**Misc.:**

-Known to have idolized Locke since childhood for his skills as both a master treasure hunter and highly skilled thief

-Known to have idolized the Babylon Rouges (as a whole race) since childhood (and may still) for their legendary skill as thieves

-Not known to be dating anyone, but she seems to be closer with Knuckles than with most other people

-No known fears

-Is one of the only people who has managed befriend Shadow

-Has sharp instincts regarding combat and protecting those that are close to her

-Suspected to have more powers than are currently known

-Isn't terribly active in the Freedom Fighters generally (if she is given the choice; however, when she is needed or wanted for something, she will usually drop everything to come to the team's aid)

-Tends to go wherever Knuckles does (though she will, at times, go with Shadow; she will also travel with Tails from time to time; will occasionally stay with the Babylon Rouges for an extended period of time)

**Directives:**

-Capture alive if at all possible

-If able to capture, extract information from through any means necessary

-After extracting information or if unable to capture, kill through any means necessary

* * *

_**Knuckles the Echidna**_

**Species:**

Echinda (red; purebred)

**Age:**

Nineteen

**Relations:**

-Only child of Locke the Echidna

-Kaden the Hedgehog and Analia the Hedgehog's godson

-Sonic the Hedgehog's "brother"

-Friends with Cream the Bunny, Amy Rose, Miles "Tails" Prower, Espio the Chameleon (deceased), Silver the Hedgehog (deceased), Blaze the Cat (deceased), and Rouge the Bat

-Close allies with Amy Rose, Miles "Tails" Prower, and Sonic the Hedgehog

-Allies with every Freedom Fighter

**Team(s):**

-A former member of Sonic the Hedgehog's team, Team Hero (team is nearly entirely disbanded)

-A member of Sonic the Hedgehog's second team, the Freedom Fighters

-The leader of his own team, Team Hunters (founded)

_**Duties performed for team(s):**_

-Generally leading his team in most situations

-Aiding in organizing numerous assaults against The Capitol

-An organizer of the most recent assault on the Capitol

-Aiding in organizing many secret meetings for the Freedom Fighters

-Aiding in the construction of many secret bunkers

-Stealing weapons (specifically: knives and guns)

-Providing other wanted persons with weapons

-Generally gathering and sharing information

-Spying

-Treasure hunting (though this is done more for his team than the others)

-Protecting the secrets (i.e. location) of Babylon Garden (Wave may be doing this as well, though this is uncertain)

**Weapons:**

-Known to own and use a sword (given to him by Sonic)  
-Known to use a handgun and dagger

**Current Bounty:**

140,000,000

**Status:**

-The Empire's eleventh most wanted criminal

-Known to be heavily injured and exhausted

**Location:**

Unknown

**Abilities, Skills, Powers, and Attributes:**

-Data largely incomplete due to Sonic and Rouge actively sheltering him from The Empire's attempts to study him and due to his own great caution

**_Aging:_**

-Seemingly normal

**_Healing factor:_**

-Can heal much faster than most others

-Naturally immune to (seemingly) all illnesses and other such defects

**_Fire:_**

-Can control and is resistant to fire (inherited from his father)

-Can use as a full power up that results in him becoming surrounded by flames (also allows him to fly faster)

**_Chaos:_**

-Can control the Master Emerald to a point (presumably because Sonic lets him, though this is uncertain)

-When Sonic gives Knuckles a portion of his power, Knuckles can go Super

-Can read the energy of the emeralds (especially the Master Emerald)

**_Empathy:_**

_General:_

-Can sense/read people feelings (seems to pay close attention to this sense)

_Ecological:_

-Ability to sense the overall well-being and conditions of one's immediate environment and natural setting, stemming from a psychic sensitivity to nature (pays close attention to this sense, especially when in an area he considers to be especially special, such as on Angel Island))

**_Climbing:_**

-Ability to adhere to solid surfaces, including walls and ceilings

-Can climb any surface with incredible ease and never lose his grip

**_Digging:_**

-Can dig through the ground, cliff faces, rocks, and so on regardless of how hard they are

**_Treasure hunting:_**

-A master treasure hunter of world renown

**_Flight:_**

-Technically "gliding"

-Doesn't need wings or energy, just uses the air around him (which more than likely means that he can't glide in space)

-Can go a quite bit faster in the air than he can on his feet

-Doesn't tire from "flying"

-Despite his "flight" being gliding, he doesn't lose altitude (even slowly)

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Mostly resistant to high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

**_Speed:_**

-Is somewhat slower than Tails, even when in the air (though he has greater endurance on foot than Tails does on the ground or in flight)

-Faster in the air than on foot (though he is still surprisingly fast either way)

-Mostly resistant to high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

**_Strength:_**

-Most of his strength is in his arms

_-Can use said strength in his arms and hands to hang onto something while dangling and not lose his grip, even after being in said position for a long period of time_

-The strength is his arms is comparable to the strength in Rouge's legs

-Can punch through virtually any material, regardless of how hard it is

-His punches can destroy entire ships

_-Can send enemies even larger and heavier than himself flying with a single blow (usually a punch)_

-His kicks are strong enough to badly damage metal

-Can lift objects at least two to three times as heavy as he is

-Can carry people on his back while in flight with ease (if they're small enough, he can carry two)

**_Defense:_**

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Mostly resistant to high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

-Can survive free falls from incredible heights, even if he lands on the ground or in shallow water

-Capable of surviving injuries that should have killed him

-Completely immune to flames

-Virtually immune to temperature (especially heat)

**_Agility:_**

-Can easily dodge any obstacles in his way while falling, running, flying, and so on, regardless of the speed at which he is traveling

-Can perform expert and complex flips, spins, tricks, and so on, on the ground and in midair

-Skilled in parkour

**_Balance:_**

-Known to have exceptional balance

-Can ride (whether by standing or sitting) on a missile while said missile is in flight and even control which way it turns (as though he were riding on Extreme Gear or something similar)

-Can stand, sit, kneel, crouch, and so on, on the wing of any fast-moving ship while said ship is in motion (though he seldom does so)

**_Sight:_**

-Can see very well, even in the dark (though he doesn't have true night vision)

-Can see well enough to have exceptional aim

-Can see even small objects from far away

-Has an especially keen eye for treasure, artifacts, and shiny objects

**_Hearing:_**

-Has sharp hearing

-Can hear even small noises within a certain unknown radius around him

**_Smell:_**

-Nothing notable has ever come to light about this

**_Touch:_**

-Is sensitive to vibrations, enough to where he can sense the near exact size and shape of whoever or whatever created the vibrations he is sensing (seems to ignore this sense normally, unless the vibrations are especially large and noticeable)

-Highly insensitive to pain below a certain level of severity (can even force himself to ignore any and all pain, at least for short periods of time)

**_Special Senses:_**

-Sensitive to people's auras (can feel them without having to consciously attempt to do so; can determine who is who by the feel of their aura alone; can, to a point, read people's feelings, thoughts, and intentions through their auras; can follow the feeling of a person's aura to locate them; generally pays close attention to this sense, especially when around Sonic and other similarly hard-to-read people)

**_Stealth:_**

-Can generally move at any speed without being heard

-Can avoid cameras with relative ease

-Not generally talkative to begin with (naturally quiet)

-Not exactly his strongest suit, as he tends to rush into things (such as combat)

**_Intelligence:_**

-Exact I.Q. is unknown (due to Sonic and Rouge actively sheltering him from The Empire's attempts to study him and due to his own great caution) though he is known to be highly intelligent

-Possesses a vast knowledge of treasure, history (including people, places, and so on), artifacts, and ruins

-Can read, write, and speak in the ancient language

-Has a surprising amount of knowledge regarding geology and astrology

-Intelligence can be marred by his stubbornness (more than anything else)

-Intelligent enough to pilot a small ship in spite of his lack of experience

-A skilled strategist (though he tends to rush into things such as combat)

-Can quickly and easily pick up new skills and understand things he previously had no knowledge of and/or experience with

-Intelligent enough to learn how to wield new weapons quickly and relatively easily

-Highly observational

-Very high capacity to learn new things and build on knowledge he already has

-A good hacker

-Possesses some knowledge of Chao and Chao Gardens

-A good teacher (though he does not actively try to teach others)

**Emotions/Personality:**

-Has a fierce temper that shows itself often (though rarely with full-force)

-Is usually very patient and likes to take his time with things (in spite of how he rushes into things such as combat), but certain situations (such as waiting for a battle to begin) can make him highly impatient

-Surprisingly very good with children (even ones he considers to be "a headache")

-Prone to irritability

-Like Sonic, he is known to feel uneasy and overwhelmed in large crowds of people

-Doesn't generally seem to feel happiness in the way others do (the closest he seems to feel is contentment; that's not to say that he is incapable of happiness, however)

-Typically a loner unless with Rouge (his solitude is comparable to that of Sonic, Shadow, Tails, and Jet's)

-Can be bluntly honest, though he always means well (can also be honest to a fault at times)

-Can be very stubborn and is often reluctant to admit what he's feeling

-Not very trusting (and yet, he is known to have a firm belief in the goodness of peoples' hearts)

-Emotions rarely get in the way of his logical thinking, even when he's feeling something especially strong

**Misc.:**

-When Sonic's friendship with him, Tails, and Amy fell apart, Knuckles ended up drifting apart from Tails and Amy as well (they remain friends, but not close ones; sometimes he goes many months or even a few years without ever speaking a word to them; seems especially distanced from Amy as he knew Tails better and longer than her)

-In spite of his detachment from his friends, he is known to still care a great deal about them and seems to worry about them constantly

-Not known to be dating anyone, but seems closer with Rouge than with most others

-One of the few people who always knows the location of Angel Island (as the island, being one that floats, is always drifting across the land)

-Locke seems to be his only notable ancestor

-Is known to have very strong protective instincts regarding his friends, allies, family (in spite of his lack of contact with them), people in general, and nature (in the past, this has been proven to be something that can be manipulated to force him to make very hard choices that hinder him, even severely, in battle; he is especially protective of Sonic (whom he has always protected like a brother) and Rouge (whom is the only person he is close with nowadays))

-No known fears

-Isn't very active in the Freedom Fighters unless he is needed to be

-Seems to be slowly becoming friends with Jet (whom he has been in regular contact with for a number of years; has been noted to sometimes be protective of him as well)

**Directives:**

-Capture alive if at all possible

-If able to capture, extract information from through any means necessary

-After extracting information or if unable to capture, kill through any means necessary

* * *

**_Jet the Hawk_**

**Species:**

Hawk (alien; purebred)

**Age:**

Seventeen

**Relations:**

-Only grandchild of Queen Laralei the Hawk (the leader of the army of alien birds that once attacked South Island)

-Only child of Ross (who is Queen Laralei's only child)

-Sonic's "brother"

-Silver's "uncle"

-Close friends with Sonic the Hedgehog, Amy Rose, and Wave the Swallow

-Friends with Miles "Tails" Prower, Cream the Bunny, Amy Rose, Storm the Albatross (deceased), and Silver the Hedgehog (deceased)

-Close allies with Sonic the Hedgehog, Storm the Albatross (deceased) Amy Rose, Wave the Swallow, and Miles "Tails" Prower

-Allies with every Freedom Fighter

-Dating Wave the Swallow

**Team(s):**

-A member of Sonic the Hedgehog's team, Team Hero (team nearly entirely disbanded)

-A member of Sonic the Hedgehog's second team The Freedom Fighters

-Co-leader (with Sonic, specifically) of the Freedom Fighters

-The leader of his own racing team The Riders/Team Riders (unknown whether or not Sonic helps lead this team)

-The leader of the Babylon Rouges/Team Babylon (the last remaining Babylon Rouges)

_**Duties performed for team(s):**_

-Generally leading (or co-leading, in the case of the Fighters) his teams in most situations

-Learning how to better train other wanted persons

-Learning how to better lead (or co-lead, as the case may be) his teams

-Building various gadgets and the like (using either modern or ancient technology) to be used by his teams

-Stealing just about anything that the teams need (even for the teams that he doesn't belong to)

-Stealing weapons (specifically: knives, guns, machine-based weaponry)

-Providing other wanted persons with weapons

-Stealing items needed for building technology (i.e. wires, metal)

-Spying

-Organizing and leading (or aiding in doing so) numerous assaults against The Capitol

-An organizer and leader of the most recent assault on the Capitol

-Organizing (or aiding in doing so) many secret meetings for the Freedom Fighters

-Aiding in the construction of many secret bunkers

-Training other Freedom Fighters in combat, hacking, etc.

-Caring for a child (specifically: Cream)

-Constructing and/or repairing weapons (i.e. missiles, lasers, bombs, swords), machines (i.e. computers), and vehicles (cars and ships; with the aid of Sonic and/or Wave)

-Hacking into The Empire's database, stealing files, and generally gathering and sharing information

-Protecting the secrets (i.e. location) of Babylon Garden (Wave may be doing this as well, though this is uncertain)

**Weapons:**

-Known to own and wield dual Bashosen, dual katana (given to him by Sonic), a dagger, a steel retractable staff (formerly), and a handgun

-Known to use grenades, machine-based weaponry (i.e. lasers), a steel retractable staff (at times), and pistols

**Current Bounty:**

540,000,000

**Status:**

-The Empire's second most wanted criminal

-Known to be injured and exhausted

**Location:**

Known (near Amy, Cream, and Shadow's current location)

**Abilities, Skills, Powers, and Attributes:**

-Data may be incomplete due to Sonic, Amy, and Wave actively sheltering him from The Empire's attempts to study him and due to his own extreme caution

**_Aging:_**

-Seems to be about the same as Sonic's (which may or may not be normal)

**_Healing factor:_**

-Ability to heal rapidly and with greater finality than other people from any injury (exact rate of recovery is unknown and seems to vary depending on the injury and its severity)

-Results in slowing of aging (possibly) and complete immunity to virtually all illnesses and other such defects

-Capable of healing from seemingly any injury, even ones that should have killed him

-_Very _hard to kill

**_Weather/Storm:_**

-Unable to use these abilities to their full extent unless he is in good condition (not severely injured and at least somewhat well-rested)

-Immensely powerful (especially when combining two or more elements)

-Can be exhausting

-Inherited some of it from his grandmother (though the rest is suspected to be his own power in much the same way that Sonic's Chaos is his own power)

-The storms he creates can be of any size and intensity (he has control of this)

_Wind:_

-His most frequently used storm power

-Very fast and incredibly powerful (capable of tearing through buildings and solid steel, stopping a raging inferno in seconds, blasting people and objects (regardless of size and weight) away from him, and so on)

-Can be used (along with other elements) to make tornadoes and hurricanes (though he only does these if it is absolutely necessary due to the pure destructive force of them, how much energy and power it takes to create them, and due to the high level of difficulty he has controlling these particular freak forces of nature)

-Can unleash torrents of air, small twisters (of a sort), and so on with a wave of his hand/arm

-The wind will sometimes respond to his emotions (a phenomenon that he doesn't seem to have any control over and doesn't always seem to notice; for example, if he is agitated, the wind will, at times, be agitated as well)

-Can use his wind to lift, carry, and (in a sense) levitate objects and (with more effort) people

_Rain:_

-Barely uses (though not necessarily _rarely_)

-Can create so much rain so quickly that he can flood an entire area in minutes (these floods can be so powerful that they can tear down entire buildings as if they were nothing)

_Lightning:_

-Seldom uses (use is especially rare outside of combat)

-Small amounts at times used outside of combat (i.e. to power a machine)

-Can summon from nothing and control with ease

-When used in large amounts, uses a lot of energy and is exhausting

-Can absorb lightning (artificial or natural) and shoot it back at a target

-Can be struck by lightning (artificial or natural) without being injured

-Gives him a bright blue outline and a tint of the same color to his eyes (in much the same way as Silver's powers did when he used them)

_Specific attack(s):_

-Raiga (cooperative attack with Sonic that he himself created; immensely powerful even when they're exhausted; last resort)

-Has multiple others, though their exact names are unknown

_Temperature:_

-Can control the temperature of an area enough to alter the weather (but not enough to, for example, entirely freeze an area over)

-Through use of this ability he can create snow, hail, minor (and temporary) heat waves, and so on (though he rarely does these, as they don't typically aid him in combat)

-He can also use this ability to melt or freeze things he is touching or that are immediately near him (i.e. melt snow or freeze a rock; requires more power than would be expected and as such he rarely uses this aspect of his temperature control ability)

_Clouds:_

-Controlling the clouds is part of how he creates rain, lightning, snow, hail, and, in extreme cases, as this is a last resort, tornadoes and hurricanes

_Ocean currents:_

-Can control (and possibly, at times, create) ocean currents (though it takes a lot of power and energy; he only does this if its absolutely necessary)

_Combinations:_

-Can combine any of these abilities to create freak storms of varying kinds, sizes, and so on

-Examples: 1.) Wind storms that are further worsened by being terribly hot or painfully cold or by being filled with hail (though his use of hail is rare)

2.) Blizzards with snow and hail and that are further intensified by fierce, punishing winds (though his use of snow and hail are rare)

3.) Strong ocean currents with powerful winds and fierce lightning to create a monster hurricane

**_Gravity:_**

-Prolonged exposure to the Arks of the Cosmos gave his grandmother the ability to control her own gravity to allow for flight, higher jumping capabilities, and so on

-Jet is known to have inherited these abilities somehow (though it isn't known how well he can use them or how powerful his abilities of personal gravity control are)

**_Empathy:_**

_General:_

-Ability to read and/or sense the emotions the emotions/feelings of others (generally doesn't seem to pay attention to this sense unless he's with Sonic, Wave, or sometimes Amy)

_Ecological:_

-Ability to sense the overall well-being and conditions of one's immediate environment and natural setting, stemming from a psychic sensitivity to nature (also possibly due to his powers, being, as they are, powers of nature; highly suspected to be connected)

**_Racing:_**

-Has a pure, raw talent for racing, especially on Extreme Gear (though also in cars, ships, and on motorcycles)

-A world-class racer

**_Theft:_**

-True to his race's legacy, he is a thief of near legendary skill (in spite of his young age)

-Stole an entire airship at age fourteen (unknown what happened to it)

-Has also stolen untold amounts of treasure (such as ancient coins and gems), money, and so on

-Is the leader of the last remaining Babylon Rouges

-Has never been caught by the authorities

-Has never been caught in general (except by Sonic, if only a few times)

**_Flight:_**

-Can use his powers of wind or gravity to fly (though he seldom flies these ways)

-Whether on his Gear or flying independently, he can reach incredibly high altitudes

-When he gets on his gear after having a ship take him up higher than he can normally go, he can still fly with ease (even in space)

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

**_Speed:_**

-Completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

-On his board, he can keep up with Sonic so long as Sonic is going below a certain rate of speed

-Is surprisingly fast on his feet, but he is significantly faster on his board and during independent flight

-He can use his wind to speed up his flight on his board and during independent flight

-His speed, being higher than average, results in accelerated brain activity (which allows him to think incredibly quickly)

-Also results in highly increased reflexes, reaction times, and the ability to sense things (i.e. sound, auras) more quickly than others

-Can easily avoid cameras even without running through sheer speed (especially when in flight; doesn't truly need speed to avoid them, however)

**_Strength:_**

-Most of his physical strength is in his legs (Sonic is known to be actively training him to make them even stronger)

-Can kick through nearly any material (even thick, solid steel) with ease and without injuring himself

-Can punch hard enough to greatly damage even steel

-Can use the physical strength in his legs to jump and leap to nearly impossible heights/distances and deliver devastating kicks, even without shoes on

-Has high levels of strength in arms and hands (can use said strength to hang onto something while dangling and not lose his grip, even after being in said position for a long period of time; can also easily wield Amy's Piko Piko Hammer, in spite of its great weight, though he has never done so before; can lift objects multiple times as heavy as he is, more-so when he is fully rested)

-Has such high control over his physical strength that he and snap an opponent's blade in half using any other blade and without damaging or breaking his own, kick a desk across the room without damaging it, and so on

-Can send enemies even larger and heavier than himself flying with a single blow (usually a kick)

**_Defense:_**

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

-Can create an electrical shield around himself that can deflect most attacks regardless of their nature (i.e. physical, energy) and strength

-Can create a fragile shield (of sorts) directly in front of him in the form of a sheet of ice created by instantaneously freezing a portion of the air (usually requires it to already be snowing in the area in order for him to use freeze the air so quickly; has only done this once due to how fragile it is and how much energy is takes to freeze things)

-Can create a barrier of heat surrounding him that can repel most attacks (excluding physical ones beyond a certain level of strength; has only done a few times due to how much energy is takes for him to generate so much heat all at once)

-Capable of surviving free-falls from incredible heights (maybe even back to the planet from space) even if he lands on the ground or in shallow water

-Secretive to the point that he seldom shares his knowledge on any given subject with anyone, regardless of who they are

-Due to the nature of his powers, he is completely immune to temperature (though, as with everyone else, an immunity to temperature doesn't equal an inability to sense if it's hot or cold, merely an inability to harmed or otherwise affected by it)

-Completely immune to lightning

-Has the power to identify and escape danger without consciously thinking out a plan of action (supernatural self-preservation; differs from escape artistry)

**_Agility:_**

-Can leap between trees and from branch to branch with great ease and speed

-Can easily dodge any obstacles in his way while falling, running, on his board, and so on, regardless of the speed at which he is traveling

-Can perform expert and complex flips, spins, tricks, and so on, on the ground, on his board, and in midair

-Very flexible

-A master of parkour

**_Balance:_**

-Has exceptional balance

-Can ride Extreme Gear with ease, even on a grind rail

-Can skateboard with ease, even on a telephone wire or grind rail

-Can grind on a grind rail with just his feet

-Can stand on foot on any surface (i.e. the point of a spire at the top of a building)

-Can stand on one hand and hold himself still enough to aim and fire a gun with deadly accuracy

-Can ride (whether by standing or sitting) on a missile while said missile is in flight and even control which way it turns (as though he were riding on Extreme Gear or something similar)

-Can stand, sit, kneel, crouch, and so on, on the wing of any fast-moving ship while said ship is in motion (though he seldom does so)

**_Sight:_**

-True to his race, he has very keen eyesight

-Can see very well in the dark but doesn't have true night vision

-Can see even small objects from very long distances away (more-so during the day than at night)

-Can see well enough to have near perfect aim

-Sensitive enough to sound that he can, at times, even see sound waves

**_Hearing:_**

-Surprisingly sensitive to sound

-Can pinpoint exact location of origin of sounds he hears with startling accuracy

-Can hear things from far away (though the radius is unknown; seems to tune things, whether close or far away, out most of the time to avoid headaches, pain to his ears, as well as some other unknown reason(s))

-Can be rendered immobile (if only temporarily) by sudden, intense, and/or long-lasting high-pitched sounds

-Sensitive enough to sound that he may be able to, at times, even see sound waves

**_Smell:_**

-If a smell is strong enough, he can follow it back to its exact source

**_Touch:_**

-Can freeze or melt things with even a single touch (though he only very rarely does so)

-Is sensitive to vibrations, enough to where he can sense the near exact size and shape of whoever or whatever created the vibrations he is sensing (seems to ignore this sense normally, unless the vibrations are especially large and noticeable)

-Highly insensitive to pain below a certain level of severity (can even force himself to ignore any and all pain, at least for short periods of time)

**_Special Senses:_**

-Sensitive to people's auras (can feel them without having to consciously attempt to do so; can determine who is who by the feel of their aura alone; can, to a point, read people's feelings, thoughts, and intentions through their auras; can follow the feeling of a person's aura to locate them; typically pays close attention to this sense, especially when around Sonic)

**_Stealth:_**

-Regardless of the speed at which he is traveling, he can move quietly enough that even those with sharp ears can't hear him

-Can easily avoid cameras even without running or flying

-Can entirely conceal his aura (and does so a vast majority of the time) through unknown means (presumably learned from Sonic)

-Not prone to talking (naturally quiet)

-Very careful and highly evasive

-A known escape artist (has a long history of being so)

-A thief of near legendary skill, true to his race's legacy

**_Intelligence:_**

-His exact I.Q. is unknown (due to Sonic, Amy, and Wave actively sheltering him from The Empire's attempts to study him and due his own extreme caution), but he is known to be very highly intelligent (his intelligence is comparable to that of Tails and Sonic's)

-Has a vast knowledge of astrology and ancient technology (it's completely unknown how he gained knowledge of either of these things, as he seems to have possessed said knowledge since childhood

-Can use his knowledge of ancient technology to build complex and powerful gadgets, gear, weapons, and so on

-Knows a great deal about modern technology (Sonic is known to have aided at least somewhat in this)

-The only person besides Ross who knows everything about Babylon Garden (including what it's capable of and where it's hidden; Knuckles is known to have a great deal of knowledge as well, however)

-Knows a great deal about history, ancient artifacts, ruins, and so on

-Intelligent enough to take apart machines, weapons, robots, and so on that he didn't create and either rebuild them or use the parts in new projects

-Knows a great deal about time travel, alternate timelines and dimensions, portals, outer space, interstellar travel, physics, powers, astrology, and so on

-Has some knowledge of mechanics (presumably gained from Sonic and Wave), though, for whatever reason, he generally doesn't seem to want to learn anything about it

-Known to have, at age fourteen, helped Sonic figure out how to make Extreme Gear work back when Sonic first invented it

-Intelligence sometimes marred by youth, inexperience, stubbornness, and so on

-Intelligent enough to lie to anyone and rarely be caught doing so (except by Wave and especially Sonic)

-Intelligent enough to pilot any ship (and to build said ships, though with help)

-Cunning, a schemer, and a master strategist, capable of thinking up complex, intricate, and utterly brilliant plans on his own (though he rarely takes the time to do so) and can create simpler but no less successful plans on the spot

-Can quickly and easily pick up new skills and understand things he previously had no knowledge of and/or experience with

-Can understand the ancient language when it is spoken to him and may be able to read it

-Can understand virtually any language with great accuracy (with enough exposure to said language), even without studying it

-Intelligent enough to learn how to wield virtually any weapon in virtually no time at all

-Can be very insightful and highly observational (when he bothers to pay attention to what he's seeing, hearing, and so on)

-Possesses a long history of battle experience (has been experiencing combat since his early teenage years)

-Very high capacity (and often willingness) to learn new things and build on knowledge he already has

-Tends to lean towards more hands-on work because of his apparent desire to learn by experience (generally; however, he isn't adverse to learning through reading, observing, and so on)

-Possesses a vast knowledge of weapons in general, particularly swords, fans (including Bashosen), and machine-based weaponry (i.e. lasers, bombs, missiles)

-A master hacker

-Can prevent anyone (except Tails, Shadow, and Sonic) from accessing any computer, machine, and so on using complex codes, powerful firewalls, and so on

-A skilled teacher who can adjust his teaching style easily depending on who he's attempting to teach (rarely fails at teaching someone something if he's truly trying, in spite of the fact that he's still learning how to teach)

**Emotions/Personality:**

-Can conceal any emotions he's feeling with startling skill (much like Sonic, he can often do this perfectly, though some things may occasionally slip through the mask; doesn't generally conceal every little thing like Sonic does, just certain things)

-Generally very calm, serious, and closed off, but can be open and goofy as well (has a strong sense of humor that seldom shows itself nowadays)

-A known thrill-seeker (at times; enjoys excitement, though not danger), but he's also very careful

-Has always been very untrusting of others, sometimes even regarding those he knows (only truly trusts his friends and allies)

-Is usually patient, but can be extremely impatient at times

-Has a very fierce temper that is rarely roused, especially nowadays (however, he has been known to grow angered very easily when around his father), and can be very irritable at times

-Like Sonic, he is known to feel uneasy, overwhelmed, and even anxious in large crowds of people

-Generally quiet by nature and as such enjoys peace and quiet around him

-Can become bored easily, especially when there is nothing for him to do that is challenging either mentally or physically

-Much like Sonic, he is very reluctant to admit to anyone what he's feeling at any given time and can often be very stubborn

-More laid-back and nonchalant than he tends to let on and can, at times, be very easy-going and carefree

-Very much "like the wind" (is typically a realist (though he can be optimistic at times as well), can be impulsive and spontaneous, enjoys participating in activities for their inherent enjoyment, and so on)

-Surprisingly good with children (even the ones that he considers to be "a headache" or "a pain")

-Emotions only very rarely get in the way of his logical thinking, even when he's feeling something especially strong

**Misc.:**

-Known to greatly dislike and at times even hate being touched by others in any way, though he is known to tolerate it for the sake of certain others

-Known to have very strong protective instincts regarding his friends, family, people in general, and nature (in the past, this has been proven to be something that can be manipulated to force him to make very hard choices that hinder him, even severely, in battle; he is especially protective of Sonic, Wave. and sometimes Amy, as these are the people he is closest with)

-Known to have sharp instincts in general

-Known to have started teaching Sonic how to be a thief back when they were still young teenagers (may still be teaching him)

-Known to have a very strained relationship with his father (whom he used to be afraid of)

-No known fears currently

-Known to be an avid learner (generally; much like Tails and Sonic generally)

-Known to have an interest in music and an avid interest in and passion for racing, and, much like Sonic and Tails, technology and anything relating to outer space

-Descended from nothing but purebred Babylon Rouges (many of his ancestors were very important people: royalty, powerful warriors, etc.)

-One of the few people who always knows the exact location of Angel Island (as the island, being one that floats, is constantly drifting across the land)

-Seems to be slowly becoming friends with Knuckles (whom he has been in regular contact with for a number of years)

-One of the very few people who was in regular contact with Sonic when Sonic became mostly isolated from the rest of the Freedom Fighters

-In spite of the way he acts and the way they fight, he is known to be very close with and attached to Wave

-Typically a loner unless with Sonic or Wave

**Directives:**

-Capture alive if at all possible

-If able to capture, extract information from through any means necessary

-After extracting information or if unable to capture, kill through any means necessary

* * *

**About 7,194 words this time. By the way, the whole "controlling-personal-gravity-to-fly" this is actually something that we saw in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (hence the title). I just changed things up a bit to where he doesn't actually have to have one of the Arks of the Cosmos, that's all. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. ...I've decided to do one more of these, if only because I myself really want to see what I can come up with for Locke and the others! ^-^ Well, and also because I want to do a file on Blaze and I couldn't cram her in here this time because this was already so long... Anyway. Posted 08-06-15.**


	133. Bonus Chapter 6: Ivo's Files

**Hello, GreatestSoldier! ...I grew up with Marvel and DC comics... I'm not claiming to know everything, I just learned a lot about powers and stuff from that. XD Uh... I'm sorry for hurting your brain! XD Aw, thanks! :D**

**Hello, astroshadow! Dude, I have scene those cutscenes _so_ many times... I love the Sonic Riders series. XD ...Now that you mentioned it, I realize that you are absolutely right. And the sad part is, I _used_ to know that. Me and my scatterbrained self just forgot. XD Thanks for pointing that out to me! I'm pretty sure I spelled it right the few times it was mentioned in this chapter. :P Hey, don't worry about it. It's constructive criticism, and I very much appreciate it. That sort of criticism is always welcome. :) Yes, he's here! :D I didn't know you liked him. I mean, I knew a few people did, but... anyway. XD Yes, that's putting it _very_ lightly. But, then again, these are Ivo's files and what does _he_ care how strained their relationship is (unless h can find a way to use that to help him, which I doubt)? Aw, I'm glad you like the idea! I liked the original, too, but I like this story's idea a bit better, I think. :) Hahaha, yeah, randomly deciding, "We'll power it with air!" is more or less how they did it. XD**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! *Ivo reads the review* "Muahaha... I know now what I must do..." *Walks away while wringing his hands together evilly* Lol! XD Anyway, yes, I agree that he does. After all, the Fighters have had a hundred years to learn how to deal with his defenses... And clearly they're very good at doing just that now. :P**

**Hello, Aanibuscus! Aw, thanks! I'm so glad you like it! :) Yeah, I like SonAmy, too. One of my favorite couple to be sure. :) Nah, I don't think he's proud. Maybe nervous? Or maybe something else entirely? I don't even know yet. XD Thank you so much (again)! That's very sweet of you to say! :D**

**Hello, Firerider007! Your review to Chapter 130: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed! :D That's alright. I understand. :) Haha, no. I suppose they _are_ similar (I love that language, by the way!), but I'm actually basing it mostly off of the way Japanese is spoke. I imagine that it's probably written very similarly, too. :P For the most part, I'm honestly just making up words that are pronounced in the same way (as far as , like, how an a makes the "ah" sound and such). :P Hahaha, no. He's not an elf. XD Thanks for the review!  
**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

* * *

**_FILES FROM EMPORER IVO'S DATABASE_**

**_Blaze the Cat_**

**Species:**

Cat (purple; presumably purebred)

**Age:**

About sixteen at time of death

**Relations:**

-Parents unknown

-Unknown who raised her

-Close friends with Silver the Hedgehog (deceased)

-Friends with Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Amy Rose, Knuckles the Echidna, and Kaden the Hedgehog

-Close allies with Silver the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog, Amy Rose, Knuckles the Echidna, and Miles "Tails" Prower

-Allies with every Freedom Fighter

**Team(s):**

-A former member of Sonic's team, Team Hero (team is nearly entirely disbanded)

-A former member of Sonic's second team, the Freedom Fighters

-A former member of Silver's team, Team Inferno (team no longer in existence due to all its members being deceased)

-A former member of Amy's team, Team Rose

_**Duties performed for team(s):**_

-Aiding in organizing numerous assaults against The Capitol

-An organizer of the most recent assault on the Capitol

-Aiding in organizing many secret meetings for the Freedom Fighters

-Aiding in the construction of many secret bunkers

-Theft of weapons (specifically: guns, knives, bombs, and so on)

-Providing other wanted persons with weapons

-Generally gathering and sharing information

**Weapons:**

-Known to own and use knives and a lightweight sword

-Known to use a dagger and a handgun

**Current Bounty:**

N/A

**Status:**

Deceased

**Abilities, Skills, Powers, and Attributes:**

-Data largely incomplete due to Sonic and Silver actively sheltering her from The Empire's attempts to study her and due to her own caution

**_Aging:_**

-Seemed to be normal

**_Fire:_**

-Seemed to have been born with this ability (extremely rare though it is)

-Frequently used

-Very powerful

-Rendered her immune to flames

-Can allow her to fly when using it as a full power up, resulting in her being entirely shrouded in flames (rarely used this power up)

-Her fire possessed such a pure light that she was able to use them to negate powers of pure darkness (including to heal injuries caused by such powers; powers like Mephiles's, not like Dark Sonic's)

_**Portals:**_

-Rarely used

-Able to open portals (when working with Silver) and travel through them

-Could use to travel between two or more dimensions, worlds, realms, timelines, universes, times (within her own timeline), etc. (Unknown exactly where, and perhaps when, she had traveled before)

**_Healing factor:_**

Healed at a much greater rate that most people

-Resulted in immunity to all illnesses and other such defects

-Capable of healing from seemingly any injury, even ones that should have killed her

**_Empathy:_**

_General:_

-Ability to read and/or sense the emotions the emotions/feelings of others (seemed to pay close attention to this sense when around Silver, though she may have done so around others as well)

_Ecological:_

-Ability to sense the overall well-being and conditions of one's immediate environment and natural setting, stemming from a (seemingly) psychic sensitivity to nature (generally seemed to pay close attention to this sense in her world; unknown how much she paid attention to it otherwise)

**_Flight:_**

-Includes ability to levitate/hover

-Can only do when when using her fire

-Flight is self-sustained through use of her own energy (no wings or such needed)

-Unable to tire from flying

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Almost completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

**_Speed:_**

-Almost completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

-Able to run significantly faster than most people (could keep up with Silver with relative ease so long as he was going below a certain rate of speed)

-Much faster during flight than on foot

-Resulted in accelerated brain activity (which allowed her to think very quickly)

-Also resulted in highly increased reflexes and reaction times, and the ability to sense things (i.e. sound, auras) much more quickly than others

-Seldom never tired from running (very rare for her to become tired from doing so, unless she was already tired before running)

**_Strength:_**

-Most of her strength is in her legs (she can use this strength to kick through sold stone and most metals; could also use to jump/leap significantly higher/farther than most people; could stomp and create a crater; could deliver devastating kicks, even without shoes on)

-High levels of strength in arms and hands (could use said strength to hang onto something while dangling and not lose her grip, even after being in said position for a long period of time; could also easily wield Amy's Piko Piko Hammer, in spite of its great weight, though she never did so; could lift objects at least twice as heavy as she was)

-Had such high control over her physical strength that she could snap an opponent's blade in half using any other blade and without damaging or breaking her own

-Could send enemies even larger and heavier than himself flying with a single blow (usually a kick)

**_Defense:_**

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Almost completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

-Capable of surviving free-falls from incredible heights (maybe even back to the planet from space) even if she lands on the ground or in shallow water

-Could create a temporary shield of bright orange flames around her that could deflect most attacks regardless of their nature (i.e. physical, energy) and strength (shield could be very large at times)

-Secretive to the point that she rarely shared her knowledge on any given subject with anyone, regardless of who they were (seemingly excluding Silver)

-Virtually immune to temperature (especially heat)

-Capable of surviving injuries that should have killed her

**_Agility:_**

-Constantly used in and out of combat

-Could leap between trees and from branch to branch with great ease and speed

-Could easily dodge any obstacles in her way while falling, running, and so on

-Could perform expert and complex flips, spins, tricks, and so on both on the ground and in midair

-Very flexible

-A master of parkour

**_Balance:_**

-Had exceptional balance

-Could grind on a grind rail with just her feet

-Could stand, sit, kneel, crouch, and so on, on the wing of any fast-moving ship while said ship is in motion

-Could stand on foot on any surface (i.e. the point of a spire at the top of a building)

-Could stand on one hand and hold herself still enough to aim and fire a gun with deadly accuracy

-Could ride (whether by standing or sitting) on a missile while said missile is in flight and even control which way it turns (as though she were riding on Extreme Gear or something similar)

**_Sight:_**

-Sue to the harsh conditions of her world, her eyes were well-adjusted to harsh lights (like that of lava) and near pitch-black darkness (like the kind caused by being utterly surrounded by thick clouds of smoke)

-Had night vision

-Could see even small objects from far away

-Could see well enough to have near perfect aim

-Was sensitive enough to sound that she may have been able to, at times, see sound waves

**_Hearing:_**

-Had very sharp ears

-Was sensitive enough to sound that she may have been able to, at times, see sound waves

-Could pinpoint exact origins of sounds she heard with startling accuracy

-Could be rendered immobile (if only temporarily) by sudden, intense, and/or long-lasting high-pitched sounds

**_Smell:_**

-If a smell was strong enough, she could follow it back to its exact source

**_Touch:_**

-Could sense vibrations in the ground well enough to determine the near exact size and shape of whoever or whatever created said vibrations

-Highly insensitive to pain below a certain level of severity (could even force herself to ignore any and all pain, at least for short periods of time)

**_Special Senses:_**

-May have been able to sense auras

**_Stealth:_**

-Regardless of the speed at which she was traveling, she could move quietly enough that even those with sharp ears couldn't hear her

-Could easily avoid cameras even without running

-Could entirely conceal her aura (and did so a vast majority of the time) through unknown means (presumably learned from Sonic and/or Silver

-Stealthy enough to be a skilled thief

-Not prone to talking; naturally quiet

-Very careful and highly evasive

-A known escape artist (had a long history of being so)

**_Intelligence:_**

-Exact I.Q. unknown (due to Sonic and Silver actively sheltering her from The Empire's attempts to study her and due to her own caution), but she is known to have been very intelligent

-Knew a great deal about time travel, alternate timelines and dimensions, portals, powers, and so on

-Intelligent enough to lie to anyone and rarely be caught doing so

-A highly skilled strategist

-Could quickly and easily pick up new skills and understand things she previously had no knowledge of and/or experience with

-Could understand virtually any language with great accuracy (with enough exposure to said language), even without studying it

-Could speak, read, and write in the ancient language

-Intelligent enough to learn how to wield virtually any weapon in virtually no time at all (though this skill was sometimes more based on sharp instincts rather than true intellect)

-Very insightful and highly observational

-Possessed a long history of battle experience (had been experiencing combat since childhood)

-Very high capacity (and often willingness) to learn new things and build on knowledge she already had

-Possessed a great knowledge of weapons in general (particularly blades but especially swords)

-A highly skilled hacker

-Possesses a surprising amount of knowledge of Chao and Chao Gardens

-A highly skilled teacher who could adjust her teaching style easily depending on who she was attempting to teach (rarely failed at teaching someone something if she was truly trying; in spite of her skill, she seldom attempted to teach others unless she felt it was necessary)

**Emotions/Personality:**

-Not prone to feeling strong emotions

-Could conceal her emotions nearly perfectly

-Was calm, serious, careful, and reserved a vast majority of the time, but could, at times, be happy and more open (particularly when around Silver when they were alone)

-Had a sense of humor that tended to show itself (on rare occasions) in subtle ways

-Was usually surprisingly friendly (in spite of how unapproachable she could seem), even if she wasn't terribly good at showing it

-Very untrusting of others, sometimes even regarding those she knew (only truly trusted her friends and allies)

-Suspected to have had a fierce temper (though if she did, it never showed itself during her time on this world that The Empire saw)

_-_Emotions never seemed to get in the way of her logical thinking, even when she was feeling something especially strong (though she rarely felt anything that strong to begin with)

**Misc.:**

-Known to have being touched by others in any way, though she is known to have tolerated it for the sake of certain others

-Is known to have been learning Ninjutsu from Espio, but her level of skill at the time of her death is unknown

-Known to have had very strong protective instincts regarding her friends, allies, people in general, and nature (in spite of said instincts, The Empire never managed to manipulate them due to her naturally calm nature; she was especially protective of Silver, as he was the person she was closest with)

-Known to have had sharp instincts in general

-She, along with Silver, is known to have been caring for the young girl that Sonic is currently caring for (girl is suspected to be very young)

-One of the few people who always knew the exact location of Angel Island (as the island, being one that floats, is constantly drifting across the land)

-Is known to have had remarkable skill as an assassin (though she is known to have only used those skills to fight The Empire's loyal soldiers and servants (specifically the living ones))

-Known to have possessed a great deal of respect (and perhaps admiration) for Kaden (whom she is known to have been being trained by)

-Seemed to have slowly been becoming friends with Rouge and Cream

-Almost seemed to treat Tails like a younger brother at times

**Directives:**

-Capture alive if at all possible (FAILED)

-If able to capture, extract information from through any means necessary (FAILED)

-After extracting information or if unable to capture, kill through any means necessary (SUCCEEDED)

* * *

**_Locke the Echidna_**

**Species:**

Echidna (red; purebred)

**Age:**

Twenty-three (three months younger than Kaden; one month younger than Analia)

_**Relations:**_

-Parents are unknown

-Known to have been raised by his tribe's elder

-Was once married (name of the woman is unknown; she is known to be deceased)

-Father of Knuckles the Echidna

-Godfather of Sonic the Hedgehog

-Close friends with Kaden the Hedgehog, Analia the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Chip

-Friends with Amy Rose

-Seems to be friends with Rouge the Bat and Jet the Hawk (though this remains uncertain)

**Team(s):**

-A member of Kaden's team (unnamed alliance; was the only member besides Kaden until they met Analia some years later)

_**Duties performed for team(s):**_

-Treasure hunting (includes hunting for ancient artifacts)

-Stealing things the team needed (i.e. food, supplies)

-Aiding in the making of important decisions

-Training Kaden how to fly (when Kaden learned of this ability, gained through the use of his Dragonfire)

-Training Kaden to make his arms stronger

-Aiding in training Analia to be physically stronger

**Weapons:**

-In the past, he was known to own and use (at times), a sword and a dagger

**Occupations:**

-In the past, he was occupied as a tribe warrior (since age fifteen, as was tradition) before becoming an independent/lone warrior and leaving his tribe to travel with Kaden to fight the war against Jet's ancestors

-Was occupied as the guardian of the Master Emerald (after the elder who raised him, the former guardian, died no long before the end of the war; remained the guardian until the end of his life)

-Is currently still occupied as a thief and a treasure hunter (he was occupied as these in the past as well)

**Current Bounty:**

240,000,000

**Status:**

-The Empire's Eighth most wanted criminal

-Missing (has been missing for numerous years, since not long after Emperor Ivo's first victory (at the ARK))

-Suspected to be uninjured and fully rested

**Location:**

Unknown (suspected to be with Analia)

**Abilities, Skills, Powers, and Attributes:**

-Data may be incomplete due to Sonic and Knuckles actively sheltering him from the Empire's attempts to study him and due to the fact that he has been missing for so long

**_Aging:_**

-Seems to be normal

**_Fire:_**

-Was trained by Kaden to use it for many years

-Unknown where he gained the ability (doesn't seem to have been born with it)

-Seldom used

-Very powerful

-Renders him immune to flames

-Can allow him to fly when using it as a full power up, resulting in him being entirely shrouded in flames (rarely uses this power up)

**_Swordsmanship:_**

-A master swordsman (though he seldom used or even carried his sword)

-Was trained by Kaden for years

**_Climbing:_**

-Ability to adhere to solid surfaces, including walls and ceilings

-Can climb any surface with incredible ease and never lose his grip

**_Digging:_**

-Can dig through the ground, cliff faces, rocks, and so on regardless of how hard they are

**_Treasure hunting:_**

-A treasure hunter of legendary skill and world renown

**_Healing factor:_**

-Heals much faster than normal people

-Results in him being immune to virtually any illness and other such defects

**_Empathy:_**

_General:_

-Can sense/read people feelings (seems to pay very close attention to this sense, especially when around Kaden and, more recently, Sonic and Knuckles)

_Ecological:_

-Ability to sense the overall well-being and conditions of one's immediate environment and natural setting, stemming from a psychic sensitivity to nature (pays close attention to this sense, especially when in an area he considers to be especially special, such as on Angel Island))

**_Flight:_**

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Mostly resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

-Technically "gliding"

-Doesn't need wings or energy, just uses the air around him (which more than likely means that he can't glide in space)

-Can go a quite bit faster in the air than he can on his feet (can keep up with Kaden so long as he is going below a certain rate of speed)

-Doesn't tire from "flying"

-Despite his "flight" being gliding, he doesn't lose altitude (even slowly)

**_Speed:_**

-Completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

-Surprisingly very fast on his feet (may have been trained to be so by Kaden)

-Still notably faster in the air than on his feet

-Somewhat faster than his son (may be slightly faster than Tails, though he may instead be slightly slower; uncertain)

-Speed results in highly increased reflexes and reaction times, the ability to think and the ability to sense things (i.e. sound, auras) much more quickly than others

**_Strength:_**

-Most of his strength is in his arms

-The strength is his arms is comparable to the strength in Knuckles's (still remains stronger (by an unknown amount) than his son, though it is highly suspected that Knuckles will one day surpass him)

-Can use said strength in his arms and hands to hang onto something while dangling and not lose his grip, even after being in said position for a long period of time

-Can lift objects at least three times as heavy as he is

-Can punch through virtually any material, regardless of how hard it is

-His punches can destroy entire ships

-His kicks are strong enough to very badly damage metal

-Can send enemies even larger and heavier than himself flying with a single blow (usually a punch)

-Can lift objects at least three times as heavy as he is

-Can carry people on his back while in flight with ease (if they're small enough, he can carry two)

**_Defense:_**

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Mostly resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

-Can survive free falls from incredible heights, even if he lands on the ground or in shallow water

-Can, at times, use his flames to create a bright reddish-orange barrier around himself that can deflect most attacks regardless of their nature (i.e. physical, energy) and strength (barrier can be very large at times)

-Capable of surviving injuries that should have killed him

-Completely immune to flames

-Virtually immune to temperature (especially heat)

-Capable of surviving injuries that should have killed him

**_Agility:_**

-Surprisingly flexible (though not necessarily highly so)

-Can easily dodge any obstacles in his way while falling, running, flying, and so on, regardless of the speed at which he is traveling

-Can perform expert and complex flips, spins, tricks, and so on, on the ground and in midair

-Skilled in parkour (may have been trained to be so by Kaden, though he may be self-taught)

**_Balance:_**

-Known to have exceptional balance

-Can ride (whether by standing or sitting) on a missile while said missile is in flight and even control which way it turns (as though he were riding on Extreme Gear or something similar)

-Can stand, sit, kneel, crouch, and so on, on the wing of any fast-moving ship while said ship is in motion (something he's been doing since the time of the invasion of the alien birds on South Island (as that was when the first ships were introduced to our world)

-Can stand on foot on any surface (i.e. the point of a spire at the top of a building)

**_Sight:_**

-Can see very well, even in the dark (though he doesn't have true night vision)

-Can see well enough to have exceptional aim

-His eyes are well-adjusted to harsh lights (due to the nature of Kaden and Analia's powers and being around them for so long)

-Can see even small objects from far away (can see quite a bit farther than most people; Knuckles is suspected to share in this ability)

-Has an especially keen eye for treasure, artifacts, and shiny objects

**_Hearing:_**

-Has sharp hearing

-Can hear even small noises within a certain unknown radius around him

**_Smell:_**

-Nothing notable has ever come to light about this

**_Touch:_**

-Can sense vibrations in the ground well enough to determine the near exact size and shape of whoever or whatever created said vibrations (typically seems to ignore this sense, unless the vibrations are especially large and noticeable)

-Highly insensitive to pain below a certain level of severity (can even force himself to ignore any and all pain, at least for short periods of time)

**_Special Senses:_**

-Sensitive to people's auras (can feel them without having to consciously attempt to do so; can determine who is who by the feel of their aura alone; can, to a point, read people's feelings, thoughts, and intentions through their auras; can follow the feeling of a person's aura to locate them; seems to pay very close attention to this sense, especially when around Kaden and, more recently, Sonic and Knuckles_)_

**_Stealth:_**

-Stealthy enough to be a very highly skilled thief

-Can relatively easily avoid cameras without the use of speed

-Regardless of the speed at which he is traveling, he can move quietly enough that only those with especially sharp ears (such as Sonic and Kaden) can hear him

-Can entirely conceal his aura (and does so a vast majority of the time) through unknown means (may have been taught this skill by Kaden)

-Can be talkative, but knows when to be quiet

-Very careful and highly evasive

**_Intelligence:_**

-His exact I.Q. is unknown (due to Sonic and Knuckles actively sheltering him from the Empire's attempts to study him and due to the fact that he has been missing for so long), but is known to be high, much like his son

-His intelligence tends to show itself through wise words, sage advice, and so on

-Known to have learned a great deal about ancient technology from studying the technology used by Jet's ancestors during the war on South Island

-May possess knowledge of Babylon Garden (i.e. location, what it's capable of)

-Knows a great deal about time travel, alternate timelines and dimensions, portals, outer space, interstellar travel, and so on

-In the past, his intelligence was marred at time by stubbornness (more than anything else), though that doesn't seem to be the case anymore

-Intelligent enough to lie to anyone and rarely be caught doing so (except by Kaden, Analia, and Chip)

-Is not known to have any knowledge of Shadow's existence

-Intelligent enough to have learned how to pilot Sonic's original propeller-powered Tornado plane (in spite of Sonic's poor teaching skills at the time)

-Cunning, a schemer, and a master strategist, capable of thinking up complex, intricate, and utterly brilliant plans on his own (though he rarely takes the time to do so); can create simpler but no less successful plans on the spot

-Can quickly and easily pick up new skills and understand things he previously had no knowledge of and/or experience with

-Can understand virtually any language with great accuracy (with enough exposure to said language), even without studying it

-Can speak, read, and write in the ancient language

-Intelligent enough to learn how to wield virtually any weapon (particularly blades) in virtually no time at all (though this skill is sometimes more based on sharp instincts rather than true intellect)

-Usually very insightful and highly observational (though he can be dense at times)

-Possesses a long history of battle experience (has been experiencing combat since his early teenage years, perhaps even since childhood)

-Very high capacity (and often willingness) to learn new things and build on knowledge he already has

-Possesses a great knowledge of weapons in general (particularly blades but especially swords)

-A skilled hacker (though he is known to generally leave the hacking (and technological work in general) to Kaden and, more recently, to Sonic)

-Possesses knowledge (of an unknown amount) of Chao and Chao Gardens

-A very skilled teacher who can adjust his teaching style relatively easily depending on who he's attempting to teach (seldom fails at teaching someone something if he's truly trying)

-Possesses a vast knowledge of treasure, history (including people, places, and so on), artifacts, and ruins

**Emotions/Personality:**

-Likes to tease and poke fun at people and has a strong sense of humor that can show itself in truly any occassion

-Known to have a fierce temper (that has only very rarely showed itself since sometime before Kaden's initial death)

-Can be very serious (but isn't always)

-Tends to talk to fill the silence, but is known to enjoy peace and quiet

-Offers advice quiet often

-Can be untrusting, sometimes even regarding people he knows (was more-so before a certain point in his life during the war on South Island; in spite of this, he is known to have always possessed a firm belief in the goodness of peoples' hearts; only truly trusts his friends, allies, and family)

-Very good with children of all ages, personalities, and so on

-Is usually very calm, but can grow irritable or annoyed (though only sometimes; when he grows irritable or annoyed, he is known to hit people on the head with a fist)

-Emotions only very rarely get in the way of his logical thinking, even when he's feeling something especially strong (though this was not always the case when he was younger; Kaden in particular is known to have had a very strong influence on Locke regarding this, and may be a large part of the reason why Locke has improved so significantly in this area)

**Misc.:**

-Known to be a skilled thief

-Known to be Kaden's only childhood friend

-Known to have been orphaned as a baby

-In spite of his resistance to it, he's known to not be fond of bright lights

-May possess knowledge of Babylong Garden (i.e. location, what it's capable of)

-Known to have raised Sonic for a time on South Island (the only person who ever raised him, even if only briefly)

-Known to possess a great amount of respect for the Babylon Rogues (as a whole race; for their knowledge, skills, powers, and so on)

-Known to have very strong protective instincts regarding his friends, family, people in general, and nature (in the past, this has been proven to be something that can be manipulated to force him to make very hard choices that hinder him, even severely, in battle; he is especially protective of Kaden, Analia, Sonic, and Knuckles, as these are the people he is closest with)

-Known to have sharp instincts in general

-Known to have an avid interest in reading

-One of the few people who always knows the exact location of Angel Island (as the island, being one that floats, is constantly drifting across the land)

**Directives:**

-Capture alive if at all possible

-If able to capture, extract information from through any means necessary

-After extracting information or if unable to capture, kill through any means necessary

* * *

**_Kaden the Hedgehog_**

**Species:**

Hedgehog (blue; purebred)

**Age:**

Twenty-three (three months older than Locke; two months older than Analia)

**Relations:**

-Parents are unknown

-Was raised by the six elders (and leaders) of his clan

-Analia's life-partner

-Sonic the Hedgehog's father

-Shadow the Hedgehog's father (through unnatural means; DNA experimentation/manipulation; combining his DNA with an alien lifeform's)

-Silver the Hedgehog's grandfather

-Knuckles the Echidna's godfather

-Close friends with Locke and Analia

-Friends with Chip, Amy Rose, and Blaze the Cat

(May be friends with others; very hard to tell with him)

**Team(s):**

-Leader of his own team (founded; Locke was the only member for some years before they met Analia and, much later, Chip)

_**Duties performed for team(s):**_

-Generally leading his team in most situations (though he is known to have regularly allowed Locke, Analia, and Chip to help with the making of decisions)

-Using psychic powers to allow for the team to maintain constant communication

-Stealing things the team needed (i.e. food, weapons (at time), etc.)

-Repairing weapons (particularly blades)

-Generally gathering and sharing information

-Using his ties with important people (i.e. clan elders, powerful war-generals, etc.) to get the team into places, get them supplies and information, and so on

-Organizing assaults into the ships of Jet's ancestors

-Hacking into the ancient computers used by Jet's ancestors

-Training Locke to use a sword, his fire, and to make his legs stronger

-Training Analia to become physically stronger

**Weapons:**

-Known to have owned and used a sword in his teenage years (and perhaps into his early adult years; unknown what happened to it)

-Known to use daggers and knives

**Occupations:**

-Was occupied as a soldier/warrior (since age sixteen, during the war over the Dragonfire) for his clan before (at age twenty) setting out on his own and becoming an independent/lone soldier/warrior (became so during the war against Jet's ancestors; Locke is known to have joined him)

-Was occupied as an assassin when aged seventeen (though he is known to have only assassinated enemies, such as enemy soldiers from the Bat Clans)

-Was occupied as a swordsman (before his sword seemingly vanished)

-Was occupied as a thief for years

-Trained many people (particularly young soldiers) for an unknown period of time (suspected to have been only a few years or so)

**Current Bounty:**

470,000,000

**Status:**

-The Empire's third most wanted criminal

-Injured (though not severely) and still exhausted

**Location:**

Unknown

**Abilities, Skills, Powers, and Attributes:**

-Data may be incomplete due to Sonic actively sheltering him from the Empire's attempts to study him, that he was been missing for so long, and due to his own extreme caution

**_Aging:_**

-May or may not be normal (uncertain)

**_Swordsmanship:_**

-A master swordsman since his early teenage years

-Known to have been trained to be so by his clan's elders

**_Healing factor:_**

-Ability to heal rapidly and with greater finality than other people from any injury (exact rate of recovery is unknown and seems to vary depending on the injury and its severity)

-Results in slowing of aging (possibly) and immunity to illnesses and other defects

-Capable of healing from seemingly any injury, even ones that should have killed him

-Very hard to kill

**_Dragonfire:_**

-Unknown how he came to possess this power (he shouldn't have been born with it, but was)

-Often used (especially during hand-to-hand combat)

-Immensely powerful (more powerful than Sonic's due to him possessing more experience and whatnot)

-Renders him immune to flames

-Can allow him to fly when using it as a full power up, resulting in him being entirely shrouded in flames (rarely uses this power up)

**_Darkness:_**

-Immensely powerful

-An ability he typically seems to ignore (only uses as a true last resort for some reason; as such, very little is known about it)

-This power gives him a transformation very similar to Dark Sonic

**_Psychic:_**

_Telepathy:_

-Can read the thoughts of others as well as send thoughts to others, regardless of this distance separating him from them

**_Spin-based combat:_**

-An innate ability of all blue hedgehogs

-All very fast and powerful

-Spin dash

-Homing Attack

**_Empathy:_**

_General:_

-Ability to read and/or sense the emotions the emotions/feelings of others

_Ecological_

-Ability to sense the overall well-being and conditions of one's immediate environment and natural setting, stemming from a (seemingly) psychic sensitivity to nature

**_Flight:_**

-Includes ability to levitate/hover

-Flight is self-sustained through use of his own energy (no wings or such needed)

-Unable to tire from flying

-Unable to do unless is his Dark form or when using his Dragonfire as a full power up that results in him becoming entirely shrouded in flames

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

**_Speed:_**

-His greatest and most legendary

-Used to be the fastest living creature (prior to Sonic's birth)

-Can run across the surface of water and lava

-Can fly significantly faster than he can run

-Speed applies to flight, running, general movements, and so on

-Constantly used in and out of combat, even in everyday situations

-Results in accelerated brain activity (which at times allows him to process sensory information so fast that everything seems to be moving in slow motion while he moves at normal speed)

-Also results in highly increased reflexes and reaction times, and the ability to sense things (i.e. sound, auras) much more quickly than others

-Can easily avoid cameras even without running

-Almost never tires from running (very rare for him to become tired from doing so, unless he was already tired before running)

-Can teleport himself, other people, and objects from any place to any other, even while the subject being teleported is in motion (doesn't require much special focus, but is tiring or even exhausting when used too often in a short time or when transporting too many people/objects at once or objects that are too large; generally only seems to be able to do in his Dark form or when close to transforming into it)

-Completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

**_Strength:_**

-Can punch, kick, and otherwise smash through any material (even thick, solid steel) with ease and without injuring himself

-Physical strength primarily in legs (can stomp and create a crater; can use high strength in legs to jump and leap to nearly impossible heights/distances; can deliver devastating kicks, even without shoes on)

-High levels of strength in arms and hands (can use said strength to hang onto something while dangling and not lose his grip, even after being in said position for a long period of time; can also easily wield Amy's Piko Piko Hammer in spite of its great weight, though he has never done so before; can lift objects multiple times as heavy as he is)

-Has such high control over his physical strength that he and snap an opponent's blade in half using any other blade and without damaging or breaking his own

-Can send enemies even larger and heavier than himself flying with a single blow (usually a kick, but not always)

-Can smash through an entire airship with one flying kick

**_Defense:_**

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

-Can use his flames or Dark powers to create a barrier (that is either bright blue or such a dark indigo that it's nearly black, respectively) around himself that can deflect most attacks regardless of their nature (i.e. physical, energy) and strength (presumably can do so when transformed, but has never done so as of yet; shield can be very large at times)

-Capable of surviving free-falls back to the planet from space, even if he lands on the ground or in shallow water

-Secretive to the point that he rarely shares his knowledge on any given subject with anyone, regardless of who they are (excluding Locke and Analia on most occasions)

-Virtually immune to temperature

-Capable of surviving injuries that should have killed him

-Has the power to identify and escape danger without consciously thinking out a plan of action (supernatural self-preservation; differs from escape artistry)

**_Agility:_**

-Constantly used in and out of combat

-Can leap between trees and from branch to branch with great ease and speed

-Can easily dodge any obstacles in his way while falling, running, and so on

-Can perform expert and complex flips, spins, tricks, and so on both on the ground and in midair

-Very flexible

-A master of parkour

**_Balance:_**

-Has exceptional balance

-Can grind on a grind rail with just his feet

-Can stand, sit, kneel, crouch, and so on, on the wing of any fast-moving ship while said ship is in motion (something he's been doing since the time of the invasion of the alien birds on South Island (as that was when the first ships were introduced to our world)

-Can stand on foot on any surface (i.e. the point of a spire at the top of a building)

-Can stand on one hand and hold himself still enough to aim and fire a gun with deadly accuracy

-Can ride (whether by standing or sitting) on a missile while said missile is in flight and even control which way it turns (as though he were riding on Extreme Gear or something similar)

**_Sight:_**

-Can see nearly perfectly in the dark, but doesn't have true night vision (though he may as well)

-Due to the nature of his own powers and from being around Analia for so long, his eyes are well-adjusted to harsh lights

-Can see even small objects from very long distances away (slightly more-so during the day than at night)

-Can see well enough to have near perfect aim

-Sensitive enough to sound that he can, at times, even see sound waves

**_Hearing:_**

-Very sharp hearing

-Known to share in Sonic's habit of flicking his right ear when he hears something he's paying attentions to

-Can hear just about anything (excluding especially tiny sounds, such as bugs flying) within a radius of an unknown number of miles

-His right ear will often flick or twitch when he has heard something that he is paying attention to

-Can pinpoint exact location of origin of sounds he hears with startling accuracy

-Can determine what events are occurring from far away with just hearing alone

-Often tunes out much of what he hears from (whether close or far away) to avoid headaches, pain to his ears, and sensory overload (as well as for other unknown reasons)

-Can be rendered immobile (if only temporarily) by sudden, intense, and/or long-lasting high-pitched sounds

-Sensitive enough to sound that he can, at times, even see sound waves

**_Smell:_**

-If a smell is strong enough, he can follow it back to its exact source

**_Touch:_**

-Can sense vibrations in the ground well enough to determine the near exact size and shape of whoever or whatever created said vibrations

-Often ignores vibrations (for an unknown reason) unless they are large and especially noticeable

-Highly insensitive to pain below a certain level of severity (can even force himself to ignore any and all pain, at least for short periods of time)

**_Special Senses:_**

-Sensitive to people's auras (can feel them without having to consciously attempt to do so; can determine who is who by the feel of their aura alone; can, to a point, read people's feelings, thoughts, and intentions through their auras; can follow the feeling of a person's aura to locate them; usually seems to pay attention to this sense)

**_Stealth:_**

-Regardless of the speed at which he is traveling, he can move quietly enough that even those with sharp ears can't hear him

-Can easily avoid cameras even without running

-Can entirely conceal his aura (and does so a vast majority of the time) through unknown means

-Stealthy enough to be a very highly skilled thief and a master assassin

-Not prone to talking; naturally quiet

-Very careful and highly evasive

-A known escape artist (has a long history of being so)

**_Intelligence:_**

-Exact I.Q. is unknown (due to Sonic actively sheltering him from the Empire's attempts to study him, that he was been missing for so long, and due to his own extreme carefulness), but he is known to be very highly intelligent, much like his son

-Known to have learned a great deal about ancient technology from studying the technology used by Jet's ancestors during the war on South Island

-May possess knowledge of Babylon Garden (i.e. location, what it's capable of)

-Is not known to have any knowledge of Shadow's existence

-Intelligent enough to build and repair weapons, machines, gadgets, tools, and so on quickly and from scratch (only very rarely is unable to repair or build something; construction only very rarely ends in a finished product that doesn't work the way it is supposed to or not at all)

-Intelligent enough to take apart machines, weapons, robots, and so on that he didn't create and either rebuild them or use the parts in new projects

-Knows a great deal about time travel, alternate timelines and dimensions, portals, outer space, interstellar travel, powers, and so on

-Intelligence was sometimes marred by stubbornness when he was younger, though this no longer seems to be the case

-Intelligent enough to lie to anyone and rarely be caught doing so (except by Locke, Analia, and possibly Chip)

-Cunning, a schemer, and a master strategist, capable of thinking up complex, intricate, and utterly brilliant plans on his own (though he rarely takes the time to do so); can create simpler but no less successful plans on the spot

-Can quickly and easily pick up new skills and understand things he previously had no knowledge of and/or experience with

-Can understand virtually any language with great accuracy (with enough exposure to said language), even without studying it

-Can speak, read, and write in the ancient language

-Possesses a great amount of knowledge of history (including people, places, and so on), artifacts, and ruins

-Intelligent enough to learn how to wield virtually any weapon in virtually no time at all (though this skill is sometimes more based on sharp instincts rather than true intellect)

-Can be very insightful and highly observational (when he bothers to pay attention to what he's seeing, hearing, and so on; he usually does, but not always)

-Possesses a long history of battle experience (has been experiencing combat since childhood)

-Very high capacity (and often willingness) to learn new things and build on knowledge he already has

-Possesses a great knowledge of weapons in general (particularly blades but especially swords)

-A master hacker

-Can prevent anyone (except Sonic, Tails, Shadow, and possibly Jet) from accessing any computer, machine, and so on using complex codes, powerful firewalls, and so on

-Surprisingly possesses knowledge (of an unknown amount) of Chao and Chao Gardens

-A highly skilled teacher who can adjust his teaching style easily depending on who he's attempting to teach (rarely fails at teaching someone something if he's truly trying)

**Emotions/Personality:**

-Is usually very calm, serious, reserved, and closed off but can grow very irritable or annoyed (though only sometimes; when he grows irritable or annoyed, he is known to hit people on the head with a fist; he is presumably the one who taught Locke this habit, however unintentionally; Sonic and Knuckles are also both known to share in this habit, though Knuckles does it much less frequently)

-Has a surprisingly strong sense of humor that can (on rare occasions) show itself in subtle ways

-Surprisingly very friendly, though he doesn't always show it

-Very good with children of all ages, personalities, and so on

-Can conceal any emotions nearly perfectly

-Very protective and caring (even if he can often seem impassive, uncaring, and so on)

-Tends to seem very distanced from people, but he has shown himself to be both very capable and often willing to make close bonds with people

-Has an especially fierce temper that almost never shows itself

-Known to offer sage advice when he feels it's necessary

-Surprisingly, can be a thrill-seeker at times (during the rare few occasions when he allows himself to be more open than usual; enjoys excitement, not danger; is still very careful a vast majority of the time)

-Is usually very patient and is only very rarely not

-Has always been very untrusting of others, sometimes even regarding those he knows (only truly trusts his friends, allies, and family)

-Can be pessimistic at times, but is generally just a realist (he and Locke may or may not share in this trait)

-Is known to have once turned his back on the world (at about age seventeen; seemed to have lost faith in the goodness of people's hearts, given up on trying to change the world for the better, and so on; unknown what caused him to do this; unknown what restored his faith in people and thus what caused him to resume trying to change the world for the better)

-Emotions strangely never seem to get in the way of his logical thinking, even when he's feeling something especially strong (though he isn't prone to feeling especially strong emotions to begin with)

**Misc.:**

-The elders who raised him did so in secret (keeping him hidden from other clans and tribes excluding the hedgehogs and echidnas)

-Said elders treated him as more of a student, weapon, obligation, and so on

-The elders are known to have taken him from his parents as an infant not long after his birth, and it is known that he never met them (and may not know anything about them)

-He is descended from nothing but powerful soldiers, artisans, psychics, assassins, and so on (from both of his parents' family lines)

-Locke seems to be the only friend Kaden ever made as a child and the only friend he ever made besides Analia and Chip (before somehow returning to life around the time of Dark Gaia's revival)

-Known to possess a great amount of respect for the Babylon Rogues (as a whole race; for their knowledge, skills, powers, and so on)

-Known to hate being touched (something he seems to only tolerate for the sake of children, Locke, or his family)

-For whatever reason, he doesn't seem to like it when Silver calls him "grandpa" or "gramps"

-Has so far proven to be very accepting of all of Sonic's friends and allies (a few of whom have also become his friends and all of whom are also his allies)

-Known to have an avid interest in reading and somewhat of an interest in music

-Known to have a passion for sword fighting

-Very much a drifter/wanderer (after leaving his home in his clan to fight the war against South Island, he never settled down in a new home and still hasn't to this day)

-Known to have very strong protective instincts regarding his friends, family, people in general, and nature (this has never proven to be something that can be manipulated due to his naturally calm and collected personality; he is especially protective of Locke, his few friends, and his family as these are the only people he is close with)

-Known to have sharp instincts in general (especially when it comes to battle and wielding weapons, particularly blades but especially swords)

-Descended from nothing but powerful assassins, warriors, knights, psychics, recluses, and so on.

**Directives:**

-Capture alive if at all possible (in order to do so, continue to ensure that he gets little to no rest and do whatever possible to injure him further)

-If able to capture, extract information from through any means necessary

-After extracting information or if unable to capture, kill through any means necessary

* * *

**_Analia the Hedgehog_**

**Species:**

Hedgehog (blue; purebred)

**Age:**

Twenty-three (two months younger than Kaden and one month older than Locke)

**Relations:**

-Parents are unknown (though she is known to have been raised by them)

-Kaden's life-partner

-Mother of Sonic the Hedgehog

-Grandmother of Silver the Hedgehog

-Godmother of Knuckles the Echidna

-Close friends with Kaden the Hedgehog, Locke the Echidna, and Chip

-Friends with Amy Rose

(May have bee friends with others)

**Team(s):**

-A member of Kaden's team (unnamed alliance; the last member to ever join (excluding Chip, for a time); joined years after meeting Kaden and Locke, after Kaden himself personally invited her to join them on their journey)

_**Duties performed for team(s):**_

-Healing

-Using psychic and/or magic powers to allow for the team to maintain constant communication

-Generally gathering and sharing information

-Helping to make important decisions

-Training Kaden to better use his psychic abilities (particularly telepathy)

**Weapons:**

-Known to own and use knives

-Known to use a dagger and lightweight sword

**Occupations:**

-The lead healer of her tribe (highly trained to be so by her mother, the tribe's leader before death; became the healer for Kade's team after leaving her tribe to travel with them)

-A powerful seer (though she only _very_ rarely saw the future)

-A very powerful sorceress (one of the very, very few that ever existed)

-A teacher of sorts in her tribe (taught children history, geography, how to read, write, and so on; left her teaching career behind to travel with Kaden and Locke)

**Current Bounty:**

280,000,000

**Status:**

-Missing (has been missing for numerous years, since not long after Emperor Ivo's first victory (at the ARK))

-Suspected to be uninjured and fully rested

**Location:**

Unknown (suspected to be with Locke)

**Abilities, Skills, Powers, and Attributes:**

-Data may be incomplete due to Sonic actively sheltering her from the Empire's attempts to study her and due to the fact that she has been missing for so long

**_Aging:_**

-Seems to be normal

**_Healing factor:_**

-Ability to heal rapidly and with greater finality than other people from any injury (exact rate of recovery is unknown and seems to vary depending on the injury and its severity; advanced healing is often achieved through use of her powers, which she can use even when unconscious)

-Results in slowing of aging (possibly) and immunity to illnesses and other defects

-Capable of healing from seemingly any injury, even ones that should have killed her

**_Spin-based combat:_**

-An innate ability of all blue hedgehogs (though she possesses these skills, she never seems to use them for some reason)

-All very fast and powerful

-Spin dash

-Homing Attack

**_Magic:_**

-Can use her magic for combat, information gathering (including through spying), defense, long-distance communication (though not in one's mind), healing, lifting objects and people, and so on

-Can teleport herself, other people, and objects from any place to any other, even while the subject being teleported is in motion (doesn't require much special focus, but is tiring or even exhausting when used too often in a short time or when transporting too many people/objects at once or objects that are too large)

-Immensely powerful

-Very often used

**_Light:_**

-Very often used

-Immensely powerful

-Can use for combat, defense, and healing

-Can use as a full power up that causes her to be shrouded in a pure white light very similar to Sonic's Super form (though without the change in appearance and without her hair standing up)

**_Psychic:_**

_Clairvoyance:_

-Only ever used in extremely rare occasions and never on purpose

**_Empathy:_**

_General:_

-Ability to read and/or sense the emotions the emotions/feelings of others (always seems to pay close attention to this sense, especially when around Kaden and, more recently, Sonic)

_Ecological_

-Ability to sense the overall well-being and conditions of one's immediate environment and natural setting, stemming from a (seemingly) psychic sensitivity to nature (always seems to pay close attention to this sense)

**_Flight:_**

-Unable to do without using her magic and/or light powers

-When flying, she is significantly faster than normal

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

-Can fly using her magic or powers of light

-Includes ability to levitate/hover

-Flight is self-sustained through use of his own energy (no wings or such needed)

-Unable to tire from flying

**_Speed:_**

-Very fast when she is flying; can keep up with Kaden while he is running (so long as he isn't going at full speed)

-Completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

-Significantly faster in flight than on foot (can keep up with Kaden so long as he is going below a certain rate of speed)

-Surprisingly fast on her feet

-_ Speed results in highly increased reflexes and reaction times, and the ability to sense things (i.e. sound, auras) much more quickly than others_

**_Strength:_**

-Surprisingly physically strong

-Was strong in her own right before being trained by both Locke and Kaden to further increase her strength

-Near equal strength in her arms and legs, but especially in her legs

-Can hit hard enough to very badly damage even solid steel, shatter rocks, and so on

-All of the rest of her strength comes from her powers (which she can use to utterly destroy entire ships)

**_Defense:_**

-Able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (or lack of said pressure in space), without becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity

-Completely resistant high wind friction (this is accompanied by an innate immunity to the vertigo)

-Can use her magic and light powers to create a pure white shield _around herself that can deflect most attacks regardless of their nature (i.e. physical, energy) and strength_

-Virtually immune to temperature (whether hot or cold; especially resistant to the cold)

-Capable of surviving injuries that should have killed her

-Capable of surviving free-falls from incredible heights (maybe even back to the planet from space), even if she lands on the ground or in shallow water

**_Agility:_**

-Surprisingly very agile, though the exact extent of her agility is unknown due to her general lack of use of this ability

-Known to be skilled in parkour

-Can dodge obstacles in her way with incredible ease when flying, falling, and so on regardless of the speed at which she is traveling

-Very flexible

**_Balance:_**

-Known to have exceptional balance, though the exact extent of it is unknown

-Suspected to be able to stand, sit, kneel, crouch, and so on, on the wing of any fast-moving ship while said ship is in motion (though if she can, she seldom does this)

-Can stand on foot on any surface (i.e. the point of a spire at the top of a building)

**_Sight:_**

-Due to the nature of her powers, her eyes are well adjusted to harsh lights (also due to Kaden's powers and being around him for so long)

-Can see very well in the dark but doesn't have true night vision

-Can see even small objects from very long distances away (more-so during the day than at night)

-Can see well enough to have near perfect aim

-Sensitive enough to sound that she can, at times, even see sound waves

**_Hearing:_**

-Known to have especially sharp hearing

-Can hear even small sounds within a radius of an unknown number of miles

-Can pinpoint exact location of origin of sounds she hears with startling accuracy

-Can be rendered immobile (if only temporarily) by sudden, intense, and/or long-lasting high-pitched sounds

-Sensitive enough to sound that she can, at times, even see sound waves

**_Smell:_**

-If a smell is strong enough, she can follow it back to its exact source

**_Touch:_**

-Can sense vibrations in the ground well enough to determine the near exact size and shape of whoever or whatever created said vibrations

-Highly insensitive to pain below a certain level of severity (can even force herself to ignore any and all pain, at least for short periods of time)

**_Special Senses:_**

-Sensitive to people's auras (can feel them without having to consciously attempt to do so; can determine who is who by the feel of their aura alone; can, to a point, read people's feelings, thoughts, and intentions through their auras; can follow the feeling of a person's aura to locate them; always seems to pay close attention to this sense, especially when around Kaden and, more recently, Sonic)

**_Stealth:_**

-Unknown how skilled she is in stealth (though she is suspected to be very skilled)

**_Intelligence:_**

-Exact I.Q. is unknown (due to Sonic actively sheltering her from the Empire's attempts to study her and due to the fact that she has been missing for so long), but she is known to be highly intelligent, much like her son

-Possesses a vast knowledge of history (including people, places, and so on), artifacts, and ruins

-Known to have learned a great deal about ancient technology from studying the technology used by Jet's ancestors during the war on South Island

-May possess knowledge of Babylon Garden (i.e. location, what it's capable of)

-Is not known to have any knowledge of Shadow's existence

-Knows a great deal about time travel, alternate timelines and dimensions, portals, outer space, interstellar travel, powers, and so on

-A very highly skilled strategist

-Can quickly and easily pick up new skills and understand things she previously had no knowledge of and/or experience with

-Can understand virtually any language with great accuracy (with enough exposure to said language), even without studying it

-Can speak, read, and write in the ancient language

-Intelligent enough to learn how to wield virtually any weapon in virtually no time at all

-Very insightful and highly observational

-Surprisingly, possesses a long history of battle experience (has been experiencing combat since childhood)

-Very high capacity (and often willingness) to learn new things and build on knowledge she already has

-Possesses a surprising amount of knowledge of weapons in general (particularly blades but especially knives and other such small blades)

-A skilled hacker

-Possesses knowledge great knowledge of Chao and Chao Gardens

-A highly skilled teacher who can adjust her teaching style easily depending on who she's attempting to teach (rarely fails at teaching someone something if he's truly trying)

**Emotions/Personality:**

-Very loving, caring, kind, gentle, and protective, but also very calm, reserved, and, at times, serious

-Had a very fierce temper that only very rarely shows itself

-Very modest about her appearance and in general

-Very good with children of all ages, personalities, and so on

-Never openly lies (though she will, at times, withhold information)

-Was once shy (particularly as a young girl), but is now very open

-Very friendly and often very happy

-Has a sense of humor that likes to show itself in small ways

-Known to enjoy lightly teasing Kaden (something which seems to embarrass him, a reaction he tends to cover up by pretending to be irritated (more so in the past, before they became a couple) or, more often, by pretending not to care) and Locke (though she will also gently tease others as well; never does so with the intent to harm someone)

-Generally very trusting of others (unlike Kaden, who is usually very suspicious; she has a strong sense for somehow knowing who is dangerous and who isn't)

-In spite of her loving, affectionate, kind nature, she isn't known to regularly hug people (or engage in similar actions), though she doesn't seem opposed to such things

-Emotions only very rarely get in the way of her logical thinking, even when he's feeling something especially strong

**Misc.:**

-In the past, she was widely regarded as the most beautiful woman in the world (though she is known to have regularly dismissed such claims)

-She is known to have had at least one close Chao friend as a young girl

-Is known to have somehow single-handedly wiped out an entire Babylon Rogue starship through unknown means during the war (perhaps near the end; suspected to have used her light powers in some way)

-Known to have very strong protective instincts regarding her friends, family, people in general, and nature (this has never proven to be something that can be manipulated due to her naturally calm personality; she is especially protective of Locke and her family, as these are the only people she is closest with)

-Generally liked (and even loved, even if said love comes only in the form of friendship) by everyone she meets (the fact that her powers give her an air of purity more than like aids in this)

-Known to be descended from nothing but powerful healers, seers, and so on

**Directives:**

-Capture alive if at all possible

-If able to capture, extract information from through any means necessary

-After extracting information or if unable to capture, kill through any means necessary

* * *

**10,314 words this time. _And we're finally done!_ Good _lord_ that took a lot of typing! XD I hope your brains dont hurt too much by this point... Sorry if they do. ^-^" Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! The regular story will resume tomorrow. :) Posted 08-07-15.**


	134. Miracle

**Hello, flashyhero! Hahaha, that's awesome! XD Yes, they are definitely badass. XD**

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**~ソニック~**

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**~ソニック~**

It was close to eleven o'clock at night. Sonic was still outside, but he was no longer walking around in the woods. He probably needed to be, in a way; he hadn't succeeded in clearing his head earlier. Not really. There was just too much to think about. But, regardless of that, he was back in the clearing, waiting, and he wasn't alone. It made sense why Amy was here. Future Knuckles was coming, after all. He and his companions would be here tonight, and he needed whatever medical attention that could be provided. Sonic knew some things about medicine, of course. He'd lived on his own for many, many years, after all, and when one was constantly battling, wounds were a common occurrence that therefore had to be dealt with often. Still, Amy knew more than he did (quite a bit more, considering how much she had studied as a young girl), and so it was best for her to deal with this. So that explained why _she_ was still awake and out here… But it most certainly did _not_ explain why Tails and Past Knuckles were here. At all.

Sonic's timing had been good, it seemed. He'd only been waiting here for an hour or so, and Future Tails's ship was already in sight. The auras Sonic could feel told him exactly who was on the ship and where they were. Tails, pilot seat. Rouge, crouched on the left wing. And Knuckles… Sonic's frown, which had been on his face for the majority of the night already, deepened subtly. _He's gotten worse. _The ship lowered slowly to the ground, stirring up a great deal of wind as it did so. It came to rest in the grass just beside Jet's airship, and the cockpit almost immediately opened. Without a word, Sonic hopped up onto the nearest wing and, with Rouge's help, eased the barely conscious echidna out of his seat. Once they had helped him to the ground, Amy took over Sonic's position and together the two girls walked Future Knuckles slowly inside.

Once they were out of sight, Future Tails, who had been shutting the ship down up until this point, finally jumped out, his twin tails spinning briefly to ease his landing. His feet lightly touched the ground just a moment later. Taking notice of Sonic's subtly questioning look, he shrugged a bit. "Robots." The reply was almost overly simple, but it said everything it needed to about why they were later. It _also_ explained why their ship was so beat up, in spite of Future Tails never mentioning it being damaged before. With that explanation out of the way, the fox launched into full business-mode. "On the way here," he began quickly, "I was reading and-"

"You were _reading_ while you were piloting a _ship_?"

Future Tails cut Knuckles an annoyed glance for the interruption. Of course, it wasn't like this Tails being annoyed was anything new. "Yes," he replied simply. "Reading while piloting an overly simplistic and frankly childhishly dumbed-down ship _really_ isn't as hard as one might think." He returned his attention to Sonic after that. "_Anyway_," he said in a tone clearly meant to show Knuckles how displeased the fox was over being interrupted, "I was reading and I discovered these files in Ivo's database. They were files on us, _all_ of us, excluding the little Time-Traveling-Trio over here. There's _way_ more data in those files than in the ones we'd discovered previously. He has everything from out exact ages to how agile of us is"

Sonic frowned yet a bit deeper. "Were you able to delete them?"

Future Tails shook his head once. "No. He's protected them somehow, and I haven't figured out how to bypass whatever protection he put in. I'll delete them when I figure it out, which shouldn't be too much longer, provided people don't keep bugging me." Out of the corner of his eye, Sonic saw Knuckles scowl a bit for whatever reason. "I did manage to save copies of them all, though."

Sonic nodded once in response. "Send them to me when you can. I'll read them later."

"Right."

Knuckles frowned at the both of them, his arms crossing moodily. Sonic was starting to wish that the echidna had gone to bed. Combining Knuckles's grouchiness with Future Tails's attitude, sarcasm, and easy annoyance was just _asking_ for a headache. "What's the point of saving them and reading them?" he all but demanded.

Future Tails huffed and rolled his eyes. "I have a better question," he responded dryly. "Why are you two," he glanced between Knuckles and Past Tails, "even up?"

If anything, that only made Knuckles's mood worsen. Visibly. He was probably just grouchy because he was exhausted and sore from the training, but even still. It was going to start getting on Sonic's nerves sooner or later, and he couldn't let that happen. "I happen to be an adult," the echidna replied with a sort of stiffness that clearly said that he was doing his level best to curb his tongue and not say anything nasty. "I can do what I please and nobody can tell me any different."

Future Tails's only response to that was another eye-roll. "And you," he fixed Past Tails with a look that made Past Tails practically freeze like a deer caught in the headlights, "what's _you're_ excuse?"

"I-I wasn't- I'm not really… tired," Past Tails excused lamely.

Future Tails huffed again, then suddenly seemed to change the subject entirely. "You're like, what? Fourteen?" Past Tails nodded slowly. There was another huff from an obvious source. "That makes you only one year younger than me, which means you're still a kid. Kids need _sleep_, and I know you know that." Past Tails's nod seemed a bit… guilty. "And besides," Future Tails continued, his tone not softening at all at the look on the other fox's face, "sleep is a _luxury_ here. Don't take luxuries for granted, _especially_ in this day and age."

Strangely enough, Past Tails's guilt seemed to vanish and his countenance brightened into a smile. "Okay."

Knuckles opened his mouth to speak again, but Future Tails, closing his eyes briefly and pinching the bridge of his nose while the other arm rested against his torso like he was about to cross his arms, cut him off with an annoyed grumble of, "Of for the love of…" Pulling his hand away from his face and crossing his arms, he fixed Knuckles with a look as annoyed as his grumble had just been. "Look, it's _not_ that hard to figure out why we'd want to save and read those files. I already said that Ivo has files on all of us, excluding you guys. That means he has information on _all_ of us. If we _read_ those files, we can each see what, exactly, Ivo knows so we can compensate by watching each other's backs and our own."

"Like how?" Past Tails asked.

"For one thing, Ivo knows that we can all easily avoid his camera with or without the use of speed," Future Tails explained, using much simpler language than he normally would have. "With that knowledge, we can safely assume that he will more than likely upgrade his cameras, if he hasn't done so already. Knowing that, we can all take the necessary steps to learn how to avoid the upgraded security and whatnot."

"Makes sense," Past Tails agreed with another smile. "That was silly of me. I should have realized."

Future Tails just shrugged. Barely a moment later, Sonic finally spoke up again, that slight frown still on his face. "How did you escape?" he asked, looking at and thus directing his question toward the somewhat older fox. "And how did you get the other Knuckles off that airship?"

Future Tails turned to him. "I used some basic tech," he replied with another shrug. "Just nanotechnology of a sort. Nothing major, just some little things. It wasn't very hard, in either case, and stealing that ship was almost stupidly easy once the robots were taken out."

"Wait," Past Tails suddenly cut in, "_you_-? I mean, I thought-"

Future Tails frowned hard at him. "What? That he'd rescued _me_?" Without waiting for a reply, Future Tails huffed yet again with yet another eye-roll to accompany it. His right hand on his hip, he walked over to past Tails and, leaning in close to the younger fox's face, poked him hard in the forehead with his left index finger. Not removing his finger, his expression dry but still serious, he said, "I'm not helpless, Tails, and neither are you. The sooner you figure that out, the better off you'll be." It was hard to tell, but… this wasn't Future Tails being his usual annoyed self. This seemed more like a case of dishing out some seriously-needed tough love… or something to that extent.

Future Tails removed himself from the other fox's personal space then and Past Tails rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand, a sort of scolded puppy look on his face. "But what can _I_ do?" he protested quietly. "I mean, my tech won't always be there, and even if it could be, I can't always guarantee that it'll work, and-"

"You'll figure it out." And with that simple statement, Future Tails changed the subject entirely. "Now go to bed, alright? No one will thank you for suddenly deciding that you don't need sleep. We have enough insomniacs on this team as it is."

Sonic cut the fox a sort of glare, but the look was promptly ignored… if it was noticed at all. Sonic was sure it had been; neither version of Tails, past or present, was inattentive, after all, and quite frankly, neither was Knuckles. "Okay," Past Tails agreed easily enough. As he turned away, headed for Jet's ship, he called out over his shoulder, "G'night."

There was a small pause before Future Tails replied simply. "Night." Knuckles voiced a similar farewell after that while Future Tails jumped up onto the wing of his stolen ship. The cockpit was still open, Sonic noticed as the fox bent into the ship to pull out a toolbox. He probably planned on giving his ship a few repairs before the night was up.

Sonic couldn't help but shake his head lightly at the hypocrisy of it all. _Even after he just scolded the other Tails for not sleeping… _

Tails hopped back down to the ground just as Sonic leaned backward against the ship, his arms crossed. Knuckles seated himself on the grass and watched as Tails placed his dull red toolbox down on the grass, and, still bending over it, opened the lid and began to rummage through it. A moment later, Tails spoke again, directly addressing his near-silent companion for the first time since his arrival. "So, Sonic," he said almost conversationally, "I hear something is bugging you." No response. And yet, Tails pressed on. "Care to explain?"

The response was probably exactly what both Tails and Knuckles were expecting. "No."

Tails didn't look up and, strangely, he didn't seem to get annoyed by Sonic's blunt refusal to talk. It was odd. This Tails was normally so easily annoyed by everything, and yet… "Am I correct in assuming that it has nothing to do with what Cream was saying on the communicators about hope?"

Sonic gave Tails a long look before finally conceding, "Yes."

"But I'm only _mostly_ correct in saying, that, right? Which means that hope _is_, to some extent, part of it." Sonic said nothing that time. Tails was right, of course. He usually was. Hope most certainly _was_ a part of what had been weighing on his mind lately. It was a wary, reluctant sort of hope, and all of it was directed entirely at someone that he hadn't seen in a _long_ time. Of course, he wasn't about to _tell_ the fox that. Or anyone, for that matter. "Listen," Tails said seriously, "you never talk about the things that're bothering you and weighing you down, the things that are keeping you up at night and whatnot, and I realized recently that we've all been sort of facilitating you. I'm not gonna do that anymore."

Sonic's frown returned. _Wait- what? _"I'm-… You're not-… what?"

While Sonic was busy berating himself for letting his confusion show so blatantly (and for _stammering_ on top of that), Tails, still not looking up, answered as calmly as before, apparently unconcerned by Sonic's reaction. "We're one of the biggest reasons why you started keeping everything to yourself in the first place. I'm not stupid. I know that." He pulled out a wrench and set it down in the grass before resuming his rummaging as he continued. "You used to tell us things, even if you kept certain things to yourself, but you don't anymore. You've barely opened up to anyone in _years_, and most of us haven't exactly been making it easy for you to do so. Like I said, I'm not gonna do that anymore."

Sonic's frown deepened. _Why is he suddenly…? _

"So I'll ask again," Tails said slowly, deliberately. "What's been bugging you?"

Sonic stared at him for a long moment before finally sighing and turning his head away to face the front, his eyes focused on the starry night sky. "It's complicated, Tails."

"I don't care," was the blunt reply. A pause. Then, "If you don't want to talk about all of it, then fine. At least tell me part of it." Silence answered him. Tails sat back on his heels and looked up to frown at Sonic's face. "You know, when I was younger, back before all of _this_ happened," this earned him a brief, carefully guarded glance before Sonic looked away again, "I used to come forth bearing whatever sage words of wisdom I could manage, even when I didn't know what was going on." Tails returned his attention to rummaging through his toolbox. "We're here now, something's bugging you and I'm once again left in the dark about it, but I'm all out of generic astute proclamations."

Knuckles watched in mute surprise as Sonic let out a small, soft hum, turning his head back to his right to look once more at Tails, his expression one of subtly faked surprise. "My little motor mouth has no words of wisdom for me, for once?"

Though Knuckles was thoroughly surprised by the comment (and how could he _not_ be?), he held his tongue to see how this would all play out. Maybe, if he kept quiet, Tails would be able to root out whatever had been on Sonic's mind. _One can only hope…_

Sonic looked away almost immediately. "I'm not really one to wax on eloquently about the morality of the seaside sunset," Tails responded with a one-shouldered shrug.

Sonic's gaze slanted toward Tails, his eyes narrowing in a sort of glare. "Are you making fun of me?" he suddenly demanded, much to Knuckles's ever-increasing surprise.

Tails just shrugged again, completely unapologetic and unrepentant. "All I'm saying is that you spend a lot of time staring at it, regardless of whether you're actually by the sea or not, trying to determine the meaning of your life, the purpose of all of this, how you're supposed to deal with this or that, and so on and so forth." Tail sat back on his heels again to fix Sonic with a calmly serious look. "The point is, Sonic, that you've been searching for all of those answers on your own your whole life, more-so since this war began and we all separated. Don't you think it's time for you to let someone else in and allow them to help you out?"

Sonic held his gaze for a long moment, his own gaze unreadable, before finally looking away and muttering. "It doesn't matter, anyway." And with that, he walked away.

**~ソニック~**

"Hey, Wave, is Jet up?"

Wave, who was walking toward the kitchen from the stairs in Amy's house as Sonic walked in the front door, paused for a moment to answer him. "Yeah, knowing him," she nodded. "Why?" Her quick mind seemed to catch up to her then, and she asked, "Are you leaving tonight?"

Sonic answered with his own nod as he shut the door before responding verbally, "Yeah, after I talk with him."

"Good luck with that," Wave sighed. "I sure haven't had any."

Sonic passed by her and mounted the first step as she laid her hand on the doorway to the kitchen in preparation to pass through. "Yeah. Thanks. I'll probably need it."

"You're welcome."

With that said, they parted ways, Sonic going up and Wave going forward, each with their own goal in mind. One was on an important mission to get answers… and one was on a mission to get food.

**~ソニック~**

Robot parts were scattered everywhere. Smoking and sparking, they lay in heaps and piles and spread across the ground, almost as numerous as the specks of dirt upon which they rested. Amidst it all rested a somewhat damaged black ship, which had only recently been landed. Standing beside the front of it was Shadow, who had his arms crossed with an air of irritable calm, listened as Amy and Jet talked (or at times, even argued) while Cream gazed placidly into the starry night sky.

"Look, don't go off on Sonic about this, Amy. I'm the one who told him to stay with the others."

"But he still listened to you."

"Only because he had no other choice. Neither of us did."

Amy huffed at Jet, who crossed his arms somewhat moodily at her reaction. She fought not to roll her eyes. "Whatever. Just let me heal you real quick so that we can get going." Much to her surprise, Jet's crossed arms tightened almost defensively and he took a hurried step back when she moved to approach him. She frowned minutely in confusion. Jet hadn't reacted like that in response to someone trying to touch him in many years. _Not since the last time we saw Ross, all those years ago. _

He quickly tried to cover his reaction by bringing up a logical argument against her actions. "If you heal me, won't you be too tired to do anything for Knuckles?"

Amy's frown deepened a bit. _That's not why he backed away. _Pushing that thought aside for now, she decided to answer the question, if only because he did have a point. "Maybe. I don't know."

"Isn't he more important?"

This time, Amy gave in and sighed. "Yes, I suppose." She crossed her arms then, too, her own stubbornness returning. "But I'm not letting this go, Jet. You're lying by trying to tell me that Knuckles is the reason you're acting like this, and I want to know why. What's the _real _reason?"

He looked away, his tense posture never changing. "It's nothing," he muttered. "Let's just go."

Shadow let out a sort of snort. "Fine by me."

Rolling her eyes expressively, Amy fought not to release an annoyed groan. "Fine… whatever. Let's just go, then."

Shadow seemed pleased (or at least as close to that as he could come) by the fact that they were finally moving again, and Amy said and did nothing to try to ruin that mood. It was rare when Shadow allowed himself to feel like that, after all. So Amy held her tongue (though she most _definitely_ planned on getting to the bottom of all this later) as she and Cream climbed back into the ship and buckled themselves in. Once they were situated and Jet was seated on the right wing, the cockpit closed and Shadow lifted the ship into the air. Within two minutes, they were soaring through the sky once more. Suppressing a sigh, Amy got on her communicator and typed out a quick message.

**Arrossa:**

_En route to Paradise again. Jet's with us. Enemies defeated. Be there soon._

Elsewhere, Sonic, who had only just left for another walk in the woods, paused mid-step at the specific, brief little ringtone set aside for a certain person whom only rarely messaged him privately. He once again had no idea why his volume was on, but that was beside the point. It was stupid, really, how the sound of that ringtone made him react inside. It was just a ringtone, after all, regardless of who it was set for. Shaking his head lightly, he banished such thoughts from his mind for now and looked down at the message that he'd received. Within moments, he was striving to banish relief from his heart on top of everything else. After a moment, however, he remembered his promise to Cream, as well something that he'd once learned. _She practically made me, but I did promise to let myself feel happy if and when the feeling comes, and… relief is a form of happiness… _With a heavy, long-suffering sort of sigh, he slowly, reluctantly, relinquished his hold over the emotion and let it flow through him as he hadn't done with any emotion in many years. Fighting to ignore how uncomfortable all this _feeling_ of emotion was making him, he continued on through the woods. Suddenly, he had a lot more to think about.

**~ソニック~**

Locke quietly knocked on the door to a room that he'd barely left since their return to this house after the battle of Dark Gaia. It was _so_ hard being in there, but, at the same time, it was hard being _away_ from the room as well. So, when a soft voice responded to his knock, he took a deep breath and opened the door. Stepping inside, he shut the door again and moved deeper into the room. Gentle green eyes looked up to gaze into his face. A soft smile that contained noticeably less happiness than usual spread across a familiar face. "Hello, Locke."

He inclined his head slightly in a silent, yet polite greeting. His gaze traveled slowly across the room to the bed beside which Analia sat, her chair pulled up to rest right next to the head of the bed and the still figure resting in it under the covers. "Still nothing, huh?" It wasn't like he'd expected anything else. Marie had said that Kaden was in a coma, after all. Still, Locke had hoped that, by now... He sighed a bit.

She shook her head slowly, her sadness and grief suddenly becoming more plainly visible on his face. "No. He has not moved still."

Locke took another deep breath and released it slowly, letting go of some of the stronger emotions that were struggling to rise up inside of him. _There's no need for fear. He's not dead or dying, not this time. He' just asleep... Very deeply asleep, but still. The anger isn't necessary, either. Dark Gaia was wiped from existence, probably literally. It got what it deserved already. Being angry at it serves no purpose anymore. _Pulling free from his thoughts after that, he turned his head a bit to look at Analia again. "It's late, you know. You should be asleep. You're not fully healed yet."

She didn't exactly look like she wanted to acknowledge the truth of his words right now, but Locke knew that Analia was no fool. And, in the end, she agreed, as he'd expected. "You are right..." she said with a soft sigh, her eyes closing for a brief moment as her head lowered a bit. She opened her eyes again and lifted her head to gaze up at him once more. "You will watch over him...?"

He nodded once, readily. "'Course."

She returned his nod, accepting his brief response as the promise that it was. She stood, then, fully prepared to leave the room, only to be stopped when there was suddenly a painfully bright flash of light. And, without any warning, she and Locke were standing in a familiar white world that they hadn't seen in more than a short while. Needless to say, neither was terribly surprised (or surprised at all, really), when a disembodied voice suddenly spoke to them. _"Greetings, heroes of old. It has been some time." _

Locke snorted softly. "Yeah, and I have to admit, I haven't exactly missed you. You and your constant vague riddles and prophecies are enough to drive a person mad."

Shockingly enough, there actually seemed to be a note of genuine _humor_ in the normally perfectly emotionless Voice's tone. _"Perhaps you are right, Locke." _

Both Locke and Analia were too stunned to speak for a long moment. Finally, Locke spoke again. "Okay, I'm officially freaked out."

Analia's eyes narrowed subtly in a way that told Locke immediately that she was suspicious. It was a look she only _very_ rarely ever wore. "Indeed..." she murmured coolly.

The Voice seemed to ignore their comments. At least _that_ was normal. _"Locke, you are aware that Chaos Control transported Knuckles, Amy, and Tails away." _

Locke frowned. _Chaos Control...? Is that__ what that attack Sonic did was...? _"Yeah," he replied slowly. Then he added, "What _about_ it?"

_"Chaos Control moved them forward through time. They are still on this world, but many years in the future." _

Analia took a step forward then. "They are safe?" she all but demanded while still somehow managing to be polite.

_"Yes. For now."_

Locke's frown deepened. "Why are you telling me this?" His demand, unlike Analia's, wasn't polite at all.

_"The future they are is has been ruined, and has been since some time ago. However, actions can be taken in this time to prevent that future from occurring again. Analia, this is where you must play an important role."_

Analia inclined her head slightly. "What is needed of me?"

_"Recover as quickly as you can. Once you are better, focus all of your energies on healing."_

It didn't take a genius to figure out who Analia was supposed to heal. That simple knowledge was all the convincing Analia needed. "Alright."

The Voice then returned its attention to Locke. _"The light has returned to the future. Nearly enough of it has been recovered for a miracle to occur. The light of life cannot return yet; that will require far more light. However, there is enough light for something wonderful to happen to the people of the future for the first time in a long time."_

Locke's frown deepened yet more. "What are you _talking_ about?!" he snapped. He wasn't in the mood for this, and the Voice was making _no _sense. "_The light"? A miracle? "The light of life"? What is it talking-?_

_"The you of the future is unable to lend his aid... but you can." _

With no further warning, Locke was suddenly encased in a pillar of light that, within seconds, entirely vanished as suddenly as it appeared, taking him with it.

**~ソニック~**

"So, after that, we just came here." Future Amy shrugged at her own words. "We had a pretty safe flight after that. Nothing else happened. We just came straight here."

Sonic nodded once to signal his understanding of the situation as he glanced around. In spite of it only being about six in the morning, everyone (save for one obvious person) was up and about. Sonic's gaze locked on one person in particular. It was Shadow. Emerald eyes suddenly narrowed slightly as the darker hedgehog approached, and Sonic grabbed the gun out of the holster at his hip and swung it around… hitting Shadow on the top of the head with the butt of it. _Hard_. Shadow's own hand flew up to cover the spot as he glared at Sonic almost murderously. "What the hell?" he demanded furiously.

Sonic replaced the gun in the holster. "Next time, don't leave your guns lying around," he muttered coolly. "_Especially _when they're loaded."

Shadow didn't deign to respond to that. Instead, he just continued on his way, rubbing his now undoubtedly sore head and growling lowly to himself as he went. Amy smirked slightly in amusement. "You know, I can really see it now," she commented casually. "You two actually _are_ brothers. I wasn't so sure up until now."

Sonic gave her a dry look, doing his best to ignore the twinkle of amusement in her eyes. "Shut up."

"Make me," she replied easily, her amusement never diminishing even slightly. Huffing lightly to himself, Sonic turned away, focusing his attention on more important things. As he walked away, Future Amy also set about taking care of business. Now that Sonic was all filled in, she and Past Amy had a lot to talk about. Rouge was still inside the airship with Future Knuckles, but he was no longer a concern. A bit of rest, and he would be just fine.

Past Amy's eyes were wide with shock and just a bit of awe as Future Amy approached. "How did you _do_ that…?" she asked quietly. "With Knuckles, I mean…"

Future Amy frowned a bit. "You can do it, too, Amy. I'll teach you what I can while you're here, but you'll have to learn most of this on your own."

Past Amy's nod was just as serious as Future Amy's tone. "Okay." A moment later, they were both briefly distracted by a familiar voice.

"Damn it all, Sonic! That hurts!"

Sonic huffed lightly, never looking up from the arm he was bandaging as he knelt by Jet's right side. So far, all he'd managed to wrap was the irritable hawk's torso and part of his arm. "If you had let Amy help you, then I wouldn't need to be doing this and you wouldn't be in pain."

"Well I _am_ in pain, so don't wrap it so tight!" Jet snapped, still sitting cross-legged near Future Tails's stolen ship as he had been for the past twenty minutes or so.

Sonic huffed at him again. "Baby."

"Wh-" For once, Jet actually seemed speechless. However, the moment soon passed. "I am _not_!"

Sonic blinked, never looking up from his task. "You've been fussing like one."

"No!" Jet replied hotly. "I have not been _fussing_!"

"You've been complaining."

"That's not the same thing and you damn well know it!"

"If you say so."

"Tch! Whatever."

Silence settled between the pair as Sonic moved on to bandage Jet's other arm and Jet looked around the clearing, checking on each person within sight. Both Past and Future Tails were working together to fix Future Tails's stolen ship while Shadow worked on repairing his own, occasionally borrowing tools from the foxes to do so. Not terribly far from the ships was Past Knuckles, who lay on his back in the lush grass with his arms behind his head and his eyes closed as he enjoyed the cool early morning breeze. In spite of his relaxed attitude, it was clear that he was keeping an eye on Cream, who was kneeling in the grass near him as she picked whatever flowers suited her fancy. The action made her seem much more like the sweet little girl she had once been. Not far away from the young bunny stood Past and Future Amy as the two pink hedgehogs talked about who knew what, the young cat-girl playing in the grass by their feet. A decent distance away from them was Wave, who was sitting against the airship with her board by her side as she gazed into the cloudy sky, seeming completely unconcerned by the fact that it looked like it would rain soon. Closer to Jet and Sonic (while thankfully not really _close_) stood Ross, who was leaning backward against a thick tree with his arms crossed and his head turned away from the pair to stare into the trees.

As Sonic discreetly watched, Jet gave his father a long look, expression unreadable, before finally turning his head away to scowl at nothing in particular. Something in Sonic's head suddenly clicked. _Ah. So that's it, then. _He should have seen it earlier. Of course Ross was the reason why Jet was acting like this. It made so much sense. _And it also explains why he'll only let me help him right now… even if he does keep fighting me about it. _It really did make sense. Sonic was the only one Jet had trusted enough as a kid to allow to tend to his wounds back when he'd still been living with Ross, after all. It made sense that Jet would still maintain at least some of that trust.

Suddenly, Jet spoke up again, apparently needing something to distract him from whatever he'd been thinking about all this time. "I still can't believe you called me a baby," he muttered.

"You were fussing like one," Sonic reminded him.

Jet glared at him. "I wasn't, and you damn well know it."

Oh, he was _not_ amused. Sonic, however, was. Quite so. And, until Cream's vision came true, Sonic couldn't banish the feeling. He'd promised to let himself feel happy, after all, if and when the feeling arose in him, and amusement was part of happiness... and, for better or for worse, he never went back on his promises. "If you say so."

"I do."

"You're grouchy."

"_You_ try taking on a small army of robots that can withstand most of your attacks and see how _you're_ feel- _Ow_! Damn it, Sonic!"

"Like I said, b-"

"Call me a baby again and I swear to god I'll-"

"Baby."

"Damn it all, Sonic! I oughtta just-!"

Sonic was unable to suppress the small smirk that spread across his face at that outburst. However, the smirk soon faded when it occurred to him what Jet had probably been about to say. "Blast me and I'll make you regret it," he muttered.

"Oh, I wouldn't blast you," Jet replied coolly. "I'd just suck you into a damn tornado and fling your ass off this goddamn island."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

"You wouldn't."

"What makes you so sure?"

Sonic smirked a bit again as he paused in his motions, purposefully quoting something he himself had said in a conversation that he'd had long ago. "Because we're _family_!"

"Damn it all, Sonic!" Jet snapped furiously. "I told you never to say that again!"

"Whatever you say…" Sonic agreed slowly before adding, "'_Uncle_' Jet."

Jet literally smacked his own forehead and groaned. "Ugh...! You're _so_ impossible!"

"But I'm your brother anyway."

"For the love of- Stop _saying_ that!"

"Why should I? It's fun to annoy you." A foot swung out to meet him then and Sonic only just leapt out of the way in time to avoid it. His amusement surged as he landed lightly on his feet a few feet away, only for all of his focus to be abruptly ripped from his conversation with Jet by a bright flash of pure white light. Barely a split second later, the light vanished and something heavy slammed into him with enough force to slam him down onto his stomach and cause him to skid forward several inches. He let loose a string of muttered curses in the ancient language, spoken as such to keep the children from hearing things they _really_ didn't need to, and shoved whatever had landed on him off so that he could stand. Once he was on his feet, he all but whirled around… and was shocked to see a familiar red treasure hunter slowly pushing himself up off the ground, an equally familiar old brown hat laying upside down in the grass beside him.

**~ソニック~**

**6,151 words this time, and the Voice actually tries to be genuinely helpful for once... Weird. XD Anyway, I am _so_ sorry for the delay. I was moving furniture for two days, and then this site crashed last night before I could upload... X( Posted 08-11-15.**

**EDIT: Forgot to mention this before: A few lines in this chapter were inspired by very similar lines from a Sonic one-shot fic called "Equilibrium", which was written by Hikareh. You should go read it! :D**


	135. Penalty

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 128: It's fine. I understand. :) Only all to well do I understand... T^T Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed! Sorry that I kind of glossed over that. ^-^"**

**Your review to Chapter 129: Yeah, but I glossed over it... again. ^-^" We'll see her and the others actually in action later. :P I'm so happy you like that, by the way! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 134: Yes, he is, and it will (hopefully) be awesome to see what he does! :D Well, we'll see about that Dark transformation you're sensing. ;) Wow, great idea! I've been thinking about ways to incorporate that form, and that works perfectly! I'd never even considered that as a possibility! Thanks! :D As always, I will do my best!**

**Hello, flashyhero! How very observant of you! I think you may be the first person to have made that connection! :D Yes, you are more than likely right. We'll just have to wait and see to know for sure. ;)**

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Yeah, it does. :( _Ugh_, 24 hours? That's worse than what I went through. And yeah, it's still being buggy. The search is down and everything for me. -_- Anyway, Yeah, Future Tails is really different. But then, all the future characters are, at least to a point. :P Yes, I left a cliffhanger... and I'm not sorry about it at all. XD Glad you enjoyed the bonus chapters! :D**

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Hahaha! I'm not sorry for that, or for the emotional roller coaster I apparently dragged you onto! XD I'm so happy you enjoyed, and here's the "more" you wanted! :D**

**Hello, Blazewriters69! Your review to Chapter 132: ...I did? Sorry! XD Yeah, normally I do, too. Like I said, you're an anomaly, my friend. XD**

**Hello, Anonymous! Yeah, I figured it was you. :) Darned glitches. So annoying. -.- Anyway, wait. They had no wings? That's just... weird. :l Lots of interesting history you found! Very cool! :D It's also cool that you have a double star ranking, by the way! Sayonara! :D**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

Locke paid little to no attention to the sudden string of curse words that were uttered by whoever he'd landed on. Had he not been so focused on trying to alleviate the intense dizziness he suddenly felt, he probably would have paid attention, but as it was… He was shoved off of whoever he'd landed on and, barely a moment later, he slowly pushed himself up on his hands and knees to regain his feet. Once he was standing, he finally opened his eyes… and was stunned to see a beat up, exhausted looking Sonic staring at him with an expression of subtle shock with the fully-sheathed Caliburn strapped to his back and a gun on his hip. Not far behind him, Jet very quickly moved to his feet, bandages covering his arms and upper body with a curved dagger on his hip and dual Bashosen lying in the grass by his feet. _What the hell…? _

A quick glance around, and Locke soon saw more shocked and often familiar faces. A bit to the right of Sonic and Jet was a black and red hedgehog Locke had never seen before. He, too, had a gun on his hip. Tails wasn't far away from him, wearing a sort of utility belt and brown goggles on his forehead. Tails was there… and yet, on the ship behind the fox was… _another_ Tails. _What the actual hell…? _As he continued to quickly glance around, he soon spotted Wave, two versions of Amy that looked the same save for their outfits, Cream, Knuckles, and a large hawk that Locke had never seen before. Seeing twin versions of Amy and Tails suddenly clued him in to what was happening and where he was. _Not "where"…_ he realized with a sudden jolt. _"When"… _

"Okay, what the hell just happened?" Wave suddenly demanded. She, like everyone else, was on her feet and staring at him in open shock. "And why do you have your hat? Didn't you give your hat to Knuckles before going back to the Master Emerald?"

Locke frowned a bit. _The Voice said that the version of me from the future couldn't help with anything… Is this why? Because he's in the emerald…? _He shook his head slowly, glancing down at the hat that still rested in the grass beside his feet. "I'm not… that Locke," he said just as slowly.

"You're from the past?"

That voice was perfectly familiar (there was no way it _couldn't_ be), but the lack of tone, the absolute _neutrality_ in that voice was completely at odds with what Locke was used to hearing. His gaze snapped up to look at the owner of that voice, who now watched Locke with an expression of cool impassivity, his arms crossed and head slightly tilted to the right in a questioning manner. _Sonic… _"Yeah," he answered just as slowly as before. "I guess so."

Sonic blinked but otherwise didn't reply. This Sonic was so _different_ from the Sonic that Locke knew. That perfect mask of neutrality that he was wearing on his face was _more_ than enough proof of that. Fighting back his shock as best as he could, Locke glanced around again, soon noticing the differences in the others that he knew as well. Jet's expression was almost just as guarded and unreadable as Sonic's. The Tails with the belt and goggles looked completely annoyed and bored at the same time while the other Tails remained the same. The Amy in the black dress with the yellow sash was calm and quietly serious while the other Amy, much like the other Tails, remained the same. Cream seemed solemn, in a way, and also serious. Knuckles seemed to be the one that Locke knew, not the one from this time, however far in the future this actually was. Locke returned his gaze to Sonic as he struggled to make sense of the things he was seeing. What could have caused these people to become so _different_…?

"How did you _get_ here, dad?"

Locke nearly jumped at the sudden question, directed at him by Knuckles. He was also thoroughly surprised at being called "dad", even if that was what he was to the younger echidna. _Isn't this the first time he's ever called me that…? _Locke turned to face his son. "Dunno, really," he answered honestly, shrugging a bit as he did so. Of course, he knew a _little_ bit, like the fact that the Voice was involved somehow, but he wasn't entirely sure if saying such things around strangers was such a good idea.

"Tails, data?" Wave suddenly said.

The Tails of this time sighed in what seemed to be annoyance, his eyes rolling heavenward for a brief moment, but he spoke anyway as he bent over a dull red toolbox. "Locke the Echidna, 240,000,000 bounty. Hasn't been seen in close to ninety-seven years. Known to be in the Master Emerald in this time. Apparently capable of time travel."

"I'm not capable of-" Locke cut himself off abruptly as his mind suddenly registered what the fox had said. "Wait, _bounty_?" he demanded in shock. "Ninety-seven _years_?"

"It's… actually been longer than that since our time," the Amy from the present said hesitantly. "Not _much_ longer, but still."

"There's a lot that needs explaining…" Knuckles sighed, running a hand over his face.

"First of all, can we clear something up?" Wave suddenly said. "It's too damn confusing calling all of these doubles by the same name."

Amy of the future nodded once. "I agree. It makes things overly complicated."

"Go by your codenames, then," the black and red hedgehog said simply, turning away from the group to work on the black ship he was standing in front of.

"Shadow's right," Cream said calmly, now sitting on her knees as she picked wild flowers. "It'll make things much simpler. Simplicity is often something to be thankful for during hard times."

No one seemed surprised by her oddly intelligent words. "It's settled, then," Amy of the future said. "That means you should all call me Arrossa from now on."

"I'm Zeki," said Tails of the future. "The other Knuckles is Ryker."

They seemed to only be saying it aloud for the benefit of the people from the present. Or… past, rather. The people from this time already seemed to know. "For future reference… what are the other codenames?" Amy of the past asked.

Jet gave her a look that seemed slightly irritable, creating a crack in his mask. "I already _told_ you."

"I just want to make sure that I'm remembering correctly," Amy responded simply, not at all put off by his tone.

Jet sighed and looked away in a sort of huff, further damaging his mask. "I'm Lei."

"Rouge is Leila," Zeki supplied.

"I'm Mana," Wave said.

"Saga," Cream murmured.

"Shadow goes by Rama normally," Arrossa said when said hedgehog remained silent, "but he also goes by Shanghai sometimes."

"Angel Island is Paradise," Zeki said. Locke had already known that this was Angel Island, so there was no real surprise there. Still… what was with all the codenames?

Apparently, they weren't finished. "The other Locke is Balroc," Wave said.

"Kaden is Agni," Jet added.

"Freyja is Analia," Arrossa said.

"The Aili is the Master Emerald," Zeki said.

"The Seven Wonders are the Chaos Emeralds," Wave added, "but since that's a bit obvious, we usually just call them the Wonders."

"Mr. Sonic sometimes goes by Arik," Cream said softly, "but we usually call him Sen."

With that apparently out of the way, the group fell silent once more. None of Locke's questions had been answered. He looked to Sonic, who's impassive gaze seemed to read his own confused one. Without a word, Sonic turned away and, catching Jet's gaze, he nodded subtly toward the nearby airship. Jet nodded once and the two began walking away. A moment later, Sonic called out quietly over his shoulder without turning around, "Knuckles, fill him in." Then he added, "Tails, come with me."

Tails nodded once and quickly jumped off the ship. Within moments, he joined the duo as they disappeared inside the ship. Once the three of them were gone, Zeki grabbed a few tools and began working on the dirty white ship he'd been near this whole time while Shadow continued to do the same to his black one. Wave gave Locke one last look before heading over to lend Zeki a hand. Amy and Arrossa turned their attention to each other and began talking in hushed tones while Amy bent down briefly to scoop up a small purple cat girl that Locke hadn't even noticed before. Nearby, Cream continued picking flowers. The unfamiliar hawk turned his head away to stare into the trees.

Knuckles sighed and approached Locke, his arms crossed. "You may want to sit down for this…" he said slowly. "There's a lot to explain, and some of it's kind of… well, shocking, for lack of a better term."

A slow frown appeared on Locke's face, but he did as he was told and sat down, placing the hat by him. "Okay," he agreed simply.

"May as well get the easiest thing out of the way first," Knuckles muttered. Then he continued more strongly, "It's been a century since the battle with Dark Gaia, apparently, and a bunch of stuff happened in a short time that led to Ivo declaring himself emperor of the world and this future getting ruined. Nothing we do in the past will save this future, just ours. They'll become part of a separate timeline once we start to change things."

Locke nodded once. The last part made sense, based off of his somewhat limited knowledge of timelines. Fighting back his shock, he asked as calmly as he could manage, "Ivo's… responsible for this ruined future, then?"

"Sonic seems to blame himself, too, for some reason, but yeah," Knuckles nodded. "Ivo's the reason."

Locke wanted to ask about Shadow and that hawk, but he decided against it for now. Sonic making new friends wasn't a surprising thing at all, really, so he decided to ask something more important. "Where are Silver and the others?"

At this, Knuckles's expression became even more serious, if that was even possible. He took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Most of them are…" He hesitated for a moment, seeming incredibly reluctant to voice the answer to Locke's question. That wasn't like him at all. "They're… dead. Most of them. Silver and Blaze, all the Chaotix, Storm, Big, Vanilla and Cheese… plus some 'friendly' robot named Omega was dismantled."

Locke was struggling even more now to fight back his rising shock… and his intense horror. _Silver and the others… are dead?_ "And everyone else?" he questioned quietly, hardly daring to ask. They weren't dead, he was pretty sure, since Knuckles hadn't mentioned them being, but that didn't mean that nothing horrible had happened to them.

"Well, as you probably gathered, the other you is alive, technically, just back inside the Master Emerald," Knuckles responded. "Analia is with the other you, from what I can gather. I think Amy's parents are alive, but I'm not really sure. We have no idea where Kaden is. The last we heard, he was raising some massive hell back out east, but we had to lay low for a while, so we couldn't go help him. Like I said, we have no idea where he is now."

Locke's eyes widened. "Wait, you mean- He's _awake_?"

Knuckles nodded once. "Yeah. He just woke up recently, though."

Locke's eyes returned slowly to normal size as another frown appeared on his face. "So… he was… comatose for all those years…?"

"…Yeah."

Locke couldn't even _begin_ to imagine all the pain that Sonic had gone through because of that. He didn't even want to think about how terrible it was going to be to have to wait so long for his friend to wake up in the present. Pursing his lips together he asked, "Is there any way we can find _out_ where he is?"

"Sonic, Tail, Zeki, or Jet would have to do that," Knuckles shrugged. "They get all that sort of information by hacking into Ivo's database. I have no clue how to do it."

Well, that wasn't exactly the "yes" Locke had been hoping for, but it was something at least. _Guess I'll just have to deal with that. Besides, it's not like that was a "no". _"Okay. Continue, I guess."

Another nod. "I don't know much about Ivo's current plan, but I know he's after Babylon Garden."

Locke frowned deeply at the name of a place he hadn't even _thought_ about in many long years. "Babylon Garden?" he demanded almost harshly. _Not that place again…_ "You're _sure_?"

Knuckles didn't seem at all surprised that Locke knew about the place. "Yeah. I'm sure. Jet as good as told us that that's what Ivo's been after."

"And?" Locke pressed, somehow knowing that there was more.

"And, _because_ he's after Babylon Garden, Ivo's actively hunting Jet and Wave." Out of the corner of his eye, Locke saw the large, unfamiliar hawk visibly tense the moment Knuckles mentioned Jet and Wave being hunted, but Locke ignored it for now in favor of listening to Knuckles as he continued. "Ivo's hunting _everybody_, though, not just them. Everyone has a bounty, and everyone's considered a criminal, even me, Tails, and Amy. Sonic's the most wanted, Jet's the second, Kaden's the third, and so on and so forth."

Locke frowned a bit. "What's Sonic bounty?" he asked more out of curiosity than anything else.

Much to his surprise, Knuckles smirked a bit. "It's actually pretty impressive," he commented casually. "560,000,000, to be precise."

Locke whistled lowly in appreciation. "Wow, you weren't kidding when you called it impressive, were you?"

"Nope," Knuckles agreed. "Not at all." After a slight pause, he continued on more seriously, "Anyway, like I said, Ivo's hunting everyone. Needless to say, he mostly uses robots for that, but he also apparently created these weird dark creatures from hell, based off of creatures that Dark Gaia spawned in the past. Jet and Sonic had to go pretty all out together to defeat a horde of them once since Tails, Amy, and I have been here." Locke had no comment on that, so Knuckles just continued. Knuckles's information was a bit disorganized, but that hardly mattered at this point. "Excluding Sonic, Jet, and Wave, Ivo is especially after Kaden, though I'm not one-hundred percent certain _why_ exactly. And, apparently, when Kaden was in a coma, he _wasn't_ with Sonic and the others, and Sonic won't say why or where his old man was."

Locke frowned deeply. _That… doesn't make any sense. Why would Sonic leave him alone in that state…? _

"Supposedly," Knuckles continued, "Ivo somehow used Kaden's power, while Kaden was still in that coma, to help him take over the world. Sonic won't give details on _that_, either."

Locke was shocked again, and also horrified. He… he used…?!

"For whatever reason, the versions of me, Tails, and Amy from this time aren't friends with Sonic anymore, apparently, and they apparently haven't been pretty much since the beginning of this whole war. As with most other things, Sonic won't explain anything about it. All I know is that Jet is the only real friend besides Cream that Sonic's managed to keep for all these years." Knuckles scratched his head lightly with one finger, continuing before Locke even had a chance to respond to his words. "I could be wrong, but… I dunno, it seemed like Fut- I mean, Zeki, tried to reach out to him a bit last night. Sonic kinda brushed him off, though."

"If they're not friends…" Locke asked slowly, "then why are they here?"

Knuckles shrugged a bit. "They're allies, if nothing else."

"Oh."

Knuckles continued, his information still as disorganized as before. "That little girl you saw was found by Arrossa. She kind of dumped the kid on Sonic and he takes care of her for the most part, but he usually doesn't seem to want to. We don't know anything about her, besides just the obvious stuff like how old she is, approximately."

_Sonic… is staying away from a child? That_ didn't make any sense, especially since this child was apparently in need of Sonic's care.

"Sonic's apparently got an old injury, by the way, one that apparently never healed properly. It makes his right leg hurt him pretty badly sometimes, to the point where he can barely walk, even, but it normally doesn't seem to bother him." Knuckles once again kept talking without waiting for a reply. "He also apparently has no idea how Analia and the other you ended up back in the Master Emerald, just that you two didn't go willingly."

Locke nearly scowled. _The Voice probably had something to do with it. _It was a definite possibility. The Voice certainly wasn't above that sort of a thing.

Knuckles was silent for a long moment before finally speaking again. "This bit of information is kind of… hard to swallow, but just shut up and let me finish speaking before you say anything."

Locke nodded once, seriously. "Okay."

"We've known Shadow, if only sort of, since around the time we met Silver back in Silver's world. In spite of Shadow's past wrongdoings, Sonic trusts him, a very rare thing for this Sonic, and it turns out that the reason for that is the fact that he and Shadow are, _apparently_… half-brothers." Locke's shock _must _have been visible, but he stayed quiet like he'd said he would. "From what I understand," Knuckles continued, "Gerald took some alien DNA and then some of Kaden's DNA that he recovered from some ancient bloodstain in Chun-nan. He manipulated the DNA in such a way that Shadow may as well have been born naturally with a mother and a father, and he was created to be faster and stronger than Sonic had been at the time, but Sonic's far surpassed him by now."

"So, wait a minute," Locke finally said. "You mean that Kaden is…?"

"…Yeah."

"And Shadow is seriously his…? And Sonic's…?"

"Yup."

Locke had no other response to that than a simple, "Oh my god." Silence. Then Locke asked slowly, almost cautiously, "And am I correct in assuming that Kaden has no idea…?"

"Pretty much," Knuckles sighed. "As far as I know, anyway. The Sonic from our time doesn't know, either, and this Sonic made me promise not to tell him."

Locked nodded once. He really had no idea how else to respond to this. "Right. I'll keep it quiet."

Knuckles returned his nod before forging on ahead. "Pretty much everyone has new powers, too," he said suddenly. "Cream can see the future sometimes, but she can't do it on purpose. The other me can actually control fire, even though I can't yet. Wave has psychic abilities of some kind, but they're still dormant enough that we don't really know exactly what she's capable of. I heard that Rouge and Shadow have some new powers, too, but I don't know what they are. Arrossa can apparently heal people, and I think she has other powers, too. I don't know what Zeki can do, but I know he's got some new powers, too. Jet has storm powers, including wind and lightning. Sonic's somehow got the ability to use lightning, too."

Locke didn't really know what to say to that, but multiple thoughts entered his mind. _Clairvoyance… that's something that Analia can do, if only very rarely. She can heal people like the other Amy, too. And Wave has mostly dormant psychic powers… there's no telling what it'll take to draw those out. Jet's storm powers are nothing new, by this point, but Sonic being able to use lightning…? Can he use his old man's Dragonfire, too? …That reminds me… I have to teach Knuckles how to do that. _

Knuckles continued. "Oh, and we may have a way home, too. …Eventually."

Locke blinked in open surprise. "How?"

"Jet apparently knows how to use and build ancient technology," Knuckles explained quickly. "He apparently started working on this portal gun thing for Silver and Blaze, but he never finished it before they died. He's trying to finish it for us."

Locke nodded once. "Good. I was worried about how we were all going to get back." Silence settled between the pair for a long moment before Locke finally released a heavy sigh. "Why in the hell is everyone so _different_ in this time…?" he asked quietly.

"You mean, _besides_ the fact that this time is so screwed up?" A nod. "Well, I don't know a lot, but… I have found out some things. Tails hacked into Ivo's database on my communicator once, and I did some poking around when he was done, trying to find whatever information I could on anything."

"And you found out some of the reasons why everyone's changed so much?" Locke pressed carefully.

Knuckles nodded once. "Yeah. Some of the stuff I know just comes from observation, though." He paused briefly before continuing. "The only ones that are really still pretty much the same are Rouge and _maybe_ the other me. I haven't actually met him yet, though, so I'm not sure. With Cream, part of it has to do with her powers awakening so suddenly, which only happened because she saw her mother and Cheese die right in front of her. That's the other reason, actually." Locke swallowed hard to bite back his horror and Knuckles continued. "Arrossa's like this because she had to step up and lead everyone, the group's called the Freedom Fighters, by the way, during times when Sonic was absent and before he became allies with everyone again. She's had to make a lot of hard decisions and stuff.

"Zeki became really independent after losing Sonic as a friend, so he's really had to grow up in order to take care of himself and stuff, and all that isolation seems to have made him lose some of his people skills. He's also had to take charge of groups of refugees and survivors and whatnot in the past, too.

"Shadow's still largely the same, but working with Sonic, Cream, and Arrossa seems to have made him a bit better at handling people and whatnot. He also seems to be a bit more trusting of Sonic and the others, but I could be wrong about that. Like I said, it pretty much just seems to be from working with those three.

"Wave is quite a bit more serious than she used to be, from what I've seen, but most of that seems to be because of the fact that Jet's also way more serious, and she seems to be really in tune with his emotions most of the time. She's also helped Arrossa with leading the Freedom Fighters and all that for a long time, so again with the whole 'making hard decisions' thing. Plus there's the death of Storm, and all."

There was a significant pause before Knuckles continued. "Sonic and Jet are… more complicated," he said slowly. "Isolation played a big role in changing both of them, as did leading the Fighters and their other teams. That probably still has a big impact on them. Plus they've both been taking care of rescued kids for years, and that sort of thing has a way of making people pretty calm and serious. Not only that, but they seem to take it harder than anyone else when one of the Fighters dies. Another huge thing that they share is that, since Ivo's world takeover, they've both been captured and… _tortured _before."

Locke's shock and horror nearly spilled over at that point, but Knuckles continued on, staring down at the ground as he spoke. "For Jet by himself, I don't know much. Obviously there was the death of Storm, plus he's been hiding all of the secrets of Babylon Garden for all these years. Wave has been, too, but she only knows some things, so his burden regarding that is heavier. I don't really know anything else." A pause. Then, "With Sonic, there's not much else that I know. I know that part of it, a huge part of it, is the fact that so many people he knew died, plus _Silver_ of all people, and then Kaden was in a coma for so long and the other you and his mother were taken away from him on top that…" Knuckles sighed. "I don't know anything else."

Locke closed his eyes slowly and sat back on his palm in the grass. There was _so_ much to think about… and, unfortunately, time was never in his favor.

**~ソニック~**

"That's just it, though," Tails said with a small shrug in response to something Sonic had said. He, Sonic, and Jet were in Jet's office. "I've never used a weapon before in my life, save for machine-based ones like missiles and stuff. I don't even have a weapon to _try_ to learn how to use."

"That's easy enough to fix," Jet, who had been leaning backward against his desk with his arms crossed, replied suddenly. He pushed off the desk, arms still crossed, and walked into his open closet. A moment later, he emerged from the closet with his two katana, the ones that Sonic had given to him. "You can use these."

Tails's eyes widened in obvious surprise. "But- won't you need them?" he tried to protest, though there was no real conviction in his tone.

"No; Knuckles found my Bashosen, remember?" Tails nodded slowly. "Besides, it's not like I can carry both pairs of weapons at once." Tails still hesitated. Jet huffed, rolling his eyes a bit, and extended the weapons toward the young fox. "Just take them, kid."

Slowly, Tails did as he was told and took the swords. "Thanks," he said quietly, his expression both apologetic and thankful. "Will… you want them back before we go home…?"

Jet shook his head. "Nah. You keep 'em. Like I said, I don't really need 'em."

Sonic nodded approvingly when Tails accepted Jet's offer, pleased that Jet had solved this problem for him. _That's one less thing for me to worry about. _Of course, he still needed to figure out what to do for Knuckles as far as a permanent weapon went, but that could wait for now. Right now, he needed to focus on training Tails as best as he could today.

"I didn't even know you could _use_ swords, Jet."

"I didn't. Sonic taught me."

An idea struck him. _What if…?_ Sonic frowned a bit. _Maybe I don't have to. Maybe he can… _Mind set, Sonic spoke up. "Jet."

The hawk glanced at him. "Yeah?"

"Do we have any of those pills left?" Sonic asked quickly, knowing that Jet would understand in spite of the vagueness of Sonic's words.

Jet frowned slowly. "I don't know… I forgot that we'd ever had 'em to begin with."

"Pills?" Tails questioned.

Sonic nodded once. "They're a special medicine that Arrossa made. She couldn't make more than a few, but she gave them to us to use. Taking one can heal a person almost entirely, save for minor injuries."

Unsurprisingly, Jet's quick mind had already made the connection. "And you want me to take one."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Besides the obvious reason that you're hurt?"

Jet rolled his eyes for the second time. "Yes."

Sonic glanced significantly at Tails. "Because, if you're healed, then _you_ can train Tails while I work with Amy."

Jet nodded slowly. "Makes sense."

"So you'll do it?"

"Yes."

Tails cut in suddenly. "I saw a bottle," he said quickly, "in the kitchen. It only had one pill in it, though."

Well, if it was in the kitchen, then that explained why neither Sonic nor Jet had seen it. Neither of them had been in the kitchen so far on this journey, after all. "What did it look like?" Sonic honestly doubted that there would be any other pills on this ship besides the one he was looking, but just to be safe…

"It was just a plain pill," Tails said, "not one of the capsule kind. Kind of dusty-pink colored."

Jet nodded once. "That's it."

"Yeah," Sonic agreed. He looked at Jet again. "Teach him as much as you can today. We don't have a whole lot of time." They were on the second of their three or four days, after all.

"Right."

With that, they parted ways, with Jet and Tails heading to the kitchen while Sonic headed outside. He approached Amy, who was no longer talking to Arrossa. A quick glance around showed that Arrossa, the child in her arms, was speaking with Shadow beside the other hedgehog's stolen ship. Looking away, Sonic walked up behind Amy, who was facing Locke and Knuckles as the two echidnas talked while sitting in the grass some distance away. He wasn't at all surprised that she had somehow noticed his presence even before he moved to stand by her side. "I can't believe that Locke's here," she murmured without provocation. "I don't understand it."

Sonic didn't either, nor did he know how to feel or think about this new development, but that wasn't important at the moment. He turned his head to look at her. "We need to train you," he murmured back.

She inclined her head a bit in acknowledgement. "Tails?" she questioned.

"Jet's going to train him."

She nodded once. "Okay."

They walked together in an almost companionable silence to the part of the large clearing where Sonic had trained Knuckles the day before. Amy summoned her hammer and Sonic opened a small, thin pocket of the belt he wore that was holding his gun. Out of the pocket he pulled out a thin, steel gray rod that was barely an inch long. Without any warning, the rod extended from both ends into a full staff. Sonic hadn't used this weapon in a long time, even though he knew it was very strong and Jet had given it to him so that Sonic could _use_ it. Still, better late than never, and this staff would be a decent weapon to use against Amy's hammer for now. Twirling the staff rapidly in his right hand to the side and slightly behind him, Sonic waited for Amy to make her move.

**~ソニック~**

Kaden lowered his head slowly, his closing as his head bowed while he leaned on his palms on the edge of the keyboard where no keys actually were. The computer screen before him was on and covered in words. He had just finished reading through numerous files from the database he'd hacked into again, files on Sonic and most of his friends, and the news he'd received was… devastating. Silver was dead… as was Blaze. Taking a deep breath, he slowly and silently released it. The grief he felt was almost immobilizing. It was one of the reasons why he so often strove to not let himself get close to people, because he knew he wouldn't be able to stand losing them. He slowly released another breath. He needed to get a grip soon. He was still being hunted, after all, and things had already been too quiet for too long. He didn't trust it. His hands balled into fists as he continued to lean on them. _I need to get a grip…_

**~ソニック~**

It was nearing mid-afternoon when Tails suddenly came running up to Sonic and Amy, his voice urgent as he called out, "Sonic!"

Sonic and Amy stopped sparring almost immediately and turned to look at the young fox, who looked just as beat up and exhausted as Amy did. "Check your communicator, quick! I just got a message- Hurry!"

Sonic was quick to snatch up the device, which he'd dropped purposefully in the grass earlier to prevent it from getting damaged during the sparring match. _What…? _

"I'm getting it, too!" Zeki suddenly called out.

"Same here!" Wave added.

"Me too!" Knuckles said.

Everyone quickly gathered around Sonic, with everyone who had a communicator looking down at it. "'_Don't look away… you'll want to hear this_,'" Tails read aloud. He looked up at Sonic with wide eyes. "What is it talking about…?" he asked quietly.

As Locke watched, Sonic frowned down at his communicator, never saying a word. Pursing his lips together, Locke looked down at the small screen, too. Moments later, everyone froze when a very familiar face suddenly appeared onscreen without any warning, grinning like the madman he was, his blue lenses shining eerily from some unseen light source in spite of how dark the background was. _"Hello, my little rebels. I must say, it's been far too long since I've spoken directly to any of you like this. I'm impressed, by the way. Your little communicators were surprisingly difficult to hack into. Well done; but it wasn't good enough. Back to the drawing board, I think." _

Sonic growled lowly, the sound completely at odds with the impassive expression he'd been wearing on his face since Locke's arrival. "What do you want, Ivo?"

_"Actually, this is something I'm quite certain that you will want to know, Sonic," _Ivo replied, still grinning in the same way as before. _"You see, I've found someone that I think you've been missing… he was fool enough to hack into my database, much as you and your little friends have been doing. I don't recommend doing that anymore, by the way. Unless, of course, you want me to find you. In which case, by all means, hack away." _

"Get to the point!" Wave snapped. "We don't have time for your damn games!"

_"Yes, of course. You've been busy little bees lately, I'm sure, especially now that your ranks have been bolstered so suddenly." _No one dared to ask how he even knew about the people from the past. Instead, they waited with baited breath as he continued. _"Very well, then. Here he is." _The screen changed suddenly, and Locke froze when he suddenly saw a blast of bright blue flames cover the screen for a moment in the video feed. When the flames died down, all they could see for a long moment was the smoldering remains of numerous robots. Then, suddenly, there was a loud sound and Kaden suddenly appeared on screen, having jumped backwards into the frame a short distance away, rapidly dodging multiple spats of gunfire. As they watched, he threw a single, small knife, which then imbedded itself into whatever robot had been firing at him. The bot barely had a chance to explode before he took to his heels and ran, wisely taking out the camera as he went. The screen then abruptly switched back to Ivo's, frankly, incredibly creepy face. _"I'm honestly quite impressed that he's managed to avoid me for so long in such condition. It's really very impressive. He was almost as hard to find as you often are, Sonic, and that's no easy feat, I must admit." _Sonic looked like he wanted to say something, but Ivo spoke again before he could. _"I have no more use for his power, Sonic. I very much plan on taking him down, as with all of you. I don't think I need to remind you… The Empire has no interest in prisoners. The punishment for fighting me is death." _And just like that, Ivo hung up.

**~ソニック~**

**6,155 words this time. Posted (at a little a little after ten p.m.) 08-11-15.**


	136. The Secret of Babylon

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Nope, not god at all. :( Yeah, poor Locke. it _is_ pretty confusing, huh? However, on huge mystery will be cleared up, today! ...Even if that means creating _another_ huge mystery at the end of the chapter. XD I hope you enjoy! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Hahaha! XD ...Um, sorry to say this, but I think Ivo would win. He has an army of robots and dark creatures, after all... :( Anyway, I'm so happy you enjoyed! :DD Yes, I love the idea! Don't know when I'll use it, but it'll come eventually! :) I will do my best, Pyro-kun! :D**

**Hello, flashyhero! I know! X( Well, _I_ don't think he is. Arrogant and whatnot, sure, but he's also an immature fourteen-year-old, so some of that can be excused. Plus there are subtle nuances of his personality that are visible at times. :P ...I honestly have no idea. XD I just know that I love him as a character, just like I love Sonic, and... yeah. XD**

**Hello, Anonymous! Thanks! I'm so happy you enjoyed! :D You said "Buh-bye", so I said "Sayonara", which means "Goodbye" in multiple languages including Spanish and Japanese. :P Cool. I have the collector's edition of Black Ops, and I have World at War. :) ...Inspired your own timeline? What do you mean? :/ Bye! (And yes, I believe it is. :) )**

**~ソニック~**

**The newest votes are in! _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_: 4; _Riders_: 1; _Either one/Both_: 4. I will keep a tally of the votes until this story ends. Feel free to change your mind about whatever you voted. Anyway, enjoy!**

**...One of these days I'll get back on track with my posting times. Not today, though. XD**

**~ソニック~**

It was late. Nearly everyone was asleep, save for a few. Jet and the other hawk were still up, as was Sonic and Locke. The four of them were all outside, just outside the airship. Sonic sat cross-legged on the ground, his back against the ship and his weapons laying on the ground by his right side. Also in the grass but on his other side lay a pile of devices. They were a few communicators, which Sonic had gathered about an hour ago so that he could work on protecting them, once again, from Ivo. So far he'd only finished working on one. That one had been his own, as his had _so_ much information that Ivo couldn't be allowed to go through. By some miracle it had all been untouched by the time Sonic had fixed the device, but that had been too close of a call. Now Sonic was working on someone else's device, though there was really no way of telling just by looking at it who it belonged to. He'd actually have to look at some of the things on the communicator to tell for sure.

Jet sat by Sonic's side on the other side of the pile of communicators, his arms and legs crossed and his back also against the ship as he frowned up into the starry night sky, his head only tilted up just enough for him to do so. Like Sonic, he had also placed his weapons on the ground beside him, save for the dagger, which he kept on his hip. The other hawk stood only a few feet away, his arms also crossed and his back also against the ship. As seemed usual for him, he kept his head turned away from the others in favor of staring off into the trees.

Locke stood by Sonic's weapons, his posture very much like the large hawk's, watching silently as Sonic, just as silently, worked on the communicators. He reflected briefly that he still needed on of those, as did Kaden, more-so in this time than in the past at this point. That was probably something to be worried about later, but Sonic apparently disagreed. "You still don't have one of these."

It might have been a question, but Locke wasn't really sure. The lack of tone did nothing to help him figure it out, either. "Yeah."

Sonic nodded once. "Give me until tomorrow."

Locke blinked in surprise. "You think you can build one that fast?"

The reply was simple. "Yes."

"Will you even have enough time?" Locke frowned. "I mean, you're still-"

"Yes," Sonic repeated simply, obviously considering the matter closed.

Locke fell silent again after that. But, after a moment, Jet spoke up for the first time since night had fallen, and for the first time in Locke's presence in general. "Arrossa's parents still need some, too," he said, never once looking away from the sky yet still clearly directing his statement at Sonic.

Sonic nodded. "And some of the others need repairs."

"Whose?"

"Shadow, Zeki, Ryker, Tails, and Amy's."

"Tails and Zeki can fix theirs on their own. Shadow probably can, too."

"Still."

Locke frowned a bit again. "Sounds like you guys have been through some tough battles or something recently, if so many of the communicators are damaged."

"Got that right," Jet muttered. "Things haven't exactly been easy-peasy here for us."

"Regardless," Sonic cut in, "it's an easy fix. It's not a big deal."

He seemed a bit more relaxed and open now than he had been for a majority of the day, and Locke was glad. The more at ease Sonic was, the more he seemed like his other self, and that in turn helped to put Locke at ease. "So… what are you guys doing here?" Locke asked, finally breaking the silence again. "Just recuperating or something?"

"Sitting around, apparently," the larger hawk suddenly said, speaking for the first time since Locke's arrival.

"Shut up, Ross," Jet muttered, closing his eyes as he leaned his head back against the ship. "Nobody asked you."

Locke stiffened at the sound of that name, vividly remembering what Past Sonic had said about Ross after Past Jet had unleashed that massive storm. His anger surged, but he bit it back… _For now. _He was _so_ going to punch this guy later, maybe even do something worse.

Sonic's calm voice cut into his relatively dark thoughts. "Recuperating, yes," he answered briefly, "but we're also organizing and training."

"Organizing?" Locke frowned. "For what?"

"Ivo's got something big up his sleeve," Jet replied. "We don't know the full extent of his plans, just that he's getting ready for something big. Unless we prepare for whatever's coming, we'll be sitting ducks when shit hits the fan."

"The only way to prepare for the winter is to stock up on firewood and blankets, then," Locke summed up neatly.

"Yeah," Jet said. "Basically."

"How do you always come up with those?" Sonic asked suddenly, moving on to the next communicator as he did so.

"Come up with what?" Locke asked in surprise.

"Those random wise proclamations of yours," Sonic replied. "You always seem to have one ready for a response to just about anything. I don't get how you do it."

This was the most this Sonic had spoken to Locke's since his arrival. To say that Locke was surprised would be an understatement… but it was a pleasant surprise. "I have no idea," he answered honestly, a smirk pulling at his lips. "I don't even notice it half the time." Sonic made no reply to that, but the mood between the two of them had been noticeably lightened. And, with a sudden jolt, Locke realized that Sonic may have actually done that… on _purpose_. Locke's eyebrows rose a bit, and he found himself smirking in spite of himself. _That sneaky kid…_

About ten minutes later, Sonic abruptly tossed a communicator at Jet, who caught it in one hand without ever opening his eyes. "Thanks."

"Yeah." Sonic moved on to the next communicator. A few minutes later, Sonic spoke up again. "Locke," he said with a sort of sigh. "You're staring."

Locke blinked. "Not staring. Just watching."

"Why?"

"I'm pretty sure that's obvious."

"You have questions."

"Like I said, obvious."

There was a small pause before Sonic responded in a very similar way to his father. "Ask."

Locke scratched his head with one finger under the hat. He was only still wearing it because, according to Knuckles, it would be too hard to tell himself and Ryker apart if they were _both_ wearing the same hat. At least Locke looked different enough (if only slightly). "Well, I'm pretty sure most of them can wait," he said.

Sonic just blinked, never looking up. "We have time," he said simply.

He'd pretty much just given Locke permission to ask away. With a small shrug, the echidna decided to take the hedgehog up on the offer. "Alright, if you insist." He shifted his position a bit to settled himself more comfortably against the ship. "First of all, how much does Ivo know about Babylon Garden."

"Pretty much everything," Jet answered, "excluding where it is and how to power it. Not that he hasn't been trying to figure those things out, though."

Locke nodded once. "Allegiances?" he suddenly questioned.

"Everyone's technically part of the same team, the Freedom Fighters, but pretty much everyone's divided into separate teams," Jet said. "It's complicated as hell, especially most some people are on more than one team. Everyone kind of unites as a member of the Fighters, though."

"Arrossa and I lead the Fighters," Sonic said. "Jet co-leads with me and Wave does the same thing with Arrossa. Arrossa also leads her own team, Team Rose. Wave, Cream, and Rouge are on that team. Rouge is also on Shadow's team, Team Dark, and Ryker's team, Team Hunters, neither of which she leads."

"Silver and Blaze had their own team, Team Inferno, which Silver led," Jet continued, "and Ivo considers you and Kaden to still be a team, along with Analia."

"Vector and the Chaotix were their own team like usual, and Shadow, Cream, Vanilla, and Cheese all joined eventually. Vector led them."

"That robot Omega used to be on Shadow's team, before it was dismantled. And that Big guy used to be the only male on Arrossa's team. Sonic has his own separate team, too. Ryker, Zeki, Arrossa, Wave, Silver, and some others used to be on it. Now it's just me, Sonic, and Cream."

"Jet leads his own teams, too. The Riders is the racing team, which I'm on with him and Wave. Obviously the other one is the Babylon Rogues. That one's just him and Wave. Storm used to be on both teams."

Locke frowned. This really _was_ a bit complicated. _Everyone's allegiances are so divided… That can't be good. _"Does everyone normally listen more to you, or to Arrossa?" he questioned seriously.

Sonic shrugged a bit but didn't otherwise respond. It was Jet who finally answered the question, opening his eyes to look at Locke as he did so. "Sonic's the main leader of the Fighters, so they usually listen to him. The few times that they _don't_, Arrossa usually puts her foot down and makes them. She almost always backs up his decisions, even if she doesn't necessarily like them. She trusts him pretty heavily."

Silence fell between the small group once again. Locke didn't have any more terribly important questions to voice at this point, and certainly none that needed to be brought up right now, so he held his tongue. _I honestly don't think there'll ever be a good time to ask some of these things. _

It was Jet who finally broke the silence as he typed on his communicator. His question seemed to be directed at Sonic. "So it's safe to do some hacking now, right?"

Sonic nodded. "Yes."

"Good."

It was silent again. Locke leaned his head back and closed his eyes. For the second time that night, he reached out his senses, trying to connect his mind to that of another's. He knew that the distance separating him and the person he was trying to reach made no difference at all, and yet, for the second time that night, he was unable to make any sort of a connection to his friend. He gritted his teeth tightly. _Damn it, Kaden… where are you…? _

His thoughts were suddenly broken into when soft footsteps moved past him from inside the ship to the outside. Opening his eyes, his gaze soon fell upon Cream's small form. In her arms she held a dark brown stuffed bear close to her chest. That simple, small detail made her seem so much more like the Cream that he knew from the past. Much to his surprise, she seemed a bit… upset. _Scared, perhaps? _That didn't seem at all like this Cream.

"Mr. Jet?" she asked quietly.

Jet looked up and turned his head to look at her. "Yeah?"

"I can't sleep."

Jet glanced quickly to Sonic, as if hoping that Sonic would take over the situation, but Sonic never looked up. With a long, heavy sigh, Jet stood. "Aright, fine. I'm coming."

Cream smiled softly and waited for him to reach her before leading the way back inside. Once they were gone, the area fell silent for a long moment before Locke finally spoke up again. "So… clairvoyance, huh?"

Sonic nodded once. "Yeah."

"How powerful is she?" Locke frowned.

"Very," Sonic replied seriously. "Probably more-so than we really know."

"And Ivo knows?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I don't know."

"Risk?"

"Incredibly high."

Locke nodded once in understanding. "What do you plan to do about it?"

Sonic sighed a bit. "I haven't decided yet."

Locke didn't like this. Cream was just a little girl, but Ivo wanted her for her powers and, according to Sonic, she was in incredible danger. The only question now was what to _do_ about it. They couldn't very well leave her somewhere, no matter how safe the area seemed. _She's probably better off staying as close as possible to Sonic and the others… but even then she won't be safe. _Suddenly, he was reminded of something. His gaze slid sideways to look at Sonic again. "So I hear you're the most wanted criminal in the world right now." Sonic let out a sort of hum in acknowledgement. "How in the world did you manage _that_?"

"The usual ways," Sonic replied almost lightly. "Blowing things up, freeing prisoners, taunting the emperor. Nothing out of the ordinary."

Locke smirked a bit. _Taunting the emperor, huh? Now that sounds like the Sonic I know. _"You must have done something pretty big, maybe even multiple things, for your bounty to be so high."

Sonic shrugged lightly. "I did."

"Care to name a few?"

"I've destroyed every version of Metal Sonic that Egg-head's created thus far, hidden all the emeralds, organized the biggest rebellion Ivo's ever seen, and destroyed his stupid deep-space armada about twelve years ago. Plus Jet and I have nearly killed him on multiple occasions."

Locke whistled lowly. "Impressive." Sonic just shrugged again. Locke decided to change the subject a bit. "So how long has Ivo been hunting Jet and Wave?" As with earlier that day, Locke noticed Ross tense a bit when that was mentioned.

"Dunno," Sonic replied vaguely. "More than a few years, but I'm not sure how many."

"Why's he going after Wave?" Locke questioned. "She doesn't know that much about Babylon Garden, does she?"

"She knows some things," Sonic replied. "I think she might know a little about the Arks."

"Ah." More silence followed. Finally, Locke released a sigh. "I think I'm gonna turn in for the night, Sonic."

Sonic blinked and surprised him by saying, "Night."

Locke smirked a bit as he turned to head into the airship. "G'night."

**~ソニック~**

"For the last time, I don't wanna talk about it."

"I don't care."

"It doesn't matter, anyway."

"I doubt that."

"Whatever."

Sonic huffed lightly at his friend while the two of them sat on the roof of Amy's house. "It's got _something_ to do with Ross, right?"

Jet flinched slightly, and Sonic felt a small stab of guilt. Still, it needed to be brought up. "I guess," he muttered reluctantly.

_Now we're getting somewhere. _"Are you actually going to tell me what this is about, or am I going to have to pry some more?" Sonic asked, raising a single eyebrow minutely at Jet.

Jet gave him a dry, tired sort of look. "Please don't," he mumbled.

"Then just tell me already."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you don't need to know."

Sonic frowned. "And Wave doesn't, either?" he pressed seriously.

"No." Jet's reply was firm and almost… protective.

Sonic grew more suspicious. _Protective… That's rare for him. That means that this is no small trouble. This is something big. _"_Why_ can't we know?" Sonic asked, verbally pressing harder than before. It had been a long time since he'd had to fight so hard to get Jet to tell him something, but he was more than up for the challenge. _And lord only knows it'll be one hell of a challenge, _he inwardly sighed.

Jet gave Sonic a hard look, his eyes sparking with something akin to anger. "People have _died_ over having this information," he bit out. "There are _way_ too many risks, and there are too many maniacs in the world who are _more_ than willing to add to that number of deaths if it means learning about this stuff."

Sonic's expression became even more serious than usual, if that were even possible. "You know I can take care of myself, right?" he asked slowly. "And Wave's not helpless, either. You know that, right?"

"I don't care," Jet snapped. "It's too damn risky and I am _not_ taking that chance."

_It's not just about risk. He admitted that Ross is involved somehow, too. But… what could he be hiding? _Suddenly, something in Sonic's head clicked. _Babylon Garden. _According to Future Amy in that message she'd left with him, Jet knew everything about the Garden, whatever it was, while Storm and Wave only knew some things, things that clearly weren't enough to endanger them. _That was probably Jet's doing, _Sonic realized. _He'd probably been protecting them all along by keeping them in the dark. But… in the dark about what, specifically? _

Jet, who had been sitting in his usual position, pulled his knee a bit closer to his chest, his arm still resting atop it and his head facing out over the city rather than at the hedgehog by his side. "Seriously, Sonic," he said, apparently having sensed somehow that Sonic was still thinking about their conversation, "just leave it alone. It's got nothing to do with you, anyway."

_If Future Amy's right… then this involves the whole world. That means I have to know. _There was really no subtle way to ask this, so Sonic, quite willingly, took the most direct path toward his goal by asking bluntly, "Is this about Babylon Garden?"

Jet's head whipped around so fast for a moment Sonic worried that his friend had given himself whiplash or something. "How do you know about that?" the hawk demanded harshly.

Well. That was something Sonic should have been prepared for his friend to ask, but he'd neglected to even _think_ about the possibility of Jet doing just that. Now the question became, _How to answer this without sounding crazy? I mean, saying something like "Amy from the future called me and told me to ask you about Babylon Garden" isn't exactly normal. _

Barely a moment later, Sonic was saved from answering when both he and Jet became distracted by Jet's communicator suddenly making an odd noise. Jet lifted his right wrist and frowned at the device while Sonic scooted a bit closer to take a look at it. As they both watched, the screen experienced a great deal of static. After a few moments, there was a flash of color that was gone just like that. It was hard to tell, but it almost seemed like a clearing surrounded by trees had come into view for the barest of moments. By now, both Jet and Sonic were frowning at the communicator. "What's with this thing?" Jet muttered.

"I… don't know," Sonic admitted slowly. He'd never seen a communicator do anything like this before. Not while being in perfect condition, that is. And this communicator _was_ in perfect working order. _So what in the world…? _

Suddenly, there was another flash of the same clearing they'd only barely seen just moments before. Another flash, and they could just barely see it when the communicator on the other end was lifted up, seemingly off the ground. Then, without any warning, there was a voice. _"Hey, your communicator's doing something weird! I think you should come see this!" _

Both Sonic and Jet's eyes widened. That sounded like Wave. But… wasn't she _inside_? "What the hell…?" Jet muttered even more quietly than the last time he'd spoken.

There was another voice suddenly. _"Oh, for the love of- Give me that." _

Sonic turned wide eyes on Jet. "That sounded like…"

Jet's eyes were wide, too, as he slowly finished that sentence. "…me."

As they watched in shock, sure hands that they could only see from time to time messed with the communicator and, suddenly, the image became clear. Sure enough, there was a second Jet there, his expression one of noticeably more subtle shock. It was probably Future Jet, the one from the same time as the Future Amy that had given Sonic that message. Sonic didn't know what to say, but several thoughts entered his mind unbidden. _We're in the middle of some sort of crazy cosmic convergence, _he realized slowly. _We're in two entirely separate times within the same world, and yet, somehow, we've managed to make contact. _When he thought about it, it occurred to him just how amazing this really was, even if he didn't understand _how_ it had happened. _Amazing, sure… but also really, really freaking weird. _

_"What the hell?" _Future Jet demanded, apparently having gotten over his shock.

"That's what _we'd_ like to know," the other Jet muttered back.

Sonic spoke up quickly. "You're in the future, right?"

Understanding seemed to dawn in Future Jet's eyes. _"You're with Amy and the others." _

"Yes," Sonic replied with a heavy sort of sigh, relieved beyond words to know that his friends were with a familiar face. "They're safe?" he then demanded.

_"Yeah, they're fine." _

"They" probably, _hopefully_, included Locke, who, according to Analia, had been whisked away, courtesy of the Voice, to wherever and wherever Amy and the others were. _Thank goodness… _

_"…How and why did you guys call me?" Future Jet questioned almost cautiously._

"We… didn't," Sonic replied slowly, trading a look with the other Jet. "We were just sitting here talking and… yeah." That was probably one of the lamest explanations he'd ever given about anything ever in his life, but he decided he didn't really care at the moment, especially since he genuinely didn't _have_ a better explanation to give. For once.

There was a sort of commotion in the background on Future Jet's end of the call and, with an annoyed sort of groan, he muttered, _"I'll be right back…" _He dropped the communicator on the ground, causing it to bounce in such a way that it tipped over on its side, giving Sonic and the other Jet a perfect, though sideways, view of what was going on. As they watched, Future Jet marched over a good distance to Knuckles and what seemed to be Future Tails as the pair argued. Loudly. A moment later, the hawk's voice could be heard over the arguing. _"Will you both cut it out?! I've had enough of your goddamn fighting!"_

_"He started it!" _Knuckles shouted back in a decidedly childish manner.

_"I don't care who started it!" _Jet snapped._ "I'll finish it!" _Both fox and echidna seemed to take this threat very seriously, and they both feel silent. _"Now either make nice or stay the hell away from each other! I'm tired of having to constantly play peacemaker between you two!"_

Grumbling unhappily, the pair slowly separated, shooting furtive, angry glances at each other over their shoulders as they went. Sonic turned his head to smirk at present-day Jet. "Future you sure doesn't play nice, does he?"

Jet snorted. "Whatever."

The other Jet soon returned to his communicator and picked it back up with an irritable sigh. _"Sorry. That was getting on my nerves."_

"I can imagine," the other Jet replied.

"I take it that was our Knuckles?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah. He's a real ray of sunshine, huh?"

The sarcasm in the future hawk's voice nearly made Sonic laugh. "Yup. That's him, alright." Suddenly, Sonic had an idea. Not looking at his time's Jet at all, he asked, "Hey, what can you tell me about Babylon Garden?" Jet shot Sonic what could probably only be described as a death glare, but Sonic ignored it.

_"You two haven't had that conversation yet?" _Future Jet seemed surprised.

"I tried," Sonic shrugged. "I failed."

Future Jet huffed. _"Whatever. Listen up, then, 'cause I'll have to make this fast. I'm busy." _Sonic nodded and the hawk continued much to present-day Jet's obvious anger or something of the sort. _"Babylon Garden is an ancient city built by Babylon Rogues that lived long before even my grandmother's time. It was built on my race's home world, wherever in the hell that is, and the city was inhabited by some of the best people our world had to offer, the soldiers and artisans and psychics and people like that. Most of those people stayed in the city when it came to this world all those years ago." _

"How did it get here?" Sonic asked with a frown. "And what does this have to do with the Arks of the Cosmos?"

"The Arks of the Cosmos control the gravity of whatever they're attached to. For one thing, they can allow a person to control their own gravity if they're wearing one. When all five are gathered and attached to their proper places within Babylon Garden, it can allow the city to float. More than that, supposedly, if the person Queen Laralei chose as the one meant to take over her crown activates the Arks once they're attached, the city will turn into something called Astral Babylon… one of the most advanced and powerful ships ever created."

Present-day Jet scowled deeply. "The ship capable of destroying an entire planet," he added in a mutter.

Future Jet nodded. _"And the one that obliterated Planet Babylon… leaving nothing but floating chunks of rock behind." _

**~ソニック~**

**About 4,132 words this time. Yeah, this one's a bit short. Sorry about that. Lots of juicy information, though, as one of this story Arc's secrets is finally revealed! I hope you enjoyed! :D Posted 08-12-15.**

**_IMPORTANT QUESTION!_ What do you guys think about a third side story (eventually), that basically shows the Future characters' (mis)adventures from the time Ivo took over the world to a little while before the Past characters showed up?**


	137. Take Charge

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! So glad you enjoyed! :D Yeah, except that now there's a _new_ mystery involving the Garden. XD Yeah, I think it's cool, too. And I'm glad you like the idea for the side story! :D**

**Hello, Anonymous! Okay, age has nothing to do with a person's ability to pick up on things like that. Some people, like me, have a harder time with that sometimes. I always have. :l Anyway, you're welcome for the explanation. :P Dude, you should totally get a Deviant account! I have on, too! :D No, I haven't been on recently. Things have been too crazy. I'm _lucky_ that I can squeeze in time for writing nowadays. Things are going to be worse when I start school in four days. :( Love your parody, by the way. XD Nah, but that's okay. The number kind of fluctuates... a lot. XD**

**Hello, flashyhero! Haha, yes, yes it did. XD ...They do... Unsurprisingly. :P Some people just see chemistry in the way they fight or something, and some writers can make it believable, at least somewhat, but whatever. To each their own, I guess. XD Okay, cool. Thanks. :)**

**Hello, BlazeWriters69! So, wait, let me make sure I'm understanding you correctly ('cause sometimes I mix things up XD): you're writing a Sonic story and would like to use this Ruined Future Arc that I've been writing in it? :)**

**Hello, Nagato911! So glad you enjoyed! :D Cool! Glad you approve! :)**

**~ソニック~**

Everyone, including Rouge and the recently awakened Ryker, was gathered in Jet's office. They were on day three, and it was already sunset. It was now or never if they wanted to make some sort of a plan of action. They were pretty sure that it was safe enough for them to stay on Angel Island for a few more days, but just in case…

Sonic sat at the hawk's desk, typing on the small laptop that Wave had given to him to borrow. He was trying to find information on his father. Whatever he found out would determine what sort of plans needed to be made. He had a lot more than that on his mind now, though. For one thing, the past had connected with the future... again. This time via Jet's communicator. He had no idea what to even _think_ about that, let alone what to _do_ about it. Stifling a sigh, he did his best to push that problem from his mind for now. He had other, bigger things to worry about right now.

Just about everyone around him was talking except for Tails, who was reading silently by Sonic's left side. Forward and a bit to the right of Sonic stood Jet who, arms crossed, was leaning backward against the edge of the front of his desk while he and Wave conversed about something or other. A moment later, Jet shifted slightly, his elbow just barely brushing against the laptop at the same time that Tails reached out and touched the mousepad to click something. There was a significant spark of electricity. Startled, fox, hedgehog, and hawk all jumped away from the laptop. Three pairs of eyes looked at the laptop in obvious surprise. The laptop was fried.

"Jet!" Sonic snapped.

"It wasn't _me_!" Jet snapped back. "I didn't do shit to that thing!"

Zeki shoved his way through the crowd to approach the desk. "I saw what happened," he said simply. "It wasn't him." His gaze slid to Tails. "That electricity was yellow."

Tails suddenly found himself the focus of just about every future person's scrutiny. "W-Wait, you're saying that was _me_?"

"Duh," Zeki responded. "Who else could it have been? Jet and Sonic are the only other people who can use electricity, but their powers are always blue or white, _not_ yellow."

"So… Tails has lightning powers now?" Amy asked slowly.

"No, not lightning. General electricity. It's strong, but not strong enough to form lightning. And, anyway, he's _always_ had this power, it was just a matter of waiting for it to show itself."

"Oh."

Sonic sighed and rubbed his eyes with the index finger and thumb of his right hand. He was getting a headache. Too many problems, too many things to worry about, too many questions to be answered, too many _people_ to deal with… It was times like these when he really, genuinely missed his past solitude. "Someone needs to train him," he muttered. "I don't care who."

Zeki spoke up again immediately. "I'll do it, so long as I can still set aside time for working on my ship."

"Fine. Jet, continue working with him with the swords."

"Right."

Everyone was silent now and listening intently. Sonic was _finally_ giving out definite orders. He _rarely_ ever did that, and the time the group had spent here was proof of that. He'd pretty much been letting everyone do their own thing up until this point, but that had to change now. For the first time in many years, it was time for Sonic to step up and fully take charge of the rebellion once more. "Wave, while Zeki is busy with Tails I need you to help work on his ship. Jet can lend a hand when he's not busy. Shadow, you keep working on your ship as well. If at all possible, we need them both to be ready within the next two days, if not sooner."

"Tails and I will help out when we're not busy," Zeki added.

Sonic nodded once, still not opening his eyes. He addressed Amy next. "Amy, Arrossa started teaching you about healing, right?"

His ears told him that Amy nodded. "Yes."

"Learn all you can," he instructed shortly. "That power can and often does save lives."

"Right," she responded seriously.

"Arrossa, teach her about anything else you can, as well."

"I will."

Finally, Sonic opened up his eyes, moving them to look at Locke. "Locke, I need you to train Knuckles to use his fire as quickly as possible. I don't have time to do it myself right now."

Locke's gaze was serious, even for him. "Right. Anything else?"

Sonic blinked. "I found your sword a long time ago. Ryker knows how to use it already, but Knuckles is still learning."

"Got it. I'll do what I can."

Sonic nodded approvingly and looked away to the next person. "Rouge, you mentioned something about an important treasure?"

The as-of-yet silent bat quickly responded. "Yeah. From what I heard, it's actually on this island. I'm not sure what it is, but my source seemed pretty confident that we need it, maybe even desperately."

Sonic nodded again. "You and Ryker need to go looking for it as soon as possible. Come back the moment you have it. If you can't figure out what it is, bring it to Locke, Wave, or Jet."

"Fine by me," Rouge replied unconcernedly with a small shrug.

Sonic looked away, this time addressing Ryker. "You need to find your other weapons."

"Yeah, I know," the echidna grumbled, crossing his arms and turning his head to glare at the wall. "They're somewhere on this damn island. I'll keep an eye out for 'em while we're hunting for that treasure."

"Fine." Sonic turned back to Shadow. "When you have time, teach Amy and the others to use a gun, even if it's just a pistol."

No explanation was needed as to why _Shadow_ was chosen for the task. "Fine."

Sonic moved on. "Knuckles, when you're not training, I need you to help look for Ryker's weapons. You'll know them when you see them." A single nod was the only response he got. "Cream, when she's not busy, do what you can to teach Wave about her psychic abilities, since you and her have similar powers."

"Alright," the bunny agreed solemnly.

"But don't worry yourself too much over it," he added seriously.

"I won't, Mr. Sonic," she promised.

Sonic nodded once and turned his attention to someone that he and Jet would have much rather pretended didn't exist. Or at least pretended that he wasn't _here_. "Ross, I don't give a damn whose side you're on at this point. You will help out whoever asks you to if and when they do or you will stay out of the way where someone can keep an eye on you."

"And if you don't," Ryker cut in threateningly.

"Then we'll make sure you regret it," Knuckles finished.

The glare they received was rebellious, if only somewhat, but no arguments were voiced. _Fine by me, _Sonic thought somewhat irritably. He moved on once again. He wasn't addressing anyone in particular by this point. "Everyone needs to work together to gather as much food as we can fit on this ship," he said. "We're running low already, and we have a lot of mouths to feed."

"There's plenty of food here on this island," Locke helpfully supplied. "Lots of fruit and stuff. It shouldn't take long if we all work together."

Sonic nodded his agreement. "I also need everyone to help watch the kid when you're not busy. I can't keep an eye on her at all hours of the day."

There were a few quiet agreements before Rouge finally spoke up again. "And what will _you _be doing?" she asked simply, though not accusingly.

Locke's gaze flicked to him, reading, analyzing. "You're going to look for Kaden," he finally murmured.

Sonic nodded once. "Briefly, yes. I'll stay close to the island, but we need to bring him here if we can. I doubt he's anywhere near here, but we can't chance it."

"Be careful," Zeki muttered, a deep frown marring his face. "You know Egg-head's looking for you more seriously than he is with most of the rest of us."

"Yeah," Sonic agreed. "I know."

Knuckles sighed. "Well, let's get going then. We have a lot of work to do."

"And time's a wastin'," Locke agreed, a note of humor in his voice.

The two of them headed outside. With a small shrug, Ryker moved to follow them, Rouge not far behind. Wave and Shadow were soon headed out after them, closely followed by Cream, Tails, and Zeki. Amy spoke up a few moments later. "So, _everyone_ has to help watch the little girl, huh?" she asked with a glance very specifically aimed at Jet, who had been avoiding doing just that since the girl had been handed off to Sonic.

"I don't _do_ kids," Jet muttered, casting Amy a rather sour look.

Sonic sighed softly and rubbed at his eyes again. He really did have a headache. He needed some sleep. And for the damn lights in this room to be dimmer. And for people to stop _talking_. "Whatever. Just help out. It won't kill you."

Jet let out a small grumble but otherwise didn't protest any further. Amy and Arrossa walked out of the room. Sonic gritted his teeth together and rubbed his eyes again. _Damn it… _

He could feel Jet watching him. "You okay?" the hawk questioned almost cautiously. Jet was rarely cautious around him. He'd probably felt the way Sonic's mood had shifted slightly toward more negative emotions in these past few minutes.

"I'm fine," Sonic muttered. Then he added a bit more reluctantly, "Just a headache."

He could practically _hear_ Jet's frown in his voice when he spoke. "Maybe you should go lay down before you take off."

Sonic gave a single, firm shake of his head, though he instantly regretted it when that made the pounding in his head worse. "No," he replied shortly, standing up. "I'll be fine." Jet didn't seem to believe him, but Sonic didn't care. He was about to leave the room when small hands grabbed his leg. Opening his eyes, Sonic looked down to see the small cat-girl smiling up at him. Restraining a sigh for now, he bent down briefly to scoop the girl up before turning to Jet.

Jet caught on immediately. "Sonic, I don't do-" he started say almost nervously before Sonic cut him off.

"I don't care," he said simply. He understood his friend's discomfort, in a way. Jet had helped care for kids before, yes, but they had all been older kids of about ages ten to sixteen, Silver's age. The youngest kid the hawk had ever dealt with was Cream, who was still seven or maybe eight, but she was hardly an accurate representation of what most young kids were like. Even before her powers had awakened she had been a much more well-behaved, sweet, polite child than most were. Still, Sonic wasn't in the mood, nor did he have the time, to deal with this. "Just take her." Without really waiting for a response, he handed the child off to the uncertain hawk before turning to leave the room. Headache or not, he had a job to do.

**~ソニック~**

The call with Future Jet ended as abruptly and with as little warning as it had begun. After a few minutes of silence, Sonic finally looked to Jet. "So… the city turned into a star ship and the Babylon Rogues that survived the destruction of Planet Babylon flew here?"

Jet didn't look like he wanted to answer that, but at this point, what was the point of fighting about it? "Yeah," he reluctantly conceded.

"And that ship destroyed your home world… _why_?" Sonic asked slowly.

"The survivors of that event neglected to record that part of the history," Jet remarked dryly. He looked even farther away from Sonic than he already had been before. "Maybe they just didn't want to remember."

"Maybe," Sonic agreed quietly. There was a pause before he asked, more for curiosity's sake than anything else, "So these Arks let people control their gravity to fly and whatnot?"

Jet nodded once. "Yeah. If they're used right, the person with the Ark can also control the gravity of objects and other people, too."

Sonic found himself smirking a bit. "That's… actually pretty cool." Jet made no response to that. Sonic's smirk slowly faded. Several long minutes of silence passed before he finally ventured to ask, "And… _what_ does Ross have to do with all of this?"

Jet was visibly and audibly tense when he finally responded. "He has one of the Arks of the Cosmos. He's had it since I was little."

_Oh._ Well that was just _great_. That meant that they'd have to confront Ross again if they ever wanted to get that Ark and keep it from Ivo. _Just great. _Sonic released a somewhat heavy sigh. "Getting that back's gonna _suck_."

Jet snorted. "You're telling _me_."

More silence. Sonic made a decision. Now that he'd done what he'd said he'd do before heading off to Chun-nan, it was time to go. He stood up. "Well, I've got things to do. And, since I learned what I wanted to know, more or less, I think I'll leave you be for now."

Jet still didn't seem happy that Sonic knew about Babylon Garden now, but nonetheless he said, "Be careful, alright? I don't want you getting killed out there or something because you left on your own."

"Aw, I'll be fine," Sonic dismissed casually. "Egg-head's in prison, remember?"

Jet turned his head to frown at Sonic. "I _mean_ it, Sonic. In jail or not, his robots are still running around everywhere and you aren't exactly the picture of health right now."

"Neither are you," Sonic pointed out. "You're just as exhausted, and plus you're still feverish off-and-on, on top of that." Jet gave him a dry look. "Alright, alright, fine, I promise." Jet looked away again, apparently satisfied. Sonic gave a small wave with one hand as he turned away. "See ya."

"Later."

After exchanging that brief farewell with Jet, he headed inside from the roof, saying an equally brief farewell to Wave as he passed by her and Storm. Storm just sort of grunted at him while Wave murmured a farewell in return. Next he said goodbye to Cream, Cheese, and Vanilla, who were apparently acquainting themselves with Analia in his mother's room.

"You're leaving, dear?" Vanilla asked in that sweet, caring way of hers.

"Just for a while, but yeah," Sonic nodded. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Cream and Cheese unexpectedly ran over to him and all but tackled him in a hug. "Be safe, Mr. Sonic," Cream murmured. Cheese was quick to voice an agreement.

He smiled and smoothed a hand gently over the young girl's head for a brief moment. "I will. Keep being good for your mom, 'kay?"

Cream and Cheese pulled away, both smiling brightly at him. "We will!" Cream promised cherfully.

After exchanging a slightly more awkward farewell with his mother and Vanilla, he headed further down the hall, unexpectedly running into Amy's parents as he did so. _That_ particular farewell was even more awkward than the one with his mother had been.

"Going somewhere, Son?" Harold asked in the deep, authoritative voice of his.

"Uh- yeah," Sonic replied quickly, nearly stammering in the process. "I just- I need to go get something. It's… kind of important."

"Will you be gone long?" Marie asked, her voice more quiet. It made Sonic believe that Amy had gotten her loud, opinionated voice more from her father than her mother.

"I don't know," Sonic answered honestly. "Probably. I can't run as fast as normal still, and I'm headed to someplace pretty… pretty far." It was easier talking to Marie, he found, and much less awkward, but that _didn't_ mean that it wasn't still awkward.

"Don't be gone too long, Son." _Why_ did Harold keep calling him that?

"Yes, do try to return home soon," Marie added.

Sonic stared at her for a moment in genuine surprise and disbelief before finally asking, "…Home?"

"Yes, of course," she nodded. "You're _always_ welcome here, Sonic."

"Your friends, too," Harold added. "Even if you have another home, this can be home, too."

This now made the second time that some family he barely knew had offered to let him stay with them. The first time had been with Cream and Vanilla, back when he'd only just met them. "You're… sure?" he questioned slowly, cautiously.

"Of course," Marie repeated, still smiling warmly at him as she had been this entire time.

Somehow, Sonic managed a small smile. "Well… thanks. That… really means a lot."

Much to his surprise, she gave him a small hug before continuing on her way back down the hall in the direction Sonic had just come from and went into her room. Harold clapped Sonic lightly on the right shoulder as he moved to follow his wife. Sonic watched them go for a brief moment before looking away and heading a few feet farther down the hall and entering the upstairs living room, where Silver had been sleeping lately. Sure enough, the kid was already passed out on the bright yellow-orange couch, with Blaze sound asleep in the heavily padded, similarly colored chair beside him.

Smiling softly, Sonic grabbed the spare blankets that were on the second couch, the one closest to the window that had been broken during the attack that had ended in Sonic being turned into a kid. Careful not to disturb either of the sleeping teens, he carefully covered both of them. Then, seeing that Blaze already had a pillow, he focused his attention on Silver. Grabbing one of the more generously stuffed pillows, he gently lifted his son's head and placed the pillow underneath it. He allowed his hand to linger atop Silver's head for a moment before pulling away. Looking to Blaze once more, he noticed the frown on her face. Walking over to her, he gently smoothed a hand over the top of her head as well. Her frown soon eased and, smiling softly again at the pair, he quietly left the room, flipping off the light that they had left on as he went.

Sonic's almost peaceful mood became much more serious within moments as he slowly headed to a different room. He didn't bother knocking before entering. He knew no one would answer. He stepped quietly into the room, but he knew that there was no risk of him waking anyone. His eyes lingered for a long moment on the sleeping figure on the bed before he finally looked away. "Bye, dad," he said so quietly that his voice barely traveled past his lips. As he turned away from his father to leave the room again, one thought entered his mind. _Wake up soon. _

**~ソニック~**

Sonic really had no desire to try to fix the fried laptop right now. The only reason he'd even been using it was because looking at his communicator's small screen and trying to read those tiny words had been heightening the headache he'd only just started developing at the time. Now, however, he had no choice, if only because he needed to find out as much information as possible before he left to try to find his father. And so, with that in mind, he accessed that database on his communicator, doing his best to ignore the pounding in his head. Gritting his teeth a bit, he looked into the most recent files for any relevant news. Immediately, things began popping up for him to read. The first things he read were about various familiar locations.

_-Empire City (including its remaining 15,000 residents) mostly destroyed. Estimated around 200 survivors._

_-Apatos (including its remaining 1,200 residents). No known survivors._

_-Seaside Hill remains in flames._

_-White Acropolis and Kingdom Valley obliterated._

_-15 Chao Gardens (including the approximately 200 Chao within the) destroyed._

_-Pyramid Cave collapsed._

_-White Jungle continues to flood._

_-The popular hangout, Casino Night, is under surveillance._

_-The small remnants of Station Square have been destroyed._

_-Green Forest, Mushroom Hill, and Leaf Forest continue to slowly grow back._

_-Spagonia remains standing._

_-Route 99 remains inaccessible to vehicles. Mel and Trist cities no longer connected._

_-Tropical Resort is now in flames._

_-Angel Island's location remains unknown._

_-Mazuri still being thoroughly explored by robots. Savannah Citadel still unable to be located. No clues anywhere about Babylon Garden._

Sonic frowned at the last line. Ivo was scouring the land for any clues he could find about Babylon Garden. Thankfully, the Babylon Rogues of old had passed down the knowledge orally rather than leaving tangible clues for Ivo to find, but sooner or later the madman would find out about that. _And then he'll start hunting for Wave and Jet even more feverishly. _Scowling at the idea of that happening, he kept reading. This information seemed a bit miscellaneous.

_-Contact was made with the rebellion. Unable to reestablish connection. Sonic expected to be behind it._

_-Locke and Ross's presence with the Freedom Fighters has been confirmed._

_-The Chaos and Master Emeralds remain missing. Sonic known to be behind this._

_-Sonic known to be actively training rebels for the first time in many years._

_-The rebels are known to have at least two small ships in their possession._

_-Jet's last known location was near the city of Trost in the Ampheture district._

_-A small group of rebels are attempting to organize in the forests near Wave Ocean._

_-Amy seems to have gained healing powers at some point and possesses enough knowledge and power to fully heal a person (suggesting that she's had these powers for some time)._

_-Kaden was last seen fleeing the destruction of Metro City. Location unknown._

Sonic frowned again. _Metro City… that's nowhere near here. But… with his speed… there's a chance that he could have made it this far… provided that he's not as exhausted as before. _It wasn't much to go off of, but it was something. And so, with a sigh, Sonic exited the database and, taking a brief moment to try to alleviate some of his headache by rubbing his eyes again, he left the airship just in time to see Ryker and Rouge take off together high into the sky.

Taking a quick look around, he quickly noted what everyone else was doing. Wave was working on Zeki's ship while Jet occasionally handed her tools with his free arm as he continued to hold the little girl. Shadow was also working on his ship. Amy and Arrossa were talking as they sat in the grass a good distance away, presumably discussing healing or one of their other shared powers. In the training area, Locke and Knuckles were in the middle of a serious sparring match involving flames and Locke's sword, which Knuckles was armed with. A safe distance away from the pair were Tails and Zeki, who spoke as Zeki seemed to prepare to demonstrate something to the somewhat younger fox. Farther away from them was Ross, who was standing against a random tree in the same way as he normally was. Sitting just a few feet in front of him was Cream, who idly picked flowers as she had been before. Sonic didn't like their proximity to each other, but Ross seemed to be ignoring the girl, and she seemed perfectly content where she was.

Shaking his head at the strangeness of it all, Sonic turned toward the place in the grass where he'd left his weapons when he'd been working on those communicators before. After donning them again, he turned and ran lightly to the edge of the island, jumping off the edge without a fear in the world.

**~ソニック~**

**4,071 words this time. Sorry that this one's a bit shorter. Also, I _am_ still keeping a tally of the votes, I just got tired of putting that in _every _chapter. ^-^ Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Posted 08-13-15.**


	138. A Message of Truth

**Hello, BlazeWriters69! Ah, okay. So how much will you be changing? Like, will you be doing similar scenes and dialogue? Will you be changing the Sonic characters at all?**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 136: Hahaha! XD Okay, I agree. If you had Sonic and his family, you'd win by a freaking landslide. XD I'm so happy you enjoyed! :D Well, to a _point_ it was explained in the game, but I tweaked things at least a bit. You know how that goes. :P Awesome! Glad you approve! I think I've had enough positive feedback for it that I'll go ahead and write that story. :) I will do my best, Pyro-kun! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 137: **

**Hello, Meadow of Starlight! Yeah, he is. X3 I'm glad you did. :) Yup, _lots_ of stuff is coming up… however, you can expect a pretty mellow "calm before the storm" sort of chapter from the future at some point. :P Well, I'll do my best to make the action live up to what you're hoping for! :D**

**Hello, Guest! Really? Sorry about that. I've been doing my best to make it clear which time each scene is in, but I'll try to make it clearer. Thanks for letting me know! :)**

**Hello, Anonymous! Glad you enjoyed! :D Yes, though this isn't the first time. This is merely the first time that I'll be going to college as an actual full-time college student. I've been taking college classes since I was fifteen. :P Wow, you get to wait that long? Hahaha, yeah, it was great! I was totally singing it to the tune of "Do You Wanna Build A Snowman" in my head. XD Cool prologue. :) Ugh, yes, the 3DS needs flipnotes already! :( But, at the same time, drawing anything decent on those things is _ridiculously_ hard. X( Ah, I love All Stars Racing Transformed. I have the first one for the regular DS and then Racing Transformed for the 360. I want it for the 3DS. :) Sayonara!**

**~ソニック~**

_"Sonic. I told you once before; this is important. Listen to me now._

_You're better off if you never start. _

_Under the surface lie some darker truths._

_You were meant for so much more._

_The future is not written, and it is foolish to squint at what cannot be seen._

_Life is about choices, but you must make the important ones with your heart and not your mind._

_The roots of the journey are bitter, but the fruit is sweet beyond words._

_Hope is what makes us strong. Draw from it when all else has faded._

_If you have not learned the value of friendship, then you have truly learned nothing. _

_You and only you can lead the world to a brighter future._

_You have proven it to yourself, now prove it to others._

_Open your eyes and look within. Inside you lies the truth._

_Concentrate all your thoughts on the road ahead. The sun's rays do not burn unless brought into focus._

_Above all else, remember that where there is love you cannot go wrong."_

Sonic had left for Chun-nan just a couple of hours ago. Frowning but never pausing in his run, he responded to the Voice. _I remember. You left this message with me back in Crisis City. Care to actually explain it this time?_

Much to his shock, the Voice actually… _responded_ to his question. It actually _answered_ him. _"Your failures are not final, Sonic. They do not mean the end of things. They do not mean that the war is lost. Do not blame yourself for things that are not within your control, as your future self has done. …You are better off if you never start._

_You have already learned of Super Sonic's Ascended form, Hyper Sonic. You have also learned of Dark Sonic. That form, like your Super form, is not alone. …Under the surface lie some darker truths._

_Both you and your future self are constantly in peril. You fight battles that aren't always yours in order to protect the peace of the world, the happiness of others, the futures of countless timelines, the love of families and friends and couples… even if it means sacrificing your own happiness, your own safety, your own love, your own future. …You were meant for so much more._

_The future your friends are in has been ruined, but you can still change things for the better. The two times have already been separated into different timelines. The events of this world have already begun to deviate from what occurred in that world's past to ruin their future. Things have been changing from the beginning, starting with the transportation of your friends to that other world. Their future may be ruined, but your future may yet live. …The future is not written, and it is foolish to squint at what cannot be seen._

_Your future self has all but shut out his emotions for many years, but some things require a strong heart, not a strong mind. He still has his heart, but things could have turned out differently had he not been careful in how he shut out his emotions. …Life is about choices, but you must make the important ones with your heart and not your mind._

_Your mission to save the world will be far from easy. You have but a few months to try to change everything. There is much to be done in very little time. It will require great effort, and great teamwork. However, in the end, success will make all your hardships worth it. …The roots of the journey are bitter, but the fruit is sweet beyond words._

_Do not turn your back on hope as your future self has done, no matter how much it hurts. Hope is dangerous, yes, but it also gives us the power to do what is needed to be done and to protect those we love. Sometimes, hope is all we have left and we must learn to use hope as its own weapon. …Hope is what makes us strong. Draw from it when all else has faded._

_You are the glue that holds your group of friends together. No matter what happens, never let your friends turn their backs on you, and never do the same to them. Regardless of what may be said or done and by who, friendship is a bond that should never be broken. Friendship in and of itself is one of the most powerful weapons you can wield against the dark forces you will meet in your life. No matter what happens, never let anything or anyone sever your ties with your friends. …If you have not learned the value of friendship, then you have truly learned nothing. _

_Without your leadership, your guidance, your knowledge, and your friends, you can never hope to succeed in your mission. It will take everything you have to hold the people around you together and to accomplish everything that you must. …You and only you can lead the world to a brighter future. _

_You have seen for yourself that life continues after death. Death does not mean the end of existence, nor does it mean the end of hope. There is one person above all others who must learn this in order for you to save the future. …You have proven it to yourself, now prove it to others._

_You have long questioned the value of your life, the purpose of you continuing to live and fight, and so on. Remember all the lives that you have saved, the happiness and love and hope that you have restored, the evils that you have vanquished. Remember these things, and never lose faith in yourself as your future self has done. …Open your eyes and look within. Inside you lies the truth._

_Good things come to those who wait, but greater treasures are in store for those who are willing to work for it. In order to secure a brighter future, you cannot sit back idly and hope for the best. You must be willing to put forth the effort needed to save the world once again. …Concentrate all your thoughts on the road ahead. The sun's rays do not burn unless brought into focus._

_You have loved before, and you have felt its pain. However, you have also experienced the indescribable happiness and peace that accompanies that feeling. You cannot shy away from it forever if you want to feel those things again. In spite of all the pain, love is one of the great goods of existence. Do not try to banish it from your life. Both you and your future self are guilty of this. Love is not something that is deserved; it is something to be earned, and you have more than earned it. …Above all else, remember that where there is love you cannot go wrong."_

**~ソニック~**

Sonic gritted his teeth tightly as he swung Caliburn around in his right hand, slicing clean through a robot in the process. It was a long fall from Angel Island to the ground below, but at least he was past the clouds now. That, however, was not the cause of his silent display of irritation. No, there was a separate reason for that entirely. A familiar but very unwanted presence had entered his mind unbidden once again… and, to make matters worse, listening to it was making his headache even more unbearable. His already tightly clenched teeth gritted even harder when the Voice relayed a message that it hadn't mentioned since first giving it to him back in Crisis City all those years ago.

_"Sonic. I told you once before; this is important. Listen to me now. _

_You're better off if you never start. _

_Under the surface lie some darker truths._

_You were meant for so much more._

_The future is not written, and it is foolish to squint at what cannot be seen._

_Life is about choices, but you must make the important ones with your heart and not your mind._

_The roots of the journey are bitter, but the fruit is sweet beyond words._

_Hope is what makes us strong. Draw from it when all else has faded._

_If you have not learned the value of friendship, then you have truly learned nothing. _

_You and only you can lead the world to a brighter future._

_You have proven it to yourself, now prove it to others._

_Open your eyes and look within. Inside you lies the truth._

_Concentrate all your thoughts on the road ahead. The sun's rays do not burn unless brought into focus._

_Above all else, remember that where there is love you cannot go wrong."_

For once, Sonic bit back most of his negative emotions regarding this mysterious entity and asked as calmly as he could manage, _Why are you telling me this again? _

_"This is important," _it repeated.

Sonic bit back a growl. _Explain, then, _he bit out in his mind. _Stop leaving me with senseless riddles. _

The fact that the Voice actually deigned to reply to that was probably some sort of a miracle. _"You would have been far better off had you not started blaming yourself for what occurred in the past. There was never any need for such thoughts and feelings."_

_Never any need? _Sonic replied, nearly snapping at the Voice in doing so. _I was given a mission to save the future and I failed. I blame myself because I am to blame. It's my fault that Ivo won and was able to take over the world. I had a mission, and I failed._

_"You cannot blame yourself for the fact that things did not go as planned. No one could have expected things to turn out the way they did." _When Sonic made no reply, the Voice continued unhindered. _"Things would have been better for you had you never begun to blame yourself… but that doesn't mean that things cannot be better for you, still. The sooner you let go of the past and realize that the mistakes of the past are not all your own, the sooner you can be happy once more." _

Sonic snorted softly. _Yeah, whatever. _

The Voice seemed to ignore him. It had a special talent for doing that, truly. "_You have already learned of Super Sonic's Ascended form, Hyper Sonic. You have also learned of Dark Sonic. That form, like your Super form, is not alone. Ivo will try to utilize that knowledge in order to win this fight. You must never let that happen."_

Sonic snorted again. _As if I would. _The knowledge of an Ascended Dark form was new, but it was nothing surprising. It made sense, really, in a way.

_"You were meant for more than this life you now lead. Both you and your past self are constantly in peril. You fight battles that aren't always yours in order to protect the peace of the world, the happiness of others, the future of countless timelines, the love of families and friends and couples… even if it means sacrificing your own happiness, your own safety, your own love, your own future. Too much of anything is a bad thing, Sonic, even selflessness. Always remember that."_

Really, what did the Voice expect him to do? Take a vacation or something? With a _war_ going on? There was no way in _hell_ that was going to happen. _And certainly not any time soon. _

_"Your present time may be ruined, but victory now means a brighter future later. You can still change things for the better."_

Yeah, and a fat lot of good that did the people of the world now. _We need a brighter future now… not later. _

_"You have all but shut out your emotions for many years, but some things require a strong heart, not a strong mind. You still have your heart, but things could have turned out differently had you not been careful in how you shut out your emotions."_

Sonic growled lowly. _You think I don't know that? _he snapped. The question, rhetorical as it was, was promptly and perfectly ignored. _I've always been aware of the dangers, but there's no way I would have let myself become heartless. Shutting my emotions out was necessary, and you and I both know that you know that! _

_"Regardless, the time will come when you will need to follow your heart above all else. There will come a time when shutting out your emotions will no longer be an option, nor will it be something you will be able to do. You must be prepared for that time." _

Sonic let out another low growl as he sliced through a second robot. _As if. _

The Voice once again seemed to ignore him. _"Your mission to save the world will be far from easy. You do not have much time to try to defeat your enemy and change everything. There is much to be done in very little time. It will require great effort, and great teamwork. However, in the end, success will make all your hardships worth it." _

_You think I don't know that? _Sonic repeated angrily.

He was really starting to hate being ignored. Talking to this entity was often like talking to a damn _wall_. Maybe even worse. _"Do not turn your back on hope any longer, no matter how much it hurts. Hope is dangerous and it often hurts us, yes, but it also gives us the power to do what is needed to be done and to protect those we love. Sometimes, hope is all we have left and we must learn to use hope as its own weapon." _Sonic made absolutely no reply to that. He had nothing to say that the Voice would listen to. _"You were once the glue that held your group of friends together. They turned their backs on you, and with time, you did the same to them, though not as completely as they did unto you. Friendship is a bond that should never be broken, Sonic. Friendship in and of itself is one of the most powerful weapons you can wield against the dark forces you will meet in your life. No matter what happens, never let anything or anyone sever your ties with your friends as they once did. You must come back together in order to succeed." _

Sonic really and truly doubted that that would ever happen. Sure they were fine working with him as neutral allies, but that was as far as it went. Any remnants of their past friendship was gone. Their friendship was dead. _…Isn't it? _

_"Without your leadership, your guidance, your knowledge, and your friends, you can never hope to succeed in your mission. It will take everything you have to mend the bonds that were broken in the past and to hold the people around you together in order to accomplish everything that you must. You and you alone can ensure that the future lives on in happiness and in love." _

Sonic really had no serious reply to that. Just a sarcastic, _No pressure. _

Unsurprisingly, his little comment was ignored. _"You have seen for yourself that life continues after death. Death does not mean the end of existence, nor does it mean the end of hope. You must always remember this, especially when those closest to you become endangered."_

Sonic suddenly felt like there was ice in his veins. _What the hell are you implying? _he demanded harshly. It almost seemed like the Voice was saying that more of his friends were going to…

The Voice made no reply to that at all. Instead, it just continued on. _"You have long questioned the value of your life, the purpose of you continuing to live and fight, and so on. Remember all the lives that you have saved, the happiness and love and hope that you have restored, the evils that you have vanquished. Remember these things, and never again lose faith in yourself. The answers to many of your problems lay within you. You must simply search for them." _Sonic once again had nothing to say in response. _"Good things come to those who wait, but greater treasures are in store for those who are willing to work for it. In order to secure a brighter future, you cannot sit back idly and hope for the best. You must be willing to put forth the effort needed to save the world once again."_

Well, no _duh_. _Of course I'm going to have to work. Nothing in life is so easy that I can just wait for good things to be handed to me on a silver platter. _

Once again, he was ignored. He rolled his eyes in a mixture of irritation and annoyance._"You have loved before, and you have felt its pain. However, you have also experienced the indescribable happiness and peace that accompanies that feeling. You cannot shy away from it forever if you want to feel those things again. In spite of all the pain, love is one of the great goods of existence. Do not try to banish it from your life any longer. Both you and your past self are guilty of this. Love is not something that is deserved; it is something to be earned, and you have more than earned it."_

Sonic scowled at nothing in particular as a familiar pink face flashed through his mind. _Whatever. _

**~ソニック~**

**It seems like the Voice genuinely is trying to _help_ both Sonics save their separate futures, huh? Also, that poetic-like message that the Voice relays to both Sonics first showed up, as was said in this chapter, back in the Crisis City Arc. It was Chapter 78, if I'm not mistaken. anyway, 2,936 words this time. Sorry it's so short. I hope you enjoyed! Posted (at about twelve a.m.) 08-14-15.**


	139. Mission

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Yes, it was. :P Well, no, probably not. But, then again, it might. Who knows? It's the mysterious Voice, after all. The world may never know. XD I think it's the same Voice in both, but I haven't decided yet. Well, as the Voice said, the future's not written. it's not set in stone. The Voice knows how things _could_ turn out depending on what happens and what Sonic and other people do and whatnot, but nothing is certain. :)**

**Hello, Guest! Yes, he probably should. :P**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! That's alright. As I've said before, reviews are appreciated and enjoyed, but never required. It's perfectly fine. :) Well, in the future it is. It's coming more slowly in the present. But, hey, you're welcome! XD **

**Hello, BlazeWriters69! Alright, that's fine. Just please make sure to credit. :) Say, let me know when it's up! I'd love to see what you do with it! :D**

**Hello, SR! Well, you'll get the answer to that when they encounter Ivo in the... *ahem* flesh later on. :P Well, I'm glad you liked it. :) I think we can agree to disagree on that point. I feel it was necessary to a point, if only because some of those lines meant different things to both Sonics. :P But, anyway, yes, it is! Not this chapter, but soon! :D**

**Hello, astroshadow! Haha, yeah, it did. And that probably was, in fact, the most it's ever spoke at once. And it did it _twice_! XD Yes. Yes they do. :P**

**Hello, Anonymous! Super glad you enjoyed! :D Wow, cool sounding meme. The end part sounds funny. XD ...It _might_ be her... ;) Haha, your line about being responsible was great. XD Hey, you learn fast! (Just kidding, I know you're smart. XD) Sayonara to you, too! :D**

**Hello, Nagato911! I'm so happy you enjoyed! Thanks for the review! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm so super happy you enjoyed! :D Yes, there was the mention! Thanks again for the idea! ...By the way, I just realized that my reply to your review on Chapter 137 last time was left blank for some reason... Sorry! ^-^" Here's my reply: Yes they do! Well, they aren't quite ready _yet_. They will be soon, though! :D Yeah, he might be, if only somewhat. And yeah, he might do that. Well, he's the last purebred _blue_ hedgehog. Purebred pink hedgehogs (i.e. Amy and her parents) still exist, though there are very few of them left by now. :P Yeah, "fun". XD And yes, Kaden's codename (as set by Sen and the others) is Agni. :) Well, you'll get a sort of answer to that here. Hope you enjoy! And I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**~ソニック~**

Rouge and Ryker soared slowly through the air, their eyes trained on the ground. They weren't flying terribly high; they needed to be able to scan the ground for a treasure that, for once, _wasn't_ shiny. It had been about an hour since their departure from the group's large makeshift camp, and the two of them had been silent up until that point. Finally, Rouge spoke up. "See anything yet, Knuckie?"

For once, he didn't yell. Normally he would have, or at least growled. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?"

"At least once more, dear sir."

He rolled his eyes at her acting (specifically her acting like a prim and proper upper-class woman) and sighed. "You're annoying, you know that?" he muttered

"Aw, you just have no sense of humor," she teased.

"Not one that you agree with, no," he replied simply.

"You're boring," she pouted.

"And you're still annoying," he returned calmly.

Rouge just smirked at him. _He doesn't mean a word of it. _"You never answered my question, Big Guy."

That was another nickname he didn't particularly care for, but he, by his own admission, preferred that over "Knuckie", so, unsurprisingly, he made no comment about it. "No, I haven't see anything yet," he answered, turning his head a bit to the left to scan a cluster of trees below. "You?"

"Nope. Not a thing," she replied easily, unconcerned. She knew they'd find their treasure eventually. They always did. _We're one hell of a team,_ she thought with another smirk.

"What are we even looking for?" he questioned, eyes still scanning.

At this, a small frown appeared on her face. "My source neglected to learn its name before telling me about it." That was always something she hated. It never failed to irritate her when things like this happened.

He nodded once to signal his understanding. "Description?"

Rouge launched right into business mode, speaking in shorter sentences so as to relay her information faster. "Dark gray, unbreakable stone shaped in a circle like a thick bracelet. Two jewels fashioned into the front and slightly off to each side, one light sort of lime green and one light yellow-orange. Very old, but probably doesn't look it."

Ryker nodded again. "Alright. Keep your eyes open for my weapons, too."

"I still can't believe you _left_ them here," she sighed, less exasperated than she was pretending to be.

"Shut up," he grumbled. "I know it was stupid. Just keep an eye out."

"Whatever you say… Knuckie."

"Dammit, Rouge!"

Laughing quietly to herself, Rouge flew on ahead to avoid whatever other angry words had been about to be unleashed in her direction by the echidna. Growling lowly to himself in what must have been frustration, Ryker moved to return to her side.

**~ソニック~**

"Electricity is prolific in the modern world," Zeki said as he and Tails sat across from and facing each other in the grass in the group's makeshift camp. "You can either use that to your advantage by pulling electricity from various places and objects around you, or you can generate your own from within by focusing your Ki."

Tails's head tilred, confusion apparent on his face. "'Ki'?" he echoed.

Zeki nodded. "You probably know it as Reiki. It's the same thing."

"I've heard of it before," Tails said slowly, "but I don't know what it is. I've been meaning to research it for a while, but…"

When Tails trailed off, Zeki spoke again. "Reiki is universal life energy," he explained. "In more scientific, though simplified, terms, it's energy in all matter." Immediately it became clear that Tails understood the explanation. "By focusing this energy," Zeki repeated, "you can generate your own electricity."

"Is that what Sonic and Jet do?" Tails asked in apparent curiosity.

Zeki nodded again. "Anyone with special powers, like lightning, fire, psychic, healing, light, and so on, has to learn how to use their Reiki in order to effectively use those powers. Some people, like Sonic, Jet, Locke, and Kaden, have mastered this to the point that they usually barely waste any energy by using their powers. It'll be a while before you get to that point, though."

"But, how do I _do_ that?" Tails asked, his eyes almost childishly wide.

"It's simple," Zeki replied, his calm, relatively serious expression never changing. "Just use that big brain of yours and focus on your goal. Trust me, you'll know when it's working."

Tails seemed a bit skeptical but, to his credit, he did as he was told. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly as if he were about to meditate. His expression uncharacteristically serious, he focused with everything he had on summoning even just a tiny _spark_ of electricity. Suddenly, there was a spike of power from within. Electricity crackled briefly around him, only to vanish when Tails jumped, startled, thus breaking his concentration. Eyes that were wide once again stared at Zeki in shock. "I… I did it," he said simply, unable to believe it.

Zeki nodded slowly, a small, approving smile fading into existence on his face. "Yeah… you did." Tails absolutely beamed at him, and Zeki smirked in rare good humor. "Don't get cocky, Tails. You have a long way to go. Keep practicing."

"Right!" Tails replied brightly. Smile never fading, he closed his eyes to concentrate once more.

**~ソニック~**

"Well, it's a good thing we're sitting so close to those two," Arrossa commented, glancing back over her shoulder to look at the two foxes, who sat about ten feet away. She and Amy were seated in the grass in the same way they were. "Zeki pretty much explained everything you need to know about Reiki."

"And I need Reiki for healing, right?" Amy questioned. Her ears were as sharp as Arrossa's, and as such, she had heard every word of the foxes' conversation as well.

Arrossa nodded once. "Yes, and for your other abilities, once they show themselves." She ignored Amy's puzzled frown for now. "We'll focus on healing for the time being." Pulling out a small knife suddenly, she quickly and cleanly made a small cut on the back of her left hand. "Start with this. Focus like Tails did and try to heal me."

Nodding seriously, Amy did as she was told and focused as hard as she could. Soon, she felt a warm, pleasant, _loving_ sort of feeling rising up inside of her. Feeling somewhat breathless with the new feeling, she kept her eyes shut to maintain her focus as she slowly reached her right hand out to place it on the small wound. A moment later, the feeling faded. Amy opened her eyes and removed her hand. The cut was gone. Trading soft smiles, the two pink hedgehogs continued on.

**~ソニック~**

"Man, Sonic really did a number on you, didn't he?" Locke asked as he dodged a sudden burst of flames.

Knuckles swung the sword again. "You have… no idea," he said between attempts to catch his breath. "But he said… he didn't have time… to go easy on me."

Locke barely dodged another swing of the sword, a hand flying up to hold the hat on his head as he leapt away on one foot. "I can believe that. He's got a lot to do."

"You have no… idea," Knuckles repeated.

Locke refrained from saying something about his son's exhaustion again. Knuckles was adamant that he needed the training now (which he was, of course, right about) and that rest could wait. Locke disagreed on that last part but, at the same time, Knuckles was nineteen. He was an adult, however young of one, and Locke couldn't force his son to do anything because of it. All he could do was offer well-intentioned advice and hope that his son would listen to it. Knuckles could and would make his own decisions. And so, with that in mind, Locke held his tongue (at least for now) and focused on the sparring match raging between him and his son.

**~ソニック~**

"Okay. I'm ready for the drill now." Jet wordlessly handed Wave, who was on the right wing of Zeki's ship, the tool, placing the tool in her open palm as she sat on her knees, bending over on her other hand. Nodding her thanks, she refocused on her task, pulling away her extended arm to resume her work. Jet restrained a sigh and shifted the little girl in his arm as she dozed lightly, her head on his shoulder and her face buried in the crook of his neck. Just as he resumed mentally cursing Sonic for dumping this kid on him, Wave suddenly spoke up again. "You know, you're actually pretty good with her."

Jet looked at her in surprise. "Who?"

"The little girl," Wave replied with a smirk. "Duh."

Jet snorted and looked away. "Whatever."

"And it's cute how uncomfortable you are," she added with decidedly more mischief in her tone and in her smirk.

He scowled at her. "I am not '_cute_'," he muttered.

"Yes, you are," she countered as if that statement in and of itself was proof. "Absolutely adorable."

"Wave!" he groaned in a mixture of exasperation and embarrassment. "Stop _saying_ that!"

"Aw, I'm not allowed to call my boyfriend cute?" she asked with an undeniably fake pout.

"No!" he replied in frustration. "Because I'm _not_!"

"If you say so, cutie." He groaned again and she laughed quietly at him. Setting the tool down for the moment, she looked down at him from the wing and gave him a real, genuine smile. "I love you," she said quietly and in all seriousness.

He looked away. "Yeah, love you, too," he muttered. He didn't need to look at her again to know that she was still smiling when she looked away. And, slowly, he allowed himself a small smile as well.

**~ソニック~**

Ross, who was leaning against a broad tree in his usual fashion, finally looked down at the grass a few feet in front of him to acknowledge the little girl (he thought her name might be Cream or something like that) that had been sitting there picking flowers for the past hour or so. "Why are you doing that here?" he questioned simply and relatively neutrally.

"Because I can," was the equally simple reply.

It didn't make any sense at all to him. Weren't kids supposed to want to avoid him? Weren't they supposed to hate him? Jet had been the only exception to that, once upon a time, but nowadays… He shook his head, banishing those thoughts from his mind. "That doesn't answer the question."

At this, the young girl sat back on her knees and turned around in the grass to look at him, her head tilting to the side a bit. "I wanted to," she replied. Before he could ask _why_ again, she spoke up again. "I wanted to get to know my family better."

He stiffened immediately and entirely against his will. "What are you talking about?" he demanded almost harshly.

She didn't seem bothered by his tone. "Mr. Sonic is my big brother," she said suddenly, as if he had asked, "and so are Mr. Jet, Mr. Shadow, Tails, and Knuckles. Amy and Wave are my sisters. We're not really related, but we're like a family. That means that my mom is their mom, in a way, and Amy's parents are my parents, and so on. That also means that you're kind of like my dad." She looked down at the flowers she was holding in her hand and lightly brushed the fingertips of her free hand across a perfect white petal. "I wanted to get to know you better because of that."

"There's not much you can learn about a person by just sitting near them," he told her frankly, not wanting to acknowledge what she had said about them being "family". Then, turning his head away again, he added in a mutter, "And I'm not someone you want to get to know."

"I disagree, Mr. Ross," she said quietly, brushing gentle fingertips across that petal again. "Everyone makes mistakes. Yours were a lot worse than most people's, yes, but a hundred years has done a lot to change you, even if you do sometimes go back to yelling like you used to." She lifted her gaze to look at him, her eyes far too wise and knowing for one her age. "You _have_ yelled," she murmured, "and said terrible things, but you never once even thought about hitting him again." There was no need for her to explain who she was talking about, just _how_ she knew any of this. "That fact, small though it may be, is proof that you've changed somewhat. You're not all bad, Mr. Ross."

He snorted and frowned deeply to himself as he stared off into the trees. "Whatever."

Smiling softly, the girl looked away again and resumed her flower picking.

**~ソニック~**

Shadow slowly tightened a bolt on his ship as he thought to himself about everything that was going on. It occurred to him again how pointless this all was. They had no idea the full extent of what Ivo was planning, so how could they ever hope to prepare for it? Still, Sonic had given orders for the first time in a _long_ time, and Shadow fully planned on listening to them. He'd learned long ago to listen to what the blue hedgehog had to say. Had he only learned that lesson sooner, back during the mess with the ARK and Maria and all that… then maybe they wouldn't even be in this situation to begin with. Still, he was no longer one to really dwell on the darkness of the past. Sonic had taught him how to let go and continue living, and Shadow never let that knowledge go to waste if he could help it.

He steered his thoughts toward more present issues. One thing in particular kept stealing his attention away from his other thoughts, but he was reluctant to think about that thing. It didn't really seem like he had a choice, though. It just wouldn't leave him _alone_… His motions stilled, the tool still in his hand and his other hand still resting lightly against the shiny black finish of the ship. He stared long and hard at his reflection, wondering just how much he looked like the relative he'd never met, had never even _seen_. He frowned slowly as the thought from before once again entered his mind. _I may finally meet him. _His father. Sonic's father. _Their_ father. Either way, there was a chance, however slim, that Shadow would finally be able to meet him. Of course, that chance hinged entirely on where Kaden was and whether or not Sonic could track him down while still remaining close to the island, but… _There's a chance. _

He didn't know what to feel about it, let alone what to think. For better or for worse, the possibility was _real_. The opportunity was _there_. Whether or not Shadow decided he wanted it to be in the end, there was no changing the fact that the chance was there. _For better or for worse... _Gritting his teeth tightly together, he forced himself to focus once more on his work. There was no point in worrying about things that might never come to be.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic checked the database on his communicator once again as he ran. Thankfully, nothing had changed in the last ten minutes. Kaden was still regarded as missing. His status had been "missing" since a short while after the video feed Ivo had shown them before had ended. Still, a lot could change in a short span of time, so Sonic checked often. _Just to be safe. _

As he ran, he kept his sword drawn at all times, lest he be caught unawares and unprepared for a battle of any kind with an enemy, be it robot or creature. He refused to take chances, especially since so many people were once again counting on him to lead them. It wasn't a responsibility he wanted. He'd never wanted it. He'd never _asked_ to be the leader of anyone or anything. He'd worked alone for many years, and he preferred it that way. At least then, if he made a mistake in preparing for a mission or was unable to provide food or something, he was the only one who got hurt because of it. Being responsible for the well-being of others, being responsible for their _lives_… that wasn't something he'd ever asked for. Still, people looked to him for guidance, for leadership, and he refused to turn them away. He wouldn't do that to them. And so, for better or for worse, he accepted his role… and kept himself as safe as possible so that he could do the same for the people that counted on him.

He hadn't giving himself much of an area to search. He couldn't. The farther he strayed from the island, the more danger he was putting himself (and thus the others) in by isolating himself from the others. He couldn't let that happen. And yet, he had to go farther if he wanted to find his father before Kaden got captured or killed. He couldn't let _that_ happen, either. Of course, Kaden was resourceful enough that, in spite of not being at full strength yet, he could almost undoubtedly escape capture for a while yet, maybe even do so for years as Sonic himself had done. Still, it was _not_ a chance that Sonic was willing to take. _I have to find him… and soon. But… I have to stay close to the others like I said I would. _Torn between those two needs, Sonic vented his frustration on the nearest robot he could find, taking very little satisfaction out of the way it exploded and went up in flames.

**~ソニック~**

The Voice was still talking to Sonic as he continued on his run to Chun-nan. He was nowhere near his destination yet, and the Voice was starting to vaguely get on his nerves in spite of the lighter, happier mood he'd been in lately compared to normal. _"You should not have gone out on your own, Sonic."_

He fought not to roll his eyes. _'Cause I'm tired and need food and sleep and blah, blah, blah, _he replied inwardly. _I know that already, but this is more important than those things. _

_"Caliburn is indeed very important, young one, but such things as food and rest are equally important." _

_So I'll eat on the way, then, _Sonic reasoned.

_"That does not solve your need for rest."_

_It's not safe for me to sleep on my own in the open, Voice. Pretty sure you know that._

_"Hence the reason you should not have gone out alone."_

Sonic sighed. _Back to this again, huh? _

And now it was back to the vague, poetic statements, it seemed. _"You have long tried to carry the weight of the world on your own, Sonic, but you only have two hands. Some things are so large that we require the strength of extra hands to help us carry them." _

Sonic sighed again. _Meaning…? _he asked slowly.

The response was surprisingly simple and direct and… _non_ Voice-like. _"You should have taken someone with you." _

Sonic had several replies to that, but in the end he went with, _Too late for that, Voice._

The Voice would probably be annoyed with him now, if it were capable of feeling anything. _"Indeed."_

_So what's the point of telling me about it, then?_ The Voice didn't deign to respond to that. Sonic huffed and rolled his eyes. _And so the silent treatment begins. _He poured on the speed a bit as he skirted the edge of a sparkling lake. _Look, if you're not actually going to help me with anything, then do me a favor and leave me alone for a while. It's distracting to try to listen to you and do other things at the same time. _No reply. Satisfied, Sonic continued on his way in peaceful silence.

**~ソニック~**

Ivo sat in his lonely prison cell, unbothered by how dark it was in the room, his attention focused inward as it was. He'd been here since the day that Sonic's simple yet surprisingly brilliant plan had brought an end to Dark Gaia and Ivo's own plans. He didn't know exactly what had gone on during the portion of the fight where everyone had battled against Dark Gaia, but he knew enough to get the gist of things. _So Sonic can transfer his power from the emeralds in order to allow others to transform, and his team has three highly powerful flame users as well… Interesting. I'll have to take measures to eliminate those powers as threats in the future. _As important as that was, however, there were bigger things on his mind. Past ambitions had been brought back to the surface after the day of his capture, and he couldn't seem to get his thoughts off of them. _That hawk… He looked just like her. _Ivo had long known about the legends and history of the Babylon Rogues. There had been pictures in some of the books he'd read of various related things, too: some ancient technology and weapons they'd used, a few important soldiers, some of their various ships, Queen Laralei herself… _Oh yes, he looked just like her. _The fact that the boy was a hawk of obviously alien origin was proof enough of who he was, as were the black flame-like markings going halfway up to his elbows from his wrists. His friends had had the same markings, though in different colors, and those markings were all the proof that was needed for him to know that the three birds were purebred Babylon Rogues. But, no, that wasn't important. That wasn't why the hawk's appearance held his attention. He looked just like the ancient Babylonian queen, after all. It wasn't his markings that had given him away, either. It was his _colors_. Light green feathers and piercing blue eyes… Those from the queen's family line were the _only_ ones who looked like that. _Which means that I have finally found the key… The treasure, the power, of Babylon cannot elude me forever… Not anymore._

Smiling wickedly, he steered his thoughts elsewhere. _Speaking of keys… I wonder where my dear friend Shadow is. _He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he'd need the dark hedgehog for his most recent plans to work. However, _getting_ Shadow and returning him to Ivo's side would be quite the challenge, especially with the way that Sonic now seemed to be actively interfering in Ivo's attempts to work with the other hedgehog. And, worse than that, Sonic seemed to be having an influence of sorts on Shadow that prevented Shadow from following Ivo's orders without question as he once had. _I'll have to remind Shadow of just who he belongs to… even if it means brining up dear little Maria again. _After that, his thoughts began to wander a bit as he slowly worked out what he needed to do when he finally decided to leave this pathetic prison (not that doing so would be terribly difficult, truly). _I_ _need to remind Rouge of her place, too._ Disobedience was not tolerated and would therefore would be punished. Shadow would have to be taught this lesson as well. Omega, too, needed to be reminded of this. _I'll have to dismantle it. After all, a rebellious robot does me no good. _And then there was that little bunny…

Somehow, the girl had done something incredible before her departure from Ivo's space armada directly following Dark Gaia's awakening and Sonic's oh-so-perfect death. She had looked directly into a camera, the nearest one to her, and spoken, her eyes and voice strangely wise beyond her years, seemingly directing her words straight at Ivo. _"Mr. Sonic will come back when the light within overflows and causes the seven seals to grow. He'll come back… and nothing you or Dark Gaia can do will stop it." _Child though she was, the girl had been _right_. Sonic _had_ come back to life when the emeralds had overflowed with power and grown. It was incredible that she had known that that would happen… and Ivo knew just what he needed to do about it. _It seems that my dear Cream has some great powers within her, more than likely inherited from some ancestor of hers. I believe some research into her family tree may be in order. _

He supposed that there were other things he needed to do, but for the time being, this would do. He had one _very_ big, important goal in mind now, anyway. _The one true heir of Queen Laralei… I believe it's time that you and I had a proper meeting. _Smirking evilly to himself, he began plotting his next actions.

**~ソニック~**

**4,321 words this time. Sorry this is late. Also, Reiki/Ki, as Zeki defined it, is a real thing. It's basically the Japanese version of Chi (which is Chinese), more or less. Posted (at about 12:30 a.m.) 08-15-15.**


	140. Preparations

**Hello, Nagato911! Thanks! :D Haha, I try. I don't always succeed. ^-^"**

**Hello, Guest! You will, but more-so in the upcoming arc, as that has a lot of SA2 in it. :)**

**Hello, BlazeWriters69! Okay, I'll wait, then. :)**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Yeah, there was. XD Haha, "fun". More like _Rouge_ was having fun annoying the heck out of Ryker. XD Yep, and the training and being concerned continues. :P Well, we know _part_ of his plans. There is more to come... eventually. ;) **

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yeah. Well, that doesn't happen this chapter. Gomen. :P Yeah, Shadow! Relax! I'm sure it'll all be fine... And yes, I imagine he will be. XD YES SHIT JUST GOT REAL (sort of). O_O**

**Hello, Anonymous! I did get some sleep, I promise! XD No, I promise I'm not! I _do_ like to tease, yes, but I never mean any harm by it, I swear... ^-^" Awesome on that S8! :D Ugh, I hate it when people pull that "just like Facebook" thing. _So_ annoying... This site isn't even social media! It's vastly different from FB and Twitter and all those sites! -.- Okay. Sayonara! :D**

**~ソニック~**

"Okay, so know that everyone's here..." Everyone, save for Sonic Ryker, and Rouge, was once again in Jet's office, loosely gathered in the room. Wave had claimed the hawk's chair and she kicked her feet up on the wood, her arms reaching up behind her head as she spoke next. "It's pretty clear that Sonic's getting ready to plan another assault on The Capitol."

"Yeah, that much is obvious," Knuckles replied from where he stood by the door, his arms crossing. "What do you propose we do about it?"

"Well, besides continuing with the tasks assigned to us, we need to work out details while Sonic's gone. You know, find out who can do what, look into the database for info, that sort of thing."

"Well, we pretty much know everyone's powers already," Zeki said from where he stood near Tails, who was standing a few feet from the left corner of the front of the desk. "Or at least _we_ do. Our little friends from the past don't, but I don't think that'll make much of a difference."

"So long as each of them knows what _they_ can do," Jet agreed from where he was leaning, arms crossed, against the wall by the infamous closet beside the desk.

"They do," Zeki nodded. "And they're working on learning how to use them now, obviously. Well, except for Locke. Pretty sure he's fine."

"Yeah, I'm good," Locke replied with a good-humored smirk from where he stood by Knuckles. "Kaden whooped my butt enough times that I know how to handle myself in a fight."

"Alright, so we need to determine who's capable of what, excluding powers, then," Wave decided. "For one thing, who are our hackers? I know Sonic, Jet, Arrossa, and Zeki can hack, but who else? Like, Tails, do you know how to do that, yet?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I can hack just fine."

"Right. Anyone else?"

"I can do some hacking, but not much," Locke replied.

"I can hack," Shadow replied calmly from the corner of the opposite side of the room from where Jet stood. "And so can Rouge."

"So can I," Amy replied from where she stood near the two foxes. Everyone gave her mildly surprised looks. She shrugged. "Hey, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, especially when she's lost and alone in a big city."

Nothing was said in response to that, save for Wave's brief, "Okay, then." There was a pause as she glanced around the room. "So, what else do we have?"

"Swordsmen," Zeki said suddenly. "Sonic, Jet, and Ryker aren't the only ones actively using swords anymore. Tails is learning how to use dual katana, and Shadow found his stolen short sword a while ago."

"By the time we leave here, everyone should know how to handle at least a small gun," Arrossa added from where she stood with the child in her arms a few feet away from Shadow.

"The two ships Shadow and Zeki stole are fully equipped with weapons," Jet said briefly. "We have more than enough firepower in them to wipe out whatever ships Ivo might have ready to go."

"From what I understand, everyone will have a weapon by the time we leave here," Locke added.

"Yes," Arrossa agreed. "That's the plan. Everyone should at least have a gun."

The room grew quiet after that. Finally, Knuckles sighed softly. "We really don't have much going for us right now, do we?"

"Not like we used to, no," Zeki replied honestly, though bluntly. It was a reminder, however unintentional of one, of everyone who had died so far. On a less depressing note, however, it was also a reminder of all the other things they'd lost, things like weapons and peoples' communicators, and so on and so forth.

"Our numbers have grown recently," Cream said quietly from where she sat on her knees on the floor about halfway between the door and Arrossa with her stuffed toy, speaking up for the first time since this little meeting had begun. "That was no accident. It's a miracle, and it's something we should remember to be thankful for."

"'No accident'?" Knuckles repeated skeptically. "It's not like our Sonic _planned_ to send us here." By now, everyone here knew that little story, and so no one raised any questions about it.

"Okay, so maybe _that_ was an accident," Wave conceded, "but something about your guys' arrival apparently wasn't. Cream's not usually wrong about this sort of thing, you know."

"She might just be talking about me," Locke said suddenly. "I'm pretty sure that my being here was on purpose." When everyone gave him the benefit of numerous confused stares, he shook his head and waved them off. "Uh… I'll explain later. Maybe. If I can figure out how to."

The answer was hardly satisfactory, but slowly the group moved on. "Okay, I have a question," Amy said. "Can someone tell us what the group's powers are? I mean, I know what you guys said about that already, but I think it'll be good for us to know, that way we can work better with you guys and so we can now what sort of help to expect and that sort of thing."

It was Jet who agreed first. "Yeah, makes sense. That was pretty stupid of us to not think about."

"Alright, then. We've got time," Wave said. "Guess I'll start. I have psychic powers, but I have no idea what I can do beyond temporarily, and with great effort and concentration, controlling people's minds."

"Obviously the echidnas all have fire and incredible physical strength," Zeki said.

"Since Sonic's not here, I guess I'll speak up for him," Wave decided. "Not that you guys shouldn't know already, but whatever. He has impossible speed, incredible physical strength, pure chaos, his fire, and, more recently, lightning."

"How did he get that last one, anyway?" Knuckles questioned with a frown.

Jet responded before anyone else could, his eyes closed as he leaned back against the wall still. "I shared mine with him."

It was silent for a long moment before Amy finally spoke up again. "You… _shared_ it…?" she asked slowly, her confusion obvious.

"Yeah," Tails said, "people can do that, if they're really, really good at controlling their powers. It's rare for someone to actually decide to share their powers, but people _can _do it. It cuts the strength of the power in half for both parties, though, and the person who got the new power will lose it if the owner of the power decides to take it back or if they die."

"In a similar situation, a person can _give_ a power to someone," Zeki added. "However, in that case, the original of the owner of the power wouldn't be able to take it back unless the new owner decided to _give_ it back. But, in giving someone a power this way, you can at least ensure that the strength of the power isn't at all diminished, unless you don't give someone the full power to begin with."

"Oh," Amy said in short reply. After that, they continued on, with each person's powers slowly being laid out for those who didn't know. Amy's amazement grew and grew. There were powers she'd never even heard about held by members of their group, and they were all incredible. _Zeki, Shadow, Jet, Rouge, Cream, and even the other me all have powers that I never knew about… It's incredible… _

Suddenly, Jet spoke up again, finally reopening his eyes to look calmly at someone who hadn't spoken nor been spoken _for_ this whole time. "Hey, Ross, what powers do you have? Any?" After a slight pause he added, "I know you've got the brute strength."

Ross, who was leaning against the wall like Jet was a couple feet away from Cream (which was her doing), held his gaze almost neutrally for a moment before finally responding. "That's it."

"Huh. Alright, then."

The uncomfortably tense conversation ended then. It was Arrossa who spoke up to fill the almost awkward silence that came a moment later. "We should get back to training. We can get back to this later, if we need to."

"Alright," Wave agreed easily. "C'mon, cutie, let's get back to work on that ship." Jet grumbled unhappily at the name, his eyes rolling heavenward for a moment, but he followed her out anyway. Shrugging, Locke led Knuckles out of the room as well, closely followed by Tails, Zeki, Shadow, and Cream. Ross left after that and Arrossa started to follow, but Amy's hand coming to rest lightly on Arrossa's arm stopped her. "Do you think he'll be okay?" Amy asked softly.

Arrossa blinked in much the same way that Sonic did when he was mutely responding to something. She seemed to understand who Amy was talking about even though no name had been mentioned. "Yes, he'll be fine. He won't let anything happen."

Amy could only accept the statement and try to take comfort in the calm certainty in the somewhat older pink hedgehog's words. _She believes in Sonic… and I do, too. It's Ivo that I'm worried about. _Still, she didn't have time to be worried. And so, with a sigh, she walked out of the room, Arrossa and the child not far behind, to resume her training.

**~ソニック~**

_Someone asked me once why I continue to fight, why I don't just give up and let events unfold. My answer was, "If I don't fight for me, who will?" My Friends? My family? There's only so much they can do. My life is never going to get better if I don't be the change. They can't change my life for me. You know what they say: "You can't help someone who won't help themselves." So I'll keep fighting, because I know it will be worth it in the end. And even if it's not, even if I turn out to be wrong, I don't care. I don't ever give up. Not ever._

_And maybe I'll fail and lose this fight. Maybe I'll fall short of victory. Maybe I'll never even come close. But someone, someday, will at least know I tried. That's why, as much as it hurts to turn away from my search and to return to the war-like preparations that I started, I'll keep going. I'll keep fighting. Maybe if I fight, and can save everyone who's still here, everyone who's also still fighting and who also refuses to give up. I'll keep fighting for them, too… There's nothing else I can do._

**~ソニック~**

"Wait a minute, Dad _left_?"

Wave nodded. She and Silver had run into each other in the hall upstairs when the kid had awoken to get a drink in the kitchen, and when he'd asked where Sonic was, she had told him the truth. "Yeah. He's off doing who knows what and who knows where. He'll be back, though, it'll just be a while."

Silver's frown said something, but she wasn't quite sure what. "Oh… okay," he said quietly and with surprising calm. With that small reply, he continued on his way past her and started off down the stairs.

Wave turned and crossed her arms, also frowning a bit. "Don't get any ideas, kid. I said I'd help keep an eye on you, and I meant it."

"I won't," he promised shortly and with a concerning lack of his usual humor.

Wave watched him for a long moment before finally turning back around and continuing on her way.

**~ソニック~**

"You've gotta put more strength into your swings. Nothing but speed won't win a battle, just like having nothing but strength will help ensure a lost fight."

Tails lowered his new swords. He'd been training with them for a while now, but Jet was still able to easily parry all of the fox's blows with just his single dagger not matter _what_ Tails tried. He'd already tried both of the things Jet had just mentioned. Tails's ears drooped a bit. "But… Knuckles does it. That last part, I mean."

Jet closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. "Not quite. He's faster than he tends to let on." He opened his eyes again. "Haven't you ever noticed how quickly he can let a punch fly?" Tails thought about it for a moment before nodding. Jet crossed his arms, mindful of his dagger as he did so. "When fighting, you have to put as much strength as you can into a blow without sacrificing the speed of your attack, and vice versa. It's a balance, and a pretty delicate one. Too much speed and not enough strength means that you're doing next to no damage, even over time. The goal is to win as quickly as possible to eliminate the threat presented to you and others, so you have to do as much damage as possible in a short span of time. However, too much strength and not enough speed means that you're far less likely to even be able to hit your opponent in the first place. All the strength in the world doesn't do you any good if you can't land a hit."

Tails nodded slowly. "Okay… I think I get it." He lifted his swords again, ready to try his hand at swordplay once more. Jet also resumed his fighting stance. Without a word, Tails rushed in.

**~ソニック~**

Analia sat in the room where Kaden slept. She wasn't alone, truly, but she _felt_ like she was. She could do nothing to try to heal her partner right now, and so all she could do was sit by his side in her chair in keep a silent vigil. He was only sleeping, she knew, even if he was doing so deeply enough that he couldn't wake, but she had to constantly remind herself that. He wasn't dead, but she felt lost and alone enough that it was almost like he _had_ died. Closing her eyes, she tried to regain some semblance of peace within herself, only for memories of the past to begin filling her mind unbidden for some reason she didn't really know.

(-)

_Analia sighed softly as the breeze whispered past the two of them once again, the sound of it nearly stealing the sound of her sigh. "I just… I want those who are unable to fight, who get swept along with the flow, to be considered people, too."_

_It was silent for a long time. Finally, Kaden released his own sigh, something she had never been expecting, and admitted so quietly that she barely heard him, "Me, too."_

(-)

_"Kaden, you must calm down."_

_Kaden whirled on her, his eyes sparking with a temper that almost never showed itself. "No!" he snapped, his right hand tightly gripping the hilt of the sword on his back. "I am sick and tired of old men making up new wars for young people to fight in! I'm going to put an end to this damn thing before more people die!" _

_Until that moment, it had never truly occurred to her just how truly devoted to and passionate about saving people's lives and changing the world for the better he really was._

(-)

_"Aren't you worried about losing the few friends you have in fighting this losing battle, Kaden? They could die, you know, and it'll be all your fault because you dragged them along with you." the clan soldier asked, his arms crossed as he sneered at the hedgehog while Analia and Locke watched._

_"People who can't let go of something important can never hope to change anything," Kaden replied calmly. Then he added surprisingly, "And besides… They won't die." His gaze suddenly became firm and serious, more like what was usual for him. "I won't let them." Without another word, he continued past the soldier and walked on into the city, leaving Analia and Locke to exchange surprised looks before rushing in after him._

(-)

_Analia had never felt so alone and hopeless. There were enemies everywhere, and she unable to use her powers now. To make matters worse, the group had been badly separated before. Kaden and Locke were nowhere near each other or her, and there was no way that any help would come to her in time to save her. She had never felt despair such as this before. But, then again, she'd never been so certain of her own death before, either._

_Suddenly, a calm, smooth voice entered her mind. 'If you want to live, think.'_

_Her eyes snapped open wide. 'Kaden?'_

_He didn't respond to that. Instead he said, 'You're not helpless. You know you aren't. Even if you can't use your powers, there are other things you can do to save yourself. Just think.'_

_'But… I'm alone,' she thought back to him. It was a stupid thought, really, but…_

_'You're never alone.'_

(-)

_Analia was even more startled when Kaden suddenly took her hand in both of his own. The gentle swell of happiness in his aura was still as surprising as before, but… he was actually touching her. He didn't do physical contact. So why…?_

_"Come on," he said quietly, giving her hand a small tug. "There's something I want to show you."_

_She blinked. Her confusion must have been apparent. "What…?" she asked just as quietly._

_"You'll like it," he told her. "I promise." He gave her hand another gentle but insistent tug. Then he shocked her even further. "Please?"_

_Her feet were moving before she even realized what was going on, her eyes wide with confusion and what surely must have been shock. He flashed her a small but nonetheless genuine smile, only the second one she had ever seen from him, and led her away._

(-)

With a soft sigh, Analia focused on that last memory, doing her best to cling to the happiness she and Kaden had felt and shared on that day. She'd seen a side of him that he only truly rarely showed, a part of him that even his best friend Locke barely knew. That was one of the biggest reasons why she treasured this memory so deeply. Smiling softly in spite of her sadness, Analia closed her eyes again and remembered, if only to take her mind off of the pains of the present.

**~ソニック~**

Ivo had no problems whatsoever in bypassing his prison's security in the dead of night to escape his cell and access a computer. Hacking into it was also almost childishly easy, and he accessed his main computer with ease. This was all almost too easy. It was like stealing candy from a baby, ridiculous though the saying was. But, regardless, he wasn't complaining. That meant he could proceed with his current plans all the more quickly. Typing rapidly, he soon pulled up a very old file from his grandfather's time. The picture was of a young bunny woman, though a second, older picture showed her as a young girl in a ruffled lavender dress with a darker violet string loosely tied in bunny ears under her collar. He grinned slowly. _Merry, is it...? It seems that my grandfather was paying close attention to you, my dear. Why don't we find out why? _Still grinning to himself, he began to read.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic returned to Angel Island in the dead of night. Much to his surprise, everyone was still awake and at work in spite of the rather ungodly hour. He frowned slightly. _They should be asleep... or at least resting. _Still, if they continued working at this pace... the group could be ready to go by tomorrow. Of course, he knew that there was no way that Amy, Tails, and Knuckles could be fully trained by then, but there were ways around that. _Tails can use Zeki's ship. Zeki does fine in combat without one. Amy has her hammer, and she's already highly skilled with it. Knuckles is master of hand-to-hand combat already. _The three of them could fight, even if they had limitations, so he wasn't terribly worried about that. Leaving by tomorrow might be for the best, anyway. The sooner they struck at Ivo, the better. _Especially since he's getting ready for something so big... _Yes, initially Sonic had planned for everyone to have more time to prepare, but... plans changed when they needed to, and this was one of those times.

He looked around to see what everyone was doing. Wave and Cream were sitting in the grass with their eyes closed, concentrating, probably so as to practice something related to their psychic abilities. Jet and Tails were sparring with their blades, exchanging quick and powerful blows, and, not far away, Locke and Knuckles were also sparring, though mostly with their fire (as Knuckles was the only one who was armed). Amy and Arrossa were also sparring trading powerful blows with their hammers. Wave and Zeki were working on the fox's ship, which seemed to be nearly completely repaired now. Shadow was also working on his ship, having apparently enlisted the help of Ross at some point, too. Shadow's ship was still in worse ship than Zeki's, but it was looking much better now.

At Sonic's arrival, everyone slowly stopped what they were doing to look at him in silence. Sonic's gaze flicked to Locke when he sensed that the echidna had something to say. Finally, Locke crossed his arms and spoke. "Couldn't find him, then?" Sonic shook his head mutely. Locke sighed heavily. "I was afraid of that..."

Sonic said nothing about it. Slowly, everyone, save for Ross, began moving closer to him to hear what he had to say. When he didn't immediately speak, Knuckles frowned at him. "You've got a plan, right?"

Sonic nodded slowly. He looked to Shadow, Wave, Zeki, and Ross. "Can you get the ships ready to go by tomorrow?"

"Yeah, probably," Zeki replied. "Mine's almost good to go, and Shadow's will just take another hour or two if we all work on it together."

Sonic nodded again. His gaze traveled to Knuckles and Locke. "I need you two to go out and find Ryker and Rouge. Keep an eye out for anything that might be the treasure they were searching for, too."

"Right," Locke replied seriously.

"I'll keep an eye out for those weapons, too," Knuckles added.

Sonic didn't respond to that. Instead, he just moved on. "Tails, you and I are going to do some digging in the database again. We didn't manage to find out anything last time, but we need to try to figure out Ivo's plans." Tails nodded, his expression uncharacteristically serious. Sonic one again moved on. "Jet, I need you to run a reconnaissance of The Capitol." No explanation was needed as to why _that_ was necessary.

Jet nodded once. "Right. Who am I taking with me?"

Sonic glanced around, deciding before finally asking. "Zeki, will you be fine without Wave?"

Zeki waved him off. "Yeah, I can fix my ship on my own."

Sonic turned his head away. "Amy, you should go, too. You tend to pick up on things other people don't notice." Truthfully, Arrossa did too, but Amy was still hopeful and optimistic enough that her mind was more open to that sort of thing than Arrossa's could be at times.

"Alright," she agreed softly.

He looked to Arrossa then, feeling noticeably more tense and uncomfortable when she met his gaze than he'd already been just standing near here. "Do you mind watching Cream and the girl?" Unlike with the others, he'd asked. He'd given her the option to do what _she_ wanted to do. And he wasn't sure why. Or maybe he was. He didn't want to think about it.

She nodded once, her serious expression softening a bit, just enough for it to be noticeable. "No, I don't mind."

He returned her nod. Somehow knowing that Sonic was done now, Locke tipped his (no, Knuckles's) hat slightly to him in silent farewell before taking off into the sky. Knuckles quickly joined him. And, just like that, everyone returned to their tasks. Shadow and Ross returned to the dark hedgehog's ship while Zeki returned to his. Arrossa laid a gentle hand briefly on Sonic's shoulder before allowing it to slip away as she turned to follow Cream to a patch of wildflowers with the child in tow. More tense than he allowed himself to appear, Sonic followed Jet and Tails into the airship with Wave and Amy close on his heels. Sonic quickly stopped Jet before the hawk could go into his office to retrieve his and Wave's boards. "Pack food," Sonic said simply. It seemed like an order, but really, it wasn't. It was the well-intentioned advice of a friend.

Jet nodded. "Right." Then he added, "Where's my backpack? Do you think it's even still here?"

Sonic hadn't seen that thing in ages, either. He shrugged. "Check the spare rooms. And the kitchen."

"Care to lend a hand? It'll go faster if you do."

"Fine."

While they went off searching, Tails and Wave went into the office. Tails was probably going to get started on the research while Wave was undoubtedly getting the boards. Amy headed into the kitchen, probably to start gathering food that would survive traveling in a backpack. It didn't take too long to find the missing bag. Once they had it, Sonic and Jet headed into the kitchen together. Sonic, who had the bag, began stuffing food into it while Amy and Jet worked together to pull out anything that was lightweight and could travel, each of them working on separate sides of the room. After a few minutes, Amy, who was working to Sonic's left, broke the silence. "Sonic, can peaches travel?" She turned her head to smile at him. "I love peaches."

Sonic paused for a moment, considering, before finally shrugging and reaching his hands out for the three fruits she held. Once he had them, he tucked them safely into a pocket that was separate from the rest of the food. Hopefully they wouldn't get squished there. Amy continued handing Sonic food after that while Jet opened a drawer on the right side of the room. Apparently not finding anything useful in there, he closed it and knelt down to open a cupboard. "Oh, hey!" he suddenly exclaimed, successfully earning Sonic and Amy's attention. Sonic watched as Jet reached into the cupboard and pulled out a length of soft, bright red cloth. "My scarf! Man, I haven't seen this thing in years!" Sonic watched silently as Jet wrapped the amazingly somehow clean scarf somewhat loosely around his neck, tossing one long end over his left shoulder as he did so and leaving the other end to drape over his front side. He stood then. The two ends of the scarf reached down to his knees. He handed Sonic a small container of what might have been nuts. "I think that might be enough food," he said.

Sonic double-checked how full the bag was before nodding his agreement. Jet shouldered the pack and the three of them walked out of the kitchen to meet Wave outside. As Jet took his board from her, Wave quickly mounted her own board. Then, extending her hands in silent invitation, Wave caught Amy's gaze. Amy blinked, obviously surprised, before taking the proffered hands and allowing herself to be pulled up behind the other girl. Sonic spoke up then. "We should be able to join you three in two days. Angel Island isn't as far from The Capitol as it normally is, so we can get there fairly quickly. You guys can probably get there by morning."

Jet nodded. "Right. We'll report in every few hours or so, or whenever we find out something new that's of importance."

Sonic returned his nod. "Be careful."

"Same to you."

They bumped fists then, something they rarely ever did anymore but had, as kids, done all the time as a sort of farewell (among other things, such as congratulations), trading small smirks as they did so. Then, raising a hand in silent farewell, Jet jumped onto his board and took off, Wave and Amy not far behind. Sonic watched them go for a long moment before turning to head back inside. He had work to do.

**~ソニック~**

**So, for those who couldn't tell, that middle(ish) scene that was in first person POV was focused on Future Sonic. **

**Also, I have news! Here are my official plans for the rest of this story: 1.) finish the Ruined Future Arc. 2.) Do the save-the-future/SA2/Sonic Riders Arc. 3.) Do the Sonic Adventure DX Arc. 4.) _Maybe _do the SA arc. 4.) Do the Sonic X Arc (though I'm thinking that only the Meterex will be present from Sonic X. Chris _might_ be, but I'm not sure yet). 5.) Finish Hero with an Arc that's not based off of something canon (kind of like how this current Arc is). ****After this, I'll do the sequel (Which may or may not be titled either "Eye of the Storm" or "Uprising" (opinions on these two or maybe a new suggestion would be appreciated)). After that will be the side stories, "Hero Chronicles: Times of War" (with Kaden, Locke, Analia, and eventually Chip), "Riders" (With Sonic, Jet, Wave, and Storm), and "And Then the Time Came" (the Ruined Future Arc story that I told you all about).**

**Well, anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Sorry that this took so long... I was busy practically all day. 4,915 words this time. Posted 08-15-15.**


	141. Unknown

**Hello, flashyhero! I mean Adventure. Sorry about that. ^-^" Yep. Yep he is.**

**Hello, Nagato911! Glad you think so! :D What do you mean "touchy" section?**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Twilight! Well, I'm g;ad you like them. And yes, there's plenty more to come. :) I would imagine someone will probably stay behind with her or something. You'll get a bit more insight on him this time. :P And yeah... poor Analia. :(**

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Haha, yeah. I really have my work cut out for me. XD I'm glad you liked that. The first of those two small paragraphs was an excerpt from my own journal, though obviously it means something different for him than it would for an ordinary human like me. :) Yes, war is very much on the horizon... but war is not without its own tragedies. :( Glad you like them! Well, you can always go back and look in the previous chapters. I told you guys a few different times who's who. :) Thank you! I accept your cookies! XD **

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! ...I watched the episode not long after you posted that... Their singing really sucked, if you ask me. -.- The way the show so blatantly made fun of Justin Beiber was amazing, though. XD **

**Hello, Blazewriters69! Your first review to Chapter 140: Okay, your opinion is noted. :)**

**Your second review to Chapter 140: Well, maybe. That would be kinda hard to do, with all the wisps and all... But I'll think about it. I love the game, too. :) I _love_ Sonic X! :D I actually like Chris, too, I'm just not sure how well he'll work in the story and all, you know?**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm so happy you enjoyed! :D And yes, war is coming. But, as I said to someone else... war is not without its own tragedies. :( Yes, that part of Attack on Titan was epic. XD I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**~ソニック~**

It was nearing ten o'clock in the morning the day after Jet, Amy, and Wave had left. Locke and Knuckles had returned a couple of hours before with Ryker and Rouge, who had apparently been on their way back already. There had been no sign of Ryker's other weapons, but they _had_ managed to find and secure the treasure. The problem was, though… No one had any idea what it was. At all. Locke seemed convinced that it looked very similar to another treasure he'd seen one, way back during his adventures with Kaden, but wasn't sure if the two treasures were actually connected to each other in some way or not. And so, with nothing else left to do but protect it, they locked the odd treasure up in the airship.

Not long after that, it was time to go. Zeki took his ship with Tails and Ryker in the seats behind him and Rouge on the wing. Shadow took Arrossa and Cream with him in his ship again, though that meant leaving the little girl in the airship with Sonic for now. That was fine, he supposed, especially since Locke (who had been given his first communicator by Zeki the night before) was currently entertaining her in some other room. Besides the three of them, it was just Knuckles and Ross on Jet's ship, though no one was bothering to watch the older hawk anymore. They still hardly trusted him, but it didn't seem like he would try to pull anything, and Sonic, for once, decided to try giving him the benefit of the doubt. So far so good on that.

_"What is troubling you, young one?" _

Sonic forced himself not to scowl in irritation when the Voice suddenly spoke to him out of the blue, thus redoubling his headache. His head had already been hurting worse due to looking at his tiny communicator screen for hours (as he and Tails were _still_ doing research, though Sonic was doing so alone in Jet's office), but he preferred _that_ to listening to the Voice. _As if you don't know. _

_"I do not know everything, young one."_

_You sure act like you do._

_"But I do not."_

_Whatever._

There was a moment of wonderful silence before the Voice spoke up again. _"You must let go of your anger, Sonic. You cannot have all of the things you desire, no matter how important the things you desire may be."_

_My father and my friends are more important than you seem to think, Voice, _Sonic thought somewhat irately.

_"I know, young one," _it replied almost… placantingly. _"However, finding your father means abandoning your friends. Staying with your friends means abandoning your father. You cannot have both him and them. Not right now." _

Sonic suddenly became entirely neutral. His expression smoothed over and his frown faded away as he typed on his communicator. Oh, he was _not_ happy. _I'm aware, Voice. _

The Voice seemed to realize that he was angry about more than just the hard decision he'd had to make regarding his search for his father. There were so many things he was angry about. Failing to succeed in his mission to save the future, Ivo becoming emperor, people (_especially_ his friends and family) being killed, losing so many fights, making the stupid mistake of letting himself get injured in one such fight (thus resulting in the injury that still caused his leg pain at times to this day), failing to keep his father near while the older hedgehog had been sleeping… _"Stars cannot shine without darkness, Sonic," _the Voice suddenly said._ "However, too much darkness is never a good thing."_

Sonic suppressed a sigh. _What are you talking about?_

The poetry, for lack of a better term, continued unhindered. _"Light without darkness is blinding. Darkness without light is an abyss. It is a delicate balance, much in the same way as happiness and anger. Happiness is the light, anger is the darkness. In order for the light of life to return, you must let go of your anger."_

Sonic frowned again. _Whatever._

"You've been doing that a lot, you know."

Sonic jumped a bit and nearly dropped his communicator on Jet's desk. Looking up quickly, his expression mostly blank again on reflex though still slightly startled, his eyes came to rest on Knuckles, who was leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed. "What?"

"Your expressions," Knuckle said calmly. "It's like you're reacting to something someone's saying, which would imply that someone was talking to you. Until I showed up, however, no one was in here, and _I_ wasn't talking to you." He paused, then asked, "Care to explain?"

Oh, like he was going to try to explain _that_. There was _no_ way he was going to try to explain about the freaking _voice_ in his head. He'd sound crazy. Maybe he _was_ crazy. There were times where he legitimately doubted that the Voice was real. There was a chance that he could just be crazy. Seriously, seriously crazy. _All the more reason not to tell him. _"I'm _not_ talking about it," he said simply, but firmly.

"Okay," Knuckles said in a tone that instantly made Sonic suspicious. "I'll just go tell the others about this, then. Bet if we all worked together we could figure this out."

Sonic glared at him. "You wouldn't dare." Knuckles smirked a bit. He was smirking and, _damn_ him, he was _enjoying_ this! Knuckles was _enjoying_ taunting him! _I am so going to kill him for this. _Not literally pf course, but even still.

"Try me."

Sonic released a long-suffering sigh and closed his eyes, pinching the bride of his nose as he did so. "Look, it's complicated and… _weird_. I _don't_ want to talk about it." Then he added, "Besides, I'm busy."

"You could use a break, anyway," Knuckles reasoned. "You've been researching stuff since last night."

_Yeah, and what have I got to show for it? _Nothing at all. He had _nothing_ to show for his work, and neither did Tails. Ivo had been smart enough to keep his plans out of his database, it seemed. _Damn him. _

"So, seriously," Knuckles said, "you _were_ talking to someone right? At least in a way?"

Sonic gritted his teeth together and looked away for a long moment, scowling lightly at the wall, before finally responding. "Yes," he conceded in a mutter. Truthfully, he hadn't been speaking to some_one_, though. _More like something._

"Who?"

Sonic nearly sighed as he slowly admitted. "It's not… a person." Then he muttered, "I don't know _what_ the hell it is."

Knuckles frowned. "What do you mean?"

This time Sonic actually did sigh, running a hand over his face in frustration in the process. "It's just… an entity," he said. "It's a voice. That's it. An irritating voice with no name, no face, and no body, just a seemingly endless supply of poetic prophecies and advice that don't make an ounce of sense half the damn time."

"And it… talks to you?" Knuckles asked slowly.

"Unfortunately," Sonic muttered.

"Where the hell does the voice come from?" Knuckles asked, pressing for yet more information.

At this point, what was the point in being stubborn about revealing anything? "Unless I'm mistaken… I'm assuming the Master Emerald."

Knuckles frowned deeply at him. "Why would you think that?"

Sonic shrugged unhelpfully before revealing, "The first time I ever heard it was when you made me touch the emerald the day we met." _Locke really wasn't kidding the day he showed me the emerald when he said that the Master Emerald talks to people. _Sonic wished yet again that Locke hadn't meant that literally.

"And it talks to you about… what, exactly?"

"Like I said… it gives random poetic prophecies and, when it feels like it, bits of advice."

"Sounds like pretty important stuff." Sonic made a small, noncommittal sound in response. Knuckles frowned a bit. "What was it telling you this time?"

Sonic bit back an annoyed sound at having that brought up again. "Nothing anyone else needs to know about."

"But it was important, right?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Then Sonic admitted, "The Voice seemed to think it was, though."

"The Voice?" Knuckles echoed. "Is that what you call it?"

Sonic hesitated. "Uh… Yeah."

Knuckles then abruptly switched the conversation back on track. "So what did it say?" he asked again.

Sonic nearly sighed again. "Something about how 'happiness is light' and that 'the light of life' will return." Knuckles gave him a look and Sonic shrugged. "I have no idea what it means."

"Me either," Knuckles admitted after a long moment. Then he added. "Man, you were serious about what the Voice says not making sense, huh?" Sonic gave him a bland look. "Okay, so you're always serious. I get it." Sonic made no reply to that, and Knuckles looked at him seriously. "You know, I've seen you lighten up a bit since we've been here. You're not as closed off as before. You talk more. There are more things you let on about your thoughts and feelings now than before. I've even seen you joke around and smile and laugh with Jet."

Sonic frowned slowly. _Have I really been…? _

"It might be a good thing to let yourself be open like that more often."

Sonic's frowned deepened and he looked away. "No," he said simply, standing abruptly. _I can't._ Without waiting for a reply, he walked tensely out of the room.

**~ソニック~**

**Sen:**

Report?

**_Lei:_**

_Way more robots here than usual._

**_Mana:_**

_We're laying low nearby._

**_Amy:_**

_There's lots of activity outside The Capitol's walls, too._

**_Wave:_**

_We haven't seen anything else yet._

**_Sen:_**

_Right. Keep me informed._

**_Lei:_**

_Will do._

The three of them signed off after that.

**_Zeki:_**

_Sen, Ryker's communicator is up now._

**_Sen:_**

_Good._

**_Tails:_**

_I can't find anything in the database._

**_Sen:_**

_Neither can I… Just leave it be for now._

**_Tails:_**

_You sure?_

**_Sen:_**

_Yes. We can keep looking later._

**_Tails:_**

_Okay._

**_Arrossa:_**

_Locke, how's the girl?_

**_Locke:_**

_She's fine. Keeps pulling my hair, though._

**_Arrossa:_**

_Sorry. I forgot to warn you about that._

**_Locke:_**

_It's fine. Knuckles used to do that, too._

Knuckles and Ryker responded at the same time with the same message of: _Whatever._ Sonic was pretty sure that Locke was chuckling to himself, wherever he was on this ship. Suddenly, there was another message, this one from Zeki.

**_Zeki:_**

_I have potentially bad news. Another communicator just went online, but I didn't do it._

A moment later, Tails also sent out a message.

**_Tails:_**

_It's nowhere near us, but it's protected so that I can't pinpoint exactly where it is._

**_Leila:_**

_What do we do?_

**_Sen:_**

_Keep an eye on it. Don't try to make contact. I doubt it's Ivo, but there's no telling who has it._

**_Zeki:_**

_Right. I'll keep an eye on it. You guys don't worry about it._

**_Sen:_**

_Fine._

**_Arrossa:_**

_Maybe we should try to make contact. It could be a distant ally of ours._

**_Leila:_**

_You do realize that we have next to none of those, right?_

**_Knuckles:_**

_And where would they have gotten the communicator?_

**_Zeki:_**

_They might have stolen it from… you know, one of the people we lost._

**_Knuckles:_**

_…Oh._

**_Ryker:_**

_Regardless of where they it from, it's probably a bad idea to make contact. Even if it's not Ivo who has it, it could be one of his spies or something. They might be watching this conversation right now._

**_Tails:_**

_Well, he does have a point._

**_Locke:_**

_I say make contact. If they're an enemy, we can just shut down their communicator remotely or something._

**_Zeki:_**

_He has a point._

**_Sen:_**

_Fine. Zeki, be prepared to help me shut it down if I tell you to._

**_Zeki:_**

_Right._

With that, Sonic opened up a private channel.

**_Sen:_**

_Hello?_

It was a stupid way to make contact, but conversation really wasn't his thing. _Starting_ a conversation was even _less_ his thing. The response came quickly, almost immediately.

_**Unknown:**_

_Who is this?_

Sonic hummed softly to himself as he took a moment to consider how to respond to that demand.

**_Sen:_**

_The leader of the rebellion. Who are you?_

**_Unknown:_**

_Doesn't matter. Why did you contact me?_

**_Sen:_**

_You have one of our communicators. Why?_

**_Unknown:_**

_ I found it. How do you have communicators?_

**_Sen:_**

_Doesn't matter. How do you know what a communicator is and how to work it?_

**_Unknown:_**

_That's my business._

Well, this person wasn't especially friendly, were they? But, whatever. Sonic typed out a reply.

**_Sen:_**

_It's my business, too. If you're working for the enemy…_

**_Unknown:_**

_There's really no way for me to convince you that I'm not._

**_Sen:_**

_No, there isn't._

There was a moment's pause before Sonic sent out another message.

_**Sen:**_

_We'll be keeping an eye on you._

When no reply came, Sonic closed the channel and messaged the others again.

**_Sen:_**

_They don't seem to be an enemy, but we're not taking chances. Everyone keep on eye on them._

With that, Sonic resumed his research in the database.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic wasn't sure how close to Chun-nan by now. But he _did_ know that he was getting tired. Really tired, in fact. It was no surprise, really. He'd barely gotten any sleep since waking up after the battle with Dark Gaia. Some of that was, admittedly, his own fault, but some of it was just due to a genuine inability to sleep. If he were being perfectly honest with himself, most of that was caused be stress. There were _so_ many things weighing down on his mind right now…

Amy and the others were still gone, and he had no idea where or even exactly _when_ they were. He didn't know what was happening to them, if they were safe, or anything. All he knew was that something big was going down in the future. It had looked like Future Jet and the others were preparing for war… _And Amy and the others are caught in the middle of it all. _Then there was his father (who still couldn't wake up), his mother (who was losing sleep out of concern for Kaden), Jet (who was almost undoubtedly in danger due to his knowledge of Babylon Garden, which was _another_ thing Sonic was worried about), Wave and Storm (who were also probably in danger), Cream (because Future Amy seemed to think that she would be in danger)… There was _so_ much to think about… He'd lost a lot of precious sleep because of it, and now he was paying the price for that.

Sighing softly, he pushed himself to go faster. The sooner he got to Chun-nan, the better.

**~ソニック~**

**So… The Voice has a theme song now. O_O It's titled (quite appropriately) "The Voice" by The Celtic Woman. It fits pretty well, actually. Oh, and to clear up any confusion, the SA Arc I mentioned would be Sonic Adventure, not Sonic Advance. :P**

**Also, I'm sorry that this is so short, guys. I had little time to sit down and write today. ;_;**

**Second to lastly (is that even a real phrase?) I'm starting school again tomorrow. I have no idea what my workload will be for these classes, just that I might quickly become busy with homework in the coming days or weeks. If my posting frequency decreases after today, that's why. :l**

**Lastly, I'm starting a Hero RP! Would anyone like to join? :D**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! 2,549 words this time. Posted 08-16-15.**


	142. Down

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! College is more fun, though. ;) Yeah, that was funny. XD Haha, yeah. Poor Sonikku. :(**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Yeah, they probably didn't. _Ugh_, yes, I heard about all that. All the more reason to hate him. X( I'm glad you did! Yes, that was definitely one of his bigger secrets, huh? Yes, Knuckles really does. He has better people skills than he tends to let on. XD Yup. It's _finally_ catching up to him. :P Oops. Good job. XD**

**Hello, GreatestSoldier! Well, we already worked this out, so... Thanks for the review! :D**

**Hello, Nagato911! They might be. We'll see. ;)**

**Hello, flashyhero! Haha, yeah. I saw a few today, actually. I'll fix it eventually. XD Thanks for letting me know. Uh... no. I looked it up. That was my bad. ^-^"**

**Hello, Blazewriters69! (I'm only going to make one reply here, since we've already started doing the RP together. :P) Yup, it would be. Very difficult indeed.**

**Hello, Anonymous! It's fine. Ah, the Goonies. A classic. :) Band camp? Sounds fun! :D RP = Role Play. I think you have to have an account to join a forum, though... You can try as a guest, if you'd like! :D Eh, I just titled that because of the unknown person who showed up. :l Thanks. Yeah, I'll probably need it. And yes, I do. I'm taking fourteen units right now, though... Lots o' work. :l Good luck with your motivation! Sayonara! :D  
**

**Hello, Shadowstar146! I feel your pain... X( Anyway, welcome back! XD I'm so happy you enjoyed! I like the Voice parts, too. They're fun to write. :) Ah, yes. That was one of my personal favorite scenes. X) DUDE YOU SHOULD TOTALLY JOIN. WE ONLY HAVE SIX PEOPLE. :DD**

**~ソニック~**

Sonic was in the middle of another communicator conversation with the reconnaissance team.

**_Sen:_**

_Nothing to report, then?_

**_Mana:_**

_Not a thing._

**_Amy:_**

_Nothing's really changed from before._

**_Lei:_**

_Still lots of activity, but nothing else of interest is going on._

**_Sen:_**

_Keep me informed._

A moment later, the response came.

**_Lei:_**

_Shouldn't I be the one giving you orders?_

Sonic stiffened involuntarily in a mixture of surprise and absolute confusion. _What? _

**_Lei:_**

_I mean, you're always going on about us being brothers, right? I'm six months older than you, in our years. Aren't the older siblings supposed to be the ones bossing the younger ones around?_

Realizing that Jet was only joking (though the age difference part was true), Sonic relaxed completely and smirked to himself as he typed out a reply.

**_Sen:_**

_Get over yourself. This "little brother" of yours can still kick your butt any day._

**_Lei:_**

_You're on!_

**_Mana:_**

_After we get back._

**_Lei:_**

_Obviously!_

Chuckling quietly to himself, Sonic typed out a reply.

**_Sen:_**

_I'll talk to you later._

**_Lei:_**

_Alright. Later!_

**_Mana:_**

_See ya._

**_Amy:_**

_Bye!_

The three of them signed off and Sonic was about to do the same, only to pause when another message appeared in the public chat room he and the others had been using.

**_Knuckles:_**

_Little brother, huh?_

He might have been teasing… but for once, Sonic didn't really care.

**_Sen:_**

_Technically._

**_Ryker:_**

_You were already a little brother, anyway._

**_Sen:_**

_Yeah, I know._

**_Knuckles:_**

_Wait, what?_

**_Ryker:_**

_Us, dummy. We're older than him in our years, remember?_

**_Knuckles:_**

_But since when are we his brothers or whatever?_

**_Leila:_**

_Don't play dumb. Everyone can see it. You're fighting a losing battle trying to deny it. Just accept it like Ryker and Sen have._

**_Knuckles:_**

_…Whatever._

**_Tails:_**

_So, wait, does that make me and Zeki your little brothers, Sen?_

**_Sen:_**

_Yes._

**_Arrossa:_**

_And Saga is mine, yours, Sen, Ryker, Zeki, Amy, Shadow, and Knuckles's "little sister", thus making her mom our "mom" and things like that._

**_Knuckles:_**

_…This is getting complicated._

**_Zeki:_**

_Yeah. We actually had to write all this down. There's way more._

**_Knuckles:_**

_Seriously?_

**_Ryker:_**

_Yup._

**_Leila:_**

_For example, because of the whole "brothers" and "sisters" thing with You and Ryker, the Locke of this time is the "father" Saga, Sen, Rama, Zeki, and Lei._

**_Knuckles:_**

_Like I said. Complicated._

**_Locke:_**

_My brain hurts._

A moment later, he sent out another message.

**_Locke:_**

_…I didn't mean that literally._

It took another moment for another message to be sent.

**_Knuckles:_**

_Zeki, you said you guys wrote this all down?_

**_Zeki:_**

_Yeah._

**_Knuckles:_**

_Sometimes I want to see that list or whatever it is. This is too confusing._

**_Zeki:_**

_Okay. Whatever._

Sonic sighed. Zeki and Knuckles had managed to be civil with each other up until this point, and he just hoped that that wouldn't break down now that Zeki was showing signs of annoyance again.

Surprisingly, Shadow replied next.

**_Rama:_**

_For the record, I didn't agree to most of the people that were labeled as my "family" on that list._

**_Arrossa:_**

_Liar._

**_Rama:_**

_I'm serious._

**_Arrossa:_**

_You're lying._

**_Rama:_**

_I'm not._

**_Arrossa:_**

_You are._

**_Rama:_**

_I'm not._

**_Arrossa:_**

_You are._

**_Rama:_**

_I'm not, and you know it._

**_Arrossa:_**

_You are._

**_Rama:_**

_I'm not._

**_Sen:_**

_Give it up, Rama. You're not going to win this argument._

**_Rama:_**

_Whatever._

A moment later, Shadow followed up with:

**_Rama:_**

_You irritate me._

Sonic grinned to himself and, unable to resist, he typed out a new message.

**_Sen:_**

_And victory is mine._

Moments later, he heard Locke bust up laughing in another room nearby. Feeling rather pleased with himself, Sonic left Jet's office and set about finding something to eat.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic was running significantly slower than usual on his way to Chun-nan. It was late, and dark. It made him want to sleep somewhere, _any_where, even more than he already did. He was undeniably tired (more like exhausted, though, really), but he didn't dare stop. He was almost certain that there was danger nearby. _Probably robots, then. _Pushing himself to go faster even though he really didn't have the energy to, he burst out of the trees and into a clearing… only to find himself running straight through a pack of enemies. _Yup. Robots. Good guess, me. _He was too tired to even crack a small smirk at his little internal joke, and he didn't bother trying. Instead, he just jumped high into the air and rapidly Homing Attacked every robot in sight. Landing hard on his feet after destroying the last robot, Sonic continued running. He gritted his teeth, a scowl on his face, panting slightly against his will as he reentered the woods. _Damn it… I'd better get there soon._

**~ソニック~**

Blaze held Silver's gaze for a long moment before finally sighing softly. "You are sure of this?"

"Yeah," Silver nodded. "Completely." Upon seeing the look on her face, subtle though the expression was, he smiled a bit. "Don't worry about it, Blaze. I'll be fine. I know what I'm doing."

"I know," she conceded with a small nod. "But it is still dangerous out there, especially when one is alone."

"I know," he replied, his grin not fading. "I'll be careful, I promise."

She gave him a fairly stern look. "Be _very_ careful, Silver."

His expression turned into something akin to a comical sweat-drop. "I will," he promised again. Blaze nodded once. Silver turned to leave. "Besides," he added with a more normal grin as he gave her a small wave over his shoulder, stepping out the doorway as he did so, "I'll be having fun."

It wasn't until he was out of sight that Blaze finally released a soft sigh. "That is what worries me."

**~ソニック~**

"Okay, spill. What the hell is the Voice saying?"

Sonic closed his eyes and groaned in annoyance, sitting back in Jet's chair as he did so. "It's just being annoying," he muttered, running a hand over his face. His headache had died down some, thankfully, but it was still there. Painfully so. "It won't leave me the hell alone."

"But is it telling you something important?" Knuckles pressed from where he stood on the other side of the desk with his arms crossed.

Sonic wished he would stop asking. But, at this point, why fight it? Knuckles already knew this stuff, anyway. "It's the same stuff from before," he sighed. "About the light and happiness and all that. It's still not making any damn sense."

There was a pause before Knuckles made a startling observation. "You've been happier lately," he said. "A lot happier, actually. I don't know when it started, but it's true and you know it, so don't even bother trying to deny it." Sonic gave him a dry look. "Maybe that's why it's being so persistent about that whole 'happiness is light' thing. Because you've been happier."

Sonic was silent for a long moment, considering Knuckles's words, before finally saying, "That still doesn't explain the part about 'the light of life will return'."

"No," Knuckles conceded. "It doesn't." There was a slight pause before he continued. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see if the answer reveals itself."

"It'd better do it soon," Sonic muttered. "The Voice being damn annoying, even worse than usual."

Knuckles chuckled lowly. Then he added with decided (though not true) meanness and a healthy dose of humor and sarcasm, "Sucks for you." Then he left the room, with Sonic glaring daggers at his back the entire time.

**~ソニック~**

Locke winced when the kitten suddenly pulled a lock of his hair again. Using gentle fingers, he pried her small hand open and removed it from his hair. "No more of that, 'kay?" he said patiently. "That hurts."

The kitten just smiled at him, her expression completely sweet and innocent. "A-ba-ba-ba," she babbled happily. "Aboo." Then, all at once, it was like she was having a conversation with him, as if she were excitedly telling him all about her day. The once-silent cat-girl was suddenly full of chatter, even if she wasn't speaking real words yet.

Locke smiled at her and adjusted her in his arms. "Oh, really?" he asked in good humor. "Is that all?"

She continued her happy babbling for a moment longer before suddenly raising her voice for the first time and shouting, "A-_ma_!"

Locke couldn't suppress a laugh. "Really? Is _that_ what you think?"

To add to his humor, she made a small sound that sound like an agreement of sorts. Locke's laughter died down and he watched the girl suddenly take great interest in her own clothes and begin examining them with wide, curious eyes. Locke's smile remained, but it became a bit… sad. He loved spending time with this girl, truly, but it was _so_ hard. It reminded him vividly of what Knuckles had been like as a baby, which in turn reminded him of the fact that he'd basically missed out on his son's entire life. That _never_ got easier. It _couldn't_.

Shaking his head lightly, he focused as best as he could on the present and resumed playing with and talking to the girl that he was babysitting for the time being. He tried to let got of the past… but the sadness in his smile remained.

**~ソニック~**

**_Sen:_**

_Still not going to tell me who you are, huh?_

**_Unknown:_**

_I'd rather not._

And least this stranger wasn't being so coldly unfriendly anymore. That was an improvement over before.

**_Sen:_**

_Alright. At least tell me where you got one of our communicators, then._

**_Unknown:_**

_I found it._

**_Sen:_**

_Where?_

**_Unknown:_**

_On the ground in some city._

Sonic gritted his teeth tightly. Espio was the only person with a communicator who had died in a city that wasn't The Capitol. Everyone who hadn't died _there_ had been in the wilderness. _That must be his, then… _

**_Sen:_**

_How do you know how to use it?_

**_Unknown:_**

_I told you before, that's my business._

**_Sen:_**

_And I also told you that it's my business, too. The Rebellion uses those, and if one ends up in enemy hands, that jeopardizes our security and thus everything else, everything we've fought for these last hundred years._

**_Unknown:_**

_I'm not with the enemy._

**_Sen:_**

_I can't trust you. There's no way for you to prove it._

**_Unknown:_**

_No, there isn't. I'm not asking you to trust me, anyway. I wouldn't, if I were in your position._

**_Sen:_**

_I'm still keeping an eye on you._

**_Unknown:_**

_Fine._

**_Sen:_**

_I'm serious._

**_Unknown:_**

_I don't doubt that._

There was a pause before Sonic responded.

**_Sen:_**

_I'm letting you keep it for now, but do or say anything that makes me believe your with the enemy and I'll shut down your communicator right there._

**_Unknown:_**

_You have that right._

Sonic sent out one last message.

**_Sen:_**

_At least give me a codename. That way, if another rogue communicator goes online, I'll know which one's you._

There was a significant pause before a reply came.

**_Unknown:_**

_Call me Yami._

Sonic frowned slowly. _Yami. …Darkness. _Shaking his head, he closed the channel and opened a new one, sending out a message to the reconnaissance team. Only… they weren't responding. The message wouldn't go through. A few minutes later, three separate error messages came up onscreen.

_COMMUNICATOR DOWN_

_COMMUNICATOR DOWN_

_COMMUNICATOR DOWN_

Sonic's heart began to pound. His eyes slowly widened. _No…_

**~ソニック~**

**Ugh, sorry this is so horribly short, guys… and that it's late. Anyway, "Yami" really means Darkness, in Japanese. Also, I realized my error. SA and SA DX are more or less the same. I never played SA before or heard much about it, just SA DX, hence my confusion. Well, that's one Arc to scratch of my list. :P**

**2,010 words this time. Posted (at nearly one a.m.) 08-18-15.**


	143. Rescue

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Yep. It was cute. And sad. :) More cuteness ensues today. :3**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Your first review to Chapter 142: It might be. We'll have to wait and see. :P Well, that's not _quite_ what happened. You'll see. Um... I don't actually know. As in, I don't remember. It's been quite a while since I've been able to read the series. Okay, good to know about the length. :) And no, unfortunately, I'm still _way_ off track. But, oh well.**

**Your second review to Chapter 142: Ah, okay. :)**

**Hello, Extreme Light 9! Your review to Chapter 32: I don't know when/if you'll ever see this, but whatever. Thanks so much for the review! I'm so happy you enjoyed! :) Also, congrats (and thank you!) on being the 900th reviewer! :D**

**Hello, Nagato911! Glad you enjoyed. :)**

**Hello, flashyhero! "Yay" indeed. ...Soon to be sister-in-law? You think that she'll marry into the "family", huh? XD Well, he might be. We'll have to wait and see.**

**Hello, Anonymous! ****Your first review to Chapter 142: Yeah, I liked that scene, too. Yeah, it did add weight. Well, I _told_ you guys who's communicators went down. :P Yes, I was tired. I had to get up at five-thirty. ...I still do. Fun for me. -_- Haha, thanks for that. I'll probably need it. :) Sayonara!**

**Your second review to Chapter 142: Yes, you'll have to wait and see. It'll be revealed eventually. :)**

**Your third review to Chapter 142: What do you mean "lacks accuracy"? Anyway, you just play as a character and... role play. Um... I don't know how to explain it. Maybe ask a friend of yours? Or maybe you can look it up? Sorry I'm no help here. I just learned through experience. :P**

**Hello, Shadowstar146! You'll see eventually. I have a feeling that you may know who it is already. ;) Haha, I liked that argument, too, especially Sonic's little comment at the very end. And yeah, that was sad. :( Here's the link to the forum. Go into Roleplay to find the big group RP. Unless you want to do a Solo RP, and which case let me know so that I can set another one up. :) **** myforums/yasha012/3874847/ Yeah, I know! It's _amazing_! I never thought this story would get so bug! :D**

**~ソニック~**

_"Down?" _Knuckles demanded.

"Yes," Sonic said through gritted teeth. He wasn't messaging this time. It would take too long, and this was too important. So, for once, he'd called. And not just Knuckles. He'd called everyone. Because _everyone_ needed to be made aware of what was going on, because Jet, Wave, and Amy were almost certainly in trouble now. The fact that their communicators were down was more than enough proof of that. "All three of them."

_"They weren't turned off,"_ Zeki muttered.

Sonic's teeth gritted tighter. "I know."

_"So what happened?"_ Arrossa demanded.

_"Their communicators were damaged,"_ Zeki replied. _"They might have even been destroyed."_

_"What do we do about it?" _Tails asked, worry coloring his voice.

_"We can't do nothing,"_ Ryker bit out. _"Especially because they're at The Capitol."_

Ryker didn't say anything more, but everyone from this time understood. The Capitol was _full_ of robots and those loyal to Ivo, there were concentration camps, death chambers… Sonic didn't want to thin about it. _Any_ of it.

_"We can't afford to lose anyone else."_ Simple though Rouge's words were, her meaning was clear. She wasn't just talking about their team's already dwindling numbers. This had to do with far more than that, because no one here would be able to _take_ it if anyone else died.

"I'm going to help them," Sonic bit out between tightly clenched teeth. Then he added in a tone that brooked absolute _no_ room for argument, "Everyone else is going to stay. _Here_." The last two words were spoken with deliberate slowness, the thinly veiled threat within them shining clear as day. No one dared to argue with him, especially not when he was _this_ coldly furious (even if his anger _was_ only directed at Ivo for obvious reasons, and then at himself for even sending Amy and the others out in the first place, necessary though the reconnaissance had been and still was necessary).

_"Be careful,"_ Zeki muttered._ "I already lost you once." _It didn't take a genius to tell that he was talking about their ruined friendship. Sonic didn't particularly care for that memory, so he shoved it aside. _"I don't want it to be permanent this time."_

_"Yeah,"_ Ryker agreed seriously. _"I don't want anything to happen to you."_

"Nothing will happen to me," Sonic muttered back.

_"Regardless," _Shadow cut in, speaking up for the first time, _"as much as you irritate me, I'd prefer it if you came back alive."_

_"Yeah, seeing you come back alive would be nice,"_ Locke agreed with unusual seriousness. _"I'd rather not have to bury you, kid."_ That last part seemed to be a sort of joke, but that nickname brought up memories of happier times that Sonic just didn't have time to think about.

_"You must be careful, Sen-san,"_ Cream murmured. _"I don't know what will happen if you go there, only what will happen if you don't."_

Sonic hardly dared to ask this. "What will happen?" he demanded, even though there was no way in _hell_ that he wouldn't go.

_"You don't want me to answer that."_

It felt like Sonic could hardly breathe. The implications were clear, and it terrified him, though he'd never admit it. _I can't lose anyone else… Especially not-_ He wasn't sure how to finish that thought, torn as he was between his best friend and his- _My what?_ Love interest? _No. No way. Just, no._ "Whatever. Anyway, I already said that I'd be fine."

_"Just be careful." _It was Arrossa. A moment later, she added in barely a whisper, _"Please."_

Sonic felt a small thump in his chest. He forced the feeling that accompanied it back, willing any trace of it to _not_ to be present in his voice as he promise quietly, "I will." Without giving her a chance to reply, he hung up.

He turned then and grabbed Caliburn, which was leaning, fully sheathed, against the side of Jet's desk next to where Sonic stood. Returning the ancient blade to its proper place on his back, he grabbed the belt that held the holster than contained his handgun, the one that had been found in Jet's previously cluttered, messy closet. Securing the belt around his waist, he quickly checked the small cylindrical pocket beside the holster to make sure that his fully retracted staff was still in it before leaving the room.

It took only a few minutes to find who he was looking for, and he was pleased to find that the man was already navigating, steering the ship when their direction needed adjustment in order to get the group to their destination. He turned to look at Sonic and Sonic held his gaze and searched the man's eyes, seeing things in them that others didn't, things that others probably didn't _want_ to see. Sonic frowned. "I'm sure you heard about what's going on, Ross." Ross's own frown deepened, but he said nothing. It didn't matter. That single nonverbal response was all the confirmation Sonic had needed about what he'd seen in those eyes, and it also served to answer his question. "Keep piloting the ship," he ordered briefly. "Land it if I'm not back before you guys reach the landing point."

Ross's frown never faded. "Fine."

Sonic's own frown deepened. He held the hawk's gaze for a long moment before finally saying, "You can't be neutral anymore, Ross. You have to choose a side. This playing for both teams isn't going to work anymore."

"You don't know anything," Ross muttered, looking away with his arms crossed.

Sonic's frown eased somewhat. _So, I was right, then…? He didn't help Ivo willingly…? _"Regardless, you have to choose," Sonic said simply. "Us, or Ivo."

Ross cut him a glare that said everything necessary. Sonic's eyes scanned Ross's again before finally looking away. Then he said slowly, quietly, "If you really want to help your son… then help us win this war." He turned away. "Or don't. It's your choice." Without another word, he turned away fully and exited the room. Heading outside to the balcony, he jumped over the railing and out into the sky.

**~ソニック~**

Locke held the kitten up a bit, just long enough to fix her sock before it twisted all the way around on her small foot. With his task complete, he released the child, who then happily toddled away to play with the teddy bear that Locke had seen Cream holding before. He still wasn't sure what had upset her so badly that night that she hadn't been able to get any sleep, not did he understand why she hadn't gone to Sonic. He was tempted to think that it wasn't any of his business, but… _What if she saw something in the future? _That still didn't explain why she had very specifically gone to Jet, but-

"Oh, uh-uh," Locke said quickly, rushing forward to carefully snatch a shuriken from the kitten's hands. "We're not gonna play with that, okay?" Much to his relief, she didn't cry. She didn't even fuss. She _did_ pout for a moment (and _quite_ well), but she was soon distracted by the teddy, and the stolen shuriken was promptly forgotten.

Locke sighed. _Man, I forgot how much work kids were. As much of a pain as Sonic could be, at least he was old enough that I didn't have to watch him every second. _Locke then frowned down at the shuriken in his hand. _Where did this thing come from, anyway? _Sighing again, he set the thing down on a shelf that the kitten had no hopes of being able to reach any time soon. The girl toddled back over to him again right about then, stretching her arms up in the universal sign of wanting to be held. He stooped willingly and picked her up, and she released a wide yawn before laying her head on his shoulder with her small hands on either side of her head. Locke smirked. "Been a busy day for you, huh, sweetie?" She let out a small, tired "mew" in response, and his smirk morphed into a grin.

Knowing that him talking had helped Knuckles sleep as a baby, he decided to try it with this little one. "You know, you remind me of someone else I know," he murmured. "You two have different personalities, though. She's back in my time." He smirked a bit, gently rocking the girl as he continued talking. "Come to think of it, your personality reminds me of someone, too. A few people, actually. You're a lot like Sonic, for one thing, when he loosens up and lets himself have some fun. Kaden, too, though you're probably never going to be lucky enough to see _that_. I've barely ever seen it, myself." Locke glanced at his shoulder. The girl was nodding off, but she wasn't quite there yet, so he continued talking. "Mostly, though, your personality reminds me of Silver." He felt a horrible stab of grief in his heart, but he did his best not to let it show too much. Babies and little kids were incredibly perceptive to people's emotions, after all. "You're a lot like him. I'm sure that, had you been older when he was around, the two of you would have been good friends."

It was right about then that she finally drifted off to sleep, and Locke let his dialogue come to a halt. His smile slowly faded. _She really does remind of him… And her. …I wonder… could she… could she be…? _His expression shifted as he slowly frowned. _Sonic never mentioned but maybe she's actually…?_ Locke contemplated the possibilities for a while before finally shaking his head and pushing such thoughts aside for now. He really had no way of answering his questions, anyway.

**~ソニック~**

With Sonic's incredible speed, it took no time at all to reach The Capitol. This place was exactly as Sonic remembered it. What was once a lush forest had been replaced by a flat, arid landscape with no plants at all. The ground was packed and hard, but there was enough loose dirt on the top to be blown around when one was lucky enough for a slight breeze to pass through the area and relieve some of the terrible heat, however temporarily. The fact that it was a bit past eleven o'clock in the morning (meaning that it was nearly sun-high) did nothing to help the heat. It only worsened it.

Somewhere in this dead landscape were multiple concentration camps. There were also pointless mines used to simply work people to death, huge mass graves for those who perished here, massive buildings that housed terrible numbers of active robots, and so on. It was horrible.

The Capitol itself was unchanged from Sonic's last visit, save for the fact that the damage he and the Fighters had caused was now fully repaired. The Capitol was a truly massive city surrounded by huge, thick, incredibly tall white walls. Within the city were research buildings, living quarters for those few living beings that was loyal to Ivo, factories, prisons, death chambers, Ivo's own headquarters, torture chambers… Sonic shuddered involuntarily at the memories associated with that last one. Striving to push said memories away and banish them from his mind, he sped up and began running straight up the nearest wall.

Of course, his presence was noted. Ivo had probably known for some time that Sonic was here. As such, he wasn't at all surprised when robots swarmed out of the heavily fortified city to meet him. Turrets emerged from the wall all around. Bullets and lasers and beams were firing everyone. Other robots attacked with swords and chainsaws and hammers and giant fists and other various types of close-combat weaponry. His hand flew up to grab Caliburn's hilt. Then, just as all the robots and lasers and whatnot converged on his exact location, he vanished, reappearing instantly in the air behind it all. Engulfing himself in flames (and thus using a power he almost _never_ used), he shot forward, simultaneously unsheathing his sword and swinging it around powerfully, slicing and blasting at the same time. The resulting massive explosion sent him hurtling backward, but in using his flames he was able to right himself and shot up higher into the sky.

Once he was over the wall, he let himself drop in spite of his altitude. Sheathing his sword quickly, he angled one foot straight down, tearing right through a massive robot of some kind as easily as though the metal were simply wet paper. After that robot was destroyed, he hit the ground running, shooting off like a blue bullet through the nearest street. As he ran, he check his communicator briefly. It was pointless, he was sure, but he had to be _certain_. Sure enough, he got the expected messages in response.

_COMMUNICATOR DOWN_

_COMMUNICATOR DOWN_

_COMMUNICATOR DOWN_

"Tch." Sonic didn't have a chance to react in any other way to that before a familiar, hated voice sounded over the intercoms located all _over_ the city.

_"Storming my base alone, eh, Sonic? I didn't think that even you could be that stupid. But, I suppose I may have been expecting too much."_

Sonic growled lowly as he slid under a robot, kicking it to destroy it as he went. He then righted himself and kept running. "Where are they?!" he demanded furiously, knowing that Ivo could hear him just fine and could probably see him, too. "Where are you keeping them?!"

_"My, my, someone is getting desperate, I see," _Ivo taunted lightly. _"Don't want to see anymore of your precious friends die, Sonic? It's a shame. That's half the fun. It wouldn't be a war if no one died. I think I know just who to kill, too. Word is that you two are rather close… How about I do you a favor and allow death to sever that bond for the rest of eternity? Then you'll no longer have any reason to worry."_

"Touch them and you're _dead_!" Sonic snapped. Of course, Ivo was so, so, _so_ dead already, but even still.

_"But I do wonder…" _Ivo continued as Sonic dove around a corner to avoid a massive spat of gunfire behind him. _"Is it truly your friends that matter to you most? Or is it, perhaps, your family?"_

_My friends are my family!_ "That doesn't matter, Ivo! Either way, I won't let you hurt them!"

Ivo's laugh was both menacing… and frightening. _"It's far too late for that, boy. In case you haven't noticed, I've already killed or otherwise disposed of more than half of your friends, and my three newest prisoners have been here more than long enough for me to harm them in any way I wish."_

Sonic didn't even want to _think_ about what the madman was implying, but the memories of his own horrible experiences here wouldn't leave him alone. _No, no, no, no, no… Not that again… Not that…!_

Ivo laughed again. _"I wish you the best of luck, Sonic? You'll need it if you ever want to save them!"_ With that, the intercoms fell silent.

Snarling softly, Sonic prepared to clash blades with a large robot ahead of him, only for him to freeze all at one when he felt a massive spike of power far to the left of him. Whipping his head around, he was just in time to see a beam of pure, bright pink psychic energy shoot up into the sky, then explode outward into a devastating, rotating spear that utterly _decimated_ the area for close to three miles around the center where the beam had first appeared. His eyes wide with shock, Sonic could only watch in shock as the blast ripped apart the ground, vaporized the buildings, and so on before finally slowly dying down and fading away into nothing. His expression abruptly switching to one of determined seriousness, he teleported for the second time that day. He usually limited how many times he used that ability due to ho _tiring_ it was, but he was no fool; he knew he'd need to make full use of his abilities if he was going make it out of here alive, let alone save the others.

He reappeared at the scene of the blast just in time to catch Wave as she fell, spent and unconscious. Amy was lying on the ground not far away. Sonic frowned deeply. _They finally awakened their powers… and unleashed one hell of an attack together. _Pushing such thoughts aside for now, he gently laid Wave down on the ground beside Amy. Then, summoning up more power, he called forth a bright blue barrier around them for the time being. He turned away after that, intent on resuming his search, only to abruptly freeze for the second time that day when he was suddenly struck by the horribly uncomfortable feeling of something being… _pulled_ out of him. Then, all at once, there was an explosion of lightning on the other side of the city the quickly morphed into a raging twister of fierce winds and equally fierce electricity. It was clear even from a distance that the heat from the surrounding air was being drawn into the twister and being horribly amplified, thus making the sudden, freak storm even worse. There was another huge flash of lightning. The massive building that the storm had started over was obliterated, much like the one Amy and Wave had been in was.

Sonic didn't even wait for the attack to end. Teleporting for the third time, he reappeared just as the storm was dying down. Ignoring the lingering winds and whatnot, Sonic (feeling incredibly serious by the two displays of incredible power but also feeling like he was about to go limp he was so relieved) quickly picked his way through the rubble to a familiar figure, who was pushing himself up slowly on his hands and knees. Sonic reached out a hand to help, only to stop abruptly.

"_Don't_ touch me," Jet snapped, slowly moving to sit on his knees with his eyes shut. Bracing his hands on his knees, he took a slow, deep breath.

Sonic's own hands raised defensively. "Okay," he replied quickly. Then he added more quietly and somewhat soothingly, "Okay." He understood the command. There was no telling what Ivo had done, exactly, but the madman had made _horrible _implications about what he'd been doing to his prisoners, and that sort of thing, Sonic knew, did _not_ leave people being very touchy-feely, nor did it leave them in good moods. And that was putting both matters very lightly. Sonic himself knew from personal experience. "You okay?" It didn't quite come out as calm-sounding as he'd intended, had made his worry clear, but for once, he didn't care.

"I'm fine," Jet bit out, not moving or opening his eyes. Then he demanded, "Wave and Amy?"

"They're okay," Sonic said simply. Then he continued in more detail, "They tapped into their psychic abilities, even more than Cream ever has, and wiped a section of the city out. They're exhausted and unconscious now, but they're fine." Jet nodded once before slowly moving to stand. When he faltered a bit, Sonic had to _force_ himself not to grab his friend's arm on reflex to help steady him. Once the hawk was on his feet, Sonic asked quickly, "Where are your boards?"

Jet finally opened his eyes and glanced to the ruins of one of the buildings his twister had ripped apart. "In there somewhere."

Sonic nodded once. "Stay here." He quickly summoned a barrier around his friend just in case before taking off to retrieve the boards. Using his innate speed, he dug around in the rubble until his saw a flash of color. Moments later, he had Wave's board freed. Jet's soon followed. With their Gear recovered, Sonic turned around in time to see Jet calmly turn his head to watch as a robot attacked Sonic's barrier. Sonic winced against his will. The barrier, being psychic in nature, caused him some measure of pain when it was destroyed. Normally his barriers could withstand much more than that, but he was already so tired from lack of sleep and battling and then teleporting more than once in a day, let alone in such a short span of time…

Jet suddenly lunged forward, ducking beneath a large fist as he did so, and hit the robot dead-on with his hand. The robot froze on contact as a result of one of Jet's temperature-controlling abilities (which he rarely used unless he was making a storm). After that, a solid kick was all it took to shatter the robot. Sonic quickly approached. "You alright?" he asked for the second time.

"I told you, I'm fine," Jet replied, a harsh edge to his tone.

Sonic paid it no mind, didn't take it personally in any way. He himself had acted in a very similar fashion after he'd been through something like this (for example, in that jungle all those years ago). Sonic steered his thoughts away from that. "Take your board." The board couldn't fly like this, but Jet grabbed it to take it, anyway. As soon as his hand was on it, indirectly establishing the needed connection (which was only needed now because doing this while touching who or whatever Sonic wanted to move made doing so easier), Sonic teleported the two of them to Wave and Amy. Letting the barier around them drop, Sonic carefully picked knelt down and gently placed his free hand on Amy's shoulder. Jet seemed to understand what Sonic was doing and, though he clearly wanted _nothing_ to do with the physical contact still, he also carefully placed his hand on Wave's shoulder. Then, summoning up what power he had left, Sonic teleported the four of them out of The Capitol and back to the safety of the Jet's airship.

**~ソニック~**

**Whew! This took a while to type. 3,793 words this time. Anyway, my tentative plans for the future of Hero have changed. I realized my error with Sonic Adventure and SA DX (you can tell I knew nothing about SA, huh? XD), so I've scratched SA off the list of planned arcs. Also, out of all the remaining planned arcs, SA DX (as much as I love that game), is the most tentative. The reason for this being the simple fact that I can't figure out a logical way to explain how Chaos ended up in the Master Emerald or how it can use the power of the emeralds (even though Sonic's supposed to be the only one that's able to). Sonic X is also somewhat tentative, but not as much so. It's a likely inclusion in this story. If nothing else, I'll do it in one of the new side stories I'm planning (though these are vague plans at the moment). The save-the-future/SA2/Sonic Riders arc and the end-of-the-story arc are still definites for Hero, though. I may end up just doing these two. We'll see. **

**Also, I've started writing the sequel already! Hopefully that means that you guys won't have to wait too long for the first chapter of it to come out when Hero ends.**

**Lastly, I just want to say sorry if I don't seem like my usual relatively happy self right now, guys. Something big came up at home today, and just… yeah. I'll try to be as cheery (or whatever) as usual, though, I promise.**

**Posted 08-19-15.**


	144. Pay the Price

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Yeah, we saw a real power show, huh? But they can do way worse than that when they're fully rested and healed… which they're not. Which, of course, spells problems for the team. X( Yes, it's adorable. X3 And we'll see about that at the end of this arc. I promise there will be a definite answer given about it. Yes, I did. I've actually been planning for a while now. I've worked out all the teams, who's friends with who, who's related (or, in some cases, "related" if you know what I mean) to who, where everyone is, and all sorts of things. :P *Sigh…* Yeah, me too. Ooh, cookies! Thank you! :3**

**Hello, Firerider007! Okay, Sherlock, you got me. You figured it out before the reveal. Congrats and good job. XD Cool idea for Chaos! Thank you for that. And it's fine. I get it. :) Haha, more like eight or nine (I looked XD), but I'll fix 'em eventually. Thanks for letting me know. :)**

**Hello, John! Your first review to Chapter 143: That's alright. And thank you. :) Wow, thanks for the ideas! I have a plan beginning to form in my head now. Thank you so much for the help! :)**

**Your second review to Chapter 143: Yes, he had one once. He was sure it would work, but it didn't. Sonic made fun of it. X) That was in the chapter entitled "Unnecessary", where kid Sonic starts to get sick for a short while.**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Your first review to Chapter 143: You figured it out! Congrats. :P Yes, he is a grandfather, but he doesn't seem to know… The most he seems to know is that she has Silver's personality. :)**

**Your second review to Chapter 143: Yeah, but he's normally not _this_ exhausted, either. :P *Sigh…* You know how my family and I moved recently? We have to, for lack of a better way to put it, get the hell out in under a two weeks (the reason why is a whole other story, but it's not out fault), except we don't have the money to live on our own, hence the reason why we moved in with relatives. I don't know what's going to happen to us. At all. Financially, my family is, once again, screwed. X(**

**Your third review to Chapter 143: …Maybe I do. XD That's half the fun, you know. :P You _might_ be right. XD Okay, good to know about the updates. *Hugs back* Thanks for understanding, S and R fan. It means a lot, truly. :) **

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I'm so glad you enjoyed! :D The action was hard to write because I kept getting lazy with it… Good to know it still ended up being halfway decent. :) Yes, yes she is. :3**

**Hello, Nagato911! Glad you enjoyed. :)**

**Hello, Anonymous! Yes, that was adorable. :3 She might be! You'll have to wait and see. You'll see about that at the end of this arc. I promise there will be a definite answer given about it. :) I haven't decided on a title yet, but I promise to let you all know when I do. Haha, I remember that. X) No, I'm not made. More like scared out of my mind, but that's my problem. Anyway, thanks for the review, as always! Sayonara! :)**

**Hello, flashyhero! Cool idea! Thanks for that! :D Wow, you're really sticking with that team name, huh? XD Thank you for that, truly. It means a lot. :)**

**Hello, Shadowstar146! Who do you think it is? :) Yeah, he kind of fumbled that, huh? But, then again, I _don't_ think he was anticipating on having his three prisoners suddenly decimate entire sections of his city and break free, so… Yeah. He miscalculated. :P Huh. I can PM you the link, if you'd like. :) **

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Well, he might… We'll see. :P …Do you seriously want me to spoil it for you? :)**

**~ソニック~**

"I told you, I'm fine."

Sonic stared disbelievingly at Jet with crossed arms. "No, you're not."

Jet, arms also crossed, lifted his chin just slightly with an air of subtle confidence, his eyes flashing. "I'll _be_ fine."

Slowly, Sonic nodded. "Yeah..." he agreed. "You will be. And so will Wave and Amy." Jet returned his nod. Wave and Amy had already woken up, though not long ago. Sonic suspected that Wave had been through something similar to what Jet had been through, but nothing was certain at this point. Sonic planned on speaking with the two girls in a few minutes, after he was done here.

Jet spoke up again, a sort of sigh in his voice. "I'm gonna go lay down." It made sense. He, like Wave and Amy, was exhausted and injured. A large part of the exhaustion had to do with how he'd lashed out in response to what had been happening to him in The Capitol earlier, thus resulting in him unleashing a random, freak storm. Sonic recalled the pull he'd felt just a moment before that. _He took back some of his lightning from me. _Of course, it had been returned by now, but the fact that Jet had _needed_ to take it back was troubling.

Jet turned away as Sonic muttered, "Actually try and get some _sleep_. Don't just lay there."

"Whatever," Jet replied simply as he began walking away.

Slowly, Sonic's serious expression faded and shifted into a smirk. "Maybe you should take the scarf off before you lay down so you don't strangle yourself."

"I'm not gonna strangle myself." With that, Jet disappeared down another hall.

Still smirking a bit in good humor, Sonic turned away to go talk to Wave and Amy. He'd already talked to Jet and found out (more-or-less) what had happened that caused them to get captured, and now he just needed to talk to the girls and make _sure_ that they were okay. With that thought in mind, his expression became more serious as he knocked on the door to the room the two girls were sharing. Upon receiving an answer, he opened the door and stepped inside. Green eyes very similar to his own looked up at him. _Amy._

Her soft smile was too brave to be believable. "Hi, Sonic," she murmured.

Noticing that Wave wasn't in the room, Sonic had no choice but to focus all of his attention on the battered female hedgehog. She, thankfully, had been spared from the horrors that Jet and Wave had gone through, if only because the two birds had protected her with everything they had before being separated. Amy had then broken free and rejoined Wave not long before their lives had become threatened, especially Wave's, causing them to accidentally unleash their powers. Sonic was still amazed by how much power she and Wave had been hiding within them up until this point. He pushed those thoughts aside now. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

She sighed softly. "I suppose so."

Sonic hesitated for a long moment before finally sitting down on the edge of the bed by her side. Amy shifted to sit with her legs dangling over the edge like his were. When she leaned into his side for comfort, he bit back his discomfort and allowed the contact, silently offering his support. She hadn't been terribly harmed, no, but what had seen… those things would likely haunt her forever. Sonic would never be able to forgive himself for that.

**~ソニック~**

**_Sen:_**

_How did you know that they were captured?_

**_Yami:_**

_Ivo doesn't keep much out of his database_**_._**

**_Sen:_**

_Did he mention their names?_

**_Yami:_**

_No._

**_Sen:_**

_Good._

**_Yami:_**

_Your friends are alright, I take it?_

**_Sen:_**

_They will be._

There was a pause before the reply came.

**_Yami:_**

_I have to go._

**_Sen:_**

_What's going on?_

**_Yami:_**

_Robots._

Sonic frowned. It wasn't like he knew this person, but...

_**Sen:**_

_Be careful._

_**Yami:**_

_Of course._

With that, Yami signed off and Sonic closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the back of Jet's chair. Releasing a slow breath, he leaned forward leaned on his arms on the desk. As exhausted as he was, he had to come up with _something_. The group needed a plan. In order for them to pull this off and defeat Ivo and take down The Empire for good, Ivo couldn't escape. He couldn't survive. None of Sonic's friends or allies could die (and that was by no means for purely tactical reasons). There was _so _much he had to take into considerations, so many things to work around, so many things he had to worry about…

_Jet, Amy, and Wave are hurt, but they can be healed. But, Jet might not let Arrossa touch him long enough to heal him. They'll all need rest, too, and there's no time for that. We have to strike soon._

_Ivo knows we're nearby. He's probably looking all over the place. There's no telling when he might find us and what he'll do if he does._

_Ross is on our side, more or less, but the others might not be willing to work with him. He might not even be willing to fight for us to begin with._

_Cream knows how to fight, but not well enough for a battle like this. She's still a child, and so is that little girl. Someone will have to stay behind to watch them, but we need everyone who can to fight with us._

_Ivo's after someone in particular besides me… and he plans on killing them. _

_He's still after Wave and Jet because he wants Babylon Garden, which means he probably wants to destroy everything. Just like what happened to Planet Babylon. The only way we can stop those plans is to defeat Ivo for good._

_I still have no idea where Kaden is, Locke can't establish any sort of connection with him to try to find out, and Ivo is dead-set on killing him._

_Knuckles and Zeki can't seem to get along half the time, which makes it doubtful that they'll be able to work together in battle._

_Cream keeps having visions at night that are scaring the hell out of her, but she won't tell anyone what she's been seeing. Plus she was way__ more__ concerned than she usually is about anything when she learned that Amy and the others had been captured._

There was a lot more, of course, but he forced his thoughts away from the problems to the tentative plan that was forming in his mind. _Those who work well together need to fight together. Those whose powers compliment another's need to stay close with said others. We have to strike hard, strike fast, and aim for the weakest points first. Ivo himself has to be our main goal, not the destruction of The Capitol itself. We'll have to stay in teams and we'll have spread out, but the teams will have to stay together._

Sonic sighed and rubbed his eyes with the thumb and index finger of his right hand. He hated having a headache. _Focus,_ he told himself. _Okay. Teams. Wave and Amy should be together. Their powers resonate with each other and amplify each other. They can use that to their advantage. That's never happened with Arrossa. …If Cream has to fight, she should probably go with them._

_Ryker and Rouge are an obvious pair. They'll be fine, just the two of them. Same with Knuckles and Locke._

_Zeki's usually fine on his own, but Tails should go with him for his own sake. They can work well together due to their similar ways of thinking and their shared powers, if nothing else._

_Arrossa and Shadow work well together, and Shadow's likely to go off on his own if I try to pair him with most anyone else. They should be fine together, provided they don't start arguing._

_Jet's coming with me._

_Ross… He should be fine on his own to a point, but he doesn't have any special powers beyond enhanced strength. He might not last long in the battle, but I don't think he'll be willing to stay behind. I doubt anyone will work with him, either… not that he's likely to want to work with them, either. …I guess he's going solo, then._

Everyone seemed to be where they needed to be now. Except… _What to do with the girl…?_ He couldn't very well leave her behind, and certainly not by herself. He _wouldn't_. He didn't know what to do, but… there was a _way_ he could get help. Sighing heavily, resignedly, he reached out to his last resource. _If you have any advice, Voice… I'm listening._

**~ソニック~**

Sonic was blasted back unexpectedly and, with a short, startled cry of pain, he sailed through multiple trees and slammed into the ground. He quickly rolled back onto his feet to avoid a second attack. _Who knew the path to Chun-nan would be so fraught with peril?_ A moment later, something occurred to him and he added, _Voice, before you say anything, do me a favor and don't. I heard you the first million times you said that I should have brought someone with me. _Strangely enough, the Voice remained silent. Not that he was complaining, of course.

He was abruptly ripped from his exhausted thoughts when several more robots suddenly appeared in his way. He barely managed not to get shot as he dove to the side, only to be slammed into the ground by a heavy foot that he hadn't even seen coming. He struggled but, as tired as he was, he couldn't seem to break free. The last time he'd been so easily overpower by a single robot, he'd been an inexperienced kid who'd still be developing his strength. The fact that this was happening _now_, now that he was older and stronger, only served to tick him off, if only a bit.

Then, suddenly, just as a gun was aimed at him, there was a flash of bright green light that tore the robot it half. Three more attacks just like the first quickly and easily dispatched the others, and suddenly, Sonic was encased in a green outline and whisked away into the air at high speeds. He spun around as best as he could in his current position. "Silver?!"

Silver glanced at him, a smirk appearing on his face. "Yo. Thought you might need some help. Care for a ride?"

"Not like you're giving me a choice," Sonic replied. Then he sighed. "You _know_ I wanted you to stay out."

"Yeah, I know," Silver grinned. "I just decided not to care."

Sonic gave him the benefit of a half-hearted glare. "Brat."

Silver's grin only widened as he replied, "Aw, you know you love me."

"Yeah, lucky for you," Sonic returned, a smirk finally showing itself on his face.

Silver stuck his tongue out at him. A moment later, he asked. "Where are we headed, anyway?"

"Chun-nan," Sonic answered immediately. "It's in the far north-eastern portion of the world. That's where my dad lived, back when the world was divided into clans, tribes, and wild people."

"Wow, really?" Silver asked, his eyes getting wide. Then he exclaimed in excitement, "That's so cool!" Sonic chuckled lowly at his son's expression. Then Silver asked, "So what's there? There's gotta be something there if you're going, right?"

Silver was perceptive, as usual. "Yea," Sonic nodded. "There's this sword called Caliburn that I need. It was my dad's a long time ago. He used it to win a war, but he lost it somehow when he was either a teenager or a young adult. Locke thinks it could have ended up back in the city somehow."

Silver grinned up ahead. "Awesome. Chun-nan, here we come!" With that, he sped on ahead at full speed, taking Sonic with him as he went.

**~ソニック~**

_If I don't tell anyone, nothing will change and someone will pay the price._

_If I tell someone, they will try to change things and they will pay the price._

_No matter what I do, someone will pay the price for Ivo's actions, his ambition, his power-lust, his sins._

_Someone will get hurt… and there's nothing I can do about it. _

Burying her face in her pillow, Cream fought back tears and cried silently to herself. It was times like that she really and truly hated her powers. She saw good things at time, yes, but she saw horrible things as well. She saw death and destruction and pain and fear and darkness and things she's never wanted to see to begin with. She hadn't asked for this, any of it. No one had, of course, but she was just a little girl. Changed or not, she was still Cream. She still longed foe the comfort of her mother's arms, the companionship she had once found in Cheese, the security she had once felt in her family home. But none of that was coming back, and nothing she could do would change that. She was all alone in the world, in a way, and sometimes, she wished that she couldn't see things as clearly as she could. Sometimes she wished she couldn't see at all.

**~ソニック~**

**2,230 words this time. …Yeah, I know it's short. Sue me. (…Please don't. I'm a poor student. X( ) **

**Thanks to the help of Firerider007, John, and flashyhero, I have plenty to think about involving Chaos's existence and past. SA DX is now an official arc. You can go ahead and thank these three, now. :)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! I'm feeling a bit better today (somewhat), by the way, so yay for the small things in life. :) Posted (at about 1:13 a.m.) 08-20-15.**


	145. The Calm Before the Storm

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Yeah. Poor everybody. :( I'm glad you enjoyed! Well, you'll see more of them next time... The next chapter (and possibly one or two after that) will very much be the climax of this arc. :)**

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! Well, I will if you want me to, I just wanted to make sure you _really_ wanted the spoiler before I answered the question. :P Aw, thanks! I'm glad you think so! :D**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Thank you for understanding. That fact alone is helpful. I appreciate it so much. :) I know, but I won't. I love writing, and I honestly don't know what to do with myself when I can't do it. :) Aw, thank you for that! Your words mean so much to me. You're a wonderful friend. :) *Hugs***

**Hello, Firerider007! Aw, thanks. I'm glad you think so! :D Well, it was, for this arc, anyway. XD Sure thing! Thank _you_ for helping me out! :D Okay, that's a good idea. I might do that. And thanks for letting me know. I will look for them. :)**

**Hello, Nagato911! He _might_ be. XD ... ... ..._We're all going to die._**

**Hello, flashyhero! Yeah, same... ;_; Great observation! We'll just have to see if it hold true in the upcoming climax of this arc. ;) Yes, thank you so much for that, truly. I wanted to do that arc all along, but the lack of ideas was making the possibility of doing so seem iffy at best. Your idea, combined with the others, has made it doable. :) They are, but only sort of, and very slowly. Only time will tell at this point. Thank you, by the way. I understand, but I very much plan to continue this story. Thank you for the understanding, though. :)**

**Hello, Anonymous! Your first review to Chapter 144: Alright, I'm glad you don't care. :) Yeah, I am. Thank you. :) Haha, I suppose it did. XD Sayonara!**

**Your second review to Chapter 144: Same! ;_; We'll see. Bye!**

**Hello, Shadowstar146! Lol! XD Perhaps. That's certainly what was being implied. :( Nope, not Past Shadow. Considering the personality Yami's displayed, that was a very good guess, though. :) **

**Hello, Lynn! Your review to Chapter 80: Oh, you're talking about Silver's timeline? Yes, that's after Ivo's time. Two-hundred(ish) years in the future, after all. He can't naturally live that long. :) I'm so happy you're enjoying! I tried (try) very hard with that, so I'm happy to know that it's working. Thank you so much for the review! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 141: Thy might. XD Who's your guess? :) Glad you enjoyed!**

**Your review to Chapter 142: ALERT! ABORT MISSION! ABORT, ABORT! DX Yeah, he's one of my favs, too (as far as canon characters go). Him and Sonic are my #1 favs. :) I'm happy you liked it! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 143: ...I _might_ be! XD Hahaha! I was laughing the whole time I read this! Thanks for that! I needed the laughter! XD And yes, I'm glad, too. :) **

**Your review to Chapter 144: S'all right. Like I said, I needed the laugh. :) Yes, her Pseudo Family should now. Question is... will she _tell_ them? Haha, "#Sorrynotsorry". XD I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**~ソニック~**

Sonic watched as Amy gently patted the ground beside her in silent invitation. "Why don't you join us, Sonic?"

Sonic glanced around Jet's office, seeing just about everyone there. Everyone who was present was sitting in a circle on the floor. Even Shadow and Jet were sitting in this odd circle. Only Ross was missing. Sonic glanced at Jet and raised an eyebrow minutely in a way that asked, _You, too?_ Jet briefly lifted one shoulder in a sort of shrug. Shrugging as well, Sonic accepted the invitation and sat down beside Amy. Everyone seemed calm, relaxed, peaceful... But Sonic was no fool. _This isn't peace... This is the calm before the storm. _He looked to Amy. "What's going on?"

"We're playing a game," she replied with a soft smile, "to kill time."

It made sense. The assault wasn't until tonight. He was silent for a moment before asking, "What game?"

"A game of truth," Wave replied with a wink.

"Basically, someone sets a topic and everyone else has to answer honestly," Amy replied. "I'll show you what I mean. The topic I decided on is things we like. I like the ocean." She smiled a bit at Sonic. "Now, someone else goes until we all speak. Why don't you go next."

Sonic blinked, not responding otherwise for a moment, before shrugging again. "I like flying."

Tails went next. "I like sleeping in," he admitted with a smile.

Next up was Zeki. He seemed to think for a moment before saying simply, "I like movies."

Next up was Wave. "I like chocolate."

Jet was next. "I like cool weather."

Cream went next. "I like cooking.

Now it was Locke's turn. "I like relaxing in the sun."

Knuckles was up. "I like exploring."

It was Rouge's turn. "I like kids."

Ryker went next. "I like treasure."

Now it was Arrossa's turn. "I like painting."

Shadow went last. Sonic was honestly surprised that his half-brother was participating at all. "I like books."

"And now," Amy said, "since my topic is finished, the person to the right of the last person to set a topic gets to set a new one. That's you, Sonic."

Sonic took a moment to consider his options before finally proposing, "Favorite song." Then he said for himself, "Superman."

"A World Without Danger," Tails replied.

Zeki waved a hand almost dismissively. "Same."

"Fight Song," Arrossa replied simply.

"I don't really have one," Ryker said, "but I guess I like Counting Stars."

It was Cream's turn. "Tears on the Wind," she murmured in that calm way of hers.

Locke went next. "I don't really know any modern music, and the songs I used to listen to didn't really have names."

It was Knuckles's turn. "You're the Best Around."

Wave shrugged. "I don't have one."

Jet spoke up next with a shrug of his own. "Closer to the Edge."

Rouge was up. "Sleigh Bells."

Like before, Shadow went last. "Overlock."

Tails set the next topic. "Uh... Favorite food? Mine's Fried chicken."

"Mine's cheese pizza," Zeki said.

"It'll have to be rice for me," Wave replied.

"Curry," Jet said simply.

"My favorite is cherry pie," Cream said.

"Grapes," Locke replied.

"Apples," Knuckles shrugged.

"Mine would be dark chocolate," Rouge said.

"Same as the other me," Ryker said.

"Mine is probably cookies," Arrossa replied.

"I don't have one," Shadow said.

"Mine is cake," Amy admitted sheepishly.

"Ramen," Sonic said simply.

Zeki was next to set a topic. He hesitated before finally shrugging. "Instruments you like. I like guitars."

"I like the flute," Jet shrugged.

"I like the piano," Cream murmured.

"I do, too," Amy said.

"Same," Rouge said.

"I like the piano, too," Arrossa said.

"I like the harp," Locke said.

"I like the keyboard a bit," Wave said.

"I like drums, I guess," Knuckles said.

"I don't care," Shadow muttered.

Ryker shrugged. "I don't really care."

"I like guitars," Sonic shrugged, "especially ESP rock ones."

"I like the keyboard," Tails said.

It was Wave's turn to set the topic. "One secret," she said. "Doesn't have to be anything big. Just something you've never told anyone before. My favorite color actually isn't pink; it's white."

"I once told a man to his face that I thought he was ugly," Locke admitted. "I was a kid, but still."

"I once fell asleep while piloting one of my first planes," Tails said sheepishly. "The only thing that saved me from crashing was when a flicky flew by my ear and chirped really loudly and scared me awake."

"I one time ate a whole cake..." Amy admitted slowly, clearly embarrassed, "...by myself. And I wasn't sorry about it."

"I used to sneak out of bed at night sometimes," Cream murmured, "to go visit a Chao Garden near my home. That's how I met Cheese."

"I founded the Chaotix Detective Agency a long time ago," Ryker revealed suddenly, "and I was their leader for a little while."

Jet didn't seem fond of this topic but, after a moment, he relented, "I used to want to be the greatest thief in the world."

"I used to hate being a thief as a young girl," Rouge said.

"I can understand animals," Knuckles revealed.

"When I first met Gerald Robotnik, I actually thought he was an egg for a moment," Sonic admitted with a small shrug.

"I nearly shot myself when I was learning how to use a gun as a kid," Shadow muttered.

"As a child, I used to say that all the other kids were stupid," Arrossa said quietly.

"I once met a woman who tried to convince me that one of my tails was fake," Zeki muttered, clearly still annoyed about it.

The game continued on and on for a surprising amount of time and, strangely enough, Sonic found himself enjoying spending time with everyone in such a casual manner, even if it _was_ only happening so that everyone could take their mind off of the impending battle. This wasn't peace, after all. The storm was coming... they just had to wait for it. But, for now, Sonic did his best not to think about that and instead did whatever he could to focus on the game instead. It was all he could do.

**~ソニック~**

"You're not... scared?" Tails, his eyes shining with worry, looked as his beaten and battered mentor (such as he had become), turned, a hand on his right hip, to look at Tails.

"Why would I be?"

Tails's expression scrunched up a bit in passionate worry. "Because we're going to attack Ivo in his strongest fortress and there are robots and creatures and people who'll all be fighting us and we can't guarantee that no one will get hurt or worse and-" Tails suddenly cut himself off when a hand landed on his head, effectively startling him into silence.

Jet, his left hand still on Tails's head, spoke seriously then. "There's nothing to be scared of, kid. We all have each other's backs. We're fighting together and protecting each other, so we can help each other if something happens. Yes, some of us will probably get hurt, but there's no way we'll let any of us die. Okay?"

Actually somewhat comforted, Tails somehow managed a small smile. "Okay."

Smirking a bit, Jet briefly ruffled Tails's hair before removing his hand and continuing on his way down the hall. "By the way..." he called over his shoulder, never looking bacl as he walked away. "Take good care of my swords, alright? I'd rather not have to try to find you some new ones."

Tails's smile widened. "I will!" he promised. Jet disappeared around a corner. His dark mood somewhat alleviated for the time being, Tails turned away to head for the kitchen in search of a small snack.

**~ソニック~**

"You can't just expect him to know everything, you know."

Ryker, who was reclining on a couch with his arms behind his head, released a sigh, his eyes closed."Yeah... I know."

Rouge, who was sitting in he heavily cushioned armchair by the armrest of the couch behind Ryker's head, rested her cheek on her hand as she leaned on her elbow, her eyes on her relaxing companion. "If you know that, then why do you act like he should know this already?"

"He's Sonic," Ryker muttered. "In case you haven't noticed, he's pretty damn observant and intelligent."

"It's not like he's had the time to _observe_ you," Rouge pointed out in a bored sort of tone. "In case _you_ haven't noticed, he's had his hands full since before we even got here." When Ryker made no comment to that, she huffed at him. "If you want him to know that you consider him a friend again, you'll have to _tell_ him."

Ryker sighed again. "Yeah... whatever."

Releasing a sigh of her own, Rouge shrugged and looked away. "Your loss then, Big Guy." The only response she ever received was a small snort. Rouge sighed softly to herself. _Your loss... and his._

**~ソニック~**

Cream gently stroked a soft ear on her teddy while she sat on her bed. Never looking up, she murmured, "It's nothing, Miss Amy."

Arrossa blinked, noting how Cream had dropped the codenames for now. It wasn't like it mattered, though. It was just the two of them in here. "No, it's not," she replied firmly. Then she added, "And I've told you before that you don't have to call me that." Cream just shrugged, though what exactly she was responding to in doing so was unclear. Arrossa's normally quietly serious expression softened a bit. "Cream, what's wrong?" she asked gently. "You know you can talk to me, right?"

"Yes, I know," Cream murmured. Then, slowly, she released a shaky sigh. "I just... I miss Mother and Cream and our home and everyone else who's gone, and..."

Whether or not this was really what had been keeping her up at night, this was clearly something that _was_ weighing down on her mind. Tears begin to flow. Arrossa reached out and pulled the girl close, offering what words and actions of comfort she could. _I'll never leave your side, Cream... Not ever. If nothing else, always know that you have me. I'll always be here. I promise..._

**~ソニック~**

Knuckles stared at his father for a long moment before turning to look in mute shock at the small girl playing on the floor in the sitting room the three of them were in. Finally he muttered, "I'm an idiot. I can't believe I didn't see it before."

"T'be honest," Locke admitted, also watching the girl, "I didn't either. Not at first."

Knuckles shook his head slowly in wonder. "They were only sixteen."

"And yet, here she is," Locke murmured. "It's obvious that she's theirs."

Knuckles shook his head slowly again. "I can't believe that Sonic hasn't noticed this yet."

"Anyone can miss out on the obvious," Locke replied, "so long as they're not paying attention."

"But those who do so miss out on the things that matter," Knuckle remarked dryly.

"And yet, they can also protect themselves from the things that hurt."

"Or they can miss the chance to take the good things that come their way."

"Either way," Locke shrugged, "I don't think we should tell him."

Knuckles glanced at him. "Yeah. It'd be better for him if he found out on his own."

Locke nodded. "Guess this'll be our little secret, then."

Knuckles looked to the small, happy child and answered with a nod of his own. "Guess so."

**~ソニック~**

"I still say you spend too much time staring at the sunset."

Sonic looked away from Zeki and closed his eyes as he continued to lean back against the wall in the spare room he and the fox were in. "What can I say?" he murmured with a shrug. "I like the bright colors."

Zeki snorted and probably rolled his eyes. "Oh, bull. You and I both know that you prefer the softer colors like purples and blues."

"True," Sonic admitted with another small shrug.

"And, anyway, you and I both know that that's not the reason for it," Zeki continued.

Sonic sighed and opened his eyes again to look at Zeki as the fox tinkered on some device or another. It looked like one of his gadgets that created a temporary, but powerful, barrier. "Haven't we had this discussion before?"

"Yes," Zeki acknowledged, "but seeing as how it remains applicable at this point, I don't see the harm in bringing it up once more."

"There's no point."

"There is."

"There isn't."

"There is."

"There isn't."

"There is."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "You're impossible."

"No," Zeki retorted, his tone entirely serious. "I'm improbable."

Sonic chuckled lowly, unable to help himself. Zeki had actually made a joke. "Whatever... Either way, you can be really annoying sometimes, with all your damn poking and prodding."

Zeki suddenly turned and grinned at him. "But I'm your bro, anyway, so you have to deal with it."

Sonic smirked a bit. "Yeah, yeah," he replied and a falsely dismissive way. "Keep telling yourself that." Zeki stuck his tongue at at him, and Sonic's smirk widened. As Zeki turned away again, Sonic was suddenly struck by a thought that hadn't entered his mind in years. _In spite of the dangers... It's moments like these that make having friends worth it._

**~ソニック~**

"You don't have to keep avoiding her, Sen-san."

Sonic paused in the hall and turned to look at Cream. Deciding to ignore the fact that she'd called him "Sen" instead of "Sonic" for now, he said simply, "I'm not avoiding her."

"Arrossa-chan thinks so."

"She tell you that?"

"No."

"Then how did you-" Sonic cut himself off before he could ask the obvious question and instead he said again, "I'm not avoiding her."

She was quiet for a long moment before remarking softly, "Sen-san... love is like a rubber band held at both ends by two people. When one leaves and releases their end... it hurts the other. That's what happened to you. Arrossa-chan left, and it hurt you. Lady Elsa died, and that hurt you, too." A slow, deep frown appeared on his face. "But, Sen-san, you have to understand. That's not the end of the story. The things that hurt... they heal."

He looked away. "Not everything heals, Cream."

"Maybe not right away," she acknowledged in a murmur, "but even the worst of scars will fade with time." When he made no attempt at forming a response to that, she continued. "Sen-san, as much as you don't want to admit it, you _are_ feeling things for her. You don't have to be afraid of that. Just let these feelings be... whatever they are for you. Go with the flow. Don't let your fear of pain stop you from gaining the happiness you deserve."

Sonic looked away and, slowly, he turned and continued walking down the hall.

**~ソニック~**

"Is there something you want, Shadow?"

Shadow, who was rubbing his hand gun with a white cloth in what seemed to be an attempt to clean it, glanced at her. "For this to be over."

Amy, who sat on the couch across from Shadow, shook her head slowly, a patient sort of smile on her face. "No, I mean... Is there something you want to get out of this fight?"

At this, Shadow snorted. "Yeah, me. Alive. If I can get out of this alive, that would be great."

Amy shook her head. "That still isn't what I meant."

"Explain it better, then."

"I mean... why are you fighting with Sonic and the others? What are you hoping to accomplish?"

"Atonement." Amy froze slightly at that word. Shadow paused in his cleaning, his hands lowering to rest on his lap. "I'm fighting because I helped cause this. It's my fault that this happened, all of this. People have _died_, my friend-" He cut himself off with a firm shake of his head, but Amy understood. She'd heard the story. Espio and Shadow had been friends, and Shadow had seen him die. He shook his head again. "I can't fix the past, but I can change the future. _That's_ why I fight. To make a change."

Amy's soft smile broadened. "I knew it."

He glanced up quickly at the tone in her voice. "Knew what?" he demanded, though seemingly more out of surprise than anything else.

Amy's eyes absolutely shone with happiness. "I knew you weren't a bad person, right from the beginning. I've heard all about what you did in Crisis City, trying to stop Mephiles, testing Sonic to see if he could fight it on his own, fully prepared to help him if he couldn't... Sonic even sensed that you weren't evil. He let you use one of his emeralds, even before he'd met you. Then, during our fight with Dark Gaia, a little bird told me that you led your team in an assault to help take Ivo down." He made no comment to that. "See? Undeniable proof that I was right."

Shadow huffed and looked down at his gun, resuming his cleaning of it with a muttered, "Whatever."

Smiling, Amy counted victory as hers.

**~ソニック~**

Nothing but solemn faces greeted him when he walked in the room. Everyone was ready; armed, fully healed, fed, and as rested as possible. And now... they were about to see if all their preparation was worth it. Because, no matter the outcome, whether they won or lost, this would be the last battle of the war. Things would never be the same after this night. Emerald eyes traveled slowly over each face in turn, memorizing them as though he might never see them again. Turning away, he spoke, his voice so quiet that it could barely be heard. "It's time."

**~ソニック~  
**

**3,111 words this time. ...Man, this took way, way, _way_ longer than I thought it would. I'm not even gonna try and explain why. XD I hope you enjoyed, and I'm sorry this is so late. **

**ALSO! Remember that forum I mentioned before? Anyone can still join, for one thing, but it has expanded as of today. It's no longer just a roleplaying forum. There is also a thread for news about this story and the ones related to it, a thread for discussion about those same stories (for example, you can ask me questions, suggest scenes or theme songs, etc.) If you want to join, we'd love to have you? Just let me know!**

**Edit: I forgot to mention when I first uploaded this chapter... All of those song titles are real, and you'll see the artists when I post the playlist bonus chapter at the end of this arc. Of course, if you really want to know now, you just have to ask. :) Also, the though Sonic had in his scene with Zeki was something he originally thought back in the chapter right before Silver's first appearance. I think it was Chapter 63.**

**Posted (at some point past twelve a.m.) 08-22-15.**


	146. A Tragic End

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! So glad you enjoyed! And yes, major action is in store. It continues next chapter. AND I DON'T CARE THAT I BROKE CANON. I ALREADY DID THAT IN THE FIRST CHAPTER. XD**

**Hello, Nagato911! So glad you enjoyed! :D Aw, that's so sweet of you to say!**

**Hello, BlazeWriters69! Yes. That song fits him so well. XD Yes, you guessed right. Cool, I do, too. :3**

**Hello, astroshadow! Yup! :D Well, we'll have to see then, huh? ;) He really is! XD Awesome! I didn't know you were starting college, too! Congrats! :D I used to live there! What city are you in? What's your college? :DD**

**Hello, Anonymous! I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, that one was the best. XD Haha, yeah, poor Zeki. And Poor Rouge. Yes, it was unique, but that was the point. Establishing a stronger relationship of sorts between mentor and student. :) Yeah, same. ;_; Well, no, not true in Hero. He can be dense, but he's not very stupid. :P Yeah, I liked those two scenes as well. Yes, I'm sure he understood her meaning fine the first time. He was just being Shadow, and therefore, being stubborn. XD "It's no use!" Hello, Silver. XD Haha, yeah... I do. X) Yup, you were right. :P And yes, there was! Sayonara!**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! I'm glad you enjoyed! I loved it, too. Haha, yeah, Amy's was the best. XD OMG, you have _no_ idea. XD But yes, she's theirs. :) He _might_ be. We'll have to wait and see! ;)**

**Hello, Lynn! Your review to Chapter 93: Actually, it's the other way around. Ivo's a threat in the present, but not in the future. He was introduced in the present not long after Sonic met Tails and Amy, after all. :P Thanks so much for reading and leaving a review!**

**~ソニック~**

Everyone knew where to go once they were outside. Ross stayed behind to guard the airship. If the attack should fail, the group would need something to escape in. Sonic, Jet, and Wave got on their boards. Amy and Cream got on Wave's board with her. Tails and Zeki climbed into Zeki's ship, Tails in the pilot's seat, Ryker on one wing, Rouge on the other. Shadow and Arrossa climbed into his ship with Knuckles on one wing and and Locke on the other, the child in his arms. Sonic didn't want the kids to be involved, but... what else could be done...? That thought was quickly pushed away. Communicators were all turned on and connected, channels were opened, and everyone's volume was turned up so that the others could be heard with ease. A single nod from their leader was all the instruction they needed to get things moving. The ships lifted off the ground. The boards were kicked into gear. Everyone soared into the sky. They were on their way.

Sonic didn't even lift his wrist to his face as he spoke. "Can everyone hear me?" Of course, being outside right beside him as they were, Wave, Cream, Amy, and Jet could hear him, he just had to make sure everyone else could.

Zeki responded first._ "Loud and clear."_

_"Yeah, I can hear you," _Knuckles said.

Sonic waited until he'd gotten an answer from everyone else before continuing. "Everyone knows what to do. Be careful and don't take unnecessary risks. Don't listen to anything Ivo might say to you, don't trust anyone who's not with us, and _don't_ stray from your partners under any circumstances." After that, everyone else (save for Ross) began giving out their own orders.

_"Everyone make sure to stay in constant contact with everyone else," _Zeki added. _"Never turn off your communicator for any reason, and do whatever you can to keep it from getting damaged."_ Like they wouldn't do so anywa, of course.

_"We need the ships to stay in working order," _Ryker added. _"Be careful with them." _It was true. The ships were heavily needed, if only because Ivo had ships as well. _So_ many ships...

_"Head straight for the center of The Capitol as planned," _Arrossa continued. _"Don't deviate from your path if it can be helped." _Everyone had a set route they were supposed to take, the safest ones Sonic could find for them. It would be in _everyone's_ best interest to stick to that aspect of the plan as closely as possible.

_"Watch each other's backs,"_ Lock muttered. _"Never let your partners out of your sight." _To do so could mean death for anyone or even everyone involved.

_"Save your bullets,"_ Shadow said. _"Only use your guns when you have to. We don't have enough spare ammunition for anyone to be trigger happy." _Unused bullets were hard to come by, after all, unless they were in a robot.

_"Keep an eye on the sky," _Tails added, his voice surprisingly calm. _"Zeki and I will warn everyone if their something big coming in the air, but you need to keep a lookout for yourselves in case we miss something."_ After all, Ivo's ships had enough power to wipe out a city. Or worse. Undoubtedly worse.

_"Cream, Amy, and I will keep our minds open in case someone needs to send us a thought," _Wave said, _"but don't do it often. It's tiring."_ Even Cream, as powerful as she was, could only do that for so long before it became too mentally exhausting.

_"If anyone is in urgent need of healing, contact me and Arrossa and give us your location,"_ Amy said seriously. _"Whichever of us is closer to you will come to you." _The injury had to be serious, though, because that would force the girls to deviate from their routes and their parts of the plan, which inconvenienced and threatened the well-being of _everyone_.

_"No one engage in combat unless it's necessary," _Rouge said. _"It'll reduce the number of injuries everyone receives today."_ Injuries were unavoidable, but measures could be taken to reduce risk. This was one such measure.

_"Don't take on anything that might be stronger than you," _Knuckles added. _"If you're unsure, just don't take the chance. Be safe, not sorry." _Yet another measure meant to protect the team.

_"Everyone watch the weather," _Jet muttered. _"I can't take the time to warn you guys every time I have to mess with it."_ He certainly couldn't, not when all of his powers (excluding the gravity) were weather-related, and he, like everyone else, was going to need to give this fight everything he had in order to help ensure their victory.

_"No one give up on hope__,"_ Cream murmured, _"No matter what happens." _Sonic frowned. Cream must have read this thought. _"Hope may be dangerous, Sen-san, but it's powerful. We need it more than you realize."_

Sonic made no reply to that. Mere minutes later, Arrossa's voice sounded over the communicators again. _"We're here."_

_"Get ready, guys!" _Tails announced worriedly.

Sonic frowned deeper, barely hearing the conversation going on around him as the ships veered off, one to the left and one two the right, heading off on their own separate paths. The outside riders jumped off and went their own ways. Wave and her passengers took off as well. _Don't give up on hope._ Could he really do that? Hoping was dreaming, after all, and when did dreams ever come true anymore? When had they ever?

Could he do it? He didn't think so. But... what about his promise to Cream? Hope could cause pain, yes, but it was also a powerful form of happiness, and she seemed convinced that Locke's appearance in this time wasn't the miracle they were waiting for. _Can I do it...? Can I...? _He gritted he's teeth tightly. _No... No. I-_

It was Jet's voice that finally called him back out of his thoughts. "No turning back!" the hawk shouted over the roar of the wind, his (shockingly) grinning face, turned toward Sonic. Then, as if he'd read Sonic's thoughts, he added, "We were born to dream!" Sonic nearly froze in shock at having his own words from long ago thrown back in his face. "_Right_, Sonic?!"

Slowly, a smile spread across Sonic's face. "_Yeah_!"

Jet's left fist shot into the air, and Sonic copied the action exactly and with the same fist and arm, an unspoken sign of their friendship that neither had shown the other since childhood. And, with that, they raced on into war.

**~ソニック~**

_"Shadow, we've got two incoming! Make a hard left! Now!"_

Taking the advice without question, Shadow swerved hard, narrowly avoiding being shot through the cockpit with a laser. Said laser singed a small section of the wing, but there was no severe damage. As long as they could still fly, that was all that mattered. Still... _That was too close. _

Zeki's voice was soon heard again. _"Tails and I are taking off. Watch your back. We'll keep an eye on things on the West side, as planned. Keep up update on things in the East."_

Shadow nodded. "Right. Keep us updated, too."

_"Right."_

They stopped talking to each other then, and Shadow risked a glance over his shoulder at Arrossa. "What do you want to do?" Their part of the mission was designed in such a way that they could perform their duties either in the air or on the ground. Either way, their goal was simple: take out as many large threats as possible and get to Ivos' headquarters ASAP. It _seemed_ simple, sure, but Shadow wasn't that naive, or that stupid. _This won't be easy... for any of us._

Arrossa took a moment to consider their options, their goals, the threats both above and below, before finally saying, "The others have the ground covered. Let's stay up here for now and lend Zeki a hand in clearing the skies."

Shadow nodded once. "Hold on, then."

She nodded, and he turned the ship and steered it toward the nearest enemy ship. The cockpit opened, and Arrossa climbed out onto the wing, summoning her hammer as she did so. She gave him a heavy look. "Be careful, Shadow."

He nodded once, slowly. "Same to you." She returned his nod. The cockpit closed. She waited until the perfect moment before jumping off of the wing and onto the enemy ship while Shadow went after the next and closest one. As much as he needed to protect his assigned partner, he still had a job to do. He'd disobeyed Sonic once, long ago... he would never make that same mistake again.

**~ソニック~**

As they flew, Wave, Amy, and Cream avoided as many robots as they could. The three of them were powerful, yes, but they were mostly inexperienced with their abilities, and as such, they had decided to play at it safe. Still, there were times when attacking became necessary. Not long after entering the city, a large robot that was bigger than all three of them and Wave's board combined, flew right up to them, fully prepared to attack. Cream, her expression hard and almost angry, turned her head to look at it, simultaneously raising her hand as she did so. There was a flash of pink. The robot was hit. It exploded almost immediately, but they didn't take the time to dwell on it. They had no time to, nor did they have the level of skill required to fight constantly. Heading straight for the rendezvous point was their best option at this point and, now more than ever, it was better to play the game of life safely rather than to take risks and never have a chance to be sorry about it. With this in mind, they raced straight through the city toward the massive base at the center.

**~ソニック~**

Knuckles and Locke ran as fast as they could through the the rubble of the building who's wall they'd toppled with their punches. There was no time to waste. They were inside a building, yes, but not the one they needed to be in. They'd just ducked inside here for a moment to take refuge from the gunfire. They had to take extreme precautions beyond normal, after all. The child was with them, as inconvenient as that was (not that it could be avoided), and they refused to let anything happen to her. She clung to Locke tightly as he held her, her face buried in his shoulder and her small hands clutching at his fur. Using his free arm, Locke sent a blast of fire forward at the same time as Knuckles did the same with both of his hands. The fire decimated the opposing wall and the three of them were soon in the connecting room. With no other choice but to set the girl down for a moment, Locke did just that as he and Knuckles knelt before a large case just beyond the wall.

"A bomb?" Knuckles questioned.

"Probably," Locke nodded.

"Chances of disarming it?"

"Zilch, with it just being us here."

"Can we leave it?"

"We should't. It'll leave it easily accessible to our enemies, and this things is pretty damn big in case you haven't noticed."

"So what's the plan?"

Locke didn't even have a chance to respond before, suddenly, there was the loud sound of a gun loading. There was no time to freeze, only to whip around right as a large robot that had apparently hovered soundlessly into the room aimed it's gun at them. Then, suddenly, a blast of fire. Neither echidna had moved. They watched in shock as the flames, small though they were, struck the robot with enough force to knock it backward a few inches. Forced to overcome their shock for now, Locke scooped up the small cat-girl responsible for the attack while Knuckles dispatched the robot with a few well-aimed punches. Then both males grabbed the bomb case on either side with one hand each and quickly headed back outside before taking to the air once more.

**~ソニック~**

Tails swerved hard to the side, expertly twisting the ship so that the wings were nearly vertical in order to avoid a missile. His keen eyes soon locked onto to small forms in the distance. The way they flew immediately told him that it was Knuckles and Locke. Moments later, whatever large object they were carrying between them dropped and hit a building. There was a hell of a fireball. Zeki tore his gaze away. "Tails, focus!"

Tails jumped. "R-Right!" Without another word, he righted the angle of the ship and, flipping several switches, he let loose his own barrage of small, compact missiles. They hit their intended targets and many of said targets slowly dropped toward the city below, smoking and flaming all the while. Normally, Tails would have cheered, but this wasn't the time for that. Expression grim, he tightened his grip on the controls and flew in for another attack.

**~ソニック~**

Ryker and Rouge had no choice but to deviate from their path for a time. Their route was unexpectedly flooding with robots, far more than they'd anticipated. And so, the pair dropped out of the sky and took to their heels on the pavement below, dodging and weaving between the land-based enemies as they went. He punched while she kicked, he ducked while she jumped, he growled while she smirked... They were polar opposites, but they were the perfect team. His every attack, every movement, every thought, complimented hers, and vice versa. She was strong where he was weak, and he was the same for her. Opposites usually repelled each other in nature (a positive truly never equaled a negative), but in this case, opposites very much attracted. They were the perfect team, perhaps even something more. Perhaps such perfection was merely borne of years of companionship and arguments and friendship. But, regardless of hos such things had come about, the fact remained that they were perfect for each other... and neither was willing to lose the person they had spent so long coming closer to.

**~ソニック~**

The ship exploded just as Shadow flew beneath it. The timing was perfect. Arrossa, her hammer in hand, landed in a crouch on the right wing just seconds later and, not long after that, the ship that Shadow himself had been firing at for the past few minutes finally exploded as well. Taking a moment to let his partner into the ship, Shadow studied the enemy. His eyes narrowed. _The odds aren't in our favor here. Even if we had everyone fighting in the air, it wouldn't be enough... Ivo has too many ships. _There were far more of said ships than the group had anticipated. Of course, Sonic had been clear that such a thing could happen, but even still, it was no less of a surprise and no less of a problem. _And a huge one, at that._ Stifling a frustrated growl, he pushed the ship to go even faster while Arrossa strapped herself into her seat directly behind him.

"Shadow, look."

Blinking, Shadow looked to the left. Seeing nothing there, he looked to his right. In the distance, he saw storm clouds brewing, spreading slowly outward in a dark grey circle as they formed. He doubted the storm would reach them, but he made a mental not to keep his eye on that part of the sky, anyway. "Right," he muttered, if only to give Arrossa a response to her words. "I'll keep an eye on it."

"Right."

With nothing left to say on the matter, they fell silent while Shadow opened fire on yet another ship. The odds may not have been in their favor, but they had to try.

**~ソニック~**

As usual, Sonic and Jet worked in perfect sync with each other. No words were needed for one to understand what the other was thinking or doing, no cues were necessary for one to know what the other was about to do... Weapons were drawn together. A blast of fire was followed by a burst of terrible heat. Wind empowered wind. One back was watched by the other and vice versa. Boards moved smoothly together, dodging and weaving and soaring and diving... In times like these, it truly seemed like they were two halves of the same whole. But, then again, best friends usually were, in a way.

Sonic and Jet, just like everyone else on the ground, were headed straight for the center of The Capitol, the place where Ivo himself lay in wait. The man had been surprisingly quiet, so far. No threats had been issued out, no taunting words had been shared, nothing. He'd been silent... and there was something _wrong_ with that. He was watching. They all knew it. But what was he going to _do_? That was the biggest question of the day, and one that needed to be answered as soon as possible. And yet, no one had the time to stop and think about it. Time was never in their favor.

The clouds overhead now filled the skies across the whole city and then some, per Sonic's most recent order. Creating clouds didn't actually take that much energy or effort by itself, and in creating them, Jet would be able to attack anywhere in the city should the need for him to do so arise. Of course, creating tornadoes or something of the sort would require a lot power, but such attacks truly were called last resorts for a reason. Still, last resort or not, they needed to have the opportunity readily available, if only because Sonic was without the Chaos Emeralds right now and he was the only other person who was normally capable of decimating a city on his own. _Just in case everything goes south... in case Ivo gets away or we have to flee... at least we can take the city itself down and weaken him for a little while. _With these thoughts in mind, Sonic unleashed another burst of flame ahead of him, closely followed by a burst of wind from Jet that gave his fire added life. Together, the pair destroyed everything in their path.

**~ソニック~**

As Ryker and Rouge watched, a swarm of hovering robots armed with a wide variety of different weapons flowed like a deadly, metallic wave out of the building the two of them were running by. Swearing softly, Ryker drew his sword for the first time that night while Rouge pulled out several small knives. Without waiting, she threw the three blades. Each of them embedded itself in a vital area on three separate robots. The robots swayed severely, slammed into each other and several others, and all metallic parties involved exploded. Taking the opportunity as it came, Ryker quickly sheathed his sword again and redirected the flames while adding his own to the mix, thus creating a sort of tidal wave of fire that decimated the enemies in its path. With the road clear once more, at least for now, they continued on their way.

"How much farther?" Rouge suddenly called over the sounds of war surrounding them.

"I don't know!" Ryker answered. "I think it's a few miles away! We need to get back into the air and look!"

"We can't! It's too dangerous!"

"I know!"

"So what do we do?"

"Keep running!"

Rouge didn't like _that_ plan, but, really, what else could they do? The skied were still swarming with robots, and neither of them really felt like dying today. _This plan sucks, but... better safe than sorry._

**~ソニック~**

By now, Locke and Knuckles had overcome their shock regarding the cat-girl's sudden show of strength for the most part, but there was no time to discuss it. Instead, father and son focused on clearing a path through the swarm of robots surrounding them, only to have their attention abruptly snatched away when there was a mighty explosion in the sky. Looking up, they soon spotted Shadow's ship... and it was going down fast. "Aw, crap!" Knuckles snarled.

Locke gritted his teeth tightly, watching the nosedive with baited breath, only to finally release that pent-up air when the cockpit was suddenly busted open and to figures fearlessly jumped out. Seconds later, the ship exploded a second time, this time destroying it entirely. The shock waves knocked Arrossa into Shadow, but that quickly proved to be a good thing as he grabbed her and, quickly pulling her closer to himself, he landed lightly on a building and jumped away with her in his arms. Satisfied that they were safe, Locke and Knuckles returned their attention to their own fight.

**~ソニック~**

"Oh, _man_. Shadow and Arrossa just went down. What're we gonna _do_?"

"Tails, calm down," Zeki ordered, his own voice calm. "They're fine, and you and I both know it."

"But we're all alone up here now!" Tails objected. "We can't fight all these ships by ourselves!"

"Yes, we can."

The simple certainty in the other fox's voice had Tails twisting around in his seat to look at Zeki in spite of the risks created by taking his eyes off of the sky. "How?" he all but demanded, fear coloring his voice.

Zeki gave him a disbelieving look before said look morphed into one of annoyance. "Seriously, Tails? What did I just spend all that time training you to do?"

Understanding dawned in Tails's eyes. "But how can we do that in here?"

"Just give it a try," Zeki said, a promise in his voice. "You'll surprised what you can find when you actually use that big brain of yours."

**~ソニック~**

_"Well, well, well, I'm honestly surprised that you've made it this far, Sonic. You and your little friends are nearly halfway to your goal. Congratulations."_

Sonic nearly snarled as Ivo, who had finally broken his silence, spoke to him through the intercoms attached to the buildings surrounding the large clearing where he and Jet were currently trapped and fighting, surrounded as they were by a seemingly endless sea of robots. Even worse than that, though, was the fact that Ivo's dark creatures were starting to show up throughout the city, as well. He'd already heard reports from several people that they had run into said beasts. _Ivo's finally taking this fight seriously._

"Sonic! Pay attention, dammit!"

Sonic snapped out of his thoughts just in time to avoid a spat of gunfire, draw Caliburn, parry a blow, and then knock his newest opponent back. Safe for the moment, he glanced to Jet. "Thanks."

"Whatever," Jet muttered back, his eyes locked on some enemy. "Just stop getting distracted. I don't want to have to keep saving your butt like that. I hate yelling."

Sonic smirked a bit and, in spite of where they were and what was happening, he teased, "In that case, maybe I should do it again, just to _make_ you have to yell again to get my attention."

Jet spared him an irritable glance. "You know what? Screw you."

Sonic smirked briefly, but then turned his attention back to the battle, causing his entire demeanor to become serious once more. His eyes quickly scanned the area, taking in all the enemies surrounding them, all the enemies that continued to pour into the area. _There's so many..._

Suddenly, Ivo spoke up again. He sounded so much like his insane grandfather that Sonic completely froze against his will. _"I warned you that there is no war without death, Sonic! Prepare for the end, hedgehog!"_

Suddenly, there was a horrible sound as some massive creature the likes of which Sonic had never seen before suddenly rushed into the clearing, closely followed by several others. Their mouths opened, and balls of pure black energy of some kind appeared between their jaws. Massive beams sailed toward the riders at impossible speeds. Neither could move. Ivo cackled like the insane man he was. A shield suddenly appeared around Sonic without any warning. The beams struck with so much force that, in spite of the barrier, Sonic was slammed into the ground board and all. A massive sphere or black energy erupted into being around them, decimating buildings, destroying robots, creating a huge crater in the ground... The barrier finally shattered. Sonic couldn't stop himself from crying out in pain as the attack finally hit him directly for the first time. Then, all at once, it was just... over. The creatures had destroyed themselves and every other enemy in the area but, somehow, Sonic was alive.

Groaning softly in pain, Sonic rolled over and slowly pushed himself up on his hands and knees. He coughed a bit against his will before finally asking in a sort of hoarse voice, "Jet... you okay?" There was no response. Gritting his teeth at the pain in he felt from the blow he'd taken, he slowly opened up his eyes and, blurry though his vision was, he looked up. He had to blink several times to clear the blurriness in his eyes, but when he did, he froze. His eyes went wide. His heart pounded. It felt like there was ice in his veins. _No... _Unable to think anything but that one word, Sonic scrambled to his feet and, tripping over robots parts and dead creatures in his blind haste, ran over to a still form lying with their back to him not far away. Dropping to his knees so hard that he probably scrapped them up, Sonic immediately grabbed a dirty shoulder and shook it once. "Jet?" he asked quickly. When he received no response, he shook the hawk's shoulder again, this time harder. "Jet?" he asked again, not wanting to believe what his eyes and mind were so clearly telling him. "_Jet_?!" All at once, reality came crashing down on him in a crushing wave. Pain like nothing he had experienced since the death of Silver so many years ago stabbed his heart, sure as any arrow. The walls he'd so carefully constructed around his heart all but shattered. Tears began streaming down his face as he fell down on his hands and knees once more beside his dead friend as memories flooded his mind unbidden.

(-)

_"Is that supposed to be a skateboard?"_

_Sonic glanced up. "No."_

_"It won't go anywhere without wheels."_

_"I told you, it's not a skateboard."_

_"Well it looks like one."_

_"Doesn't mean it is."_

_"It looks like one."_

_..._

_The two boys glared at each other before the bird finally relaxed and smirked a bit. "My name's Jet. I'm a hawk."_

_Sonic was silent for a moment before replying, "I'm Sonic."_

_..._

_Jet grinned wider at him. "You should call it something," he decided. "Like Air Gear."_

_"No, I don't want people knowing what it runs on," Sonic replied with a shake of his head. "What if some enemy decides to try to use that knowledge against me?"_

_"Flying Gear?"_

_"Metal Gear."_

_"Awesome Gear."_

_"Epic Gear?"_

_"Extreme Gear!"_

_"Extreme Gear?"_

_"Yeah! It sounds cool!"_

_Sonic grinned down at his board. It did sound pretty cool. All that was left now was fixing the way his Extreme Gear worked. Having it run on air... He's smarter than I would've given him credit for. Picking the hunk of metal up off the ground, it occurred to Sonic that he may have just... made a friend._

(-)

_Sonic was surprised when Jet suddenly whirled on him, his expression on of rare true anger. "No!" Jet snapped. "Don't you ever say that! Some day I'll beat you because I worked hard and got better, not because you got slower! You're making me look bad! I'm spending all this time training to beat you and you're just giving up?!"_

_..._

_Jet suddenly reached a hand toward Sonic, as if expecting Sonic to shake it. "Let's make a promise to each other!" he suddenly demanded. "Someday, one of us will be the greatest racer in the world! We'll fight each other for the title!"_

_Sonic stared at the hand in mute shock for a long moment before finally looking back up into Jet's determines face. Slowly, he took the hand. "Yeah!"_

(-)

_"So... you're sure you're okay with being called a thief now?" Sonic asked slowly, risking a sideways glance at his companion._

_"I've been a thief since I was three, remember?" Jet replied, surprisingly in spite of everything that had just happened._

_"Yeah, but you just stole a whole airship from the leader of the Babylon Rogues."_

_"He won't be the leader any longer."_

_Sonic frowned seriously, understanding the implications immediately. "You're taking over?"_

_"Hell yeah, I am," Jet replied. "He doesn't deserve to be the leader of the last of my race. Screw that. I'll make my own team, and we'll be the new Babylon Rogues."_

_"You know what that means for you, right?" Sonic demanded. "You'll be wanted, Jet. Everyone will know it. You'll be considered a criminal. All the authorities will be after you."_

_" So I won't let them catch me, then."_

_Sonic offered no further arguments about it as realization slowly dawned on him, causing his eyes to widen. 'He's serious about this.'_

_Suddenly, Jet grinned. "My name may one day be infamous, but it's gonna shake the world! I'll be the greatest thief the world's ever seen!"_

(-)

_"You know, you're a terrible liar, Jet."_

_Jet glared at Sonic. "Shut up, Sonic."_

_Sonic smirked. "Make me." Then he added, "And, anyway, you're seventeen know, and it's obvious that you think she's cute." Jet started to respond indignantly, but Sonic cut him off. "I'm just kidding," he laughed. "Do yourself a favor and relax, man."_

_Jet just glared at him again. "I really hate you sometimes."_

(-)

_Silver grinned again before turning away, a hand raised in farewell. "See ya, Uncle Jet."_

_Sonic froze and Jet coughed, nearly spitting out his water. "What?" they both demanded, somehow managing to speak in unison._

_Silver turned back around. "Oh, come one. Everyone can see it. You two practically act like brothers, especially with the way you fight. So, yeah, Uncle Jet." He grinned again. "Deal with it."_

_Jet and Sonic turned their heads away as Silver disappeared down the hall, giving each other what could only be described as horrified looks. "There is no way," Sonic said._

_"Not gonna happen," Jet agreed._

_"I mean, us? Practically brothers? No. No way."_

_"Not possible."_

_"Ridiculous."_

_"One of the stupidest ideas I've ever heard."_

_"I don't even know where he got the idea."_

_"He's your kid. That means he's your problem."_

_"Your staying here with us, too, so that makes him your problem in a way, too."_

_"He's more your problem than mine."_

_"Still, you have to deal with him as well."_

_"Not if I never leave this room."_

_"You know you won't hole yourself up in here forever."_

_"Try me."_

_"I'll drag you out of here if I have to."_

_"Do it and I'll kill you."_

_"No you won't."_

_"What makes you so sure, huh?"_

_"Because we're family!"_

_"Dammit, Sonic! Don't ever say that again!"_

_"I was joking, I promise!"_

_"I don't care!"_

_"Now you sound more like yourself."_

_"Shut up."_

_"You can't make me."_

_As the banter continued, neither of them realized just how much they sounded like the fourteen-year-olds they had once been, arguing over whether or not it was possible that a board could fly or that a certain hawk could have lived for so long._

(-)

_"Alright, that's enough!" Sonic decided aloud. "Let's finish this!"_

_Jet seemed to know what Sonic was talking about: the race. He grinned and they both sheathed their blades. "Alright!" he all but cheered. "See ya at the finish line, Sonic!"_

_"Hey, this is supposed to be for fun, remember?" Sonic asked, though he was only teasing._

_"Are you kidding?" Jet returned. "I only race to win!"_

_"Guess I'll just have to beat you, then, won't I?"_

_"Have fun trying!"_

_Just like that, they both poured on the speed, shooting forward like rockets across the sky, leaving bright blue and green streaks behind them. The ship very rapidly grew closer and closer. The balcony suddenly came into view. The group still standing there wisely backed away as the two racers jumped off their boards. Jet and Sonic landed lightly on the railing at the same time, facing each other as they balanced the thin metal bar, their boards under their left and right arms, respectively. Neither had won. Neither had lost. It was a tie. And they were okay with that, because they had both had fun, something that neither of them had experienced in far too long. Grinning, Jet extended his left fist forward. "Ride on," he said with a genuine smile, speaking a familiar phrase among all the Riders, one that neither had spoken to each other and too many years._

_Sonic didn't return the smile, not exactly, but the light in his eyes said it all. He bumped his right fist against Jet's left. "Ride on."_

(-)

_"I'm going to kill her later." He looked at Jet with his eyes. "And you, too."_

_"If it makes you embarrassed, I might just spy on you while you sing again. Actually, screw the 'might'. I'd do it again in a heartbeat."_

_Sonic practically glared at him, somehow managing to do so while still keeping expression neutral. "You wouldn't dare."_

_"Go ahead and sing again, then. Only way to find out."_

_"Jet..."_

_Jet snickered quietly. "Okay, okay, you win," he conceded. Then he added, "But hey, it could've been worse."_

_Sonic was not amused. "How?" he demanded as best as one could without the use of tone or feeling._

_"I have my communicator on me. I could've taken a video and sent it to everyone."_

_Suddenly, a foot swung out to meet him. Had this been a serious fight, Jet would have had no chance of dodging the attack, such as it was; however, this wasn't serious at all, not really, so he was able to jump out of the way in time. Laughing loudly, he sprinted down the hallway back to the relative safety of his office._

(-)

_"You need to stay here with the others, just in case this fight goes south. That way they'll still be safe. Besides, you can land this damn hunk of metal if I'm not back before you guys reach Paradise."_

_Sonic's teeth gritted against his will. 'Jet's... going in alone?' He didn't want to allow it. He wanted to make an order, to forbid Jet from heading into what was clearly a large and ultimately very dangerous battle, but Jet was right, in the end. 'Damn it...' "Fine," Sonic replied stiffly. Jet nodded once and braced his right foot on the railing to step up. Sonic caught his arm. Jet looked at him in surprise. "Be careful, Jet," he muttered, a deep frown on his face. "I mean it."_

_Slowly, the surprise faded from the hawk's eyes to be replaced by a seriousness that reflected Sonic's own. "'Course. I have no interest in dying, after all." _

(-)

As this last memory entered Sonic's mind, he shouted out into the open air, letting all the world know if his pain... and the friend he had so suddenly lost.

**~ソニック~**

**6,078 words this time... And I'm crying. ;_;**

**Real quick: the lines Jet said in the memories about being the greatest thief in the world and fighting Sonic for the title of greatest racer were inspired by quotes said by Roronoa Zoro of One Piece. Also, the "No turning back! We were born to dream!" line comes from the song "Catch Me If You Can", the actual SEGA theme song of Jet and the Babylon Rogues.**

**Finally, I'm sorry that this is late. Posted 08-23-15.**


	147. To Live Again

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Twilight! My heart was torn in two, too! I was crying! Jet's dead! AUGH! DX**

**Hello, ScarletTheCat14! I KILLED ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS, OKAY?! DX I don't think anyone else will die, but... JET'S DEAD! DX *Sniff...* Thank you... I'm glad you think so... *Manages weak smile* I'm gonna go keep crying, now... ;_;**

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Yeah... Makes sense... ;_; Yeah, the memories killed me. And you'll get an answer to that here. :( Yeah, she does. And yeah, she probably will have both. Yeah, there's massive build-up toward more action today. You'll see how he handles it today and tomorrow. ;_; I'm so happy you enjoyed! Thanks for the cookies. *Manages a sad smile***

**Hello, Guest! It does happen. It's part of a separate timeline now, for reasons that Future Wave explained a while ago. :( Yeah, those two will reunite in the present-day. The next arc has a lot of SA2 in it, after all. And he might be Yami. We'll see. ;) It's fine, by the way. Thank you for the review!**

**Hello, John! I'm _so_ happy you enjoyed! It was _so_ hard to write (_especially_ the death scene DX), so I'm glad it worked out like it did. Thank you so much for the review!**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! HE IS! AND THE WORST PART IS, I'VE BEEN PLANNING IT SINCE, LIKE, EARLY JULY. DX No, Amy and Arrossa are safe. And yes, this is the first time (that we know about) that Sonic's cried since childhood. ;_; Well, you'll get your answer about that more definitively next chapter. I'm so glad you like him. I do, too. As far as bringing him back to life... Is this in reference to the Voice and Cream's prophecy about the "light of life" returning? More will be explained on that at the end of this arc, I promise. No, it doesn't hurt to hope. ;_; But, then again... Sen-san would disagree...**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I KNOW. IT'S SO HORRIBLE. DX Y****ou'll get your answer about that more definitively next chapter. Awesome scene you described, by the way! :D Yeah... poor Sonic... ;_; I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Nagato911! Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed! AND BECAUSE IT NEEDED TO HAPPEN. I DIDN'T WANT TO KILL HIM! DX**

**Hello, flashyhero! "Jonic"...? As in the ship...? :/ Yes, you were right. :) I checked out the songs! Thanks for telling me about them! You were right!**

**Hello, Anonymous! I can't help it! One of my favorite characters is now dead! DX Yeah, I did finish my assignments. Yeah... poor Sonic... ;_; Yes, she is. Sayonara!**

**Hello, astroshadow! He's dead, I promise you. ;_; I WISH IT WEREN'T TRUE! DX **

**Hello, Ghostkid33! WE'LL CRY OUR HEARTS OUT TOGETHER, THEN. DX THE HORRIBLE PART IS, IT WAS PLANNED SINCE, LIKE, EARLY JULY. DX Yeah, they are... X( Anyway... ****Yeah, she does. She got them from Blaze, as only Kaden had fire powers, which then went to Sonic, which then never made it to Silver... Yeah, the assault continues more tomorrow. You'll see why today... ;_;**

**Hello, Firerider007! Good, logical guess. He _might_ be Yami. You'll have to wait and see. ;)**

**Hello, Lynn! Wow, you caught up fast! :) Anyway, I'm so glad you're enjoying! And yeah, it takes a lot of work, but it's so worth it. Haha, yeah, I call him Ivo in here. Eggman just seems too silly for this serious Sonic to say most of the time, you know? :P It has? I've never actually read the comics (sadly), so I'll just trust you on this one. Aw, thanks! And thank you so much for taking all that time to read up until this point, and then reviewing from time to time on top of that! I really appreciate it! :D**

**~ソニック~**

_**REALLY QUICK!**_**** If you want the full emotional experience of this chapter and the death scene in the last one, then I recommend listening to Omake Pfadlib and Vogel Im Kafig (especially Omake) while reading.****

****~ソニック~****

_"Don't make friends because you will outlive them. Don't make friends because you will endanger them. Don't make friends because they will follow you and you will uproot them. Don't make friends because it will destroy their ignorance and their innocence. Don't make friends because they will have to face the real world and the real world will make them cry. Don't make friends because your enemies will learn of them and strike at them first. Just don't make friends..."_

These were his teachings, the lessons of a lifetime. They were words to live by, and yet he always went against them whether he did so intentionally or not. The newest lesson to be added to this list was one he'd learned before, and yet the universe had apparently deemed it necessary to drive this horribly painful lesson even deeper into his mind.

_"Don't make friends because associating with you will be the death of them."_

Sonic felt like he was slowly going numb as he stood up and slowly lifted his communicator to his face. The thing had been damaged enough during the attack that it had shut off, but he had it on again now. Not caring at all how obvious it was in his voice that he'd been crying, he spoke, saying the only two words that he could manage for the moment. "Jet's dead." Then, lowering his wrist, he summoned a barrier around his lost friend to protect him from any further harm before slowly turning and walking away. As he walked, his numbness was suddenly was suddenly pierced by another arrow of grief. Fighting back his tears, he exhaled shakily and lifted his communicator to his face again. Calling one specific person, he only barely whispered, "If you're really on our side... please... Help us." Without waiting for a response, he hung up and stumbled weakly away.

**~ソニック~**

Tails slowly lowered his face so that his forehead was resting on his hands, both of which were gripping the controls to the ship so tightly that they hurt. Tears streamed down his face as he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth together. Silent sobs wracked his body. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard, didn't _want_ to believe it, but Sonic would never, _never_ lie about something like this. Still, Tails couldn't bring himself to believe it. _He can't be gone...! He can't...! _His mentor, his almost-friend, was _dead_? Death meant the end. Death, under any normal circumstances, was irreversible, unchangeable, unfixable. It was permanent. That meant that Jet was _gone_. He was never coming back. _I thought you said no one was gonna die...!_

**~ソニック~**

Amy, Wave, and Cream had taken shelter in some sort of a warehouse not long before the news had come; it was for the best. Wave was absolutely devastated. How could she not be? Jet had only been her boyfriend, sure, but the two of them had obviously been in love, in spite of how little they generally showed it. They'd both known the truth, and so had everyone else. The two of them had been inseparable. They'd had their fights, sure, but they'd also shared a lot of laughter and smiles and fun and good moments... How could that all just be _over_? None of made any sense. All Wave could think of was how little _sense_ it all made. How could someone who had been so full of life earlier that day just suddenly be _gone_? How could their time together be over already? Her devastation had, by now, morphed into a numb shock. Staring blankly a the floor, Wave saw nothing but the smiling face she had come to know so well, the face she knew now that she would never see again.

Cream, meanwhile, was nearly hysterical. She was sobbing so hard that she could barely breathe, clutching Amy's dress tightly in painfully clenched fists while the hedgehog held the girl close. _I knew someone would die! I knew, I knew and- and yet I-! _Cream was torn between an almost masochistic need to blame herself for what had happened and the logical knowledge that there was nothing she could have done to change anything. She hadn't know who would die, only that someone would, and even that hadn't been a certainty. It had only been a huge _maybe_ that someone would die. And yet, she still felt this horrible, crushing guilt, because one of her brothers and closest friends was dead, and there was never going to be any way to change that. Not unless... Not unless the light of returned. But, at this point, what were the odds of that ever happening? Another sob wracked her body. _I'm so sorry, Jet...! I'm so, so sorry...! I should have done something, I should have...!_

Amy was also crying, but she was stifling her sobs as much as possible. Wave and Cream were falling apart, and someone had to remain strong for them, now more than ever. However, her own emotions weren't so easily ignored. She hadn't really been close with him, no, but she _had_ been friends with Jet. It wasn't something either of them ever talked about, either in this time or in the past; it was something they both just _knew_. They _knew_ that they were friends, and the fact that they were friends made the loss all the more horrible and painful. Still, she had to be strong. For Wave. For Cream. For herself. Fighting to breathe around the awful lump in her throat, Amy closed her eyes and willed herself to gain strength from within... for all of their sake's.

**~ソニック~**

It was true that Knuckles hadn't known him very well. The two of them tended to clash a bit when they interacted. Their tempers didn't agree with each other when they rose to the surface. Still, Knuckles had considered the hawk a friend of sorts. How could he not? Jet had stayed friends with Sonic in spite of everything that had happened, after all, and that was applaudable. He'd been a good brother and an even better friend to Sonic, especially when Sonic had been all alone otherwise. He'd also been a good leader when he'd needed to be and an excellent teacher when it was required of him. He'd done a lot of good things for the team, for the world, in spite of everything he'd been through, everything that the world had done to him.

Knuckles had a lot of respect for heroes, but it was the _reluctant_ heroes, people like Jet and Sonic, that really held his respect and admiration. They were reluctant in the way that they themselves had no real desire to die for the sake of the world... but they would do it anyway, and in a _heartbeat_, without so much as a second thought, if it meant saving everyone else. _That_ was true heroism. And, regardless of how he had come to be that way, Jet had been one of those people. And, even more than that... he'd been one of Knuckles's only friends. Grief wasn't something he was accustomed to feeling... but somehow he knew this feeling wouldn't be going away anytime soon. Teeth bared tightly clenched and eyes squeezed shut, his fist shot out to the side and slammed into the nearest metal wall with enough force to nearly shatter it. _Dammit...! _

He used to think that you could decide who became close to you and who didn't. He used to think that you controlled who made their way into your heart, even if they only did so as a friend. Oh, how he wished that that were actually true...

**~ソニック~**

Losing one's friends wouldn't, _couldn't_, ever get easier Locke realized with a sudden painful jolt. Losing an acquaintance was no different, not when those acquaintances were well on their way to being your friend's instead. Locke normally wasn't normally prone to thinking about such things, but he couldn't really help it at this point. Because Jet was _dead_, and nothing was ever going to change that. Lowering his head slowly, he squeezed his eyes shut and fought to control his pounding heart. _It's true that his family has a bad history... His father is an abuser. His grandmother started a war. But... in the end... not even Queen Laralei was bad enough to deserve death. And, even if his ancestors were to be that bad... Jet __isn't__ them...! He didn't deserve to die...! He didn't deserve any of this...!_

**~ソニック~**

The bunker they had locked themselves in consisted of little more than a single, large metal room. In the center of the room was a long rectangular table surrounded by chairs, one on each end and about eight on each side of the middle. The walls were lined with machines and computers and television screens, but by some miracle, there were no cameras looking in. The walls and door were strong enough to keep their enemies out... for now. Still, the occasional loud sounds from outside continued to draw worried, fearful glances from time to time. Sonic, still fully armed as everyone else was, stood at the head of the table with his back to the others and his head lowered. His teeth and fists were clenched, his eyes squeezed shut, as he fought not to shake with some dangerous combination of grief and fury. In his right hand he clutched something precious that had been on the ground in the place where he and his friend had been attacked; he didn't even remember grabbing it. All around him, voices whispered, almost as if they were afraid that he would shatter if they spoke too loudly. All of their words, save for the last ones that he heard, echoed his own and only served to drive the nail of guilt and regret and hatred and anger and _grief_ even deeper into his already bleeding and wounded heart.

_"...can't believe it..."_

_"...all my fault..."_

_"...so horrible..."_

_"...wish this was all just a dream..."_

_"...can't win..."_

_"...should turn back..."_

_"...leave while we can..."_

_"...all for nothing..."_

That was it. Sonic whirled around and slammed his hand into the table with so much force that it was some kind of a miracle that his treasure didn't end up getting even more severely damaged in the process. "Was _this_ for nothing?!" he snapped in cold fury. Removing his hand, he revealed Jet's nearly destroyed communicator as it rested on the table. "Were _all_ those deaths for nothing, then?!" If the people standing around the able hadn't been shocked before, they certainly were now. When was the last time Sonic had physically lashed out like that? When was the last time he had yelled, let alone out of anger? When was the last time his eyes had sparked and flashed with such fury? When was the last time his voice had so clearly held a _tone_ to it? No one really had an answer to any of those questions. It had been _too_ long for anyone to know anymore.

"But... Sonic..." Tails said quietly, his face still streaked with tear-marks, "...what if Ivo-"

"No!" Sonic snapped, cutting Tails off before the young fox could even attempt to finish his sentence. "I don't care _what_ Ivo does! We are _not_ giving up, and we're sure as _hell_ not going to do it _now_! Not when so many of our friends gave their _lives_ trying to _end_ this damn war!" The shock he saw in their faces was promptly and perfectly ignored. He had something to _say_, dammit, and he wasn't going to hold it in any longer! "I am _tired_ of all of this! I am _tired_ of constantly being on the run, always hiding, never knowing who'll die or when or where and if I'll ever be able to prevent it! I'm tired of existing in a world where life is so terrible that people are driven to _beg_ for death!" That last part was a horrific truth of this time; one that the people who had come here from the past probably probably hadn't been aware of. However, Sonic was in no mood to _care_ right now. "I don't just want to _survive_ anymore!" he continued, his voice still full of pure, raw emotion for the first time in many, many years. "I want to actually _live_ again!" _That_ line in particular seemed to absolutely stun the people who, like Sonic, were from this time. "And the _only_ way that that's _ever_ going to happen is if destroy Ivo _now_! We can't wait anymore! It _has_ to be tonight!"

"But-" someone tried to argue.

Sonic didn't even care enough to pay attention to who had spoken before he cut them off like he had with Tails not long before. "No!" he snapped again. "We can't wait any longer! It _has_ to be tonight! If we wait any longer, there's no telling how many more people he'll kill!" Then he added harshly, "Make no mistake! He _will_ keep killing, and he _will_ go after us! _All_ of us! The longer we wait, the more time we give him to do unspeakable things! We can't give him that opportunity anymore!"

Everyone was speechless for a long moment, staring at him in open shock, their eyes wide, before someone finally dared to break the silence that had settled in the room. It was Arrossa. "What do you propose we do?"

There was a fire in Sonic's eyes as he answered. His response was so simple, so obvious, but he said it anyway. "We fight."

**~ソニック~**

Stepping out into the open air, Sonic sent forth a wave of blue flames that absolutely melted any and all resistance that he and hos group would have met outside. Now that his emotions had been awakened again, so too had the emeralds... and, for better or for worse, they were powering him right now. As he watched his flames die down and slowly lowered his hand, one of the things that the Voice had told him before, back when he'd first set out to find his father while the others had been training, crossed his mind.

_"The time will come when you will need to follow your heart above all else. There will come a time when shutting out your emotions will no longer be an option, nor will it be something you will be able to do. You must be prepared for that time."_

Sonic scowled at nothing in particular as he thought to the Voice (not that he was expecting an answer), _I hate it when you're right._ Sure enough, no answer came. Instead, a different voice spoke to Sonic then, a voice that he had _no_ desire to hear right now. Or ever. He glared at the monitor that was flickering to life while that voice spoke, all the while wishing that the face that was about to appear could shatter as easily as that screen...

_"Hello again, Sonic. I see you and your little rebels have finished your council of war. Tell me, did you find your discussions enlightening? Somehow, I doubt you did. Even you can't find a way to bring back the dead."_

Th reactions of the rest of the group were lost on Sonic, focused as he was on that flickering screen and that horrible, _hated_ voice. He snarled viciously, but found that no words were forthcoming he was far too angry and grief stricken to speak.

_"I guess the sayings were wrong, then... Wishes really don't come true. Dreams really can't be achieved. Such a shame..."_

Sonic's fury only mounted as a memory from his childhood entered his mind.

(-)

_"That's stupid! Dreams are just that! Dreams! They're stupid, and they never come true! Get your head out of the damn clouds, Sonic!"_

_Sonic stopped walking then and turned around to look at the other fourteen-year-old boy, who's piercing blue eyes were sparking with anger. Sonic, his own eyes reflecting anger as well, spoke in a voice that was oddly calm, speaking words that he knew to be only the truth. "We were born to dream, Jet. What's the point of having dreams if no one can ever do anything with them?_

(-)

After that day, things had changed for his friends... and for the better. _Jet believed that wishes come true! He believed, more than anyone else I've ever met, that we can all achieve our dreams if we just work hard enough! That wasn't for nothing_!

_"I do hope you won't miss that pathetic hawk too much, Sonic." _Sonic's teeth and fists clenched harder than before as his already murderous gaze darkened even further. _"I know I won't be missing him. I would have, initially, but it recently came to my attention that I don't need that silly little Garden, after all. So long as I can kill you, none of my plans will fail. So, in the end, your little friend Jet was useless to me, after all. Torturing him and his pathetic little girlfriend for information was a pointless endeavor, and rather a waste of time, considering the fact that I learned nothing from either of them."_

Sonic's fury heightened. _Tortured?_ Of course, he'd suspected that that was what Ivo had done to his friends during their recent capture, but he'd never had proof until... until... Sonic felt a stab of power that he'd only ever felt once before in his life, but he ignored it, his gaze locked on the massive screen that he just couldn't seem to tear his gaze away from. _He's dead. Ivo is dead. He's dead!_

Finally, the screen came to life. A face that was familiar to all appeared on it, grinning darkly, maniacally, at the small crowd gathered below. Metal and mechanics combined with flesh to make that face truly horrifying, the stuff one saw only in the darkest of nightmares. This was Ivo's secret, the reason why he'd been able to live for so long. He was no longer human... he was a cyborg. Ivo's horrible grin widened even further as he slowly spoke again, his voice sounding oddly calm in spite of his (what would be to most people) terrifying expression. _"Long... live... The Emperor...!"_

With that, enemies began pouring into the area once again. The Freedom Fighters, especially their leader, saw none of it as the screen above changed, showing in perfect clarity a video feed of Jet just as he and Sonic had been attacked earlier. They saw his shock as the beasts came charging into the clearing, his determination as he raised a hand to summon a barrier around Sonic, his agony as he was hit by the attack that soon destroyed the camera that had taken this video and ended his life... It was too much more than Sonic could take. That expression of pain was too horrible to see, and Sonic's fury reached levels he didn't think it ever could have. And, just like that, he lost control.

**~ソニック~**

**3,301 words this time... And I'm still crying. T^T By the way... in case you didn't see my note at the top... I recommend listening to Omake Pfadlib and Vogel Im Kafig (especially Omake) while reading this chapter and Jet's death scene in the last one. I hope you enjoyed... This chapter was _so_ hard to write, as was the last one. Too much heartbreak. I killed one of my two favorite characters... even if he _is_ only dead in an alternate timeline. ;_; Posted 08-25-15.**


	148. Savior

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I'M SORRY. I HAD TO. T^T I HATE HIM, TOO. And yeah, it's creepy. As far as the dark form... you'll just have to wait and see. :P**

**Hello, ScarletTheCat14! I'm guessing that you enjoyed, then? :) YES. INUYASHA IS AMAZING. My favorite anime by far! :D I successfully converted you to Inuyasha-ism. _Yes_! XD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! He might be! Read on and find out! ;) But yes, I love it, too. That sort of thing'll play a huge role in Hero Chronicles. I made hints to what happened toward the end of the Dark Gaia Arc, remember? ;) I'm so glad you enjoyed! And yes, it's wrapping up. But the climax continues... BTW, I found an awesome trailer for the upcoming arc! More details about it are at the end of the chapter if you're interested! :D Oh, really? What inspired this new appreciation? :) He's one of my favs, too. I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Mage The Hedgehog! You'll have to read on and find out! ;)**

**Hello, Anonymous! Thanks for the tissues. This chapter is less sad, so I'm better now. Mostly. :) But I _did_ kill him! Ivo may have done it in the story, but I _wrote_ it! DX No judgement from me, I promise. :) Sayonara!**

**Hello, flashyhero! Perhaps. Read on and find out! ;) Ah, okay. So, if you don't ship it, then why the comment before? XD**

**Hello, Firerider007! It might be that. You'll see down below. ;) ...Yeah... He is... DX That's okay, by the way. Any review is appreciated, though never required. :)**

**Hello, Katz4! Dear LORD, two days?! JEEZ, even I can't read that fast! XD Anyway, I'm _so_ happy that you've enjoyed the story so far! And yeah, I'm pretty sure everyone has a love-hate relationship with this Arc, myself included. This is definitely the most emotional and painful Arc of the story, if you ask me. ;_; Yeah, Sonic's speech! I've had that one planned for a _while_. It was just a matter of figuring out what happened, exactly to lead up to it besides Jet's death... Which, as horrible as it is, I planned for a long time. Since early July, in fact. ;_; Anyway, I'm so happy you enjoyed that. That means a lot to hear. :) Well, I'm glad you think the endings are good. I hear complaints about them sometimes, so it's nice to know that _somebody_ approves. :) And yeah, that's one of my favorite songs. When I first found it earlier this summer, it just struck me as being so _perfect_ for him... Haha, I cried more than that. Congrats. XD That will be revealed before the Arc is over, I promise. Thank you so much! That means a lot to hear! :D I will die with you. Jet is _dead_! AAAUUUGGGHHH...! DX**

****~ソニック~****

_Stars cannot shine without darkness. Darkness can be dangerous if there is too much of it. Light without darkness is blinding. Darkness without light is an abyss. Too many of anything is a bad thing; even selflessness._

_Light and Dark._

_Twi and La._

_Push and Pull._

_Yin... and Yang._

_Light and Darkness, much like life itself, have a delicate balance. That balance must be maintained, especially when the power of Chaos, the power that created everything, rests in one's own two hands._

_Twi and La... Push and Pull... Ying and Yang... Light and Dark... They are all different in the way they are named, but deep within lies the truth. They are one in the same. Each one is affected by the other. Neither can escape the influence of another. For every pull, there is an equal and opposite push. This is the balance of the universe, the balance of Chaos. But balances can be upset._

_Too much darkness can block out the light. Too much light can destroy the darkness. For either to occur would mean catastrophe for the world and beyond. Chaos can only be controlled through balance, and balance much be maintained. It must be maintained._

_Too much of anything is a bad thing. Darkness without light is an abyss. But you must remember... Happiness is Light. Hope, laughter, relief, smiles, peace, friendship, love, family... They are all part of the light. You must find that light again... Before it is too late._

_Do not be afraid. Help is coming. All will be well, soon._

_Help is coming... The Light will set you free._

****~ソニック~****

Some things remained unchanged. The last time this had happened, he'd lost all awareness of anything beyond his enemies and his anger. He could see nothing else, not even his friends, nor feel anything else, not even pain. All he remembered with any certainty was what had happen to trigger his change into _this_. That remained true this time, as well. Slowly, he opened his eyes, still staring at that screen that displayed the same hated face as before. Though Ivo seemed to speak, Sonic heard none of his words, nor did he hear it when some vaguely familiar pink face seemed to speak to him, maybe even yell at him. His apparent inability to hear and thus listen to the words of others, and to even hear anything in general normally, seemed to be the same as last time, too. However, not everything could always be the same.

His enemies were different today than they had been the first time he'd changed like this. Instead of Mephiles and his creatures, Sonic now fought Ivo and his creations, whether biological or mechanical, it didn't really matter. The transformation itself was different, too. It was like the time he'd first reached a level past Super Sonic. Granted, he'd gone Pure Hyper Sonic first, somehow, before the reverting to regular Hyper Sonic, but this time it was different. He wasn't so far gone that he's gone Pure Hyper Dark Sonic. Not that he would have cared, anyway, had he actually been paying attention to that. Instead, however, his attention was focused solely on the legions of enemies flooding into the rubble-filled clearing that he stood in.

Still ignoring the people who seemed to be trying to catch his attention with their words and actions, Sonic turned and looked at the enemies surrounding him. Everything seemed to be moving so slowly as he raised his hand and unleashed a blast of Chaos energy. Innocent faces were knocked back, some while in mid-run as their owners tried to rush to him. Enemies were obliterated swiftly, permanently, and without remorse. Darkness lay waste to the area around him. Buildings were destroyed, structures were toppled, the ground turned into a massive crater, his dark aura blotted out the sun from reaching any part of the city... It was fitting, really, that such a dark and horrible place should be denied the right to be touched by the sun's light. Nothing Ivo had created deserved any sort of light, because light was happiness and good things and...

And...

And, what? Whatever vague memory had started to surface vanished as quickly and suddenly as it came. Except... part of it still lingered. He frowned minutely, trying to lay hold to the thing that eluded him, even as he sent out more and more power in a massive, continues blast all around him. He wanted nothing more than to destroy this place, and everything in it. With it, Ivo would be destroyed. Every horrible thing he'd done would be erased, in a way, once the place where said things had occurred no longer existed. He wanted to destroy it. Destroy it _all_. Except...

He thought he remembered laughter.

And just like that, there was a blinding flash of pure, white light that completely wiped out the surrounding darkness. The light, when it appeared, exploded outward from a point just in front of Sonic who, frozen, could only stare in absolute shock as piercing blue eyes frowned at him over a scarf-covered shoulder, as said scarf flowed slowly backward behind the figure due to some unseen wind,with disapproval and some other unnamed emotion shining within their depths. A familiar voice, one that Sonic had been so _sure_ he'd never hear again, suddenly reached his ears. _"Knock it off, idiot."_

And just like that, for all appearances, ripped Sonic's new appearance off of him like a flimsy costume that soon disintegrated into nothing. Sonic fell to his knees as the light vanished, taking his vanquished friend with it. More and more robots and creatures poured into the ruined clearing like a river of bodies, both mechanical and not, intent on killing anyone and everyone that wasn't on Ivo's side. Just as Sonic felt himself losing consciousness, just as his vision started to fade to black, a massive wave of bright blue flames blazed in from the right, destroying everything in their path.

**~ソニック~**

**Exactly 1,000 words this time. Not _quite_ as emotional as I'd anticipated during the part with the light, but whatever. **

**_ALSO! BIG NEWS!_ _Hero_ now has a couple official trailers (no, not made specifically for the story or by me)! Want to see them? Go to my forum, "Hero Forum", and check out the News thread. They're in there. :D**

**I'm still accepting/requesting songs for the various playlists for _Hero_, _Hero Chronicles_, _Riders_, _Eye of the Storm_, and _And Then the Time Came_! Have any ideas for a song for a character, event, place, or something else entirely? Let me know! I'd appreciate it!**

**LeoninBlossom33 and IronShadowZ have some new fanart for this story that you should check out! :D Also, TwilightWillow13 made an _adorable_ baby Silver that deserves to be looked at, as well! X3**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed in spite of the short length of this one! Posted 08-26-15.**


	149. What Must Be Done

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! YES! IT'S SO HORRIBLE! DX Well, the moment you finish the first paragraph of this chapter, you'll know for sure. :) Aw, you're welcome! :D**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! BUT IT'S SO CUTE! XD Anyway, I know. It's horrible. Very much so. But something good will come out of all of this in the end, I swear! ;_; So, what are your predictions, then? ;)**

**Hello, Hydreigonmaster101! Aw, thanks! I'm so glad that you're enjoying! :) Yes, it's terrible, but at least the "main" Jet is still around. No, I don't plan on more deaths. ...For the heroes, at least. ;) Anyway, thanks again! And thank you _so_ much for reading and reviewing! That means a lot!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yup! XD I'M SORRY! IT HAD TO BE DONE! DX It was stated (mostly indirectly) that he went Hyper Dark. I have a different idea entirely for Darkspine. ;) Yes, I agree. He will be missed dearly. ;_; ...But he's not through... _just_ yet. I won't tell you anything more than that. ;) I will do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Nagato911! Thanks! Glad you enjoyed! :) Well, we already settled that last matter in a PM, so... yeah. XD**

**Hello, John! Aw, thank you! I'm so happy that you've been liking these ones! :D**

**Hello, Anonymous! Your first review to Chapter 148: Yeah, true. And yes, he has! :D Yeah, they are. :P Well, I don't have those games. My sis does, and she did that a while ago. :P About your OC: Really? How so? Sorry, but I'm tired and am therefore confused, so... XP Cool! Good for you! :) Sayonara!**

**Your second review to Chapter 148: Yes, I have. The artwork for it came first, though. :) Well, unless she removed it, it _should_ be on DA. :l And yes, after the very last chapter of this Arc, I will be posting a playlist bonus chapter. It's _very_ long, bordering on 200 songs. :P **

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yes, he makes a dramatic reappearance after so long! And it was stated (though mostly indirectly) that he went Hyper Dark. And yes, that was a freaking _crap_ ton of power he unleashed! Still, the fight won't be won that easily (though, had Jet not intervened, Sonic might've ended everything right then and there, wiping out the army entirely). I'm glad you liked that part. To be honest, I wrote that whole chapter _for_ that scene. I came up with the scene randomly, decided it _had_ to be included, and merely wrote everything else to build up to it, justify it, then bring it to a reasonable end. :) ...Well, apparently Jet knew. And I don't think Sonic was "insane-minded". XD Well, you'll see here! Read on, my friend! The answers you seek are buried (though not really) in the text below! XD**

**Hello, ScarletTheCat14! Yes, to the rescue! XD I'm so happy you enjoyed! :) Yes, he did good... but now he's gone again. ;_; I read it and loved it! I left reviews, too, but I'm terrible at those, so... yeah. XD Anyway, I eagerly await your next update! :D Aw, that's so sweet of you to say! You're so nice! :) Thank you again! I will, I promise! XD (P.S.: I'm sad, too. Dang school. X( )**

**Hello, Heart of the Cobalt Storm! Your review to Chapter 1: I'm so happy to hear that! It means a lot to me that you think so highly of the story already. :) Well, if you do find errors, feel free to point them out. I may likely take _ages_ to get around to going back and editing everything, but I can promise to at least make note of what's pointed out to me. :) Wow, that's great! Can't wait for you to catch, up then! Thanks a lot for the review! :D**

****~ソニック~****

Locke could only watch in shock as the wall of flames receded and a dark indigo blur flashed onto the scene to take out the few robots that had survived that first attack. A single, sold kick to each was more than enough to dispatch each of them, and the attacker landed on his feet, skidding sideways a few inches as he did so. Locke felt like he could hardly breathe as he called out, "K-Kaden!"

Bright green eyes looked calmly over a shoulder to meet Locke's startled, disbelieving gaze. "Hn."

"But- How-?"

Kaden blinked at Locke's stuttered question as he turned around fully face his old friend. His gaze flicked to several of the others as they picked themselves up off the ground and out of the rubble (oddly enough, he didn't seem the least bi concerned about or confused by the doubles) before his gaze slid to the side to land on Sonic. The younger hedgehog was still unconscious, but at the very least, he hadn't hit his head or anything. Arrossa had caught him before he'd collapsed entirely. Blinking again, Kaden returned his attention to Locke and answered the question that Locke had tried, and failed, to voice. "He called me."

"Called y-" Locke once again cut himself off as his eyes slowly widened. "No, way... _You're_ 'Yami'...?"

Another soft hum was Kaden only response to that question. "Hn." He glanced at his son again. "And _he_ is 'Sen'." It might have been a question, but he kept his tone so level that even Locke couldn't tell for sure.

"Yeah," he nodded, slowly getting off his knees and standing. He resisted the random urge to attempt to brush the dirt off of himself. Doing so would be a pointless endeavor at this point, anyway. _I need a shower... _Pushing that thought aside, as it was _completely_ unimportant right now, he quickly approached his friend... and immediately proceeded to hit him over the top of the head. "Next time we're separated for so long, the _least_ you can do is not shut me out when I try to contact you!" he snapped.

Kaden glared at Locke and, crossing his arms, said, "When you tried to establish those connections, you said _nothing_. How was I supposed to know that that was _you_?"

Locke opened his mouth to retort, came up with nothing to rebuff Kaden's words with, and closed his mouth again with an irritable glare. "I hate it when you're right," he muttered. Then, all at once, Locke relaxed and his rigid posture eased as a smile spread across his face. "It's good to see you." Kaden didn't return Locke's smile, but the faint light in his eyes told Locke everything he needed to know.

That light soon faded as Kaden turned his head to look around the what remained of the decimated ruins of the clearing in which they stood. "What happened here?"

Locke hesitate but, really, there was no point. He knew that there was absolutely no way that he was going to be able to put this delicately. And besides, if _anyone_ needed to know about this, it was Kaden. Locke doubted that his friend truly had no clue what had happened, anyway. _He probably has some idea. He just needs confirmation. _Locke took a deep breath and released it as a sigh. "It turns out... Sonic has a dark form, like you do. Not that that's any surprise, though, I guess." Kaden's blink might have meant all sorts of things... or maybe it meant nothing. Locke really wasn't sure. If he were being truly honest with himself, it was unsettling just how little he could read this future version of his friend. Normally, Locke was one of the only people who could read Kaden, and now all of a sudden he _couldn't_? Locke didn't like this. _He's gotten so much better at hiding his thoughts and emotions... _Violet eyes glanced to Sonic at that thought. _...Like father, like son. Though I guess, in this case, it's the other way around, since Sonic did it first. _

The temporary reprieve that Sonic and Kaden's actions had earned their motley crew of rebels seemed to be over. The screen that had been display Ivo's face earlier, as well as all the intercoms that had been transmitting his voice in the area, had been destroyed by Sonic's dark outburst. Still, it was clear that the madman had given the remainder of his army an order of some kind, even if Locke and the others couldn't hear it. Robots and dark creatures rushed forward from seemingly all directions, flying in from the air, pouring out of buildings, racing over rubble, drilling onto the surface from somewhere below ground... They were everywhere, and two of the strongest fighters on this team were down. Jet was _gone_, and Sonic was unconscious. On top of that, everyone here was injured at least somewhat as of a few minutes ago. Granted, they had a new member to add to their group now, but the odds just weren't in their favor here. At all. Things just weren't going their way today. And that was putting it _nicely_.

Locke glanced to Kaden. "What do we do?"

This rebellion wasn't Kaden's responsibility. He wasn't the leader here, shouldn't _have_ to be (considering everything he'd apparently gone through while he'd been in that coma, though Locke knew few details about that), but everyone looked to him now for direction. They needed his guidance, if only because he was the only other person here who was fit to lead them now while Sonic was down. Everyone gathered here had their own fine leadership skills and all, but only he had the centuries of experience. They needed that now more than ever.

Within a moment, Kaden seemed to realize and accept this. As Locke had hoped he would, the hedgehog took charge, but in his own indirect way. "That should be obvious, Locke," he remarked, turning away from his friend to gaze upon the wave of enemies that were rapidly encroaching on the group's current location.

Locke's fists clenched. "So we fight, then."

Kaden acknowledged the deduction with a single nod and a small hum. "Hn."

Now was the time when the weapons everyone had brought with them suddenly became needed, as if they hadn't already been before. Even little Cream was armed. She gripped her dual Tonfa-style blades, which had been strapped to her waist, tightly in her hands in preparation for the battle. Tails unsheathed his two katana, which had been strapped to his back in an "x" shape in the same way as Jet had always worn them. Amy summoned her hammer and Arrossa, after carefully laying Sonic fully down on the ground, did the same. Zeki pulled one of his strange, special guns out of a holster on his right hip. Shadow pulled the large machine gun off of his back. Ryker unsheathed his blade from off his back. Locke and Knuckles, having no other weapons beyond simple handguns, pulled said guns out of their holsters (Locke doing so while being careful of the child he was still holding). Rouge pulled out multiple throwing knives. Kaden ominously drew his own sword (which, like with the other sword-users, has been strapped to his back). That action alone, simple though it was, told Locke in an instant just how serious Kaden really was about all of this. Locke's expression hardened. _So this is to be war, then... _

****~ソニック~****

It wasn't supposed to happen. Things weren't supposed to have gone this way. Sonic knew this. He knew it, and he hated it.

People had died to get him to this point, _good_ people, _innocent_ people, _friends_ of his, his _family_. They were _gone_, and it was all his fault.

If only he had never failed in his mission. Maybe then those people would still be here with him.

But, really, what else could he have done? The mission he'd been left with had been vague, at best. "Stop the ARK. Protect the Garden. Save the future." There had been few details beyond that.

He'd done everything, _everything_ he could to try to succeed, but it hadn't been enough. He had failed, and in a single day, it had all just been... over.

And he hadn't been the only one to feel the strain, the immense pressure and fear of having the weight, and not to mention the _fate_, of the world dropped down on him.

No, Zeki and the others had been there, too. They had also done what they could, but even with their help, nothing about the future had changed. Nothing but bad things had come of the group's attempts, either.

And maybe things would be different for Amy and the others, back in their timeline, in their world. But for Sonic, here, the past remained set in stone, and all he could do was remember, helpless to change a thing, no matter how much he wanted to.

_Zeki._ He had driven himself as hard as he could, trying to figure out how to not only _find_ the ARK in time, but also trying to figure out how to shut the place _down_ within the short amount of time that they'd had. He'd done everything he could, even going so far as to face off with the Biolizard _himself_ at one point just to try to find a way to put an end to the terror they were facing in space but, in the end, he too had failed. On top of that, Shadow had nearly killed the young fox, however indirectly and unintentionally (as he'd been fighting Sonic at the time) that had been on his part. Zeki had never really been the same after the events on board the ARK. But, then again, coming near death and watching the entire world just _end_ was more than enough to change anyone.

_Ryker. _Surprisingly enough, it had been _Ryker_ who had been trying the hardest to keep their team, their _friendship_, together, even after Sonic had basically given up on doing such a thing. It was hard to pinpoint a specific incident or moment when the rift began to form between them and Sonic (and thus each other), but he had been right there from the beginning, trying to keep them from falling apart. Watching the only friends he'd ever had tear apart from each other had had a lasting affect on him that had never really faded. Worse yet, he had been directly involved in the mess with Babylon Garden, more-so than Zeki and Arrossa had been. Things had gone so horribly _wrong_ with the Garden that Knuckles had _sworn_, of his own volition, to help protect. Even though Ivo had never actually gotten his hands on the Garden, by some miracle, things had still gone badly, to put it lightly, and the echidna had never really forgiven himself for that.

_Arrossa._She had tried so _hard_ to try to stop Shadow. She had known what needed to be done in order to reach his heart and make him realize what he _really_ needed to do, what Maria had _wanted_ him to do, but nothing that the female hedgehog had done had proven to be enough to get through to him. As a result, Ivo reached the ARK, the Biolizard was awakened, the cannon had been readied... Even then there had still been a chance to make a breakthrough, to get Shadow to realize and thus put a stop to everything that was happening, but Arrossa never managed to reach him. Ivo's plans had continued, largely unhindered, and Arrossa had only been able to watch in unspeakable horror as everything they knew on the planet below was suddenly brought to a horrible end.

There had been more people involved than just Sonic's own team, of course. Even little Cream had been involved in her own way, though not directly enough that she had been experiencing combat. Still, her visions, infrequent though they had been (and often still were), had kept them informed as to how the future was changing in response to their actions. Not that they had truly managed to change much. Then, of course, there was Sonic and Ryker's own parents, save for Kaden. For the sake of protecting Kaden, Analia hadn't been able to leave the house much. Still, she had lent aid where she could, helping people to communicate, healing the wounded when they could come to her, gathering information in those mysterious ways of hers and sharing her findings with everyone... The world would have likely ended quite a bit sooner without her help. Locke, too, had done a lot to at least _stall_, to buy time for Sonic and his team to carry out their orders. He had set out on his own and had constantly wreaked havoc at Ivo's bases and caused the madman trouble whenever and wherever possible. Without those constant distractions he'd provided, Ivo wouldn't have had much to hinder his progress.

And then there had been the Babylon Rogues. Storm hadn't been that heavily involved in the whole affair (when was he _ever_ very involved with anything, though, truly?), but Wave and Jet _had_ been. Wave had been immensely important in helping Sonic and the others understand things about Babylon Garden when Jet hadn't been there to do it himself. For that matter, without her help, they never would have been able to _find_ it in the first place. Jet had known, more or less, where the Garden had been buried, but it had been Wave's calculations that had led them to the exact _spot_. Not that they had ever managed to do much of anything with that knowledge.

Except... the Garden _had_ been awakened. Jet had gone there alone, for reasons that no longer really mattered (as the past was the past and always would remain so), and, somehow, he had managed to call forth the Garden from its lonely grave beneath the ground. Then it had turned into Astral Babylon, and he never did figure _how_. Still, having a sudden, unprecedented opportunity to use that great power to rid them of the ARK, Jet had done what anyone else would have done, he they been there in his stead. Except... it had all been too much. Something had gone wrong, and they still didn't know what to this _day_. One slight touch was all it had taken, and something had gone terribly _wrong_. Astral Babylon had ended up reverting and crashing back into its grave once more, but not before it overloaded Jet. No one really knew anything else about the incident. He'd never really been able to explain what had happened to him, only that it had been too much for him to handle. The overload had been so severe, in fact, that Zeki concluded, in later years, that Jet could have died on that day.

Which brought Sonic back to the present. It was easier, though, not to focus on that particular horrible event of this day and to instead focus on the white world he was sitting in. He supposed that it might be his own mind, or perhaps a simple hallucination, but it hardly mattered. He barely noticed it at this point, anyway. What he noticed instead were the voices that were filtering into his mind, almost as if he were reading the thoughts of others. And not just _any_ others, either. They were his friends. His family. And maybe he wasn't really hearing them; maybe he was just imagining it, or dreaming. Maybe he was going crazy. Still, he listened to the voices anyway, if only to give himself something else to think about besides the horrible, untimely end he had witnessed today.

_"This is where we fight. No matter what, we have to be strong. People are counting on us, and we can't let them down." _It was Knuckles.

_"I don't think the promise land is so much a place, but a feeling in our hearts. Still... if such a place does exist... I want to go there someday, no matter what." _This time it was Cream.

_"I've been wandering around finding my own dreams, but wishes should come true, cups should be filled, and lives should actually be lived..." _This thought belonged to Ryker.

_"Something's only worth doing if you do it right. I've done this all wrong before... I won't make that same mistake again. Things will be different this time. I won't let things end like they did last time. Not again." _It was Shadow this time.

_"I've got my own stakes in this game. I won't let anyone defeat me. And maybe I don't have a family or a home to go back to, but I have my friends, my family, and that's worth fighting for."_ Zeki was the owner of this particular message.

_"I'm cutting my own way through my own day, because I know that the only one who can truly change my own life for the better is me. Still, if all of this has taught me anything, it's that I can't underestimate the power of one's bonds with other people. Friendship is a weapon that I'd never considered before, and I'm not about to let someone steal that away from me." _It was Rouge.

_"The skies have witnessed far more history than we can ever hope to record. Today, they saw the end of another life that was close to me. I won't let that be in vain." _It was Arrossa's voice this time.

_"To know what a smile is, you must also known how to cry. If that's the case, then when this is over, I'll cry myself an ocean so that I have all the right in the world to keep on smiling in spite of it all." _Wave was the one Sonic heard this time.

_"Everybody know, and nobody tell. That's the way it's always worked with us. We know things, such as how we feel for a person, but we never say those things aloud, hoping or even assuming that someone else understands, maybe even the person we want to have understand in the first place. But aren't assumptions dangerous and unreliable? If that's the case, then I'll do whatever it takes to live on, if only so that I can speak the words that I've kept to myself in the hopes that maybe, one day, the right person will hear me." _This time it was Amy.

_"This world is so much more advanced than ours. But a world of machines like this one can shadow peoples' true natures. Still, when push comes to shove, it becomes clear that all isn't lost. There are still people out there who care for others, people who will fight for the weak, defend the defenseless, tend to the hurt, seek truth and justice when there is none... I will do whatever I can do be one of those people, even as I fight among the true heroes of this world. I may not be a real hero yet, but I'll do whatever I can to make a difference in this world, no matter what." _Tails was the one who thought this.

_"People tell me stories without ever saying one word. Eyes are windows to the soul, and they tell me everything I need to know. I see bad things in these eyes. They tell me stories of hardship and strife and pain and suffering and struggles that seem to never end. It all may seem hopeless now, but I won't let those struggles be in vain. In order for new and better stories to be told, the owners of these eyes need to live to tell their tales." _It was Locke this time.

_"When there is no struggle, there is no strength. It may be easier to kick me when I am low, but if you throw me to the wolves, I will return leading the pack. This isn't over. It was never over. The fight is only beginning, and no one is giving up." _It was Kaden.

Yes, the fight was only just beginning. Ivo was nowhere near beaten yet. And yet, here Sonic was, sitting here and most definitely _not_ fighting. Why was that? His reluctance to go back to himself (whatever that meant) and return to the battle was real, but his reasoning for it was probably stupid at best.

If he stayed here, he wouldn't have to see anyone else die.

But, if he stayed here, he was sealing everyone's fates by ensuring that they would, in fact, die.

So the question became... which was worse? Witnessing death, or doing nothing to stop it? Both seemed horrible but, in the end, Sonic knew what was worse because, in the end, he knew who he was, what he stood for, what he wanted, and _this_ train of thought simply had no business existing in his head (which was where he was now sure he was at).

Of course he wouldn't sit here idly and let everyone else die. Of _course_ not. Because, no matter how much he suffered for it, at the end of the day, he was still Sonic the Hedgehog...

_And I never give up._

****~ソニック~****

****3,657 words this time. ...And this is late. But who has time for excuses, anyway? XD On another note, I hope you were paying attention during that scene with Sonic, because there was a _lot_ of important information in there pertaining to the upcoming Arc! ...And I'm thinking that all this stuff with Astral Babylon and the Arks and all that will likely play a _huge_ roll in the sequel. ;) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you all next time. Posted (at basically one in the morning) 08-30-15.****


	150. The Light

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I'm so glad you enjoyed! Man, the foreshadowing was hard, trying to hint at things and get my point across without spoiling anything or giving too much away... Haha, yeah. He does. XD I will do my best! I'm glad you're so excited! :D**

**Hello, Nagato911! Yup, he is. :)**

**Hello, ScarleTheCat14! Thank you! Glad you enjoyed! :D And yes, that's been strongly hinted at... ;) Yes, Sonic! Have hope! The light of life must return! :D I did. I loved it. I especially love how you regularly mix humor in with all the drama and seriousness of the chapters. It makes things flow well and helps the reader to relax a bit in-between intense situations. It's a great fic! :D Aw, I'm flattered. You're so sweet! :) (P.S.: I know the feeling. My room is the same way. -_-)**

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Yes, he was. XD Yes. Very interesting indeed. More on that here, though. ;) Exactly! Sonic can never give up! Without him, there's no resistance! Everything falls apart without him! The team _needs_ him, dang it! D: Yes, I am. I ended up being too excited for it to wait. XD Besides, at least this way you guys won't have to wait so long for me to post the story after Hero's over. :P Yeah, I have it mostly figured out. Haha, thanks for that. Ooh! Cookies! *Takes some* Thank you! XD**

**Hello, Firerider007! Yes, you were. And he is. XD**

**Hello, SR! It's alright! I totally understand. I started college this year, so I get it. ...To be honest, though, college (for me, at least), is _way_ easier than high school. There's just more homework. XD Yeah, the war has finally begun! And yes, Jet is dead. ;_; Well, no, it wasn't that long. They weren't dating _before_ Ivo's takeover, and I imagine that it took a while for them to start dating after that. So, it was probably something more like sixty years out of the century that Ivo's been in power. More-or-less. Of course, they were friends for _way_ longer than that, but even still. Yeah, that was the plan with Kaden all along, to bring him back into the action all at once, and dramatically so, at the very end. :) Well, the reason for that was stated, though not necessarily _directly_. Analia needed to stay behind to try to wake present-day Kaden, so the Voice saw fit to turn to Locke to send as aid to the rebels of the future instead. ...And, yes, I admit that I love him and wanted more action from him, as well. XD It's alright. Like I said, I totally understand. I don't know when this will all end, but I'm aiming for the next few chapters. Ten is the most extreme, but I'm hoping for three or four more chapters and that's it. :P You don't need to be sorry. It's just a story, after all. And of _course_ we can still be friends! :D**

**Hello, astroshadow! Yes, you were. XD Yes! Sonic, you must have hope! Giving up is not an option!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yes, it's him. XD I'm so happy you enjoyed! :D Okay. Lol. :P I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

****~ソニック~****

"Care to explain this one, Voice?"

_"You already know the answer, young one."_

Sonic looked down at himself, at the powerful white aura surrounding him. He was still the same, otherwise, but this aura had slowly faded into existence around him not long ago, and that most certain was _not_ normal. "Humor me, then."

The response should have been surprising, but the strange, warm calmness that he felt refused to recede enough for him to feel that. Not that he was entirely calm, though. _"As you wish."_ Sonic didn't have to wait long for the explanation he sought to be revealed. _"This is the light, Sonic. The powerful hope you feel burning within your heart was finally enough to awaken it."_

Sonic blinked slowly. _So my assumption was right, then._ It made sense that it was, really. After all, the Voice had told him this before. Happiness was light, and hope was part of this."So now what, Voice?" he questioned. "Isn't something supposed to happen now?" Something had to happen now. _"Sometimes, hope is all we have left and we must learn to use hope as its own weapon." There's no way the Voice told me that for nothing._

_"Indeed it is. But not right at this moment. You transformed much to suddenly before, and your body needs time to rest."_

At this, Sonic cut a glance in the direction he was suddenly so _sure_ the Voice was coming from. "You know I don't have that sort of time."

_"No, you do not," _the Voice replied. _"You do, however, have a few short minutes. For now, that will do."_

Sonic suddenly remembered, not that he'd ever truly forgotten, what he'd heard earlier. Since he had a few minutes anyway, apparently, he supposed that focusing on this matter wouldn't do any harm. "Why was I able to hear everyone's thoughts?" He paused, then added, "Why can I _still_ hear them?"

_"There is much about yourself that you do not yet understand." _At first, it seemed that this was the only explanation he would get. However, after a short time, the Voice decided to continue. _"You have experienced multiple transformations by utilizing your power, but you have never truly tapped into the great power each form possesses. You have only fully utilized your Super form, but none of the others. This is not your fault; with time will come experience, and experience will lead to greater utilization, though one can only hope that such perfect utilization never becomes necessary."_

Sonic was silent for a long moment as he gave himself time to process this. Then, finally, he asked, "So, had I actually know what I was _doing_, I could have used that pure white form to wipe out Dark Gaia instead of just dispersing it?"

_"Yes. Your Hyper Form would have, under normal circumstances, been more than enough to do this as well. However, due to Iv's actions, Dark Gaia also had a great deal of Chaos power at it's disposal. This is why your Pure Hyper form was required for you to face off with the beast when you were otherwise too weakened to fight. And, had you not learned of Chaos Control, you would have had to find a way to achieve your Pure Hyper form again in order to win that battle."_

Sonic was silent again for a short moment. "So what your telling me is that this hearing-everyone's-thoughts thing is some ability of one of those forms?"

_"Indeed." _He was about to, perhaps purely for curiosity's sake, ask _which_ form, exactly, was suddenly granting him this ability, when the Voice spoke again. _"You already know the answer, young one," _it repeated.

Sonic blinked, unsurprised that it had known his thoughts. This _was_ the Voice, after all, and, though it didn't know everything, it _did_ know everything about _Sonic_. "Yeah. I do," he acknowledged with a small incline of his head, his eyes still locked at the spot he'd glanced at earlier. He blinked again and slowly tilted his head. He could barely make out the shape, but... "So _that's _where you are, huh...?" he murmured.

The form he was watching seemed infinitely far away, but it was _just_ close enough that he could (albeit _barely_) make out that the form looked vaguely like a person of some kind. The form did not move at all. The stillness of it all nearly made the sight creepy, but Sonic refused to follow that train of thought. _"I am surprised that you can see me already."_

Sonic hummed softly in acknowledgement. Then he said, "I'd suspected for a while that this is where you come from... I'd just never been sure before now."

_"You are observant, young one." _It almost seemed like praise, but Sonic had never been good at receiving that. As such, he said nothing in response to those words. After a moment, the Voice spoke again, issuing what seemed to be a warning of some kind. _"You must not inform your past self of this discovery."_

Sonic's eyebrows drew slowly downward. "I can even do that?"

_"Indeed you can. However, you must not. He needs to learn what have on his own."_

Sonic's expression soother over a bit. "And why is that?"

The Voice didn't deign to respond to that. Instead, it said something else entirely, changing the subject back to what it had been sometime before. _"There is much you do not understand about yourself," _it repeated. _"Have you noticed? Whenever you transform using the positive energy of the emeralds, you grow into your personality more. You unlock more of yourself with each use of such powers. This is not to say that you were not yourself before then; you merely had not yet finished changing. Even now you have not reached the highest level of your being, for it is more than just your personality being unlocked. Should such things ever be released fully, you must be prepared for the most difficult fight of your life: the fight to control Pure Chaos in its truest form. Such a thing may come to pass someday, as your parents had long suspected. You must be ready for that time. There are enemies beyond this world that will push you to the edge and further still, and you may one day be forced to use your power to the fullest in order to win against such foes. Be ready for that day, Sonic, for it is coming. Someday..."_

And with that, the Voice, along with that form, vanished, leaving Sonic alone in the light.

****~ソニック~****

****1,122 words this time. This is exceedingly short on purpose. Everything the Voice says in here is _extremely_ important, and I didn't want it to be overshadowed and/or forgotten about because of a bunch of action or whatever may come next. Also, that last paragraph of dialogue from the Voice is _heavily_ foreshadowing the sequel. ;) I hope you enjoyed. Posted (at about 6:43 p.m.) 08-30-15.****


	151. And Then the Time Came

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Yeah, Sonic's reactions to it can be pretty great. XD I'm glad you're so excited! Sorry for the obnoxious wait!**

**Hello, Anonymous! I'm glad you liked it so much! :D Lack of Wi-fi sucks. :( Yeah, we're super close! I'm really excited! :D Sayonara!**

**Hello, Nagato911! Yes, let's. *Instert evil grin here* XD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yeah, the sequel's gonna (hopefully) make this story seem calm. Sonic and the gang will be facing the ultimate threat... All the while trying to balance their personal lives. How fun! XD It does! Except, it's not really _physical._ It's more... energy. And I have no idea what it looks like yet. XP I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Heart of the Cobalt Storm! Your review to Chapter 2: Yes, false hope indeed. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 3: Alright. Thanks for reading! :)**

**Your review to Chapter 4: Glad you think so. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 5: Yeah, he really does. Poor kiddo. :(**

**Your review to Chapter 6: Eh, kinda sorta but not really. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 7: Well, thanks for reading what you could and leaving a review! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 8: Wonder what? ;)**

**Your review to Chapter 9: Well, that chapter didn't follow anything canonical about Sonic, to be honest... XD**

****~ソニック~****

Sonic opened his eyes. Surrounded though he was by a pure white aura, he could see perfectly fine. He didn't take the time to look at himself; he already knew what he looked like, anyway. He'd transformed like this once before. Now, however, the answer to the question of _What to do?_ wasn't so simple. He was still trapped within himself, and likely would remain so until he came to a decision. That meant he had to think fast. His friends needed his help, after all. He could hear as much in their thoughts. He shook his head, banishing their voices from his mind as best as he could.

_Focus._

_Think._

_What should I do?_

He had two choices. But if he did one, he couldn't do the other. Which left him with one question to answer: what to choose?

_End a life..._

_or save one?_

Both were immensely important to him...

_To put out a flame of life..._

_or restore one?_

...but what...

_Either revive someone I lost..._

_or destroy the one who killed them in the first place?_

... was he supposed...

_Either bring someone back and risk losing them again..._

_or eliminate their killer and leave the lost and dead behind?_

...to choose?

****~ソニック~****

Cream paused in her motions, having only just defeated a large robot, when a small butterfly landed on her shoulder. She slowly turned her head to look at it. Her serious expression softened as she stared at it, it's vivid colors clashing brightly with the dull landscape surrounding them. _Don't waste precious time now, tagging along with me... little butterfly._ As she watched, it moved it's wings slowly, but never tried to fly away. Cream's head canted minutely. _Why would you choose to stay with me, even though you know of the dangers? _The butterfly finally lifted off her shoulder and fluttered around her head in peaceful circles. _What a strange message, little butterfly. _And yet still she watched as the butterfly flew, her head straightening as she did so. _The cocoon is little more than a dark mound, truly, but you are not. ...I suppose I understand what you mean. _

Cream slowly looked away from her new companion to gaze up into the sky at the moon. _Something ugly can become beautiful. Life changes. People change. Nothing stays the same forever, but we can always hold onto hope._ Cream's head lowered slowly as her eyes closed._ I guess that the lesson I've been trying to teach Sen-san was one that I myself needed to learn all along._ A small smile spread across her face as she lifted her head and opened her eyes to watch the butterfly slowly fly away. _Thank you, little butterfly. You, if nothing else, are proof that you can go through a great deal of darkness and still emerge as something beautiful. That's something worth hoping for._

****~ソニック~****

_It's strange how alike we are. You and I have never met, and yet I already know that I am a lot like you. The way you fight, so confident and strong and independent... The way you carry yourself, calm and serious but also not unhappy... The careful way in which you interact with others... I see myself in you. Perhaps I am not so different from others after all. __It's strange, looking at you now. Seeing you after so many years of wondering... I feel like I'm dreaming. But... aren't dreams meant for sleeping? And since when do I dream, anyway?_

Shadow raised his large gun in hand and fired once. The robot ahead of him exploded. "Foolish."

At this point... he wasn't sure who was more foolish. The robot... or he himself.

****~ソニック~****

A sword swung around, sliced through steel, then swung again to block a blow. A blast of blue flames aided the blade in dispatching the threat. Silent wailing met his ears. _Power that takes away life awakens... voices of woe._

The sword slashed viciously through more yet more steel, its own metallic length shining in the moonlight. _So many lost souls haunt this place, unable to find peace as long as their killer remains alive and free... _

The lone fighter struck again, destroying yet more steel bodies that stood in his path. The cries never ceased. _Be silent. _

Another blast of fire, another slice of a blade. The effort was valiant, but still it wasn't enough. There were too many enemies. And the wails... Distracting. _Stop your crying... It will be alright._

Still, in spite of the odds, he remained calm, confident, certain. _We will win... and we will not leave you behind._

****~ソニック~****

_It's funny how quickly things can change. Things were so... almost peaceful early this evening, and now... War. _Locke dodged a stabbing blade by merely turning his head. Then, having lost his gun earlier, he used his free arm to wrench that blade out of an iron grip. Swinging his new weapon around, he cut through his robotic enemy and watched it explode. The sight of bright orange flames triggered a recent memory, and he looked down at the child he still carried in his left arm. _For someone so small... you really are strong. _Bitter-sweet memories raced through his mind, and the corner of his lips tugged up. _This won't be an easy world to grow up in, even if we win, but... always know that your parents would be proud of you. Never forget that. _

****~ソニック~****

_I'm not unsure..._ A lonely board dodged and weaved between countless steel bodies. _...n__ot quite certain, though..._ Her hand raised. A blast of bright pink decimated a small section of road, taking multiple enemies down in the process. _...of where these problems came from. __Logic says that they've always been here. Emotion says... that things weren't so bad when you were around. _Silly, silly thoughts. She knew they were. But even as she strove to banish them from her mind, they kept returning.

A perfect dodge, a blast of pink. Things remained the same. _And yet... day to day I find myself wondering... how can things change so quickly?_ Maybe if she revised his words, the ones she now kept so close to her heart, things would make sense.

_"We find meaning in the way we live. So... if we live with others and not alone... we can find meaning in those people, too."_

But what did it all mean?

More silly thoughts. More painful memories. More tears that threatened to fall. _He smiles... He tells me this is not the end... Then everything changes, and I'm left all alone. Why doesn't it make any sense? __Everything I ever needed, everything I ever longed for, I found with you. I gave myself to you, but now that you're gone... what's left of me?_

Why couldn't the world be more like a machine? _Take away the unseen layers, the emotions, the nonsensical subtleties of a person's behavior, leave the logic... Make them less like people, and they're easier to understand._ But people weren't like that. The _world_ wasn't like that. _Nothing makes sense._

A beautiful spin, a skilled flip, a daring maneuver.

_What if I can't dream anymore, because I keep dreaming of you?_

A punch, a kick, a dodge, a gun that's lost in the fray.

_Is there life after death? Where are you, now that you're gone?_

A blast of pink, an unforeseen blow, a wave of pain.

_What's left of me now?_

A fall, a board that clatters away, the ground that's much too hard.

_A broken dream and a shattered heart..._

Eyes that flash with determination, a heart that pounds with grief and courage, a mind that refuses to give up,

_There's nothing left. And yet... there will always be hope._

****~ソニック~****

_We can't change this place. We can't erase history. I know that. _Arrossa swung her hammer around, gritting her teeth as the shock of the collision raced up its bright yellow handle and into her. The robot exploded, but the sight was hardly satisfying. There were so many more enemies to go through, and she and the other Fighters were badly outnumbered. _We can't change this place._

She twirled, swinging her hammer outward all the while, and blue entered her vision more than once. Bright emerald eyes, the source of all her hope, flashed through her mind. _We can't change it... but... maybe we can save it._ She stopped her deadly spin, lowering her hammer as she looked into the sleeping face of the one she secretly held so close to her heart. _All our hopes rest with you... The world needs you to live on, even if we die. You're the world's only chance. The world needs_ _you..._ She whirled and slammed a robot into the ground. _ Please don't give up like I once did._ Another robot tried to attack the one she was fighting so hard to protect, and she sent it flying with a well-placed blow. _Please come back to us._

****~ソニック~****

_How can we ever hope to fix this place? Even ignoring all the physical damage that's been done, how can we ever fix this? _Tails looked around slowly, taking in every crack, every piece of ash, every cloud of smoke, every sparking piece of machinery, every bit of the destruction that surrounded him. _The world is broken... _He jumped and whirled around, swinging his leg out as he did so. His foot connected solidly with a metal head. The body attached to it went down with a crash. _And yet... maybe that's the beauty in it. Something that's broken can be fixed... and therein lies it potential._ He stood slowly from the crouch he had landed in, his gaze locked on a single, tiny flower that was growing in the crevice between two large slabs of concrete right beside that metal head. _But... maybe life's not always about trying to __fix__ something broken. Maybe, sometimes, it's about starting over and creating something new. __Something better. _The flower swayed softly in a gentle breeze, the moonbeams playing over it. Tails managed a small smile. _Something... beautiful._

****~ソニック~****

_Life is hard. _Zeki fired his gun, and a bright orange beam like a laser flashed through the nearest robot. The gun was one of his own design, intended to channel one of his more dangerous powers in a more palatable manner than he could manage with his bare hands. _It's harder if you're stupid. And yet, all the intelligence in the world can't save said world by itself. _He aimed and fired again, watching the resulting explosion. It was close enough that he felt the wave of heat, intense enough that it could have burned. _Actions speak louder than words for a reason. Words can inspire, but it's action that changes things. _Lowering the gun for now, he spun and grabbed a robot's arm. Spinning back around, he slammed a heavy metal body into the pavement. _It makes sense. If we could have stopped all of this with words along, then we wouldn't be here fighting right now. _He jumped backward and away just in time for there to be another explosion. _But that's stupid. Who's idiotic enough to believe that words alone can solve all problems? _He aimed again, his gaze locked on the center of a robot's forehead. _Things aren't so black and white. Its not as simple as good versus evil, right versus wrong. _His expression hardened, his grip tightening on his gun. _It's more than just life or death, win or lose, perfect or ruined. _His head titled a bit to the side. He imagined he was looking at Ivo. _This is about more than that. This is about the friends we've lost... _He fired his gun. _...and how hard we're willing to fight to avenge them._

****~ソニック~****

_Every exit is an entrance to new experiences. Some are good... but some are bad. Those bad experiences are unavoidable. _Rouge kicked straight through a heavy-set robot that stood between her and her partner. The resulting explosion burned, and she hissed softly between clenched teeth. _Some things hurt... _A familiar face rushed toward her as she was flung to the ground by the shock wave from the explosion. A surprisingly gentle hand came to rest on her shoulder. _...but some things feel good. _The hand then grasped hers and carefully pulled her to her feet. _There are good things in this world. _Together, she and her partner turned to face the never-ending tide of robots rushing toward them. _Alliance... _He punched while she kicked. She jumped while he ducked. She was his opposite, and he hers. And yet, somehow they had managed to form a bond. _Friendship... _He protected her as much as she protected him. He guided her when she was lost and she reminded him when he started to forget what he was fighting for. _Love..._ They were more than just the perfect team; they were the perfect match. _And love in any form is worth fighting for._

****~ソニック~****

_Everyone wants a magical solution to their problems, but everyone refuses to believe in magic. __That's the issue with people. _Amy kicked a robot away from herself and hit another with her hammer. _If we live life thinking that the only means to solve our issues doesn't exist, how can we possibly move forward? How can we possibly succeed in such a hopeless situation?_ This fight was so hard... but she refused to give up. She couldn't do that. Not now, not ever. _Maybe one day we'll find the place where our dreams an reality collide. But, until then..._ She swung her hammer around and watched as her enemy exploded and went up in flames. _...we have to keep on fighting for a better life. We'll never see the end of this war otherwise._

****~ソニック~****

_All the power in the world doesn't do you any good if you don't have the courage to use it._ Ryker punched his way through a wall of enemies, unleashing great blasts of fire as he did so. _Now isn't the time for fear, but it's also not the time for reckless endangerment._ He ducked below a large metal fist, then rolled to the side to avoid a sudden spat of gunfire. _We have to stay alive._ He blasted his current attackers with a controlled rush of fire, melting them within seconds._ If we die, we can't avenge those that we lost, and we certainly can't win this war._ He rolled again and kicked an enemy out of his way. A well-aimed punch was enough to dispatch a large robot that was in his way. _We have to stay alive... no matter how hard life becomes._

****~ソニック~****

_Every breath we take is closer to our last. That's what makes this breath I take __right now so much more valuable._ Knuckles whirled on his enemy and punched through its gut. When he ripped his hand free, he clutched a fistful of wires that might have been important. _Breath is life._ The robot sparked dangerously where he had struck it. Moments later, it simply collapsed._ Life is a gift. We mustn't waste it fighting over petty things._ His gaze swept around the ruined clearing, taking in all the enemies that filled it and picking out his allies. _This fight, this war... this matters, because our friends mattered, they still matter, and we won't let their deaths be in vain. _Growling lowly, he punched through another robot.

****~ソニック~****

Finally, it was time. He had rested as much as he could, and now it was time to take action. He had made his decision and, though he had no idea if things would go as planned, he was going to stand by his choice until the end. He would stay strong... He had to. He couldn't allow for any weakness in himself. Not this time. The fate of the world rested upon his shoulders once again, and this time he refused to fail. The time had finally come to take the world back from Ivo's clutches. It was time for the final victory of this war.

_"It is time, young one."_

Pure white light exploded into existence from a fixed point, quickly encompassing the entire city in a painfully bright sphere. Icy blue eyes snapped open as their owner hovered effortlessly in the air at the highest point within the sphere. His right hand slowly raised into the air, palm facing forward. It was time.

****~ソニック~****

****2,862 words this time. GUYS I HAVE GREAT NEWS! I made my own trailer for an alternate version of Hero that I will _eventually _be writing! Wanna see it? Search for me on YouTube! My username is Kymma Raven ! :D****

****Cream's first thought about the butterfly is actually a Haiku written by Issa. Also, many of the thoughts you read today were inspired by song lyrics, though no full lines were taken and many were tweaked. How many can you spot? ;)****

*****Insert legitimate excuses for late posting here.* ...Ha. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! :D ********Posted (at nearly one in the morning) 09-06-15.****


	152. The Light of Life

**Hello, Nagato911! Thanks! Yeah, that's one hell of a decision to make. :(**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Hahaha! XD I'm happy you enjoyed!**

**Hello, Firerider007! Aw, thanks for the sub! :D Glad you enjoyed!**

**Hello, Randomblackberry! So glad you enjoyed! :) Haha, don't worry. The lyrics were only in there very subtly. :P Haha, sorry about the text. I'm glad you enjoyed it otherwise. And I'm happy that you're hyped! :D Yay! Cookies! XD Thank you!**

**Hello, Anonymous! Your first review to Chapter 151: Okay, fine! I _won't_ answer that! XD Well, IDK what else to say here, so... Sayonara!**

**Your second review to Chapter 151: I KNOW! THANK YOU! XDD MEh, I'll just tell you. The gist of it is: How would things have all turned out if Sonic had never met Tails and the others by the end of the SA2/Sonic Riders/Save the Future Arc. :)**

**Hello, flashyhero! Yes, he does! :D Yes, you're absolutely correct. Good guess. :) No, it was the Voice. And no, the Voice was never stated to be masculine. "Neither male nor female" was how it was described when Sonic first heard the Voice all those chapters ago. :P**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yes! Hypah Sonikku! XD I'm so glad you enjoyed! And yes! The end is finally here for Ruined Future Ivo! XD Well, wait no more! I hope you enjoy! :D I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Extreme Light 9! Your review to Chapter 59: Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for the review! :D**

**Hello, Heart of the Cobalt Storm! Your review to Chapter 10: Haha, who needs sleep, anyway? XD**

**Your review to Chapter 11: Dude, I understand your pain. I use a phone to reply in my forum a lot and it is a _struggle_ to type out anything long. X( Aw, thanks! I'm so happy that you like it! That truly means a lot to hear. Your compliments made me smile like a fool. ...I'm not ashamed. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 12: Yes, it was very conveniently convenient. XD Yes, he needs to live! And I was happy that they were reunited, too. :)**

****~ソニック~****

The time had finally come. He only had one chance to do this right, one single opportunity to accomplish everything he needed, everything he wanted. The light around him intensified to the point that nothing could be seen except for that light. The city and every being in it, living or not, faded from view. Even through the walls, Sonic could see his enemy as the man sat in his chair, sure, confident, so certain that everything would go in his own favor. Sonic's eyes narrowed subtly. When he spoke, his mouth never opened. It was his mind that carried his voice across the battlefield. _"You won't win today, Ivo. This is the end."_

Without another word, He allowed a small portion of the light that had been building up within this sphere to suddenly do its intended work. The center of the city, the place where Ivo's main base was, exploded. A bright orange ball of flame surged into the air, only barely visible amidst all the light. More explosions shattered the stillness of the air as machines of shapes and sizes were touched by the flames. One by one, the many buildings that made up Ivo's central base fell, crumbling, crashing, shattering, to the pavement below.

The explosions continued to spread. It was the infamous domino effect, and nothing was safe from the destruction, save for those that Sonic had protected. Before long, half the city was in flames, and the destruction continued to fan out across the city. Sonic had barely done a thing, merely overloaded the city's central power-core with energy to cause it to exploded, which had barely taken any effort. He had hardly used any power at all. That meant that he still had enough power, enough _light_, accomplish his other goal. As soon as he felt one dark flame of life extinguish, he closed his eyes.

When he opened them, he was standing in Green Hill. It wasn't the real Green Hill, he knew, but it was close enough to give him a measure of comfort. Looking around the Master Emerald's interior for a brief moment, he called out, "Hey, Voice, what now? Who's coming back?"

_"That is up to you to decide," _the Voice replied immediately. _"Out of those who have died, only those two who are closest to your heart will be affected by the light enough to be restored.__"_

Sonic completely froze. _I... have to choose?_ What kind of sick game _was_ this? How was he supposed to _choose_? His thoughts raced as despair quickly took hold of him, gripping his heart tightly in it's icy clawed hand. _I can't choose between them!_

"You're such an idiot."

Sonic froze again for only a split second before whirling around. He watched in total shock as a familiar figure faded into existence as they approached him with their right hand on their hip, scarf flowing gently behind them as they went. There were no words to describe the fresh wave of terrible grief that pierced his heart as he stammered out, "J-Jet...?! How-"

"You're an idiot," Jet repeated, cutting him off. "You finally have a chance to bring him back and you're hesitating?"

Sonic forced himself to swallow back the painful lump in his throat. "But what about-" he started to demand, _hating_ how weak his voiced sounded, before Jet cut him off once more.

"No," he ordered almost harshly. "Don't finish that sentence. _Forget_ about me. Worry about your _son_ instead."

"I can't just forget about you!" Sonic snapped, the lump in his throat growing. "How can you even _think_ that I could?!"

Jet suddenly stepped forward and used his right index and middle fingers to poke Sonic in the forehead hard enough that it made Sonic flinch slightly. Leaning closer and never removing his fingers, Jet said seriously, "You're going t have to, Sonic. I'm not coming back. I won't let you use this on me. You can't save us both and you can't decide, so I'm choosing for you. You are _not_ bringing me back. _Silver _has to be the one to come back. You'll never be happy otherwise."

Sonic felt his eyes start to water dangerously and he fought to blink the emotions back out of his eyes as Jet removed himself from Sonic's personal space. "I can't," he whispered weakly. "I can't just leave you behind."

"You have to," Jet replied simply. Then he added more gently, "I'm sorry, Sonic, but there's no other way. You'll just have to learn to live with it."

"I _can't_," Sonic repeated, his voice breaking. His eyes squeezed shut of their own accord. "I _can't_ just _live _with it! How can you even-"

"You really are an idiot." Sonic's eyes snapped back open. Jet, his own eyes closed, shook his head slowly. "Such an idiot," he murmured softly.

"What are you talking about?" Sonic demanded. He was crying by now. He realized belatedly that he had been for a few minutes now. "How am I-"

Jet seemed fond of interrupting him today. His eyes opened and he held Sonic's gaze almost exasperatedly. "I won't be completely gone." When Sonic felt and therefore showed no understanding, Jet huffed. "I'll be _here_, you idiot."

"That's not _good_ enough!" Sonic snapped, his eyes squeezing shut again as his hands balled into tight, painful fists by his side. "I can't leave you _here_, either! I can't-" He was abruptly cut off again, but this time not by words. He froze for the third time when soft cloth was wrapped gently around his neck in such a way that it covered his mouth. Sonic's eyes snapped open again to see Jet smiling faintly at him.

"I'll be seeing you." Jet started to turn away. "Take care of that for me, alright?"

Sonic slowly reached up and clutched the scarf, unintentionally pulling it down a bit in his tight grip. Tears streamed down his face as he watched his friend walked away and slowly fade away as a bright white light overtook everything. In his place, a new figure faded into existence, sinking down onto their knees in a sort of daze as if they'd just been woken up from a deep sleep. Sobbing silently, Sonic practically lunged forward and hit his knees, dragging his son into a tight hug that he never intended to end. _Oh my god- Oh my god, Silver...! I'm so sorry...! I- I-...!_

Slowly, two tired arms raised to hug him back. "Dad...? What...?"

Sonic didn't trust himself to speak right now. Instead, he just hugged his son tighter as silent sobs continued to wrack his body. _I'm so sorry, Silver...! I'm so sorry I couldn't save you before...! I'll never let anything hurt you_ _again...!_

Silver's own arms tightened around him. "It's okay, dad," he murmured. "It's okay. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. I'm here..."

****~ソニック~****

****1,203 words this time. Very short but... I love how it turned out. This is so bittersweet. *Sniffles* ...I'M NOT CRYING! XD Posted (at one-something in the morning) 09-07-15.****


	153. A Bright Future

**Hello, Mage the Hedgehog! What, the Alternate Hero story? No, it's not a sequel. It's a side story. :) Thanks for giving that enough thought to let me know, though!**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Yes, he is! :D *Sniffles* Yeah, it is. ;_; Well, I didn't, so you should be happy. XD**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! I'M SORRY! I KNOW THE SCARF DOESN'T HELP. I'M SORRY FOR THE CONFLICTING FEELINGS. DX Haha, I'm not surprised that Star mentioned it to you. Come to think of it, didn't you have the evil idea to have everyone argue about who would be brought back? XD Yeah, he has the greatest friends. They all would have done that for him, had they been in Jet's place. *Sniff* It's... so... SAD! DX**

**Hello, CaptanG! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and the trailer! :) Well, I'm not totally new to it, no, but your friend was right about me not having the right software. I just have Windows Live Movie Maker, unfortunately. I'm working on it, though. :) Errors, huh? I didn't notice any in the trailer, so I'm assuming you meant in the story, correct? Either way, thanks for pointing it out. I promise that I'm working on it. No, it's not related to this story exactly. It's for an alternate version of this story. Anyway, thanks for the review!**

**Hello, Nagato911! Yeah, truly. :( I worded that badly, I think. He could only save one, but it was between those two that he had to choose. Sorry for the confusion! XD**

**Hello, Randomblackberry! YES, THE FEELS! DX Yeah, it was very bittersweet. :( I'm glad you enjoyed, though. Aw, thanks! I accept your cookies, as always! XD**

**Hello, Guest! I'm so happy you enjoyed! Thank you! :D**

**Hello, flashyhero! Yeah, he is. ;_; That's absolutely correct. Someone finally figured it out. XD Good job!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! YES! He finally died! XD Yeah... Goodbye... ;_; I LOVE that little line you put in about the legend. That was beautiful. :) Now I'm tempted to write a full story for this arc just to use that idea. YES, HE HAS! :D I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Heart of the Cobalt Storm! Your review to Chapter 13: Yeah... poor kiddo. :(**

**Your review to Chapter 14: Haha, it's fine! Take your time! XD**

**Your review to Chapter 15: Yeah, he really should've. Ah, well. Such is the naivety of childhood. :)**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Your review to Chapter 150: I'm glad you enjoyed! :D Yeah, that was him, and that epic save was planned since long before the story reached this point, way back in the beginning of this arc. XD Yes, exactly! And therefore, that is what they do. :) Yes, it does. It answered a lot of questions, for once. XD Haha, you're welcome. :) Thanks for reading and leaving a review! :D**

**Hello, ScarletTheCat14! Sorry for almost making you cry! ;_; Dude, Anne Frank. So SAD! DX I love that song! :D I'm glad you enjoyed! And thank you so much! You helped me get there, so thanks again! :D Cool! DA is awesome. :) Dude, you totally should! That's be amazing! :D Advice on what, specifically? I'll be happy to help if I can. :) *Gasp* WHAAAT? Who?! :O Yeah, Poor Sonikku. :(**

**~ソニック~**

When the interior world of the Master Emerald finally faded away, so too did the light that had still been encasing the now thoroughly ruined city. Sonic had calmed down by now, and he and Silver were standing up when the light faded. Sonic quickly and vigorously wiped his eyes with his arm just before the group of people he'd protected began to slowly uncover their shielded eyes. One by one, familiar eyes opened. Three pairs of violet, three pairs of bright green, one pair of brown, one pair of bright amber, three pairs of light blue, one pair of red, and one pair of dark blue. Everyone was here. Everyone was safe. No one was entirely unharmed, but they were _alive_... That was all that mattered at this point.

Sonic's thoughts were suddenly broken into when Cream let out a small cry. "M-Mr. Silver!"

Just like that, everyone else whirled to face the two hedgehogs. Shock was obvious, as was joy, relief, lingering grief... Before long, Silver found himself the unsuspecting subject of numerous hugs, pats on the back, and so on and so forth. He took it all in in stride, smiling and chuckling and offering easy words of comfort and assurance. Tears were shed, smiles were given, and Sonic found himself slowly feeling better than he had in a long, long time. He reached a hand up to clutch part of the scarf he still wore. _Maybe... Maybe this was the right decision after all...?_

His thoughts were interrupted again, this time by Knuckles. "So, care to explain this to us?" he asked calmly, holding up the small cat-child for Silver to see.

Silver's eyes widened. "Kimmy!" he exclaimed, seeming to choose for now to ignore the doubles that he was seeing around him.

Sonic blinked. _Kimmy? _Knuckles allowed Silver to take the child from him and, suddenly, Sonic felt like he'd been slapped in the face. With concrete. Or maybe a whole building. _Oh. My. God. _He felt like he was frozen with shock. _She looks just like...!_

"Like I said, care to explain?" Knuckles asked, his fists now on his hips. "It's obvious she's yours and Blaze's."

At the shocked looks Silver received, he was quick to assure, "It's not like that, I swear!" When Knuckles raised an eyebrow at him in a very Locke-like manner, Silver took a breath and launched into his explanation. "Okay, so Blaze and I went on a mission a few months before we... you know..." He faltered for a minute before continuing. "Anyway, we went out on this mission when this random portal opened up right in front of us. At first, we thought Ivo was attacking us, but then... _we_ walked out of the portal."

"You encountered other versions of yourselves... from another world?" Amy asked, her eyes wide as if she'd never heard of such a thing happening before.

"Yeah," Silver nodded. "We -they- were dressed up like royalty, too. It was _weird_." After that, he abruptly got back on track. "Anyway, the other Blaze was carrying Kimmy here when they approached us. They both seemed really concerned, said that terrible things were happening in their world and that they needed someone to take Kimmy. Apparently they had been looking for other versions of themselves, and us, but we were the only ones they could find. We agreed to take care of her, so they left her with us. They said they would be back for her in a few days if they survived, but... they never came."

Silence filled the clearing for a long moment as everyone tried to process this. Finally, Amy softly murmured, "She's a lot like you." Then she added even more quietly, "_Both_ of you."

Silver nodded once, his own gaze uncharacteristically sad. "I know."

Sonic slowly closed his eyes. _Blaze... Don't worry about her. Silver will take care of her... and we'll all be right here to help him. Your daughter's safe.. I promise._

By the time he came back out of his thoughts, Silver was suddenly involved in a much more lively conversation than he had been before. He and Zeki exchanged sarcastic jabs, only to grin about them moments later, then Tails or Knuckles would make some sort of comment and they would all laugh, then Amy would tease one of them about something or other, causing more laughter... Looking to the side, Sonic was further amused when he saw that Locke and Kaden were actually _bickering_ like brothers. As he watched, Locke said something that seemed to be some sort of a teasing remark, only for Kaden to hit Locke atop the head with a fist, looking thoroughly annoyed. Stifling a small chuckle, Sonic turned his head to check on the others, only to have his attention snagged when Arrossa approached him. There was something there in her quiet expression, but for the _life_ of him, he couldn't figure out what it was.

"You did it," she murmured.

He blinked and nodded slowly. "Yeah... I guess I did."

Somehow, she managed a smile. He felt himself stiffen involuntarily out of surprise. She hadn't smiled at him in years... Then, without any warning, she threw herself at him, her arms wrapping themselves tightly around his neck in a fierce hug while he froze. "I'm glad... I always knew you could do it, Sonic." She hugged him tighter while his heart pounded. "I'm so glad..."

****~ソニック~****

"So... I guess it's over now." Rouge smiled, actually _smiled_ instead of smirking, as she watched Ryker take his hat off briefly to beat some of the dust off of it with one hand. "You really saved my butt back there," he continued casually, replacing the old hat on his head. Finally, he turned his head to look at her, smirking faintly as he did so. "Thanks for that."

Her smile widened. "It makes us even, anyway," she remarked just as casually. "You saved me a couple times, too."

He turned to face her more fully, his smirk fading. "Know that this is all over finally," he asked slowly, "will you leave again?"

That gave her pause. _I did say that I would, didn't I?_ Granted, that had been years ago, back when their alliance had been much more tentative and their friendship had been nonexistent, but she _had_ said that. _But, then again... I never planned on things going like this. I never planned on being anything more than a neutral ally. And now..._ Her head tilted, her own smirk all but vanishing as she posed her own question. "Do you _want_ me to?" He had initially, she knew. What if that hadn't changed?

He shook his head once, firmly, in immediate reply to her question. "No," he said almost too quickly.

Her head tilted a bit farther to the side. "Then what do you want me to do?" She suspected that she knew the answer to that already, certainly _hoped_ that she did, but still she waited, her breath baited, for a response.

He hesitated, seeming uncertain of whether or not he could even force himself to answer her question aloud. Finally, he took a step toward her, his eyes shining with resolve. His hand extended toward her in invitation. "I want you to stay."

Her breath released softly as she slowly reached her own hand out to grasp his and hold it. Her smile returned. "Of course I will."

He returned her smile slowly, and, when she suddenly hugged him, he hugged her back without hesitation.

**~ソニック~**

Locke frowned slowly. "You're serious?" he asked pointlessly.

Uncharacteristically, Kaden rolled his eyes toward the heavens. "No, Locke," he replied dryly. "I'm lying."

Locke almost hit him over the top of the head for that, but he refrained for now. "How many times did you hear them?" he demanded.

Kaden shrugged minutely. "Several times."

Locke found that he had to take a moment to process this. _He heard the voices of the dead again. It's been years since that's happened. _Finally, he released a sigh. "_Please_ tell me that you weren't given another damn prophecy."

Kaden crossed his arms almost defensively. "That only happened once, Locke."

"Still."

"There was no prophecy."

"Then what were they saying?"

"Nothing."

Now Locke was lost. "But, you said you heard them."

Kaden nodded slowly, his eyes focused on the paved ground. It wasn't like him to seem so troubled. After a moment, he blinked and finally answered the question. "They were... wailing."

_Oh._ Now, all of a sudden, it made sense why Kaden had been reluctant to even mention hearing those voices during the battle earlier. _Maybe I shouldn't have pried. _But, then again, he'd seen that something had been bothering his friend, and he 'd wanted to help. _Still... He's never liked talking about anything that has to do with his Dark powers, and this is definitely one of those things._ Suddenly, something occurred to Locke, perhaps for the first time. _Wait... if some of those more dormant aspects of his power are active again..._ _Something must've happened. _

Locke had already known that everyone else from this time had been through a lot, but it had never really occurred to him that Kaden may have also gone through some bad things since he'd woken up. Clearly he hadn't been captured, but any number of other terrible things could have happened to him. _They must have. _Locke bit back a sigh and looked to the sky. _I hate how little there is that I can do to help. I hate it._

Suddenly, Locke was pulled from his thoughts by his friend's voice. "Are the clouds really so interesting, Locke?"

That surprisingly light tone caught Locke's attention more than anything else. Slowly, Locke managed a smirk. _He's not dwelling on it... so I guess I shouldn't, either._ "Oh, yeah, they're _fascinating_," he replied, his tone also light. "They're quieter, too. A chatterbox like you is hard to put up with, sometimes."

Kaden smirked and shook his head. "You're so full of it."

"So?" Locke grinned. "I'm your brother, so you've gotta deal with it."

At this, Kaden suddenly rolled his eyes again. "Will you give that a rest, already? Honestly-"

"Hey, _you_ started it, back when we were kids, calling me that in front of that guard when-"

"You know full well that I was being sarcastic when I said that."

"So? I don't hear you denying that we are, in fact, brothers."

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

"You can't hate your own b-"

With that, Kaden hit Locke over the top of the head with his fist, hard and without remorse. Laughing, Locke moved away before his friend had a chance to hit him again. And, somehow, Kaden managed a smirk.

**~ソニック~**

It was midday by the time Sonic finally emerged from his room on Jet's airship, feeling fairly well-rested for once. In his hand, he held something that he had found in his friend's office the night before. He walked quietly outside, quickly picking out the people he was looking for. As he approached, their voices faded into focus.

"...how we're supposed to get home now," Amy was murmuring.

"Yeah, and it's not like any of us really know exactly how we ended up here in the first place," Knuckles muttered back.

"Hey, don't look at _me_," Tails said quickly. "I don't understand it, either."

"So what do we do?" Locke asked.

"I can answer that." Immediately, the four of them whirled around to face Sonic. He held up his solution to their problem.

Amy's visibly saddened. "That's... Jet's portal gun."

Sonic nodded once. "He finished it," he murmured. "I don't know when."

"Does it work?" Knuckles asked with unusual quietness, his eyes locked on the gun.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. If _he_ built it..." He trailed off for a minute. "I'm sure it works."

Tails pulled his gaze away from the gun to look at Sonic. "So... when do we leave?"

Sonic lifted one shoulder in a minute shrug. "That's up to you guys."

For whatever reason, there was a moment's hesitation before he received a reply. "How about tomorrow?" Locke suggested.

"That'll give us time to say goodbye and rest a bit more," Knuckles added.

Sonic nodded. "Alright," he agreed easily. Then he added, "Come on. Cream made lunch." Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked back inside.

Exchanging quick glances, the others hurried to follow him. Amy waited until Sonic seemed to become lost in thought as he so often did before finally venturing to quietly ask, "Do you guys think he'll be alright?"

"I dunno," Tails murmured, misery clear in his eyes. "He went through a lot yesterday. We lost-" He cut himself off, then murmured, "Well... you know... Plus Sonic had _bury_ him..."

"I don't know that being '_okay_' is something he can do right now," Knuckles replied bluntly a moment later, his eyes locked on Sonic's back.

They reached the kitchen. As they watched, Sonic stopped for a moment to converse with Silver briefly in the hall. His emerald eyes visibly brightened when they spoke and, to add to the gentle happiness of the scene, Arrossa walked by the boys on her way to get food, briefly slipping her hand into Sonic's as she passed them. Locke smiled. "I dunno..." he said slowly. "I think he'll be alright." He watched as Sonic glanced at Arrossa. Arrossa met his gaze and smiled before disappearing into the kitchen. "He just needs time. And the right people." Locke's smile grew. _And he has them all, right here._

****~ソニック~****

The time had come to say goodbye to everything and everyone that they had come to know in this world. The actual goodbyes were out of the way, though, and now it was just a matter of actually _leaving_. Sonic joined the group of four outside that morning. His appearance had changed a bit, Amy noticed. For one thing, he wasn't armed, for once. Caliburn and his gun had been abandoned on the ship for now. Not only that, but Sonic was wearing different shoes than normal, though beyond being icy blue instead of red, they were identical to his usual footwear. _Funny. I never knew he had another pair. _More than that, though, Amy noticed that Sonic was no longer wearing that red scarf. _The one Jet gave him... _Instead, he wore a waist length scarf that matched the blue on his shoes. No one else from this time had said anything about his change in style, which likely meant that this wasn't the first time he'd worn these things. _But why would he not be wearing the red scarf?_

Sonic approached Amy in particular, the portal gun in one hand. She noticed he was wearing Jet's scuffed up backpack loosely on one shoulder. "Jet's still alive in your world, right?" he asked quietly.

Amy nodded. "Yes. He's completely fine in our world."

Sonic nodded once and slipped the backpack off of his shoulder to hand it to her. "When you see him next, will you give this to him?"

Blinking, Amy slipped one pocket open. Red cloth met her searching gaze. She blinked back tears. "Yes," she murmured, closing the pocket again. "Of course I will."

He nodded, seeming grateful beyond what he was used to trying to express with words. Amy understood. Sonic stepped back and allowed his gaze to sweep over everyone in the small group. "You guys ready?"

"As we'll ever be," Knuckles grumbled. Locke randomly pulled the hat off of his head and shoved it down on Knuckles's head, covering his son's eyes briefly in the process before Knuckles pushed it back up.

Amy rolled her eyes and answered more nicely, "Yes, we are."

Nodding, Sonic raised the gun and fired, aiming at a point just beyond them. A short, bright blue beam like a thick laser shot out of the gun, then exploded into a portal of the same color. He lowered the gun. _Now they can finally go back to where they belong. _

Tails adjusted the two swords on his back before quickly approaching Sonic. "We'll try to come visit sometime, okay?" he promised with a small smile.

Sonic smirked, just a bit. "I'll look forward to it, then."

Smiling a bit wider, Tails bumped fists with him briefly before turning to jump the portal. Locke approached him next, ruffling the fur atop Sonic's head affectionately. "Take care, kid."

"I'm not a kid anymore," Sonic replied evenly, seemingly more for the sake of routine than anything else. Still, his smirk had grown a bit in spite of his words, and Locke smirked back. With a small wave, Locke left.

"I still say you're reckless," Knuckles commented gruffly, referencing a conversation that they had had during the calm hours before the final assault on The Capitol. Still, he spoke with a smirk on his face that told both Amy and Sonic everything they needed to know. Suddenly grinning at each other, Knuckles and Sonic bumped elbows with each other and, with that, Knuckles, too, left.

Smiling softly, Amy looked away from the portal to face Sonic again. "We really will try to visit," she promised quietly.

Sonic nodded and repeated just as softly, "I'll look forward to it."

Smiling a bit wider, Amy gave him a brief but no less meaningful hug. "Goodbye, Sonic," she said softly.

He hugged her back gently as he murmured back, "Bye, Amy."

Pulling away and giving him one last teary smile, Amy turned and walked through the portal, ready to return home.

****~ソニック~****

The four of them arrived together, landing softly in the grass just behind Amy's house. Two very familiar pairs of eyes stared at them in obvious surprise, maybe even shock. It was Sonic and Jet. With a short sort of cry, Amy rushed forward and threw her arms around the startled hawk, closely followed by Tails, the two impacts causing him to stumble back a couple of steps as he stiffened. "Hey, what the hell?!" he exclaimed. "What's the matter with you two?! Get off!" When neither listened, he attempted to _pry_ them off. "Come on, you two! Let me go!"

No words forthcoming, apparently, Sonic turned his head to stare at Knuckles and Locke in silent question, his eyes a bit wide. Knuckles sighed heavily. "It's a long story."

****~ソニック~****

**3,170 words this time... and the Ruined Future Arc is officially over. Tomorrow will be a bonus chapter for the Hero Playlist. Also, the elbow bump thing is something that you can actually see those two do in Sonic OVA and Sonic X. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Posted 09-07-15.**

**EDIT: Ugh, I tried to add more, got lazy and distracted by homework, then stopped caring. I _may_ add more to this later. Maybe.**


	154. Bonus Chapter 7: Playlist

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Yes, the once-dead version of Silver is back kinda-sorta. And yes, Kimmy's an adorable kitten princess from another world. :) Yes, it's finally over. And it was tearful. ;_; No, you're right. it did. I'm going back and adding more today, though. :P**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I'm glad you liked it! :D Haha, yeah, I loved that part, too! It was funny, but at the same time, it was kinda sad because we know _why_ Amy and Tails freaked out. DX Yay! I'm glad you like them! :D Well, here it is! Hope you enjoy!**

**Hello, Guest! Yes, with the new arc involving so much SA2 stuff, he will be more heavily involved than usual. :P**

**Hello, Nagato911! Yup! :D**

**Hello, flashyhero! Yes, he is. And yes, it has been confirmed. XD At first, I was confused, but then I looked back at that line you mentioned and busted up laughing. XD I'm so happy that you liked it! Aw, that was so sweet of you to say! :D IKR?! NO ONE ELSE IN THE STORY HAS FIGURED IT OUT, SAVE FOR SEN. XD**

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Yeah, it's over. :P I'm so glad you enjoyed! :D The regular story will resume tomorrow, I promise. :) Yay! Cookies! XD**

**Hello, Heart of the Cobalt Storm! Your review to Chapter 16: Nope, no prior knowledge needed. That has _nothing_ to do with the canon story from the games and whatnot. I made it all up. :P**

* * *

**~ソニック~**

**_EVERY SONG LISTED CAN BE FOUND ON MY YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS. JUST SEARCH FOR ME: yasha012 or Kymma Raven._**

* = The main theme (if there are two or more of these for one character/event/whatever, it means that there's a tie, as far as which fits best.)

# = Two or more characters share the same theme

"FUTURE ARC" by a name means that that character, event, or whatever is in/from the Ruined Future Arc.

Each character/event/whatever is allowed up to four main themes.

Every character/event/whatever is allowed to have **_two _**songs from the actual Sonic games and whatnot. But just two.

**ソニック**

**THEME SONGS OF HERO (AS A WHOLE):**

*Heroes (By MaÌŠns ZelmerloÌˆw (I feel like the "he" mentioned in the song could be Kaden talking to his son, assuming that Sonic is the narrator of the story being told in this song.))

Tears of Life (Pokemon the First Movie OST)

Hero (By Skillet)

Change Your Mind (By The Killers)

**THEME SONGS OF THE BIRTHRIGHTS ARC (Ch. 1-19):**

_(This is the South Island Arc.)_

*Sonic Boom (Crush 40 Remix)

*South Island Theme (From Sonic OVA)

**THEME SONGS OF THE DARKNESS FALLS ARC (Ch. 20-35):**

_(After the fall of South Island, when everyone's struggling in the Land of Darkness.)_

_SONGS STILL NEEDED_

**THEME SONGS FOR THE ENCOUNTERS ARC (Ch. 36-67):**

_(This is the Arc where Sonic meets Tails and the gang and Ivo is revealed and all that fun stuff.)_

_SONGS STILL NEEDED_

**THEME SONGS OF THE INFERNO ARC (Ch. 68-80):**

_(The Arc that takes place in Silver's world.)_

_SONGS STILL NEEDED_

**THEME SONGS OF THE RESTORATION ARC (Ch. 91-115):**

_(This is the Dark Gaia/Return of Locke, Kaden, and Analia Arc.)_

**THEME SONGS OF THE TRAGEDIES ARC (Ch. 116-153):**

_(This is Ruined Future Arc.)_

*Pokemon Battle Frontier Japanese OP (Full version (You can find it on YouTube by searching "Pokemon – Opening 09 Battle Frontier [Full] Japan" by Jhoung100. Also, if this Arc were an anime, this would be the opening. (The word Pokemon is never mentioned in the song, just so you know.)))

Rakuen (By Do As Infinity; From Inuyasha the Fourth Movie: Fire on the Mystic Mountain (You can find the English lyrics on Anime Lyrics dot com. Also, if this Arc were an anime, this would be the ending.))

**THEME SONGS OF THE AWAKENINGS ARC (Arc Incomplete):**

_(The Save the Future/SA2/Sonic Riders Arc, so entitled due to Astral Babylon's involvement.)_

*The Last Firstborn (By Celldweller (The lyrics apply to Sonic and Shadow in the SA2 portion of this Arc; the part that first plays at 1:14 to about 1:28 (it plays several times) applies to the Sonic Riders part of the Arc; the part of the lyrics where it says "I wish it didn't end this way" and "It isn't worth it" part also applies to the save-the-future part of the Arc.))

*Live and Learn (Theme song of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (The line "Hanging on the edge og tomorrow" fits especially well, I think.))

**Characters:**

**Sonic:**

*Dragon Soul (Full version; English opening to Dragon Ball Z Kai)

Superman (By Five for Fighting)

*Once in Every Lifetime (From Eragon; by Jem)

*The Phoenix (By Fall Out Boy)

Learn my Lesson (By Daughtry)

You Haven't Seen the Last of Me (By Cher; from Burlesque)

Simple and Clean (Orchestral Version; from Kingdom Hearts)

Bring It On (By Alvin and the Chipmunks (If this is a cover, then I don't know the original artist.))

#Meant to Live (By Switchfoot (The "war of our fathers" line is why multiple characters share this theme.))

Here With Me (By The Killers (Certain lines and the instrumentals fit, but not the whole thing. On another note, I kinda feel like, at certain parts, he's talking to Elsa here.))

*His World (Zebrahead remix; from Sonic '06)

Reach the Goal (This is a fanmade Sonic song on YouTube. I don't remember the creator's username, though.)

**Sen/Future Arc Sonic:**

*The Light Behind Your Eyes (By My Chemical Romance (The line about burning as bright fits to fits Future Arc Silver as well. It's as though he's talking to Kimmy about her mother.))

*Surrender the Night (By My Chemical Romance)

Superman (Boyce Avenue Cover)

*Beautiful Times (By Owl City)

Halo (By Starset)

*Dreams of an Absolution (LB vs. JS remix (Fun fact: This is the song that inspired my love of the idea of Sonic singing. For some reason, I've always been able to _easily_ picture him singing this.))

**Super Sonic:**

*Reach for the Stars (Instrumental) (From Sonic Colors)

*Vs. Perfect Dark Gaia Theme (From Sonic Unleashed)

**Hyper Sonic:**

*Hour of Awakening (From Sonic Unleashed)

**Pure Hyper Sonic:**

*Power From the Soul (From Inuyasha)

**Dark Sonic and Hyper Dark Sonic, Pure Hyper Dark Sonic:**

New Disease (By Spineshank)

*Theme of Akuma (Unknown artist; From Street Fighter X Tekken)

Monster (By Skillet)

*I Am (From Shadow the Hedgehog)

**Amy:**

*If I Die Young (The Band Perry)

*Keep Holding On (From Eragon; by Avril Lavigne)

*Ordinary Day (From Radio Disney; by Vanessa Carlton)

Can't Help Falling In Love (From Lilo and Stitch; I don't know the artist. It might be A-Teens.)

**Arrossa/Future Arc Amy:**

Reflection (By Christina Aguilera; from Mulan)

Alice (By Avril Lavigne (Excluding the part of a line where Wonderland is mentioned.))

Storm Song (By Phildel)

*Fight Song (By Rachel Platten)

**Knuckles:**

*You're the Best Around ( By Joe Esposito)

#Meant to Live (By Switchfoot (The "war of our fathers" line is why multiple characters share this theme.))

*Unknown From M.E. (From Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (Not _every_ line fits, but since this _is_ Knuckles's theme from this game, it's fairly perfect.))

**Ryker/Future Arc Knuckles:**

*Reiner's Theme (From Attack on Titan)

**Tails:**

*A World Without Danger (Full version; Opening to Code Lyoko; by Noam Kaniel (Only some of these lyrics fit, but whatever.))

*This Way Out (From Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, from the Prison Lane level)

*Believe In Myself (Instrumental) (From Sonic Lost World)

**Zeki/Future Arc Tails:**

*The Time Has Come (From Pokemon Indigo League, the episode "Pikachu's Goodbye" (This applies to him more back when his friendship with Sonic first started falling apart.))

**Kaden:**

*On My Own (Ashes Remain (This one, by far, fits him the _best_.))

*Centuries (By Fall Out Boy (Bad ass... Just like he is. XD))

My Immortal (Rock Version; by Evanescence)

Castle of Glass (By Linkin Park)

*Get Out Alive (By Three Days Grace)

Immortals (By Fall Out Boy)

I Will Not Bow (By Breaking Benjamin)

Evil Angel (By Breaking Benjamin)

In the End (By Linkin Park)

New Divide (By Linkin Park)

What I've Done (By Linkin Park)

Never Too Late (By Three Days Grace)

*Lightning (By Cash Cash ft. John Rzeznik (This is a main theme for him because it describes his relationship with Analia… nearly perfectly. Plus it just sounds like something he'd listen to when he's not in his usual serious mood. It might even be his favorite song. Maybe. XD))

Elder Things (By DenKare (Eglish lyrics can be found on AnimeLyrics dot com.))

His World (By Crush 40; from Sonic '06)

Open Your Heart (By Crush 40; from Sonic Adventure)

**Yami/Future Arc Kaden:**

*Unshakable (By Slapshock)

*Set the World On Fire (By Black Veil Brides)

*Kakusei Heroism ("The Hero Without a Name"; By An Café; from Darker Than Black (English lyrics can be found on Anime Lyrics dot com.))

**Dark Kaden:**

*Haunted (By Evanescence)

*Comatose (By Skillet)

*Faint (By Linkin Park)

**Cream:**

*Got to Get it to Get it (from Pokemon X and Y (this song just felt so perfect for her. It's sweet and peaceful like she is.))

*The Avatar's Love (From Avatar: The Last Airbender (Excluding the epic part at the end.))

**Saga/Future Arc Cream:**

*Tears On the Wind (From Perfect World International)

Main Theme of Avatar (The movie, directed by James Cameron)

**Analia:**

*Vuelie (From Frozen)

*…And Then I Kissed Him (From Pearl Harbor the movie)

I See You (By Leona Lewis)

*The Inner Light (From Star Trek: the Net Generation)

Heimr Arnadalr (From Frozen)

Dreams of an Absolution (Piano) (Unknown artist)

**Freyja/Future Arc Analia:**

*Tsukiakari (Titled "Moonlight" in English; from Darker Than Black; English lyrics can be found at Anime Lyrics dot com (I feel like this is directed at Kaden while he's in his coma…))

*There You'll Be (By Faith Hill; from Pearl Harbor the movie

**Rouge:**

Material Girl (By Madonna)

*Beautiful (By Christina Aguilera)

**Leila/Future Arc Rouge:**

*Riot Rhythm (By Sleigh Bells)

**Chip:**

*Celebi Revived (OST from Pokemon the Movie 4Ever)

**Locke:**

*Heritage of the Wolf (Balto OST (This one fits so well that it just fits perfectly. :) ))

*Find Yourself (From Cars; by Brad Paisley (Why does this feel like Locke's life story...?))

*No Easy Way Out (Robert Tepper)

Don't Stop Believing (By Journey)

**Balroc/Future Arc Locke:**

_SONGS STILL NEEDED_

**Silver:**

*Aero Chord - Mortar (I think Aero Chord might actually be the artist, but this is how I've always seen the title of the song.)

*Send Me On My Way (By Rusted Root)

Grow Up (From Scooby Doo the live action movie (Not _every_ line fits, but the chorus is perfect.))

*Dreams of an Absolution (Instrumental) (Unknown Artist)

*Reach For the Stars (From Sonic Colors)

**An/Future Arc Silver:**

_(An = Sumerian Mesopotamian name meaning "heaven" or "sky". This is the name of the god of the heavens. Also written as "Anu". This was/is his codename.)_

*Safe and Sound (By Capital Cities)

**Vector:**

*Benny Hill Theme (I have no idea who this is by or where it's from. (For some reason, this makes me think of Vector running frantically from some sort of trouble he's gotten himself and maybe Charmy into, every time. XD))

**Shadow:**

*Overlock (By Blue Stahli (It's listed on YouTube as "Overklock" for some reason, but whatever.))

Chaos (By Nomy (This one's a bit dark, but… whatever. It fits, at least mostly.))

Innocence (By Disturbed)

*The War Inside (By Switchfoot)

#Meant to Live (By Switchfoot (The "war of our fathers" line is why multiple characters share this theme.))

*What I'm Made Of (From Shadow the Hedgehog)

**Rama/Future Arc Shadow:**

*Where the Lonely Ones Roam (By Digital Daggers)

**Wave:**

*You Don't Know Me (By Elizabeth Gillies; from Victorious (This song fits her fairly well, I think.))

I'm Over It (By Everlife; from Radio Disney Jams Volume 7, Disk 1)

*Tangled Up In Me (By Skye Sweetnam; from Radio Disney Jams Volume 7, Disk 1)

**Mana/Future Arc Wave:**

Love You Like a Love Song Baby (By Selena Gomez)

**Blaze:**

*Sonic Generations OST 17 - Blaze Theme (By YouTuber "McDonald's Rules, Suckers!" (Despite what they titled this, this isn't a real Sonic song. It fits her, however!))

**Kimmy (Future Arc):**

*Smooooch・∀・

**Vanilla:**

*I Hope You Dance (By Lee Ann Womack (This feels so perfect for her...))

**Future Vanilla:**

SONGS NEEDED

**Keme/Future Arc Espio:**

_SONGS STILL NEEDED_

**Espio:**

*Shadows (By Lindsey Stirling)

**Jet:**

*Thief (By Imagine Dragons)

Trouble (By Imagine Dragons)

#Meant to Live (By Switchfoot (The "war of our fathers" line is why multiple characters share this theme.))

#The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone) (By U2)

*Free (From Sonic Riders 3)

Race to Win (From Sonic Rivals 2)

Breakaway (By Kelly Clarkson)

**Lei/Future Arc Jet:**

*Closer to the Edge (By 30 Seconds to Mars)

*The Reluctant Heroes (From Attack on Titan)

*Guren no Yumiya (English Slow (Cover))

**Ross:**

Our Swords (By Band of Horses)

*I'm So Sorry (By Imagine Dragons (It doesn't fit _perfectly_ per se, but the chorus, minus the "I'm so sorry" line is nearly perfect.))

**Queen Laralei:**

*Senya (Extended) (From Naruto Shippuden OST 2, Track 23)

*Saika (From Naruto Shippuden)

**Dark Gaia's Creatures:**

*Golem Celebi Theme (Also known as The Evil Celebi Theme; OST from Pokemon the Movie 4Ever)

*Malice (From Inuyasha)

**Iblis:**

*The Phoenix King (From Avatar: The Last Airbender (Especially the epic vocal part at the end.))

*Vs. Solaris Phase 1 Theme (From Sonic '06)

**Iblis's Creatures:**

Vs. Character (Boss) Theme (From Sonic '06)

**Gerald:**

_SONGS STILL NEEDED_

**Ivo:**

_SONGS STILL NEEDED_

**Future Arc Ivo:**

*Spirit of Chaos (By Avaiators (Obviously, the "Spirit of Chaos" line isn't literal for Ivo, but the rest fits perfectly.))

**The Voice:**

*The Voice (By the Celtic Woman)

**Mephiles:**

_SONGS STILL NEEDED_

**Mephiles's Creatures:**

_SONGS STILL NEEDED_

**The Metarex:**

_SONGS STILL NEEDED_

**The Freedom Fighters (Future Arc):**

_SONGS STILL NEEDED_

**Chaos:**

_SONGS STILL NEEDED_

**Tikal:**

*Theme of Tikal (From Sonic Adventure: DX)

**Places:**

**Crisis City:**

*Ruined World (From the DS game Elebits: the Adventures of Kai and Zero)

*The Last Agni Kai (From Avatar: The Last Airbender (This is a song from when two flame-users duke it out epically, so I figured it fits. Plus it's dramatic enough.)

*His World (Instrumental) (From Sonic '06)

**Astral Babylon:**

*Winterspell (By Two Steps From Hell)

*For the Win (By Two Steps From Hell)

Chase the Light (By Two Steps From Hell)

Welcome to Amaria (By Two Steps From Hell)

**Chun-nan (Day):**

*Reminiscence of the Red Lotus (Beautiful Chinese Music)

*Wind Moon and Fireflies (Beautiful Chinese Music)

*Immortal Rain Reverie (Beautiful Chinese Music)

Journey Through Aran (By Tartalo Music)

Chun-nan (Day) (From Sonic Unleashed)

**Dragon Road:**

*Dragon Road (Day) (From Sonic Unleashed)

**Inside the Master Emerald:**

*The Master Emerald (From Sonic X)

**Angel Island:**

_SONGS STILL NEEDED_

**Events:**

**The Fall of South Island:**

*Destiny of the Chosen (By Immediate (I was actually listening to this song when I wrote the chapters where South Island was destroyed all those ages ago.))

*Clash of Titans (By Immediate)

**A Beautiful Victory:**

Peace (From Avatar: The Last Airbender)

**Facing an Army:**

Barbossa is Hungry (From Pirates of the Caribbean)

The Battle (The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe OST)

**A Beautiful Morning in Paradise (Peace):**

*The Red Plum Blossoms (Beautiful Chinese Music (Traditional))

**Assault on The Capitol In the Dead of Night (Future Arc):**

*Aang Faces Ozai (From Avatar the Last Airbender)

*DOA (By Aimee Blackschleger; from Attack on Titan)

**Carrying Out An Important Mission:**

_(These especially apply to the Ruined Future Arc, though not exclusively)_

*Megata Kyojin Kuchiku (From Attack on Titan)

*Rittai Kidou (From Attack on Titan)

**I Will Fight (Preparation for a Dramatic Battle):**

*Iroh's Speech (From Avatar: The Last Airbender)

*Axe or Sword (From the Hobbit)

**War:**

*War (From Pearl Harbor the movie)

*War (From James Cameron's Avatar)

*Attack (From Pearl Harbor the movie)

**Death of My Closest Friend (Lei's Death; Future Arc):**

*Vogel Im Käfig (From Attack on Titan)

*Omake Pfadlib (From Attack on Titan)

**Left Fists In the Air (We're Friends for Life!):**

*Counterattack Mankind (From Attack on Titan (Excluding everything after 3:06; This track especially applies to the moment in Chapter 146, when Sonic and Jet did this.))

**Awakening Astral Babylon:**

*For the Win (By Two Steps From Hell)

**Sonic's Birth:**

*Birth of a Hero (By Soundcritters)

**Locke's Death on South Island:**

*Aikouhenno (Disaster) (From Naruto Shippuden)

**Ancient Echidna Tikal (Encounter With the Past):**

_SONGS STILL NEEDED_

**Flying High Above the Clouds:**

*Sky Sanctuary-Back In Time Remix (From Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing Transformed)

**Unveiling the Blue Typhoon:**

*Event: Reunion (From Sonic Adventure 2: Battle)

**The Rogues' Big Race on Gravity Tracks:**

*High Flying Groove (From Sonic Riders (This works more for Wave, I think.))

*Stardust Speedway (From Sonic CD US (This works more for Jet, I think.))

*Sonic Riders Opening Theme (From Sonic Riders (This kind of fits the whole team, I think.))

**A Happy, Peaceful Day:**

*Mission 5 (You're My Hero) (From Sonic Generations: disc 3 (modern era), track 16)

*Can You Feel the Sunshine (From Sonic R)

**Dark Gaia Reforms:**

*Dark Gaia Appears (From Sonic Unleashed)

**Fighting Dark Gaia's Creatures:**

*Mini-Boss Battle (Night) (From Sonic Unleashed)

**Storming the Base:**

_(This is for the scene where Sonic storms Ivo's base to save Cream and the others in space before he dies and, eventually, turns into Pure Hyper Sonic.)_

*Sonic's Assault on Eggman's Base (From Sonic Unleashed (Seeing as how this is the song (and scene) that inspired that chapter of Hero, it more than fits.))

**Goodbye, Chip! (We _Will_ Meet Again!):**

*To the Surface (From Sonic Unleashed)

**Run for It! (Being Chased by the Piko Piko Hammer!):**

*Amy's Hammer (From Sonic X)

**Miscellaneous:**

**Sonic's Sadness:**

*Fragments of Tenderness (Japanese Title: Yasashi no Kakera; from Inuyasha)

*Alone Under a Starry Sky (From Inuyasha)

**Sonic's Loneliness:**

*Loneliness (From Naruto; Neji's Theme (I think. I can't remember for sure.))

**Arrossa/Ruined Future Arc Amy's Feelings Toward Sonic Before the End (Future Arc):**

*Beautiful Disaster (By Kelly Clarkson (Not _every_ line fits, but still.))

**Arrossa/Ruined Future Arc Amy's Feelings Toward Sonic at the End (Future Arc):**

*Bound to You (By Christina Aguilera; from Burlesque)

**The Sun Shines Through the Clouds in Spite of it All:**

*To the Grand Line (One Piece OST (Excluding the ending part where it sounds like there's danger or something.)

**Amy's Tears:**

*Sorrowful Demon Slayer, Sango (From Inuyasha; Sango's Theme (Up until 2:06.))

**Unleashing the Raiga:**

_(Applies to the Ruined Future Arc and the Future (as in the sequel))_

*My Name (From Naruto Shippuden)

Bad Box Art Mega Man Theme (From Street Fighter X Tekken Original Soundtrack)

**Beginnings of Love (Sonic and Amy):**

Two Hearts, One Soul (Japanese Title: Futari no Kimochi; from Inuyasha)

**Cream's Loneliness:**

_(This track may apply more to the Future (as in the sequel))_

*Mystery Inc. (OST from Scooby Doo the live action movie (The part that starts at 2:34, not anything before.))

*Sadness (From Sonic Adventure: DX)

**Sen/Ruined Furture Arc Sonic's Feelings Toward Arrossa/Ruined Future Arc Amy At the End (Future Arc):**

*Halo (By Beyonce)

**Analia's Light (The Heavenly Phoenix)**

*Jinora's Light (From Avatar: The Legend of Korra)

**The One True Heir:**

*Riders (By Two Steps From Hell)

**Kaden's Feelings Toward Analia:**

*I Don't Deserve You (By Paul Van Dyke ft. Plumb)

**Silver's Revival (Future Arc):**

Kiss the Rain (By Yiruma)

**Sen/Ruined Furture Arc Sonic's Feelings Toward Arrossa/Ruined Future Arc Amy Before the End (Future Arc):**

*When You're Gone (By Avril Lavigne (Excluding the parts about "the bed where you lie" and "the clothes you left".))

**Locke and Laura (His Wife):**

*Walk the Moon (Shut Up and Dance) (I don't know who this is by.)

**Sonic's Feelings Toward Amy:**

Swing Swing (By All American Rejects (The chorus works the best here.))

Everything's Alright (I Think It's Time) (By Jude)

**Hard at Work In the Control Room on the Blue Typhoon:**

*Gaia Gate (From Sonic Unleashed)

**Jet's Relationship With Ross:**

*Numb (By Linkin Park)

**~ソニック~**

**_Any ideas for themes for characters/events/places/etc? Let me know!_**

**~ソニック~**

* * *

**This will be constantly changing and being updated, so I recommend checking up on it often.**

**Posted 09-08-15.**

**Last edited 12-22-15.**


	155. Catching Up

**Hello, Heart of the Cobalt Storm! Your review to Chapter 17: I'm glad you enjoyed! :D Yup! Only way to find out!**

**Hello, Nagato911! Glad you enjoyed! :) Thanks for the song suggestion!**

**Hello, Annie Matsukaze! Thanks again for all your suggestions! :D**

**Hello, astroshadow! Thank you for the suggestions! I love the one for Ivo, by the way! :D (P.S.: Sherlock is one of the best shows ever. XD)**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Yeah, it fits really well. *Teary smile* Haha, yes you do! XD**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! I will check it out! Thanks for the suggestion! :D 'Course I added it and gave it an important spot! It's perfect! :D I updated it, BTW. Yeah, hopefully! :)**

**Hello, flashyhero! Haha, perhaps. I'll probably find a way to word that better if it ever happens. XD**

**Hello, superbook5012! Your review to Chapter 55: Aw, you're welcome! Thank _you_ for your kind words! I'm so happy you like it! :D**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Your review to Chapter 153: Yes, it's _finally_ over! :D YES! IT'S THE SADDEST/HAPPIEST THING EVER! XD I'm so glad you enjoyed them that much! And yes, they're friends again. I'm sure of it. :) I thought it was cute, too! X3 Yeah. Just... wow. XD Haha, I know, right? That was my favorite scene! _Just_ like Sonic and Jet, and vice versa! XD**

**~ソニック~**

By now, Jet had succeeded in prying Amy and Tails off of him. The three of them, along with Locke, Knuckles, and Sonic, were all seated comfortably in the grass, savoring the gentle warmth of the sun and the subtle cool of the the breeze. Now, an explanation was in order. Knuckles decided to keep his summary of important events as brief as he could. "After you did... whatever it was that you did to defeat Dark Gaia, we were somehow transported a hundred years into the future," he began. "We ran into future you right away, Sonic, and you were the one who _eventually_ told me how far in the future we were."

Sonic remained silent as Tails unexpectedly jumped in, his voice still a bit thick with tears. The fact that he and Amy had been crying on Jet was probably one of the biggest reasons why said hawk was still so visibly uncomfortable. "You has this sword, too," Tails added. "And, for a long time, you were totally neutral, not letting yourself feel or express anything. And you only shared information with us if we _really_ pried."

"We found out that Ivo had taken over the world, even going so far as to call himself the Emperor, and was destroying it," Amy continued. "Everywhere we went, nature was ruined, and so was civilization."

Locke steered them back on track a bit. "The future as a whole was ruined. People were... _are_ dead there."

"The other Silver, the Chaotix, Vanilla and Cheese..." Amy trailed off, shaking her head. Sonic and Jet exchanged tense, shocked looks.

"You were the leader of this group of rebels," Knuckles told Sonic, "called the Freedom Fighters. Everyone was a part of it, even Cream and Vanilla. Jet, too. The other Amy was the second leader, and Jet and Wave co-led under you two."

"Everyone had their own teams, too," Tails informed Sonic and Jet. "There was Team Rose, for example, Team Hunters, Team Inferno..."

"A few days or so after we got there, Ivo found out where Sen, that was the other Sonic's codename, lived," Amy said. "Lei, the other Jet, came and got us out of the house and we met up with Sen to flee." She turned her gaze on Jet. "While we were fleeing, we had to fight robots. Apparently the future you has storm powers, and we saw him fight with wind."

Jet nodded once, still looking thoroughly displeased. "Yeah, we know about that already." He didn't go into further detail; he didn't seem to want to talk about it.

Amy seemed to decide not to press the matter. "After the fight, Lei told me a few things we had to do in order to prevent our future from becoming like that." Sonic seemed to be listening even more intently know from where he sat, his arms and legs crossed. "He said to protect Kaden, get Shadow on our side," Sonic frowned slowly, " and prevent this hawk named Ross from telling Ivo about something called Babylon Garden." Jet also frowned, though he, like Sonic, said nothing.

"After a while," Tails said, "we got to this underground bunker, and we all stayed there for a while with the other Amy, Wave, and Cream."

"Who it turns out is a mini genius of sorts who can read the future in that time," Knuckles cut in. Sonic's frown deepened just slightly.

"And the other Wave has psychic powers, too," Amy said. At this, Jet blinked, clearly genuinely surprised.

"Not long after all of that," Knuckles said, "the bunker was attacked by these weird, dark creatures that Ivo made based off of Dark Gaia's minions."

"Sen and Lei took 'em all out with one attack, though," Tails informed them, suddenly seeming a bit excited. "You -they- did this attack called the Raiga, this light blue lightning dragon, and destroyed them all no problem, plus a _lot_ of the ground and the small forest surrounding the battlefield." Then he added, "We found out later that Lei had shared his lightning with Sen, which is why they had to work together to do that attack. I think Lei was the one who developed it, though."

"We learned then that Sen has a bad leg," Amy murmured, "but we never learned what caused it."

"After that, we went over to the Lei's airship to head to Angel Island," Knuckles continued, "and the next day, we learned that Lei could and often did build things out of ancient tech. His portal gun was what got us home." Neither Sonic nor Jet seemed surprised by this revelation. That was telling. _Some things always remain consistent between timelines._

"At about that time, the other Freedom Fighters began making their way to Angel Island, too," Amy said. "On the way there, Jet saved Ross from being killed and pulled him onto the ship." Sonic scowled at this. Jet did so deeply. "He went with us to Angel Island."

"Weirdly enough, he helped Lei when he was trying to fix the portal gun to make it work," Knuckles added. "He only helped once, but still." Jet's scowl deepened even further.

"When we got to Angel Island," Tails continued, changing the subject a bit, "Sen trained Knuckles for a while before the others showed up. Not long after they did, Locke showed up. Not long after _that_, Lei gave me these swords." He visibly swallowed past a lump in his throat as he pointed with a thumb to the two katana he still wore on his back. After that, he began training me while Sen worked on training Amy."

"After that, Ivo contacted Sen on his communicator," Amy murmured. "He taunted Sen for a while before revealing that he had found Kaden, who'd only just recently woken up from his coma. We'd had no idea where he was up until then. Ivo basically told us that he planned to kill him."

"The next day, we found out that Tails can use electricity, though not lightning," Locke continued, finally speaking up again. "Sen began dishing out orders after that as far as who would train who or work on what ship and so on. Sen left after that to try to find Kaden, but ended up returning late that night without having found anything."

"When he came back, Sen gave everyone new missions, one of which was for Amy, Lei, and the other Wave to go on a reconnaissance of The Capitol, which was Ivo's main base," Knuckles said.

"Things went _bad_, though," Tails added. "The three of them got captured somehow, and Sen went to go save them. They pretty much busted _themselves_ out, though. Amy, too."

At the two puzzled looks she received, Amy managed a small smile. "Apparently... I have psychic abilities of some kind. I haven't really learned how to use them, though."

"But she does know how to heal," Knuckles replied.

"Not long after that, we began the final assault against The Capitol," Locke said, steering them back on track again.

"It was basically one huge city," Tails said, "and we all had our own teams, missions, routes, and everything. Things were going okay for a while, but..."

When Tails faltered and trailed off, Knuckles picked up the dropped thread of conversation. _Better for me to say it than him or Amy, anyway. _They looked like they were ready to cry again. "Some insanely strong version of those dark creatures Ivo made attacked Sen and Lei deep within the city, somewhere near the center," he said quietly. "Lei managed to put up a barrier just in time to save Sen's life, but..." He, too, trailed off. It didn't matter. It was clear that their silent audience of two understood all too well what had happened.

After a moment, Tails spoke up again. "After that, a bunch of crazy stuff happened," he informed Sonic and Jet quietly. "Sen went Dark, then just suddenly turned back out of nowhere and collapsed, Ivo sent his army after us but Kaden saved us just in the nick of time, we all fought until Sen woke up again, then there was this _huge_ flash of light..."

"We don't know exactly what happened or what he did," Amy said, "but he somehow blew up Ivo's base and killed him and then... when the light died down... Silver was alive again. After that, we took a couple of days to recuperate and then we came home using Lei's portal gun." Suddenly, she remembered the promise she had made just before they'd left, and she quickly stood. She walked over to Jet and handed him the backpack that she had been clinging to for all this time. "Sen wanted me to give this to you," she murmured. "It was Lei's. I don't know what all he put in there, but I know that at least one other thing in there was Lei's, too."

Jet blinked and opened the backpack to begin looking through it while Sonic stood. "Well, I've gotta get going," he sighed.

Tails blinked in surprise. "Going? Where?"

"Pay attention, kid," Jet said, not looking up from his obviously curiosity-fueled searching. "He's not even here."

Knuckles stared at Sonic in blank confusion. "_Huh_?"

Sonic grinned and waved a hand through his own arm. "Hologram, of a sort," he explained briefly. "I'm sending the signal to Jet communicator from mine, and the image is projecting from there. I'm way up northeast right now."

"Dare I ask _why_...?" Knuckles sighed.

"I'll explain later," Sonic promised almost dismissively. "I've gotta go. See you guys later." Just like that, the image vanished. Moments later, Knuckles stiffened involuntarily when an all-too-familiar red scarf was pulled out of the backpack. After only a moment's hesitation, Jet accepted the gift and put it on, tossing one trailing end over his left shoulder as Lei himself had so often done. Grieved anew, Knuckles looked away.

**~ソニック~**

**1,688 words. It's late, and it's short, but whatever. :P Posted (super early in the morning) 09-10-15.**


	156. Unto You

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Glad you enjoyed! :D Yeah, I know it was a bit sad. This time around is not much different in that regard. :(**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! I KNOW, I'M SORRY! DX I'm glad you enjoyed! I had to go through _every_ chapter from that Arc in order to do that recap. XD**

**Hello, Nagato911! Yay! XD**

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Glad you enjoyed! :) Yeah, I liked that part, too. Yeah, it's finally done! I'm kinda happy yet sad. XD Ooh! Cookies! :D**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Haha, I'm happy you approve. XD Yup, now they know the gist of it. And we know _one_ thing that was in the backpack, yes. :P**

**Hello, superbook5012! Your review to chapter 78: I'm so happy you're enjoying! Dude, Sonic X was amazing! It's cool that you think this is ood enough to compare with it! :D Oh, cool! I'll have to check that out! I'm so happy that this is so inspiration for you! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yes, Hologram Sonic. Haha, sorry for the confusion! XD OMG, IKR? *Hugs poor Knuckles* I will do my best, Pyro-kun! :D AND THANK YOU SO MUCH! You're one of the main people who's helped me get this far, so thank you SO much! :DD**

**Hello, Anonymous! HAHAHAHA! Jello, Anonymous! XD I'm so glad you enjoyed them! :D Ne, humor in what speech? 1.) Perhaps. I'll let everyone know if I do. 2.) I answered that! XD Anyway, yes, I am. :) Sayonara! (Haha, yes, I remember that. XD)**

**Hello, Heart of the Cobalt Storm! Your review to Chapter 18: Yeah. ;_;**

**Your review to Chapter 19: YES! DARN YOU! XD Lol, anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing, as always! :D**

**~ソニック~**

**Many thanks to Star and Streak for bouncing around ideas with me and giving me super specific feedback on stuff in this story through PMs! And thanks again to Star for all the jokes at the end of this chapter! :D**

**~ソニック~**

After Sonic "left", Jet stood and walked back inside with the backpack on his shoulder. Tails and the others hurried to follow, not eager to be left behind and also almost fearing letting the hawk out of their sight. Whether or not Jet noticed their tailing, lost in thought as he seemed to be, was unknown, but if he did notice it was obvious that he didn't care at this point.

Almost as soon as they were inside, Cream happened to walk around a corner and into view with Cheese, who was flying by her head. She stopped walking the moment she saw them. "You're back!" she exclaimed in surprise. Knuckles spared the child a tired but relatively friendly smirk before simply walking by and heading up the stairs.

"Cream! Cheese!" Without another word, Amy practically lunged for them and scooped them up, hugging them tightly.

"M-Miss Amy?" Cream questioned, her eyes still wide with surprise.

While Amy murmured some sort of reply, Locke ruffled the fur atop Cream's head affectionately before following Knuckles's lead and walking to the stairs, hurrying up to the second floor. Tails watched him go. _He probably wants to see Kaden and Analia._ Truthfully, Tails did too, but it wasn't like he knew them very well, and he didn't want to bother Analia, considering everything she was going through with Kaden right now.

Amy finally released Cream just as Vanilla walked into the room, her usual smile gracing her soft face. "Now what in the _world_ was that about?"

This time, both Amy _and_ Tails rushed in for a fierce hug. To her credit, Vanilla didn't question it; instead, she merely hugged them back and tried to comfort them as best as she could even without knowing what was wrong. Amy was crying by this point, but Tails was fighting it. Vanilla was dead in another world, yes, but this Vanilla _wasn't_, so he tried to focus on that happier thought. He'd experienced enough grief lately to last him for several life times. But, of course, the moment he decided not to try to dwell on such terrible things, another face belonging to a lost friend from that other world came walking calmly down the stairs, seemingly searching for the cause of all of the commotion. Now unable to restrain his tears, Tails ran over to her and hugged her just as tightly as he'd been hugging his almost-mother just moments before.

Blaze stiffened like a board, her expression blank with surprise as she stared straight ahead. After a moment, she blinked and look down at Tails, then cast a questioning look at Jet. _What is going on here?_

Jet shrugged minutely in reply. It wasn't so much that he didn't know the answer; he just didn't feel like _explaining_ it to her. He needed some time to think, anyway. Learning that he was _dead_, even if only in some other world, gave him a sort of chill that he strove to banish. Shaking his head lightly, he silently berated himself for being ridiculous and, shifting the backpack to rest more comfortably on his shoulder, he walked over to the stairs. As he passed Blaze and Tails, he allowed his hand to come to rest on the top of Tails's head in a brief but comforting gesture. Removing his hand, he continued on his way.

**~ソニック~**

"So did your holo-whatever-thing work?"

Sonic spared his son a glance as they walked through the forested foothills, smirking slightly in amusement as he did so. "Yes, my hologram worked." He paused for a brief moment, then amended, "Well, mostly. I'm pretty sure the image glitched a couple times."

Silver gave him a confused look. "What makes you say that?"

Sonic smirked a bit wider. "There were several times when Jet was _clearly_ fighting not to laugh while we were talking, even though we weren't talking about anything funny. Is that a good enough reason for suspicion?"

Slowly, a grin spread across Silver's face as he realized the potential implications. "I hope it made you look like you were twitching or something," he decided aloud. Then he added, "And I wish I could've been there to _see_ it."

Sonic pinched one silver ear between his thumb and forefinger and gave it a small but gentle tug. "Had you listened to me and stayed _put_, you would've been."

Silver pulled free and rubbed his ear. "I'm not sorry, I hope you know that."

"Brat."

"Deal with it."

"You're lucky you don't have a room for me to ground you to."

"Like you could make me stay, anyway."

"Ornery child."

"I am not!"

"You can be."

"Nuh-uh!"

Sonic turned his head to smirk at Silver again. "You're not winning this argument, kiddo. Give it up."

Silver huffed, a pout of sorts on his face. "_Fine_..." he said with a dramatic kind of sigh. Then, with a sudden grin, he tapped Sonic's shoulder with one finger and, with a quick exclamation of, "_Tag_! You're it!" he took off to the first of the dramatic, mysterious misty mountains hiding the home of their ancestors.

Smirking even wider, Sonic took off after him. _Just because he got a head start doesn't mean I'll let him win._

**~ソニック~**

"So... care to explain the scarf?"

Jet was standing out on the roof, his favorite place in (or rather _on_) the whole house, with his left arm hanging loosely by his side while he his right hand rested lightly on his hip as he savored the cool, gentle breeze. Turning slightly, he looked over his shoulder at Wave who, her arms loosely crossed, was staring at him with a question in her eyes. Shrugging lightly, he turned away again. "It's a long story," he sighed. "I'll tell you later."

"I'll hold you to that," Wave promised as she walked forward to stand by his left side. He didn't doubt her words for a second. Silence fell between the pair for a long moment before Wave finally decided to break it again. "Sonic told me what you told him about Babylon Garden."

Jet snorted. "Of course he did."

"You expected it?"

"Obviously."

"That's not surprising."

"Then why ask?"

Now it was her turn to shrug. "Confirmation, I suppose."

Silence settled and persisted once more. This time, for once, Jet was the one to end it. "What's on your mind, Wave?" He paused, the added, "Besides the whole Babylon Garden thing."

Wave sighed. "It's actually kind of related to that."

Jet looked at her out of his eye. When she didn't continue, he gave a verbal prod of sorts. "Spill."

She sighed again. After hesitating for a moment longer, something that was unusual for her and thus increased his suspicion and concern, she finally asked, "Even though it was destroyed and all that... don't you ever want to go home? You know, to our real home, the place where our ancestors came from. ...Even just to see it?"

_So that's all it was?_ Somehow, Jet found himself smirking as he looked away again. "Nah. I like it here." He decided to ignore the surprised look that she aimed at him when he said that. "I mean, I guess it _is_ pretty screwed up sometimes," he conceded before she had a chance to say anything, "with Ivo and his robots and things like that, but..." His smirk grew, his gaze locked on the clear, perfect sky ahead of them. "It's also really beautiful."

Wave blinked in surprise. That wasn't the response she'd been expecting. _Especially not from someone like him, of all people._

He turned his head to look at her then, wearing one of his rare, genuine smiles, the kind that actually reached his eyes and gave them life. "Don't you think?"

There was another considerable pause as she turned her head to contemplate the bluer than blue sky and the small white birds that occasionally dotted it. Slowly, a small smile of her own spread across her face. "Yeah," she murmured. "I guess it is." He looked away again. The silence that followed was more peaceful than the silences that had preceded it, but she knew it couldn't last, if only because she had more to say. Finally, she turned her head to look at him again. "You're in a good mood all of a sudden."

"So?" There was none of the irritation that his reply might have indicated, though his smile did fade to a simple smirk.

She tilted her head and analyzed every subtle nuance of his tone, his expression, his posture. She read all the signs but, for once, came up blank. "Care to explain?"

"Life's precious." His response was so sudden and unexpected that she was caught completely off guard and actually a little taken aback. "I'd rather not squander it by being serious _all_ the time."

She smirked at him. "You're weird," she claimed, though not seriously. "You sure you're not running anymore fevers?"

His eyes rolled, but the smirk remained. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Good." She decided not to let the silence last for as long this time. "I like you like this. Happy, I mean." He blinked at her, the smirk vanishing in light of his somewhat cautious confusion, but she pressed on. "You used to never smile as a kid. I'm just glad that you finally learned how to do it, that's all."

He looked away. "Yeah, whatever." But, by some miracle, the smirk returned... and this time it remained.

**~ソニック~**

"Okay, okay! I give! You win! Uncle!"

Sonic, his arms crossed, found himself smirking even wider. "Your uncles aren't here to save you, kiddo."

Silver, who was pinned lightly while on his stomach under Sonic's foot, tried to squirm free again. "Some uncles _they_ are, then! Lemme go!"

"So you can try to drop me in a lake again?" Sonic asked, raising one eyebrow at his son. "Heck no."

"Come on, I said I was sorry!" Silver protested, still squirming.

"Like you meant it!" Sonic laughed in reply. "You're only sorry _now_ 'cause I caught you."

"That still counts!"

"It really doesn't."

"It does!"

"Not even!"

"It _does_!" Laughing again, Sonic finally removed his foot off of Silver's back. Silver immediately scurried to his feet and crossed his arms with a sort of pout. "Jerk."

"Aw, you're just grumpy because I won," Sonic teased.

Silver stuck his tongue out at him. "Not true."

"It is _so_ true!" Sonic replied with yet another laugh.

"Not even a little," Silver grumped.

"It is!"

"It isn't."

"It is!"

"It _isn't_!"

"Someone needs a nap."

"No way!"

"I'm serious. It's way past your nap time. I think we should-"

"I'm gonna get you, Dad!"

Laughing once more, Sonic took of running up the mountain as Silver, finally grinning again, took off after him in the air.

**~ソニック~**

Locke quietly opened up the door, not at all surprised to see Analia suddenly stand straight up out of her chair beside the bed. "You're back!"

It was rare that Analia's speech involved the use of contractions. That sort of thing generally only happened when she was suddenly overcome by some sort of an emotion. It was obvious what said emotion was this time around, and Locke allowed himself a small smile as he walked fully into the room and shut the door again. "Yeah. 'Bout time, too. I've gotta admit, I kinda missed this house."

Analia smiled at him, the widest smile that he'd seen on her face in a while. It was a beautiful sight, truly. "I'm glad you are safe," she murmured. Then her head tilted a bit, her smile fading just slightly as she asked more seriously, "Did everything go well?"

"Well... mostly," Locke hedged. After a moment, he sighed. "We won the war and all that, but a lot of lives were lost to get to that world to that point."

"I see."

"Still, things should be slowly starting to heal in that world now."

"I am glad."

Locke nodded. "Yeah, me too." His gaze traveled slowly from Analia to the sleeping face of his childhood friend. When he spoke next, his voice was quieter than before. "Listen, I found out some things that you need to know."

Having noticed where he was looking, Analia's gaze clouded subtly with sadness. She sat down again and nodded. "Alright."

Locke walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down, looking once more into Kaden's face. _Even if we can't heal you now... You'll be okay in the end. _The news wasn't truly _good_ for an obvious reason, but it wasn't truly _bad_, either. Still, it was better than the lack of knowledge they'd had before. With this is mind, he returned his attention to Analia to deliver the bittersweet news. _She needs to know that he's apparently still capable of communicating with the dead, too..._ Sighing, he began to speak. "It's about Kaden."

**~ソニック~**

It was Silver's voice that finally broke into the bored silence that had settled between him and Sonic as they walked up another mountain. "Okay, I have an idea."

Sonic spared him a glance. "What's that?"

Instead of answering the question, Silver randomly asked, "What do you call a pile of cats?"

Sonic blinked. "...What?"

Suddenly, Silver was grinning. "A meowntain." Sonic's eyes rolled, but he smirked nonetheless. "What?" Silver defended, still grinning. "We _are_ on a mountain, and telling jokes is fun."

"Alright, I give," Sonic chuckled. "Fire away."

"Great!" Without further ado, Silver took a deep breath and launched out a myriad of random jokes. "Why were the medieval so dark? They had a lot of knights!

Did you know that there was a fire at the circus? It was in-tents.

My left hand got cut off a while ago. I'm all right now.

What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear!

What do you call an alligator in a vest? An in-vest-igator!"

Sonic was having to fight not to laugh by this point, though not really because the jokes themselves had been terribly funny. "Feel better now that you got that all out of your system?" he inquired lightly.

Silver grinned a bit wider than before. "Much."

**~ソニック~**

_"The world shall never know all the good that a single smile may do. A smile can do more than merely brighten a person's day. It releases the happiness that one is feeling and shares it with others. Do not shy away from such feelings, no matter how vast the darkness you are headed into may seem. We must be brave and strong, yes, but we must also always remember to laugh and smile and be happy without fear of the future. Remember this, young one, for while your journey has only barely begun, many hardships await you on your path. Hold onto joy as much as love and never forget what you must do. This is my advice unto you: trust your heart as much as your head. Follow your mission, but be prepared for changes in plan, should the situation call for it. Never let go of those you hold close. No matter how much things may change, know and take comfort in the fact that some things will always remain the same. Do not burden yourself by trying to protect all of your loved ones from everything; there are some things that they must face alone. And above all else, remember... where there is love, you cannot go wrong."_

**~ソニック~**

**2,689 words this time. This is late and short and blah, blah, blah, but whatever. I actually really like this one in spite of all that. And I _promise_ that more Chun-nan is coming next time! :D Lastly "unto" is archaic for "to" or "until". I'll let you readers decide which sense of the word I was thinking when I titled this chapter, but I think the answer's pretty obvious. ;) Posted 09-14-15.**


	157. True Power

**Hello, Nagato911! Thanks! And yeah, that about sums it up. XD**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I'm glad you enjoyed! I loved that, too. It made me smile as well. :) We really did. XD**

**Hello, Blazing Bright Streak of Light! Yeah, it was. X3 I know, right? It's so sweet. XD Well, we'll agree to disagree there. :)**

**Hello, John! Thanks! I love them, too. They're fun to write. :) Aw, thanks!**

**Hello, Hydreigonmaster101! Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed! I'm so happy you enjoyed! :D I will do my best!**

**Hello, flashyhero! I do, too. XD Ahahaha, I don't know about that. I love the idea of a oneshot offshoot, though! Look at the bottom for more details! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm glad you enjoyed! :D Aw, thank you so much! :DD I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Firerider007! Yup, we are! And yes, they are. :) No, Chaos is in the next Arc. Not this one. :P I don't dare venture into the violence and craziness that is Shadow the Hedgehog the game. XD Don't worry, the neutrality will be mostly resolved in this Arc. :)**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yes, happy hugs all around! XD Yeah, I loved the scene between Jet and Wave, too. That was my favorite part to write. :) Haha, I did, too!**

**~ソニック~**

"So how much do you actually know about this place?" Silver asked as he and Sonic walked up the side of yet another mountain. "Chun-nan, I mean."

"Not much, honestly," Sonic replied. "Just that it's the ancient city where Dad's from, and that it was a blue hedgehog clan. That's pretty much it."

There was silence for a moment. Then, "How much farther is it?"

Sonic smirked a bit. "If I knew that, then I'd know where the ruins are and we wouldn't have to be looking."

"Yeah, okay," Silver conceded. Then he sighed. "I'm tired, though."

Sonic looked at him. "Want to find a place to rest?"

"That sounds good," Silver agreed. "'Course, we're not gonna find much out here."

"There are trees."

"People can sleep in those?"

"Yeah. I've been doing it practically my whole life."

"Okay. So long as I don't fall out, then, I'm good with that."

"Don't roll over and you won't fall."

"I can't control what I do in my sleep!"

"That won't make it less funny when you fall!" Sonic laughed when Silver started to chase him yet again, only this time on foot. Sonic ducked behind a rock, only for Silver to run after him. They ran in circles around the rock for several moments until Silver suddenly changed direction to try to catch him. Skidding to a halt, Sonic dashed off again, laughing all the way. Laughing as well, Silver took off after him. _I guess sleep can wait for now. This is much more fun, anyway. _

Before long, the two of them stumbled upon a large, comfy-looking tree to spend the night in. Exchanging quick grins at their last bit of fun, they jumped in the tree and settled down for the night.

**~ソニック~**

_"There are things you should never experience, truths you may be better off never knowing. But, if you desire it, I can bring someone to you who can answer your questions."_

Sonic, who was reclining on his back with his arms behind his head in a tall tree, cracked an eye open for the barest of moments, glancing to the branch directly above him where Silver was sleeping. Seeing that his son was fine and knowing that there were no dangers in this area for he time being, he closed his eye again. _Who'd you have in mind, Voice? I'm not talking to some random person. I don't feel like dealing with the courtesies and manners that would require of me._

_"That is understandable. You have not yet caught up on all of your lost sleep."_

Sonic decided not to reply to that particular statement. Instead he asked again, _Who'd you have in mind?_

_"Your father."_

Sonic froze. A pang struck his heart as he recalled the condition that his father was currently in. It had only been _maybe_ a couple of weeks since the battle, after all. _You do realize that he's in a coma right now, right?_ he asked almost harshly, though his anger wasn't truly directed at the Voice. _And how am I supposed to talk to someone who's nowhere near me?_

_"I am aware of his state of sleep. However, I can awaken him on the inside for a short time, just long enough for you two to talk."_

_That still doesn't answer how we're supposed to-_

_"Do you wish to speak with him?"_

Sonic stifled sighed heavily, though only internally for fear of waking Silver. _Yes. I do. _Just like that, the Voice's presence left his mind. Just moments later, he was struck by an irresistible urge to sleep. Unable to resist it, he succumbed to it instead. When he awoke and opened his eyes, it immediately became apparent that he was _not_ in the forest he'd been in. Instead, he was in a dark yet peaceful woodland that was softly illuminated by the full moon. As real as this place looked, he noticed plenty of inconsistencies between this forest and a real one. There was no sound and there were no animals. There was no airflow; it was still, though not uncomfortably so. Time, too, seemed to stand still.

Sonic understood immediately. _This is his inner world. He has control over everything here, so he made it like this. Calm, peaceful, quiet, solitary... He can change it if he wants to, but he likes it like this. _Sonic's own inner world, the world within a person where one could retreat at any time (such as when meditating) was essentially the same as the inner world of the Master Emerald, but he could see the similarities. _Peaceful, beautiful, comprised of nothing but nature, quiet but not lonely..._

Shaking free from his thoughts, Sonic sat up. Then, stretching, he stood and looked around._Where is he?_ Sonic knew he was here. _I wouldn't be able to come here if he hadn't let me in... which requires him to be here as well. He is here, there's just no telling where. It doesn't help that there's also no telling just how big this place is. _With limited time and no other options, he simply began walking. After a moment, he called out, "Dad?" When he received no response, Sonic began to run. If his father hadn't heard him, then that meant that there was a significant distance separating them. Which, of course, meant that Sonic was going to have an ever harder time finding him, more likely than not. _Not that I have that sort of time, if what the Voice said earlier is any indication._

Sonic ran briskly over a mountain, then doing a quick flip, he jumped off the edge of one sheer cliff. The fall was gratifying in a way that he couldn't explain. He enjoyed the rush, yes, but he also had a great appreciation for the peace that he sensed when it was just him and the roaring wind. Still, all good things came to an end eventually and, as such, he soon found himself landing and skidding on his feet on the grassy forest floor below the cliff. With not a moment to spare, he took off running once more. _Did he have to make this place so big?_ No sooner than this thought crossed his mind did he finally have a stroke of luck. His father's aura, normally so carefully concealed, was finally opened up to Sonic's senses for the first time. Calm, serious, thoughtful... _That's him alright. Not that there's anyone else it could be, but even still. _Shaking free of his thoughts for now, sonic changed direction and followed his senses to where his father was.

Before long, he found a large pool of still, clear water. Coming to a stop a few feet away from he edge and placed on hand on his hip. "You're a hard guy to find, you know," he commented lightly.

Kaden, who was sitting cross-legged before the water as he gaze into its depths, blinked and changed the subject entirely. "You have questions." He was brief, direct, straight to the point, but that was okay. There was no time for pleasantries, as much as Sonic wished that there was.

"Yeah," Sonic nodded. "I have a lot of them, actually."

Kaden returned his nod and stood, turning to face Sonic as he did so. "There is not much time."

Taking the hint, Sonic asked his first question, the one that was most pertinent, given his current situation in the outside world. "Why is Caliburn so special? Beyond the fact that it was your sword, I mean."

Kaden blinked once, his expression hinting at none of his thoughts. "Caliburn was forged for the purpose of being used in any form of combat necessary. It was built to be powerful enough to cut through anything without becoming damaged and to allow for the user to channel their powers through the blade."

Sonic caught on immediately. "Powers like fire."

Another nod. "Yes. It can withstand any power that is capable of being channeled through a weapon, such as lightning, psychic energy, and even light and darkness."

Suddenly, a portion of the message he'd received from Future Amy made sense. This was a weapon that would survive _him_ of all people using it, and he could wield it with any of his powers, quite possibly even when transformed. This would be a powerful and valuable asset, the likes of which he'd never had before. _And I'm probably going to need it way more than that other Amy hinted at._ "Do you know if it's in Chun-nan?"

"There is a chance that it may be, but I am not certain."

Sonic sighed. "Well, even a slight possibility is better than nothing." When Kaden said nothing, Sonic moved on. This time, it was he who changed the subject. "Was it you or Mom who used the emeralds to seal the Chaos away?"

Kaden blinked again. "We worked together."

"So you have at least some knowledge of them and how they work, then?"

"Yes."

"Can you explain to me how some other version of me in another world used them to bring someone back from the dead?"

"The emeralds are always in tune with your thoughts and feelings," Kaden answered calmly. "Bringing back someone from the dead would have only been possible if you, or this other you, was in the correct mental and emotional state. It requires a great deal of hope, happiness, and so on to call forth one of the most powerful aspects of the power of Chaos. Achieving this state within oneself is often no easy feat."

Sonic would have to give himself time to process all of this later. There wasn't time right now. "Why were you, Mom, and Locke all restored within the Master Emerald? Are you the only ones there?"

Kaden shook his head slowly. "I am not sure why," he admitted. "And, no, we are not the only ones. Everyone who was ever close to you is there, even if they have not yet woken from their sleep."

Sonic stiffened. _Th... That means... _numerous faces of ones lost flitted briefly through his mind before he forced himself to focus. "How do I wake them up?"

"If the time comes when you need them, they will awaken on their own," Kaden replied. "Otherwise, you must simply wait."

Sonic was quiet for a long moment. Then, suddenly, remembering what he had learned from Amy, Tails, Knuckles, and Locke after they returned from the future, he asked, "Am I able to speak with the people in there even if they're from different timelines?"

"I believe so."

Sonic decided right then and there that was going to try to contact the friend that he had lost in that other world. He had questions that he somehow doubted he'd get from that same person in this world. _That's a problem for another time, though. Focus._ This time, instead of asking a question, he made statement. "I should be older by now."

Kaden nodded once. "Yes."

"Then why aren't I?"

"You know this already."

"Because of the emeralds?"

"The Chaos within them, yes."

Sonic doubted he had the time to listen to an explanation on _that_ one. Still, he had to ask... "Is that why everyone else is aging differently, too? I mean, Cream's a bunny and she had a birthday not long after I met her. She shouldn't be eight still."

Kaden seemed to decide to explain this a briefly and simplistically as possible. "Because of the bond that you share with her, your powers attached themselves to her, in a way, just enough to affect her aging. The same goes for all of the people with whom you are close."

Sonic's eyes widened a bit, stunned by the implications. "Y-you mean...?"

Kaden nodded again. "Yes. Your friends now share in your incredible lifespan."

"But... I don't understand. How is that even possible?"

"Energy is prolific in the world. This energy is what fuels our powers. No one is immune to the effects of the world's energies, and certainly not to the energies that make up the world itself. Chaos is one of those main energies."

"Chaos is also the energy that makes up... the entire universe... right?"

"Yes." Sonic's eyes widened with shock again. Kaden continued, his expression, if possible, growing even more serious than usual. "You do understand what that means... correct?"

Sonic hesitated. "I... I don't know." He paused, then asked slowly, "Maybe you could... explain?"

Kaden gave another one of his blinks, then inclined his head slowly. "You, and you alone, hold the power of the universe in your hands."

**~ソニック~**

**So another late and short one... I've been moving... X( This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I'm stuck typing on my tablet. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Posted 09-18-15.**

**EDIT: I meant to put this in this note last time, but apparently forgot. I've started on a oneshot collection for Hero! This will be one of the last, if not _the_ last of the side stories to come out, however, because it will have oneshots from all the stories, including the sequel and its special side story. You can all thank flashyhero for the idea! :D**


	158. Returning Home

**Hello, Heart of the Cobalt Storm! Your review to Chapter 20: I agree. :(**

**Your review to Chapter 21: Well, you already know the answer to that by now. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 22: *Watches you hurry* There's no rush! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 23: Haha! FOOOOOD XD Eh, it's fine. Made me smile. :) Like I said, there's no rush! Thank you for reading when you can! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 24: Aw, Finding Nemo. I love that movie. :) Hahaha! I love it! XD**

**Your review to Chapter 25: Yes! Be forever the optimist! It's good for you!**

**Your review to Chapter 26: He is... I'm sorry, but I had to. ;_;**

**Your review to Chapter 27: BUT HE DID! DX**

**Your review to Chapter 28: I'm glad you enjoyed that. It was a spur of the moment idea, but I'm glad that it turned out like it did. :)**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I'm so happy you enjoyed! :D Yeah, I'm glad, too. He's here for a bit longer in this chapter. :)**

**Hello, flashyhero! Well, too late for that now. ...And he is pretty badass, huh? XD I forgot to add the note last time (though I've edited it in since then), but I've already started on the oneshot collection. You can go back and read that note for more details, if you'd like. :) I love Immortals! It's on the playlist somewhere already, I'm just not sure where anymore. I think it might be one of Kaden's themes. :P Cool! I'll check that song out! Thanks for the suggestion! :D **

**Hello, CaptanG! Well... not quite. XD And Chaos isn't God either, I swear. XD Haha, I hope I don't, too. Feel free to let me know if I do. XD Aw, it is? Thank you so much! That means a lot! :D Heheh, I tried to explain a bit more about the reveals from last chapter here, so I hope that helps.**

**Hello, Guest 1! Well, you'll just have to wait and see. ;) And no, they haven't. Only Knuckles knows for certain about their relation to each other, and Sen made him swear not to tell Sonic so that Sonic could find out on his own. :P**

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Yup. I finally explained it. XD Yeah, I loved those interactions as well. They were so much fun to write and I was smiling the whole time. :) Yeah, Sonic and Kaden briefly reunite. Too bad it couldn't have been under happier circumstances, however... How do those profound words make him look like an idiot? XD No, it's not back to focusing just on him, I swear. It was just that chapter. :P Well, I'm glad you enjoyed. :) And yes, moving is stressful and it suck. X( Ooh! Cookies! Yay! XD**

**Hello, Nagato911! I'm so glad you enjoyed! :D Haha, yup. That about sums it up. XD **

**Hello, PyroShockZ! :) I'm so super happy you enjoyed, Pyro-kun! :D Yes, he does! XD Well, nothing more gets asked, but there's another brief scene with Sonic and Kaden in here. :) Haha, yeah, they did. Thankfully, it was only briefly, however. I've got my computer back. XD Man, that sucks. Sorry 'bout that. I will do my very best, Pyro-kun! :D**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Yeah, 'dun dun duuuun" is right! XD Hahaha! *Bows with you* XD I checked out your comment. Thanks for leaving it! I may have replied to it... but I can't remember. XD Hey, no worries. There's no need for apologies. It's fine. :)**

**Hello, astroshadow! Haha, yeah. Really. XD _Oh_ yeah they were. When the Locke first explained back in Chapter 55 about the emeralds and told Sonic that his parents knew his power would be too much for him to handle and that it would be devastating, he was _not_ kidding. XD Hahaha! Yeah, maybe! XD**

**Hello, Guest 2! Yyyuuup.**

**Hello, Joeshmo24! Aw, thanks. :) Alright, I won't. Thank you. Haha, sorry about the confusion there. I did my best to explain it a bit further here. XD**

**Hello, ScarletTheCat14! Yes! Another Inuyasha fan! Awesome! XD My favorite character is Sesshomaru. :) Oh, I know! It's amazing! :D Hulu is where I watched it, too! Haha, ikr?! XD YES! Haha, it's fine! :)**

**~ソニック~**

_Everyone is affected by energy. Chaos is a powerful energy that makes up the universe and everything in it. It's capable of doing things that most would consider to be impossible, such as wiping Iblis from existence or bringing back the dead. Due to my subconscious fears and desires and my control over this energy, I've somehow done the impossible again by altering the lifespans of my friends and family. However, because my control over Chaos is often iffy at best, everyone's aging is screwed up. If I understand this correctly, everyone will live as long as I will and stop aging at seventeen like I did, or simply stop aging where they are now if they're above that age. However, the rate at which they age to get to seventeen is going to be screwed up. Some will age slower, some will age faster, some will age normally..._

_And now there's another aspect of this power to consider. Chaos is the power of the universe... but it's not as though I can create planets or anything. I can't access pure, true Chaos at will. I'm almost certain that I'd have to achieve some sort of new level of transformation to do that, but who knows what it would take for me to transform that? I hope I never even need to. Even if I do end up needing to someday, there's no guarantee of how long I'd be able to control that much power, or if I'd even be able to control it at all. But I'm worrying over nothing, aren't I? There's no need for the use of that power. There are no enemies that powerful, and certainly none that would bother wasting their power on a world like this one. We're far from being the ideal world to take over at this point. So I'm worrying over nothing... aren't I?_

**~ソニック~**

"You said life's precious."

Jet glanced at Wave. They were still out on the roof. By now, however, they'd sat down, their legs dangling over the edge into the open air. "Yeah."

Wave looked at him as well. "What brought that on? You suddenly saying something like that, I mean."

Jet looked away again. "Like I said before about the scarf, it's a long story. I'll explain later."

"You swear?" Wave frowned. "You're not going to conveniently 'forget' about it or pretend like this conversation never happened or anything, are you?"

Jet rolled his eyes. "Yes, I swear," he said, not deigning to reply to that second part of her question.

A moment of oddly comfortable silence passed between the two before Wave broke it again. "You say life's precious... but then you go and do reckless things on a regular basis," she commented almost randomly. She gave him a look he didn't care to try to read. "Care to explain _that_ one to me?"

Jet's eyes rolled again. "I'm not _that_ reckless, Wave."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Liar."

"Worrywart."

"Idiot."

"Brat." By now, they were both smirking as they looked out over the city and into the sky. The breeze whispered by them, cool and peaceful. Jet spoke up again. "I'm really not that reckless, Wave."

Now it was Wave's turn to roll her eyes. "_Sure_ you're not."

"I'm not," he insisted, though not as forcefully as she'd expected him to.

"You are," she replied easily. "And even if I'm wrong and you _aren't_, you should still be more careful than you usually are. The world's fraught with danger." She paused, then added much more solemnly, "This peace we're seeing now... it's like the eye of the storm, you know? It can never last."

"Life's not _about_ trying to just survive the storm, though," Jet replied firmly.

Somehow, Wave already knew what Jet was thinking. Still, when she spoke next, her words were her own and not his. "It's about learning how to dance in the rain..." she replied slowly, a small smile appearing on her face as she looked down at her lap. "...right?"

Jet grinned a bit. "Exactly."

Wave supposed it made sense. _All good things eventually have to come to an end, sure... but that doesn't mean we can't continue to make the best of each new situation we're thrown into._ Smiling a bit wider, she shifted and leaned into Jet's side, resting her head on his shoulder. And, for once, he didn't even tense.

**~ソニック~**

"Well... I guess that's all the questions I have for now," Sonic sighed. "I think we might be out of time, anyway."

Kaden inclined his head, confirming Sonic's words. "We are." When Sonic remained silent, frowning unhappily at the ground, Kaden's head canted just slightly as he assessed the situation. Finally, he said, "Sonic, it is true that there are dark times ahead. They have already begun. However, no matter how vast the darkness may be, you can still supply your own light. Do not waste your time stressing over eventualities that may never come to be. If a problem arises, deal with it then. Do not concern yourself over imaginary issues before they ever become reality."

Somehow, Sonic managed a small smirk as he looked back at his father. "You know, the funny thing is, I once told a friend of mine more or less the same thing. I guess I should learn to heed my own advice."

Smirking just faintly enough that the change in his expression could barely be seen, Kaden gave a small nod. Sonic looked away again, starting to wonder how he was supposed to leave, when his father's voice brought his attention back to him. "And Sonic?"

Sonic blinked in surprise. It wasn't often that his father called him directly by his name, much like how Sonic didn't often call people by their names, either. "Yeah?"

"Never think that you are alone." With that, Kaden raised an arm, his palm out toward Sonic. Sonic felt a gentle push, almost as if he were being guided out of a room by a firm but kind hand. As everything faded away into darkness, he found himself waking up in the tree as though he had never moved.

**~ソニック~**

"Okay, I have to ask. What's with the swords?"

Tails, who had been going through some files on his communicator while leaning against a wall, looked up at Jet, who was sitting on a nearby couch, then glanced down at the two katana that were propped up against the wall next to where he was standing. "Well... You, the other you, gave them to me."

Jet blinked. "He had swords?"

"Yeah," Tails nodded. "He really knew how to use 'em, too. The other Sonic had trained him, I guess." Tails looked back down at the swords, biting back his lingering grief as much as possible. "The other you was training me before... you know." Jet looked away and nodded. He seemed to know what Tails was referring even without the young fox actually saying it. _Before he died. _Suddenly, Tails perked up a bit as an idea struck him. "Say, how much do _you_ know about swords?" he asked almost excitedly. Lei had been his friend and mentor, sure, but this Jet was his friend, too. _Maybe, just maybe, I could...?_

Jet blinked again and returned his piercing blue gaze to Tails. "Why?"

Tails shrugged a bit. "Just curious."

"I know a bit," Jet conceded vaguely after a moment.

Tails's head tilted a bit. _How much is "a bit"?_

Any further dialogue between the two of them was cut off by the abrupt entrance of Storm into the room. "Hey, Boss!"

Jet sighed. "What is it _now_, Storm?" he asked, clearly annoyed. "It had better be something important this time. You've been bugging me all day."

"Wave wants to see you," Storm replied simply.

Jet shifted on the couch. He didn't seem to want to get up. "What for?" he inquired just as simply.

Storm shrugged his broad shoulders. "Dunno. It seemed like it was kinda urgent, though. She wouldn't take her eyes off of that damn communicator screen."

For whatever reason, Jet and Tails exchanged a look. Jet then stood. "Alright, I'm coming."

As he left the room, Tails grabbed his swords and followed.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic had no words to describe the dead beauty that was the ruins of Chun-nan. Countless stone walls and buildings and towers and courtyards and so on and so forth made up the city. The city itself was as Locke had described it; nestled safely deep within the mountains, shrouded in mist, quiet, dead but still beautiful in a way that couldn't be explained... It was oddly breathtaking, and Sonic couldn't seem to take his eyes off of it.

Silver was openly gaping. "Wow..." he breathed.

Sonic nodded slowly. "Yeah... Wow..." The full moon shone softly down onto the once populous, busy, thriving city, giving everything a gentle glow as the mist shifted and swirled lazily below. The breeze whispered through the trees, almost seeming to carry the long-lost voices of those who had once lived here oh-so-many years ago. Sonic took it all in, taking pains to remember even minute detail about this place from where he and his son stood on a mountain peak overlooking the home of their ancestors. He didn't want to forget a single thing. Slowly, a smile spread across his face. _We finally made it._

**~ソニック~**

**I'm finally back! Why the delay? ...I blame writer's block. XD Anyway, this is another short one at 1,642 words, but I love how it turned out. I hope you did, too. :) **

**LASTLY! I edited in a note to the last chapter a while ago pertaining to the new oneshot collection I'm starting for this story. If you want details, you can look back at the end of the last chapter where I left the note. :)**

**Posted 09-24-15.**


	159. What's Shared and What's Lost

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Haha, it was. It really, really was. And yes, that line was completely intentional. XD I'm so glad you enjoyed! :D Lol! I love it! XD I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I'm so happy you enjoyed! Yeah, it made my smile, too! X3 yeah, it really is. XD**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! They do! XD I had to look up "aesops"... and I ended up reading every single moral and life lesson that is one. XD But anyway, yes, they are aesops, essentially, that apply to real life. ...I'm teaching you all something through fiction! XD I'm so glad you enjoyed those things! And sorry for the wait!**

**Hello, Tai-ke-ai! Your review to Chapter 12: Aw, thank you so much for your kind words! I've tried really hard with the characters, Sonic especially, so it's wonderful to hear that it's working. :) Thank you again, and thanks for reading leaving a review! That means a lot!**

**Hello, Cyan Quartz! Your review to Chapter 119: Haha, I do, too. Glad someone agrees. XD **

**~ソニック~**

As they walked through the ancient and long-dead city, Sonic slowly became aware of the scenery changing around him. Silver faded from existence. The night sky turned into a daylight one that was free of clouds and bluer than blue. The destruction around him vanished, leaving whole and complete structures and roads and whatnot in its place. People and voices began filling the streets. As he looked around in a mixture of confusion and awe, two familiar faces came into view, though they were much younger than the versions of these faces that he knew so well. _Dad and Locke... when they were ten?_

As he watched, Locke looked around and spoke while he and Kaden walked slowly through the crowds. _"I can't believe how busy this place is."_

_"It's a market street," Kaden retorted, almost seeming annoyed. "What were you expecting?"_

_"I don't know," Locke admitted with a shrug. Then he added, "I've never been in a city before."_

_"That was obvious."_

_"So what?"_

_"So nothing."_

_"Whatever."_

The scene faded as Sonic and Silver walked around a corner, still following the same street as before, only for a new scene to slowly appear around him. It still featured ten year old Locke and Kaden as they too walked down the street.

_"Are you ever gonna tell me your name?" Locke asked, still looking around with obvious interest at all of the shops and blue hedgehogs milling about them._

_"Why do you care so much?" Kaden sighed._

_"Because your name is part of your identity."_

_"Says who?"_

_"My tribe elder. And Yan Shu."_

_"Who the heck is that?"_

_"The tribe healer."_

_Kaden looked away with a sort of huff as he and Locke passed by the same bell tower as Sonic and Silver were walking by. "Whatever."_

_Silence persisted between the two before Locke finally broke it again. "C'mon, just tell me your name."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because I want to get to know you. In order to do that, I kinda need to know who you are, don't I?"_

_Kaden gave him a long look before finally sighing and looking away again. "In this language... My name's Kaden."  
_

_Locke grinned at him. "Cool. I'm Locke."_

As the scene faded once more, something occurred to Sonic. _These visions aren't random... Dad must have shared his memories of this place with me. And I guess I've been unintentionally pulling up some random ones... or something _He looked around a bit and frowned to himself. _Maybe if I focus on specific places or things I find here, I'll find specific memories associated with them...?_

Sonic knew that Silver had been listening in on his thoughts and had, therefore, been seeing and hearing what Sonic had been. That boy was really fond of snooping sometimes. This time, however, Sonic didn't lecture him about it. Silver was actually doing him a favor here; the more Silver listened in, the less Sonic had to explain aloud to him. _Best be grateful for this, then._

Silver suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts by pointing at the bell tower. "Why don't you try that?"

Shrugging, Sonic did as he was bid and focused on the ruined tower that, by some miracle, still had it's bell. Sure enough, a memory soon faded into existence around them. Incredibly interested, both Sonic and Silver stopped walking to watch the memory unfold.

**~ソニック~**

Wave was still staring almost angrily down at her communicator when Jet, Tails, and Storm entered the upstairs living room where she was standing. Jet frowned a bit at her. "What's going on?" he demanded.

Wave abruptly spun around to face him. "We have a big, no, _huge_ problem," she bit out. "And even _that's_ putting it damn lightly."

"Wave, tell me what's going on," Jet said again.

Wave took a breath that seemed to be meant to be calming. "I was digging around in this database of Ivo's that I found a while ago and I found this file titled 'Mission'. I opened it, and a ton of other random files showed up. The one that I was just looking through was called 'Weapon', so obviously I opened it."

Jet frowned deeper, his fists slowly clenching at his sides. _'Weapon'...? What the hell kind of weapon is so important that Ivo put information on it into a database? _He knew that the fact that Ivo had this information likely meant that he intended to obtain this weapon, whatever it was, and that did _not_ bode well. _He has a way of getting what he wants... and he obviously wants this. Like he needs another damn weapon._

Wave took another breath. "Let me back up a bit here," she muttered. Another breath. "Ivo escaped from prison yesterday, apparently."

"What?!" Tails gasped, his horror apparent.

Jet wasn't surprised. Sonic had never believed that a prison could hold their enemy, so Jet hadn't believed it, either. _I just don't understand how they managed to keep him there for as long as they did._

"Not long after he escaped from prison, apparently," Wave continued slowly, "he did some massive digging and in-depth research. There's no other way... No other way he could have found this." Taking her communicator off her wrist, Wave turned it around and showed them the image onscreen.

Jet felt himself freeze completely. _No... It can't be..._

Tails tilted his head a bit and peered closer. "What's that?"

Jet's fists clenched tighter. "That's... An Ark of the Cosmos."

**~ソニック~**

**944 words. Nowhere near as long of a chapter as I'd hoped it would be, but whatever. I'm moderately satisfied with it still. **

**BIG NEWS! I started on the oneshot side story! Interested? Check out "Every Hero Has a Story"! :D**

**Posted 09-27-15.**


	160. Memories

**Hello, Nagato911! Glad you enjoyed! And yeah, noooo! XD**

**Hello, Guest! This Arc has SA2 in it, so he'll be here eventually. :P Anyway, they're something from the Sonic Riders games. I'm kinda changing what they do, to a point, but they're explained about in this chaper.**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I'm so glad you enjoyed! :D Haha, that's fine. I understand. XD**

**Hello, Randomblackberry! ****Yeah, very bad things. Nope, it did not. :( The memory showed them just hours after they'd met. :P Thanks for reading! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm so glad you enjoyed! :D I'm happy that you were able to picture that so well. Hopefully that remains true here. :) As always, i will do my very best, Pyro-kun! **

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Eh, more or less. Kinda. XD Not, that's not nice at all! Bad Silver! XD NO, IT'S NOT! THAT'S VERY, VERY BAD! D: Yes, yes it has. Ikr? That was always so awesome!**

**Hello, Heart of the Cobalt Storm! Your review to Chapter 29: I'm glad you enjoyed. :) And hey, no worries. I get it. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 30: Haha, okay. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 31: She is! X3 Yeah... _eventually_. Not for a long while, though. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 32: Yeah. X)**

**Your review to Chapter 33: Yeah, this _is_ Sonic, so... XD**

**Your review to Chapter 34: It was supposed to be unexpected, anyway! XD**

**Your review to Chapter 35: YES, IT WILL GET MUCH, MUCH WORSE, I PROMISE YOU. Haha, I do, too. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 36: Yes, yes he does. :P**

**Your review to Chapter 37: Nope, never. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 38: Well, that answered that question then, huh? XD**

**Your review to Chapter 39: Eh, maybe. Possibly. They haven't actually changed yet, so... XD**

**Your review to Chapter 40: Haha, that's fine. XP**

**Your review to Chapter 41: No, of course not! XD**

**Your review to Chapter 42: Yes, yes you can. :) **

**Your review to Chapter 43: Good guessing! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 44: ****Haha, that made me laugh. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 45: ****I actually hate cherries... :P**

**Your review to Chapter 46: ****Okay, that works. X)**

**Your review to Chapter 47: Yeah. :(**

**Your review to Chapter 48:Yeah, Ivo! For _shame_! XD**

**Your review to Chapter 49: Lol! X)**

**Your review to Chapter 50: I won't tell! XD**

**Your review to Chapter 51: They do, actually. They just show it in a unique way. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 52: I WON'T TELL! XD**

**Your review to Chapter 53: It really, really is. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 54: Well, pretty sure you know the answer to that already. :P**

**Your review to Chapter 55: Nope, it has _nothing_ to do with the canon story. I made this part up. :P I'm so happy that you've been enjoying! I'm glad you like it! :D**

**Hello, SR! I can't, either... ;_; Yes, at least Silver's back. And now Kimmy's origins have been revealed. :P I'm so happy you enjoyed! Yes, Amy's thoughts on that were my favorite. Know where that came from? Alice in Wonderland. :) Yeah, very bittersweet, indeed. Haha, I enjoyed that as well. XD Hey, no worries. I totally get it. Life happens, and this is just a story. It's no big deal. XD I'm happy you've enjoyed up until this point, and it's always a pleasure hearing from you. :) Thank you for the wish of good luck! I may very well need it. XD Goodbye!**

**~ソニック~**

_"Again."_

As Sonic and Silver gazed about the large stone courtyard, another memory played. It was the middle of the night in this memory, and the full moon illuminated the courtyard. There were young soldiers-in-training all around practicing with their weapons, and the one training them was Kaden. He was nineteen in this memory, by the look of him, and he was decidedly more stern now than he'd been in the memories they'd seen of him during his younger days.

_The particular boy he was talking to was panting quite a bit. "I... I can't! I-"_

_Kaden's arms remained crossed as he cut in over the younger male's voice. "You said you wanted to become the greatest soldier in the army," he said calmly. "You can't do that if you continually stop trying halfway through your exercises. Training requires work. The sooner you accept that, the better off you'll be."_

_"But I-"_

_"Do it again."_

The boy said something in the ancient language that Sonic didn't quite understand. His understanding of the ancient language was somewhat limited, after all. _I should talk to Locke and Mom about that, and Dad when he wakes up._

_Kaden's eyebrows drew downward into a frown at the boy's words. "You're an idiot," he said suddenly, unexpectedly. "Life is not a game. And even if it was, it certainly wouldn't be a game of luck." A moment later, he cut the boy off again. "Believe what you want, but know this. Life may be a game to you, but you will get nowhere if you don't try. If you want to win, work hard."__  
_

After that, the memory faded. Silver looked around again. "So... Gramps trained an army...?"

"Guess so," Sonic replied with a shrug.

"Okay, but why?" Silver asked.

Sonic shrugged again. "I don't know."

"Does it have to do with that war against the Babylonian Rogues?" Silver questioned, his curiosity apparent.

Sonic shook his head a bit. "I don't think so. I'm pretty sure he was older when that happened."

"Oh." They resumed walking for a time. Sonic wasn't exactly sure how much time passed before Silver spoke again. "Hey, what're the memories for this place?"

Sonic glanced around. "This is just an ordinary street, Silver."

"So?" Silver retorted. Then he grinned a bit. "I wanna see."

Shrugging again, Sonic concentrated and brought a memory into focus. Almost immediately, the night became afternoon. The streets filled with crowds. A now familiar young voice met his ears.

_"Coming through!"_

Sonic smiled a bit to himself at that exclamation and watched as ten-year-old Kaden ran through the street, visibly annoyed when the people filling said street didn't move out of Kaden's way fast enough for his liking. Locke followed as close behind as he could manage, given the difference in their speed.

_"Where are we going?!"_ _he demanded._

_Kaden spun around to face him suddenly, a wide grin on his face. "Dragon Road!"_

_Even Locke seemed greatly surprised by the change in expression, but he focused his attention on other things. "What the heck is that?!"_

_"You'll see! Come on!" Still grinning, Kaden spun back around and resumed his excited run down the street._

_Forced to try to keep up, lest he lose his friend in the crowd, Locke ran after him as fast as he could._

Sonic and Silver turned a corner and the memory changed. It was now mid-morning. Locke and Kaden were still young here, though not _as_ young. _Thirteen, maybe?_

_Locke scowled at some kid in an alley while Kaden watched from above. "Listen here," Locke said, obviously upset. "Kaden's a friendly person generally, even if you can't always see it, so if he's being an ass to you, you should probably take a moment to consider why. Otherwise I might not be too inclined to save you next time. Got it?"_

_The other boy nodded hastily and ran away. Kaden huffed and jumped off the roof. He frowned at the echidna and asked something that Sonic never expected to hear from him. "What crawled up your butt today?"_

Sonic and Silver rounded another corner. Almost immediately, another memory began. It once again became night. The moon was full again. Analia stood atop the tall wall before them, her back to them as she gazed up at the moon, a gentle breeze making her hair and skirt sway. Looking to the right, Sonic soon spotted his father and Locke sitting atop a nearby roof. Sonic guess them all to be about twenty right now. The two males were watching Analia and talking. Kaden looked absolutely miserable, though the expression was subtle enough that Sonic very nearly missed it.

_Locke nudged Kaden in the shoulder. "Just admit it. You like her."_

_"I don't," Kaden muttered, looking away from Analia._

_"You love her," Locke insisted._

_"I don't," Kaden replied more forcefully than before._

_Locke smiled a bit then. "Then how do you explain the fact that you were following her around the marketplace like a lost puppy all day today?" he asked, obviously teasing._

_"I wasn't," Kaden retorted, clearly very unhappy._

_Locke smirked wider. "You were."_

_Kaden was not amused. "She asked me to accompany her."_

_"Still," Locke replied._

_"Do me a favor, Locke," Kaden suddenly said._

_"What's that?"_

_"Shut the hell up."_

Sonic was smiling by the time the memory ended. _Denial is more than a river, huh, Dad?_

"For your sake, I'm glad he got over that," Silver grinned. "Heck, for my sake, too. I rather like existing."

"I don't think you ever had anything to worry about," Sonic chuckled. "From what I've seen and heard, I'm pretty sure that those two were meant to be right from the beginning."

Silver suddenly grinned wider. "Like you and Amy?"

Sonic's smile dropped. "Uh..." he replied uncomfortably. "No. Not like that."

As he turned to quickly walk off, Silver called out to him, his grin still obvious in tone. "Denial is more than a river, Dad!"

**~ソニック~**

Tails looked from Wave to Jet and back again before finally venturing to ask, "What's an Ark of the Cosmos...?"

Wave took a deep breath. "The Arks of the Cosmos are these five stone bracelet-like objects that give the user the ability to control their own personal gravity."

"When wearin' more than one of 'em, you can control the gravity of other stuff, too," Storm added. "Like rocks."

"And," Jet added much more slowly, "if all five are gathered together... they can be used to activate Babylon Garden."

"What's Babylon Garden?" Tails asked, now more lost than before. "And what do you mean, '_activate_ it'?"

"Babylon Garden is an ancient city," Wave explained briefly. "When the Arks are placed in their proper spots within that city, it turns into a ship known as Astral Babylon." She returned her gaze to the picture of the Ark on her communicator. "That ship," she murmured, "is exactly the sort of weapon Ivo needs if he wants the technological equivalent to ultimate power."

Tails stared at her in shock. "W... What are you implying...?"

"I'm not implying anything," Wave stated frankly. "This is fact." She looked up from her screen to give Tails a hard look. That ship, that _weapon_, has enough power to destroy the entire world."

**~ソニック~**

With each new part of the city they visited, there was a new memory to view. Sonic supposed it was pointless to view them, but he was learning about his father's past, something that had previously been almost entirely shrouded in mystery. Even if the things he saw were trivial, they still shed light on what had once been, and Sonic wanted to learn everything he could. And, besides that, it was an enjoyable way to the pass the time while he and Silver looked around for the long-lost sword, Caliburn. So, for those reasons, Sonic didn't fight the flow of memories being shared with him.

In each of these memories in particular, Locke and Kaden were clearly still ten. The various situations that Sonic and Silver saw were often amusing... but sometimes they weren't.

(-)

_In this memory, the area was dark, though not terribly so, due to the storm that was currently keeping most people in their homes. Kaden glanced out into the rain just beyond the roof he and Locke were taking shelter under. He seemed... wary, but his expression was surprisingly guarded for one so young, so it was difficult to tell if the emotion showing in his eyes was just wariness or if it was actually fear. "I'm not scared," he mumbled as he and Locke sat on the cold stone ground._

_"You are," Locke accused, pointing at Kaden. "You're totally scared."_

_"I am not!" Kaden retorted, suddenly visibly irritable. _

_"You are!" Locke shot back. _

_The two boys glared at each other for a long moment before Kaden finally huffed and looked away. "Idiot," he muttered. "As if I'd be afraid of something stupid like water."_

_"Oh, yeah?" Locke challenged. Then he suddenly exclaimed, "Don't flinch, then!" With zero warning beyond that, he swept his hand through a puddle. Kaden was soaked._

(-)

_Locke leaned his chin on the back of the chair and draped his arms over it as well, the very picture of bored. He was sitting in the chair backwards in the shade under the overhang covering the busy alleyway where many people were taking refuge in the shade from the heat of the day. As if his arrival weren't distracting enough, Locke suddenly decided to speak. "What're you doing?"_

_"I'm playing Mahjong, idiot," Kaden replied, never taking his eyes off the tiles as the older hedgehog sitting across from him made his move. "What's it look like?"_

_"If I'd known, I wouldn't have asked, stupid."_

_"Whatever. You're annoying."_

_"Uh-huh. Says you."_

_"Shut up."_

_"Make me."_

_"I'm trying to focus."  
_

_"In that case, I'll keep talking."_

_"Idiot."_

_..._

_Locke climbed up on the roof to join Kaden. "Now what are you doing?"_

_Kaden sighed and looked up from the pad of paper he'd been focused on in his lap. "Must you ask me that every time you see me?"_

_Locke shrugged. "I can't help it. I'm bored."_

_Kaden sighed again and resumed what he was doing. "If you must know, I'm drawing. Happy now?"_

_Locke rolled his eyes. "Thrilled." He glanced over to see what Kaden was drawing. On the page was a perfect, though incomplete, drawing of the bell tower._

(-)

_Kaden turned his head to look at Locke with a frown. "What are you talking about?"_

_Locke re-situated on the wall surrounding the city, leaving his legs to dangle over the edge like Kaden's were. "It's not that hard of a question, you know. I'm pretty sure you know exactly what I'm talking about."_

_Kaden looked away, returning his gaze to the thick bamboo forests stretching out before them on this side of the city. After a long moment, he admitted simply, "I don't have parents."_

_Locke sighed a bit. "Yeah... I thought that was the case. It's the same deal with me." Barely a minute later, he suddenly smiled at Kaden. "At least we're not totally alone, though."_

_Kaden looked at him and, somehow, he managed a small smirk. "Yeah, I guess not."_

(-)

_"No, you're the idiot," Locke suddenly shot back as they walked down the mostly empty streets that evening. "You can't even see what's right in front of you, stupid."_

_Kaden, his arms crossed, let out an exasperated sigh. "Care to explain yourself?" he muttered._

_"Despite what you seem to think," Locke said simply, "we're friends."_

_Kaden almost stopped walking entirely, but he forced himself to keep going. "How can you be so sure?" he returned._

_"Well... I don't know," Locke replied, faltering a bit. But then he quickly rallied with, "But I can't be wrong. You know I'm not."_

_"Whatever," Kaden huffed. And yet... he never denied Locke's claim. Locke smirked. He clearly counted that as a victory._

(-)

_Kaden and Locke were standing on one of the walls surrounding the city again, watching the sun as it slowly inched its way higher into the sky early that morning. "We'll see each other again," Kaden huffed. "I'll just be gone a few months. It won't be forever."_

_Locke turned his head to give him a questioning look. "Why're you even leaving?"  
_

_Kaden shrugged a bit. "Training."  
_

_"Promise you'll come back?"_

_"Why wouldn't I?"_

_"I don't know."_

_Kaden's gaze flicked down to the grass below the wall outside the city. The group of elders was leaving already. "Gotta go," he said briefly before jumping down off the ground._

_Locke's voice stopped him before he could run off to catch up. "Kaden! We're friends, right?!"_

_Kaden turned around and, after a moment, he grinned. "Duh!" __Locke's left fist shot into the air with a grin of his own, an unspoken but no less clear declaration of friendship that they had created for themselves. Kaden copied him without hesitation. "We're friends for life!" he shouted. Then, still grinning, he turned and raced off after the elders._

**~ソニック~**

_Astral Babylon crash landed somewhere in the Old World, back when all of this land was still considered to be The Void, later renamed The Land of Darkness. All but two of the Arks were lost during the crash and Astral Babylon reverted back to Babylon Garden. The crash resulted in the Garden being buried a significant distance under the ground. Somehow, one of the two remaining Arks was lost soon afterward. Queen Laralei kept the last remaining Ark with her at all times until just days before she died, when she passed it down to her only child..._ Sighing heavily, Jet unintentionally drew the attention of Wave, Tails, and Storm to himself. Opening his eyes, he focused his attention on Wave. "I know where to find one of the Arks."

**~ソニック~**

**2,408 words this time. WRITER'S BLOCK SUCKS SO MUCH! Ugh. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! XD Posted 10-06-15.**


	161. Inheritance

**Hello, Nagato911! Ikr? XD**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Haha, yes, I am. They really are, though! XD Haha, yes, truly. You'll see soon!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yes, as a child, he grinned sometimes. :) I'm glad you enjoyed! I love the memories, too. They were fun to write. :D Oh, yeah. "Fun". I feel bad for him. :( I will do my best, Pyro-kun! :D**

**Hello, flashyhero! Yeah, they are. X3 Haha, yes, they did. XD**

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**Your review to Chapter 57: I did, too. X3 Haha, that's great. XD Well, the X-Tornado's a ship, not a plane... It was a plane before he and Tails upgraded it. XD**

**~ソニック~**

"C'mon, Dad, admit it," Silver grinned. "You _so_ like her."

"I don't," Sonic muttered sullenly.

"You totally do."

"I don't."

"You do."

"I don't."

"You d-"

"I don't think you're in any sort of a position to b teasing me, Silver."

Silver blinked and gave Sonic a confused look. "Why's that?"

Sonic turned his head a bit to smirk at Silver. "What about you and _Blaze_, huh?"

Silver's eyes went wide as he quickly turned away and started to walk ahead stiffly but still just as quickly as he'd looked away. His blush was obvious. "Nothing!" he said just a bit _too_ quickly.

Sonic laughed. He couldn't help it. _It couldn't be more obvious, kiddo._

****~ソニック~****

"Jet, are you insane?!" Wave demanded, her deep blue eyes sparking with sharp flashes of temper.

Jet scowled at her. "You think I _want_ to go anywhere near there?!" he snapped. "You think I _want_ to see him again?! It's _necessary_, Wave! If we don't get the Arks first, Ivo will! I will _not_ let that happen because of something stupid that happened in the past!"

"It wasn't stupid and you damn well know it!" Wave snapped back. "And he's already proven that he has no qualms about repeating the past, in case you don't remember! Going anywhere near him again is by far one of the _worst_ ideas you've ever had!"

"I agree with Wave, Boss," Storm suddenly cut in, drawing Jet's attention to him. Arms crossed, Jet frowned at the albatross over his right shoulder. "Going to where you and your Pops used to live is a bad idea."

Tails blinked worriedly as he watched the scene. _Jet's... dad? That Ross guy? _Tails didn't know much about the older hawk, but he _did_ know that Jet harbored a great and unusual amount of anger toward him. _But why?_

Jet's eyes were sparking with temper now like Wave's were. It was like looking at lightning within them. Their piercing blue color only added to the affect. "I am not _asking_ either of you for _permission_," he said frankly to Wave and Storm. In spite of what Tails's eyes were clearly telling him that Jet was feeling, the hawk kept his voice remarkably calm and level. "I'm going there whether you like it or not. If you don't want to come, then don't."

"Like hell we'll stay here," Wave muttered, her voice also lowering now that his had. "We're not going to make you face him alone again."

"Besides, if he's there, it'll give me a chance to punch 'im like I wanted to last time," Storm added, punching the palm of one of his large hands for added affect.

Jet looked away from the albatross again. "Fine." With that curt remark, he turned and walked out of the room. Wave and Storm were quick to follow, and Tails found himself alone in the room, left to contemplate in silence all that he had just learned and seen.

_If Ivo gets those Arks... we're doomed._

**~ソニック~**

Sonic stopped walking abruptly when the moonlight filtering down into the ruins of the city suddenly made something shine faintly. Turning his head, his eyes scanned a pile of rubble, the remains of what appeared to have once been a tower. Frowning just a bit, he approached the pile. Silver seemed to catch on, for he approached, too. Without a word, the younger hedgehog summoned up his powers and carefully lifted the rubble into the air, revealing the very object that they had spent the majority of the night searching for. _Caliburn..._

There, laying fully sheathed on the ground, was his father's legendary blade. With a sense of sort of reverence, Sonic slowly walked over to the blade and very carefully picked it up. The moment he touched it, there was a painful flash in his head.

_"Let me get this straight." It was Kaden again. He was only ten. "I'm supposed to learn how to fight with a sword, but your not going to give me one?"_

_The older hedgehog stared down at him, gaze cold and dis-compassionate. "No. Make your own. If you can't-"_

_"Fine," Kaden interrupted, seeming mildly irate, cutting off the apparent threat. "I'll make a sword, then, and when I do I'll kick your ass." _

The memory suddenly abruptly ended to be replaced with many, many others. Sonic wasn't entirely sure what he saw, but he knew a few things for certain. Kaden had forged Caliburn on his own, and the creation of such a powerful and perfect sword had taken centuries. His training, too, had taken many years. All the knowledge Kaden had gained, all the training, all the experience, suddenly was given to Sonic, and all at once. It was painful, in a way... but it was also incredible. There were no words to describe the experience. All he knew was that he knew what to do.

The rubble lowered carefully to the ground around him. "Dad, are you okay?"

Eyes still trained on the sheathed blade, Sonic nodded once, his expression more serious than it had really been in a while. "Yeah. I'm just fine."

**~ソニック~**

**888 words this time. So, I'm sorry about the delay, and about how short this is. I'm still battlign writer's block, you see... ^-^" Posted 10-08-15.**


	162. Smile

**Hello, Nagato911! Well, yeah. Forging what is essentially the perfect blade, a sword that's unbreakable, can channel any power, and so on, takes a _lot_ of work and skill and time and effort and so on. Plus, he was just a kid when he started it. He was learning as he worked, you know? :P**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Sarlight! IKR?! X3 Yeah, yay! XD**

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****Your review to Chapter 59: Oh, yes. It was. :P****

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****************Your review to Chapter 65: ****************Well, you get one. At some point. :P****************************

******************Your review to Chapter 66: Well, I'm glad you like that. I try really hard with that, so it's nice to hear that it's working. :)******************

************************************Your review to Chapter 67: Hahahahaha this is literally one of the best reviews ever, just because it's so _true_! XD************************************

******************************************************Your review to Chapter 68: Yeah, I'm not surprised that she told you. She's actually told me that she's told you stuff, so... XD Uh, yeah. Just a little. ^-^"******************************************************

************************************************************************Your review to Chapter 69: Yup. Confusion is indeed coming. XD Ikr? That's so weird and annoying!************************************************************************

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************************************************************************************************************Your review to Chapter 71: I'm so happy you enjoyed! That was by far one of my favorite chapters to write. :D Yeah, a lot of people guessed it. I dropped a lot of hints. XD Omg, ikr? it's so great. X3************************************************************************************************************

**~ソニック~**

"I don't get how you do it."

Locke had been dozing lightly on his back on one of the couches in the main room downstairs with his arms behind his head as a sort makeshift pillow. However, at the sound of Amy's voice, he opened his eyes. He turned his head and blinked when she sat down on one of the padded chairs across from him. "How I do... what?" he asked slowly, not really understanding her random comment.

Amy appeared... thoughtful. Maybe even a bit sad. Worried, too. _Afraid_, even. It was no wonder why. From what they'd seen in the ruined future, terrible things were going to occur here, and it was going to start soon. That was reason enough for anyone to be afraid. "Earlier today," she started quietly, "you were playing with Cream. You were laughing and smiling." She shook her head a bit and looked down at her hands, which were resting in her lap. "I don't understand how you can do that, even when things are so hard and terrible. Even in the ruined future, I saw you smile, and things were way worse there they are than here right now."

Locke slowly turned his head to gaze up at the ceiling. He was silent for a very long moment before finally saying, "Back during the first war against Dark Gaia... I was taught a very hard lesson that I didn't understand for a very long time." He blinked slowly, but he was no longer really seeing anything in the room. Instead, he was seeing fires, dark creatures, explosions, blue fur, green eyes... "You know they died then." No explanation was needed for her to understand who he was talking about. "Just days before the final battle where they died," he continued, "Kaden told me something that I never expected to hear from him. He told me... to never stop smiling."

Amy was honestly shocked. _Kaden of all people... said that...?_

"I didn't understand him for a long time," Locke admitted quietly, still staring up at the ceiling without really seeing it. "I was too overcome with grief, I guess. But... many years after he and Analia died, I suddenly figured out that the answer had been right in front of me the whole time."

Amy blinked back sympathetic tears. "What was it?" she asked just as quietly.

A small smirk tugged at the corner of Locke's lips. "Kaden's always cared deeply for people," he said, "especially the few he actually managed to forge bonds with. Even if it showed itself in subtle ways, the care was always _there_. He always did what he could to try to bring people happiness, even if it was through indirect means. By telling me to never stop smiling, to keep doing it through all the pain and sadness and loneliness and whatever else the world might throw my way, he was trying trying to teach me to find the happiness in life no matter what. _That_ was the true meaning behind his words. That was the answer. And..." A small smile slowly appeared on his face. "That's why I always try to smile. No matter what."

**~ソニック~**

"I really don't think you should go without Sonic."

Tails watched in mild surprise as Jet abruptly laid down and kicked back on a couch in a small sitting room downstairs. "I'm not."

Tails blinked. "You're... not?"

Jet closed his eyes almost dismissively as he crossed his legs and put his arms behind his head. "You heard me. I'm not going without him. I _won't_."

This contradicted the hawk's earlier words. _But, then again... he probably knew all along that Wave and Storm would go. He knows them more than well enough to guess that sort of thing. Maybe it was just a matter of getting them to say it._ "You're really going to wait for him?"

Jet snorted softly. "I'm not stupid, kid. Going after Ross without him would be _asking_ for huge trouble." He sighed a bit then. "Just take my word for it."

Tails quickly put the pieces together. He straightened as realization hit. "Because of the storm?"

Another soft snort. "You heard about that, huh?"

Tails nodded readily. "Yeah. Wave told me."

"Of course she did." A moment later, Jet released a second sigh, this one a bit bigger than the last. "I can't guarantee that I won't snap again, so I won't go without Sonic. If worst comes to worst, he can deal with it, and so can Wave."

Tails understood immediately. _They'd be able to stop the storm. _A moment later, he smiled a bit. "That's actually a good plan."

"What were you expecting?"

"Wave says you're reckless."

"She can say what she wants."

"She's pretty convinced."

"Good for her."

Tails smiled a bit wider and sat down on the rectangular, cushioned ottoman that was sitting just a foot or so away from the couch. "Hey, Jet?"

Jet cracked an eye open and turned his head slightly to look at him. "Yeah?"

Tails fidgeted a bit under that piercing blue gaze and looked down, suddenly unsure. However, after a moment, he forged ahead in spite of his nerves. "I was wondering- Well, I've been wondering for a little while now, that is- I was thinking that maybe you could..." he trailed off, then suggested hesitantly, "...sort of pick up where Lei left off? Training me, I mean." When Jet opened both eyes to regard him silently, his expression serious but otherwise unreadble, Tails fidgeted some more. "Well, I mean, you already said that you know about swords, and I know you're good with tactics and strategies and hand-to-hand-combat and ancient tech and stuff, so I was just thinking-"

"You know it won't be easy, right?"

Startled by the interruption and the lack of denial and rejection that he'd been expecting, Tails quickly looked back up. It wasn't until a full thirty seconds or so later that he suddenly remembered the question and was able to respond. "Oh! Of course not!" he said hurriedly. "I know it won't be easy." His voice grew quieter again. "But... I want to. Especially since he gave me his swords, and he tried so hard to get my training started and all..."

Jet blinked once, then nodded as he looked away and closed his eyes again. "Yeah, alright. I'll do what I can."

The acceptance meant the world and more to Tails, and he couldn't stop beaming at the silent-again hawk. _Lei will always be my mentor... but no one ever said I couldn't have a second one._

**~ソニック~**

Analia took a soft but no less deep breath as she drew her hands back into her lap and sat back in her chair beside the bed where her partner still slept. She'd been doing what she could try to heal him over the past few days or so, but the progress was slow, considering how tired she still was from the fight. After all, by Locke and Marie's telling, she very well could have been put into a coma as well, or maybe even killed, had Chip not done whatever he'd done to speed up her healing. Still, she _had_ been making progress. Kaden's breathing wasn't as short and shallow as it had been before. It was deeper and more even, more like he actually really was only sleeping. His more minor injuries were gone as well, leaving just the worst of them to be dealt with. He was doing better. She still had her concerns, of course, but she also held onto her hopes. _At this rate... I may be able to wake him before too much longer. He will still need healing and rest, but at least he would be awake._ Smiling softly at the possibility, she leaned forward once more to tenderly kiss his forehead before getting up to leave the room. She needed to get some sleep.

**~ソニック~**

"Mr. Knuckles?"

Knuckles cracked an eye open and turned his head slightly. Cream was standing on the roof next to him with Cheese hugged up to her chest. He'd heard the little girl's approach, but he'd decided to hold his tongue and let her speak when she was good and ready. It had taken a few minutes, but apparently now was the time. "Yeah?"

She hesitated a bit. "Can... Can I ask you a question?"

It wasn't like this Cream to be so... _lacking_ in joy, he knew. That alone had him concerned. "Yeah," he said again. "Go for it." He wasn't that surprised when she sat down beside him. He supposed that Amy's teasing remarks about him being a kid magnet had some merit. Heck, he'd even managed to make friends with Sonic as a kid, somehow. _And he was one heck of a stubborn, mouthy brat, too._

"When someone has a power," Cream said slowly, pulling him from his thoughts, "and it somehow doesn't get passed down to their child or children, how likely is it that it would show up again in their grandchildren, or even great-grandchildren instead?"

Knuckles blinked once, then turned his gaze back to the peaceful afternoon sky as he thought that one over. "It wouldn't be very likely," he finally said. "I can't give you an exact percentage of likelihood or anything, that's more up Tails's alley, but I can tell you that the number's pretty low. Very low, even." A moment later, he thought to ask, "Why?" as he turned his head back to look at her once more.

Cream shook her head a bit and stood back up. "I was just wondering," she murmured. "Thank you, Mr. Knuckles."

Blinking again, he watched silently as she turned to walk back inside without saying another word to him. _What's with her all of a sudden...?_

**~ソニック~**

Blaze gazed quietly through the window in the bedroom that had been given to her. Though she looked at the leaves in the tree that was mostly blocking her view of the sky, her thoughts were focused on Silver. She supposed it was silly, being worried about him even though it really hadn't been _that_ long since she'd last seen him. _Still... It is not unlike him to run into trouble even when there should be none. _She'd considered calling him, more than once, but what was the point, really? He was either in danger, or he wasn't. If he was, he likely wouldn't or couldn't answer her call. If he wasn't, he'd answer but would also question _why_ she'd called, and rightly so. She didn't want him to know that she'd been worrying, though, so she refrained from calling... for now. However, if too much more time passed, she was going to call him, anyway. She knew she would, no matter how much she didn't want him to know that she'd been worrying. Sighing softly, Blaze turned away from the window, her ruby eyes closing briefly as she did so. _Be safe, Silver... And come home soon._

**~ソニック~**

"D'you really think going to see his pops again is a good idea?" Storm asked, his arms crossed as he watched his teammate work on her board for whatever reason, even though it wasn't damaged in any way. He supposed it might have been out of frustration or something.

"No," Wave replied shortly."Of course not. It's a terrible idea that I want to kill Jet for even considering." She suddenly released a sigh, pausing in her work to lean on her hands on her board as she did so. "But... it's like he said. There really isn't another option. What other choice do we have here? We _need_ those Arks, and Ross, unfortunately, has one."

"He ain't gonna give it up willingly," Storm muttered, his signature scowl finally reappearing on his face for the first time in hours.

"Of course not," Wave repeated, a scowl of her own making itself known on her face. Then, suddenly, she smirked. "But that makes it better."

Storm's confusion was masked by a display of irritability. "What're ya talkin' about?" he demanded. "How does-"

Wave turned her smirk on him. "Think about it," she said with surprising calm in the face of is attitude, which usually got her snappy within moments. "He's always, _always_ belittled Jet's skills as a thief, at least since we've known the two of them."

"Yeah," Storm agreed. "So?"

"So," Wave replied, her smirk growing, "when Jet steals something as precious and valuable and irreplaceable as an _Ark_ right out from under his proud nose..."

Slowly, Storm began to smirk as well. "Heh. I hadn't thought of it that way."

Wave returned her attention to her board. "'Course not. You're too dull to."

"What'd you just say?!" Storm demanded furiously, his smirk vanishing.

"You heard me," Wave muttered.

If Storm could have growled, he would have. "Why I oughtta-"

"Touch me and you're dead, Storm," Wave threatened simply, clutching her tools tightly in anger.

"I'd like to see you _try_ to kill me, Pinky!" Storm taunted furiously.

Wave whirled on him. "Now _I'm_ going to kill _you_!"

"Bring it on!" Storm bellowed.

The argument would have continued... had a familiar voice not suddenly shouted up the stairs at them from one of the rooms down below. "Will _both_ of you knock it off?!"

Huffing furiously, Wave returned to her work on her board while Storm turned and stomped out of the room. She refrained from throwing her wrench at the albatross's retreating back... this time. She refrained for once, if only because Jet had been in a fairly good mood up until earlier today, and she really had no desire to ruin that any further. Still, she shot Storm as furtive glare just as he disappeared from view. _Cretin._

**~ソニック~**

Sonic was feeling much better rested now than he had in some time, in spite of having spent the majority of the night awake and walking around in search of his father's sword. Still, despite feeling better, his running was slower than normal, not that that meant much at this point. Even with Caliburn, which was surprisingly heavy, strapped to his back, he was sure that he could keep running all the way back to Amy's house. _At this pace, we'll make it back by nightfall. It'll probably only just be starting to get really dark by that point. _Smirking faintly to himself, Sonic picked up the pace a bit with Silver by his side. _Hang tight, guys... we're coming home._

**~ソニック~**

**2,532 word this time. I think the writer's block is finally dying, guys! :DD Anyway, onto business (not really)! Don't forget to check out the oneshot collection, "Every Hero Has a Story", everyone! It's not required, of course, but it's out there for those of you who want to read it! It's the first Hero side story to be posted (it's the oneshot collection), and I hope that those of you who read it enjoy! Posted (at 12:15-ish a.m. and therefore a day late!) 10-11-15.**


	163. Night Attack

**Hello, Nagato911! Yeah, he does. Haha, he is. :)**

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Yeah, it is cute. And it's sweet. I love it. :) She might be. You'll have to wait and see! ;) Well, that's the plan. However, plans often fail... this may or may not be as easy as everyone hopes. I'm so glad you enjoyed! And yeah, it seems to be mostly gone now. XD Ooh, cookies! Thanks! XD**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Yeah! :D Tbj, I wasn't expecting that, either. It just sort of... happened. XD Can't blame ya for forgetting. He doesn't use that power often, so... yeah. Yeah, everyone's thinking. I'm so glad you enjoyed! :D **

**Hello, Guest! He's coming, I promise. Just gotta get to that point in this arc, that's all.**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 161: Yeah, he did. And yes, he probably does. X3 I will do my best, Pyro-kun! :D  
**

**Your review to Chapter 162: Hahaha that was the best thing ever, Pyro-kun! XDD Ah, that was amazing. XD Anyway, yes, Kaden, of _all_ people. said that. And it's gonna be a very important part of the end of Hero Chronicles. Very sad stuff. ;_; Yeah, I've been trying to give him more background to help make him a more rounded character. Analia's past will have to come to light for this same purpose, at some point. :) I was just watching DBZ earlier... the Android 13 movie. DUUUDE, have you heard about Boruto, Naruto the movie?! So hyped to see it! :D Haha, anyway, Sonic and SIlver will probably be back next chapter. It was supposed to be today, but I got lazy, so... XD Oh, and by the way, the newest oneshot in that side story has some Hero Chronicles references in it. I think you might enjoy it if you choose to read it. :) I will do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

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**Your review to Chapter 73: Yeah, I _try_ to explain everything that's relevant that I pull from the games and shows. I could've done better with explaining Mephiles, though, tbh. XD**

**Hello, AuthorBugsy! Your review to Chapter 72: Haha, I'm guessing you're talking about Shadow? Yes, he's coming. XD**

**~ソニック~**

The attack that evening came out of nowhere, to say the least. It was totally and completely unexpected. One second Amy was happily shopping with Knuckles reluctantly trailing behind her (he was still trying to figure out how he'd been coerced into coming along), and the next... gunfire. Explosions. Screams. Robots everywhere. People fleeing the streets in terror. Fires rapidly starting and raging through the city from various random locations.

In her horror, Amy dropped her basket of apples to cover her mouth with her hands. Her eyes were shimmering dangerously. The only thing that snapped her out of it was Knuckles abruptly grabbing her wrist and pulling her away. He was already starting to run. "Come on! We have to get to the others!"

Amy began running after him as the faces of her friends and family flashed through her mind. "R-right!" As they sprinted down the streets, pushing themselves to go significantly faster than normal, Amy briefly squeezed her eyes shut. _Please, everyone please be okay...!_

**~ソニック~**

"Dammit! Storm I swear to god, if you don't get up right _now_ I'm kicking the door in!"

Wave ran down the hall and pounded on the albatross's door as well. "Wake _up_, you oversize idiot!" _Honestly, why does he have to lock his door when he goes to bed?! And why does he have to be able to sleep so deeply?!_

There was another explosion just outside. Jet didn't wait after that. As promised, he kicked the door in. He wasn't even sorry that he'd damaged Harold and Marie's property at this point. After all, their _lives_ were far more important. While Wave ran in and half-pulled-half-shoved the still mostly asleep albatross out of bed, Jet turned away and ran back down the hall. By now, Amy's parents, Blaze and Tails had all already successfully gotten out of the house and were headed to the nearest safe place that they could find. Now it was just a matter of getting everyone else out.

Most of the house was on fire. Sections of the ceiling were already collapsing. The smoke made it hard (not to mention painful) to breath and next to impossible to see. With few other options, Jet unleashed a wave of wind that took out a cluster of flames long enough for him to run down another hall. He began throwing doors open, checking the rooms they led into. _Empty... Empty... Empty... Good. They must've gotten out. ...Or their just not on this floor. _Gritting his teeth, he turned back down the hall and ran down the stairs after Wave and Storm. Storm headed outside while Wave and Jet checked the downstairs of the house for anyone else who hadn't escaped.

Just as Wave ran out of the kitchen, intent on checking the library next, a terrified scream met her ears. She whirled around just in time to see Jet scoop up Cream and yank her out of the way of a spat of gunfire. Wave tensed. The robots had finally gotten inside. _Not good... This is not good..._ She ducked under a large metal fist and quickly used the nearest object to her as a sort of baseball bat. Whatever she'd grabbed did a surprising amount of damage, and the robot teetered uncertainly for a moment before finally toppling over. She dropped her makeshift weapon and spun around. "Jet!" She regretted calling his name an instant later. His split second of distraction was just long enough for him to get punched through a wall to the outside world by ne of the robots he'd been attempting to fight while still holding Cream. Thankfully, he managed to land on his back so that the young girl didn't get hurt. Suppressing her sigh of relief for now, Wave snatched up their boards and ran outside. "Come on! We have to move! Now!"

Jet shook his head firmly. "We didn't check the whole house! Someone might still be in there!"

"Fine! Give me Cream, then! We'll meet you wherever the others are!"

Jet nodded once and quickly, though carefully, passed Cream to Wave before running back inside. _I refuse to let anyone die today._

With one last concerned glance into the smoldering house, Wave took off on her board, leaving Jet's board, and Jet himself, behind.

**~ソニック~**

Amy and Knuckles reached the house just in time to see Jet come running out the front door. Seconds later, the whole building exploded into one giant, hellish fireball, sending the hawk flying forward so that he crashed into the hard ground on his stomach. Cursing softly, Knuckles redirected the flames up into the open air so that they didn't strike his comrade instead. More flames belched out of the house, however, and Jet unexpected whipped around into a sitting position and threw his palm forward, unleashing a blast of freeing cold air. The flames were soon solid ice.

In spite of the trio's shared surprise, they didn't take the time to dwell on it. Instead, they quickly moved so that their backs were to each other defensively. They were utterly surrounded by robots on all sides. Expression hardening, Amy summoned her hammer in preparation for yet another fight to live. Knuckles called forth his flames so that it entirely encased one hand in a bright orange ball that was ready to be thrown at any moment. Jet didn't physically move, but lightning cackled dangerously around him, just waiting to be unleashed. Following the same line of thought, the three of them rushed forward all at once to fight for their lives.

**~ソニック~**

Ivo grinned gleefully as he watched the ensuing chaos on one of his various screens. Things were going just perfectly. He'd flushed the "heroes" out of their hiding place, and he'd finally gotten a good look at his specific targets as well. This would be so _easy_... Once he had everything he needed, of course. Not that that would be too difficult, so long as certain... _indisposed_ variables (namely a couple certain fighters he had no desire to cross paths with currently didn't come back into play early. Grinning yet wider, he watched the fight raging on before the ruins of Amy's oh-so-perfect home. _Oh, yes... everything is going perfectly._ He laughed softly to himself and moved away from the screen to set to work. _Everything is going according to plan... perfect._

**~ソニック~**

**1,106 words... mostly 'cause I got lazy. I tried to pack as much epicness as I could into this short wordcount, though. XD Anyway, if you find any typos, it's 'cause I was too lazy to be bothered with proofreading this time. So, yeah... sorry 'bout hey, at least I'm on time today! XD Posted 10-12-15.**


	164. Interesting

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I'm so glad you enjoyed! :D I'M NOT TELLING! XD Oh, and a lot of this dialogue was pulled directly from out first RP, so thanks a bunch for the help. :)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm so happy you enjoyed! :D 'Course I did. It was great. XD NO, I HAVEN'T, BUT I WANT TO SO BADLY. Resurrection of F? I'll watch it if I can find it. XD I will do my very best, Pyro-kun! :)**

**Hello, Nagato911! YESSS. XD**

**Hello, flashyhero! Nope, no mention of them at all... Something is going on here... ;)**

**~ソニック~**

Close to ten minutes passed after Wave took Cream and flew off before Wave spoke. "You okay, Cream?"

"I-I guess so," Cream said quietly. Then she whispered so softly that her voice was all but stolen by the wind, "Mostly."

Wave heard her and turned keen eyes down on the young girl holding onto her from behind. "What do you mean 'mostly'? Did you get hurt?" Cream shook her head. "So what's wrong, then?"

Cream hesitated, then shook her head again. "It's nothing, Miss Wave."

Wave's eyes narrowed somewhat. _It's not like her to lie._ "Cream, tell me the truth. Now."

The stern quality to Wave's tone was all it took to make the small girl cave. She looked down, making herself seem even smaller and more vulnerable. After a long moment of silence she finally asked quietly, "Miss Wave, you're really smart, right? Like Tails and Mr. Sonic...?"

Wave was puzzled by the sudden subject change, but she went with it for now. "I guess so. Why?"

Cream swallowed hard. "Don't ask me how I know about this," she whispered. "Please just don't." Then, taking a deep breath, she asked, "What would happen to a person if centuries upon centuries worth of knowledge and data was suddenly, in a sense, _downloaded_ into their mind all at once? Would it hurt them?"

Wave looked down at Cream again before she looked forward again. "I'm not sure," she finally answered. She paused, then added, "_How_ they get all that into their head, anyway? I don't know if that's possible."

"_If_ it happens," Cream replied slowly, "it'll happen through a touch. I don't know anything else besides that."

Wave frowned a bit deeper. _Why does she think she knows for certain that this'll happen?_ "_If_ someone were to gain that much information all at once," Wave slowly said slowly in answer to the original question, "their brain activity would spike immensely. There would be heightened perception, information processing, memory, and so on. However, with no real place to store all that new data and whatnot, the whole brain would become a storage area, in a sense. But, the huge problem here is that such a huge download, for lack of a better term, could cause memory loss, whether it be minor or severe, a major blackout, or even make the entire brain shut down due to mental overload. _If_ this happened, whoever it happened to could very well wind up dead."

This was the answer Cream had been expecting to hear... but it wasn't the one she wanted. Lowering her head yet further, she secretly shed a single tear that was soon stolen by the wind.

**~ソニック~**

Ivo quickly located each of his specific targets and focused his cameras on them. His grin slowly widened. _Let's see here… what are the little "heroes" up to? One is fighting, two are running, one is protecting, one is flying… Oh? Two are fighting, then? Most interesting… I hadn't expected you to rejoin us so soon._ He laughed to himself. _Most interesting indeed._

**~ソニック~**

**531 words this time. Okay, so maybe my writer's block isn't as dead as I thought it was. Sorry, guys. This was all I could manage. 10-15-15.**


	165. Bonus Chapter 8: Fun Facts

**Hello,Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I'm glad you did! GEE, I WONDER WHY? IT'S NOT LIKE YOU HELPED ME MAKE THAT SCENE OR ANYTHING! XDD**

**Hello, flashyhero! Eh, we'll see... ;)**

**Hello, Shiver of Terror! Your review to Chapter 74: ****Haha, so I've heard. XD Aw, sorry. But you will! My writer's block is making me post slower than normal, anyway. XD Yeah! Don't worry, you'll learn more about him as time goes on. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 75: ****Okay, that's fine.**

**Your review to Chapter 76: As with before, that's fine. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 77: Haha, I don't know, either. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 78: HE IS, I PROMISE.**

**Hello, astroshadow! Okay, cool. :) And it's not Sonic you should be worried about... ;)**

**Hello, Nagat911! Well, data overloaded, but still. "Yay." :(**

**~ソニック~**

**Hero Fun Facts!:**

-Jet was actually heavily sheltered up until the age of seven, when the abuse with Ross began.

-Kaden has _always_ been able to see ghosts and communicate with them. When he was really little, it freaked him out.

-As a child, Jet always wanted a pet dog.

-Kaden and Sonic both have a love for chocolate that they'll probably never admit to.

-Analia's favorite food is fried donuts.

-Locke once, as a young child, had a fear of heights.

-Though he seems young, Chip is probably one of the oldest characters in the story. His age is right up there with Kaden, Locke, and Analia's.

-Storm and Jet actually think of each other as brothers, to a point. Likewise, Wave and Storm have always considered each other to be siblings (not that they'll ever admit it, of course).

-The one thing Kaden fears most besides losing his friends and family is water. He's learned tolerance over the years, yes, but the fear remains. His fear is even stronger than Sonic's. He's also highly afraid of spiders.

-Analia has never truly hated a person in her entire life (though this shouldn't be surprising). However, even she has felt great anger before.

-Jet's tendency to be uncomfortable, tense, and ever standoffish around children stems from a near unconscious fear that he will unintentionally treat them no better than Ross treated him.

-No matter what timeline you visit, Silver's favorite food will always be jelly bread.

-In spite of her tomboyish ways, Wave is actually very fond of clothes and fashion.

-Kaden and Analia were once mistaken for the perfect embodiments of Yin and Yang, even back before they were a couple, by an old man who believed in every legend and myth ever told.

-Sometimes, when Kaden's in a fairly good mood, he'll put his arms up behind his head as he walks. Just an unspoken sign as to what his mood is, one that all of his friends from long ago recognize.

-To this day, Kaden still loves to draw. Jet does as well.

-Analia, Jet, Silver, and Kaden all share in Sonic's strong love for music. Excluding Silver, they can all play at least one inrtument.

-Sonic was born on August 2nd. Silver was born on January 12th. Kaden was born on January 1st. Locke was born on March 3rd. Analia was born on February 2nd.

-Sonic used to be jealous (as a child) of Locke's ability to fly.

-For a moment, Locke legitimately thought he was going to die when learning how to pilot ten-year-old Sonic's propeller-powered Tornado.

-Sonic and Silver get their habit of staying up constantly and then crashing and sleeping all day (or better) from Kaden of all people. He's also who they get their night-owlish tendencies from.

-As a young girl, it was Analia's dream to travel the world and see all the different kinds of people within it.

-In spite of his love for harmless thrills, Sonic has never actually been to an amusement park. Jet has, however, and he hates the roller coasters for some reason. In contrast to him, Wave loves them.

-Blaze has always been very fond of children. This is why she's so close with Cream, even though her attachment to the young bunny is often subtle at best. She also tends to think of Tails as a sort of little brother.

-No one gets into more trouble than Silver and Tails when they're together. _No _one. (Except maybe young Kaden and Locke.)

-To this day, Kaden doesn't trust Locke around puddles.

-Sonic once beat Locke at chess in only four moves.

-Sonic's favorite board game is still chess, Kaden's is Shogi, and Locke's is Mahjong (thanks to Kaden;s influence). Analia doesn't really play board games.

-By this point in his life, Sonic has never actually heard of, let alone tasted, a chilidog.

-Blaze secretly shares in Silver's love for jelly bread, though not as strongly.

-Kaden _hates_ jumpscares. The main reason for this is the fact that he once had a friend who used to sneak up on him from behind and scare him at every opportunity. This friend is the only person who can truly sneak up on Kaden even while he's paying attention.

-As a young teenager, Sonic frequently carried a dagger with him, as did the Rogues.

-Lei's (pronounced "Lay") scarf was actually given to him by Sen. Sen got it from Kaden. The scarf belonged to Kaden many, many years ago, though he didn't often wear it.

-At the end of the Ruined Future Arc, Sen was described as wearing an icy blue waist-length scarf and shoes that, beyond also being icy blue, look exactly like his normal shoes. Sonic of the main timeline has this scarf and that pair of shoes as well, though he's probably never actually worn them. If he has worn them before, then it was back when he was a teenager with Jet and the Rogues.

-Jet still aspires to be the greatest thief in the world. This is the main dream he strives toward achieving nowadays.

-Sonic's dream as a child was to be the world's greatest racer. However, by the time he invented Extreme Gear, he'd all but lost interest in this goal. It was Jet who rekindled his passion for racing.

-In spite of his boorish tendencies, Storm actually cares a great deal for his teammates and friends.

-Wave and Storm met when they were rather young. Wave fed him, and they became rather close almost immediately afterward. They've had a sibling-like relationship (though one that involves more fighting than normal) almost ever since.

-The one time Cream disobeyed her mother was the night she snuck out of bed to explore a Chao Garden. She and Cheese became instant friends that night.

-Knuckles cares about his friends so much that he occasionally has nightmares about what would have happened had they not come out alright from whatever the latest danger was.

-Locke legitimately hates fishing, due to the one day he spent as a child doing this activity with Kaden. Kaden doesn't mind it, but it's not his favorite pastime by any means.

-Ross actually coddled Jet a _lot_ when Jet was very little. He even bragged about his son to other people quite frequently.

-Kaden occasionally has nightmares about the fight with Dark Gaia that resulted in his and Analia's death. Locke, likewise, occasionally has nightmares about those deaths. Analia has managed to let go of that night enough that it rarely bothers her anymore.

-Sometimes, when he's annoyed, Kaden's right ear will flick very slightly, much like it does when he's heard something. Though Sonic shares in his habit of flicking his ear when he's heard something, his ears don't usually move to indicate his mood at all.

-Analia, like Cream and Amy, loves flowers. She also loves shopping (though only for certain things, otherwise she merely tolerates it).

-Out of everyone, Sonic, Kaden, and Jet have by the far the best memories.

-Kaden considers dragons to be bull-headed, arrogant, temperamental, and reckless. However, he also has a great amount of respect for them due to their loyalty, intelligence, pride (so long as it isn't overwhelming), strength, confidence, and so on. (But whether dragons are real or just merely myths will remain a mystery… until Hero Chronicles.)

-Merry's favorite thing to do was cook. Her daughter, Vanilla, and Cream all share in this passion.

-Cream also has a passion for drawing and painting. Analia loves to do this as well.

-Kaden, like Sonic, _never_ kills if he doesn't have to, no matter who his enemy is. This action was a source of strife between him and two of his friends back during the war against Jet's ancestors on South Island.

-Jet can and does often become bored when there isn't anything mentally stimulating or physically challenging for him to do. Sonic can be the same way sometimes. Silver is just prone to boredom in general, and Kaden can sometimes be this way as well.

-In an alternate version of the main timelines future, Kaden is actually much more outgoing. He smiles a lot more, openly taunts his enemies for the heck of it, thrill-seeks, and even laughs quite a bit. However, he also has a dark curse mark that was placed upon him.

-Kaden is surprisingly opinionated, so he'd have to _really_not know a person very well in order to not have some sort of an opinion of them (not that he usually voices his opinions on people or even generally pays much attention to them at times).

-No one knows what the normal lifespan is for a blue hedgehog. No blue hedgehog has ever died due to causes such as old age.

-Both Jet and Sonic love video games. A lot.

-Merry actually had battle experience. She wasn't terribly strong, but she did have combat skills.

-Ross once had lightning when he was younger. However, he no longer has this power.

-Silver doesn't read much, but he actually loves doing it. Sonic, meanwhile, is still bored by reading most of the time.

-Blaze loves to read about as much as Kaden does. Kaden is the main reason why Locke loves to read about that much as well.

-When she was very little, Blaze would suck on her thumb in her sleep.

-Silver used to enjoy attempting to prank Blaze, back when they were kids. He doesn't dare do so now.

-As a young child, Blaze was widely considered to be the cutest child left in existence, though she always petulantly denied such claims.

-Jet is highly fond of strategy games. Thanks to his influence, Silver is starting to have an appreciation for them as well.

-Kaden mastered the use of his two swords in under a month. This was largely due to the fact that he was training all day every day, almost literally. A large part of his training was actual battle experience as well, since the Great Clan Wars were going on at this time.

-Silver's favorite color is white. Jet and Blaze's is blue (Jet prefers icy and/or heavenly blue, but Blaze likes a darker but soft shade of blue). Kaden's is black. Sonic doesn't have a favorite color, though if forced to choose he always says emerald green.

-Locke once gave this advice to someone about Kaden back on South Island: "When he snaps, you shut the hell up and let him chill out. Even _I'm_ not crazy enough to try to mess with him when he's mad."

-Ross met his wife back on South Island when she was being attacked. He rescued her and, somehow, the two of them slowly became closer after that, in spite of his grumpiness and occasionally cutting remarks. Eventually, they fell in love.

-If he thinks it's necessary, Kaden, like Sonic, can push himself to stay awake for weeks or even months at a time.

-Hedgehogs have huge appetites. This is why Silver snacks so much. Kaden, Analia, Sonic, however, have learned to ignore this to the point where they can often get by on very little food. Locke often pokes fun at the four of them about this appetite of theirs.

-Chuck (from one of the Sonic shows, I don't remember which one (maybe SATam)) is Analia's "uncle". He was a very close family friend who was practically her father's brother. He died when she was a young girl.

-As much as he _loves_ ramen, Kaden's favorite food is actually chicken dumplings.

-Locke likes to joke around from time to time by saying that danger is hopelessly in love with Kaden. This never fails to irritate Kaden, who often counters by telling Locke that danger follows the echidna around like a lost puppy.

-Silver, Locke, Kaden, Analia, and Sonic are all very fond of dancing (though Sonic sticks more to break dancing, like he does in the games).

-Kaden generally refrains from swearing terribly much, but the closer he is to going Dark, the more he tends to swear.

-Jet normally has no qualms about swearing, but he usually filters himself around kids, especially the younger ones.

-Knuckles can understand flickies, though he can't speak their language or anything.

-Though they often don't act like it, Charmy is basically Vector's son, in a way.

-Analia also knows how to forge blades.

-Echidnas have always been praised for their incredibly honesty and straightforwardness.

-Kaden actually takes most fights far less seriously than he seems to. He becomes bored with combat easily and, as such, can hardly be bothered to really try most of the time. He uses the bare minimum amount of power necessary to win a fight. However, once he gets serious about a fight, as he did against Dark Gaia those two times, there is little that he holds back.

-Jet is still technically a full-time racer, even though he participates in few races anymore. The same goes for Wave and Storm.

-Sonic has always been impressed by Jet's talent for balance. Likewise, Jet has always been impressed by Sonic's talent for speed.

-Silver's favorite children's game is hide and seek.

-There are few people that Sonic trusts more than Jet, and vice versa.

-Blaze and Silver grew up listening to stories about Kaden, Locke, and Analia. Silver never paid much attention to these stories, but Blaze always did. She's idolized Kaden since she was a young girl thanks to these tales. Likewise, Rouge grew up hearing tales about Locke and has also idolized him since childhood.

-In the same alternate future as the more outgoing Kaden, Sonic once again shares in Jet's lightning powers. He's become strong enough with them that he can create and perform the Raiga on his own.

-In the same alternate future, everyone (excluding Kaden, Locke, and an old friend of their from ancient times) is out in space on the Blue Typhoon exploring and doing whatever. Locke and Kaden barely see each other and are no longer friends. This is two hundred years in the future, and things are pretty ruined.

-Storm actually had a strong crush on a girl once, though he can never be convinced to tell anyone who she was.

-In spite of the way Amy tended to act when she was younger, her parents never actually spoiled her. Instead, they spent a lot of their free time doing their best to educate her.

-Tails was once afraid of lightning, though he doesn't harbor this fear any longer.

-Harold is a better cook than Marie.

-Marie performs in small plays on rare occasions.

-Sonic learned a great deal about stealth and even thievery from Jet and the Rogues during his time with them as a teenager.

**~ソニック~**

**2,543 words this time. And this is what happens when I have writer's block and I want to give people _something_ to read. XD Hope you enjoyed. There will probably be more of these later on. Posted 10-18-15.**


	166. Bonus Chapter 9: Fun Facts

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I'm so glad you did! And I'm happy you think so! This was a lot of fun to do! :D I hadn't actually thought of it that way before. That's a good point!**

**Hello, Nagato911! I'm glad you think so! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! YES, HE DID! :D That was especially for you, Pyro-kun. Glad that made you happy. :) I'm so happy you enjoyed! Yes, in an alternate future, Kaden and Locke are no longer friends. Very sad stuff. I will do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

**~ソニック~**

**Hero Fun Facts!:**

-Marthal (pronounced "Mahr-thul") is an excellent strategist. However, this only generally applies to plans and strategies that he creates for only himself to follow. Highly intelligent though he is, he doesn't do "group strategies". (But who _is_ Marthal…? ;))

-Kaden (pronounced "Kae-den"), Locke, and Analia's (pronounced "Uh-nah-lee-uh")names are different in the ancient language, but, when spoken in the language that everyone speaks normally in Hero (known as the "universal language"), their names are translated into "Kaden", "Locke", and "Analia".

-Locke's name in the ancient language is Lokal (pronounced "Low-kahl"), meaning "Wise one". Analia's is Azaria (pronounced "Uh-zah-ree-uh"), meaning "Our light". Kaden's has not been spoken in many centuries and is known only to him.

-Jet's mother's name was Selena. She died when he was very little, and he has no memory of her because of it.

-Wave had a good relationship with both of her parents, but she was never especially attached to either of them due to her highly independent personality. Their names were Han (pronounced "Hahn") and Mara (pronounced "Mah-ruh"). They may still be alive.

-Storm never knew his parents. Their names were Carl and Cyndi. They abandoned him as a baby several months after he was born and may still be alive.

-Tails's parents left him at an orphanage to save his life after they learned that someone was trying to kill them because they wouldn't use their knowledge to aid an evil man in his wicked plans. It was with great grief and regret that Tails's parents left him behind. They were killed soon afterward, but their killers never learned of Tails's existence. His parents' names were Jacob and Molly.

-When they were still young, not long after they first met, Amy told Tails frankly, "Are you kidding? If traveling were free, you'd never see me again."

-By this point in Hero, Vanilla has already become close friends with Kaden and Analia. Vanilla almost acts like Kaden's big sister sometimes. Harold and Marie (pronounced "Muh-ree") have also become good friends with the ancient hedgehogs already.

-Vanilla and Amy's parents have been close friends since even before Cream's birth. Harold and Marie were close with Vanilla's husband as well.

-Amy and Cream are basically sisters. In many ways, Amy has helped to raise the younger girl. She used to babysit Cream a lot, especially when they were younger.

-Cream is actually excellent at faking tears, though she hasn't done so since she was very little.

-Tails is very close with Amy's parents. Over the years, they've become almost like his parents, in a way.

-Jet's birthday is June 17th, but he's the only one besides Ross who knows this, as he's never bothered to mention it to anyone else before. Wave's birthday is April 13th. Storm's is March 12th.

-Currently in the story, it's late July.

-Sonic and Jet love to skateboard almost as much as they love to ride Extreme Gear. Wave always says that she's not much of a skateboarder, but she, like those two, is an absolute pro at it. Storm hardly ever skateboards and his true skill level at it may never be known.

-Sonic's speed literally became the stuff of legends back on South Island, and it remains so to this day.

-In spite of the fact that a couple magic users (Analia included) still exist in this day and age, magic has become a thing that most people consider to be just the stuff of myths and legends. Very, _very_ few people believe in magic nowadays, but Amy always has.

-Up until about the age of twenty-one, Kaden frequently slipped back into the ancient language when he spoke, especially when he was growing upset in some way about something or other. This still happens on occasion.

-One of the most famous legends in Hero is one that is known by virtually everyone across the whole world. It's the legend of the King's Dragon, a gift which was passed down to the king's only child, the stolen prince. It has long been said that, someday, this dragon will help save the world and more.

-Kaden's mother was Seiko (pronounced "Say-ko"). His father was Satsuno (pronounced "Saht-soo-no").

-Locke's wife's name was Laura. His parents were Saul (pronounced "Sahl") and Terra.

-Merry only had two children, and both were daughters. Their names were Joy and Grace. Her husband's name was Eli. Merry died of old age just a few months after Eli. This was when Vanilla was still a young girl.

-Joy never fell in love and never married. She and her sister were very close. She died not long after Cream's birth.

-Grace married Will. Vanilla was their only living child. Their first child, Max, was a still-born. They both passed before Cream's birth, before Vanilla even knew that she was expecting her husband, Mark's, child.

-Analia's parents were Koda (pronounced "Koe-duh") and Temari (pronounced "Teh-mah-ree"). Her great-great grandmother was Neferti. Neferti (pronounced "Neh-fur-tee") was such an important figure in ancient history that Analia's tribe renamed itself as the Neferti Tribe in her memory and honor. Nerferti's husband, Saran (pronounced "Sah-rahn") was also hugely important.

-Merry's mother's name was Luna and her father was Keith. She had a half-sister (with the same father) named Lucy. Lucy lived with Keith while Merry lived with Luna. Both Keith and Lucy were lost in the fires on the final days of South Island. Luna was kidnapped and later killed by robots, much as Sonic had feared at the time.

-Blaze's parents were Kane and Kari (pronounced "Car-ee"), two royalty figures from another dimension. Blaze gets her fire powers from both parents. This is why, in hers and Silver's world, Blaze is known as the Princess of the Flames.

-Blaze, like Silver, died as an infant in the main timeline. She and her parents were killed almost instantly when a very large and very tall building in Empire City collapsed all at once in a freak accident while they were on the ground floor. In the fiery future's timeline, her parents died trying to help stop Iblis while she was left with others to be cared for, just in case they should die (just like with Silver and his parents).

-Sonic once had a Chao friend. They met when he was eleven and were almost always together up until a few months after him turning twelve. Coincidentally, he named this Chao Charmy. Charmy was a normal blue and yellow Chao, like Cheese.

-Analia sometimes wears a silver tiara, something she's owned for many, many years.

-Analia also once had a Chao friend, back when she was a young girl. She named the Chao "Leili" (pronounced "Lay-lee"), meaning "Pure one" in the ancient language. She named her Chao this because she's never believed that any Chao, even the Dark ones, can be capable of true evil (even if they can create mischief and small trouble). Leili was a white Chao with a bit of light blue on the tips of its hands feet, on its rear, and entirely covering the little ball above its head.

-Sasori (prnounced "Sah-so-ree") and Kadori (pronounced "Kah-doh-ree") were Kaden's grandparents on his father's side. They were very highly notable and important figures in history, though the stories about them have all but been lost.

-Tails had several notable ancestors back during Kaden, Locke, and Analia's time, but their names have long since been lost. Kaden and the others met them several times, however, though it's unlikely that they've realized that those were Tails's ancestors.

-Throughout his life, before his revival in the modern era, Kaden had only five friends. In spite of his interactions with a couple of them, he was (and still is) very close with all of them. Three of those friends were (and still are Locke, Analia, and Chip). One of the other two friends died during the Babylon War on South Island while the other went missing during the initial attacks on the world by Dark Gaia's creatures in the dead of night. This disappearance played a large role in Kaden going fully Dark for the first time, all those years ago.

-It was Kaden who stepped out of character all those years ago and gave Chip his nickname. His explanation for his actions was simply a shrug and this sentence: "He has to be called _something_."

-Sonic was once forced to go by an alias for a while, simply because people recognized his name, not his face, and he needed lay low for a while. He called himself "Jake" for months. He was fifteen when this happened and he and the Rogues weren't together at the time.

-Someone once tried to kidnap Amy when she was twelve. Though the event traumatized her at the time, she has long since gotten over it.

-Tails is one of the only people who can wake Amy up in the morning and not feel the full force of her wrath for it. She is _not_ a morning person.

-Blaze used to be fond of calmly flicking Silver in the forehead (hard and without remorse) when he started getting on her nerves. However, she hasn't done this since she was thirteen.

-Amy gets her temper from her mother, in spite of how calm and kind her mother usually is.

-Blaze's birthday is July 4th.

-Kaden and Jet hate being touched. Kaden hates it the most out of the two of them, but Jet's hatred of it is also strong. Part of the hatred for both of them stems from a sort of fear that neither will likely ever admit to.

-Sonic and Blaze also dislike being touched, but they tolerate it far better than Kaden Jet tend to.

-Amy's birthday is May 16th. Cream's is April 1st. Vanilla's is October 22nd. Harold's is June 6th. Marie's is November 30th. Merry's was December 20th.

-Ross was the only child Queen Laralei (pronounced "Lah-ruh-lay") ever had. Her husband was separated from her not long before Ross's birth and never made it to Mobius with her (though he may still be alive). Kaden, Locke, and Analia never knew that Laralei had a child until they met Jet (since his appearance very much gave away his relation to her).

-Kaden has always had a sort of affinity for technology. He's also always been more fascinated by it than he tends to let on.

-Espio was raised by his parents until he reached adulthood, which is when he set out on his own to find his place in the world. He met Vector, Knuckles, and Charmy by pure chance just months later. Vector and Charmy had already met by this point.

-Vector considered Charmy to be an annoyance at first, but consistently watched out for and took care of him regardless. This was something Espio never failed to point out when Vector would begin to complain about the kid.

-Knuckles is the reason that the Chaotix Detective Agency was formed. While Espio would likely have met Vector and Charmy anyway, the chameleon once stated that he likely would not have stayed with the group without Knuckles's influence. He is incredibly grateful for the way things ended up turning out.

-All of Shadow's combat skills are self-taught, just like Sonic's.

-Rouge, like Shadow, cares more about other people than she tends to let on.

-Though it was never directly stated, it was Shadow who freed Cream the day when Sonic died and Locke, Kaden, and Analia were brought back. Cream looks up to him and trusts him immensely now due to this.

-Rouge loves cherries. Shadow likes peanuts. Vector likes nachos. Charmy loves potato chips. Espio enjoys strawberry cake.

-Vector and Vanilla are good friends. Likewise, Cream and Charmy are also close friends.

-In spite of how they tend to act, Knuckles and Jet actually consider each other friends. Neither will say it, of course, but they understand each other without really needing to say it, anyway. The same goes for Amy and Knuckles, Tails and Knuckles, Jet and Tails, and Jet and Amy.

-Cream's favorite food is her mother's cherry pie. Cheese's favorite food is Vanilla's chocolate chip cookies.

-No one's really sure where Jet's habit of calling certain younger members of their group "Kid" came from.

-Jet, in spite of having started his career as a thief at _such_ a young age, has never actually been caught in the act by anyone but Sonic. However, a large part of the reason why Sonic caught him is because Jet wasn't entirely _trying_ to be sneaky.

-In spite of his intense dislike (and maybe even hatred) for fishing, one of Locke's favorite foods is fish (in general). He especially likes salmon and shrimp.

-Jet's favorite food has always been curry, a traditional Babylonian Rogue meal. He's been cooking it for himself, and cooking in general, since he was around seven-and-a-half years old (though it was definitely a learning process).

-Wave dislikes cooking normally, but she's actually pretty good at it. Storm, however, like Sonic, can't cook at all.

-Even though he's more serious in Hero, Sonic still does the thumbs up thing that he did in Sonic X, the wink included. Kaden has, a few times (even since becoming an adult), done something very similar, though with a peace sign and not a thumbs up.

-Locke has never been sick in his entire life.

-Cream used to be prone to catching colds when she was younger, but now hardly ever falls ill.

-During the Babylon War on South Island, Kaden once fell gravely ill through as-of-yet unknown means. All that was ever learned was that he somehow came into contact with a virus from ancient times.

-Analia's father died when Analia was sixteen. Her mother died when she was a young girl. She was very close with both of them.

-Sonic and Jet love to snowboard. Wave loves skiing. She, Jet, and Storm also love to surf.

-In an alternate timeline, Sonic and the Rogues were all born closer to modern times than in the main timeline. By the main timeline's current year, they're all only fourteen and the only ones who are friends (at least somewhat) are Wave and Storm. Sonic and Jet aren't really friends with anyone and they don't really know each other or Wave and Storm. They just know_of_ each other. Locke is still alive and raising Sonic and, since Sonic was never around to take him away from the situation, Jet is still being raised by Ross. Sonic and the Rogues all go to the same private school in the middle of Future City and they see each other around sometimes. In this alternate timeline, Gerald and Ivo never existed.

-Kaden has always had a strong desire to change the future for the better. His passion for this is incredibly infectious and has been known to cause even the most unlikely people to change sides and fight for the sake of the world, rather than against it.

-Many people consider Sonic and Jet to be the "Dynamic Duo", but most of the people they're close with (Silver especially) jokingly refer to Sonic and Knuckles as being the Dynamic Duo of the group.

-According to Kaden, the most motivational thing in the world is the hope for a better future. This is something that Locke has come to strongly agree with over the years.

-The curse that was placed upon the outgoing alternate future Kaden is known as the Hell's Curse. It's created through dark magic. When it's being created, six certain words appear on the cursed one's skin, sort of burning into it before fading away into nothing, leaving a curse mark behind on the crook of the right side of the neck. These words are 憎しみ (Nikushimi; Hatred), 怒り (Ikari; Fury), 裏切り (Uragiri; Betrayal), 痛み (Itami; Pain), 闇 (Yami; Darkness), and 死 (Shi; Death). (The idea for this comes from Sasuke's curse mark in Naruto (though without the weird winged form-change that occurs due to it).)

-The ancient language is written and spoken very much like Japanese. The true name of this language was lost more than eleven thousand years ago. It's been being spoken for at least thirteen thousand years, though quite possibly longer.

-Locke and Knuckles's favorite color is, unsurprisingly, red. Analia's is white, though she also really likes lavender. Cream's is magenta. Amy has two favorite colors, pink and sky blue.

-Amy's favorite flower is the sakura blossom, though she also loves white roses. Analia's favorite flower is the lily. Cream loves flowers in general but, if forced to choose, she will always choose the daisy over every other kind.

-Cream's favorite bug is the ladybug but she, like Analia, also adores butterflies. Her favorites are the monarchs and birdwings while Analia's is the emperor.

-Although Kaden _hates_ spiders, he really likes scorpions. He's always considered them to be "cool", though in a deadly sort of way. Emperor scorpions are his favorites.

-Locke isn't exactly afraid of snakes, but he still feels a great deal of anxiety when around them (a fact he usually attempts to cover up with a nervous smile and an equally nervous laugh).

-Birds have a long history of randomly pecking Locke on the head for seemingly no reason at all.

-Some people's names in the ancient language, such as Marthal's, aren't really translatable into the "modern" language. Some just aren't translated _easily_. Marthal's name means "Like fire" (in reference to his fiery temper, which is something that rarely shows itself).

-Due to the nature of his powers, the wind in an area will sometimes respond to Jet's mood. For example, if he's agitated, the wind can become agitated as well. This is a phenomenon that he hardly notices half the time and has little to no control over.

-Silver's name in one of the ancient languages (though not _the_ ancient language) is Kaz. In the ancient language that Locke, Kaden, and Analia speak, it's Siro (pronounced "See-row"), meaning "Almost white". Sonic's would be Senzan (pronounced "Sen-zahn"), meaning "The one who makes us safe".

**~ソニック~**

**3,062 words this time. Wow, this is the longest chapter I've done in a while. XD I think this is the last of these for now. I'm going to continue working on overcoming my writer's block now. So... yeah. :P Posted 10-19-15.**


	167. Target

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Haha, that was the point. I'm glad you enjoyed that. XD I did? Wow, that is cool! :D**

**Hello, Nagato911! Yup! But now that's over for a while.**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yeah, just for you! I'm happy that thst made you feel good. :) I'm so glad you like that! And yeah, you told me that early on in a PM. I changed the meaning just a bit for the ancient language, though. :) I'm so happy that you liked that! That was massive sequel foreshadowing... ;) I will do my very best, Pyro-kun! :D**

~ソニック~

Ivo grinned so widely that it almost hurt as he once more focused his cameras on his specific targets. _The heir, the misbegotten son, the "savior", the one with hidden flare, the protector, the one with newfound strength... and of course... the warrior. Or rather... the weapon. _He swore his grin couldn't grow any wider. _Welcome to the start of my game, little heroes. I hope for your sake that you can survive... but I doubt you will. _Laughing loudly, he stood up from his chair to get to work.

**~ソニック~**

"Hey, Dad! Robots ahead!"

_Oh, great._ Sonic quickly turned his head away from Silver, whom he'd just been conversing with, to see the small pack of robots that was barreling toward them. Pouring on the speed with a slightly grim expression, he ran straight for them and performed a powerful Spin Dash, something he rarely ever did. Within seconds, the enemies were destroyed and he resumed running. _Jeez, how many robots did that guy freaking let loose before we caught him?_

Silver grinned down at him from above. "You'll have to teach me how to do that sometime," he said. "That and parkour, like you promised back in my world."

"'Course," Sonic replied with a smirk. "I was thinking that you could use some training in general, anyway."

"Why's that?" Silver asked, his grin fading momentarily.

Sonic grinned a bit wider and starting counting off on his fingers. "Let's see here: you don't really know how to fight that well without your powers, you're reckless and don't tend to plan things out, stealth _really_ isn't your thing... need I go on?"

Silver busted up laughing. "Nah, I think you got me pretty nailed, Dad."

Sonic grinned and was about to make some sort of comment in response, but he never had the chance to. His communicator suddenly went off, interrupting him before he could even speak. He answered the call and soon saw Tails's face on his screen. "Hey, Tails. What's up?"

_"Sonic, it's really bad!"_ Tails said quickly. _"The robots are everywhere and half the city's on fire-" _There was an explosion suddenly and Tails flinched reflexively as a ball of fire shot into the air behind him. Blaze could be seen briefly behind him as well, taking out some robot that had been rushing toward Tails. _"You have to come quick! There's way too many for us to fight on our own!"_

_Damn!_ "Tails, Silver and I are already on our way," he replied quickly. "I can't teleport right now, but we're moving as fast as we can. We should be there in _maybe_ fifteen minutes, tops. You guys _have_ to stay safe until then!"

_"We will, Sonic! Just hurry!"_

Sonic gritted his teeth together. "As if I'd do anything else." Apparently satisfied with that response, Tails hung up. Trading a significant glance with Silver, the two hedgehogs poured on the speed as much as they could and tore off across the landscape back toward the city that had almost been their home.

**~ソニック~**

A bright yellow blur shot across the terrain as red eyes glanced at the pursuers surrounding that blur. _Robots, huh..._ He was tempted to consider them rogue, considering the fact that Ivo was _supposed_ to be in prison, but what was the likelihood that he was still there, really? There was too much purpose behind these robots' actions, anyway._ Someone's giving them orders._

Without a word, Shadow abruptly stopped running and ruthlessly destroyed the robots with a series of rapid Homing Attacks. A shards of metal rained down on the grass around him, he resumed his run. If Ivo was free again, that meant he had work to do. He wasn't going to let the man he hated run free again. _He won't be free for long if I can help it._ Frown deepening from what was normal for him, he sped off into the distance.

**~ソニック~**

_"There is great harm in doing nothing at times. However, there can also be terrible consequences for acting when one is not ready. You know this."_

Bright green eyes that were slightly dulled with exhaustion and pain narrowed subtly at the unwanted and unneeded advice that was given to him in his head, courtesy of some disembodied voice. _Shut up._

A gentle face turned to look at him in concern, eyes as bright as his own glancing him over once more as if to make sure that he really was awake and there. He hated leaving her to fight all these robots alone, but she had insisted that he sit there and stay out of it. _She_ was the reason he was obediently doing as he'd been told, not some voice, because he was loyal to her and trusted her judgement, sometimes even more than he trusted his own. Besides that, he knew she was strong. Incredibly so. There was no way she could be beaten by these minor threats, regardless of how many there were. And, even if everything should go wrong, they both knew that he would be right there by her side in an instant to lend her aid. There was no way he would let her fight on her own should the tides turn away from her favor. But for now, he simply watched... and waited.

**~ソニック~**

When Locke had left the city to take a peaceful flight earlier, he hadn't expected anything bad to happen. In hindsight, it seemed a foolish expectation to even consider. Something _always_ happened, for whatever reason. Peace, however temporary, seemed too much to ask for in this world. But then, hadn't that always been the case? Even back during the days on South Island, long before Sonic's birth, things had been this way. Danger was always present. Dark forces were always at work. Good things were always being threatened. Such was life, it would seem, though he refused to allow himself to think this way for long. No, he would hold onto hope, just as he'd always done, smile through all the pain and misery and the hardship and the struggle, all for the sake of the hope he and so many others held for the future. He would never stop fighting for it. That was why, when the first robot came into range, he whirled in midair and punched through it without hesitation or remorse.

**~ソニック~**

As Cream and Wave flew, still in search of the others, Cream pressed her index and middle fingers of one hand into her left temple. She was nursing a headache, and she knew full well why. This had happened earlier, too, not long before the attack had begun. Another vision was beginning... And the same female voice from before entered her mind.

_"Truth is immortal, child. You cannot escape the reality of what you have seen, try though you might to dismiss it as mere fantasy. You can do nothing to prevent this particular event, though others are still capable of being impacted and altered. You have been made aware of the dangers, now do with the knowledge as you please. What you saw will happen, though the exact result of it is still left to be determined. Inform others if you feel you must, or keep it to yourself... just know that some things, such as this, simply must happen for life to continue moving forward."_

Cream felt more tears slip from her eyes as she once again saw her horrible vision from before, the one whose ending was so vague and open that she had no idea whether or not the subject of it lived or died. She squeezed her eyes shut as the latter possibility entered her mind again, as well as the chances that that may be the outcome to expect. _This can't be his fate! Please, there has to be something I can do!_

The voice she'd heard just moments before spoke again. Though normally so calm as to almost seem detached and emotionless, there was a hint of sympathy and regret in her tone. _"There is not always anything to be done. Sometimes, all we can do is wait and see what will happen. But take comfort in these words, child, for they are all the consolation I can offer. Even if he should die as a result of this, that does not mean the end of him. Even death itself is_ _not __always permanent. Not everyone can be brought back, but there are other ways to see those you have lost again. Someday, you may understand."_ With that, the voice and the visions faded, leaving Cream alone in her mind even as she silently and secretly cried.

**~ソニック~**

Just as the tide of robots surging toward Amy, Knuckles and Jet started to become too much, just as the onslaught started to become too much, just as Amy started to fear that they weren't going to survive this night, help came from above. Teeth bared and visibly gritted in a silent display of determination and something akin to anger, a familiar blue face unsheathed a very familiar blade and sliced clean through the largest of their mechanical enemies. Amy's eyes were wide as she watched the attack. The blade glinted in the moonlight as their savior landed lightly in a crouch before them and slowly stood, putting the trio at his back. She was so happy and relieved, far beyond what words could express. But she'd gotten herself mixed up, just a bit. It was strange. She _knew_ who she was looking at. And yet... for a moment... she'd thought she was looking at Sen.

**~ソニック~**

**1,655 words this time. Hope you enjoyed. Posted 10-21-15.**


	168. Decisions

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! You'll have to wait and see! ;) Well, he kinda sort is, but not really. And Sen wasn't grumpy. XD Yeah, she's having terrifying visions. You'll have to wait and see here, too! XD Maybe! We'll see. I'm glad you enjoyed! :D Hey, no worries. It's not a big deal. :)**

**Hello, Guest 1! Yeah! Toldja he'd come! XD**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I'm happy you did! Yeah, I loved the Silver part as well. He is. :3 YEAH! POOR CREAM! Well, we'll see (except you already kinda know, so... XD).**

**Hello, Nagato911! Yes, let's. XD Glad you enjoyed!**

**Hello, John! Yes, it is! XD After all, this is the save the future/SA2/Sonic Riders arc. XP No, there wasn't. I'm hoping to delve into that in this arc. I'm sure it'll come up here, since now it's relevant. I'm so glad you enjoyed! Thank you as always for reading and reviewing!**

**Hello, Maga016! Well, we discussed this in the PM's already, so I don't have much to say here. :P Thanks again for the ideas and for reading and reviewing!**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Holy crap is right! Yeah, more or less! Yeah, I feel pretty bad for them... They didn't get much downtime at all. :( Nope, not wasting time at all... Ugh. X( Yup, she's having bad visions... poor kiddo. As far as whether or not everyone will be okay... we'll just have to wait and see. ;)**

**Hello, Guest! Your review to Chapter 37: Yes, echidnas have one of the longest lifespans. Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing! :)**

**~ソニック~**

**AUGH I HATE THIS WRITER'S BLOCK SO MUCH. I WANT IT TO DIE. ...Ahem. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! XD**

**~ソニック~**

_This is my mission._

_Learn everything I can about Maria and get Shadow on my side before Ivo can. With him, Rouge and Omega will come, too._

_Protect my father by any means necessary. Don't let Ivo get anywhere near him. Wake him up as soon as possible._

_Learn all I can about the Babylon Garden from Jet, but don't let Ivo do the same. Prevent Ross and Ivo from ever meeting. Find and protect the Ark of the Cosmos, then go to Mazuri. _

_Get the X-Tornado ready to go to space. _

_Gather the Chaos Emeralds as quickly as possible and hide and protect them and the Master Emerald. Make them dormant if possible. _

_No matter what happens, I can't turn my back on the Voice. _

_Do what I can to protect Cream. _

_Don't let the Biolizard awaken. If it can't be helped, then destroy it as soon as possible._

_Destroy the ARK._

_This is my mission. _

_But for now..._ Sonic swung his father's sword around and cut straight through a thick steel body, steadfastly protecting his friends as they remained behind him. _For now __...I have to make sure they all make it out if here alive._

**~ソニック~**

"Let me see."

"Amy, seriously, I'm fine. It's just a scra-"

"I don't care. Let me see. There might be shrapnel in it or something."

With a small sigh, Sonic extended his arm toward Amy and allowed her to see the small cut on his arm. Smiling at him in response to his compliance, Amy gently took his arm and examined the little injury, though it could hardly be qualified as such. He quickly looked away from her smiling face, doing his best to not let his random discomfort show. He refused to give Silver's teasing remarks about him and Amy any merit. _Especially since they don't have any in the first place. There is nothing going on between us._

By this point, Amy had already tended to Knuckles as best as she could considering the fact that all her medical supplies were burning down with her house. His right arm was in a makeshift sling for now, though it was really in need of a cast (since Amy, by her own admission, was nowhere near skilled enough to heal broken bones yet). Sonic almost couldn't believe that the echidna had actually broken his arm. He didn't dare ask right now how _that_ had happened. Knuckles, who was leaning against the wall of a building about ten feet away that somehow _wasn't_ burning, didn't seem to be in an especially good mood right now. More so than normal, that is.

Meanwhile, Jet was sitting on the concrete just a couple feet away from where Sonic stood. Amy had wisely let the hawk tend to his own wounds, and he was currently tightening some bandages around the upper portion of his right arm not far below his shoulder. He seemed fine for the most part, at least physically, but it was obvious to Sonic that there was something on his friend's mind. Still, whatever it was would have to wait, and both of them knew it. Right now, the most important thing was finding everyone and getting the freaking heck out of here before Ivo launched another attack on this poor city. All the civilians had managed to escape this first time around, but things might not go so well next time. They both knew it, so Jet kept his troubles to himself and, for now, Sonic didn't ask about them.

At the same time as all of this, Silver was looking around, his worry plain on his face, undoubtedly trying to figure out where Blaze had gone. Sonic understood his son's concern, but at the same time, they both knew that Blaze was more than capable of handling herself. She fast and strong and intelligent... she would be fine. Besides, it wasn't like she was alone out there. At the very least, she had Tails with her. There might have even been others. But, either way, she wasn't alone, and that was what mattered. Tails would take care of her, and she would take care of him. They would _both_ be fine. Still, Silver kept pacing and looking around, and, eventually, Jet seemed to decide that he'd had enough of it.

"Knock it off, kid," he said simply, still working on his bandages and never once looking up. "I'm sure your girlfriend's fine."

Silver whirled on him, a blush obvious on his face. Even Knuckles smirked at the sight of it. "We're not- She's isn't my girlfriend!" he exclaimed, clearly flustered.

Sonic chuckled lowly, earning a glare of pure embarrassment from the younger hedgehog, and Amy visibly stifled a laugh. In spite of his mood, even Jet managed a smirk, which, of course, caused Silver to continue railing against him for his insinuations. Sonic watched them for a moment in great amusement before his attention was abruptly pulled away from the almost childish scene by the feeling of Amy's fingers gently ghosting over his tiny cut. Just seconds later, the tiny prickle of pain he'd been feeling from it vanished entirely. Blinking, he looked down at his now perfectly healed arm, then looked up at her smiling face.

"There," she murmured. "All better."

He managed a smile. "Thanks, Amy."

Her own smile grew. "Of course, Sonic. Thank _you_ for protecting us."

He shrugged a bit and looked away. "It wasn't a big deal," he said. Then he was quick to add, "And I'll always be here to protect you guys, no matter what." _No matter what may happen to our friendship in the future..._

If it was possible, her smile only grew. "Of course," she repeated, still murmuring. "And we'll always be here to return the favor. Always."

He gave her another small smile before turning his attention to the group as a whole. "Come on, guys. Let's go find the others.

**~ソニック~**

_"There will come a time when you will have to make a choice. Stand by passively and let events unfold... or stand up and make a difference. Make the decision to try to make a change, and you will certainly be putting your life at risk. However, make the decision to sit down and do nothing, and you will be helping to seal the fate of the world. You must make a choice. _

_There will come a time when fence-sitting will no longer be an option. When that time comes, you will either stand with the resistance or be trampled by their killer and his armies. Know this. Without you, many of them will die. Perhaps not now. Perhaps not soon. But they will die. If you don't help them now, you will regret it for the rest of your life. Of this I am certain._

_You are lost now, yes, but it does not have to be this way. Find the ones you are meant to be with, forge the bonds you have been resisting, denying, and find your place in the world. Then, when the time is right, fight for that world. Protect it. Save it. Without you, the world is doomed."_

Irritated red eyes flashed as he wrenched a gun out of a metal grip and fired three times in rapid succession, blowing the robot's head off and blasting a hole clean through it's torso. It collapsed in a smoking heap by his feet, and he glared at it as though it had no right to be so close to him. He thought over the words that had been put into his head by some disembodied voice briefly before dismissing them as folly. It acted as though the world was going to end if he didn't do something about it... _Ridiculous._ Without another thought on the matter, he shot the remaining three robots, discarded the now empty gun, and resumed his run across the plains.

**~ソニック~**

**Well, I was going to add more to this, but... yeah. 1,368 words this time. Posted 10-15-15.**


	169. Power Source

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! ****Yeah! X3 I'm glad you did. I did, too. :) Yeah, he did! Yay! XD**

**Hello, flashyhero! Um... Yes he did. See explanation on that below. XD And no, Shadow has no Chaos powers. Remember, Sonic only has them because of the perfect balance of the Light and Dark powers he inherited from Kaden and Analia. The only parent that Sonic and Shadow share is Kaden, therefore Shadow can't have the balance and thus can't have the Chaos.**

**Hello, Guest! Next to nothing at this point on both ends, but this'll change at some point, I promise. :P**

**Hello, John! Yeah. See explanation below. XD No, not really. He was kinda doing his own thing for a while, but he still has his team.**

**Hello, Nagato911! Yeah!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 167: Um... See explanation on that below. XD Oh, I know! That was the whole point! TvT I will do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

**Your review to Chapter 168: Yeah! X3 I sure hope so! I have the ending and aftermath of this arc all planned out, as well as a lot of aspects of the next one (the Chaos Arc). I'll tell you this much: remember that character I told you about? Expect to see him at some point in the next arc. ;) Yes, he did. Once again, see explanation below. XD I'm glad you did! :D I will do my very best, Pyro-kun! (P.S. Hey! That's Dark Gaia's job! D'you _want_ me to make him unemployed?! XD)**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Well, kinda-sorta, but not really at this point. Remember, Sen becoming that way took a _long_ time and a _lot_ of pain and hardship. Hopefully this Sonic never reaches that point. Oh, the deja vu was totally intentional, and subtly epic (or at least it was _supposed_ to be). XD Oh yes, that is most _definitely_ a good thing. He did, yes. You can see the explanation on him hearing the Voice below. XD I'm glad you did. Keeping him in character is a bit hard (I mean, obviously, he's barely been in this tale so far), but I'm doing my best with him. If you notice something that's off, feel free to let me know. :)**

**Hello, astroshadow! Your first review to Chapter 168: Considering what the Voice _is_, only Sonic can have one. Interesting theory, though! You can seen the explanation of how Shadow and Cream heard the Voice down below.**

**Your second review to Chapter 168: Well, she kinda is, but there's a bit more to it than that. :P**

**Hello, Airel' Air Slash! Hi, Airel! It's nice to hear from you for the first time! But, while I love hearing from my readers, please never feel like you're _obligated_ to leave a review. Reviews are appreciated, never required. :) I'm so glad you liked that Arc! I loved it as well. It was by far my favorite to write. :) Yes, in hindsight, I agree with you. However, this is easily remedied. Eventually, there will be a sidestory that tells the tale of the Ruined Future Arc up until the moment when Sen is standing outside the portal, watching as the past characters are thrown into his world. :P Oh, I know! I made myself cry as well! Jet is _absolutely_ my favorite character besides Sonic (tied with him for my number one favorite), so killing him off killed a little piece of me inside. ;_; I believe you're referring to the fun facts? Anyway, yes, many of the fun facts will be used either in Hero, Every Hero Has a Story (the oneshot collection I've already started on), or Eye of the Storm (the sequel). One of them already made it into a oneshot. :) I sure hope it will be! Oh, you're welcome! Thank _you_ for reading! :D**

**Hello, superbook5012! YAAAY! XD You did! Congratulations! :D I'm so stoked that you like it that much! That means so much to hear! :D I will do my very best, I promise!**

**~ソニック~**

**QUICK EXPLANATION ABOUT SHADOW, CREAM, AND THE VOICE!**** Yes, Shadow and Cream heard the Voice. Why? Well, we've already seen that the Voice can project itself so that it can be heard by Locke and Analia (happened in the Ruined Future Arc), and, considering the fact that the Voice is composed of what is essentially pure, raw, untamed Chaos within both Sonic and the emeralds, it can do a _lot_. After all, Chaos, like magic, can do just about anything. So who's to say it can't talk to anyone it wants? ;)**

**~ソニック~**

Finally, Sonic and his little group came upon Tails and his group. Blaze was there with him, as were Vanilla, Cheese, Storm, Harold, and Marie. Sonic's relief was great, but his worry was great as well. After all, not everyone was here. His parents were both missing along with Locke, there was no sign of Wave and Cream anywhere... He prayed they were all safe, but there was really no way of knowing at this point. _Still... at least I know these people are safe, even if they are a bit beat up._

Almost as soon as they came upon the other group, Silver spotted Blaze and his obvious relief only further proved to everyone who was watching that he was a lot more attached to Blaze than he was willing to admit. And, of course, Jet just _had_ to make a commented about it. "See, kid? I told you your girlfriend was fine."

Silver's eyes widened a little. "W-" With this short exclamation of sorts, he whirled on the hawk. "Stop saying that!" he demanded. "She's not my girlfriend!"

Jet gave him an amused, knowing look. "Uh-huh."

"Shut up!" Silver exclaimed.

"Everyone can see it," Jet informed him calmly.

"It's not true!" Silver insisted almost desperately.

"It is," Jet replied simply. "You're just in denial." After a pause, he added, "Or you're blind."

"I'm not- She isn't- ...I hate you," Silver muttered.

Jet smirked, his amusement visibly growing. "Sure you do."

Silver crossed his arms moodily, a sort of pout appearing on his lips. "Hmph."

Chuckling lowly at his poor, embarrassed son, Sonic patted him lightly on the shoulder and watched as Amy approached Blaze who, up until this point, had been conversing with Tails about something or other. "Blaze," Amy called quietly, catching the cat's attention and causing her to fall silent and look at the hedgehog, "have you seen Wave and Cream?"

Blaze shook her head slowly. "No. I had hoped that they were with you all."

Sonic frowned a little, but, before he could say anything, Jet spoke up. "Wave took off with Cream to get her someplace safe. Those robots seemed to be after her for some reason."

Sonic frowned a bit deeper. _After Cream?_ That fit in with what Future Amy had told him. Part of his mission was to protect Cream at all costs due to some new powers she was supposed to be developing at some point or that she maybe had already. But this of course begged the question... _Whether she has them already or not, how does Ivo know about them? And why does he want them so badly?_ For that matter, what sort of powers could she have, anyway? After all, Vanilla didn't have any, and he didn't think her grandmother did, but-

_Sonic stood uncomfortably in the doorway while Tails made to follow he girls, became distracted, and walked to the mantle instead. He hopped up onto the fireplace below it, his feet so close to the fire that Sonic worried for a moment that the kid would burn himself. Tails turned his head back to Vanilla, his head blocking Sonic's view of whatever he was looking at. Twin tails waved slightly in a silent display of curiosity. "Who's this?"_

_Vanilla smiled an almost sad smile. "My grandmother."_

_"When she was younger?"_

_"Yes."_

_Tails turned his head to look at what Sonic now assumed to be a picture of some kind. "She looks a lot like you."_

_Vanilla giggled softly. "I should hope so. We are related, after all."_

_"What was her name?" Tails asked, then hastily added. "N-Not to intrude or anything, I mean," he hopped off the fireplace, "I'm just curious."_

_Vanilla giggled again. "It's alright. I don't mind." She smiled, and Tails returned her smile easily. "Her name was Merry."_

Sonic's eyes grew slightly wide. _Merry. __...Oh my god._ Merry, who'd had this incredible power of foresight, maybe even clairvoyance, was related to Cream. Vanilla and her mother had no powers, but that did _not_ mean that Cream couldn't have somehow gotten them. _I can't believe I didn't realize it before... Oh my god..._ This explained why Ivo was so keen on gaining her powers, too. If he could somehow use them or force Cream to tell him whenever something about the future... That would be an invaluable asset to him. And, besides that, if Cream was powerful enough to have freaking _clairvoyance_ as a power, she almost undoubtedly had normal psychic abilities as well. This part of his mission made so much more sense now... and it had become clear that success was even _more_ imperative than he'd at first realized. _I already knew I couldn't fail... now I just have another reason to try even harder to never let that ruined future come to be. _He looked around slowly, his eyes falling upon each individual in this group in turn. _As if I didn't have enough reason already._

**~ソニック~**

Running as fast as he could, Shadow lifted his wrist to his mouth. The device he wore on it was a primitive thing, really, a prototype duplicate he'd made based off of the communication device that he'd seen Sonic and his allies using. It was rather pathetic by comparison. Still, the device _worked_, and that was all that mattered at this point. "Rouge. Meet me at White Jungle."

_"Why?"_ The response was almost challenging in its tone, but he'd learned to ignore that by now. She wouldn't be Rouge if she didn't almost constantly have _some_ sort of an attitude.

"I'll explain when we get there," he said simply. "I don't have time right now."

"Oh?" was the slightly teasing reply. _"Got too close to Eggy's robots again, did we?"_

"Shut up," he muttered. "Save the remarks for someone who actually gives a damn."

"Alright," she replied easily, clearly unconcerned by his sudden irritability. After that, she abruptly got back to business. _"Am I taking the tin can there with me?"_

"Yes," he answered simply, suddenly no longer in the mood to talk to her. She never failed to get on his nerves with her antics. She drove him crazy, and the worst part was the fact that she _enjoyed_ it. He swore he was going to just dump her butt somewhere, preferably in the middle of nowhere, and just leave her there to, hopefully, get lost and never be found. And that was the _nice_ scenario.

_"Okay, then,"_ she responded, still sounding totally calm and at ease, a fact that continued to irk him. _"See you there."_

Without giving a response, Shadow hung up and continued his run. After a moment, he gave in and indulged himself in an eye-roll. _Women._ With that, he abruptly skidded to a halt and, in spite of his lack of a weapon at this current moment, he took on the large gun-slinging robots that had been chasing him all this time. One hard Homing Attack proved enough to dispatch the smallest of the group, but it wasn't quiet enough for the others. But, with a second brutally forceful Homing Attack that went right through one robot and straight into another, a well aimed kick, and just a little bit of luck, he managed to destroy three of the remaining five robots. After stealing the small-cannon like gun that one of them had been holding, the last of his enemies were soon destroyed. Hefting the gun up casually against his shoulder, he resumed running once more, internally scoffing at Ivo's constant attempts to use robots to subdue him. _As if anything so weak could defeat me..._

**~ソニック~**

As Ivo watched the various goings on that were being showed on his screens, his usual sadistic, almost maniacal grin remained in place on his face. In particular, his attention was focused on one certain blue hedgehog who had been a thorn in his family's side for _many_ years. _You remain quite the phenomenon to this day, hedgehog. Your ability flies in the face of probability. Just what is the source of your power? Could the rumors be true? Could it have something to do with the legends regarding your own parents' powers? The powers that made them the ultimate forces the world had ever seen before their time and since... until just recently._

_Recently, you learned how to further tap into your powers, achieving three separate transformations of increasing power. Gold, multicolored, and pure white... It stands to reason that these particular forms, fueled by righteous anger as well as a myriad of positive emotions including happiness, love, optimism, and friendship, come from the powers of Light you inherited from your mother. By that same logic, that also means that the opposite versions of these forms, fueled by pure anger, hatred, grief, regret, loss and so on, come from the Dark powers that your father also possesses. If this is true, then that means that you are now the most powerful being in existence, at least on this world, if not in general. _

Ivo's grin slowly widened to the point where it actually hurt his face. Not that he cared. He was far too focused on watching Sonic onscreen as the young hedgehog conversed somewhat urgently with his friends, trying to decide on a place to flee to and take shelter for the time being. _All the more reason to kill you, then. But first... I'll kill everyone that has ever been dear to you and make you suffer... Then, when you have nothing left, when you become lost and broken, when you being to beg for death... Then I will have mercy on your soul and finally end your pitiful existence. _He laughed to himself. It would be beautiful. And, once Sonic and his friends were gone, there would be no one left to defend the world. And in that moment, it would be game over for the world.

**~ソニック~**

**1,702 words this time. I swear Locke and the others haven't been forgotten about. I just wasn't entirely sure how to put them in here this time. Anyway, I apologize once again for the delay, but this writer's block has been severely killing me. Hopefully it'll die soon. Posted 11-03-15.**


	170. Mortality

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Yeah! Chapter! XD Well, not according to him, he doesn't. And I agree! X3 Haha, can't blame you, there. It really is different, so...Well, I'm glad you like the change. And yeah, I also like the parts where his canon personality shines through just a bit. :) Eh, it's fine. I don't mind. :P Hahaha, so true! XD Yes, it really was. And yeah, his ridiculous appearance makes seriousness hard to imagine with him, but I do it, anyway, just 'cause it's necessary. XP I sure hope so! Ooh, cookies! Thankies! XD**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I will try! XD YES, HE DID! HE WILL BE MAKING A LOT MORE APPEARANCES IN THE STORY FROM HERE ON OUT! He really, really is. X33 He IS! D:**

**Hello, Nagato911! Yeah! Go Shadow, go!**

**Hello, Heart of the Cobalt Storm! Your review to Chapter 79: Hey, no worries. It's fine. I totally understand. :)**

**Hello, Firerider007! Yes, sadly, it's true. :l I think I may be slowly getting over it, but we'll see. Of course, any help would be appreciated. It's not required by any means, but I love help. :) **

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Oh, I know! I thought it was cute, and it was kinda sweet, too. Strengthened their "family" bond a bit, too. :3 Heck yes! Shadow was epic in that brief scene, there! I loved it! XD Eh, probably never, honestly. XD He really does! It's kinda scary! ...He _might_ be... O_O Lol. I hope so, too! It seems to be slowly fading, but we'll see. *Sigh...* Such is the pain of being a writer, huh? :l**

**Hello, Airel' Air Slash! Of course I did! I like to reply to all my readers. :) Yeah, I have a bunch of Hero-related stories that I'm writing. The only one that's up right now is the oneshot collection, though. That's fine, no worries. I understand, and there's no pressure. :) I'm glad you are! :D Yeah! Go, Shadow, go! XD**

**~ソニック~**

_Ivo's plans are... grand in scale. He plans to do much in very little time. His self-proclaimed mission is... dark and terrible. He has so much planned. If we don't stop him now, it will be game over. This timeline is already differing from the events of the ruined future Amy and the others went to. There's no guarantee that we'll achieve victory in the end, even after a long period of time passes us by. There's no guarantee that Ivo won't destroy everything the moment he achieves his goals. There are no guarantees at all... The only certainty that remains is what his plans are... and what we must do to stop him. __He has the means and the willpower to complete his mission, to succeed in every aspect of it and thwart all of our attempts to stop him. His mission is so terrible..._

_Get Shadow on his side and somehow use him to prevent us from stopping the ARK. The do something "grand" with the ARK._

_Capture Kaden and use his powers somehow to destroy us._

_Get the Arks and find Astral Babylon. Then use the ship for some great and terrible deed, likely to try to kill us._

_Capture me and use my powers to aid him in his quest for power and ultimate victory._

_Kill all the heroes, especially the specific chosen targets._

_Before killing us, tear us apart. Destroy our bonds. Ruin our relationships. Kill our friendships. Make sure that we separate and lose faith and trust in one another._

_Do everything possible to kill our hope and, therefore, our determination and desire for victory._

_As always, find and make use of the emeralds._

_No matter what, we can never let any of this happen. Even a small victory on his part could mean the difference between our lives and our deaths. If we fail, if Ivo wins, the world will have no hope for survival. Everything will be over. There will be no second chances. It has come to the point where we either achieve victory now or accept defeat forever. We can never let this happen. No matter what Ivo does, no matter what we are forced to go through, no matter what terrible things are thrown our way... no matter what, we have survive and keep fighting. We have to win. Because anything less than victory... spells the end of everything._

**~ソニック~**

"You okay back there, Cream?" Wave asked, looking back slightly over her shoulder to check on the young bunny, who still clung to the swallow's leg as they flew on her board over the fiery, ruined city.

Cream nodded, though a bit weakly. Seeing all this destruction made her sick. The pain in her heart was simply unreal. "Yes," she murmured. "I'm alright."

Wave frowned slightly. _Something's been off with her. _It was more than just this attack, though. Of course _that_ was affecting her. There was no way it _couldn't_, considering who she was and what this destruction entailed for all the people who'd lived here. Still, this was about more than that. _The question is... what, exactly, is going on with her?_ She turned her head away to focus her eyes on the sky before them, just in case. _Well, only one way to find out. _"Cream, what's the matter with you?" It occurred to her briefly that there were better ways to ask such a question, but it was too late for that now and she wasn't one for regrets. Besides, they didn't have the time for her to try to be nice. Not right now, at least.

Cream looked away. "I'm alright," she repeated quietly.

"No, you're not," Wave replied frankly. "Something's wrong, and no amount of lying is going to change that."

Cream looked down in shame. She really was lying to the older woman, but she hated doing it. Granted, her reasoning was quite sound, but even still, she'd been raised _not_ to lie, and yet here was was lying to Wave's face. She hated it, but... "Wave, I can't tell you what's wrong."

"Why not?" Wave asked, frowning just a bit more than before.

"You won't believe me," Cream mumbled.

"We'll never know unless you tell me," was the simple reply.

"But I can't," Cream insisted, her voice as quiet as ever.

"And _why_ can't you?" Wave pressed.

"I..." Cream hesitated, trailed off. After several moments, she sighed softly. "Just... please. Let it go for now, Miss Wave."

"Cream-"

"_Please_."

Now it was Wave's turn to sigh, though her sigh was louder and heavier than Cream's had been. "Fine," she conceded. Then she was quick to add, "But I expect _some_ kind of an explanation later. No more lies. Okay?"

Cream nodded faintly. "Okay."

Wave's frown didn't ease. Something was definitely off with her young passenger, and she was intent on figuring out what. Cream was acting odd. She seemed distressed, understandably, but the level of fear she was displaying, though in subtle ways, was stronger than what she'd displayed previously during robot attacks like this one. This fear was bordering on sheer terror, and Wave couldn't figure out why or what had triggered it. Not to mention the fact that sweet little _Cream_ of all people had been lying through her teeth... It occurred to her briefly that this was probably in some way related to Cream's earlier, random question about a mental overload, but there was no way of telling for sure. Wave's frown deepened slightly for a third time. _What is she hiding?_

**~ソニック~**

"I wonder what Mr. Grumpypants wants us to meet him here for," Rouge mused aloud. She and Omega stood in a fair sized clearing in the middle of the huge area known as White Jungle. It was as warm and wet here as ever, but Rouge didn't mind it terribly. She did, however, worry from time to time that her robotic companion would short-circuit or something out here. But, at the same time, Omega _was_ a robot. On their side or not, it wasn't like it was alive, so there was no real reason for worry. If something happened to it, it could always just be repaired or something. Or thrown out, if it was being annoying prior to something happening to it.

**_"Motive unknown,"_** the robot intoned simply, prompting Rouge to roll her eyes even though she knew that it wouldn't react to her doing so.

"No kidding, Metalhead. Why else would I be wondering about it?"

**_"Also unknown."_**

Rouge let out a slightly un-ladylike groan of annoyance. "Do me a favor and shut up."

**_"Negative."_**

"I hate you." _That_ failed to earn a response, and she huffed as she looked away, her right hand migrating to rest lightly on her hip. _Robots... Ugh. _Several long minutes of frankly boring silence had to pass before she finally spoke again, directing her attention to Omega once more without actually looking at it. "Any idea what's taking him so long?"

**_"Negative,"_** Omega said again. **_"His whereabouts are unknown."_**

Rouge looked at Omega sharply. "Unknown?" she demanded.

**_"I cannot track him unless he has a specific type of tracker placed on him. He does not."_**

Rouge let out a sigh that somehow managed not to sound relieved. _I thought for a moment that he'd been captured or something... I'll have to remember to smack him later for scaring me like that. Idiot._ That last word prompted a random memory from a while ago of her fight with a certain red, temperamental echidna, only for said memory to vanish just moments later when the distinct sound of flying robots approaching the clearing met her sensitive ears. She smirked. "Finally, something fun to do."

Surprisingly, Omega deigned to reply as it loaded it's gun. **_"Affirmative."_**

She decided to ponder the strangeness of its response later. _Right now, there's work to do._ Smirking wider than before, she rushed in and kicked the first robot out of the sky, watching the satisfying explosion the robot created when it slammed into the ground. And just like that, the fight was on.

**~ソニック~**

While Sonic, Jet, Knuckles, Blaze, and Silver worked together to try to put out the flames and evacuate any remaining citizens, Amy stayed behind to tend to Vanilla's minor wounds. Vanilla sat on a rather thick chunk of building while Amy knelt before her and worked on gently bandaging up the older woman's right wrist. Storm kept watch nearby, his broad arms crossed and his eyes locked on the sky. In spite of his somewhat distant appearance, it was obvious that he truly was paying attention just like he'd promised his boss he would. Meanwhile, Marie gently fussed over Tails as though he were her own son, painstakingly checking him all over for any sign of pain or injury. Tails, a sheepish though happy smile on his face, allowed the scrutiny with little to no resistance, all the while constantly assuring the hedgehog that he really was alright.

Not far away, Harold looked around at the destruction of the city, already pondering just how long it would take for him and the other able-bodied citizens to rebuild. It would be quite the feat, but he refused to leave this place a ruin. It would stand again, one day... But for now, they had other things to worry about. _That Ivo guys is getting bold... He's completely sure of himself and of his victory. Our failure seems imminent to him. _He frowned as his gaze drifted to the sky just as Storm's had done earlier. _He has to be proven wrong and be reminded of his own mortality. He thinks himself invincible, practically a god. The sooner he can be taught otherwise, the better._

Storms thoughts weren't too far from this same subject. _Ivo's after the Garden, huh..._ His usual scowl, which had been strangely missing from his face up until this point, finally returned. _Just who does he think he is, anyway? He's no Babylonian king. He can't use the gardens so easily, or at all. His blood's impure, and there isn't a trace of our race in him. _Still, there was no denying the fact that Ivo was after Babylon Garden regardless. The truly troubling thing about it all was the fact that Ivo seemed well aware of the fact that he couldn't use the Garden... but at the same time, he didn't seem to _care_ for some reason. _It's almost like he thinks he's found a way around it..._ His teeth gritted tightly. _Damn it all... He'd better not have, or I'll knock his teeth in._

_My home is gone._ Amy still couldn't believe it, in spite of all the evidence of that fact surrounding her. She couldn't believe that the place she'd grown up in was gone. Destroyed. Practically wiped off the map. _Ivo's so cruel._ She didn't know how to feel about this. Scared, certainly. Shocked, definitely. Beyond that, she really had no idea. How was one _supposed_ to feel during such a situation, anyway? She didn't know the answer to that, either. All she knew was that her home was gone, and there was a good chance that it was never coming back. And even if it did, it would never quite be the same. And yet... there was one other thing she knew with an incredible sense of certainty. _Home is where the heart is._ But where _was_ her heart, really? Was it truly in this city, a location that wouldn't even exist if not for stone structures and large gatherings of people? A blue face flashed through her mind. Bright, emerald eyes that never failed to capture her attention shone at her with faint hints of a smile. Slowly, a slight smile of her own appeared on her face. _Home is where the heart is... huh? _She continued her work, all the while focusing on the memory of that face that had entered her mind unbidden... yet uninhibited. _So that's where it is, then._

**~ソニック~**

As Locke flew over the surprisingly thick forest, one of the only ones that could be found in the vast, open grasslands surrounding Apatos, he was abruptly startled out of his thoughts by a sudden blast of light below and diagonally to the right and ahead of him. A mixture of concern and relief flooded through him in that moment. He'd finally found one of his missing friends. _Analia... Thank god._ Swooping downward, he aimed low and soon found himself passing through a thick tangle of branches. Once he was through the canopy, he dove even lower, finally coming close enough to the ground that he could land. He hit the ground hard, hard enough that he was forced to run to keep his balance. Still, he didn't fall and he continued running until he reached the place where the light had come from. Robot parts were scattered everywhere, evidence of a fierce and continuous struggled that had been going on for who knew how long and that had previously been concealed by the trees, but that was _not_ what held his attention by any means. What held his attention and made him freeze at the edge of a very small clearing was the fact that, when he came into view, not _one_ but _two_ pairs of green eyes of differing shades turned to face him. In light of the shock and intense relief that he was feeling, only one, simple sentence managed to get past his lips. "You're awake."

**~ソニック~**

**2,341 words this time. Definitely one of the longer chapters I've written lately. I'm so proud of myself! XD Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! And don't worry, Shadow hasn't been forgotten about. His own POV just wasn't necessary this time. Posted 11-06-15.**


	171. Our Unbreakable Bond

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I"m so glad you think so! :D Yeah, he really is! Also, the ideas you and I discussed will likely be coming in during the next chapter or so. I promise I haven't forgotten them. The ideas we discussed just helped me come up with a couple more that worked better for this particular chapter. :P**

**Hello, flashyhero! Well, you'll see. ;) Yep, she sure did. Haha. XD**

**Hello, Nagato911! Yup! ...Not this time, though, I'm sorry to say.**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Well, kinda sorta. :P Haha perhaps! And he _might_ be. You'll see here. ;) Aw, thanks! I'm so glad you think so!**

**Hello, Guest! YEAH! XD He might be! Aww, I'm so happy to hear that you like this so much! Haha, if I _could_ buy SEGA, trust me, I would. XD I actually have written a book before, and poetry. It's lots of fun to do. :) Awww, that's so sweet of you to say! If I ever make money off of any of my writing, I'd be grateful for it, that's for sure. Thank you so much! I won't, I swear!**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yay! Well, that about sums up the whole thing. Nice job. XD And yes, you're correct. However, this _is_ Ivo we're talking about. This'll be a setback for him, but there's no way he's given up on his nefarious goals. Our poor hedgehog friend's not safe yet. :(**

**Hello, Potatothechao! Your review to Chapter 56: I'm so glad that you've been enjoying it so far! That truly means a lot to hear! Thank you so much for the wonderful review! :)**

**Your review to Chapter 68: He will, I swear!**

**~ソニック~**

**Alternately titled: "Close"**

**~ソニック~**

Once they were certain all the robots in the area were gone, Locke, who had been closely guarding his friend for the past half an hour or so, turned and knelt down to help the other male stand. Pulling Kaden's left arm over his shoulder, he carefully pulled the hedgehog to his feet. Kaden was slightly unsteady. he was still exhausted from the fight, having not truly recovered by this point like everyone else had, and his right leg was beaten to hell. The fact that it was still even _usable_ right now was some sort of a miracle, and Locke was incredibly thankful for it. Kaden, however, didn't exactly seem to be in the mood to be grateful for anything right now. Locke decided to contemplate his friend's mood later. For right now, they needed to get back to the city and, therefore, the others. With this in mind, he began walking, forcing Kaden to do the same, with Analia close beside them.

**~ソニック~**

The dreams he used to have had never seemed to have any merit. They were always an odd assortment of images and sounds and bits of knowledge, sometimes vague, sometimes clear. He would see letters and numbers and strings of code, sometimes faces or places or weapons or buildings or objects, occasionally pairs of eyes both familiar and not... the list went on and on and on. None of it ever made any real sense and, as time wore on, he would always end up forgetting most of what he saw, save for vague details. Some things always remained true, though.

In his dreams, he always saw a somewhat older but no less beautiful woman who looked a lot like him. He always saw strings of letters scrolling by as if on a screen, always spelling out the same thing, something he couldn't actually read. He always saw a planet exploding and a flash of heavenly blue light escaping it. And, every time he woke up after having these dreams, he always, always had one thought in his mind. _Astali Babylonia._

_Astral Babylon._

**~ソニック~**

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up. You're late for your own party, Shadow."

Red eyes glared at a smiling white face, irritable and completely unamused. There were days where Shadow honestly wondered why he'd bothered saving the coquettish bat from Ivo's clutches when she'd betrayed the man for the sake of that pathetic echidna, but there was really no point in dwelling on it now. It was in the past, and this was now. He had other, far bigger things to worry about. "Shut up, Rouge. I don't have time for your games." That, and he just honestly didn't want to deal with her constant insinuations and comments and whatnot, but it wasn't like he was going to tell her that.

She continued to smile. "Oh?" she asked as she so often did. "Is that so?"

Shadow decided to ignore her for the moment as he looked around, eyes scanning the damp jungle clearing as he searched for the missing member of their group. "Where's Omega?" he all but demanded.

"Some robots found us earlier, and our metal friend is dealing with the pair that got away."

"I don't _have_ friends."

"If you say so, Shadow."

"Shut up."

"No."

"You annoy me."

"Oh, well. Guess you'll just have to learn how to deal with it, huh?"

"Stop being so damn irritating."

"I'd like to see you try to _make_ me."

"I could. Easily."

"But you won't."

Reluctantly, Shadow let out a small, low, "Hn," a sound he rarely made, and looked away with crossed arms. He hadn't agreed with her by any means., but nor had he _dis_agreed, and she seemed to count that as some sort of an absurd victory. _Women._

Just like that, Rouge suddenly became serious. "Shadow, what's going on? Why did you want to us to meet you here so quickly?"

Shadow turned to regard her silently, expression serious but otherwise mostly unreadable. It took a long moment for him to speak, for him to confide in her about a secretthat really on she, Omega, and Iv knew anything about. The latter of which, of course, was the entire problem. "Ivo's after the ARK."

Rouge frowned slowly. She'd been serious before, but she was even more serious now. Uncharacteristically so. "Are you sure?"

Shadow resisted the urge to roll his eyes in response (such an act was highly undignified, after all), and instead just conceded a nod. "Yes," he answered simply.

"Wo what do we do?" Rouge immediately asked. "What's the plan?" When he remained silent, she frowned some more. "You _must _have one_. _This is_ you_. Surely you've got _something_ hidden up your furry sleeve."

Shadow's eyes narrowed a bit in a glare, but he made no comment about that little remark this time. "I don't know," he admitted in a mutter instead.

Silence. A random, vaguely bowl-shaped leaf suddenly dumped all of the water it had been so covetously holding all this time, spilling it onto the already drenched soil below it. The two occupants of that soaked clearing, serious and distracted as they were, barely even noticed. It was Rouge who finally spoke, breaking the relative silence that had settle so suddenly between them. "We could go to them, you know," she said somewhat quietly. "You've said it before yourself. They're strong, and they're not afraid to stand up in Ivo's way. They certainly aren't afraid to fight back when he tries something."

"No," Shadow stated flatly, refusing her suggestion.

"And why not?" Rouge challenged, showing some mild flashes of temper. "They can help us. Help _you_. And, face it, in this situation, you _need_ the help." He glowered at her but said nothing, so she pressed on. "You may not know what to do, but if they're informed of the situation, _they_ might. If you'd just trust-"

Shadow cut her off before she could speak further, refusing to let her finish that sentence. "No," he repeated almost angrily. "We're not speaking a _word_ of this to them, do you understand?" The threat that was implied in his tone seemed to brush right past her with no effect at all, almost as if it were as gentle and harmless as a simple butterfly. "I don't _need_ help, and certainly not from _them_. And even if I _did_ need help, there's no way in _hell_ I'd ask _them_ to help me. I can handle this on my own."

A smirk suddenly pulled at Rouge's lips. "Which is why you called Omega and I..." she mused slowly. "...Because you don't need help."

He glared at her again, then abruptly spun around on one heel and began stalking off. Still smirking, Rouge made to follow, highly amused as she watched the hedgehog's stiff back moving a short distance ahead of her. In spite of everything he'd said, she knew what to believe. She knew the truth... and so did the brightly colored robot following the pair overhead.

**~ソニック~**

Knuckles was the first to notice. He softly interrupted the conversation Sonic had been having with Amy by nudging his friend's shoulder. When Sonic gave him a questioning look, Knuckles pointed silently to something a good distance away behind the hedgehog. Sonic blinked and turned around, tensing and widening his eyes in obvious surprise and intense relief. Sonic almost couldn't breathe he was so relieved. _He... He's... _Without thinking, the moment Locke, with Analia by his free side, let go of Kaden's arm, allowing him to stand on his own, Sonic rushed forward and did something he'd never thought he'd _ever_ do. He hugged his father.

Kaden's surprise, perhaps even shock, was obvious on his face and in his posture. He became just as tense as Sonic probably had when Silver had first hugged him. But, slowly, very slowly, Kaden allowed himself to relax and hug his son back. Sonic managed to smile, a real, genuine smile. "I'm glad you're awake..." he murmured into his father's shoulder. Kaden let out a small hum in response. It wasn't _much_ of a response, but to Sonic, right now, it meant everything in the world to hear.

**~ソニック~**

**1,390 words this time. ...You all know what's going on (sadly), so all I really have to say here is sorry for the incredible delay and all that jazz. Hope you enjoyed, anyway. :) Posted 11-17-15.**


	172. Gravity

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I am, too. Haha, I did, too! Oh, I know! It was adorable! X3 YEAH! I am as well. I like him a lot. He's not in this chapter, sorry to say, but he'll be back soon. :) SAME!**

**Hello, flashyhero! Yeah, it was. :3 YES, YOU DID. XD Hahaha, good job, flashyhero. I's so proud. XD Anyway, in all seriousness, Shadow might do that, or he might not. We'll see... ;)**

**Hello, Nagato911! Yup! :P**

**Hello, karygarcia21! Yeah, I thought so, too. :3 Aw, thanks! :)**

**~ソニック~**

**Alternately titled "Flowers". You'll see why when you read this. :3**

**~ソニック~**

Everyone was finally back and accounted for. After allowing his gaze to sweep over the group before returning his attention to Knuckles, Amy, and Tails. "We need a new place to stay," he sighed.

"My place is too small," Tails said immediately, "and too far away."

"We're not taking everyone to Angel Island," Knuckles was quick to add. Sonic has expected that response.

"I don't really know of anywhere else we can stay," Amy murmured, sadly eyeing the smoking ruins of her former home.

Sonic opened his mouth to mutter some sort of unhappy response when he suddenly recalled something. He turned and immediately called out, "Hey, Jet! Wave! Come over here for a second!"

Jet walked over. "What?" he practically demanded. He still didn't seem to be in such a good mood.

"Yeah?" Wave asked a bit more kindly.

"Your guys' house in Future City," Sonic said quickly. "Does it still have all those extra rooms, or are they being used?"

"We've been using a few of them for storage, but all that stuff is easy to move," Jet replied somewhat simply.

"A few are empty," Wave added, "but yeah, the rest are being used. Why?"

Sonic sighed and used a hand to gesture lightly, and rather pointlessly, to the still somewhat burning city. "We need a new place to stay. Or at least the others do."

Jet scowled at him. "Oh, hell no. You're not taking off on your own. You're coming, too."

Wave nodded. "Yeah, the others need you."

"And you need them," Jet added pointedly. "You can't do that damn mission of yours alone, and there's no way in hell that we'll even let you try to."

Sonic heaved a sigh and glared half-heartedly at Jet. "You're infuriating."

Jet scowled only somewhat seriously. "Deal with it, idiot."Wave smiled a bit at the name calling between them.

Sonic promptly raised a fist and hit Jet across the top of the head with it. Hard.

"Ow! Dammit Sonic!" Jet snapped, his hand flying up to cover the spot that Sonic had hit. "What the hell was that for?!"

"Who's an idiot?" Sonic asked dryly. Wave laughed at their bickering.

Jet suddenly pointed accusingly at Wave. "You! You're not helping anything! Who's side are you on, anyway?!"

"The winning one!" Wave retorted before sticking out her tongue. Jet crossed his arms in a huff at her while Sonic snickered quietly. Wave smiled in victory.

"Aw, don't pretend to be mad at her," Sonic teased. "You and I both know you aren't. You can't be mad at the girl you li-"

"Shut up!" Jet said quickly, absolutely refusing to look at Wave at all. "That's not true!" Sonic laughed at his friend's expression. Jet felt his face heat up slightly for some reason that he just simply couldn't name, and he continued to pointedly refuse to look at Wave. Instead, he glared at Sonic. _I am so going to kill him for this._

"So, when do we want to leave?" Wave asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"We should go as soon as possible," Jet muttered.

"Problem is, though, he are we supposed to get everyone there?" Sonic sighed.

Wave nodded. "That's the main problem"

_I know we can fit four people in the Tornado and the Rogues all have their boards. Dad, Blaze, and I can run. ...No, Dad'll probably have to ride on the wing of the Tornado, with his leg being in the shape it's in. Silver, Mom, Locke, and Knuckles can all fly. Tails, Amy, Cream, and Vanilla can fit in the Tornado. That still leaves us with the problem of Amy's parents._ Sonic sighed internally. _Why can things never be easy?_

Sonic was soon distracted from his thoughts when Knuckles made a muttered comment to Tails. The two were standing a little ways away and Knuckles was looking around a bit as he spoke. "This place is a mess."

Sonic grimaced secretly. _But it would have never been attacked, had I never let myself become friends with Amy. _

Tails nodded slowly. His sadness was comparable to Amy's. In a way, this had very much been his home as well. "Yeah..." he murmured. "It was awful."

"I'm gonna kill Ivo for it," Knuckles growled.

Sonic had to fight back his own growl. _Not if I beat you to it,_ he thought furiously. Forcefully shoving that thought aside, he broke into the conversation. "We need to leave. We can't hang around here."

Blaze walked calmly over. "Where are we going to go?" she asked him.

"Jet, Wave, and Storm's home in Future City," Sonic answered. "They've gotta clear a few rooms out, but they have enough space for all of us."

Blaze nodded. "Alright."

Sonic turned his attention to Tails. "Where did you leave the Tornado?"

"It's by Amy's house," Tails responded quietly. "...Or... what's left of it."

Sonic nodded once, deciding to pretend as though he hadn't heard that last part. "I'll be back with it in a minute ir two. You all stay here." Without another word, he took off.

"Well _that_ was sudden." Knuckles huffed.

"Yeah, but that's dad for ya," Silver chuckled.

Blaze smiled a bit. "It is a good thing you do not run off like that," she said, a note of humor in her voice. She was clearly joking, a fairly rare thing for her.

"Never," Silver replied, feigning disbelief at the idea that he would _ever_ do such a thing. Tails laughed a bit. Blaze smiled at Silver's expression, and Silver grinned at her. He was _so_ glad that she was okay... and now that he knew she was safe, he found it incredibly easy to be his usual happy self again. However, his attention was soon dragged away from this conversation to another one that was taking place not ten feet away from them.

Locke was talking to Kaden, trying to keep his friend distracted from the pain he was in, trying to cheer him up, and... trying to have a bit of fun. In the interest of accomplishing the latter first, he pointed out a small patch of flowers that had survived the mini apocalypse that had destroyed this once beautiful, thriving ocean-side city. As Kaden looked to them, arms crossed and expression mostly calm, Locke made a comment that was sure to earn a reaction. "Beautiful just like Analia, right?"

Kaden's reaction was instantaneous. He whirled on Locke as he snapped, "Shut up! I never said that!" In spite of his words, it was obvious to just about anybody (for once) that he wasn't angry. He was merely embarrassed, and therefore irritated because of it. Being teased about his feelings for his partner )who was talking to Vanilla a short distance away) never failed to embarrass him, hence the reason Locke enjoyed doing it so much.

Locke's amuse smirk grew. "Oh, I know," he commented lightly, "but I'm pretty sure you've thought it before."

"No!" Kaden responded in the same way as before. Silver watched this exchange with a smile. As Locke continued making his teasing comments and remarks, Kaden grew more and more embarrassed until he finally just sank down into a sitting position on a chunk of building and buried his face in his hands. "Do me a favor and shut up..." he muttered.

Silver chuckled and approached the two of them. He laid a fairly comforting hand onto the older hedgehog's right shoulder. "Aw, c'mon, Gramps," he said, still chuckling. "It's not that bad." Kaden mumbled something in response, his face still buried in his hands. He was still embarrassed, and Silver thought that it was equal parts hilarious and, honestly, pretty adorable, in a way (only as much as one could think of their own grandfather in such a way, though, of course).

Locke and Silver were still chuckling when, barely a few minutes after his departure, Sonic finally arrived with the Tornado. He landed it gently by the group, then opened the cockpit and jumped out. "Tails, would you mind piloting?" he asked quickly. "I can run, and it'll be easier for you if you're not trying to fly on your own the whole way to the city."

"Sure thing!" Tails replied with a smile. He was always eager to fly the X-Tornado. He truly loved that ship. So, with no complaints in mind, he hurried over to the ship and climbed into the pilot's seat.

Sonic watched Tails briefly before turning his attention to the matter at hand. In the end, per Sonic's instructions, Harold, Marie, and Vanilla climbed into the ship with Tails. Jet got on his board, which had, for whatever reason, been inside the ship when Sonic had found. Wave then got on hers. Analia gently picked up Cream to carry her to the city. Locke helped Kaden, who was doing his best to curb his embarrassment and hide it, onto the right wing of the Tornado and sat him down. Sonic then, a bit less reluctantly than in the past, picked up Amy to carry her while he ran. Everyone else would be traveling by their usual methods: flying or running. At Sonic's nod, everything was set into motion. Within minutes, they were all on the move.

About halfway through the journey, Sonic almost randomly jumped onto the back of Jet's board, causing it to sway a bit. Jet glanced back at him but said nothing. Now close enough to Knuckles that he didn't have to yell, Sonic huffed. "Good grief, are those two actually _bickering_?" he asked, pointing at their fathers.

Knuckles nodded. "Yeah."

Sonic blinked. "That's... weird. I can imagine Locke doing that, but Dad bickering with anyone, or at _all_, is just _weird_." Amy giggled softly.

Knuckles looked at their fathers. "Well, they _have_ known each other a long time."

"Well, yeah, but..." Sonic trailed off, uncertain how to finish that sentence.

Amy giggled at him again. "He's in shock, I think," she joked lightly.

Sonic rolled his eyes. "I am not." Knuckles chuckled lightly at Sonic expression.

Sonic glared half-heartedly at him before Jet interrupted the moment. "Okay, will you get off already? You're slowing me down and making it hard to balance." Sticking his tongue out almost childishly, Sonic did as he was told and jumped off, landing lightly on the left wing of the Torando, opposite of Locke and his father. Jet rolled his eyes and flew on ahead a bit while Sonic set Amy down on her feet on the wing.

Knuckles actually smiled a little at Sonic's childish reaction. After dealing with Sen and seeing how much he closed himself off, how little he allowed himself to feel, and how terrible his day-to-day life was, seeing this Sonic, who still knew how to be happy at least _some_ of the time, was a very welcome change. He flew up to the ship and landed beside Sonic and Amy. "We're pretty close, right?" he asked.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah," he replied simply. Then he grinned. "I'm actually kind of excited. I can finally show you guys the old clubhouse."

Amy smiled. "I'm sure it's wonderful, Sonic. It looks amazing from a distance on the outside, and I'm sure the inside is even better."

Knuckles frowned a bit. "'Clubhouse'?" he echoed. "You don't seem like the _clubhouse_ type."

Sonic rolled his eyes, though he was soon smirking again. "Dude, I was like, fifteen when we moved in there. A clubhouse sounded like an awesome idea to me at the time."

Knuckles let out a small laugh. He was in a fairly good mood right now. "Alright."

Sonic smirked a bit. "And why is that so funny?" he inquired.

Knuckles shrugged, still smirking a bit. "It's just hard to believe that you would ever want a clubhouse."

"Again, fifteen," Sonic replied. "I was a kid. Kid's tend to like hat sort of thing. And it wasn't really a clubhouse. We just called it that."

Knuckles shrugged again. "Alright." Sonic fell silent as he turned his head to look at the city as it slowly came into view. Knuckles's blinked as the city came into view. "I forgot how big this place was," he commented.

Amy looked at him in surprise. "How in the world did you _forget_?"

"We haven't been here in a while," Knuckles replied lamely.

"I guess that's true," Any replied, "but it hasn't been so long that you could just _forget_."

Sonic tuned out the conversation, which was soon to become a sort of verbal squabble, and tapped on the cockpit to get Tails's attention.

Tails turned to see Sonic on the wing. He then looked down to his communicator and typed a message, as they wouldn't be able to hear each other through the cockpit.

**_Tails:_**

_Yeah?_

Sonic quickly sent a reply message.

**_Sonic:_**

_I know you only ever saw it from a distance, but do you remember how to get back to the tower? I can have Wave or one of them guide you, if you need it._

**_Tails:_**

_I'm not exactly sure where it is, but I know the general area. Still, help sounds good._

**_Sonic:_**

_Alright. I'm on it._

"Hey!" Sonic called up into the air at Jet and Wave. "Will you two take the lead? Tails isn't exactly sure where he's going and needs some help!"

Wave nodded and sped up. She positioned herself in front and slightly above the Tornado. Jet moved a to her side, leaving a few feet between them, to help guide Tails. Wave looked down at the lights of the city. "We haven't been to the house in a while"

"Yeah," Jet agreed. "Not since the Dark Gaia mess."

"I wonder how many '_surprises_' Storm left in the kitchen," Wave said with a grimace.

"I don't even want to _think_ about it," Jet muttered. "His '_surprises_' are exactly why I always eat out when I can. There's now way in hell that I'll ever go in there unless I have to."

Wave nodded her agreement. Whenever Jet ate out, she usually had him get something for her, as well. "It's probably gonna be bad."

"Or horrible," Jet corrected. "I am _not_ looking forward to cleaning that."

"Oh yeah," Wave said, nodding again.

"I have half a mind to make Storm clean its himself," Jet grumbled, "except it'd probably never get done then."

"Yeah," Wave said with a sigh. "The joys of knowing Storm."

Jet rolled his eyes. "Yeah. '_Joys_'." Then he added somewhat sullenly, "Y'know, if you had never fed him before I met you guys, you two would never have become frenemies and then we wouldn't even be _in_ this position."

"So this is my fault now, huh?" Wave asked with a huff.

"I'm just saying," Jet huffed back.

"Just saying it's my fault?"

"No."

"Yes."

"Whatever," Jet huffed. Wave smirked as she turned slightly to the right.

Jet's board suddenly swerved a bit as Sonic jumped onto the back of it for the second time that night, and much less carefully than before. "Stop _doing_ that!" Jet snapped. "One of these times you're gonna make me crash!"

Sonic ignored him. "Sorry, I just needed a better view real quick." He didn't sound sorry at all.

"A better view of _what_?"

"Hang on a sec. I'm looking."

Wave chuckled a bit. _They really do act like brothers._

Jet flashed her an irritable glare when he heard her chuckle, but was quick to return his attention to Sonic. "What the hell are you looking at?" he demanded.

Sonic grinned and pointed. "The lake over there. I couldn't see it well from where I was." Groaning in annoyance, Jet purposefully tilted his board, tipping Sonic off of it. Grinning still, Sonic curled into a ball and propelled himself back to the wing.

Wave turned to look at Sonic for a second. "What's so interesting about the lake?"

Sonic's eyes were, for once, full of happiness. "That's the lake where you two, Storm, and I started our first ever race together, remember?" Jet paused and looked back at the lake in surprise.

Wave blinked and looked down at the lake. _That's right... That lake is where all it started from._

Jet blinked as well. _Huh,_ he thought somewhat simply. _I guess I forgot about this place. Or at least put it out of mind._ It occurred to him briefly that if he had, in fact, deliberately put his memories of this place out of mind, he'd probably done it around the time Sonic had left the group, seemingly permanently (at least at the time). He pushed those thoughts away.

Wave looked back at the city. "Do you remember who won?" she asked no one in particular.

"Sonic did," Jet replied before Sonic could say anything. "Storm crashed into you and then you two fell on top of me, so Sonic won." He smirked a bit then. "Looking back, it was actually pretty damn funny."

Wave smiled a bit and was quick to agree. "I remember now. It _was_ pretty funny, excluding the fact that Storm squashed us. He _had_ to land on top."

"Yeah," Jet sighed. "That was painful."

"It was like that comical humor from TV," Wave replied with a slight grimace. "You laugh, thinking it's funny, until it happens to you."

"Agreed," Jet muttered. His board sputtered suddenly and sank a few inches before resuming it's flight. He looked down at it. "Oh, come _on_," he muttered. "Don't tell me this thing's broken again."

"Again, Jet?!" Wave exclaimed somewhat angrily. "Come on!"

"I didn't do anything to it this time!" Jet snapped. "It was just sitting inside the Tornado!" The board sputtered again and he cursed it angrily inside of his head.

"Who left it there?" She questioned. "You."

"How could it have gotten damaged by sitting in the ship?!" he demanded.

"I don't know, but it obviously did!" Wave retorted.

Jet muttered some sort of a curse under his breath. _This thing had better make it to the house, or-_ And just like that, it quit working entirely. He fell briefly with a short, startled cry before somehow managing to stop his fall with a rush of wind.

Wave sighed. "You have to be careful with that. I honestly think I need to make the exterior thicker."

"Maybe," Jet muttered. "I swear I didn't do anything to it this time, though." As he spoke, he looked down at the ground far below. Something suddenly occurred to him. He wasn't using wind anymore. And yet... he wasn't falling. _What...?_

Sonic suddenly seemed to notice what was going on, and he turned to look at his friend. "How are you _doing_ that?"

"I... I don't know," Jet replied honestly.

Wave shot him a funny look. She thought this strange situation over for a long moment before finally commenting, "It's almost as if you're... controlling the gravity field around you, or something."

Jet wobbled uncertainly, not really sure how to balance while he was just floating like this. "But only the Arks can do that!" he protested.

"Well, you don't look like and ark, so I'd say you're an exception." Wave said with a smirk.

"Of course I'm not an Ark," Jet retorted. "And there's no such thing as exceptions with this sort of thing! This isn't normal!"

"Then why is it happening?" Wave demanded. "It isn't a figment of our imaginations"

"I didn't say it w-" Jet was cut off abruptly when the power shut off, in a sense, leaving him to fall a good distance before it suddenly switched back on again. _Okay, I want down,_ he decided right then and there. _Now. Preferably without falling again._ Wave gasped when Jet fell suddenly, but sighed in relief when he stopped his decent just moments later. "Okay, how the hell do I get down without falling?" Jet demanded. "I'd rather not fall and die if I can help it."

Wave sighed before she quickly flew down by Jet. "Get on. I'll take you to the wing."

Somehow, Jet managed to get the power to shut off so that he could stand on the board. He used one hand to hold onto her shoulder, touching her as minimally as possible while still trying to keep his balance. "Thanks," he mumbled, suddenly feeling awkward.

"No problem" she said calmly before she went up to the wing. After Jet jumped off, she resumed her task of leading the way. Jet landed lightly in a crouch beside Sonic, who was watching Locke and Kaden on the other wing as the two of them bickered... quite loudly. After several moments, Locke was hit on the had hard enough that he plopped down on his rear with a pained grin.

Tails looked at Jet through the cockpit window, a questioning look on his face. _How did he...?_ Jet caught the look and shrugged. Tails nodded slightly, then slowly looked forwards again. Sonic stared at Jet for a long moment, wondering the same thing as Tails, Wave, and Jet himself. Then, with no words forthcoming, he just looked away, watching as their destination grew rapidly closer and closer.

Wave turned a bit, correcting the course. _It feels good to be home again._

Jet shared in that feeling, at least a bit. _It'll be nice to be back in my own room. _He'd missed his room. That was his space, his safe zone, in a way, and he'd missed it a bit more than he would have cared to admit.

The city was soon below them. _Almost there,_ Wave thought with a slight smile.

Sonic watched as the hangar they had landed the Tornado in last time they'd come here finally came into view. _Almost there..._

Wave moved out of the way, allowing Tails to park the plane. He opened the cockpit and climbed out. Everyone quickly disembarked. Sonic vanished for a brief moment before reappearing with Jet's damaged board. "I'll fix this," he promised simply.

Jet nodded. "Thanks," he replied just as simply.

"It's a good thing he's doing it, 'cause I sure don't want to!" Wave told Jet smugly before she walked inside. Rolling his eyes, Jet followed her in with the rest of the group close behind. Amazingly enough, the group reached the house in good time. They boarded the elevator at the base of the tower and rode it up to the house at the top. Once they were inside the house, Wave propped her board up against the wall before walking into one of the bedroom-turned-storage rooms. She started quickly cleaning it up, putting the full boxes against one wall. Jet began cleaning up the adjacent room while Storm walked to the kitchen. Eventually, Wave walked into the living room, where all the others were. "That room's ready if anyone wants it," she said, gesturing down the hall to said room. She then started helping Jet. Sonic immediately took his parents to the cleaned room.

Jet was mostly done with one side of the room. There were two beds in this room, which meant two people could bunk together. Wave began on the opposite side Jet was doing. They were done within a few minutes. Once they were done, Silver was quick to claim one bed. Jet moved on to the next room while Tails walked over to the bed across from Silver's and dramatically flopped onto it. Tails was out within a couple of minutes, curled up under the blanket. Silver went out like a light soon afterward.

Knuckles, Wave, and Blaze fell asleep right after them.

Wave walked over to Cream in the hallway. "Why don't you take my bed? I'll be fine on the floor."

Cream blinked in surprise before her expression brightened into a smile. "Okay."

After that, rooms were cleaned out for the others. Sonic even got his old room back, and was surprised to find that, excluding the layer of dust, the room was just as he'd left it. _So no one's been in here in all this time, huh? ...Heh. Guess they took me seriously when I forbade entry into here._

Before long, everyone save for the three night-owls (namely Sonic, Jet, and Kaden) were asleep. For once, the night was rather peaceful and, at this point, that was all anyone could have asked for.

**~ソニック~**

**4,191 words this time. Once again, I apologize for the delay... Still, I hope you enjoyed! Posted 11-25-15.**


	173. Wake-Up Call

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Yeah! GEE, I WONDER WHY?! XD Well, at least the flower scene was new. There some new stuff in here too that we didn't RP. :P I am as well! I'm planning on one more fun chapter, though. THEN I'll do more action-y stuff. :P**

**Hello, Nagato911! Yes, it sure is. :)**

**Hello, Firerider007! Yes, and this one's even longer! Gosh, I hope so... That would be nice! Nope, not a filler. I never do those. Fillers are just space-keepers essentially, and they serve no purpose. None of mine are fillers, I promise you. :) No, he's never been a Sen-type character. He's not totally emotionless and concealed, after all. :P But, anyway, I'm glad you've been enjoying him being here! He's one of my favorites, after all! XD**

**Hello, Ghostkid33! Yup! Taking refuge is never fun, but at least they're in an awesome place that's familiar to them. :) Yes, it truly was! Yes, just a little bit. Very cute character development. X3 Haha, he was! I totally agree! XD Yes, they are to a point, and there is a troubling reason for this... You'll see later. Well, wait no more, 'cause here it is! I hope you enjoy! :D**

**~ソニック~**

Tails woke up because of the light filtering through the window. He sat up and yawned. Silver was still passed out in the other bed. Tails looked over at the hedgehog, whose hair was all over the place. He stifled a laugh before he quietly excited the room. Sonic had, unintentionally, passed out n one of the couches in the living room and was still sleeping there while Locke quietly made himself breakfast. Tails walked quietly down the hall, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. "Hi," he whispered to Locke with a small wave.

"Hey," Locke whispered back as he pulled a box of cereal out of the cupboard in the miraculously clean kitchen (which Jet had spent all night working on, for lack of anything better to do).

"I guess Sonic's pretty tired," Tails said quietly.

"Yeah," Locke nodded, casting a glance out toward the living room. "He must be."

"He took a nap yesterday, too, from what I'd heard," Tails responded.

"Huh. That's unusual for him." Locke poured some of the cereal into a bowl.

Tails grabbed his own bowl and poured some cereal into it. "Yeah. It's good though. I'd rather have a well-rested Sonic then a tired one."

"Agreed," Locke said simply before taking a bite of his meager breakfast. Tails also started to eat his food. Finally, Locke spoke again. "Is it normal in this time for cars and stuff to fly?" he asked, referring to the vehicles he'd seen outside since being here.

Tails nodded. "Yup. This city is the most advanced in the world, technology-wise. It's pretty cool."

"Huh. Good to know I wasn't imagining it, then." He smirked suddenly. "When I first saw those cars, I kind of thought I was hallucinating for a minute."

Tails smiled. "It would seem like that if you haven't seen it before," he agreed.

"No kidding," Locke chuckled just as a sleepy-eyed and yawning Silver wandered slowly into the kitchen.

"Hey Silver." Tails said with a smile. How'd you sleep?"

"Good," Silver yawned. "M'still tired, though," he added in a mumble.

"We can see that," Locke smirked.

"I like what you did to your hair," Tails said with a little small laugh. Silver immediately set about trying to fix it with his hands, sticking his tongue out at Tails while Locke snickered. Tails grinned. "That looks a little better."

"Hush," Silver mumbled. "I'll deal with it later. I'm starving." Locke handed him the box of cereal. Tails flashed his friend a smile before handing him a bowl. Silver gave him a small grin and poured some cereal into the bowl while Locke began washing his now empty bowl. Tails then resumed eating.

Meanwhile, back up the stairs, Wave woke up on her floor and sat up with a yawn. She climbed out of met makeshift bed on the floor and looked at Cream, who was still sleeping soundly. Cream didn't even stir. Wave walked out of the room quietly and walked into the kitchen. "Good morning" Wave said quietly, seeing Sonic passed out on the couch. She opened a cupboard and pulled out a box of pop-tarts. She grabbed one and opened it up.

"Mo'in," Silver replied around a mouth full of food. Locke nodded in greeting.

"Anyone else up?" Wave asked before taking a bite.

"Storm is," Locke replied. "Or at least he _was_. He might've gone back to bed."

"Everyone else is still asleep," Silver replied. "Uncle Jet and Gramps, too."

Wave nodded. "I wouldn't doubt it if Storm's asleep, but I'm a bit surprised about the last two." Tails rinsed his bowl and set it in the sink as she spoke. She took another bite.

"I'm not," Locke replied. "Jet, like Sonic, has barely been sleeping and Kaden's still beat to hell." Silver finished eating and also rinsed his bowl. Locke put the box of cereal away, since Silver had left it out.

Wave shrugged. "I guess you're right" she said as she threw her wrapper away.

Silver frowned. "Man, that was a depressing thing to hear first thing in the morning," he said frankly.

"Cheer up Silver. They'll be better after a night of sleep." Tails said with a small smile.

"Not Gramps," Silver mumbled, frowning at the floor. "I heard what Amy's mom was telling Gramma yesterday."

Locke's gaze sharpened. "What did she say?"

Silver hesitated and didn't reply.

"Silver, don't leave us hanging." Tails said encouragingly.

Silver released a heavy sigh. "She said that the damage to Gramps's right leg might be permanent," he mumbled.

Locke tensed. _Permanent?_

Tails looked down at the floor. "Oh"

Wave frowned. _That... can't be right. Surely Analia can heal him, right?_

"Yeah," Silver replied to Tails, still mumbling.

Locke tried to wrap his head around the idea of his friend having a permanent injury, but he just couldn't seem to do it. _This can't be right... It can't._

"Well, there's the chance that it won't be permanent," Tails told Silver slowly. "We just... need to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, you know?"

"But what if it _does_ end up being permanent?" Silver asked, worry shining in his eyes.

"Then we'll be happy it isn't worse," Tails responded.

"Would you rather him be in a coma still?" Wave asked softy.

"No, of course not!" Silver exclaimed quietly. "But... I also don't want him to be hurt for the rest of his life."

"I know," Tails said quietly. "We _all_ want him to be completely better, but all we can do at this point is hope for the best."

"Okay," Silver murmured.

Locke suppressed a shaky sigh. _At least he's alive. After what happened last time... I'm just glad he's alive._

"Until we know it's permanent, I'm sure he'd love help doing things," Tails said, smiling at Silver.

Silver perked up a little, always eager to help. "Like what things?"

Tails shrugged, smile never fading. "Getting things, doing stuff, the usual sort of thing."

"Okay," Silver smiled faintly. "I can do that."

_Tails sure knows how to cheer him up,_ Wave thought as she watched the pair silently.

Locke smirked faintly at the scene. _Nice work, Tails... You did good._

**~ソニック~**

_"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. You have to start somewhere, so start here. It is time to set forth on your new journey and accomplish your new goals. There is a time and a place for everything. The time is now. The place is here. _

_Never cease to be the optimist, the hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams. Do not ever stop dreaming. No one can take your dreams away from you. Never let them try. Your dreams are your strength, your light. Hold them close. Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to never stop dreaming._

_Do not fear small failures. If you cannot make a mistake and continue to move forward, you cannot make anything. _

_True friends leave footprints in your heart. Never let them go. Sometimes you may feel that things are impossible to handle, but with the support of friends and family, nothing is impossible._

_Remember that even myths leave bones. There is always an ounce of truth in every legend. You simply need to find it._

_Above all else, remember this. It is the key for saving everything, should you fail in one specific aspect of your mission. Remember this... Never forget it._

_'Against the Dark..._

_Against the Light..._

_Shield me Sun,_

_From winter's Night.'"_

**~ソニック~**

Tails looked around idly. "I wonder how long the others will be asleep."

As if on cue, Knuckles walked into the living room and stubbed his toe. Silver's ears pricked a little. "Well _someone's_ up now. I heard a thump."

In the living room, which was just outside the kitchen, Knuckles held his shoe in his left hand as he grimaced in pain. _Who's bright idea was it to put a table right here? _

Sonic jolted awake when Knuckles kicked the table by the couch. His startled expression morphed into a glare. "Don't _scare_ me like that!"

"What, do think I _meant_ to kick the table?!" Knuckles asked angrily.

"Well, so much for Sonic catching up on sleep," Locke sighed.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" said hedgehog snapped in the other, not at all pleased by his rude awakening.

"Well I feel like I broke my toes!" Knuckles retorted, carefully setting his foot down.

"You can't have kicked the table _that_ hard," Sonic huffed, rolling his eyes as he did so. "But if you're that worried about your toes, Toes, go have Amy or my mom take a look and they'll heal you right up."

Knuckles glared at Sonic before he walked into the kitchen, muttering under his breath. Locke smirked at his son's attitude. "Mornin', sunshine," he commented lightly.

Knuckles bit back an angry retort. "Morning," he responded with a sort of sigh.

"Sleep alright?" Locke asked, no longer teasing. "You still look beat."

"I guess," Knuckle grumbled. Then he admitted, "I _feel_ beat."

"Didn't sleep well, then?" Locke inquired.

Knuckles shrugged. "Not really. It's too loud here." Then he added silently, _And my arm still hurts like hell._

"Yeah, I agree," Locke sighed. "Angel Island is much more peaceful and conducive to sleep than this place is."

"I'd rather sleep there than here, regardless," Knuckles responded.

"Aw, you guys are no fun," Silver replied. "You won't get very far in life if you don't open yourselves up to new places and experiences."

Locke smirked. "I suppose that's true."

Knuckles shot a look at Silver. "We also won't get very far in life without _sleep_."

"Also true," Locke smirked.

"Yes, but one who shies away from what their used to will never find happiness," Silver replied, crossing his arms. "Life without happiness isn't life; it's survival, and survival sucks."

"What if one finds happiness in routine and order?" Knuckles retorted almost smugly.

"Not everything can always be the same," Silver shot back smartly. "If you become so comfortable in the same old thing everyday that you learn to hate change and new things, you'll be miserable even just at the thought of anything ever changing. So that still isn't happiness."

Knuckles sighed. _I guess he's right, _he conceded silently, _but..._ "It wouldn't hurt for it to be a little quieter here."

Silver grinned at his victory, but conceded, "Yeah, I can agree with that." Sonic finally walked into the kitchen.

"Hi Sonic!" Tails called out with a smile.

"Hey, Tails," Sonic smirked. He grabbed an apple out of the fridge. And took a large bite out of it. A moment later, he spoke up again. "Hey, do you still want a tour of this place? I know you did last time we were here."

"Yeah!" Tails responded excitedly.

"Oh, oh! Count me in!" Silver exclaimed.

Sonic smirked wider. "Alright, you can come along." He looked to Wave. "You guys won't mind, right?"

"No, just be quiet," Wave said. "Almost everyone is still asleep."

"We will. Thanks." Sonic led the way out of the room with Silver close behind. Tails followed behind them. Sonic led the way through the living room and down a hall. He showed them the entertainment room first. There was a large flat-screen television, piles and piles of video games for various systems, a pool table, a large speaker system for playing music, and so on.

Silver's eyes were wide with awe. " _Whoa_...!"

Tails looked around the room. "How long did it take to get all of this?"

"A long time," Sonic chuckled. "I mean, with all the races we did and all, we had the money, but it took a while to fill the place up with stuff we liked." Then he added, "Some of this stuff is new, too. Like the pool table."

Tails grinned a little. "This stuff is cool."

"Yeah!" Silver agreed enthusiastically. "So what's next?"

Sonic gestured for them to follow. Ignoring the bedrooms, he showed them the small sitting room, Wave's workshop, the library, the training room, and then the music room, which Silver immediately insisted on checking out. Tails, still thinking about the workshop, looked around at the speakers and music disks. "Wow. I didn't know that you guys liked music so much."

Sonic shrugged a bit. "I'm probably to blame for that. I was always listening to music, and it kind of rubbed off on them. Storm, too. Heck, I even managed to teach them how to play a few of these instruments. So, like I said, this room's existence is pretty much my fault."

Silver was currently messing around on Wave's keyboard with the volume down low enough that they could barely hear it. Tails smiled as he watched Silver for a moment. He then walked over to the keyboard. He softly tapped out "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" Silver grinned at Tails and walked over to a shelf that held various smaller instruments.

When he went to pick up an old wooden flute, Sonic quickly warned, "Be careful with that. It's irreplaceable."

"Okay," Silver nodded, gently picking it up.

Tails looked at Sonic. "Where'd you get it?"

"Never said it was mine," Sonic replied absently, flipping through a notebook full of music that someone had written. Silver carefully set the flue back down.

Tails shrugged. "Alright."

Silver grinned. "I want a flute like that." He picked up a guitar to check it out.

"Do you know how to play the flute?" Tails asked him.

"Nope," Silver replied. "It seems cool, though."

"It does," Tails agreed. "I've wanted to learn piano for a while. I don't know that much," he then added, rubbing the back of his head in slight embarrassment.

Sonic spoke up again suddenly. "Talk to Wave and Jet," he said, still looking through the handwritten songs in that notebook. "They can teach you guys."

Tails blinked, then smiled. "That would be great."

"Yeah," Silver grinned.

Sonic set the notebook back down where he'd found it. "You guys ready to keep going?"

"Sure!" Silver replied.

"Yeah!" Tails agreed with a nod.

Smiling, Sonic once again took the lead. Next he showed them Storm's "Anger Management" room (as Wave had always called it), Jet's office, Wave's private hideaway, then the vault-like room where the Rogues's many stolen goods were kept.

"This place is so big," Tails murmured, his eyes wide. Then he added to Silver with another smile, "Just imagine playing hide and seek here." Silver grinned at the idea.

"Yeah, this place is huge," Sonic agreed with a smirk. "And don't forget, there's that underground skating area I told you about last time we were here."

"I forgot all about that," Tails replied.

"There's nothing really to see down there besides that, though, so this pretty much concludes the tour," Sonic told them.

"Alright!" Tails said with a nod.

"This place is _so_ cool!" Silver grinned. "I so wanna live here!" Sonic chuckled.

"Yeah! You'd never get bored" Tails noted in agreement.

"Exactly!" Silver grinned.

"I dunno..." Sonic replied with a grin of his own. "The Rogues and I managed to do it all the time as kids."

"But how?" Tails questioned. "This place is awesome!"

"Yeah!" Silver agreed enthusiastically.

"I dunno," Sonic shrugged. "We just did it, somehow."

"Wow. Maybe you just didn't know how to have _real_ fun!" Tails said with a grin.

Sonic let out a small laugh. "I don't know... You should have seen some of the crazy B.S. we did for fun."

Tails smiled yet again. "Like what?"

Smirking widely, Sonic began counting off on his fingers. "Let's see... Jumping off of buildings, running from the cops, having races in the most insane and dangerous places we could find, purposefully ticking Storm off so that he'd go on a small rampage," Silver busted up laughing at this, "pranking each other, having paintball wars in the city... I could go on."

"Wow. Sounds fun!" Tails replied before he continued. "How'd you guys get bored with all that stuff to do?"

"Like I said, we just did it somehow," Sonic replied with a small shrug. "It didn't happen often, but still. When boredom hit us, it struck hard."

Tails grinned. "Figures"

"Man, you and Uncle Jet are _weird_," Silver suddenly said.

Sonic glanced at him in surprise. "How?"

"Running from the cops for '_fun_'?" Silver asked in return. "I can't see Wave or Storm doing that."

Tails nodded. "Yeah. How'd you even get _into_ situations like that?"

Sonic's smirk became a little sheepish. "Uh... Honestly?" he asked. "By being a thieving little monster. Unlike Jet, I couldn't always slip away from a crime scene completely unnoticed."

Tails gasped dramatically. "Sonic! That's not allowed!"

"It's not like I do it anymore," Sonic huffed defensively.

Tails laughed. "So you _say_!"

Sonic huffed at him again. Then he joked, "What are you, the hero police?" Silver snickered.

Tails grinned again. "No"

Sonic grinned back. "Good."

"Okay, so now that that's settled," Silver interrupted, "what can we do?"

Tails shrugged. "The city's pretty big, so there's a lot to look at."

"Up for another tour, Dad?" Silver grinned in reply.

"Yeah!" Tails said excitedly. "I've always wanted to see this place!"

"Alright," Sonic replied with a small smile, "but I'd like to have Jet or Wave come along. They know this place a little better than I do nowadays. Well, so does Storm, but you know how he is."

"Okay," Silver agreed easily, also excited.

Tails nodded happily. "Alright!"

Sonic smirked. "Alright," he replied. Then he added, "But I need to get something more to eat besides an apple, so I'll be back." With that, he turned and disappeared down the stairs.

**~ソニック~**

Blaze woke up when she heard voices outside of the room she was sharing with Amy. She rolled onto her other side, almost falling off of the bed in the process. Amy, who was sleeping on the floor, stirred slightly. Blaze quietly got off the bed and made her way to the door. She held her breath when it creaked slightly but, by some miracle, Amy didn't wake. Blaze sighed in relief before she opened the door all the way. She stepped into the hall, and shut the door behind her. At about the same time, the door to the room next to Blaze's opened and Analia stepped out. Blaze looked to her right and saw her. "Hello," she greeted quietly.

Analia smiled softly at her. "Hello," she responded just as quietly.

"Is Kaden asleep?" Blaze asked.

Analia nodded. "Mostly." Then head tilted slightly. "Why do you ask?"

Blaze shrugged. "I was just wondering. It was a long day yesterday"

Analia sighed softly. "It was," she agreed.

Blaze blinked, her head canting slightly and worry shining subtly in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Analia nodded. "I am alright," she replied, doing her best to put on a smile.

Blaze smiled back. "Alright"

With a small wave, Analia went downstairs to get something to eat. Blaze stood in the hallway for a minute before she walked down the the stairs after Analia. By the time Analia walked into the kitchen, Locke was already long gone. Blaze walked in after Analia. Wave was sitting at the table, looking over Jet's board. Analia looked at Wave and the board. "What is wrong with it? It seemed to stop working rather suddenly yesterday."

"I don't know what Jet did to it. I think he busted part of the engine, and these parts are burnt out" Wave told her, pointing to each part in turn with her screwdriver.

Analia walked over and took a look. "It looks as if it was, essentially, 'zapped' from the inside," she observed, "as if someone attacked it."

Wave nodded. "I was thinking something along those lines, but I just don't understand how he _did_ it."

Analia tilted her head a bit. "I do not believe that this particular incident was his fault." She pointed at one of the burnt out parts of the board. Seconds later, there was a faint pink crackle of energy.

Wave sighed. _I need to have a word with Cream, I think... Maybe try to get her to pay more attention to when she's accidentally using her powers or something. _"Yeah, but he has to be careful with it. I'm tiring of fixing it all the time."

"That is understandable," Analia replied.

"Yeah" Wave replied as she got up. "I need to work on this in the shop" She walked out off the room, into the workshop-room, set the boar onto the table, grabbed her tools, and set to work.

**~ソニック~**

As Sonic walked off, Silver turned to Tails excitedly. "This is gonna be great!"

"Yeah! This place is awesome! The buildings and the technology make this a really great place to visit!" Tails said enthusiastically.

"Is it true that even the bullet trains fly here?!" Silver demanded with even more enthusiasm. "And that the dishes in some restaurants serve themselves by floating to the tables?!"

Tails laughed. "Yup! The bullet trains fly just like the cars and can go up to over two-hundred miles per hour, and the dishes really do float in some places."

Silver abruptly changed the subject then. "I'm gonna go wake up Uncle Jet so that we can go sooner." He grinned mischievously. "Wanna help me scare the living daylights out of him?"

Tails nodded with a grin of his own. "Sure!"

"Great!" Silver exclaimed, still grinning. "...Now we just have to figure out which room is his. All these shiny metal doors look exactly the same."

Tails frowned slightly. "I think it was one of the first doors up here."

"Hm..." Silver walked down the hall and tried one of the doors, only to quickly, yet quietly close it again. "Nope! That was Amy." Then he added, "I am so glad I didn't wake her up. She would've killed me."

"We'd both be dead," Tails said seriously. "You more than me, though, 'cause I'm her brother and all."

"Yeah..." Silver agreed nervously. He went to the the door that was just to the left of the one Amy was in, thus putting him even closer to the stairs. He quietly opened the door, then closed it even more quietly a moment later. "Gramps," he murmured in explanation.

"Let me try!" Tails said just before he opened a door on the other side of the hall. "It's him!" he whisper yelled. Somehow, Jet didn't even stir.

Silver crept over and peered in. "Aw, man," he whispered back. "Seeing him sleeping so freaking peacefully almost makes me not wanna wake him." His grin returned full-force barely a moment later. "But I'll get over it. Let's do this."

Tails returned the grin easily. "How're we gonna do it?"

"I wanna scare him really badly by yelling or something," Silver replied. "Or maybe we can explode a paper bag or something. He sleeps so lightly usually, from what I've heard, that most loud noises will scare the living daylights out of him, I think."

Tails smiled. "The paper bag sounds like a good idea."

"Cool," Silver smirked. "...But where're we going to get a bag?"

"I bet there are some in the kitchen," Tails replied. "Plastic ones will work too."

"Okay. I'll keep watch up here if you'll go get one," Silver said. "Or two."

Tails nodded. "Alright, " he agreed. He walked down the stairs and into the kitchen while Silver camped out by the open door.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Sonic was talking to Blaze and Analia. "You two sleep alright last night?"

"I did," Analia replied. She took a bite of her cereal. Blaze nodded as she looked around the kitchen. She soon found a loaf of bread.

"Good." Sonic found a box of waffles and popped four slices into the toaster on the counter near Analia.

As they spoke, Blaze grabbed some bread out of the bag. _I suppose I can try to see why Silver likes jelly bread so much._

Sonic's waffles were still cooking when Analia finished eating. She rinsed her dishes and put the cereal away. "You going back upstairs, Mom?" Sonic asked. When she nodded, he said, "I'm going into town later. Will you tell Dad I said 'hey' if he gets up before I come back?"

Analia nodded, a smile on her face. "Of course." At about the same time, Blaze used her pyrokenisis to warm up the bread slightly before she opened up the fridge.

Finally, Sonic's waffles were done. As he'd expected, the toaster launched them into the air even though it really wasn't supposed to. He caught them all easily with one hand and took a satisfied bite out of one. Blaze pulled out the jam right as the toaster popped. She jumped in surprise, almost hitting her head on the freezer door. Sonic noticed her reaction and smirked. "Sorry about that," he chuckled before taking another bite of his waffle.

Blaze set the jar on the counter before she shook her head. "It was not your fault" Sonic said nothing more for the moment as he finished his second waffle. Blaze pulled a butter knife out of a drawer and began to spread the jelly on her bread. Sonic was nearly finished with his third waffle now. Blaze bit into the bread. Her eyes widened. _This is good..!_

Sonic noticed her expression just as he finished his last waffle and laughed. "Oh, man, you too, Blaze?"

Blaze looked away, slightly, though subtly, embarrassed. "It is good," she murmured.

"I suppose it is," Sonic agreed with a smile.

"I do not completely understand why he loves it so much, but it is good" Blaze said just before she took another bite.

"I don't think anyone will ever completely understand," Sonic chuckled. Then he added, "Hey, Tails." Blaze finished her first slice of jelly bread.

"Hi," Tails greeted with a small wave before he started liked through drawers to find a bag.

Sonic watched him. "What are you after?"

"I need a bag or two," Tails told him just before he found what he was looking for.

Sonic blinked. "What for?"

Tails grinned. "It's nothing," he said before he went up the stairs with the bags.

Sonic returned his grin. "I hope he blasts you two!" he called after Tails.

Blaze blinked. "He will not be happy." They both knew that she wasn't talking about Silver or Tails.

"Oh, I can _guarantee_ that he won't be," Sonic smirked. "Not happy at all..."

**~ソニック~**

Silver turned his head to see Tails coming back up the stairs. Tails handed a bag to Silver before he began to fill his own with air. Silver filled up his own bag, then crept forward until he was just inside the doorway. He didn't dare go in all the way. _He's gonna kill me as it is. No need to dig my grave any deeper._

Tails slowly followed Silver, stopping right by him. "Ready?" He mouthed. Silver nodded. They exploded their bags at the same time, making one loud _pop! _that echoed significantly. Jet jumped severely and jolted upright in bed while Silver busted up laughing.

"Damn it all, you two!" Jet snapped. "Could you not?! What the hell's the matter with you?!"

Sonic winced sympathetically as the bags exploded, only to laugh at Jet's outburst. Blaze smiled slightly at the scene audibly unfolding upstairs. Tails exploded into a laughing fit, pointing a finger at Jet. Not at _all_ amused, Jet blasted them back about a foot with wind, then got up and slammed his door shut while Silver continued to die of laughter. Tails held up his hand for a high five. "That was great! His face was hilarious!"

Unable to speak because he was laughing so hard, Silver gave Tails a high-five. Just a moment later, Jet's door suddenly opened again and he walked out with his scarf on, shooting the two of them a glare as he went to the stairs. Silver did the only thing he could do: he laughed again.

Sonic continued to laugh. "Oh, I wish I could've seen it." Blaze sighed a little, slightly amused by Silver's antics. Slowly, Sonic's laughter slowly died down. "Man, those two are _so_ lucky that they're his friends," he chuckled, "otherwise he might've seriously gone off on them." _Heck, sometimes friendship isn't even much of a deterrent for him regarding that._

"I would not doubt it," Blaze replied as she brushed off some bread crumbs.

After letting out another low chuckle, Sonic asked, "Say, would you like to come to the city with us? Silver's tagging along, and I'm sure he'd enjoy it more with you."

Blaze blinked in surprise. "I suppose I can come"

"Great," Sonic grinned just as Jet walked into the kitchen. "Hey," Sonic greeted in a teasing tone. "Sleep well?"

Jet shot him an irritable glare. "Shut up." Blaze smiled a little again. Just like that, the two boys began to argue while Jet looked for something to eat. Blaze continued to smile as the bickering went on. The bickering continued on, with neither Sonic or Jet or noticing Blaze's smile.

Back upstairs, Silver grinned and said, "Come on, it sounds like we have an argument to break up downstairs if we wanna go anywhere."

"Alright!" Tails replied. He got up and walked down the flight of steps. Blaze watched as Silver and Tails arrived.

Silver walked into the kitchen right behind Tails just as Jet whacked Sonic on the side of the head with a box of some kind of food. Silver busted up laughing again while Sonic grinned and rubbed the side of his head. Tails grinned widely at the scene. Finally, the arguing ended for the time being and Sonic asked, "Hey, will you come with us to the city?"

Jet frowned a little. "Why?"

"For a tour!" Silver exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah!" Tails confirmed. "We want to look around here!"

"C'mon, Uncle Jet!" Silver pleaded. "_Please_?"

"Alright, alright," Jet sighed, tossing the box back into the cupboard.

"Great!" Silver exclaimed. Sonic grinned in victory.

"Yes!" Tails shouted happily.

Jet sighed again and followed Sonic out of the room. Silver leaned in close to Tails. "I think we might've woken him up too early," he whispered, though he really wasn't sorry about what they'd done just minutes earlier.

Blaze and Tails followed. "Maybe," Tails agreed. "But seeing his face made it all worth it!"

"It did!" Silver snickered.

"I can hear you two, you know," Jet muttered.

Sonic nudged his shoulder. "Aw, their just having fun."

"Whatever."

Tails grinned and, with that, they left the house and walked outside. As they left, Sonic did his best to put his worries (which he had been doing his level best to hide so far today) out of his mind. After all... even heroes needed a day off once in a while.

**~ソニック~**

Shadow ran lightly over the terrain, keeping his speed slow enough that his companions could keep up. To his right was Rouge, who flew low to the ground so that she was level with him. To his left was Omega, who was also flying low, though not as low as Rouge, to the ground. Returning his gaze ahead, Shadow frowned just a bit deeper than normal. _I need to decide what to do... I have to make a choice._ To seek help... or fight alone? To confront Ivo now... or wait for a new opportunity? To avenge Maria... or not?

**~ソニック~**

**5,445 words this time. I hope you enjoyed this mostly lighthearted chapter. And Shadow seems to be a tad indecisive as he faces sine tough decisions... Also, i****t's so cute and cool how Tails and Silver are practically best friends now. They're so alike, and they hate to see others upset. They're like the same person, in a way, and they're partners in crime. Fighting crime and committing it, that is. XD Anyway, as I said, I hope you enjoyed! Posted 12-03-15.**

**EDIT: Some of the Voice's quotes were from actual people and games. I don't know where they're all from, but one was a slightly edited Albert Einstein quote, and the last bit, the part that was centered at the end, was from the game Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.**


	174. Morning Antics

**Hello, Nagato911! Yes, they really are. XD**

**Hello, Snowy Meadow of Starlight! It was! I did, as well. Haha! They really are! But, then again, so are Jet and Sonic and Sonic and Knuckles... XP Hahahahaha! XDD You shouldn't! You helped write that scene! XDD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 169: Yes, Shadow has arrived! XD OMG THAT TITLE'S AWESOME. Hey, it's fine! No worries, at all! I _totally_ get it!**

**Your review to Chapter 170: Yes! Yes he has! SADLY, IVO STILL HAS A CHANCE OF DOING SO. DX Hahahahaha! "You and what mustache?!" XDD Yes, I agree... Cream needs to speak up! :( Lol! Big Hero 6 rocked, totally. I did like Frozen, though. :P**

**Your review to Chapter 171: Not exactly, no, but it was so sweet. X3 Yes, yes they did. Oooh, I like that! That's so perfect! :D O-o-oh, I think I've seen that one! Duuude, Naruto. ;_; OMG you know the song Decision from Shippuden? I can't stop listening to it! It's on the playlist for the sequel, too. ...You'll undoubtedly _hate_ the reason why when the story _eventually_ gets to that part. DDX**

**Your review to Chapter 172: Yes, he can. Kinda sort. Haha, illuminati. Suuure! XD Dude, that would be awesome! I shall seriously think about this... ;D OH, I KNOW. IT WAS SO CUTE. X33 Well, it's a ship technically, but yes, I totally agree. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 173: Nope. The Voice mentioned Sonic's mission, remember? Right now, Shadow doesn't even _know_ about that/ Sonic was being talked to. :P Hahahahaha! Omg, that bullying thing you put in there was so great! XDD Haha, I will do my best, Pyro-kun! XD (P.S. Totally dying of random laughter now.)**

**Hello, John! X)**

**Hello, Guest! Aw, thanks! :D I do, as well. I enjoy those. There aren't quite enough of them, huh? ...Oops. XD Omg, yes! _So_ much like that!**

**~ソニック~**

They had just returned from their day in the city about twenty minutes ago. Silver was the last to come in and he soon found Blaze reclining on the couch with a small magazine that she'd found somewhere. She was flipping through it idly, barely seeming to pay attention to it, and Silver cleared his throat slightly to get her attention. When she looked up at him, he gestured to the door with his head. "Your idol's awake," he told her, only joking slightly for once.

Blaze frowned slightly, she never appreciated him calling Kaden her idol (even though, privately, she kind of supposed that her friend was right, _maybe_), but she didn't let her annoyance show but subtly. "That is good," she murmured.

Blaze moved her legs, then sat up and entirely, and Silver sat down. "He doesn't seem to be in a good mood," he revealed. "He's in a pretty bad one, I think."

_That is odd…_ Still, Blaze tried to reason it out, so as to stave off her sudden, almost random concern. "Perhaps he is just tired still," she replied. "Last night was very long for all of us, and he only just woke up."

"Plus he's still injured pretty freaking badly," Silver added in agreement. "He acts like he's fine, but he's not, really."

Blaze nodded softly. "And us traveling here was very sudden. I do not believe that he was ready to go anywhere, given his condition."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Silver slowly frowned a bit. "Still… It's not like him, being in a bad mood like this." He paused, then admitted quietly, "I'm worried."

Blaze didn't know what to say. She didn't personally know how bad this "bad mood" of Kaden's was, as she hadn't seen him since yesterday (and even then they hadn't spoken to each other), but Silver's concern was genuine and rarely misplaced. _Something is definitely going on. That much is certain. But what… and why?_ "Perhaps someone should try to speak with him," she suggested quietly. "Perhaps we can discern the problem that way."

"Dad's out of the question," Silver said immediately. "He went back to bed. He's still pretty tired and all."

"And Analia?" Blaze inquired.

"Gramma's helping Vanilla with something," Silver shrugged. "And I have no idea where Locke is," he was quick to add.

"Do you wish for me to try?" Blaze asked slowly. Sure she and Kaden got along well-enough and all, but they'd never truly properly met or even acquainted themselves with each other, so she was still a bit… almost _shy_ around him, especially considering the fact that he was her childhood hero.

"I dunno," Silver replied with another shrug. "I mean, _I_ could try, I just don't know that it'll yield any results for us, you know?"

"That is true," Blaze agreed with a small sigh.

After a moment, Silver as well. "Well, I guess I'll go give this a shot." He stood up. "Wish me luck." This last part was more meant to be a joke, so he was slightly surprised when Blaze responded.

"Good luck."

Silver tossed her a small smile, then walked to the door and disappeared back outside to rejoin his grandfather on the roof.

**ソニック**

After a bit of searching, Wave located Jet in his room, which, for once, actually had the door open. She knocked lightly with her free hand, and Jet looked up from whatever he was working on on the piece of paper he had sitting on his slightly-organized-slightly-cluttered desk. Wave raised her offering with her right hand. "I fixed your board," she said simply.

Jet stood up and accepted the precious piece of tech from her. "Thanks." He hesitated, then almost reluctantly conceded a small, "And… sorry."

Wave blinked in genuine surprise. Jet basically never apologized for anything. Ever. Generally speaking, he didn't usually feel like he had anything to be sorry for in the first place. And, when he did, he usually _showed_ that he was sorry in some way, rather than simply _telling_ it. Words really could be meaningless to him sometimes, hence the reason he was usually so action-oriented. "What for?" she asked, doing her best not to let her surprise show, lest she make him defensive and thus ensure that she would never get her answer.

Jet looked away and leaned his newly repaired board against the wall in its usual place. "For somehow breaking this damn thing again," he finally said.

"How _did_ you break it again, anyway?" she questioned with a small frown. Truthfully, she was almost _certain_ that he hadn't actually done anything this time, but she needed confirmation here.

"I don't know," Jet shrugged. "Like I said before, I'd left it in the ship. I tossed it in there after you left with Cream."

_And the ship was never damaged… meaning that he really isn't at fault here._ Wave understood fully now. _Alright, then._ "Well, at least the damage this time around isn't anywhere near as bad as the damage I had to repair after you got back from that mess in Silver and Blaze's world."

"Yeah, but that time wasn't my fault," Jet responded as he sat back down in his desk chair.

Wave crossed her arms. "And how _wasn't_ it?" she challenged, though without any spark in her eyes or voice.

"If you ever go there, you'll get it," Jet told her. His response was almost dismissive as he turned back to his work and picked up his pencil again. "I don't feel like trying to explain it."

Wave shrugged a bit, not really very concerned by his response. "Alright." She turned and began to walk away, only to pause and turn back, walking into the room she only barely even saw. "Oh, and this is my thank-you," she murmured, "for keeping Cream safe when the house was burning down, even though you're not really a kid person." Before he even had a chance to turn around and say… _anything_, really, she suddenly leaned in and kissed his cheek, making him tense up a bit against his will. He swore his mind about went blank for a second. Then, smiling a little, Wave turned away again and walked out with a small wave, tossing a "See you later," back at him over her shoulder. With that, she went down the hall in search of Cream.

Jet sighed heavily and let his pencil drop as he leaned on his elbows on the desk, rubbing at his eyes a bit. _Now_ how was he supposed to focus on anything, let alone something complicated like this? He swore her little stunts, stunts like _this_ one, were going to drive him crazy. _Maybe they have already…_ he reflected silently.

He recalled the dreams he'd been having lately. These dreams were the same ones he'd been having all throughout his life, dreams that just didn't make any _sense_. There were always these strings of code and binary, random letters and colors, clusters of numbers with no order to them, flashing lights, whispering voices, sometimes some faint screams, a woman with a calm voice talking so far away that she couldn't be understood, flashes of images that went by too fast for him to make them out… the list went on and on. He rubbed at his eyes again. _What the hell does it all mean…?_

**ソニック**

Silver walked back into the house, somewhat defeated in appearance. "Well, I failed," he said as he approached Blaze, who was still on the couch. "He wouldn't talk. Just refused to."

As Silver reclaimed his seat, Blaze nodded slowly. "I see," she murmured.

"So… what now?"

"I do not know."

Silver sighed a bit. "Maybe we should just wait to let him cool off on his own."

"I do not think that will happen," Blaze admitted quietly. At the look Silver gave her, she elaborated a little. "This does not just seem to be a passing mood."

"You think something's actually _wrong_," Silver clarified with a frown. Blaze nodded. Silver held back another sigh. "Well… maybe we can ask Dad about it."

"Perhaps," Blaze agreed. "When he wakes up."

Somehow, Silver managed to give a small smile. "Let's do something until then," he suggested somewhat earnestly. "Please? I don't want to just sit here and worry all day."

"What would we do?" Blaze asked almost cautiously, slightly wary of her friend's ideas, given her past experiences with them.

Silver paused for a moment to consider his options before declaring, "Beach day!"

Blaze held back a sigh. She couldn't say "no"… Not when Silver was grinning so happily. It was only for that reason that she conceded, simply because his happiness was more important than her discomfort. "Alright."

Silver's grin only grew. "Yes!" he cheered, doing a little fist pump to punctuate the exclamation.

Blaze smiled slightly, though weakly, at his reaction. She really wasn't thrilled at the prospect of going to the beach, was honestly dreading it, but she his her feelings regarding the matter as best as she could as Silver jumped up find people to come along. _So long as I do not have to swim, I suppose it will be alright._

Silver came across Wave first. She was still walking down the halls in search of Cream. "Hey!" he called. When she turned around to face him, he continued. "Wanna come to the beach with us?"

"'Us'?" Wave echoed with a small frown.

Silver nodded. "Yeah. Blaze is coming."

At this, Wave shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I'll go. I haven't been in a while."

"Great!" Silver replied enthusiastically. Then he was quick to ask, "Will you help me find anyone else who wants to go?"

"Sure," Wave replied easily. With that, they parted ways in search of the others. _I guess talking to Cream can wait for now._

Silver quickly found a room and knocked on the door, only to tense a bit when he realized something. _I think this was Uncle Knuckles's room… and I'm pretty sure he was napping, too. …Uh-oh…_ He started to slowly back away, hoping and praying that he hadn't actually woken the echidna, then quickly turned to walk away.

Knuckles, who had just fallen asleep a short while ago, woke up the moment he heard the knocking on "his" door. He sat up in the bed and frowned. "Who's there?" he called out.

Silver cringed and paused midstep. _Please don't open the door, please don't open the door…_ He mentally paused, then thought,_ …Maybe if I stay still enough, he'll think no one's out here and he'll go back to sleep._ Knuckles sighed and threw the covers off to get out of bed. He then walked over to the door, muttering under his breath all the while. The moment Silver heard movement on the otherside of the door, he began tiptoeing like the wind down the hall. He knew he couldn't run, since that would be a dead giveaway as to who he was. After all, Sonic was asleep and Kaden had absolutely no reason whatsoever to be knocking on Knuckles's door. _Please don't hear me, please don't hear me…_

Knuckles opened the door and looked down the hall just in time to see Silver's left boot disappear around the corner. _What's he doing…?_ he thought with a frown.

Silver pressed himself up against the wall where he was standing. _Crap… I think he saw me…!_ Knuckles frowned a bit deeper as he approached the place where Silver was hiding. Silver started slinking sideways against the wall, sneaking further down the hall. _Nope! I'm not here! Go away!_

"I know you're over there," Knuckles muttered as he rounded the corner, almost as if he'd heard Silver's thoughts.

Silver cringed again, caught and defeated. _Crap…_

"Well?" Knuckles asked (almost demanded, really), crossing his arms as he did so. "Did you need something?"

"Um… beach day?" Silver offered hesitantly with a nervous, placating sort of smile.

Knuckles frowned a bit deeper. "No thanks."

Silver frowned a little as well, though only out of disappointment. "Aw, come on," he protested. "Even Blaze is coming."

Knuckles sighed then, shockingly, smirked a bit, eyes suddenly alight with relatively good humor. "Oh, alright," he conceded. "Just no more waking me up."

Silver couldn't help grinning now. "It was an accident, I swear. I forgot that was your room."

"Sure you did." Still smirking, Knuckles ruffled the hedgehog's hair with one hand, then turned to leave.

"It was!" Silver laughed. Then, childishly sticking his tongue out at the suddenly good-tempered echidna's retreating back just for good measure, he turned to walk off in search of others to drag along.

**~ソニック~**

**2,199 words this time. This is probably gonna be the last mellow chapter in a while. Maybe. Also, something discussed in this chapter hints at something _very_ important to this arc... Did you see it? And no, Shadow and his crew haven't been forgotten. They'll be coming back soon. **

**Also, my internet was back for a short while last night, and I managed to upload a new Hero sidestory starring Kaden. It takes place in an alternate universe. Interested in reading it? Check out "On My Own"! **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Posted 12-07-15.**


	175. Inquiry

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Well, this Arc, but yes. XD I'M NOT SAYING FOR SURE! XDD If you want to know for sure, feel free to PM me, and I can tell you there. I will say that that's a _very_ good guess, though. ;)**

**Hello, Snowy Meadow of Starlight! Yes, of course you do! _Shh_! It's our secret for now! XDD THEY ARE, OMG! X33**

**Hello, Nagato911! Your review to Chapter 174: Thanks! And thanks again! I'm glad you like them! :D**

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Haha, yes, he can be very enthusiastic at times. XD Lol, good job. So proud. XD Haha, yeah, he can be a little. Yeah, I know... That darned Eye of the Storm keeps haunting the gang, huh? Well, a previous chapter revealed (indirectly) that the dreams are tied to Astral Babylon, something that we know for a fact (thanks to the Ruined Future Arc) is _super_ important to this Arc. What was being hinted at last time was something entirely different. ;) Haha! It _is_ odd, isn't it? XD Aw, thanks! Ooh! Cookies! :D Man, I _hope_ I'm over it. We'll see. :P**

**Hello, Mutt7! Your review to Chapter 140: Yeah! 'Course! These things just take time, that's al. :)**

**Hello, superbook5012! Your review to Chapter 174: Hi! :) Oh, okay! I was wondering who that was. XD Yeah, I suppose it did. I was pretty satisfied with it, though, so... meh. XP Aw, thanks! I;m glad you enjoyed! :D Yeah, sorry the update took so long to come around... Heh heh. Well you're welcome to join in whenever! We'd love to have you! :D**

**Hello, A White Holiday Storm! Your review to Chapter 80: Eh, no big deal. :) THEY ARE. X33 Yeah, you certainly do know very little. More will come with time, though! Closer to the 100's chapters, that is. After about 116 is when his past starts to get revealed. :P**

**Your review to Chapter 181: Well, these things happen, so... XD**

**~ソニック~**

_**IMPORTANT NOTICES ARE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER! READ THEM!**_

**~ソニック~**

Locke had joined his friend on the roof some time ago, and now there were watching the clouds. They'd been talking idly for a while (Kaden was _slightly_ less inclined to conversing with him than usual, it seemed, but regardless), and they were still doing so as they leaned back, gazing into the early evening sky. "I meant to ask earlier…" Kaden began. "Where did he get my scarf?"

Knowing that Kaden was talking about Jet, Locke answered without hesitation."Well… he got it from a different version of himself from another timeline. _He_ got it from the Sonic of that world."

"And where did _he_ get it?" Kaden questioned, more for curiosity's sake than anything else, after taking a moment's pause to allow himself to process what Locke had said. It didn't take him long; he'd seen and heard of far stranger things in his life than this.

"No idea," Locke admitted with a shrug. Then he thought to ask, "Where did you even leave it, anyway?"

"I literally lost it in a tornado, Locke," Kaden responded dryly. "I didn't '_leave_' it anywhere."

Locke shrugged again, almost placatingly. Kaden was starting to seem irritable again. _That's not like him._ "Alright." Silence settled between them again. Slowly, Locke smiled. "There's someone inside who _really_ wants to meet you, by the way."

The look Kaden gave him was vaguely confused, a rarity for him. After a moment, he asked, "Who?"

"Well, you've already met her, but never quiet properly." Kaden's expression was nonplussed, but Locke pressed on. "If you don't mind, I can go get her." A pause. Then, "It would mean a lot to her to be able to talk with you for a while."

Finally, Kaden conceded a small, "Fine," as he looked away, returning his gaze to the sky.

Locke smiled even wider as he stood. "Don't worry. This isn't one of my ideas that you'll later come to regret."

Kaden didn't seem to have decided yet whether to believe him or not. "Hn," he murmured, so far seeming unconvinced.

Still smiling, Locke jumped lightly off the roof and returned inside.

**~ソニック~**

No one returned outside for over ten minutes. Kaden didn't mind it. He was relatively solitary by nature, though he did enjoy companionship to a point. Still, he enjoyed the peace that came from sitting on the roof by oneself with no other people around. Being surrounded by nothing but quiet and being able to allow his mind to wander while he looked up into the stars... that was one of the things he loved best about this time of day. Of course, he enjoyed the night, anyway, always had, but even still. But, he reflected internally, all good things must sooner or later come to an end. This peace he'd been enjoying (and that he's been using to try to alleviate some of his random, admittedly, bad mood) was no exception, as proven by the arrival of two voices by the hatch to the roof. Both were inside, but he could hear them easily.

"Go on. It's not like he's gonna bite you or something." It was Locke. No surprise, there.

"I do not want to," murmured a second voice.

Kaden blinked, slightly surprised. _He was speaking of Blaze?_

"Sure you do," Locke insisted. "You're just nervous, but you really don't need to be."

There was a pause before Blaze quietly responded, "Perhaps he wants to be left alone."

"He might," Locke admitted, "but he could use some company, whether he thinks so or not."

"It might be best to leave him be."

"I don't think so."

"I do not wish to intrude."

"You won't be."

Another pause. Then Blaze sighed. "Why are you so insistent?"

"What are you so nervous about?" Locke countered calmly.

"I am not nervous," Blaze mumbled. Kaden didn't think he'd ever heard her mumble before. Normally, she seemed to speak very clearly, never mumbling or muttering. It was... a bit odd, truthfully, to hear that changing now.

"You are," Locke insisted. "It's easy to see." Then he added a bit more gently, "It's understandable to be nervous when around someone you idolize, but there's really no reason for you to be. Like I said, it's not like he's going to bite you or something. He's more friendly than he likes to let on most of the time."

Kaden blinked a few more times. Now he was _really_ surprised. _"Idolize"?_ Choosing to ignore Locke's last sentence there for now, Kaden instead focused on wondering where in the _world_ the echidna had gotten the idea into his head that Kaden was someone's _idol_. Surely he was mistaken... right?

"Did Silver mention that to you?" Blaze asked quickly, almost seeming at least slightly irritated all of a sudden. Another abnormality for her.

"No, but it wasn't like he _needed_ to," Locke responded. "It's pretty easy to see. T'be honest, I'm kind of surprised Kaden hasn't noticed it yet." Locke paused, then added, "But, then again, he definitely has days where he's a bit oblivious to that sort of thing." Kaden frowned unappreciatively at that little comment, now thoroughly displeased with his friend for the moment.

Blaze sighed again, her irritation seeming to deflate and fade away. "I really do not wish to intrude," she murmured.

"You won't be," Locke to her again. Then he seemed to smile. The expression was audible in his voice. "Now go on. No more excuses." When there was a slight pause, presumable so that Blaze could open her mouth to protest again (if Locke's response was any indication), Locke added, "I promise you won't regret it. Just give it a try."

Blaze sighed quietly and finally gave in. "...Alright..."

Kaden listened quietly as the hatch to the roof opened and Locke walked away, deeper into the house. Kaden didn't turn around just yet; he decided to let Blaze do what she wanted as far as initiating any sort of interaction went. He wasn't usually terribly good at or fond of doing so himself (especially around people he wasn't very familiar with), anyway. So, instead, he waited to see what she would do. Finally, Blaze seemed to fight through the last bits of hesitation she appeared to be feeling, and she sat down next to him. leaving a respectable couple of feet between them. After a long moment, she spoke, head slightly lowered and eyes trained on the ground far below them. "Would you... be opposed to speaking for a while?" she asked slowly.

Kaden blinked once. "I suppose not," he responded simply. When she seemed to hesitate again, he cast her a brief glance and decided to speak again. "Speak about what?" he verbally prodded, tone subtly inquiring.

If anything, that seemed to make her hesitate more, though only for a moment. "I have a lot of questions," she admitted quietly. Then she was quick to add, "If you do not mind, that is."

"I don't mind," Kaden decided almost immediately. Really, what was the harm in her asking questions, anyway?

Blaze seemed to take a moment to decide before finally voicing her first question. "How many years did you train?"

That gave Kaden a moment of pause. Eventually, he lifted one shoulder in a minute shrug. "I'm not sure. More than a few centuries, though."

"When did you start training?"

"When I was seven."

"Why that early?"

"I'm not the person to ask. I don't have the answer."

"Oh." There was a brief pause before she spoke up again as she turned her head to look at him for the first time that night. "What areas were you trained in?"

"Powers and swordplay, mostly," Kaden responded. "But there were a number of other things."

Now it was Blaze's turn to prod, it seemed. "Like what?"

She seemed genuinely curious and, if only for that reason, Kaden conceded and gave her an answer. "I was trained how to use many various weapons, how to create strategies and tactics, how to interpret enemy intentions, motives, and so on, how to track... That sort of thing."

Blaze's head canted slightly. "What weapons can you use?"

"Mostly blades," Kaden responded. "Daggers, knives, scythes, and the like." He paused, then added, "I can use others, though. Such as bows and crossbows."

Blaze managed a very small smile as she looked away. "That's is impressive." Kaden just shrugged a bit, and more silence settled between them. Finally, Blaze voiced her next question. "What are some things you like to do? Besides reading and running, that it."

Kaden blinked, eyes drifting back to the stars. He wasn't surprised that she'd learned about his reading hobby by now. Not at all. "I like to draw," he admitted. He paused, then added, "And, when I can, flying is enjoyable as well."

"Do you play games at all?" Blaze asked.

"Mahjong and shogi, mostly," Kaden shrugged. "Chess is enjoyable as well, though."

Blaze smiled a little again. "I enjoy chess," she admitted, revealing a bit about herself to him for the first time. "I have never played Mahjong or shogi, though."

Kaden made one of his fairly famous (or _in__famous_, according to Locke) split-second decisions. "I can teach you sometime, if you'd like."

Blaze seemed... surprised. It took her a moment to reply. "I would like that," she murmured. She didn't seem surprised when he didn't verbally respond, and he had to reflect on how quickly she learned. It had taken even Locke a while to get used to the fact that Kaden's reactions were often internal and therefore not typically visible in any sort of way. Blaze's next question interrupted that train of thought before it could be driven any further. "How long have you and Locke known each other?"

"A very long time," Kaden responded immediately. "We met when we were ten, and have been friends for most of that time."

Blaze looked at him again. "'Most'?" she asked.

Kaden shrugged minutely. "I didn't exactly take to him right away. I was fairly... abrasive at that age, and it took time for us to become friends because of it."

She seemed to know that there was something more, something he wasn't saying. "And?"

"And..." He paused for a moment, then admitted, "We had a fight once." He didn't elaborate, and she didn't ask. He was grateful for it. That wasn't a time he liked to remember. _The time our friendship was almost destroyed... and by Locke and I, ourselves._

Blaze seemed to decide it best to ask a new question. Once again, he was grateful for it. "Is it true that you fought in two wars?"

"More than two," Kaden murmured in response. Then he added even more quietly, "There were six. I was a child during two of them, and a teenager during a third." It wasn't often (it was _very_ rare, in fact) that he was this open with someone, especially about his past. There were things that even Locke and Analia didn't know, and they were two of the people he trusted the most in the world. But... there was no harm in this, really. Some of these questions involved matters that were a bit personal, yes, but it wasn't like she meant any harm by it. So, just this once, he decided to be okay with this.

Blaze was quiet for a long while as she seemed to think about what he'd just told her. He remained silent, keeping to himself and his thoughts, waiting for her to speak. When she did, she changed the subject entirely. "The stories I always heard of you always mentioned Locke and Analia as being your friends," she murmured, "but there were mentions of three others as well, whose names were lost by the time I was born in my world." She once again turned her head to look at him. "Would you... mind telling me about them?"

The memories that flooded his mind were bittersweet. The hardship woven into those memories wasn't the problem... the problem was that those people she was talking about... they weren't around any more. Though one of them had met a far happier fate than the other two. "You know one of them already."

She blinked, surprised. "I do?"

Kaden allowed himself a small smirk. "You met him, around the same time that Locke, Analia, and I were... in a sense, revived." Blaze still seemed slightly confused as to who he was referring to. After all, she'd met quite a few new people since coming here around the time of Dark Gaia's awakening. As such, he decided to elaborate, though he did so in his simple, direct way. "Chip."

Now a small smirk tugged at her lips as she looked away. "I see." There was another significant pause. Then she inquired, "And the other two?"

"Their names were Pyros and Marthal," Kaden answered quietly. "Both were fire users and from different clans from both each other and myself. I met Marthal when I was fifteen and Pyros when I was sixteen."

"How did you meet them?" she asked.

It was a harmless question, really, and he didn't mind answering. "Marthal found me in the woods on accident one afternoon." He smirked again, amused by the memory. "I later found out that he'd been hunting and that he'd nearly shot me with his bow because he'd thought, at first, that I was an enemy from an entirely different clan. We spoke for a long while and just... stayed in contact after that."

Blaze's own eyes showed a hint of amusement. "And Pyros?" she inquired.

Kaden kept smirking. "Honestly?" he asked her. "I kicked his ass during the war I fought as a teenager. That was how we met. Needless to say, we weren't friends for a long time afterward, but we were allies to a point, and we respected each other for the most part." He paused before adding, "I'm not entirely sure how we actually became friends after that."

Blaze nodded a bit in response, presumably to signal her understanding. Once more, silence fell. The sky was growing darker. As always, with the night came a state of somewhat heightened relaxation for him. He truly did love the night. But, once again, her voice broke into his thoughts. It was quiet again, quieter than it had been before, and she seemed... hesitant. When she voiced her next question, he realized _why_. "May I ask you something... personal?"

He was silent for a moment as he considered this, weighing options and wondering what, exactly, she might ask. Then, finally, he allowed himself yet another small shrug. "Alright."

She hesitated again for a time before finally, though slowly, asking, "What was your family like? And your home?"

Normally, any mention of that first part would have Kaden instantly closed off and, thus, completely silent. Normally, he wouldn't even answer such a question. But... this was one time where he supposed he could make an exception. What did it matter if one more person knew, anyway? The truth he was about to give to her was irrelevant these days, anyway. With all this in mind, he spoke. "I never knew my parents," he admitted quietly. "I didn't live with anyone who was related to me. I grew up in the city Chun-nan, where I was raised by six elders. Chun-nan was a hedgehog clan, and our people had a king and queen. However, these six elders were the people in charge of this city. They raised me and trained me, while also keeping the city running and whatnot."

"Why did your parents not raise you?" Blaze asked with a small frown.

Kaden shrugged again. "That information was never divulged to me. I was left in the care of the elders... and that's all anyone would ever say about it."

"Did you not ever try to find out more on your own?"

"I did."

"And?"

"Nothing came of it. I learned next to nothing."

Blaze didn't press any further, and he was glad that the matter had been dropped. And, when she again asked about his home, the massive, bustling mountain city of Chun-nan, he was more than willing (and even somewhat happy) to share his memories and knowledge of it with her.

**~ソニック~**

The gunfire below him was enough to rip Kaden from his surprisingly heavy sleep. He sat bolt upright and was honestly surprised to find that someone had come up and tossed a blanket over him at some point. He'd even been laying on a pillow. He had no time to ponder about this, however, before Sonic suddenly came running out onto the roof and grabbed him by the arm. "Come on, Dad! We've gotta move!"

Still slightly dazed from having been woken up so suddenly one of the _very_ few times he'd actually managed to get into a decent state of sleep, Kaden found himself unable to voice a reply. Instead, he just found his feet (somehow) and ran after Sonic into the house. It was utter chaos in there. Windows were being blasted in, sending shards of glass flying and coating the floor in sharp, crunchy, transparent pieces. Robots were attempting to break in through those windows, through the walls (which thankfully were more than strong enough to keep them out), through the hatch to the roof... Everyone was either awake or being woken up, and those who weren't busy fending off robots or waking others were fleeing as quickly as possible.

Tails's voice was the first to raise itself over the others in a comprehensible sentence. "Guys! I'm gonna go get my plane!" He was fending off a robot that had gotten inside. His plane, which Kaden had heard had been left in a hangar in this city at some point, wasn't terribly far away.

"Someone needs to get the X-Tornado!" Amy called out as she hauled a very sleepy looking Cream and Cheese out of the room they'd been sleeping in.

"Jet!" Sonic practically snapped from Kaden's side. His son still had a near death-grip on Kaden's arm; he wasn't sure why.

Jet was already running to the door, board in arm. "I'm on it!" Within seconds, he was out of sight. Tails wasn't too far behind him.

Kaden finally seemed to find his voice. "Where is your mother?" he practically demanded of Sonic.

"Escaped already," Sonic answered briefly. "She took Vanilla, Harold, and Marie. She's taking them someplace safer, away from us." This made perfect sense. The three of them couldn't fight, after all.

Kaden honestly hated being separated from Analia, but this was no time to worry about that. They had bigger things to worry about... like the fact that they still had to get out of this damn building. Only... their main exit, namely the door, was now being blocked (quite effectively) by at least six large, heavily armored robots. There was no exit... _So I'll make one, then._ These robots weren't strong enough to break through the walls of this tower-house... but Kaden _was_. Without even bothering to take the time to explain what he was doing to anyone, he ran forward to the nearest wall. With a short jump, a rapid twirl, and a single, near-devastating kick, a hole was ripped through the wall, leaving the people behind him free to escape. Thankfully, the others seemed to have caught on to this little plan of his. So, when he fearlessly jumped out the hole he'd created and into the open air... they weren't far behind.

**~ソニック~**

Shadow led his group deeper into the woods, never saying a word. Rouge was fairly _radiating_ curiosity, as she was undoubtedly full of unasked questions at the moment, but he pretended not to notice. He had no desire to deal with any of her questions right now. Or ever, really. he knew what he was doing, and that was all that mattered.

As they rounded a bend in the forest, a ship slowly came into view. It was a large thing, a four-seater, all sharp angles and sleek, shiny black paint. It was like the ship version of a fierce bird of prey. The wings almost looked like those of a falcon's, too, and the ends came to sharp, deadly points. These wings were also fully capable of slicing through through even solid steel, should the situation call for it. This was _his_ ship, and in every way suited to him. And this was also it's maiden flight.

Amazingly enough, Rouge still asked no questions as he opened the cockpit and climbed into the pilot's seat. She got into the seat just behind him, and he shut the cockpit. As the ship slowly lifted into the air, Omega did the same. Shadow pressed a couple buttons and flipped a few switches. They needed to move... and they had to be fast. Ivo was after them, and they didn't have a moment to lose. _I refuse to be caught and used by him again._

**~ソニック~**

Sonic and the others were on the ground fending off robots below the Rogue's tower home when Tails and Jet returned. Tails was piloting his plane, the Tornado-1, while Jet was piloting the X-Tornado with his board in the seat behind him. Both of them landed near the group, and Jet was quick to get out of the ship and onto his board. Wave and Storm got on their boards as well while Knuckles reluctantly got into the second seat of the X-Tornado. He really couldn't fly very well with one broken arm, after all. Cream and Cheese hurried into the seat behind him, and Amy got into the seat farthest back. After a brief discussion with Tails and Silver, Blaze jumped onto the back of the Tornado-1 and grabbed onto the handlebars designed for the only passenger this ship was capable of carrying to hold onto during flight. Now, however, there was a problem.

"I can't pilot right now," Sonic said quickly, eyes moving to keep an eye on the robots still in the area. "I need to be able to move freely and fight."

Kaden thought quickly, but responded before he'd truly thought anything out very well. "I'll pilot, then."

Wave flew closer to them. "You can fly a ship?" she asked, her tone clearly communicating her surprise.

All Kaden offered was a somewhat curt, "Yes."

"There were plenty of ships around during the war against the old Babylon Rogues," Locke explained briefly. "We stole plenty of ships back then, and he was our pilot. He learned how to fly them all."

Sonic nodded once, signaling his acceptance. "Alright. Let's get moving, then."

"Where are we even going?" Wave asked with a frown.

Storm crossed his broad arms. "We can't go somewhere where there's people hangin' around."

"Green Forest," Jet suddenly said. All eyes turned to him. "It's not _too_ far from here," he continued, "and no one lives there. Plus it's more than huge enough to give us some cover."

Sonic nodded again. "Right." Then, knowing that Kaden wasn't completely familiar with this world's modern landscape (for obvious reasons), he turned to him and said, "Dad, follow Tails. He'll be following Jet, Wave, and Storm, and they know where they're going." Kaden nodded once in acceptance of this, then jumped lightly into the ship's pilot seat. He ignored the sharp spike of pain that this movement earned him.

Within moments, the X-Tornado and the Tornado-1 were airborne, as were Locke, Silver, and the Rogue. The immediately began flying east (slightly southeast, really) toward the massive, flooded forest with Sonic running below. Sonic gritted his teeth tightly together. _One more night of rest... then we have to get serious. There's a lot for us to do... And nowhere near enough time to do it._ His gaze focused on the landscape ahead of him. He had no idea what was going to happen from here on out. All he knew for certain was this: _Everything we have ever fought for, everything we have ever cared about, everything we have ever loved, is now at greater risk than ever before. No matter what happens... we can't afford to miss even a single victory._ His gaze hardened as he poured on the speed. _Failure was never an option to begin with. But now... Failure means the end... of everything._

**~ソニック~**

**4,213 words this time. I HAVE GREAT NEWS! Does anyone have any questions you'd like to ask the characters? Well ask away in the reviews or in a PM! I'll be doing a special oneshot in the oneshot collection, "Every Hero Has a Story", within the next couple of weeks!**

**Also, have you guys ever wondered what Knuckles, Jet, Wave, and Storm experienced when South Island fell? Or what about what happened on the day Knuckles last saw his mother? Well read Every Hero Has a Story! The oneshots regarding Jet and Wave's experiences on South Island are complete, and the one with Storm is on the way! Knuckles's story will be next, then the one about his mother. I hope you all check it out!**

**Thirdly, for those of you who're reading On My Own, the new Hero side story I mentioned before, I hope to have the next chapter up soon.**

**Next, I'm still on the lookout for songs for the playlist, as always. Suggestions are still welcome and appreciated!**

**Lastly, here's my official for the stories (the order of the first four are set in stone while the others may be moved around):**

**a.) Finish writing _Hero_**

**b.) Write and complete the sequel, _Eye of the Storm_**

**c.) Write and complete _True Storm_ (a _very_ important side story that takes place between _Hero_ and _Eye of the Storm_)**

**d.) Write and complete the prologue to _Hero_, _Hero Chronicles: Times of War_ (featuring Locke, Kaden, Analia and their friends in their adventures)**

**e.) Complete _On My Own_ (it _should_ be done by the time the prologue ends)**

**f.) Write and complete _Riders_ (the side story about Sonic's adventures with the Rogues before Silver was born)**

**g.) Write and complete _And Then the Time Came_ (the side story that deals with everything that happened in the Ruined Future Arc before present-day Tails, Knuckles, and Amy showed up)**

**h.) Write and complete _Tales of a Journey_ (an alternate version of _Hero_... one where, perhaps, Sonic _isn't_ the main hero)**

**i.) Write and complete an OC story (using characters people have created and given to me to borrow; still accepting entries for this)**

**j.) Continue writing _Every Hero Has a Story_ (this, being a oneshot collection, can, theoretically, continue on indefinitely; I don't think it will ever truly be complete)**

**Anyway, that's all for now. I hope you all enjoyed! Posted 12-12-15.**


	176. Anxiety

**Hello, Skye the Hedgehog101! I'm so glad you enjoyed! That always means a lot to hear. Yeah, lots and lots o' suspense this time around. I love it, too. :) Oh, cool! Thanks for the suggestion! I will certainly check it out! As far as the OC thing goes, go for it! Send me any info you have on any OC's you want (no OP's of course, though, please)! I can't guarantee that I'll use every OC you send, but I promise to use at least one from each person who sends one in. Remember, every little detail you can give me about the character will help me write them the way you imagine them. :) No, thank you for reading and whatnot! I really appreciate it! :D Aww! I'll do my best! XD**

**Hello, Nagato911! Thanks! I'm glad you think so! :D Cool.**

**Hello, superbook5012! I'm glad it did! :D Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed! Oh, you are? Is it posted? I'm curious about it now and kinda want to read it. XD What, may I ask, did you get from this chapter that you think will help you? I'm just curious. :) I do, I do… Haha. XD Yes, Eye of the Storm. I announced that quite a while back, as you may remember. Lol. XD**

**Hello, E-tech is friggin dope! 第1章のあなたのレビュー：私は、あなたがそう思うことをうれしく思います！私はあなたが物語の残りの部分をお楽しみください！レビューを残すために時間を割いてどうもありがとうございます、と私はあなたからすぐに再びを聞くことを願っています。もう一度読み、見直しをありがとう！**

**Hello, takedigi! Your review to Chapter 1: I'm glad you do! And I'm so happy you like the story! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 2: True. So very, very true. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 3: It really was sad. Thanks! Glad you think so!**

**Your review to Chapter 4: I'm glad you think so! Yes, I like that as well. Yeah... Poor kiddo...**

**Your review to Chapter 5: That is. Very. I'm glad you do! :D **

**Your review to Chapter 6: Yep! 'Cept it's not really _Knuckles_. Yeah, that's his OVA appearance exactly! **

**Your review to Chapter 7: Yup! Lots of surprises! Thanks!**

**~ソニック~**

The travel to Green Forest was mostly quiet. Sonic ran below the others, constantly on the lookout for any enemies of any kind. But, thankfully, he had yet to hear or otherwise sense any. _Good._ With a quick glance up he noted again with some measure of satisfaction that his father really was a skilled pilot. The X-Tornado was steady and flying surely. Locke hadn't been kidding before when he'd said that Kaden knew what he was doing. Still, as his thoughts remained on his father, Sonic's small smirk faded. _I need to keep him close._

His still didn't know precisely why yet, but Ivo was after Kaden. He didn't know for certain but, somehow, Sonic doubted that even Amy, Tails, Knuckles, and Locke knew exactly why Ivo was after his father. Still, the simple fact that Kaden was in danger was enough to get his heart pounding with concern. _I have to stay near him as much as possible._ He knew his father well enough by now to know that he might at least slightly resent being so heavily guarded constantly, but Sonic also knew that Kaden wasn't stupid. Far from it. He undoubtedly understood how important this was. The older hedgehog was a master of setting aside his emotions when it came to making unwanted decisions to protect others and the world, anyway.

As he ran, Sonic's thoughts drifted slightly from that matter to the matter of his mission as a whole. He'd accomplished some of the things he'd needed to, thankfully. _Dad's awake. I have Caliburn. I spoke to mom about the Dragonfire. I learned about Astral Babylon from Jet, though there might still be more information for me to dig up about that. Still, I know enough. _In spite of these achievements, however, he knew that there was still more to do. _There's always so much to do… and never enough time._

_"_Learn everything you can about a young girl named Maria. Get Shadow on your side before Ivo can. With him, Rouge and Omega will come, too. You need them more than you may realize. You need to do this as soon as possible. Should you fail, you have to try and make him realize the truth about Maria and her wish for him. If you fail then, Ivo will win.__

_Protect your father by any means necessary. Don't let Ivo get anywhere near him. If Ivo gets ahold of him, everything will be over. Everything. No matter what you do, the moment Ivo gets his hands on your father, the battle will already be lost._

_Don't let Ivo learn about Astral Babylon. Don't let him learn__anything__. Part of the key to doing this is stopping Ross. Prevent him and Ivo from ever meeting. Find and protect the Ark of the Cosmos. Then, when you can, go to Mazuri._

_ Get the X-Tornado ready to go to space. You'll need it. You'll see why when you get there._

_Gather the Chaos Emeralds as quickly as you can and hide them, protect them. The Master Emerald, too. Ivo will need them for his plans to work, and you can't let him have them. Make them dormant if you can._

_No matter what happens, you can't turn your back on the Voice. What it tells you is always important. Even if things end up terrible like they did here, never stop listening to it like my time's Sonic has._

_Do what you can to protect Cream. Ivo should have learned of her hidden power by now, in your time. Don't let him touch her._

_Don't let the Biolizard awaken. If it can't be helped, then destroy it as soon as possible._

_Destroy the ARK."_

_Sonic stifled a sigh. __So much to do… and never enough time._

**~ソニック~**

"Good ol' Green Forest," Knuckles muttered as he looked out the cockpit of the X-Tornado to frown at the forest they were currently flying over. "One of the wettest places in the world. We may as well have gone to the ocean to hide _there_."

"Oh, shush up, will you," Amy replied, eyes on the map she was holding with both of her hands. "You're always so grumpy."

"You try having a broken arm and see how _you're_ feeling."

"I'd rather not," Amy quipped. Then she added, "And I'd _also_ rather not listen to you grouch on and on about little things like how wet the forest is. You should just be glad we're alive."

"And who says I'm not?" Knuckles retorted.

"Not 'who'," Amy replied calmly. "'What'."

"What are you talking about?" Knuckles all but demanded.

"You're tone," was the simple reply.

Up front, Kaden uncharacteristically rolled his eyes as he listened to their bickering. _Are they always this way?_ He did his best not to let it get on his nerves, but he couldn't deny the small surge of irritability that the little argument was causing to rise up in him. For that matter, just about _everything_ seemed to be making him irritable lately, ever since he'd woken up. He didn't know why this was the case, but it bothered him greatly. _Negative emotions are dangerous… That is why I bury them, keep them locked away. But… what am I supposed to do when those methods no longer seem to work?_

That was when Knuckles mentioned for the second time how wet the forest was, which he did by specifically mentioning the fact that it was _flooded_. Kaden felt a small shiver of anxiety race up his spine. He _hated_ water _so_ much. There wasn't much that he'd ever truly felt fear toward, but he was willing to admit (at least to himself) that water was just one of those things. His grip tightened slightly on the ship's controls, and he did his best to focus on where he was flying even as he internally battled the newest negative emotion to enter his heart today. Silently, he let out a slow, deep breath. _Why did I ever agree to come here…?_

**~ソニック~**

Sonic was fairly ashamed to admit, even just to himself, that he'd forgotten (however temporarily) just how _wet_ this place was. This was, after all, one of the rainiest places in the world. It got only slightly less rain than White Jungle typically did. Still, he did his best not to let it bother him. He knew that Jet wouldn't have suggested coming to this place if there wasn't someplace dry for them to stay. Jet had as good as promised some years ago that he would never force Sonic to face his fear for no reason, and Sonic, to this day, completely trusted his friend's word. Still, there was no denying the fact that he was anxious. A bit afraid, even. He didn't even want to _think_ about why.

In an effort to distract himself, Sonic ran ahead to where the Rogues were flying. He caught Jet's eye and, with a brief motion of his hand, he motioned the hawk down. Once Jet was flying beside him, Sonic spoke. "So, care to share what had you in such in off mood the day I came back from Chun-nan?" he inquired somewhat lightly.

Jet seemed to hesitate, but, at the same time, he seemed resigned, as if he'd already decided to fill Sonic in on this and simply needed to work up the nerve to actually _do_ it. Finally, Jet sighed. "We have to get the Arks," he started off simply.

Sonic nodded once. "Yeah," he acknowledged. "We do."

Jet hesitated again. Then, all at once, he appeared to force himself to speak. "Ross has one," he informed Sonic quickly and tensely. "He's had it since before I was even born."

Sonic was suddenly reminded of one part of his mission. _In order to prevent Ivo from learning about Babylon, Ross has to be stopped. They can't be allowed to meet. If they do meet, and Ross has an Ark, Ivo can figure out how to track them. If nothing else, he'll know what they look like. We cannot let that happen._ _We have the advantage right now because, even if he does know that they exist, Ivo doesn't know how to find the Arks. We need to act fast and press that advantage… before we lose it._ Sonic pulled free of his thoughts after that thought. He knew exactly where Jet was going with this, and he focused on that for the time being. "You're planning on going there to get it, aren't you?"

Now it was Jet's turn to give a single nod, though his nod was tenser and more curt than Sonic's had been. "Yes. There isn't exactly another option."

_No… there's not._ "I'm not staying behind while you do this," Sonic said simply, his firm tone brooking no room for argument.

Jet seemed… _relieved_ that Sonic had decided this. Sonic honestly couldn't blame him. Jet had been traumatized in that house, and even in his home on South Island, so obviously going back to that place was going to be traumatic in its own way. Jet didn't voice his thanks, but Sonic could see the gratitude in his eyes, and that was thanks enough for him. "Wave and Storm said they're coming, too."

"Good," Sonic replied. _I would've kicked their asses if they decided anything else._ Not that he would have expected them to, but even still.

As much as Jet almost certainly didn't _want_ to do this, he seemed set on doing it, anyway. And as soon as possible, too. "We need to leave soon."

"After we get the others to a safe place," Sonic agreed.

Jet nodded again. "Yeah.

Sonic then remembered something important. "I'm taking Dad along, too."

That earned him a slightly confused glance. "Why?"

Sonic had already confided in Jet and Wave about his mission. Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and Locke knew about it, too, and Analia still needed to be informed. Because Jet knew pretty much everything about it, there wasn't much for Sonic to explain here. "Part of what I have to do to prevent the ruined future Amy and the others were in is protect Dad from Ivo. I can't very well protect him if I'm not near him."

Jet's acceptance of this was immediate, but he apparently still had a concern. "Will he even be able to keep up with that leg of his?"

"I'll take my board along," Sonic decided immediately. He'd grabbed the old thing from his room while they'd been at the house, and now it was floating along with Silver who'd offered to use his powers to carry it so that Sonic could run easier. "If worst comes to worst, he can ride on that. He's a quick learner, from what I've gathered, so I don't think it'll be much of a problem." _He's a quick study… Just like you were with your own board when I gave it to you._

As with before, Jet gave his acceptance easily. It never ceased to be at least somewhat surprising to Sonic just how much trust Jet gave to him, even after all that had happened between them around the time of Silver's birth. "Alright." Apparently left with nothing more to say on the matter, Jet flew back up to Wave and Storm, and Sonic simply let him go.

**~ソニック~**

"So, wait, _where_ are you guys going?" Amy asked.

It was early afternoon now. The section of forest the group was in was as dry as any they were ever going to find here, and they were only a few miles from a truly monstrous-sized lake, one of those kinds that was so deep that it had full-sized trees growing out of it.. They didn't dare stay in a clearing, as they were be too easy to spot from above if they did so. The X-Tornado and Tornado-1, what with their bright colorings and all, where carefully concealed under the thickest canopy that the group could find. They were side by side, with the ship just feet away from the plane, and carefully positioned for an easy and quick takeoff. All around the area, the group was setting up camp for now. The driest available wood was being gathered up for a fire, fruits and whatnot were being gathered from the trees for lunch, weapons were being cleaned and otherwise prepared for use should the situation call for it… It was busy here, but such things were necessary.

"We have to go get something important," Wave answered, speaking in response to Amy's question.

Tails's curiosity seemed to be piqued. "What is it?"

"Don't worry about, kid," Jet muttered. "I'll tell you if you ever need to know."

Strangely enough, Tails seemed to accept this little command (such as it was), almost as if he were a student listening to their teacher. Brushing that off for now, Sonic turned to Tails as well. "While we're gone, I need you to work on the Tornado as much as you can."

"Sure," Tails agreed easily. "What do you need me to do? Nothing seems to be wrong with it."

"No, it's fine," Sonic assured. "That's not a problem right now. I need you to do what you can to try to get the ship ready to go into space."

Tails seemed to understand. This was hugely important to the mission. "Right," he nodded. "I packed my tools, so I can get to work on it now."

Sonic returned the nod. "I brought along mine, too. Use whatever you need."

"Right," Tails said again. Then, with a brief and small smile, he turned and hurried away.

Right about then, Amy was called away by Cream, who needed some help finding more food. That left only Sonic, Jet, Wave, Storm, Knuckles, Kaden, and Locke standing here. Well, _most_ of them were standing, anyway. Kaden was sitting about six feet away under and against a tree, presumably to give his injured leg a break. Locke was sitting beside him. Neither was speaking, but they almost seemed to be somehow conversing, anyway. Sonic spoke up. "_Oi_, _oto-san_." ("Hey, Dad.")

Kaden didn't open his eyes. "_Nanja_?" ("What?")

"Care to get out of this place for a while?" No one had directly told him anything and Kaden had hid it well, but Sonic could tell that Kaden, shockingly enough, shared in his fear of water. As awful as that was, that worked to Sonic's advantage for the moment, if only because it likely meant that he would have an easier time convincing Kaden to tag along than he probably otherwise would have.

Sure enough, Kaden seemed to latch onto this idea. He opened his eyes and sat up a bit. "And go where?" he inquired, though he didn't truly seem to care about the destination very much. Just so long as he could leave _this_ place…

"An old town," Sonic answered. "It's a ways to the northeast from here. We've gotta go get something." There was a slight pause. Then, "You in?"

Kaden gave a single, small nod. "Fine."

Pleased, Sonic turned away again. Then, for the first time since this whole conversation had started, Knuckles spoke up. "If those three are coming," he cast a significant glance over the Rogues, "then I'm guessing you guys are after an Ark." Locke and Kaden looked over at the group sharply, but neither spoke.

Sonic glanced at Jet, Wave, and Storm, then conceded a nod. "Yeah. We are."

Knuckles probably would have crossed his arms, if not for the fact that one of those arms was still in a sling. "And what makes you think it's going to be in some random town?" he asked pointedly.

"First off, it's not random," Jet responded before Sonic could. There was a bit of a sharp edge to his tone, but he could hardly be blamed for it. This whole situation was certainly much mores stressful for him then he was likely to ever let on. "Secondly, I don't _think_ that the Ark's there. I _know_ it is."

"And how do you _know_?" Knuckles pressed seriously.

Jet snorted softly. "That's hardly any of your concern." Without another word on the matter, he turned and walked away to retrieve his board. Unsurprisingly, his team followed him.

Knuckles seemed torn between wanting to roll his eyes and wanting to glare. In the end, he apparently settled on a scowl. "What's with _him_?"

Sonic knew he needed to choose his words carefully. This situation was a highly sensitive one involving a very touchy matter, and it was _not_ something Jet wanted anyone spreading around. "Look, this is just… really stressful for him, okay? Just leave it at that."

Knuckles's scowl suddenly deepened. "This town, it's really not random, is it?"

Sonic hesitated slightly, then gave in. "No, it's not."

"Which means it's someplace you and him are both familiar with, right?" Knuckles pressed.

Again, Sonic gave in and divulged a small amount of information. "Yes."

When Knuckles spoke again just a few seconds later, he said something that just about shocked Sonic. "It's where he and his piece of shit dad lived then, isn't it?"

"How the hell do you know that?" Sonic demanded, ears going back slightly (though more out of upset confusion than out of the anger that such an expression might have hinted at).

"The other you told me."

_Why, why, why would he go spreading something like that around?_ Sonic released a small though no less heavy sigh, then warned lowly, "Do _not_ go telling other people about that, alright? That's the last thing Jet needs to deal with. It's bad enough for him that Wave, Storm, and I know about the abuse he went through."

As Knuckles gave some sort of muttered response, an agreement of sorts, Locke cast a quick glance at Kaden. Kaden was looking away from Sonic and Knuckles, but Locke had no doubt that he was paying attention… and that he was angry. Probably even furious. _And it's no damn wonder why…_ Locke turned to face his friend fully. "Don't kill the guy," he muttered. "Kick his ass if it's necessary, but otherwise leave it alone. It's not worth the effort right now."

"As if I'd bother, anyway." His tone was deceptively neutral, but Locke saw through it. He really was angry, and with good reason. Locke wasn't at all surprised that this new bit of information had pissed Kaden the hell off… but that was something to worry about another time.

"Ready to go, _oto-san_?" Sonic called.

Kaden was still honestly surprised that Sonic had started referring to him as _"oto-san_" (as that was the ancient, highly respectful term for "Dad", and these were modern times), but he still didn't say anything about it. Instead, he just stood, doing his best to ignore the sharp stab of pain that shot up his right leg in response to him doing so. _Damn thing…_

Sonic returned the nod and walked over to Jet, Wave, and Storm, who were standing by and waiting for him and Kaden. Knuckles walked with him. "Keep an eye on things for me, Knucklehead. We shouldn't be gone longer than a day or two."

"You'd better not be, pincushion. If we're attacked, there's not much we're gonna be able to do without you guys."

"You have your dad, you know. He's not exactly helpless. For that matter, neither are the rest of you."

"Still."

"'Still' nothing. You'll be fine without me babysitting you."

"And who says I need a babysitter."

"You did. Or were you not listening to yourself?"

"Shut up, alright? I'm not in the mood."

"Should've thought of that before you started this, huh?"

"Seriously, shut up."

"Make me."

With this not-so playful banter completed, the two of them parted ways. Sonic walked around Tails and past the X-Tornado to where Silver and Blaze were talking. They both fell momentarily silent as Sonic picked up his board off the grassy ground. "Where are you going?" Silver asked. "I know you probably said, but I wasn't exactly listening." This admission was coupled with a little, sheepish grin.

"We're going to pick up something we need," Sonic answered vaguely. "We'll be back in a couple of days, tops. Hopefully only one, though."

Blaze inclined her head. "We will call you if anything happens here."

Sonic nodded. "Thanks. I'll keep you guys informed, too. You know, if we end up running late or whatever."

Silver also nodded. "Be careful, Dad." Then he quickly added, "And keep Gramps safe."

"'Course." Sonic gave him a small smirk. "'Sides, if I didn't, who's keep your butt out of trouble?"

"That… would be me."

Whether or not Blaze was telling a joke, Silver laughed anyway. Sonic even managed a brief grin. "Well, if worst comes to worst, I wish you the best of luck with that."

Blaze gave him a very small smile. "I believe I will need even more luck then that. He is very danger-prone."

Silver grinned at Sonic. "Kinda like you. Heck, kinda like everyone else here, too. We're _all_ danger-prone, hence the reason we're here."

"Yup, that about explains it." Sonic moved his board under his arm. "Anyway, I'll see you guys later." With a small wave, he turned his back and returned to the Rogues. Kaden was already there with them. Without a word, the three birds got on their boards and began flying away, with Jet in the lead. Exchanging a brief glance, Sonic and Kaden ran after them.

**~ソニック~**

** 3,584 words this time. And now the true work to save the future begins… I hope you enjoyed. Posted 12-18-15.**

**~ソニック~**

_**THIS IS A TEASER FOR "EYE OF THE STORM"!** _**No, this does not contain spoilers. This is just a portion of the Eye of the Storm playlist. Why am I sharing this with you (as I may have done once before)? In order to tease you, that's why! These are just the themes for the story as a whole, as well as for the main characters (all the ones you guys are already familiar with, that is). Sadly, I don't have everyone just yet, but even still. Anyway, these songs will give you hints as to how each character has changed from the time of _Hero_ to the time of _Eye of the Storm_... or, at times, how they've stayed the same. I hope you enjoy! And, lastly, if you have any thoughts about the playlist (i.e. how you a character might have changed, based off of a song), feel free to let me know! I'd love to hear from you all about it!**

_EVERY SONG LISTED CAN BE FOUND ON YOUTUBE._

* = The main theme (if there are two or more of these for one character/event/whatever, it means that there's a tie, as far as which fits best.)

# = Two or more characters share the same theme (on any of the playlists)

Every character/event/whatever is allowed to have _**two **_songs from the actual Sonic games and whatnot. But just two.

**~ 台風の目~**

**Official Theme Songs of Eye of the Storm:**

*Apollo's Triumph (By Audiomachine)

*Angels Will Rise (By Twisted Jukebox)

Dog Days Are Over (By Florence and the Machine (The chorus fits the best here.))

Happy Endings (By All American Rejects (The chorus and pre-chorus are absolutely perfect.))

*Hymn of the Apocalypse [Extended RMX] (By Jo Blankenburg (GRV Music)

**Characters:**

**Kaden:**

*I See Fire (Kygo Remix; original by Ed Sheeran)

*Lightning (By Cash Cash ft. John Rzeznik (This is a main theme for him because it describes his relationship with Analia… nearly perfectly. Plus it just sounds like something he'd listen to when he's not in his usual serious mood. It might even be his favorite song. Maybe. XD))

*Butterfly (From Durarara! (English lyrics can be found on Anime Lyrics Dot Com))

*Last Ride Of the Day (By Nightwish (Especially the instrumentals and the line about the candle and the dark.))

You Don't Know Me (Be Elizabeth Gilies)

**Analia:**

*Only Time (By Enya)

*Broken Ones (By Jacquie Lee)

Sadness and Sorrow (Violin Cover; by Taylor Davis; original song from Naruto)

*Look Through My Eyes (By Everlife)

*Return to Innocence (By Enigma (Not _every_ line works, like the part about believing in destiny, but otherwise this song is just about perfect. :))

**Sonic:**

*****Heroes (We Could Be) (By Alesso (This fits him better at the very beginning of the story))

Put Your Hands Up (By Matchbox Twenty)

*Dare You to Move (By Switchfoot)

*May It Be (By Enya; featured in Lord of the Rings)

**Amy:**

*This is the Life (By Miley Cyrus (This suits her best in the beginning of the story.))

**Silver:**

*Wake Me Up (By Avicii)

*Best Day of My Life (By American Authors)

**Shadow:**

*Angel With a Shotgun (By The Cab)

**Locke:**

*Baccano! Opening Theme (Full version (I highly recommend watching the actual TV size opening. Once you see that, you'll get an idea of the Hero and/or Eye of the Storm opening I picture when I hear this. XD))

Kakashi's Theme (From Naruto (This actually fits really well. It helps that this is for a generally laid-back but also serious character, which is what Locke essentially is.))

**Knuckles:**

*All I Know (By Futurebound ft. Luke Bingham)

*All Star (By Smashmouth)

**Rouge:**

*Born This Way (By Lada Gaga)

According to You (By Orianthi)

**Tails:**

*I'll Be There for You (Full version; Theme song of Friends (Especially the chorus.))

*You've Got a Friend In Me (By Randy Newman; from Toy story)

**Vanilla:**

*I Hope You Dance

**Cream:**

*I Am (BGM Recorder Version; from Inuyasha)

*Turn Up the Music (From Lemonade Mouth)

*A New Venture (From Sonic Rush Adventure)

**Queen Laralei:**

*Senya (Extended) (From Naruto Shippuden OST 2, Track 23)

*Saika (From Naruto Shippuden)

**Jet:**

*I'm Still Here (Jim's Theme; by John Rzeznik (This especially fits him at the beginning of the story.))

*Riders (By Two Steps From Hell (This suits him when he's being epic. XD))

*The Reluctant Heroes (Levi's Theme; from Attack on Titan (This fits him well enough that I consider this to be his fourth main theme.))

I See Fire (SemTex Remix; original by Ed Sheeran (This pertains to him more during the war, I think. The Paragon Axis Remix works really well, too.))

*Water Cut Above (It might be titled "Water Above Cut"; from a Naruto Shippuden movie)

The Miracle (of Joey Ramone) (By U2 (This isn't one that fits perfectly, but it fits really pretty well, I'd say.))

Thief (By Imagine Dragons)

Naihi Shinsho (By One OK Rock)

**Wave:**

*Miracles (By Two Steps From Hell)


	177. Who Needs Permission?

**So normally... this is where the review replies go. Heh heh. My explanation for the lack of them this time is nothing special. It's actually a problem that has occurred before, as some of you may recall. I once again am unable to see the newest reviews, as well as most of the ones that were posted for the last chapter. I'm hoping that this problem will fix itself with the posting of this chapter, as that's more or less what happened the last time. If so, I'll start responding to reviews again at that time. Sorry 'bout this, guys.**

**~ソニック~**

The house looked almost exactly as he remembered it. It was large and fairly isolated from the rest of the houses in this large town (which made sense, as this house had been built on the far outskirts of it). Less than two miles from here was the place where Jet and Sonic had met for the first time all those years ago. Their encounter had been fun, in a way, but the rest of the day, and many of the days that had followed, hadn't been pleasant in any way.

Sonic remembered forcing his way into the house in order to free his friend just for the sake of getting him something to eat. He remembered finding his friend locked in a tiny closet on numerous occasions. He remembered how, more than once, he'd found Jet just minutes after he'd had the living shit beat out of him. He didn't think he'd ever seen his friend look so shaken up… hell, even scared. But memories like those were all Jet had of this place. And yet, here they were, anyway. Granted there was a good reason for it, but regardless, Sonic didn't like it. At _all_. Still, he knew they needed the Ark that Ross had, and that alone was enough to convince both Sonic and Jet to put up with this place… _For now._

With a small word to Wave, Jet suddenly veered off to the left and continued flying. Wave and Storm flew after him, seemingly without question. Sonic and Kaden momentarily exchanged equally puzzled glances, then simply moved to follow. Kaden's leg seemed to have been holding up alright so far, but Sonic kept an eye on him anyway. A few minutes later, Sonic turned his attention back to the Rogues, however, and he called out, "Hey! Jet! Come down here for a second!"

Jet spared him a glance and angled down so that he was flying by Sonic's free side. "What?"

"Where are we going?" Sonic asked in return. "As I'm sure you know, the house is back that way." He punctuated this slightly sarcastic remark with a gesture of his head.

"I'm well aware," Jet responded tersely. "But the _Ark_ isn't."

Well _this_ was a new bit of information. "Where's the old bird been keeping it, then?"

Jet took a moment to reply. "There's a sort of room…" he divulged slowly. "It's a place where Babylonian's on this world have been storing their stolen goods and whatnot since the war all those years ago. Some myths and legends books refer to it as the 'Room of Thefts'." Sonic's eyebrows slowly rose in genuine surprise. He'd heard of that before and, judging by the subtle shift in his expression, Kaden had, too. "The Ark is in there."

"So, you've been in there before?" Sonic questioned.

Jet nodded. After a few seconds, he divulged a bit more information. "I'm the reason why the damn place isn't _empty_ right now, save for the Ark." With that, he flew back up to Wave and Storm, never once even attempting to explain what in the world he'd been talking about.

**~ソニック~**

_Sonic ran up to the now familiar house and tried the front door. Of course, it was locked. He'd been expecting that. Undeterred, he walked over to the nearest window and attempted to slid it open. Ross had locked it this time. Well, at least this proved the bird was capable of learning. Still determined, Sonic jumped lightly up onto the roof. The only option he had left to consider (the only option that didn't involve braking a window or busting a wall) was a filthy one, but he didn't care. He had to get inside. So, with this in mind, he walked over to the chimney and jumped down it. Being a natural slim fourteen-year-old, he fit through with great ease, and he landed in a crouch in the fireplace. Thankfully, it apparently hadn't been used in a while, meaning that he didn't kick up a whole lot of soot and whatnot. All in all, he didn't get too dirty entering the house this way. _

_Hurrying up the nearby stairs, Sonic went straight to Jet's room and undid all the locks keeping it shut. By the time he got it open, Jet was already climbing off his bed. The damn window had been barred, apparently, and it was clear that his friend had been trying to get those metal blocks off so as to escape through the window. 'This explains why he didn't show up yesterday.' At least once a week, Jet would sneak out and Sonic would help him get something to eat and, at least for a short while, he'd provide the hawk with a safe place to get some sleep. When Jet hadn't turned up on their usual day, though, Sonic had gone looking in some of the usual hideouts. By the time he'd checked them all, it was past the time when Jet could be out, anyway. That was why Sonic had hung around the house this morning, waiting for Ross to leave. And this was by no means the first time he'd broken his friend out of the house. The horrible thing was, though, the simple fact that this was probably far from the last time that this would happen._

_"Come on," Sonic said simply. "We're leaving." __Jet didn't even attempt to argue. Sonic was grateful for that. He wasn't sure how much time they had left before Ross came back. So, without another word, he led the way downstairs, unlocked a window, slid it open, and climbed out to freedom._

Sonic shook his head, pulling free of the random memory as Jet approached the front door. He finagled the lock to the door and, within about two seconds, he was in. Per his instructions, everyone else waited outside, about twenty feet away from the (very) old house. However, at the first sounds of fighting, Sonic was going to bust in there whether Jet liked it or not. Still... he hoped for Ross's sake that nothing happened. _Because if he tries anything, I'll kill him. ...If Jet doesn't beat me to it._

**~ソニック~**

Jet scowled slightly as he walked into the living room, arms crossed. "We need to talk."

Ross was, as expected, quite shocked to see his son walk into the room. He slowly closed his book and set it down. Amazingly, there was no yelling, no cursing, nothing. Instead, there was a question. "About what?"

Jet remained tense, though not as tense as before. He'd _expected_ yelling, after all. The lack of it was actually a bit... unnerving, if he was being totally honest with himself. Still, he didn't let it get to him. Much. "What can you tell me about the Garden that I don't already know?"

Ross shook his large head slowly. "Nothing. I already told you everything anyone's ever known about it. Only your grandmother knew more."

Jet frowned. "Tell me something," he said simply. "Are the old stories true?"

Now it was Ross's turn to frown. "Depends on which one you're referring to."

Jet finally looked his father directly in the eye. "The ones about Astral Babylon potentially killing its pilot."

Ross eventually gave a nod. "Yes. It's happened in the past, though only a few times."

_Either way... It's a risk I have to take._ Jet stifled a sigh. _This is gonna be "fun"..._

"Whatever your planning to do with this information, forget it." Ross's tone had become cold again. It was also firm and commanding, not that _that_ made any sort of a difference to Jet now. "You can't do anything without my Ark, and I'm not letting you have it."

Jet smirked suddenly, and the change in expression seemed to take his _dear_ "loving" father by surprise. "Oh, I don't need your permission," he said smugly. "And, just so you know, I already took it." At Ross's shocked look, Jet smirked wider. "What, you though I was just sitting around here twiddling my thumbs and waiting to ask your permission to take it?" he asked snidely. "Hell no. I just came to ask you about the Gardens. I don't need your damn permission to do shit. You don't control me." With that, he turned to leave, tossing a casual, "Thanks for the information, Ross," over his shoulder as he went.

**~ソニック~**


	178. Where the Grass is Greener

**Hello, Snowy Meadow of Starlight! Yeah! Go Jet! Whoo-hoo! XD Well, I'm glad you think so!**

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**Your review to Chapter 91: I'm so glad you enjoyed! Yeah, I love Rouge's personality as well.**

**Your review to Chapter 92: Well, excitement was the goal, and I'm glad that goal was accomplished. :)**

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**Your review to Chapter 95: Oh, yes... A very great battle, indeed.**

**Your review to Chapter 96: Oh, I know. He really, really is. Yes, I agree. He's evil, but a coward in that sense. **

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**Your review to Chapter 100: I'm so glad you think so! This was one of my personal favorites, honestly. Pure Hyper Sonikku arrives! Anyway, glad you enjoyed!**

**Your review to Chapter 101: I'm so happy you enjoyed. This was another chapter that I greatly enjoyed. It was so much fun playing with Kaden for the first time and delving into Locke's mind and heart for one of the first times... I loved it. **

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**~ソニック~**

There was a loud explosion. Gunfire shattered the silence. Shadow was used to these sounds, he himself used guns and explosives constantly in battle, but those sounds often haunted his nightmares. He fought to push the memories away as he piloted his ship through the Chaos.

_"Shadow... give them a chance... for me..."_

_"Maria!"_

_"Please..."_

"Shadow?"

Shadow shook his head. Rouge's voice, her small question, pulled him from his memories. "What?" he muttered curtly.

"Are you okay?" For once, she wasn't taunting. She wasn't teasing. She seemed concerned. Her soft tone hinted at a friendly care that he didn't wish to hear.

"I'm fine." She didn't argue with his statement, though he wasn't sure if that meant she believed him. Somehow, he doubted it. Still, she'd let the matter drop, and he was thankful. Now fully focused once more, he continued to pilot his ship away from the attacking robots.

**~ソニック~**

"Locke, I have a question."

Locke cracked his eye open and looked at Amy. He'd been dozing in one of the trees, but her voice had woken him up. "What question?" he inquired.

"Kaden's been... angry."

That obviously wasn't the question, but Locke responded anyway. "Yeah... He has been."

"And that affects the power he has... right?" Amy's eyes were worried. Almost fearful. "Just like it does when Sonic accesses that power?"

Locke nodded slowly, remembering the incident in the ruined future. _Sen went Dark... Just like Kaden once did._ "Yeah," he said again. "Negative emotions strengthen the Dark powers they have. Sometimes, this boost of strength is permanent, hence the reason Kaden's Darkness is so powerful."

Amy nodded slowly. Then, finally, she got to the question that was weighing on her mind. "Is this power the one that Ivo is after? The one that was used in the Ruined Future to decimate the resistance and whatnot."

Locke sighed heavily. "I don't know..." he admitted. Then he added, "But I'm afraid that the answer is yes."

"Do you think he'll succeed?" Amy asked him very, very quietly.

Locke shook his head slowly, but his answer wasn't a 'no'. "I hope to god that he doesn't." _But... realistically... there's a chance that he could._ _And if Ivo causes Kaden lose control... there won't be anything we can do._

**~ソニック~**

"Sonic, there really isn't time for this." Jet was frowning at Sonic. His arms were crossed, and he was feeling agitated. He just wanted to _leave_ this place. "I'm not going to show you guys the room."

"Sure there is," Sonic replied easily, ignoring the second sentence. He seemed a little _too_ relaxed in tone and posture. Jet didn't believe the act. "Besides, you said it's an enclosed space. We can spend the night in there." He paused, then added significantly, "It'll be safer." As he spoke, he cast a glance at Kaden. Kaden seemed weirdly irritable right now, and his leg seemed to be really hurting him. That probably wasn't helping his mood.

Jet understood now. Sonic was keeping calm and relaxed so as to not aggravate his father's mood, which was in turn helping Kaden remain in control of even the littlest fluctuation of his powers. _And he's worried about safety because Kaden's being hunted... and Kaden can't exactly fight very well with his leg in that condition._ So, reluctantly, he agreed. He voiced this agreement with a simple, "Fine."

**~ソニック~**

_"On one riverbank_

_sunbeams slanting_

_down... but on_

_the other... raindrops"_

This haiku, which Shadow had once read in an old book, came into his mind unbidden. It reminded him of an old saying that people he often considered to be fools said at times. _"The grass is greener on the other side."_ He didn't know he was remembering such a thing, but he thought it was ridiculous. _I'm just as much of a fool as the rest of them._ After thinking that thought, he pushed the matter out of his mind. They were almost to their destination: White Jungle.

He didn't know why they were going there. Not exactly. All he knew was that that odd, disembodied voice that had spoken to him once before had insisted the going there would be incredibly beneficial to him and his quest. He didn't trust the Voice, didn't trust anyone or anything, really, but it wasn't like he had any better ideas. So, begrudgingly, he steered his small group toward the jungle. _If this ends up being some sort of trap... I'll make someone regret it._

**~ソニック~**

The travel to the so-called "Room of Thefts" was short. The room itself was filled to the brim with treasure. There were countless coins, vases, jewels, jewelry, and so on filling the room. Hell, there was even some sort of crown sitting on a pile of coins. When asked about it, Jet just shrugged. "There used to be more in here. This isn't much."

Wave looked around. "Why is there less in here now, then?"

Jet set his board down, then took a seat on the ground beside it. "Everything in here got stolen by someone, back when Ross was still the leader of the Rogues."

Kaden understood the implications of all this. "So you've been filling this room up again."

Jet nodded once. "Yeah."

Sonic frowned a bit. "Why bother?" he asked.

Jet didn't answer immediately. When he finally did, there was a sigh in his voice. "When I started doing this... before I'd met you, Sonic, I just thought that..." He trailed off a bit, then sighed again and continued. "I'd just thought that, maybe if I could get everything back, it would... I don't know, prove my worth or whatever." He looked away. "It was stupid."

Sonic didn't agree with that last statement at all. Still, he didn't bother arguing with Jet about it. _I'll never win that fight._ Instead, he questioned, "So why are you still doing it?"

"I think I have an idea." Wave was smirking. "It's to show Ross that your can do better than him, right?"

Jet smirked a little as well, though he continued looking away. "Something like that, yeah."

"Good," Storm muttered, speaking for the first time in a while. "He deserves to be knocked down a few pegs."

"More than a few," Sonic responded, though he was otherwise in agreement with Storm, for once.

"Anyway," Wave set, as she sat down beside Jet (a fact which made the hawk secretly blush, causing Sonic to smirk), "we should probably get some rest. It's getting dark, and we need the sleep." Kaden muttered some sort of agreement, so no one argued. Instead, Storm just shoved the heavy door shut, plunging them into total darkness for the night.

**~ソニック~**

**Well, this is late and short, but whatever. I'm satisfied with it, actually. Anyway, that haiku was written by Buson. I don't know when. 1,177 words this time.**


	179. The Light of Hope

**Hello, Snowy Meadow of Starlight! IT'S... SO... SAD! DX Thanks! I'm glad you did!**

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**~ソニック~**

Sonic had had a feeling for a while now. Like he needed to _do_ something. And soon. Specifically, he needed to _go_ somewhere. _But why there?_ White Jungle was far from being a desirable place to go. Mostly because it was wet. Very wet. It was flooded enough to be comparable to Green Forest, and that was saying something. After all, Green Forest was, quite possibly, the most flooded area in the world. Finally, Sonic made a decision. _Fine, then. I'll go._ He turned to Jet. "Hey, Jet."

Jet wasn't asleep. Wave and Storm were. Amazingly, so was Kaden. It was very late. "What?" the hawk asked quietly, never opening his eyes. He was leaning against the the wooden podium-thing that the crown was on.

Sonic, who was sitting in front of a wide pile of gold coins, spoke again. "I need to go somewhere."

Piercing blue eyes finally cracked open to look at him. "Where?" Jet asked almost cautiously.

"White Jungle," Sonic responded. Before his friend could even ask, Sonic said, "I'm not sure why. I've just got a feeling."

Jet opened his eyes to look at Sonic more fully. There was a minute of silence. It seemed almost contemplative. Finally, Jet spoke. His response was as simple as Sonic had expected. Jet, after all, wasn't always the most talkative person. "Alright."

Sonic stood. "While I'm gone, I need you to do some things for me." There was silence, so Sonic knew to continue. "You promised to work on training Tails, right?" A nod. "Start on that as soon as you possibly can. He should still be in the camp still, and I want you to take these guys back there at first light."

Another nod. "And if Ivo finds us?" Jet inquired. "Where do you want us to go?"

Sonic thought that over. "You decide," he finally said. "I trust your judgement." A blink served as Jet's response to that. Sonic continued. "I also need you to do what you can to determine where the other Arks are." Jet's expression immediately became much more serious than calm. "You can sense them, right?"

Jet hesitated for a moment before conceding a small, "Sometimes."

Sonic nodded. He was fairly satisfied with that response. "Do what you can, then." With that, he turned to Kaden and knelt beside him. He gently shook Kaden's shoulder. Bright, almost emerald-green eyes cracked open slightly. His father was awake, but not entirely. He was, after all, still recovering from the damage he'd received from Dark Gaia. "Dad, I'm leaving for now," he said quietly. "When you get back to camp, stay close to Mom and Locke. Can you promise me that?" Kaden's eyes closed and he responded with a very small nod. Within a few seconds, it was clear that he was sound asleep again. That was okay. He needed he sleep. Sonic turned to Jet one last time. "I'll be back when I can. Call me if there's trouble."

"You'd better do the same," Jet responded in a mutter. "I mean it. Don't leave us in the dark."

"I have no reason to," Sonic assured as he walked to the door. He pulled the heavy stone slab open, headed outside, then shut the door again. Alone once more, he began to run. _It's time to set forth on my new journey and begin the real work to accomplish my goals. I have no more time to dilly dally. Time can be our killer if I let it... But I will never let that happen._

**~ソニック~**

As soon as Sonic was gone, Jet closed his eyes again. A slight frown appeared on his face as he focused. Concentrating, he stretched his senses out. His frown deepened just slightly. He could feel the Arks, but not all. Just two. There was the one he had, of course, then another. _It's not too far... about twelve miles away, or so..._ He considered the options. He had multiple tasks that had been assigned to him. Two of them were potentially contradicting. _If I take Wave and the others straight back to camp, I leave the Ark... If I go to retrieve the Ark first, I endanger the others. Kaden, especially. _As he thought all of this over, a quote from a book he'd once read came to mind. _"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life."_ _...Fine, then._ Decision made, he simply waited for the sun to rise and the others to wake.

**~ソニック~**

Analia was sitting alone. Her bright eyes were locked on the sky, peering up at the skies. Her thoughts weren't few, nor were they simple. She was concerned, hopeful, and thoughtful. _There is much to do... and time is scarce. Our foe is powerful, but we are far from weak. He has much to draw from in the way of intellect, but we do as well. He has many allies, robotic though they are, but our friends are many as well. Still, the odds are not in our favor. The future has been ruined once. _Her eyes sought out the stars once more. _Still... We have a chance. And that chance, however small, is worth all the hope in the world._

**~ソニック~**

**905 words this time. Well, not a whole lot happened this time... Still, things are starting to get into motion. As the official anniversary chapter of Hero, I think this is good enough for my liking. I'm rather satisfied with it. I hope you all enjoyed, and I want to say a huge thank you to everyone for sicking with me so long and reading this story! It always means so much to hear from you all when I post a new chapter. Good or bad, your comments are always nice to read. It's my hope that you will all continue to read and enjoy this story from here on out. :) Posted 01-23-16.**


	180. An Impossibility, Perhaps

**Hello, Snowy Meadow of Starlight! Yeah! One whole year! I'm super excited, too! :D I'm glad you enjoyed! I do, too.**

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**Hello, takedigi! Your review to Chapter 103: I'm so glad you enjoyed. I tried to make it very emotional, so it's nice to hear that it worked. :) Yes... the portion with Analia's pain killed me. And Tails really is very innocent, in a way.**

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**~ソニック~**

**Alternatively titled "Haunted".**

**~ソニック~**

Jet was genuinely surprised when he received a call on his communicator... from Terrance. Terrance was the Rogues' manager, of sorts, when it came to races. He got them many, many of their gigs. That was the _only_ reason why he ever called. And Jet hadn't heard from him since before the mess in Silver's world. _There's seriously a race now?_ There couldn't have been a worse time. But, regardless of this, Jet slipped outside and into the darkness of the night to answer the call, if only to do Terrance the courtesy of letting him now that they weren't coming.

The voice on the other end of the line was excited, though not overly so. _"Jet, I got you guys a really great gig,"_ he said quickly.

In spite of the current situation, Jet's interest was undoubtedly piqued. "Yeah?" he asked. "And what makes it so great?"

_"The prize."_ Terrance's reply was overly simple, and didn't impress Jet at all.

"What is it this time?" Jet asked dryly, his tone giving away his newfound boredom with the conversation. "Money and a trophy again? Or are they giving away something like a car like they did a few years back?"

_"Nah, it's nothing like that. This is way better."_

"How?"

_"It's a gem."_

"For God's sake, will you just tell me what it is already?!"

The smile on Terrance's face was plainly obvious in his voice. _"It's really cool looking, some sort of purple emerald-looking thing. It glows a lot."_

That made Jet freeze. He made one of his famous split-second decisions and quickly said, "Hold that thought." He briefly hung up on Terrance, then called Sonic. He had the situation explained in under a minute.

_"It's seriously being offered as a prize in a race?"_ Sonic asked, clearly incredulous.

"Yes," Jet sighed. Then he asked, "So what do I do?"

_"Don't try to steal it," _Sonic told him immediately. _"The police presence will be heavy there."_

Jet momentarily bristled at the idea that Sonic thought he would be caught if he attempted it, but he curbed the feeling by reminding himself that Sonic was likely just worried. He wasn't like Ross; his friend didn't doubt his skills at all. Jet repeated his question. "So what do I do?"

_"Enter the race,"_ Sonic decided on a dime. He was very serious, too, a fact which was obvious in his voice.

"...You can't be serious." Jet had no idea what else to say. Sure he love racing and all, but doing so _now_ was a terrible idea!

_"Well, I am,"_ Sonic said._ "We need that emerald back, and there's no way you'll lose that race."_

"How can you be so sure?" Jet asked dryly.

Sonic's response was full of confidence. _"You've never lost a race before. You won't lose this time."_

Jet managed to smirk. "We'll see." He hung up, then called Terrance back. "Hey, Terrance. I'm in."

**~ソニック~**

Tails was the only one who could escape a painful death when waking Amy in the morning. He could only get away with this because he was her "brother". As such, he was the one who was nominated to wake her that morning so that she wouldn't miss out on breakfast. With a small sigh and a vaguely nervous thudding in his chest, he walked over to Amy. Within minutes, she was awake, and they were sitting side by side as they ate. He still had work to do on the X-Tornado (which they were currently sitting under), but first he needed food. All around the camp, other people were eating as well. Locke was sitting with Knuckles and Cream. Analia was sitting near them, but not truly with them. Tails and Amy weren't terribly far from her.

Finally, Tails sighed. "I still can't believe that people are after the emeralds," he admitted, voice barely a murmur. "Sonic alone has an honest claim to the jewels. They were used to house _his_ power. Sure they used to belong to Locke's tribe, but then they were given to Sonic's parents, and they gave them to Sonic. That means they're _his_."

Amy shook her head slowly. "That doesn't matter," she responded. "Ivo doesn't care about that anymore that Mephiles and Gerald did."

"I know," Tails sighed. "But..." He trailed off, then sighed again and admitted, "I just hate it. It's terrible how much evil there is in this world... you know?"

Amy sighed as well and gently hugged him with one arm. "I know, Tails. I know."

**~ソニック~**

He saw the beast in his dreams. Tentacles, long root-like fingers, snake-like body, massive maw, glowing eyes... He remembered every minute detail, down to the last darkly-colored scale, and he had countless nightmares about it. He knew he wasn't the only one; Locke had confided in he and Analia once that he had nightmares of theirs deaths, even after all these years, from time to time. Seeing that beast, Dark Gaia, again recently hadn't helped matters at all, especially not for Kaden, who vividly remembered what it was like to be brutally killed by that monster. He remembered every blow he'd taken on that fateful day, every painful injury he'd sustained, every bit of the agony he'd endured, every ounce of the exhaustion he'd felt, every sharp stab of grief he'd experienced after Analia's death... He remembered it all. The memories wouldn't leave him alone.

That was when hushed voices awoke him from his restless, uneasy sleep. He found that he was laying on his side on the cold stone floor, body slightly curled and one arm under his head as though it were a pillow. His back was to Jet and the others, so they didn't know yet that he'd opened his eyes and was awake. They'd clearly been trying to speak as quietly as possible so as to not disturb him. They couldn't have known that even the slightest noise was generally enough to wake him. They couldn't have known, so he didn't fault really them. Still, he couldn't quite stop his ear from flicking slightly in annoyance. Glad though he was to no longer be having those terrible dreams, he still didn't like it when people woke him up.

It was this sight movement that alerted the others to the fact that he was awake. He sighed softly and sat up. He really didn't want to be awake, but now that he was... "What's going on?" he asked in the calmest voice he could manage in light of his recent irritability.

As Wave quickly explained about the Chaos Emerald and the race, Kaden slowly frowned. "Sonic told us to enter the race," she concluded. "He doesn't want us to take the risk of trying to steal it."

Kaden nodded once. "When is the race?"

"Three days from now," Jet answered. "It's in Future City."

That... posed a problem. A really big one. "Ivo likely has robots there still," Kaden reminded them seriously. After all, Ivo was after the Rogues, more-so Jet, for one reason or another. Everyone had conveniently failed to explain to Kaden _ why_ this was so, but that was beside the point.

"Looking for us, I know," Jet responded in a mutter. He didn't seem to like that reminder, but there were larger concerns to be focused on right now. "Either way, we have to go. Sonic said for us to win it in the race, so that's what we're going to do."

"It seems like a bad idea, Boss," Storm cut in suddenly.

"As much as I hate to say it," Wave added thoughtfully, "lunkhead might have a point." Jet's piercing eyes focused on her. "If we slip in there unseen and get away with emerald, Ivo will likely never know that we were there. It'll be a lot quicker, not to mention safer."

Jet shook his head firmly. "Sonic told us no for a reason."

"Can't ya just admit for once that that no-good hedgehog might be wrong?" This comment of Storm's damn near made Kaden snarl at him, or at least growl, but he managed to hold the sound back... for now.

Jet's gaze swung to Storm and zeroed in on his face, pinning the albatross to the spot. Those eyes were now narrowed in a display of angry disapproval. "We're doing what he said. End of story." His voice was remarkably calm, and Kaden found himself wondering fleetingly when the hawk had become so adept at masking his emotions in his tone. But that was irrelevant and unimportant. Jet turned to the door and began walking, headed to who-knew-where.

Left with no other options, Kaden stood, and he, Wave, and Storm silently followed Jet out into the night.

**~ソニック~**

They had finally made it to their destination, but Shadow wasn't entirely pleased. It was _wet_ here. Very wet. That wasn't the problem, though. No, the problem was what the water had _created_. Specifically, mud. He'd jumped out of his ship without even thinking about it and had promptly slipped and fallen on his knees. Now his legs were covered in the disgusting brown stuff. And Rouge was laughing. A lot. He was _so_ not amused. She used her wings to lift herself out of the ship, then lightly touched down beside him. That was when Omega, the bulky, heavy robot, landed in the mudhole, effectively spraying them all, and the ship, in mud. Rouge let out a short, disgusted exclamation of sorts, and Shadow found himself smirking. "Not so funny now, is it?" Granted, he was just as displeased as she was, but he was also amused now. For once.

"Oh, shut it," Rouge grumbled. "It's your fault we're even here. If not for you, this wouldn't have happened."

Shadow ignored that comment, though he knew it was true. Instead, he simply began walking. After all, he had things to do. He really didn't know precisely why he was here, but he had a feeling... Like he _needed_ to be here for some reason. He trusted his instincts, trusted them immensely, so, even though he questioned them right now, he listened and kept walking.

**~ソニック~**

_If fate frowns... we all perish._ Like Kaden believed in fate, anyway. Hell, he didn't even believe in luck. Not really. Still, if luck truly did exist, it clearly had turned sour for him and those around him. Especially for Sonic and Jet, at least right now. _Sonic has to find all the emeralds as quickly as possible, though they may be anywhere in the world, and who knows what else he needs to do. Jet has to gather all the Arks and win the Chaos Emerald in that race. _He resisted a sigh. _This won't be easy._ That much had always been obvious, so thinking it was utterly pointless. Still, he couldn't stop the thought from randomly entering his mind. It irritated him, at least a little, though he did his best to curb the emotion. _Negative emotions are dangerous_, he reminded himself. _They feed the Darkness and give it strength. Sometimes the boost in that power is permanent. That's the last thing I need._ With this last thought, he returned his attention to running after the Rogues as they flew away from the vault where they had spent the night.

**~ソニック~**

Cream wasn't used to worry. She was used to her old life, her peaceful life, where the most stressful thing she'd had to deal with was trying to cook a new meal when her mother wasn't in the room with her to help. This worry she had now was _not_ that mild. If things were to not go as Sonic planned, if fate were to frown down upon them (if such a thing even existed), then one of her many new friends would die. She didn't want that to happen, but she couldn't do a thing to stop it. She _wished_ she could, but wishing could only take people so far in life. She was a child, though, so of course she wanted to wish. Her newfound powers had given her a brighter mind, at least for now, though, so she knew that wishing wouldn't do her or anyone else any good. _I need to actually do something... but... what can I do? _She didn't want to think that there was nothing she could do, but, really, that was likely the greatest truth available to her right now. Still, she refused to believe it. Not completely. _I'll find a way to help... I promise._

**~ソニック~**

Shadow sighed heavily and stopped walking. Rouge's ranting and raving (for lack of a better way to put it) was killing him. He was too tired by this point, as he hadn't slept at all recently, to get really irritable. Instead, he was just tiredly annoyed. "You're not going to give this up... are you?"

"No," Rouge retorted almost sharply. "I'm covered in mud and need a good wash. There's a large stream nearby, so there's no reason why I can't get a quick bath."

**_"We are in a jungle that is filled with mud, bugs, and other various forms of filth," _**Omega intoned. **_"Taking a bath would be a fruitless endeavor."_**

"The only reason I'm covered in filth is because of your metal butt!" Rouge shot back. "I was perfectly clean before you decided to drop down out of the sky like a ton of freaking bricks!"

**_"That is irrelevant,"_** Omega responded.

"It is most certainly _not_ 'irrelevant'!" Rouge snapped. "It's _perfectly_ relevant!"

The argument continued on and on for several minutes until, finally, Shadow's irritation overtook his exhaustion. He whirled on them. "Enough!" he snapped. Then he began barking out short orders. "Omega, go on a patrol! Keep an eye out for other robots!" Omega didn't argue; instead, he simply flew off. Shadow focused his crimson gaze on Rouge. "Go take your bath," he muttered, voice lowering. "Just make it quick." With that, he crossed his arms and plopped down on his rear to sit cross-legged with his back against the trunk of a tree. The grass he was sitting in was very wet, but he didn't care.

Amazingly, Rouge's bad mood vanished and she smiled. "Thank you, Shadow."

His only response was a small, "Hmph."

Smiling some more, Rouge walked off to clean up, tossing a sly comment over her shoulder as she went. "You care more than you like to let on... But don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Shadow closed his eyes. "Hn."

**~ソニック~**

The attack came so suddenly that Sonic almost didn't have a chance to react. He dodged the missiles with as much speed as he could muster, considering the fact that he was weighed down by his new sword. He wasn't used to it's surprising weight yet. Still, he managed to successfully dodge all the missiles, then unsheathed Caliburn. _Time to test your mettle again._ He smirked a bit. _Let's see what you can do._ With that thought, he jumped up into the air and slashed through the nearest robotic enemy.

**~ソニック~**

This attack was incredibly sudden, and very brutal. Jet had only _just_ dropped Kaden, Wave, and Storm off at the camp (as he'd decided that that was the safest option, after all) about ten minutes ago. Wave had fought him about it, of course, as she hadn't wanted him to go on his own. She'd pointed out, among other things, how dangerous it was. He'd brushed her off. He knew the risks. He was well aware of the dangers. He didn't need to be reminded of them. So he'd left. Of course, with the speeds at which he was flying, he was far away from them by now. Which, considering the fact that he currently being attacked with homing missiles that were decimating everything they hit, was probably for the best.

Jet surged into the sky, spiraling upward at speeds that would make most people sick. The vertigo would have been intense for most people, but he wasn't at all bothered. He was perfectly fine. ...Or at least he _would_ be, if it weren't for the fact that he was freaking being _shot_ at. One of the missiles struck his board right then, of course, and, needless to say, it exploded. He was hurtled backwards by said explosion, and he hissed in pain from the burns he received. Then gravity kicked in and both he and his now ruined board began to fall. _Shit! _The robots surged toward him. Some were shooting at him. Others were attempting to grab him. He spun and kicked one robot hard enough that it was utterly destroyed. The rest were taken down through use of Jet's newest weapon: the retractable steel staff Sen had given him in that dark grey backpack along with his scarf, among other things. He extended the staff and used it to make quick work of his enemies. Then, he turned in midair so that he was facing downward. Too late, he realized how close he was to hitting the ground. On reflex, he squeezed his eyes shut and braced for impact... Only it never came.

Hesitantly, he cracked an eye open, then abruptly opened both of them to look at the ground... which was only a few feet below him. Floating above it like he was, he'd been saved from a painful impact that could very well have broken a few of his bones. _Possibly._ He felt weightless right now, like nothing was weighing him down, nor ever _could_ weigh him down. _I'm doing it again._ He was levitating again, just like he had on the way to Future City recently. Wave had said that he'd been controlling his own gravitational field, but... wasn't that impossible? Couldn't people only do that if they were using the Arks? He pondered this for a moment, then refocused on his current situation. The moment he decided that he definitely wanted _down_ now, the power seemed to "switch off" and he fell hard onto his stomach on the ground. With a heavy sigh, he pushed himself up and began to search for his board. The sooner he found it, the sooner he could get back to searching for that Ark he'd sensed the night before.

**~ソニック~**

Kaden was now sitting alone a ways away from the camp. He'd gone as far as he was allowed. It wasn't like anyone could stop him from leaving if he really wanted to, but Analia had asked him to stay... so he did. Still, he didn't really want to be near anyone right now, so he'd gone out as far as he could. In his hands, he held an old wooden flute. It used to be pure white, but time had dirtied it some. Still, it was smooth, and it felt familiar in his hands. He hadn't even so much as seen or touched this thing in many, many years, let alone played it, but he was far enough away from the others that he felt comfortable with the idea of doing just that. Soon, he gave in to the urge and brought the flute up in both hands. And, closing his eyes, he began to quietly play.

The song he played was slow and almost sad, and the sound of it reached Silver's ears back in the camp. Silver turned his head to the sound and smiled a little. _Gramps can actually play that old thing, huh?_ When Locke had given the flute to Kaden, saying that it was his and that it had been found years ago on South Island (presumably by Locke himself), it hadn't actually occurred to Silver that his grandfather could play it. _But clearly he can... And he's really good. _He turned his attention to Blaze. "Blaze, can you hear that?"

Blaze blinked once and turned her head to look at him. "Hear what?"

Silver found himself grinning a little. "Your idol's actually playing that flute."

Blaze seemed mildly annoyed by his comment, if the slight twitch of her right eyebrow was any indication (and it probably was), but she said nothing about him teasingly saying "your idol" as he so often did when speaking of Kaden to her. They both knew it was the truth, though. She'd idolized Kaden ever since she'd heard that first story about him, back when she was three or four. But, that was beside the point. "This surprises you?" she inquired evenly. "It would make little sense for him to own an instrument that he could not play."

"I suppose that's true," Silver conceded, "but I never thought I'd hear him do that."

Blaze shrugged minutely. "I suppose that is understandable," he murmured.

That was when Silver suddenly got an idea. "Hey, wanna get closer so you can hear, too?"

"I do not think that that is such a good idea," Blaze replied honestly. "He is not likely to appreciate us spying, and it is not advisable for us to do anything that has the potential to worsen his mood."

"But what if we're not caught?"

"Then we will still taking an unnecessary risk."

"Don't you want to hear?"

"I can live without it."

Silver huffed in amusement at her reply and looked away again, grin still firmly in place. "Alright, fine. You win."

Blaze's reply, accompanied by a small smile, was the _last_ thing he expected to hear her say. "Don't I always?"

**~ソニック~**

**3,738 words this time. This chapter focused more on the other characters than Sonic, and lot of things happened in not a whole lot of words. Sonic shows quite clearly just how protective he is of his best friend, and we learn that Jet and the Rogues are still very much full-time racers. Tails expresses his feelings about the emeralds for the first time. We learn that both Kaden and Locke are still haunted by the first fight with Dark Gaia. Jet shows his implicit trust in Sonic and his decisions, and also revealed just how loyal he is to his friend and leader. We learn that Shadow has sharp instincts that he often follows, that he cares more than he lets on, and that he makes the same humming sound (namely the "Hn") that Kaden does. Sonic reveals that Caliburn is heavier than it seems. We also learn that Jet got more than just a staff and scarf in that backpack, plus we see that he's awakening a new power. We also learn that Kaden not only owns a flute, but can also play it very well. Lastly, we learn that Blaze has known of and idolized a certain ancient hedgehog since she was really little.**

**If you want to hear the flute song Kaden played, search "****Slow flute music with flash animation" by mysilkroad99 on YouTube.**

_**EVERYTHING BELOW IS SUPER IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!**_

**Furthermore, I forgot to mention this last time (shame on me) but leoninblossom33 on DeviantArt made some Hero fanart for the anniversary! You can view it here (just remove the spaces)! **** art/Gift-for-Yasha77-Hero-Anniversary -586201701**

**Also, the forum is still very much open for you all to join. For those of you aren't aware, this forum is for readers of Hero and all it's related stories. In it, you can roleplay with the characters, chat with other members of the forum, talk with me or anyone else about the the Hero series (i.e. by asking questions, making comments, etc.), advertise your own stories, ask the characters questions in the Q&amp;A area, play around with the characters in the Truth or Dare thread, and so on. For anyone who wants to join, here's the link. **** forum/Hero-Forum/182699/**

**Lastly, there are two other Hero stories in this series that are being written and posted at the same time as Hero. If you're interested, here are the details. "On My Own" is an alternate universe story that focuses on Kaden's fight to protect the world (mostly) by himself. It's a chapter story like this one, and will likely be long. **

**"Every Hero Has a Story" is a collection of oneshots. In it, you will see oneshots from every Hero story (i.e. once I start writing "Hero Chronicles: Times of War", you'll start seeing oneshots for that in the collection). In order, here are the oneshots that have been written so far. Locke and kid Sonic celebrate Locke's birthday on South Island. Tails gets worried and talks to Sonic (prompting Sonic to quash his fears). Locke reveals a secret that he promised to tell Sonic when Sonic was a child. Locke tells a story of his past while the others make listen comments. Silver tells a story of a small prank he pulled when he and Blaze were kids. Ross visits the grave of his son in the Ruined Future timeline and thinks deeply about how things turned out. We see a sneak-peek into Jet's early childhood (from before the abuse) and meet another young boy with similar goals and dreams. In an alternate universe, Sonic and Jet meet something in the woods at night that gives them a scare they were never expecting. We see, one chapter at a time, what Jet, Wave, Storm, and then Knuckles experienced during the fall of South Island. Amy tells a story about her childhood during her first time being left home alone. Vanilla tells a story (from when Cream was a baby and her husband was alive) about the day her life was saved.**

**I hope you all read and enjoy these stories (both of which will be updated today) as much as you do Hero. ****Posted 01-28-16.**


	181. Shield Me, Oh Sun

**Hello, Snowy Meadow of Starlight! YAY! I'M SUPER GLAD YOU ENJOYED! Hahaha, no, he does not. I got the idea for that from our first RP. XDD I did as well. It was sweet. :3**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 176: Lol, I take it you enjoyed that line? XD Yeah, relatively mellow was what I was going for. I'm glad you enjoyed. :) Well, he's not really revising it. Just focusing on what he needs to do. No, not a good sign at all...**

**Your review to Chapter ****177: Hahaha! Yes, he is! XD Well... _Ross_ likes him. Guess that counts for something. He did! And that part of your review made me bust up laughing! XDD**

**Your review to Chapter**** 178: Yes, she is! Not a whole lot slips past her unnoticed, though she may not always let that on. ;) Oh, hell yes! He'll whoop ass if it comes to that! XD I'm sure glad you enjoyed! And yeah, I love that haiku. It's one of my favorites. I found one that fits Sen, too, and one to use in the sequel, and so on and so forth. :) Hahaha, he is. He so is. XD Lol! Nice one! Ne, what did you mean by that last line?**

**Your review to Chapter**** 179: Yeah! Agreed! Go, Sonic, go! Oh, I know, right? She's good with seeing both sides of the picture and all, but that causes some conflicting emotional responses sometimes. XD Yes! This line fits so perfectly!**

**Your review to Chapter 180: YES! YES! OMG, YES! CAN I HAS YOUR PERMISSION TO USE THAT SCENE? I CAN WRITE AN AU MEETING FOR KADEN AND ANALIA WITH THAT IN THE ONESHOTS! Truth be told, their meeting in this timeline was much more mellow, but it's still sweet, I promise. :3 Oh, and Kaden _does_ dance... sometimes. XD Hell yes. Definitely confirmed. I will do my best, Pyro-kun!**

**~ソニック~**

It was midafternoon. All was quiet in Green Forest, save for the constant sound of water dripping, flowing, and so on. The sun shone brightly. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Amy, Cream, and Analia were passing the time by discussing the plants around them, mostly for the sake of teaching Cream, as she was an interested party. Locke was standing in a tree, one hand resting on the side of the trunk, and gazing out into the sky. Silver and Blaze were wandering around together near the camp. Somehow, they'd convinced Kaden to tag along. Knuckles, meanwhile, was near Tails, with whom he was speaking. "Tails, are you sure?"

Tails continued to work diligently on the X-Tornado as he responded. "Yes. Absolutely." He began welding something on the wing, trying to reinforce said wing so that it could withstand both exiting the atmosphere and reentering it.

Knuckles didn't know whether to be concerned... or relieved. This revelation, after all, had the potential to change everything. For better or for worse. "Explain it, then."

"It's like I said before," Tails replied calmly, still hard at work on that damn wing. "Our timeline differed from the ruined one a lot sooner than we previously thought."

"How do you know for sure?" Knuckles all-but demanded, a frown on his face. Part of him didn't really want to believe that Tails was right, and he wasn't sure why.

Tails stopped working and jumped down off the wing of the Tornado. He landed just beside Knuckles, who was sitting cross-legged and cross-armed (as much as one could be with a broken arm) in the wet grass. Tails sat down next to him, also crossing his legs. He focused his gaze on the grass even as violet eyes watched him intently. "I worked on my communicator," he explained in layman's terms, "and added some software that allows me to do research into other timelines. I researched the ruined one we went to in particular, and there are some _major_ differences between that timeline and ours."

"Such as?" Knuckles prompted seriously. He wished Tails would just outright tell him these things without needing to be given permission.

"Remember our adventures in Crisis City?" Tails asked in return. Again, he was avoiding directly answering the question.

Knuckles fought back his irritation. He nodded. "Yeah," he answered briefly, expecting Tails to detail differences in the adventures that Sen and the others had. The answer he was _actually_ given wasn't at all what he'd expected.

"In that timeline, that _didn't happen_," Tails said, putting great emphasis on those last two words and his blue eyes finally coming up to meet Knuckles's. "In that timeline, Silver came to Sen's world with Blaze, already knowing who Sen was, because they wanted to meet him. Sen and the others _never_ actually went to Crisis City themselves. As such, the first time Sen went Super was under _entirely_ different circumstances, Silver and Blaze met Storm and Wave earlier than they did here, they were present for the fight that started that whole Dark Gaia mess... And many of the things that happened to them in that aforementioned mess were at least _slightly_ different than how events took place here."

The full implications of this hit Knuckles like a ton of _bricks_. "Which means..." he trailed off significantly, seeking confirmation from the only person here who could give it.

Tails nodded seriously. "There's no telling how much our timeline will continue to differ from the ruined one. Things could either end up being much better... Or much, much worse, to put it all simply. We really have no clue anymore what's going to happen or when or why, or even to who. We're completely in the dark all over again."

Knuckles swallowed hard. _Everything could go much better... Or much worse. _The possibilities were equally promising... and terrifying. He sighed heavily and stood, running a hand through his hair as he did so. "I've gotta call Sonic," he muttered. "He needs to know about this.

Tails nodded seriously. "I was gonna call him later, but it's probably for the best that he learns about this sooner rather than later." As he spoke, he also stood, then jumped back up onto the sturdy wing of the ship he and his friend had built together. He still had _so_ much work to do. _And likely not enough time to do it in._

With a small grunt of agreement, Knuckles began walking off to make the call. As he went, one random thought entered his mind. _Tails can connect his communicator to other timelines... If we make it out of this alive and somehow defeat Ivo, we should call Sen and let them know so they stop worrying._ Pushing that matter aside for now, he stepped into a quiet area and made the call.

**~ソニック~**

A thousand thoughts ran through Sonic's head as he sped across the open, marshy terrain along the equator of the world. He'd been down here once before, early on in his adventures with Tails, but he wasn't headed to _that_ jungle. Not this time. That, however, wasn't the current focus of his thoughts. Instead, the conversation he'd just had with Knuckles was on his mind. _This potentially changes everything._ Worry gnawed at his heart as he dodged a tree, darted around a random rock, slid across some mud, then ducked under a low-flying bird. _Nothing's guaranteed anymore... But, then... It never really was, was it? We already knew so little about what would happen..._ Something else about this was bothering him, too. _How much of my mission is irrelevant now?_ All he knew for certain was that he needed to play this game as safe as he possibly could. He'd follow his mission as best as he could, if only because it was the only thing he had to go off of right now. _It's out only plan... I can only hope that it will still help._

**~ソニック~**

Jet sighed heavily as he picked up his board. It was ruined... again. _Wave's gonna kill me..._ Sighing again, he tucked the board under his arm and began walking. However, his walk was soon interrupted when he found himself being shot at for the second time in the last ten minutes. _Damn it! _Breaking into a run, he practically dove behind the thick trunk of a large tree. This time, he sigh was more of a sound of relief than anything else. Somehow, the tree had actually spared him from any injury. _For now._ He was no idiot. He knew that wood could only do so much against a bullet. Still, this was better than nothing, surely.

An all-too familiar voice boomed out over an intercom. Now standing, Jet, his back to the tree, peered out from behind it cautiously as Ivo spoke. _"You and I both know you're there, hawk. I recommend you come out peacefully and surrender. At least then you can guarantee that your life will be spared for now."_

_As if._ Jet stayed put. If there was ever a time _not_ to be stupid, this was it. This wasn't the time for reckless maneuvers, either. Not unless he was out of options, though it hadn't come to that yet, thankfully. _I can't afford to be captured... I have to stay free, no matter how much danger that puts me in._ Still, that didn't mean he couldn't _talk_ to the madman. "The hell do you want, Ivo?!" he shouted, even though he hated shouting.

_"That much should be obvious, hawk,"_ was the cold reply.

Yes, it was obvious. However, it was _confirmation_ he sought. Still, he supposed this was good enough. So, instead he shot back, "I have a name, you idiot! If you don't start _using_ it, I'm going to start referring to _you_ as 'Egg'!" He paused, then smirked. "Or would you prefer 'Egg_man_'?"

_"You would be wise to shut your mouth, you insolent Rogue!"_ Ivo bellowed, clearly less than pleased with Jet's taunting.

Jet's sudden laugh was full of derision. "You really are stupid!" he declared. His smirk showed teeth, and his expression was full of self-confidence. "I don't take orders from anyone, least of all you!" _That_ did it. Ivo was undoubtedly pissed now. Still, he seemed intent on capturing Jet _alive _for some reason. If nothing else, this meant that Jet had some time; time to figure a way out of here. He just hoped he could come up with something. And soon.

**~ソニック~**

"You're not worried about what could happen, Gramps?"

Kaden looked down at Silver, who was sitting in the wet grass beneath the tree he currently was sitting in. Blaze was no longer with them. She'd returned to the camp some time ago. "Should I be?" he inquired smoothly.

"Yes!" Silver exclaimed, only to falter a moment later. "Well... maybe. I mean, there's no telling what'll happen, but we know that the future's already been ruined once because of Ivo's actions around this time. Doesn't that frighten you a bit? Or at least worry you?"

Kaden looked away. "No." His answer was incredibly simple, though entirely truthful, and it didn't seem to comfort his spirited grandson at all.

Silver frowned, if only slightly. "Why not?"

"The future is not written," Kaden recited, voice quiet and eyes now firmly trained on the sky, "and it is foolish to squint at what cannot be seen."

The frown deepened. "Meaning...?"

"There is no such thing as fate," Kaden said firmly.

Silver sat up straighter, seeming intrigued, though also confused."What does that have to do with-"

"Your worries are not unfounded," Kaden responded, cutting him off, "but there are never any guarantees as to what will happen in life and when. It is good to be cautious, yes, but he who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. You cannot allow your worries to prevent you from _acting_."

"I am and always have been the optimist, the hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbably dreams," Silver countered, his manner of speaking becoming far more mature and formal than what was usual for him, "but even you can't deny that the danger we're facing is very real. I can't help but let worry slow my steps."

"Make a choice to take the chance for a better change," Kaden responded calmly. "Let nothing hold you back, even fears as legitimate as this. You decide how far you go and how quickly. Live for the memories and enjoy the moments, as you have always done, and let nothing stand in your way." When Silver's eyes became downcast, Kaden continued. "Sometimes you may feel that things are too impossible to handle, but with the support of those you love, nothing is impossible. Not even this. You need to remember that failure isn't fatal, nor will Ivo's success be final if it comes to that." He looked down and met Silver's troubled golden gaze when the younger hedgehog looked up. "In times like these, it is the courage to continue that counts the most. Nothing more."

Silver looked down again. "In other words..." he slowly smirked, "'If you're going through hell, keep going.'"

Kaden smirked faintly as well and returned his gaze to the sky. "Essentially."

Silver stood. He was now smiling. It was a welcome sight, if Kaden was being perfectly honest. "Thanks, Gramps. For making me feel better." Kaden just nodded. Silver's smile grew. "You really are a well of knowledge, sage advice, and wise words, huh?"

Kaden uncharacteristically rolled his eyes. "Did Locke tell you to say that?" he asked dryly.

Silver grinned. "Nope." He brushed himself off as he spoke next. "Where did you learn all that stuff, anyway?"

"Wise people learn when they can," Kaden responded vaguely. "Fools learn when they must."

"Real helpful, Gramps. Thanks." Kaden ignored the joke, such as it was, and started to focus on his thoughts again as Silver turned to leave. However, after only a couple steps, Silver turned back and spoke again. "The circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant, you know," he said sagely. "It's what you do with the gift of life that counts." Kaden blinked once and turned his head to look at the teenager standing below and to the left of him. "It doesn't matter that you were born with that darkness in you," Silver continued. "We still love you just the same. Your power isn't evil, and it's only dangerous if you let it be. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

As he turned to leave once more, Kaden blinked again, left to wonder how in the hell Silver had discerned so much about what Kaden had left unsaid. Slowly returning his gaze to the sky, he once more recalled the ancient poem he'd read once in an ancient text multiple centuries before his death.

_"Against the Light,_

_Against the Dark,_

_Shield me Sun,_

_From Winter's night."_

He sighed internally. He knew precisely what that poem meant, what it was referring to. _Light keeps the Darkness at bay. Light is happiness, love, friendship, hope, laughter, and all manner of positive emotions, thoughts, and so on. Darkness is the opposite of that. It is grief, loneliness, fear, despair, hatred, anger, irritation, betrayal, and so on. No amount of Light will do any good if the Darkness it is trying to tame does nothing but grow uncontrollably._ His lips pressed together in a silent display of concern. His ears lowered just slightly, helping to complete the subtle expression. _This is not good._

**~ソニック~**

Ready to move again, Shadow and his group departed from the stream and headed who knew where. Shadow didn't have a clue, a fact that irritated him. Still, he knew _something_ would happen if he was patient. Whether or not that "something" was _good_ was left to be determined, however. That concerned him. Behind him, Rouge was fighting a pointless battle with Omega over something relating to her "unnecessary" bath. That irritated him further. When they both started getting louder, that irritation spiked, momentarily drowning out his concern. He whirled. "Enough!" he snapped for what felt like the thousandth time that day. That, however, was most certainly _not_ why his and Rouge's eyes widened. The hand gestured he'd made when he'd spun around had created fire. _Black_ fire that had briefly encased his hand and left a trail. They both stared at the offending appendage. _What the hell?_

Their eyes met, and they both seemed to have the same thought. It was Rouge who voiced it. "Where the hell did _that_ come from?"

**~ソニック~**

_Well, there's no time like the present to take a chance, _Jet decided. Screw his previous caution, he needed a way out of this mess, and soon. It felt like the Ark was calling to him, and he felt oddly compelled to go to it. And _now_. It was like the Arks were somehow _aware_ that they were in danger, and were seeking help by calling to him, or something like that. All that aside, though, he really did just need to get out of here. _So be it._

With that, he whirled around, simultaneously darting out from behind the tree, and sent a wave of lightning at Ivo's lone (though massive) airship. Jet surprised himself a little at how smooth and controlled that wave was. _Maybe with some more practice I can make that take on a more definite form or something._ That was a task for another time, though. He watched, satisfied, as the ship promptly exploded the moment his lightning struck it. Robots and ship alike exploded into a million pieces. He turned away with a smirk on his face. He wasn't sure where his sudden confidence had come from, but he wasn't taking the time to question it right now.

_"This isn't over, hawk!"_ Ivo bellowed. He wasn't actually on the ship, of course. He wasn't _that_ stupid, in spite of what Jet had called him earlier. The ship exploded some more right after the madman spoke, conveniently destroying the intercom system and effectively shutting him up. His enemy smirked some more.

"After the rain,

bomb craters

filled with stars," Jet recited, victorious, as he turned and walked away in search of the second Ark of the Cosmos.

**~ソニック~**

Cream's eyes drifted to the sky as she thought, and deeply, about the source of her worries. _There is so little I know about you... Astali Baylonia._ Astral Babylon. The ancient ship of the Old World. The ship that had been seen once in this world... and never again. The ship that had destroyed an entire planet. _And yet... there is so much I do know._ _You offer your pilot immeasurable power and knowledge, but at a price. The price is the risk of death. You have killed some of your pilots in the past. But those who have survived... how greatly they reaped the rewards._

She blinked slowly. A single bird soared overhead. _The knowledge you give is so terribly great that it has the potential to overload a person's mind, thus killing them. But, if they can survive, they are permitted to keep the knowledge that was shared with them. This causes a rise in the person's intelligence. Sometimes, this rise is more of a sharp spike. For within you, Astral Babylon, lie all the secrets of the universe. You, and you alone, really and truly... know everything._

**~ソニック~**

**3,018 words this time. My target was around 4,000, but this is close enough. Also, there's something interesting going on involving that first Ark of the Cosmos. I wonder how many of you readers picked up on it. I gave it only one line of direct mention. ;) Lastly, _major_ plot twist at the beginning there. Hopefully that'll shake things up a bit. Hope you enjoyed! Posted 01-30-16.**

**EDIT: l forgot to say this last time, but here goes. I borrowed a lot of quotes and one haiku to write this chapter. Some of the quotes weren't taken exactly word for word, but the rest of them, and the haiku, were. So, in order, here were my quotes and sources.**

** Kaden's line about the unwritten future was borrowed from an unknown source.**

**Kaden's line about "he who is not courageous enough to take risks" was borrowed from Muhammad Ali.**

**Silver's line about being a hoper was borrowed from one of the Doctors in Doctor Who.**

**Kaden's line about a better change was borrowed from an unknown source.**

**Kaden's line about enjoying the moments was borrowed from an unknown source.**

**Kaden's line about nothing being impossible was borrowed from an unknown source.**

**Kaden's line about failure not being fatal was borrowed from an unknown source.**

**Silver's line about going through hell was borrowed from Winston Churchill.**

**Silver's line about the circumstances of one's birth was taken from Mewtwo in Pokemon the Movie 2000.**

**Kaden's poem was borrowed from a Fae summer shield in the game Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.**

**Finally, Jet's haiku was borrowed from John Brandi. **


	182. Beware the Darkness

**Hello, Snowy Meadow of Starlight! THANKS! Yep, but now they once again have no idea what to do. The plot has shifted, for better or for worse. I'm glad you liked those scenes! I did, too. YAH! OOOH! XD**

**Hello, Skye the Hedgehog101! Hahaha, I did as well. XD I am as well, at least to a point. Aww, thanks so much for saying that! It means so much to hear that people are enjoying it. :) I will do my best!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! YAY! Thanks! :D Okay. Just wondering. Thanks again! Yeah, he really is. :) Agreed! Listen to Pyro-kun, Sonikku! Hahaha! I did! XDD As for when Silver grew up... He just has his moments, that's all. And yes, Kaden _is_ rather like the voice... isn't he? ;D Hahaha, no, he doesn't have Amaterasu. He has no Sharingan, and no older brother to bequeath it to him. Yep, they are. And yes, he can. She is! X3 Yep... Yep it does. But no, it's not the Voice. :P I will do my best as always, Pyro-kun! :D**

**~ソニック~**

Sonic slowed to a walk at the edge of a muddy clearing close to the leftmost end of White Jungle. The clearing wasn't empty. Three other people besides himself currently occupied it, and all eyes were on him. Water dripped all around them, though the water was mostly forgotten in the tension of the moment. The crimson eyes that gazed back at him narrowed in a very obvious display of distrust. And yet, when the robot, Omega, seemed to start to prepare for a confrontation (as that was the most likely response to this situation), Shadow gave a very clear but nonverbal signal with his hand. Omega relaxed as much as a robot could. The weapons systems powered back down.

Shadow didn't seem thrilled to see Sonic, probably had no desire to speak with him, but he was at least willing to be peaceful (however tensely so). That gave Sonic a sliver of hope. _I need to choose my words carefully._ For now, he settled for the safe, simple option of starting with introductions. "You're Shadow... right?" He knew the answer to this already, of course, but he didn't think Shadow was aware of this. But maybe he was.

Shadow nodded slowly. Unlike Sonic, whose posture was relaxed and casual with arms hanging loosely at his sides, he remained tense and closed off. His crossed arms showed only too well just _how_ tense he was. He seemed ready to bolt or spring into action, whichever the situation called for, at the _slightest_ hint of provocation. Oddly enough, the picture reminded Sonic of his father, particularly when said father wasn't in a good mood or when he was faced with odds or people that he didn't like. Sonic brushed that thought aside. It was then that Shadow finally spoke. "And you're Sonic." It wasn't a question. It, like Sonic's inquiry, was a bid to gain confirmation.

Sonic readily returned the nod. "Yeah. I am." His confirmation seemed to neither please nor displease the other hedgehog. Beyond the firm, hard look in his eyes, he remained unreadable. Shadow's ear flicked only minutely when a drop of water hit it at the tip.

The bat stepped forward. Sonic recognized her immediately from the Dark Gaia mess. She was definitely doing a lot better than she had been then, but she still seemed worn down by whatever their group had been through since the last time Sonic had seen them. She, like everyone else, was very serious right now. "I'm Rouge," she greeted. "I don't think we were ever properly acquainted."

"It's nice to meet you," Sonic responded politely. Then he jerked his head toward the robot and abruptly switched the subject, his emerald eyes still locked on her. "He won't shoot me, right?"

Rouge shook her head. "Not unless you pose some kind of a threat." She paused, then added, "Or if Shadow tells him to." She turned to the aforementioned hedgehog, tone audibly growing a bit lighter. "But you won't do that, right?" She almost seemed to be teasing him, but Shadow hardly reacted on an emotional level, if appearances were anything to judge by.

Shadow's gaze remained locked on Sonic, focused and unwavering. "I have no reason not to," he muttered. Then he asked pointedly, "Why are you _here_, Sonic? I doubt you came just to make small talk." He was sharp, and knew an ulterior motive when it stood before him in the flesh. Not that Sonic had expected anything less.

"You know me too well already," Sonic joked lightly with a small grin. Shadow did not share in his amusement, nor did Omega. Rouge, however, smirked, if only just a little. Then, all at once, Sonic became serious, and his arms, like Shadow's, also crossed. "You're aware that Ivo is after you guys and the ARK... right?" He was certain he knew the answer to this, but he had to be _sure_.

Shadow's gaze sharpened. _Finally_, something Sonic could read... and this was the reaction he'd been expecting. "How the hell do you know about that?" the darker hedgehog demanded.

"If I'm going to explain that, and why I'm here, I'll need you to hear me out." Sonic was very, very serious, and so was Shadow. The silence that now hung in the air between them was heavy and tense. Would Shadow agree and listen to him? Would he send Sonic away without listening to a word? Or would he take the offensive position and attack? Those last two options weren't preferable, but they were most definitely possibilities that Sonic needed to take into account. He didn't want to have to try to come up with a less direct way of dealing with this part of his mission, but he was forced to admit that he might not have a _choice_.

Finally, just when Sonic became sure that Shadow wasn't going to answer, the other hedgehog nodded. "Fine," he said curtly. "Talk, then."

**~ソニック~**

Jet finally had to admit that he was tired. It was late at night, and it wasn't like he'd slept recently. He was pretty sure he'd dozed off at some point during the night he'd spent in the Room of Thefts with Sonic and the others, but that was it. It certainly didn't help that he'd gotten into so many fights today. He sat down at the base of a tree, enjoying the cool night air, and slipped the first Ark of the Cosmos off of his right wrist. It was the one with the two light green, spherical gems embedded in it, the gems that were the same color as he own feathers. As he held it, his thoughts wandered from topic to topic, from concern to concern. He soon lost himself in this silent wave of thoughts, and he allowed his fingers to skim over the cool surface while simultaneously relaxing against the cool, hard trunk. A few minutes later, one of his fingertips very lightly brushed across one of those gems.

The moment he touched that gem, he saw a painfully white flash of light of some kind in his mind. When it faded away, he found himself listening to a voice he'd never heard before. The voice was most definitely female (seemingly in her mid-thirties, though he had no idea how he knew that), and it was certainly not the voice of anyone he knew. The voice held an air of authority and power, but also calmness, a sense of serenity and peace, and a sort of gentility and love that completely took him by surprise, if only because it was so unexpected and odd. The woman's voice only spoke once, and when it did, he couldn't help but listen to it. _"Beware the darkness."_

He felt... troubled by this, and he couldn't really explain why. What he'd just been told was undeniably _very_ important, but it didn't seem relevant to _now_. It was more like... a warning about the _future_. Specifically, _his_ future. Something was going to happen, perhaps not anytime soon, and someone wanted him to be aware. But who? And why? And, for that matter, why tell _him_? _Sonic_ was the hero of this world. He and everyone else, they were just there to help however they could. If anyone should be given a warning about some potential threat in the future, it was him. Granted, if this _was_ a warning about Jet's own future, he did need to know as well, but shouldn't Sonic be told _first_?

None of this was helping him to feel less troubled, so he simply slipped the Ark back onto his wrist like a bracelet. _Screw rest._ He wanted to push his newfound worries aside, and the only way to do that easily was to resume _doing_ things, rather than just thinking about what was troubling him. Besides, time was of the essence, more so than ever before. He _had_ to get those Arks before Ivo, all the while managing to not get captured, plus he had to help find and secure the emeralds, plus he had to start on Tails's training, plus the aforementioned fox had asked for him to lend aid where he could in getting the X-Tornado ready for space travel, _plus_ he was sure he had his own self-training to take care of... He was stretched so thin, but he feared that more responsibilities would be thrust upon him before too much longer. But, to be perfectly honest, he wasn't sure how much responsibility more he could take on. _I'll never understand how Sonic does it._

With a heavy sigh, he forced himself to focus, closed his eyes, and stretched his senses out as far as they would go, trying to locate at the very least _one _of the elusive Arks. This sense came and went of own free will, however. He had no control over when or if he could sense the Arks. And, right now, it seemed that he was in the dark, both literally (he _was_ in the woods at night, after all) and figuratively. Sighing again, he turned in the direction he'd been traveling before, as it was likely the safest and most logical choice, and began walking.

**~ソニック~**

Kaden was standing alone at the edge of the camp. His gaze drifted from time to time as he thought, from the countless, shimmering stars to the thick, dark woods and back again. As he stood there, he kept his right hand lightly resting on the side of the thick tree trunk he was standing next to. All around him, the sound of insects, water, and slow, even breathing filled his ears. He hardly noticed. Far more important things occupied his thoughts and filled his mind. He could feel that his mood was worsening, and he hated that he had no control over it. He was used to being in control of himself. His emotions, his thoughts, his actions, his expressions... normally, he had control over it all. To have that control stripped from him, even if only in one area... it was unnerving, to say the least. To be perfectly honest, though, it was far more than just unnerving. In fact, it was frightening and very, very deeply concerning, though it had nothing to do with any sort of "I-need-to-have-control-over-everything"-complex or whatever it was that some people had. No, this had to do with something entirely different, and much, much worse. _If I can't control my emotions... then I can't keep the Darkness at bay._

He remembered, if only vaguely, the last time he'd gone Dark. He _hated_ feeling like he had that day. Even just the mere _idea_ of it was terrible in a way he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to describe. It was like all hope, happiness, love, and so on had been drained out of him, leaving him feeling as though such things had never existed within him in the first place. Instead, he'd been left with anger. So, _so_ much anger. And then there was hatred (borderline utter _animosity_, really), misery, grief, a feeling of being utterly alone in the world, and on and on... He never wanted to feel that way again, but the exact opposite of his wishes was rapidly starting to seem as though it could become reality. He _hated_ it, but he didn't want to feel like that. The emotion came to him unbidden, as all the others did, and he was helpless to suppress it. He'd been trying, but it was never to any avail. All of his efforts had, thus far, proven to be in vain.

Without a sound, Kaden turned away from the horizon to look over the camp. All around, people were sleeping. He felt his gaze soften when his eyes fell upon first Analia, then Cream, Amy, Tails, Locke, Knuckles... His friends. His family. The woman he loved. Being with these people was supposed to bring on _good_ feelings. Happiness, first and foremost, and comfort, love, and so on... But he felt little of that. It was like the emotions were _there_, he _knew_ they were, but they were only present distantly, so far out of his reach that he could only faintly glimpse them, with little to no hope of grasping and laying claim to them. Instead, almost all of what he felt was anger. Terrible, burning anger that he didn't, _couldn't_ understand. _Anger_ that he was being treated like he couldn't defend himself. _Anger_ that he was being confined to this campsite, in the middle of a wet forest he didn't want to be anywhere near to begin with. _Anger_ that Ivo was still out there, threatening his son and friends and partner and countless innocent lives. _Anger_ that Ivo had, through Dark Gaia, done this to him.

On that last thought, anger turned to dark, _seething_ hatred. The pulse of power he felt was, by some miracle, not enough to alert anyone's senses, if only because he'd somehow reacted quickly enough to confine (though not contain) the pulse of energy caused by the rise in power. Regardless of this, the fact remained that the camp remained still, and no one stirred. He squeezed his eyes shut as his fur darkened just slightly, and he slowly lowered himself to sit on his knees in the wet grass. As he went down, his hand slipped down across the bark. He barely noticed these physical sensations, That hatred burned. It twisted and coiled around his heart like a dark snake that was ready to strike out against anyone and everyone at a moment's notice. It felt like that snake coiled tighter and tighter with each beat of his heart, contracting around it until it was hard to breathe, hard to feel anything but what it _wanted_ him to feel. He fought to curb the feeling, to banish it, to cast it away entirely and return to the calm he was so accustomed to feeling within himself. Normally, such a task would have been easy. But this time... this time, it was different. And, in the end, all the he managed to do was weaken that emotion, if only somewhat. For now, it would have to be enough.

It would _have_ to.

**~ソニック~**

**2,451 words this time. It was supposed to be longer, but eh, whatever. I'm still very, very satisfied with how this all turned out. Also, in Jet's seen, that was a _massive_ teaser for the sequel. I'll let you all figure out what that quote means. ;) **

**So the summary for today's chapter: Sonic and Shadow meet more... er... "formally" than before, and actually have a real conversation for once. Elsewhere, Jet receives a dire warning for something that will occur sometime in the future. Finally, Kaden loses a control somewhat for a brief moment, showing quite clearly just how much danger he's really in...**

**Posted 02-01-15.**


	183. Breath of Peace

**Hello, Snowy Meadow of Starlight! THANKS. Yeah, it was super tense. And the tension continues. And I'm glad you enoyed it. XD What do you mean "legit" part, by the way? Mah brain refuses to make sense of that for some reason. AND OF COURSE _YOU_ KNOW! XDD YEAH, KADEN! HOLD ON!**

**Hello, astroshadow! Oh, I know, right? I could go into a bunch of psychology stuff to explain it, but I already fried my brain by trying to remember my anatomy (which I learned over a year ago). XD**

**Randomblackberry! Yes, they do. And yeah, but the timing and situation had to be right. And yes, they clash, as you noted. Haha, yes, yes it is. XD Lol nice joke. X) Awesome! Hype is the whole point! XD Well, kinda sorta flip. In a way. OMG, I hope they won't! XD Oh? And what might that be? Lol, thanks! And thanks for the cookie! *Catches like a boss***

**~ソニック~**

_"That emotion is fear. Sometimes I think that maybe if we don't acknowledge it, it will go away... But there's another possibility we have to acknowledge, and that's that the fear will simply fester and grow into something unstoppabable."_

_-Kymma Raven_

**~ソニック~**

The morning sun was bright and warm, but a coolness lingered in the forest air. As everyone (or, at least, _almost_ everyone) sat around, eating, Cream and Analia also talked. Their conversation was nothing lighthearted to begin with, but two simple sentences successfully made it even less so. "I feel... so much fear. I want to make all the bad things go away, all the evil, all the fear... all of it."

Analia looked down sadly at the small bunny girl sitting beside her. The child was looking down, picking absently at the grass with the hand that wasn't holding her fruit, and Analia's first instinct was to try to comfort her. "So do all who live to see such times," she murmured. "But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." She brushed gentle fingertips under a small chin and gently lifted it up so that she was looking into Cream's troubles eyes. "There are other forces at work in this world, Cream, besides the will of evil. Sonic was meant to meet you. In which case, you were also meant to help him fight. And that, dear child, is an encouraging thought."

The troubled shine in Cream's eyes shifted to a confused glisten. "How?" she asked.

Oh-so innocent, this one. And yet, so, so strong at the same time. Analia marveled at the contradiction. She nurtured it. _Let no one steal your innocence, young one. _A small smile played across her lips. "Do you not see it?" she inquired softly.

Cream still didn't seem to understand. There was so much she could see that most others could not, but she was also still so young... She couldn't be expected to see it all, to understand everything. "See... what?"

Analia's small smile grew just enough to be seen. "Good forces are representative of the light, while evil is representative of darkness, generally speaking."

_Now_ Cream seemed to catch on. "And the stronger the light... the weaker the darkness."

"Precisely," Analia responded with a little nod. "Ivo is alone in this fight. It is just him and his creations against all of us. In the end, he will never win."

Cream sighed a little and looked down. "I hope you're right, Miss Analia," she murmured. And, with that, she stood and walked away.

**~ソニック~**

_"When the sun is shining, I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble to difficult to overcome."_

_-Anonymous_

**~ソニック~**

Jet quickly found that he hated traveling solely by foot. The fact that he was growing exhausted wasn't helping matters. However, his board was gone. All of this was, of course, intentional on Ivo's part. _Steal my board and constantly attack me, and he can more or less ensure that, if nothing else, he'll slow my progress._ And, of course, if he couldn't travel quickly, Ivo's job (namely trying to kidnap him) would be made easier for the madman. Still, Jet was feeling weirdly confident, like nothing could ever even touch him, let alone capture him and do him harm. He didn't know why he felt this way. It was an unusual feeling. Like... like he could conquer the world or something, and by himself no less. He wasn't used to feeling like this.

As he walked, Jet lifted his wrist so that it was in the air. The two gems embedded in the Ark on his wrist glinted in the morning sunlight. He looked the whole thing over, thinking all the while. _This feeling didn't come until I put this on my wrist after dropping Wave and the others off._ He pondered this, wondering how to make the emotion go away, whether or not he truly _needed_ to, trying to decided whether or not Ivo had anything to do with this. Finally, he sighed and returned his arm to his side just as he caught sight of a clearing about ten feet ahead of him.

The moment he set foot into the clearing was, of course, the moment all hell broke loose.

**~ソニック~**

_"There's some other meaning to this, don't you feel it?"_

_-Anonymous_

**~ソニック~**

Shadow slowly frowned deeper and deeper as he listened to Sonic's lengthy explanation as to just what in the hell was _supposedly_ going on, and what had started it all. Sonic's friends, the echidna, pink hedgehog, and twin-tailed fox (apparently named Knuckles, Amy, and Tails, respectively) had traveled, though unintentionally, to another timeline where the world had been utterly destroyed by Ivo. At about the same time, Sonic, who had stayed behind, had received a call from that timeline (or one similar). He'd been given a mission that he was supposed to complete so as to save _this_ timeline from suffering the same fate.

"You're part of it," Sonic told him frankly. Shadow appreciated the honesty, truth be told, though he didn't say that. "The mission, I mean. According to the other Amy, we're supposed to team up."

There was more. There had to be more. "And?" Shadow pressed tensely. Rouge and Omega were being strangely quiet, but he hardly cared. All his attention was focused on the other hedgehog, who was standing no more than four feet away from him. "There's more, isn't there?"

Sonic nodded slowly, seeming to feel concerned that what he was going to say next would strike some sort of a nerve or something stupid like that. "I'm supposed to learn about... someone named Maria."

Shadow was nearly stunned. Okay. So maybe Sonic's concern hadn't been so foolish, after all. Still, just this once, Shadow curbed his usual response (which involved anger, probably some cursing, and so on). Just this _once_, he decided to hear the other male out. But, in spite of this decision, he couldn't _quite_ keep the sharp edge out of his tone. "Why?" he demanded shortly. "Why do you need to know about her?" It was hard, it was _so_ hard, to refer to her even indirectly. He didn't think he'd even attempted to speak about her until just now.

"I don't know," Sonic answered, a sort of sigh in his voice. "I didn't get much explanation as to why I need to do anything she mentioned, really."

Rouge stepped forward to stand beside Shadow. "I don't suppose you have this message recorded." Technically a question, but the tone didn't do much to hint at that.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. I do." Taking the hint, he did something on the weird device he was wearing on his wrist, then the aforementioned recording began to play.

_"This is your mission._

_Learn everything you can about a young girl named Maria. Get Shadow on your side before Ivo can. With him, Rouge and Omega will come, too. You need them more than you may realize. You need to do this as soon as possible. Should you fail, you have to try and make him realize the truth about Maria and her wish for him. If you fail then, Ivo will win."_

He stopped it after that. When Shadow didn't immediately speak, Sonic spoke up again. "You have every intention of destroying the ARK, right? To keep Ivo from getting whatever he wants out of there?"

_More like to prevent him from utilizing it's greatest secret,_ Rouge thought to herself. Still, Shadow conceded a nod.

"Then we have the same goal." The frankness, not to mention to total honesty, of Sonic's statement took Shadow off-guard. Then, as if to prove himself, the blue hedgehog looked down at his device again, seeming to fast-forward through the recording, then played one more line for them to hear.

_"Destroy the ARK."_

It was then that Rouge decided to speak aloud. "Shadow, this is just the sort of help we need," she said almost urgently, her head turning automatically to face him. "If we have the same goals, we can work together. No one's saying you have to be friends or anything, but a temporary alliance would benefit _all_ of us."

"I don't need the help," Shadow muttered, red eyes finally shifting to look from Sonic and instead at rouge. Even the suggestion that he _did_ need the help was enough to irritate him. _I can handle this on my own._

"Then why bring me and Omega along?" Rouge challenged, tone sharpening because, really, they both knew that she had a valid point. "Why call us and tell us to meet you to come here? Why fill us in on everything that's been happening? Why bother letting us be around you at all?"

Shadow gnashed his teeth together angrily. He hated being talked at like he was a foolish child. He doubted that was her intention, but he couldn't deny the way he felt as a result of her rapid-fire questioning. But, regardless of all that, he _had_ to acknowledge the fact that she was right. She had such a strong point that he couldn't do much to refute it. To fight her would be pointless and would only continue to waste time that no one had. _Least of all Sonic._ Not that he was particularly inclined to care, but even still. That wasn't the point. The point of the matter was the simple fact that there was no time for anyone to be wasting. Which meant he had to make a decision. Now.

To go with Sonic... or send him away?

Finally, Shadow had to admit that there was only one logical option. And it was a choice he'd never wanted to make. This once, just this once, he was going to admit that he needed help, and accept that he was being given it. But _just_ this once. _And never again._ "Fine," he said curtly. Then, more quietly, he said again, "Fine."

Sonic, who had been strangely quiet this whole time (Shadow had expected him to be more outwardly pushy to get his way or... _something_), seemed to brighten a bit with relief. Some of the exhaustion Shadow had noted in those emerald green eyes seem to fade with the onset of this new feeling. "Great." The word seemed to hold a sort of sigh in it. But whether that was as a result of the relief or the exhaustion, some combination of the two, or something else entirely, Shadow honestly didn't know. Then Sonic spoke again. "Are you guys traveling on foot?"

Shadow mutely shook his head as Rouge replied, "Shadow has a ship. He and I have been riding in it. Metal butt over there can fly on his own."

Sonic nodded his understanding. "Let'd go get that ship, then." With that, the group of newly formed allies began walking back through the jungle in the direction from which they had come.

**~ソニック~**

_"Anger and hatred are the materials from which hell is made."_

_-Thich Nhat Hanh_

**~ソニック~**

Kaden hadn't managed to do much in the way of stifling his anger since the night before. He had, thankfully, managed to steer his thoughts away from Ivo and Dark Gaia long enough that that horrible, suffocating hatred he'd felt had faded, though. However, it lingered like a black poison in his bloodstream that wouldn't ever truly go away. And, like poison, it could only spread and intensify. It was sickening, haunting and tainting every thought and memory it could, and there was nothing he seemed to be able to do to get rid of.

The others seemed to be aware of his anger, his lingering and unexplainable hatred. He distanced himself from them, but that didn't stop him from noticing the wary, concerned glances his grandson cast in his direction, or the murmured concerns Analia, Cream, and Amy shared, or the way that Locke was watching him as though at any moment he would suddenly bolt and someone would need to make chase. This was all _not_ helping his mood in the slightest. _I don't want their damn concern. I don't need it._ He certainly didn't need to be watched over, either. It was all just _so_ irritating, and that was putting it so very lightly that it didn't do his feelings any sort of justice.

Finally, Locke joined him in sitting under the tree Kaden spent the night by. It was a long time before the echidna broke the silence. And when he did, there was sort of sigh in his voice. "So much for peace, huh?"

"'Peace'," Kaden scoffed.

Locke gave him a look. "What?" he questioned.

"The fighting, the wars... they never stop." Kaden couldn't quite stop the scowl from showing on his face. "There are just breaths between them. And, foolishly, we call these breaths 'peace'." He scoffed again, though this time less noticeably. "There is no _peace_."

Locke's gaze drifted slowly, almost thoughtfully, up into the night sky. "War..." he murmured. "War never changes... does it?"

"No," Kaden spat bitterly. "It doesn't." He was no fool. This conflict with Ivo was nothing _but_ a war. A war that they had a high chance of utterly losing.

"I think you're wrong," Locke commented. His tone was oddly calm and casual, his violet eyes still locked on the sky. Kaden felt the compelling urge to growl, but resisted it. Thankfully he still had _some_ control over the reactions brought on by his anger. Then, suddenly, Locke switched the subject. "There's power in the blood, remember?"

Kaden turned his head to direct his scowl at his long-time friend. "What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded.

Locke's reply was simple... and it made Kaden abruptly fall silent. "Sasori."

_Sasori._ Kaden looked away. Now his eyes, too, were on the sky. _My grandfather._ The man from whom Kaden had inherited a vast majority of his darkness. The man whom had wiped out at least half of the world's armies during a war by himself... because he'd lost control of that Darkness. He remembered a terrible scolding he'd been given as a child by one of the six elders who had raised him. As a child, he'd gotten angry once, and had promptly been made to regret it with harsh words and even harsher hands.

_"Your grandfather was a terrible man! He harbored an evil in him, as do you! Do you want to be like him?! Do you want the world to know that you're the same kind of monster?! Never let your emotions surface! Never let yourself grow angry again!"_

Immediately after that, a second elder stepped in and offered their own "wise words" into the conversation.

_"Weapons should not feel to begin with, at any rate."_

Kaden roughly pushed those thoughts aside. _My grandfather was not a monster,_ he thought harshly, almost as if he were yelling at those long-dead voices of the past. _He was a good man. His lapse in control brought on great destruction, yes, but he saved the world from a terrible evil in doing so._ Still, he couldn't quite shake the feeling of almost... dread that he felt when faced with the prospect of using his hidden power, the one he'd inherited from that ancient hedgehog from so many thousands of years ago. That power had once saved the world, yes, but there was no denying that that same power had the potential to destroy everything as well. The power wasn't inherently evil, nor was the user, but it was capable of doing terrible, horrible things, more so than other powers. This was why Kaden hated it. But his hatred of it only fueled it and made it stronger.

He hated that, too.

That, of course, was when Locke decided to speak again. This time, he didn't keep his gaze focused on the stars as he spoke, but instead looked directly into his friend's face. "You need to find an outlet, and a _healthy_ one, for all that anger building up inside of you."

Kaden didn't miss how Locke had stressed the word "healthy" in that sentence. The problem was, the simplest and oftentimes most effective means of releasing his anger was by fighting, something that could probably never be considered healthy by most people. He felt that aforementioned anger spike momentarily. "You think I don't know that?" he snapped harshly, eyes flashing as they swung around to look at Locke. He hadn't meant to snap, he really and truly hadn't, but it had happened before he'd really had the chance to tr to prevent it.

Locke held his hands up placatingly. Thankfully, he understood as well as an outsider (namely someone who wasn't Kaden himself) could about what was going on with Kaden on an emotional level and, as such, he knew not to take any of this personally. And besides, Kaden really _was_ trying to get control over the anger. It wasn't like he was passively _letting_ it make him lash out like this. "I know," the echidna murmured. Then he looked away again and sighed. "I know."

**~ソニック~**

_"That's the thing about pain. It demands to be felt."_

_-Anonymous_

**~ソニック~**

Amy, who was kneeling before Knuckles (who was sitting with his back against a random tree near the X-Tornado) sighed when Knuckles _finally_ gave in and let her take off the sling to look at his broken arm and check it over. He would never admit it aloud, but she knew that he was in a lot of pain. She attributed that to his worse-than-usual attitude. She gently unwrapped the bandages sealing his flesh wounds. When she started telling him in simple terms how bad it all was, he let out a small growl. "Don't dumb it down for me," he grumbled. "I'm not stupid."

Amy rolled his eyes. "Fine." She resumed examining his arm, starting with the upper portion above his elbow. "You've torn your biceps brachii a bit, but it's nothing terribly major." She then focused on his bone. "You managed not to damage your humerus, though, which is good." She turned her attention to the bony portion of his his elbow. "The olecranon process is fine, too." Now she focused on his lower arm, starting with the muscles. "Your pronator teres was sliced a bit, but not deeply, as was your flexor pollicis longus. The rest of your muscles seem to be mostly fine." She carefully examined his arm to determine the state of his bones. "Near as I can tell, your radius is partically shattered, but your ulna is just fractured. It's a closed fracture, so it's not terrible. Certainly something that can be mended."

Silence. Then, expectedly, Knuckles sighed and mumbled, "Translation?"

A small smile played at her lips. "Essentially, there's damage both minor and major done to your muscles and bones." Then she added, "Analia can probably heal it, but you need to be the one to ask her. It's _your_ arm, so I won't do it for you."

Knuckles stood without waiting for her to say anything else. "Fine."

Standing as well, Amy watched as he walked off to Analia to see how much of his arm could be healed. _For his sake... I hope it gets healed soon._

**~ソニック~**

_"Embrace the struggle and let it make you stronger. It won't last forever."_

_-Tony Gaskins_

**~ソニック~**

**3.379 words this time. I'm trying a new thing with the dividers. What do you all think? **

**So the summary for this chapter: We see that Cream is afraid, and that Analia is trying to hold onto the hope that is steadily being lost by the child beside her. Maybe hope is the only thing that is now missing in the small girl's life now. We learn that the Ark seems to have messed with a specific emotion of Jet's somehow, that he's grounded for the time being, and once again being attacked. Ivo must have a specific reason for targeting him so fiercely. We learn that Shadow hates the idea of wanting, needing, and accepting help for himself, but he miraculously joins forces with Sonic anyway. It's anyone's guess how long the alliance will last. We see that Kaden's mood has drastically worsened from the night before, and we learn that, surprisingly enough, he doesn't truly believe in peace (much like he doesn't believe in fate or luck). Maybe his opinion can one day be changed. Lastly, we see for the first time just how deeply knowledgeable Amy is in the field of medicine and anatomy. With any luck, with her and Analia working together, Knuckles will be in good condition again soon.**

**Anyway, I don't have much else to say here. Hope you all enjoyed. Posted 02-03-16.**


	184. Truth and Lie

**Hello, Snowy Meadow of Starlight! THANKS, GLAD YOU THINK SO. YOU SHALL FIND OUT IN PART TODAY. YEAH! HOORAY! I do as well... X( YEAH, HANG ON! Haha, yeah, it was. XDD Thanks!**

**Hello, Mutt7! Nope... sorry. I have, sadly, never played that series. But thanks for the (albeit misplaced) compliment, anyway! And thanks so much for reading and reviewing! :D**

**Hello, nagato922! Thanks! :D**

**Hello, astroshadow! Yeah! Good Shadow! Agreed... poor Kaden. :(**

**~ソニック~**

_"Truth is immortal."_

_-Anonymous_

**~ソニック~**

Kaden was still sitting under the same tree as earlier, leaning sideways against it now with his head resting on the trunk. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Analia gracefully sat down beside him. She didn't immediately speak, so he remained silent as well, returning his focus to his thoughts. His eyes skimmed the forest ahead of them, watching as a small flock of birds flew into the air in the distance. A few minutes later, his partner's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "_Meisiano_?" she asked him quietly. ("Are you feeling better?)

"_Teino kana_," he muttered back. ("I'm fine.")

"_Chika natol tei_," Analia murmured. ("You were not earlier.")

All Kaden conceded was a small, "Hn." He neither agreed nor disagreed with her statement. He wouldn't lie to her, but that didn't mean he had to open up completely about this. He didn't doubt that she knew she was right, anyway.

"I have an idea," she murmured, suddenly changing the subject. He looked at her with just his eyes again. "It may make you feel better, at least for a time."

He was silent for a long moment before finally responding with a sort of small sigh in his voice. "What?"

A small smile played at her lips. The sight, as always, caused a familiar thump in his chest in spite of his mood. "I was thinking that we could play 'Truth'."

That was a verbal game, and once Kaden was well familiar with. It was played by one person asking one question, the other person answering honestly, and then the roles switching. They had played it together a few times in the past, back during the war against the ancient Babylon Rogues. He hadn't been expecting her to suggest _that_ just now. Still... he wasn't opposed to the idea. The game was simple, after all, and it was relatively enjoyable. So, without much reluctance, he agreed. "Fine."

Her smile grew. He felt himself relaxing a bit, in spite of himself. "Would you like to start?"

He shook his head, feeling the rough bark scratch against his head as he did so. "You can." That was how it always went. She would offer to let him start, and he would insist that he did not. For them, it was part of the game. The first time they had played, however, he'd only insisted this because he'd been uncomfortable at the idea of asking her... well, anything, really. Locke had teased him about being shy around her back then, but he refused to believe (let alone admit) that.

"Alright," she agreed. She paused for a moment before posing a simple, innocent question. "Tell me your favorite haiku?"

Kaden blinked once, then quietly recited, "'First dream of the year...

I kept it a

Dark secret...

Smiling to myself'."

She smiled again. "That is fitting," she murmured. "It suits you."

He lifted one shoulder in a minute shrug as he thought of what to ask her in return. Soon, a question came to mind that he realized with a sort of start that he'd never asked her before. "Who was your closest childhood friend?"

Her smiled grew. "My Chao, Leili. She was a Hero Chao, one of the white ones with dark blue on the ends of the hands, feet, and rear." Kaden nodded his understanding. A few moments later, she voiced her next question just as a cold droplet of water hit Kaden's ear. He unconsciously flicked said ear in response. "Have you ever met a friendly spirit?"

Kaden blinked slowly, thinking, before finally admitting, "A few." He immediately changed the subject, not wanting to stay on this one any longer. "What were you thinking... when you decided to join us in the war back then?"

Analia's smile grew some more. "I was thinking," she murmured as she leaned into his side, "that it would be an adventure." She leaned up and gently kissed his cheek. "And, besides... I wanted to learn more about you. I could not do so if I was not with you." He said nothing in response as he silently wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her close. Being near her like this was making him feel better, but not as much as it normally would have. That was beyond troubling. After all, of even she couldn't help him...

Who could?

**~ソニック~**

_"Friends can be allies, but allies aren't necessarily friends. To be friends requires a mutual desire to be so."_

_-Anonymous_

**~ソニック~**

Sonic wasn't foolish, in spite of what Ivo seemed to like to believe. He knew things; one such thing was the fact that he and Shadow were most certainly _not_ friends. Allies for now, yes. Friends? _Hell_ no. He didn't think he would _mind_ having Shadow as a friend, but he really wasn't a fool. He harbored no misunderstandings about this situation at all. _We share a common goal. For that reason, and that reason alone, we're working together. He barely has any interest or desire in this relationship, such as it is, and there's no way he'll want anything more. He doesn't even seem to consider Rouge and Omega friends, and they're closer with him than anyone else._

As they walked, emerald green eyes shifted to look at the other hedgehog. So much like his father... and yet, so different. It was odd, how similar and not Shadow was to Kaden, a man he probably had no idea even existed. Sonic noted the similarities, first and foremost. Shadow, like Kaden, was distant, closed off, reserved, withdrawn, and distrustful. He was also somewhat prone to irritation while also somehow managing to be calm and nearly unreadable. And yet, it was clear that, in spite of how much he distanced himself from people, he was fiercely loyal to those he decided to protect. And he, like Kaden, was very strong, and very intelligent.

And there there were the differences.

While Kaden was prone to irritation at times, he wasn't usually prone to anger, whereas Shadow seemed to be at least some of the time. Then there was boredom. Kaden was _constantly_ bored when there wasn't anything exciting (i.e. combat, running, and so on) going on. Shadow, however, didn't seem the type to become bored, typically. Also, he, unlike Kaden, did not seem to have those instances where he was more open, happy, and so on. They were so different, Shadow and Kaden, that one couldn't do anything _but _acknowledge the fact that they were two very separate people. They were dissimilar beings, the two of them. So different.

And yet...

**~ソニック~**

_"I do things my own way! So don't give me any lip about it!"_

_-Roronoa Zoro, One Piece_

**~ソニック~**

Jet could only throw himself down onto the ground when a series of missiles were fired at him out of nowhere. He landed hard on his stomach as the missiles shot barely a few inches over him. Scrambling back up onto his feet, he almost reflexively shot a bolt of lightning. It struck one robot. That robot was far too close to the others, so that single bolt jumped from bot to bot, racing through and destroying them with zero effort.

The fact that he wasn't taking cover while he fought was reckless in Wave's eyes. If she were here, she'd be taking defensive measures just as much as offensive. But who cared right now? Certainly not him. He very much preferred his way of handling combat. Taking risks, making bold moves, heading straight into the fray, certainly hiding behind a damn _tree_...

_Doesn't mean I can't dodge, though- Shit!_ As this rapid thought scrolled through his mind, Jet once again dove out of the way of a cluster of missiles. He hit the ground hard and quickly pushed himself up enough to glare at the ship overhead and shout, "Don't you have other people to bother?!"

As with during their last encounter, Ivo's voice sounded perfectly clearly over an intercom system. Doubtless he could hear Jet through his robots. _"I'm afraid not, Rogue."_

"Didn't we have this discussion earlier?!" Jet shot back at him. "I have a _name_, as you might recall! Or is your braid as small as your eyes?!"

_"I seem to recall promising that you'd pay for your mouth."_ As if to punctuation this threat, cannons, turrets, and robots alike turned to aim their deadly artillery straight at Jet.

Jet scrambled to his feet. _Fight or flight, fight or flight..._ Though he didn't mean this literally, as it _was_ just a figure of speech, his newest odd power briefly came to mind. He pushed that thought away for now and focused on trying to decide whether or not he _really_ wanted to chance taking on all this on his own.

Ivo seemed to mistake his hesitance for fear. _"No flower can stay, yet fools grieve at the idea of dying,"_ he murmured. Then he said tauntingly, _"Such a pity that you have joined those ranks of fools, Jet!"_

Jet felt a spark of temper rise up in him. "You know what _I_ think?" he snapped. "I think _you're_ the one who's afraid of death!" A smirk spread across his face as he stood. Ivo wasn't responding. A nerve must have been struck there. "I'm right, aren't I?" Jet challenged.

Ivo made no reply to that. Instead, he changed the subject. _"This is your last chance to surrender peacefully, hawk."_

Jet rolled his eyes. _As if I would._ He decided not to make a comment on the matter of his name... this time. "I'd rather not," he replied nonchalantly, arms crossing. Then he added, "And good luck taking me by force, Egghead. I'm not as much of a pushover as you seem to think."

_"Frankly, I'm glad."_

Jet blinked once, surprised. _The hell did he mean by that?_

_"Otherwise,"_ Ivo continued menacingly, _"I would have brought this along for nothing."_

As Jet watched, a truly tiny box of some kind dropped out of the bottom of Ivo's ship. Utterly confused, his eyes followed the box's long drop from the sky to the ground. _That's... severely underwhelming. And pathetic._ But, of course, as was the nature of things, the moment he thought that, the situation abruptly changed. The moment the box hit the ground, there was some sort of flash of light that was painful enough that it forced he to shield his eyes with his arms. When the light finally died down, he looked on in slight disbelief as a massive robot loaded it's equally massive gun. Strangely, his seemingly unnatural confidence didn't fade. That didn't, however, stop him from thinking once more, _Shit._

**~ソニック~**

_"To wish to be well is part of becoming well."_

_-Seneca, Roman philosopher, mid-first century AD_

**~ソニック~**

It was around lunchtime now. Analia was sitting on the trunk of a tree that had fallen ages ago. "You were fortunate," Analia murmured. Her hands glowed with soft white energy as they hovered mere millimeters over Knuckles's wounded arm. "The damage you sustained could have been much worse."

Knuckles nodded slowly. "It would've been, if Amy hadn't knocked those last few bombs away from me with her hammer." Analia murmured something in agreement that Sonic or Kaden could have heard, but he wasn't them. So her words were lost on him.

_Speaking of Kaden..._ "Um... Can I ask something?" he inquired slowly. He was being cautious, if only because he knew she was upset and concerned already. The last thing he wanted was to make it worse for her somehow.

"Permission need not be given for you to voice a simple question," Analia murmured, a hint of a smile on her face. She pulled her hands away from his arm. It was as good as new. It was incredible.

Knuckles somehow managed to give a small smile of his own as he moved his arm away from her. Her unfailing kindness never ceased to amaze him. _No wonder Dad's such good friends with her._ He opened his mouth to speak, only for everyone in camp to be momentarily distracted by the sound of a ship flying toward the clearing.

All eyes looked up and watched with varying degrees of surprise and distrust as a jet black ship came to hover over their clearing, then very carefully landed just scarce feet to the left of the X-Tornado. The cockpit opened. A very familiar blue hedgehog jumped out of the third seat, coming to land lightly in the wet grass. "Yo," he greeted. "I'm back."

Knuckles smirked in spite of himself even as he watched Shadow power down the ship and also jump out. "So we can see," he responded. "What took you so long?"

"Oh, nothing," Sonic replied easily. He seemed _so_ much more relaxed than he'd been the last time they'd spoken. The fact that he'd cleared one of the biggest hurdles in his way to completing his mission (namely, getting Shadow on their side) undoubtedly helped with that.

"So, seriously, what took so..." Knuckles trailed off without even realizing it when Rouge stood in her seat and landed gracefully on the ground. Knuckles's eyes followed her movement. He didn't even remember what he'd been about to ask Sonic before, let alone what he'd wanted to ask Analia.

Sonic smirked. Knowingly. If he weren't so distracted, Knuckles might have been tempted to throttle him. Or at least hit him on the head. "You alright there, Knuckles?"

Rouge made eye-contact with Knuckles, and she smiled. He quickly looked away, focusing his attention on Sonic instead. "Yeah," he grumbled. "I'm fine."

Sonic's knowing smirk was now being mimicked by Silver. However, Silver's smirk instantly vanished when a brightly colored robot landed beside Shadow's dark ship. Amy smiled. "It's okay, Silver," she said to him, eyes on the robot. "It's just Omega."

Sonic's smirk only grew. "The friendly robot."

As the two hedgehog's bickered about the reality of a robot actually being "friendly" or not, Knuckles randomly looked over at Kaden. As he watched, Kaden briefly made eye contact with Shadow. Bright green eyes glanced over the newest addition to the group just as crimson eyes did the same to him. Then, anticlimactically, Kaden turned away without a word, dismissing everyone in the camp and retreating into his thoughts once more.

**~ソニック~**

**2,496 words this time. This took _waaay_ longer to write than it should've. Oh well. Posted 02-05-15.**


	185. Uncertainties

**Hello, Snowy Meadow of Starlight! I did as well! Lol! Haha, yeah, same. I smiled a lot, too. :) Hahaha, yeah. XD**

**Hello, nagato922! Thanks! :)**

**Hello, superbook5012! Your review to Chapter 183: Yes, he has! :D Haha, no, actually... I've never played that game series (sadly). I just got the quote from a comic online. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 184: Yeah, we are! :D Oh, don't worry! I have every intention of keeping him alive. :) Aw, thanks!**

**~ヒーロー~**

_"It's not a matter of can or can't. There are some things you just do__."_

_-Anonymous_

**~ヒーロー~**

Shadow scowled slightly as he listened to the discussions taking place around him. It wasn't the conversation that was causing his scowl... but rather the fact that he was constantly getting _dripped_ on. His ears were cold and practically soaked, as was much of the rest of his head, shoulders, and arms. His front was still covered in mud from the knees down, too. And that mud was starting to get crusty and uncomfortable (not that it hadn't been before). His main focus, however, was not on the conversation, nor these irritating discomforts. Instead, he remained focused on his thoughts. Or rather, his memories. He remembered the soft, smiling face of a young girl not of this world, a girl with shining blonde hair and deep, emotional blue eyes that always sparkled with a happiness he had yet to fully understand. Again he remembered the things she had said to him over the years, the things that, collectively, composed her final wish.

_"That world looks so beautiful from up here… doesn't it? But you know something, Shadow? Even such a beautiful place as that has pain, suffering, anger, sadness, loss, and all manner of terrible things… I want to see that planet thrive, Shadow. I want to know that there are people out there who are willing to fight to protect it and try to bring it a measure of peace."_

_ "Do you see all that red down there…? …Yes, those are fires. Shadow, I think those horrible robots are attacking that giant island again. The people who are willing to cause this sort of mass pain and destruction need to be stopped. …This is what you fight for, Shadow. For the friends you will one day make, for whatever family you may have… for the happiness of the world."_

_ "When I'm gone someday… I'll be forever thankful for all the memories we've shared, Shadow. …No, don't worry, I don't plan on leaving any time soon. I've just been thinking… that's all. …Promise me one thing, will you? Just… please don't ever forget those memories, or me. And, above all else… remember that I'll always be there for you in your heart, even after I die someday."_

_ "Yes, Shadow, people can be cruel. Very cruel, even. But that doesn't mean we can judge them all guilty and condemn them to death. Everyone is different. Yes, it's true that no one is perfect. Everyone has a bit of darkness in them. But don't you think they deserve a chance, anyway?"_

_"Shadow… give them a chance… for me… please…"_

Shaking his head lightly, he refocused on the present. Just as yet _another_ ice-cold droplet of water hit his ear, Sonic looked up. He listened as the blue hedgehog called out, "'Bout time you got back!"

Looking up, Shadow watched as a green hawk on a strange green and white hovering board-thing descended into the clearing. On his right wrist, he was wearing some sort of circular stone object. _Odd._ There was no other observation to be made about the whole picture. That one word, in his opinion, entirely summed up what he was seeing.

"What took you so long?" Sonic continued, eyes on the hawk as said hawk jumped lightly off the board, landing lightly in the grass without a sound. This surprised Shadow. Shouldn't he have heard those red boots hit the ground? And yet, even those no one else seemed to hear it either, no one else (besides Rouge) seemed bothered by it.

"I ran into Ivo," was the brief reply. This certainly explained why the hawk seemed dirty and beat up, Shadow supposed. Still, that _didn't_ explain why he'd been out dealing with the madman on his own.

"Were you after an Ark?" the swallow asked him. Earlier, Shadow would have had no idea what "Ark" she was referring to. The only Ark _he_ had known about prior to this was...

"Yeah," the hawk nodded, his voice interrupting Shadow's thoughts. Shadow was quickly finding that he hated people interrupting his thoughts.

"And?" Sonic pressed.

The hawk's icy, piercing blue eyes turned from the swallow to look at Sonic instead. "I think one of his robots snatched it up while I was fighting him." There was a sigh in his voice.

Sonic also sighed. "Alright," he responded. After a moment's thought, he continued. "Well, whatever," he said simply. "We'll worry about that later. Just focus on working with Tails and the ship for right now."

Shadow decided to speak up for the first time in a while. He didn't want to be left out of the loop about anything important, so he asked, "What will you be doing?"

Sonic turned his attention to Shadow. "I have to start searching for the Chaos Emeralds," he responded. There was no hesitation. He wasn't at all reluctant to share information. That meant that there was no lack of trust. Shadow was surprised by this, to say the least, but also a bit thankful, if only because it made it easier for him to get the answers he wanted. And, besides that, it made things a bit less... awkward. "Mom, Dad, Knuckles, and Locke volunteered to help me." The Sonic turned the question back on Shadow. "What will _you_ be doing?"

Shadow weighed his options quickly. He'd been filled in on the entirety of Sonic's save-the-world mission by this point, so he knew what needed to be done. These "Arks of the Cosmos" things needed to be found, as did the aforementioned Chaos Emeralds. Sonic had needed to join forces with Shadow, so that was one thing that had already been accomplished. For some reason, he was supposed to learn about Maria, though Shadow had _zero_ desire to speak of her, now or ever. For whatever reason, the other male blue hedgehog needed to be protected closely, as did Cream. At some point, the group needed to go to Mazuri, and they needed to get their ship ready to go to space (presumably to deal with the Space Colony). They needed to prevent the awakening of the Biolizard, and destroy it if the latter task is failed. There was so much to be done. So, with this in mind, he made a decision and said, "Rouge, help them search for the emeralds."

"Will do," she agreed easily. He was pretty sure that she was mostly just glad to be near her childhood idol. But, whatever. At least she wasn't arguing. That, in and of itself, was probably some sort of a blessing. Not that he believed in such a thing.

Red eyes glanced to the small girl sitting with her bow-tie-wearing chao across the clearing. She was talking quietly to said chao as she picked some of the few flowers that were growing in this vicinity. Shadow felt some small, mostly buried part of himself soften a bit at the sight. He didn't let it show in his voice, though. "Omega, stay with Cream," he ordered calmly. Sonic seemed surprised that Shadow knew her name, but thankfully said nothing about it.

**"Affirmative," **Omega intoned. With that, the so-called "friendly" robot lumbered over to the aforementioned bunny-child.

"And you?" Sonic asked again. He waited a breath, then asked, "Why don't you come with me for now?" As if feeling the need to convince Shadow that doing so would be okay, he added quickly, "Jet can handle things here."

Shadow glanced to the hawk again. _So that's his name._ He steered his thoughts back to the matter at hand. He took just a moment to consider what was being offered to him. He could feel the power resting inside the other male, could see the sharp intelligence in those bright eyes, which were now watching him silently. He knew Sonic was right. _He will keep them safe._ Finally, he nodded and voiced his agreement. "Fine."

Sonic returned the nod, then began speaking to the others. "Silver, for now I want you, Amy, and Blaze to help Wave and Storm look for the Arks. Tails, Jet, you guys already know what to do. Cream, just stay with them and Omega for now. And Jet, you guys _have_ to get to that race. Don't forget about it." No one argued. So, with nothing left to say, everyone split off to do what they needed to do.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Live each day as if it were your last. Don't live in the past. Put the future on blast."_

**~ヒーロー~**

Silver flew alongside Wave and Storm, who were on their boards, while Blaze ran below. All around, forests stretched out almost endlessly, coating the landscape in lush green. Amy was riding with Wave, her arms lightly holding onto the other woman as they flew. The whole time they traveled, Amy kept her eyes down as though she were deeply saddened. It seemed more likely, to Silver at least, that she was worried. She was constantly worried; she couldn't help it. Still, that didn't mean he had to _like_ it. "Hey, Amy..." he called slowly, "you okay?"

For once, she didn't try to play it off as though nothing was wrong. He had to give her credit for that, if nothing else. "No," she murmured. "I guess not."

Wave twisted around to look at the young pink hedgehog. "What's wrong?" Blaze and Storm seemed to be paying attention to the interaction, but neither said anything. That latter's silence was actually a bit surprising.

Silver, however, wasn't so reserved. "Amy?" he pressed. He wanted to help her, to make things better for her, and he couldn't _do_ that if he had no idea what the problem even was in the first place.

Amy sighed, her eyes closing briefly and her head lowering somewhat. "I'm just worried," she murmured.

"We could tell that much," Wave responded. Then she gave a small verbal prod. "What's bugging you?"

"You _can_ talk to us, you know," Silver added as he glanced down habitually to check on Blaze, even though there was no danger present currently and he knew full well (how could he not?) that she could easily handle herself if and when there was.

"I know," Amy responded immediately. The slight fire in her eyes from the perceived insinuation quickly died out, and she sighed again. "I just..." she trailed off uncertainly, then finally just came out with it. "We've already failed with all of this before. I mean, I guess it wasn't really _us_ exactly, but that's not really the point, anyway. All I'm saying is that evil came out on top for a long time in another timeline, possibly many others for all we know, and I'm just... _so_ _scared_ that it will happen again here."

"You're creating an imaginary problem," Wave told her frankly. "We only for sure that_ one_ timeline was ruined. Thinking pessimistically by assuming that others have been as well won't do anyone any good."

"And besides," Silver added more gently, a smile on his face, "the reign of terror is over now. It's in the past. The fact of the matter is that evil never wins forever. Even _if_ we fail to save the day this time or even the next time, we _will_ win eventually. Nothing Ivo does will ever stop us from fighting. And if we never stop fighting, then he'll never be guaranteed any sort of victory."

"And we'll knock Ivo's lights out before he ever gets the chance to take over so much as a rock," Storm added in a grumble. Blaze still said nothing, but a small smile seemed to appear on her face as he said this. Still, it was hard to tell from this high up.

"So don't worry Amy," Silver said, still smiling. "Everything will be okay. You'll see."

Finally, Amy managed to smile as well. "Okay," she whispered. "I believe you."

Smiling some more, Silver took the lead and returned his full focus to trying to locate an Ark.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"...And bring unto you a measure of truth..."_

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

Kaden was riding on the wing of the black ship as it flew. Inside, Sonic sat with Analia, Rouge, and the other, multicolored hedgehog. Knuckles was on the other wing with Locke, the two sitting side by side as they talked. Kaden was glad to be out here alone. He didn't want to talk with anyone about anything right now. Partly just because he wasn't in a conversational mood, and partly because he was honestly worried that he would unintentionally snap if anyone said anything to him. Either way, he was glad to be alone. As he sat there by himself, savoring the feeling of the wind rushing around him, Kaden thought. He was skeptical about this whole situation... and, admittedly, he was also rather confused. He was well aware of the way colorations worked when it came to people's fur, feathers, and so on. A certain color indicated a certain breed of a species. This new hedgehog... Shadow... had three different colors on him. White, black, and red. _All colors that belong to extinct hedgehog breeds._

This hedgehog was the same age as Sonic. That meant that he had to have been born around the same time as Sonic. And yet, by the time Sonic was born, virtually all the hedgehogs in the world were gone. All that had been left by then were the green, pink, silver, blue, and purple hedgehogs, and only the pinks had been somewhat populous (hence the reason why the purples died out so quickly, closely followed by most of the rest). If that logic held, then... that left a massive problem. Namely the fact that Shadow shouldn't _exist_. Unless, of course, some of the technology of this new world had played some role. Which, he supposed, was entirely possible. But that still left an important question that needed answering. _Who would create a person... __and why?_

**~ヒーロー~**

_"I would like to thank my family for always being there. I needed their help."_

_-Unknown (This is a senior quote from my high school... I just don't remember who wrote it.)_

**~ヒーロー~**

The moment he knew it was safe to do so, Jet pulled the Ark off of his wrist and set it in the front seat of the X-Tornado. The moment the Ark was no longer on him, the unnatural confidence faded and he was left feeling _normal_ for the first time in hours. It was almost strange, but it was also a relief, and he didn't take much time to think about it. While Tails unloaded his twin swords, Jet kept half an eye on Cream and Omega. He had no problem looking past appearances and accepting the fact that this robot could _potentially_ be friendly as Tails had claimed. Still, Jet was far from trusting by nature. He _was_, however, very _protective _by nature, and Cream was one of the people he was protective of. It had to do with more than just the fact that she was a child, too (an immensely powerful one, but regardless, a child nonetheless). The truth, if he was willing to admit it to himself, was just the simple fact that she was _kind_ of like his little sister or something. That was why he protected her. Because she was a close enough friend to be practically family, much like Sonic, and family was something that always should be protected.

Tails brought his attention back from his thoughts. "Okay, I'm ready now," he said. His swords were now strapped to his back in an "X" shape, ready to be drawn at a moment's notice.

Jet nodded once, turning to face Tails fully and trusting Omega, for the moment at least, to protect the young girl who was innocently picking flowers across the clearing without a care in the world for the first time in far too long. "Let's get to work, then."

**~ヒーロー~**

**2,766 words this time. ****Forgot to say it last time, but the haiku Kaden last time was recited was written by Sho-u. I don't know when. I also forgot to do a summary last time.. Oh well.**

**Too long, didn't read? Well here's the summary for today's chapter: Shadow observes the people and interactions in the new group he's joined, remembers various things Maria told him in the past, and he and Sonic dish out orders to get everyone on task so as to try to thwart Ivo. Amy is once again stricken by worry, and Wave, Silver, and even Storm work together to ease her concerns. Kaden's mood remains bad, and he thinks about Shadow, whom he suspects did not come to be through natural means. Jet rids himself of the Ark's influence for now, then thinks about Cream, whom he is intent on protecting, while simultaneously deciding to trust Omega. Finally, Tails prepares to begin the training he was promised.**

**I hope you enjoyed. Posted 02-08-16.**


	186. From Whence You Came

**Hello, Snowy Meadow of Starlight! Great! I'm glad you did! Yeah, I do as well. I don;t anyone can really blame her, to be honest. Yeah... they were. ...And they were initially supposed to be involved in the scene where Sonic was trying to convince Shadow to team up with him. XD Omg, same! D:**

**Hello, Guest! Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed! Hope you like this one, too! :)**

**Hello, nagato922! Thanks! :D**

**~ヒーロー~**

_"It's never over, just another day, all the hope and tragedy, and everything that comes our way. Determination of the strong...__"_

_-Crush 40 ("All Hail Shadow", Sonic '06)_

**~ヒーロー~**

There was so much to do. They had so little time. The odds were seemingly forever stacked in the enemy's favor. Yet, at the same time, the forces of good were allied together. Perhaps not united yet, but someday... maybe someday...

All Sonic knew for sure was this.

No matter what, he would never give up.

He couldn't.

Turning, he watched as, outside the ship, Knuckles and Locke talked. It wasn't often that the two of them sat down and simply talked with one another. Locke was open, easygoing, laidback, and occasionally talkative. Talking was easy for him. Knuckles, however, was more closed-off, more tense, and not typically as talkative as his father. Coversation between them was a difficult thing, to say the least. That made this moment they were sharing all the more special. Still, it only served as a momentary distraction from what he'd been thinking about in the first place. For, as he watched father and son interact, he soon found himself wondering... _What happens if Ivo takes one away from the other? _They couldn't stand to be separated again. The first time had been hard enough.

_No, _Sonic decided silently, a firm scowl on his face as he turned away to face the front again. _No, I won't stand for it. I will not let their lives be ruined again._ Locke had been through enough hardship regarding his family because of Ivo's, as had Knuckles. They'd both lost Laura, Knuckles's mother and Locke's wife (a woman Sonic only knew about from the stories Locke had told him at his child self's insistance) to Gerald and his murderous robots. Then, as the bitter frosting to the bloody cake, Locke and Knuckles had lost each other. They had become separated far more than they were ever supposed to, and then Locke too lost his life to Gerald's rampage. _I won't let it happen again._

And what about Vanilla, Cream, and Cheese? What about Amy and her parents? What about Tails and the Rogues? What about the Chaotix? What about Shadow and his friends? What about Blaze? What about him and his own family? There were so many lives here, all that were still full of potential and opportunity. Each person fighting here was still dreaming for a more, hoping for a miracle, fighting for a peaceful world they only saw in their dreams. They all had hopes for the future and where thy wanted to go and what they wanted to do. They all had such full lives to lead, lives that they _deserved_ to actually _live_, and Sonic refused, he _refused_, to let any of those lives be stolen away by a madman with as much heart as a cold stone in the abyss possessed. No matter what, Sonic swore to save them, and save them all. He wasn't going to let a single person die in this war. They were all going to make it out of here alive...

And Ivo would fall.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"He's the tower of power, admits no shame. Untouched, uncrushed, he will remain."_

_-Crush 40, ("His World", Sonic '06)_

**~ヒーロー~**

Kaden was _not_ a fool. He knew _far_ more than he ever said aloud. He didn't need to be _told_ that Ivo was hunting him, a thing that _no one_ had felt bothered to mention to him, because he could _see_ it. He had observed, and that was enough to reveal the truth. Everywhere he went, robots followed. They did not, however, always follow anyone else (besides Jet so far, though they were hardly near each other, making this detail irrelevant). Another important detail: Sonic almost always insisted on staying near him, almost as though he thought Kaden needed protecting. And when Sonic himself couldn't guard him, he made Kaden promise (knowing full well that Kaden never turned his back on a promise, as his sense of honor in that area was too strong) to stay near Locke and Analia. There were other things he'd noticed as well, but either way, the fact of the matter was that he was being hunted.

And he knew exactly why.

Looking down, Kaden turned his right hand so that the lightly closed fist was supine in his lap. Then, opening his hand, he called forth a bit of the power he normally kept locked away deep, deep inside him. Dark energy crackled briefly around his palm and fingers. _This_ was why Ivo was after him. That much was obvious. Yes, it was true that this wasn't Kaden's only power. However, if Ivo was truly interested in Dragonfire, he could go after Locke or Sonic, or hell, probably even Silver. Granted Ivo could probably go after Sonic for access to Darkness, too, but Sonic's darkness wasn't as... _potent_ as Kaden's. It was tempered by the light he'd inherited from his mother, which helped to keep it at bay without as much conscious effort (unlike with Kaden, who had to really solely on his own willpower, training, and so on). This light also made it harder for Sonic's Darkness to come to the surface in the first place, meaning it would require at least double the effort for Ivo to get it from him. With Kaden, however... the task was infuriatingly easy, and he hated that fact. Still, it _was_ a fact, and one he wouldn't waste energy denying. The fact of the matter was, it _had_ been easy to do, because it had been planned out _perfectly_. And no one had had any idea until now, when it might be too late. Ivo had been prepared while they had been unaware. He'd planned it all.

That attack had been deliberate.

It was no mere chance that Dark Gaia had specifically blasted _Kaden_ was all that pure, dark energy. It was no _accident_ or stroke of luck. Ivo had known, somehow, how incredibly sensitive Kaden was to dark influences like Dark Gaia. He had known this, and he had worked it to his advantage. He likely hadn't known that he, Locke, and Analia would be coming back, no one could have guessed _that_, but once they _had_ come back, Ivo had clearly decided to work the situation to his ultimate advantage. But one thing he didn't seem to have accounted for was the fact that Kaden knew how to _control_ his power. Immensely difficult though it may often be in situations like this, Kaden could keep it at bay. This simple fact seemed to have somehow slipped Ivo by, and Kaden knew that the man was likely growing frustrated. But this was cause for worry, not celebration. If he was frustrated, then that also meant he was more determined before. He almost certain had some sort of a plan to _force_ the Darkness to break Kaden's control.

And that worried Kaden more than anything.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Many friends help me out. In return, I help them."_

_-"Believe In Myself" (Sonic Adventure 2: Battle)_

**~ヒーロー~**

Jet watched with a careful eye as Tails worked through the exercise Jet had taught him. Lunges, blocks, slashes, and parries against imaginary enemy swords... He was doing well. Very well, in fact. He'd clearly trained hard, and very seriously, in that other timeline. He was incredibly determined to learn this and had no interest in wasting time dillydallying or playing around. Jet felt a flicker of approval rise up in him. _Good. _With that simple thought, he returned his attention back to the work he was doing on the underside of the X-Tornado.

Mechanics really wasn't his thing normally, but he wasn't totally helpless in this field of work. He'd learned a thing or two from Wave (mostly by watching, though she had willingly sat down and taught him a few things). It helped that Tails had, prior to them setting to work on their own tasks, talked Jet through what he needed to do. It was then that Jet had borrowed Tails's swords to show the young fox what he needed to do. Simple though the move set he was working through seemed to be, it was a necessary basic foundation he needed to have in order to learn more complicated maneuvers and whatnot. And besides, simple didn't mean _i__neffective_. Tails could still take out his enemies with these moves.

A few minutes later, Cream momentarily distracted Jet from his work when she walked over and spoke. "Mr. Jet?"

His hands went still and he turned his head to look at her. "Yeah?"

"I'm hungry," Cream replied sweetly. "Is it okay if I get some food out of the ship?"

Did she even need to _ask_ that? There was no way in hell that Jet was going to deny a _kid_ food. Not when he knew full well what it was like to starve as a child. "Of course," he said immediately. Then he quickly added, "Just try not to shake it when you're climbing up."

"I will!" she promised brightly, now smiling her trademark, happy smile. "Thank you!" Then she gave him a hug.

Resisting the urge to tense up, Jet sighed. "Yeah, yeah, you're welcome," he grumbled. He really wasn't sure how else to respond. The slight gruffness to his reply didn't bother her at all, and she kept smiling as she pulled away to go retrieve her food. With another sigh, he resumed working, carefully using one of the tools he and Tails had borrowed from Sonic to interact with the wires that had been revealed by moving some metallic panel.

Barely two minutes later, Jet had to stop working once again, this time to turn and check on Tails again. Once again, he felt approval rise up in him. Tails was actually doing better now than before. His movements were less stiff and uncertain, more smooth and confident, and he'd developed a good balance between strength and speed in his sword strokes. Smirking a bit, the only expression of that approval that he would give, he once more turned away to resume working. But, just before he turned all the way around, he saw Tails smile.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"I ain't gonna let it get to me."_

_-"A Ghost's Pumpkin Soup" (Pumpkin Hill zone, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle)_

**~ヒーロー~**

At some point, Sonic finally sensed an emerald. The direction in which they were traveling promptly switched about two-hundred degrees to the north, and Locke decided aloud that it was growing much too chilly outside now for his liking. At first, Sonic offered to give up his seat to let him in, but Rouge soon volunteered instead, citing the fact that he and Shadow needed to be able to communicate quickly if the emerald moved or something as a good reason for him to stay and her to go out on the wing instead. Privately, Knuckles wished that Sonic would insist that it wasn't a bit deal or something, but, of course, he didn't, because it _was_ a big deal. Which meant that Rouge was coming out onto the wing to sit with Knuckles. Alone. Or at least as alone as one could get whilst sitting on the wing of a ship. He sighed. _Great._

"Hey, Knuckie," she greeted as she took a seat on the quickly cooling metal beside him. "Miss me?" The cockpit closed behind her once Locke was in his seat. No sending her back now.

With no other option available to him (as he _could_ over to Kaden, but she would likely follow and their bickering would probably only irritate the hedgehog), Knuckles simply turned his head and glared at her. "Don't call me that," he nearly growled.

"Aw, don't be like that," she teased with a very false pout. "It's such a cute nickname. You might like it if you give it a chance."

Knuckles did growl this time. "Not a chance in hell." This earned a laugh from her, one full of genuine amusement, and the sound took him by surprise. Weirdly enough, he felt his face heat up just slightly. Thankfully, she didn't seem to notice. Before she even had the _chance_ to, he hid his reaction with a second growl. "And what's so funny?" he demanded.

Rouge stopped laughing and smiled at him. He noted how _not_ sorry she was. It irritated him a bit. "Oh, nothing," she responded, her tone sweet (perhaps even falsely so, though he couldn't be sure). "Just the fact that you let yourself get so worked up about something as silly as a nickname."

It was right then that Knuckles decided he was done with this conversation. Looking away, he crossed his strong arms, rather moodily, and chose to gaze down at the landscape far below rather than at the bat by his side. "I'm not worked up."

"Aren't you, though?" she responded teasingly.

"I'm not," he grumbled.

"I think you are," she replied. He could hear the ever-present smile in her voice.

He scowled and repeated more forcefully this time, "I'm _not_." He refused to let her bother him anymore. She gained too much satisfaction from it for his liking, so he would take that satisfaction from her. Only... she didn't seem to concerned by it. Which meant she was still winning this game. _Not_ that he considered it a game like she clearly did.

"Deny it all you want Knuckie," she replied, _still_ smiling at him, "but on the inside, you know the truth just as much as I do."

Suddenly unable to resist, he quickly turned and, arms now uncrossed, clenched and raised one clenched fist about level with his chin so that the spikes were facing her, and yelled, "Stop calling me that!"

And again she laughed.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Eggman wants to steal the stones, keep the emeralds and build a throne."_

_-"Deeper" (Death Chamber zone, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle)_

**~ヒーロー~**

The assurances of Amy's friends only did so much to ease her worries. They meant well, she knew, but not even _Sonic_ could be certain about how things would end up turning out here. And besides that, they hadn't _seen_ what she had. She had seen their world ruined once already. Granted, yes, that had been in another timeline, but that was still _their_ world. The people there were still _them_ just as much as they weren't. And many of those people had _died_, and _horribly_ so at that. Silver and Blaze had been shot to death by new robots that no one had been prepared to combat. Omega had been dismantled, his parts being used to build different, loyal robots. Storm, like Blaze and Silver, had been shot to death, and by the very gun that had been taken from Omega. Charmy, a _child_, had been _executed_, and also by gunshot. Vanilla had been stabbed by a robot. Mere minutes later, yet another friend had died by gunshot, this time little Cheese. Vector had been ambushed and also shot to death. Big had been executed with a sword. Espio had been mauled by those dark creatures. And, finally, Jet had been agonizingly killed by a blast of energy like nothing they had ever seen before, energy that had the potential to even kill _Sonic_ of all people.

And none of this counted all the millions of helpless civilians that were also killed.

It also didn't include how badly ruined the lives of the survivors had been ruined.

Sonic had lost his son, and Shadow his nephew, when Silver had died. Cream, Tails, Arrossa, Wave, and Kaden had lost a close friend when Blaze had died. Cream, Shadow, Rouge, Arrossa, and Tails had lost a good friend when Omega had been destroyed. Wave and Jet had lost a sort of brother when Storm had died. Vector had lost an adoptive son, and Cream and Espio a very close friend, when Charmy had been killed. Cream had lost her entire family, leaving her traumatized and alone, when Vanilla and Cheese had been killed in front of her. Espio had lost one of his only remaining close friends when Vector had been killed. Arrossa had lost a long-time friend when Big had been killed. Shadow had lost one of his few friends when Espio had died. And, last but certainly not least, Sonic had lost the closest friend he'd ever had when Jet had been brutally killed right beside him. Plus, on top of _all_ of this, there were other constant hardships they'd had to face. Never having a safe place to rest, often not being able to rest at all in the first place, never having enough to eat, always fighting, no one any longer having a place to call home, no one ever knowing who was going to die when or where... It had all been so, _so_ horrible, far beyond what mere words could express.

_And what happens if that future becomes a reality here?_ Realistically, she knew that Ivo didn't even need to do _half _the things he'd done in the other timeline in order to secure victory. All he needed were seven glowing object that held within them a power immeasurable. Sonic was supposed to be the only one capable of using them (unless he gave his permission, however silently, to someone to let them use the emeralds), but Ivo had already proven at the beginning of the Dark Gaia incident that machines could _force_ the power out of the emeralds whether Sonic allowed it or not. _Ivo split apart the land and awakened a beast more than a thousand years old with just one emerald._ As the group continued to travel in search of an elusive Ark, Amy looked up at the sky, the wind whipping her hair around her face as tears brimmed in her eyes. _What happens if he gets them all? If that happens..._

_How many of us will die?_

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Makes you wanna sit back, enjoy your life... It sure beats fighting the foes all the time."_

_-"Dive Into the Mellow" (Aquatic Mine zone, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle)_

**~ヒーロー~**

Life had been easy for Locke, once, back when he was a kid and the biggest things he'd had to worry about were getting up on time and keeping Kaden out of trouble. Things since then had consistently refused to remain so simple and peaceful. War after war had passed him by. Countless battles haunted his history. He'd been plagued with hardship and death and destruction and loss. He'd lost one of his only friends toward the end of the war against the Babylon Rogues. He'd lost another in the beginning of the war against Dark Gaia. He'd lost Kaden, Analia, and in a way, Chip at that war's climax and ultimate finish. He'd lost his wife and, for a long time, his son, to Gerald and his madness. He lost his own life to that same madness, meaning he'd also lost Sonic. He, like Sonic and everyone else who had survived that day, had lost everything he had had ever known in life. His home, his past, every place that had ever held meaning or a memory for him... He wasn't sure how much longer he could stand this. On the inside, Locke sighed. _Is continuous peace so much to ask for?_

**~ヒーロー~**

_"In a maze, and I don't know what to do. Guaranteed, though, I will find the emeralds."_

_-"Dive Into the Mellow" (Aquatic Mine zone, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle)_

**~ヒーロー~**

Shadow didn't really know what to do anymore. He'd thought, back before he learned about this mission Sonic had, that simply stopping Ivo from getting into or otherwise messing with the ARK would be enough to prevent a global disaster. Now, though... now he knew that stopping Ivo was a far more complicated matter than he'd at first realized. And the situation was far more dire than he'd initially believed. Not only did they need to protect (or, as Sonic said, destroy) the Space Colony ARK, but they _also_ needed to find all the emeralds and Arks of the Cosmos, prepare Sonic's ship for space travel, and on and on... But Shadow found that his concern lay with the ARK. However, it also lay with the emeralds.

Because he knew things that Sonic and friends didn't, _couldn't_ know.

_The Eclipse Cannon. _The cannon, so aptly named so aptly named due to Gerald's insane plan to blow up the moon and use technology to "fix" the problem and somehow create a permanent solar eclipse, was a huge danger to them. And Sonic and his friends had _no_ idea. But then, how could they be expected to? Shadow honestly, severely doubted that they'd heard of the ARK at all until the start of this whole mess. But, either way, the fact remained that the danger of the cannon was a huge one. One that, thankfully, had never before been exploited. The reason for this was immensely simple. True to his usual way of doing things, Gerald had overlooked one highly important detail regarding his own weapon of mass destruction, the weapon he had spent the vast majority of his life creating. The detail he'd overlooked was the simple but undoubtedly important fact that hos own machine was far too destructive to be powered through normal means. That was why, all those years ago, he'd started inventing and testing so-called "power gems". The idea had come from legends that the man had discovered regarding the Chaos Emeralds. The very "power gems" that Ivo intended to use to power up the cannon. And, if Shadow wasn't mistaken, he was almost certain that the man wouldn't simply settle for using a _few_ of the emeralds, either. No, he wouldn't settle for anything less than all all seven of them, so as to give the cannon the max amount of power. But that wasn't the worst of it. No, the very, very worst of it, if Shadow understood the situation correctly, was the fact that Ivo intended to power the cannon further by somehow harnessing Kaden's Darkness, a power that was the stuff of _legends_, and channeling it into the cannon.

Then he planned on turning that weapon on the world.

Shadow's grip tightened painfully on the controls of the Blackwing, as Rouge had so aptly named his ship (not that he felt inclined to _keep_ that name), and gritted his teeth so hard that he could hear it in his head. He knew what to do now... and he wouldn't fail. _None_ of them could fail. The fate of the world utterly hinged on whether or not they succeeded, as cliched as that sounded. They had to succeed in this goal, if none of the others, if they were to stop Ivo. No matter _what_ happened, they _had_ to get the emeralds first.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"...a genius at heart, wanting to unlock the mysteries of life. ...I've got the master plan. ...I'm plotting my schemes, wherever I go. They're perfect in every way. ...I'd love to destroy that blue one you know, he's an obstacle who always gets in my way."_

_-"E.G.G.M.A.N." (Theme of Eggman, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle)_

**~ヒーロー~**

Astral Babylon knew everything. It was a simple truth that even a child or a fool with a dim bulb could see. It alone knew the truth of the world, of the universe. It knew the entire history of each world, each brightly glowing star, each vast, distance nebula. It knew of every creature, person, and plant that had ever lived. It knew of all the technology on every world and every last weapon that had ever been invented. It knew exactly how to use that technology and those weapons, how to build them, how to improve them. It knew how to build ships that, like itself, were capable of traveling with hyperdrive (thus allowing space travel at incomprehensible speeds), a feat which simply didn't seem _possible_, even when an unrivaled genius such as Ivo himself tried to figure the matter out. Everything that even someone with a mind like his knew was little more than a grain of sand compared to the vast ocean of knowledge that that incredible, _impossible_ ship possessed.

It was so tantalizing.

That knowledge...

Ivo craved it.

And he would _have_ what he wanted. Of this, he was certain. It was likely that his enemies were aware of most, if not all, of his plans already, but that was of no consequence. His plans would _not_ fail this time. He'd been far too careful, had planned far too much for him to fail again. Besides, he was far fonder of this plan than any of his past onces. He was far more invested in it, too, when compared to, say, the Dark Gaia mess (though that had ultimately worked to his advantage here). Still, there remained one consistent obstacle barring his way to victory. That obstacle had a name, too... _Sonic_, the annoying little hedgehog. One way or another, Ivo would rid himself of the speedy little pincushion. Robots could shoot or stab or blow him up, as could ships of all kinds. Other robots could even crush his small, blue body. Ivo could arrange to have him drowned like the _rat_ he was. Or maybe he could lock the speed demon up in a special box and watch him slowly suffocate. Or perhaps the hedgehog's friends could be made to turn against him and kill him on their own. But, as wonderful and highly amusing as that would be, Ivo doubted such a dream would ever come to be. However, drowning the little pest still sounded like a good idea.

Or.

Ivo sat a little straighter in his padded chair. A wide, menacing grin slowly spread across his face, giving him the appearance of the madman Sonic and his friends all consistently claimed him to be. But he was no madman. He wasn't crazy. He was a _genuis_. Oh, yes. He was brilliant. Utterly _brilliant_. _Instead of using my own power and resources to end his miserable life..._ His grin widened further, utterly terrifying in appearance. Two robots with consciousness and minds (in a way), one tall and bright yellow and the other short and grey, shrank away with as much fear as a robot could feel and, thus, display. _Instead, once I finally fully awaken and harness that beautiful darkness his dear, loving father possess, I can turn it against the son he so desperately wants to protect. _It was so perfect. The fact of his own power being the instrument of his precious son's demise would, in a way, kill Kaden as well. He would be utterly destroyed on the inside. And Sonic dying would also kill everyone else, especially the hawk and the Princess of the Light. The three biggest threats to Ivo, besides Sonic himself, would be incapacitated by grief and would be unable to stop him. And without Sonic to hold them all together, the ties bonding the members of the group to one another would be severed, and the alliance, and thus the entire resistance, would fall apart.

Ivo had seen things.

He _knew_.

Shadow's alliance with Sonic and the others was already tenuous at best. The moment Sonic was gone, he and his motley crew would leave. With Sonic no longer there to help keep the peace, Knuckles and Amy would fight worse than ever, constantly, thus forcing them apart. Amy would refuse to stay. When forced to choose, Tails would almost certainly choose to stay with Amy, his "sister", no matter where she went. Left with no other choice, Cream and Cheese would go with them so as to return to their mother. For the sake of the fickle, meaningless sense of "family", Locke would stay with his son. Storm would demean how hard Sonic had fought to succeed, to _live_, thus driving the rest of the group away from the Rogues. The continued debasing would cause a rift in his own team, and eventually Jet would be driven to leave. With no one left to hold them together, Storm and Wave would also separate. Driven by grief, Kaden would leave, and Analia would follow. And, finally, with no other reason left to stay, Silver and Blaze would return to their own world, likely never to return. It was so perfect. And with Sonic gone and the remaining heroes far from united, Ivo's goals would be all to easy to achieve. _I might not even need the cannon any longer, so long as I can rid myself of him before too much longer. _That didn't mean he didn't still plan to use it, though. He very much planned to blow up the world either way. He was looking _forward_ to it.

It was then that Bocoe, the stout grey robot from before, hesitantly dared to speak. "The scans are complete, sir," he informed Ivo. "The computer found what you were looking for."

Ivo pulled free of his ruminations immediately, now feeling rather excited. "Put the data onscreen," he commanded quickly.

"Right away, sir!" Bocoe and Decoe, the lanky yellow bot, chorused together as they scurried frantically off to type commands into a control panel on the other side of the room that had been raised from the floor to look like some sort of a desk or counter or something similar.

Ivo ignored them and turned to one of his many all-seeing screens. As he watched, the image on one changed from Cream sitting and picking flowers to page after page of data that his computer had dug up out of some deep, dark, long-forgotten hole. He grinned. Widely. This was exactly the information he wanted, the answer to one of the biggest questions he had been asking himself lately. A very important question, at that. Not that it would be anything else, since he was the one asking it.

In his quest for knowledge, Ivo had sought to understand how one ancient marvel of technology could possibly know it all.

And now he _knew. _

As he read, Ivo learned far more about the matter than he had ever known, ever_ could_ have known, beforehand. According to the information he had recovered, there existed, even to this day, a race of beings known as the Immortals, who, while capable of dying and experiencing death, were so named because they would never _stay _dead unless killed by one of their own. They were as old as the universe itself and belonged to no one species or world. Any person of any family on any world could be born as one of them, though only four Immortals could ever exist at once at any given time. The original four, born at the start of time, the start of _life_, created what was known (in the few legends that spoke of it and the Immortals) as the "Cosmic" or "Celestial Cube". It knew everything about everything in the universe, down to the tiniest detail. This cube was forged into a sphere by later Immortals. Then, for reasons unknown, it was sent as a gift to the original Babylonians on Planet Babylon.

Those Babylonians were no fools. They understood the enormity of the knowledge, the sheer _power _ that had been bestowed upon them. It was eventually decided that only those the sphere chose to speak to could touch its brightly glowing surface and unlock its secrets. Then, many thousands of years later, the Babylonians on that world reached the pinnacle of their technological development and achievement. Astral Babylon was built. And, with time, the sphere became apart of it. Which meant that it wasn't so much the _ship_ that knew everything, but rather what was_ inside..._

"Doctor, Doctor!"

Decoe's tinny voice pulled Ivo from his thoughts and readings. "What do you want, you miserable tin can?!" he barked, furious that he'd been interrupted.

Decoe shrunk back, but nonetheless continued. "The computer found something else, Doctor! It seems that there's currently an Immortal residing on our world!"

Deeply intrigued and his anger vanishing, Ivo sharply demanded, "Pull up a photo!" Turning back to his screens, he watched as the blank one beside the one he'd been reading on lit up, then displayed the picture of a very familiar enemy of his... one that was most certainly_ not_ a hedgehog. Ivo grinned yet again. "Well, now. That _is_ interesting." He thought back to recent events, and his grin grew. _The one who risks death is the one who needn't fear it at all..._

**~ヒー****ロー~**

_"Rolling around at the speed of sound. Got places to go, gotta follow my rainbow. Can't stick around, have to keep moving on. Guess what lies ahead, only one way to find out. Must keep on moving ahead. No time for guessing follow my plan instead. Trusting in what you cant see. Take my lead, I'll set you free."_

_-"Escape from the City" (City Escape zone, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle)_

**~ヒーロー~**

Shadow couldn't push his ship to go any faster. Sonic knew this. Still, he also knew that they needed to seriously _move_. They couldn't stay in one place for too long. They were, after all, en route to the first emerald's location. However, getting the seven ancient, mysterious gems didn't necessarily ensure their victory. The future remained entirely uncertain, shrouded by clouds that not even Analia and Cream, for all their unique power and knowledge, could see through. But, if nothing else, they still had their original plan to follow. And yet, even that didn't really mean much of anything. Really, all it meant was that, at the very least, they could _probably_ hinder Ivo's progress even if they couldn't thwart it entirely.

At the end of the day, all Sonic could do was blindly trust that everything would be okay.

Sonic was pulled from his thoughts when Shadow shot a lone robot out of the sky, and suddenly, he was reminded of another important fact that never should have slipped his mind. There was _another_ reason why they had to keep moving right now. Kaden was being hunted, but so were Sonic and Shadow. _Both_ Sonic _and_ Shadow. But... why Shadow? Was it the simple fact that Shadow ad betrayed him? That was a distinct possibility. That was, after all, the reason why Ivo had started hunting Rouge in the first place. But it had to be more complicated than that, right? At this point, Sonic knew nothing for sure. So he decided to ask. _Can't hurt, right? The worst he can do is refused to answer. ...A lot like Dad does._ He brushed that odd, random thought (that had tailed the other two and become noticeable more slowly) aside.

After several long minutes of silence, Shadow unexpectedly sighed. "You are aware of my past... _affiliations_ with Ivo, yes?" he questioned in return.

Sonic nodded readily. Of course he knew about that. How could he not? It had been obvious that Shadow had worked for the man at one point, but Sonic held no grudges. "Yeah," he replied.

Shadow wasted no time beating around the bush and instead jumped right in. "My dealings with him were not conducted willingly on my part." Sonic sat straighter. Sonic sat straighter. Locke, who was seated directly behind him, seemed too lost in thought to hear Shadow. However, Analia, who was sitting in the very back of the ship, clearly had all her attention focused on her partner right now. Sonic couldn't blame her. As Shadow went on to explain about Maria's murder, his forced cryogenic sleep, and his subsequent awakening (courtesy of none other than Ivo) himself, Sonic found his entire focus to be locked entirely on the other hedgehog. Shadow continued, briefly explaining about Maria's "final wish" for him and the world. Then he said, "At the time of my awakening, however, my memories of her death were fresh. Raw." His tone, albeit subtly, reflected the pure, honest truth of his words. "I had somehow convinced myself that everyone was to blame for her death. Everyone but her. Ivo then convinced me further that my anger could, and should, be unleashed on the world. He persuaded me to believe that joining forces with him would aid me in accomplishing this goal and that, therefore, it was my best available option."

Sonic understood. He understood it all. "So you did it," he summed up neatly.

Shadow nodded reluctantly, fully admitting and owning up to his mistake. Though he hated speaking so much and so freely, he knew it was necessary to make Sonic understand. Sonic _needed_ to understand. So he continued. "I went into the silver hedgehog's world under Ivo's orders. I was to observe you, learn whether or not you could control the emeralds like he suspected, then kill you if I could."

Sonic again sat straighter in his seat. He felt Locke glance at the two of them, but some how he sensed that his old friend was still much too lost in thought to really see or hear them. Still, _something_ must have registered in his distracted mind for him to look over at them, however briefly. He'd probably notice it better later. Analia, however, had turned her head and was looking at them. She, unlike Locke, was most definitely focused on their conversation. She was listening intently to what Shadow had to say. Sonic was absolutely certain of this. "What stopped you?" he asked slowly. He wasn't so sure he wanted the answer. What if nothing _had_ stopped Shadow? What if he was still planning to do away with Sonic once this was all over?

Shadow's reply was overly simple. "You."

Nothing more needed to be said, truly. And yet, Sonic found himself echoing dumbly, "Me?" He had stopped Shadow from wanting to kill him? How? When?

Shadow had answers to these questions. Answers that, thankfully, he was willing to share. With another nod, he responded. "Yes," he said simply. Then he elaborated. "I watched, as I was ordered to do, and I saw the way you fought to save that world and all those people, even that hawk whom you considered to be little more than an enemy at the time. Sonic blinked slowly as memories of his experience in that fiery world flooded his mind briefly. "Observing your actions reminded me of Maria's wish," Shadow continued, "and I suddenly realized how far I had begun to stray from it, and decided enough was enough."

"But you stayed," Sonic noted calmly. "You were still with him when that fight broke out in space just before he woke up Dark Gaia." Shadow conceded a nod. Sonic needed to know, to understand. "Why?"

Shadow hesitated to answer. "Around that time, Rouge and I had become..." he paused, searching for the right word.

"Friends?" Sonic helpfully supplied.

"Allies," Shadow swiftly corrected. Then he continued with his explanation. "He threatened to kill her if I disobeyed, so I continued to do his bidding for a time. However, in the confusion caused by the attack you and your friends launched on his base, Rouge, and eventually Omega, managed to escape. And, once I was sure they were safe, I was able to escape as well."

Sonic thought long and hard about everything he'd just been told, everything he'd just learned. Only then did he finally speak. "So, in other words... he's hunting you on the grounds of betrayal, aiding and abetting, abandonment of duties, probably conspiring," he paused, reading in between the lines of what had been said to him, then continued, "and because you were his weapon and he wants you back." Slowly, tensely, Shadow nodded. In that moment, Sonic's mind and heart were decided. "I won't let him take you," he decided calmly, visibly shocking Shadow to his very core. "No matter what Ivo does... I will fight for your freedom."

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Danger is lurking around every turn. Trust your feelings, got to live and learn. I know with some luck that [we'll] make it through. Got no other options, only one thing to do."_

_-"Escape from the City" (City Escape zone, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle)_

**~ヒーロー~**

Somewhat innocent and naive though he was, Silver wasn't stupid. Far from it. He was by no means an idiot or a fool. He knew the severity of the situation they were in, how imperative their victory was, how much dnager was pressing in around them from all sides. However, he also knew that he and everyone else in his group of friends and family was far from helpless. _No one_ he was allied with was going to simply sit back, relax, and watch events unfold as Ivo took over the world. They wouldn't let that ruined future come to be a second time. They had no other choice but to fight, anyway, right on 'till the very end. So that was exactly what Silver intended to do.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"I know there is an easy way. But it is my choice anyway. Don't let me waste my time in futile thinking anymore."_

_-"Fly in the Freedom" (Theme of Rouge, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle)_

**~ヒーロー~**

Blaze reflected as she ran that she knew that the easy way to get out of the struggles and strife she and everyone was close with were facing right now was to give in and surrender. However, she also knew something else. She knew that it was _her_ choice, and hers alone, to stay here and fight in the first place. Not Silver's. Not Sonnic's. Not Tails's. _Hers_ and no one else's. She refused to turn back on that decision now and do anything else but stand and fight. Besides, thinking like this was futile, and she refused to let herself do that any longer. Besides, she had other things to focus on. Things like searching for that Ark...

"Any sign of it yet!" Silver called down to her.

"No," Blaze called back calmly.

"The chances of anyone but Jet managing to find them is next to none," Wave reminded them. "If anyone else manages to find them, it'll be mere luck."

"Or a miracle," Storm muttered. Wave rolled her eyes, but surprisingly, said nothing about his little comment.

"Anyway," Amy cut in before the argument could begin, "maybe we should start heading back to camp." She hid her concern well... but Blaze was still aware of it. She was certain that Silver was, too.

With a simple nod, Wave turned her board all the way around and began flying back. Storm and Silver followed. Then, last but not least, Blaze did the same.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"I can go... by myself."_

_-"Fly in the Freedom" (Theme of Rouge, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle)_

**~ヒーロー~**

Kaden knew something was wrong. He _knew_ it was. With a small growl, his mind began to race. He was supposed to stay close. Sonic, Locke, and Analia wanted him to do so. He had _promised_ to. Normally, he never, _never_ broke his promises. Not ever. But this... this was far, far more important than that on promise. So, as much as he didn't exactly _want_ to go, he knew he had to. And he had no plans to take anyone with him. So, without a word or sound, he dropped off the wing of the moving ship, then teleported away.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"There is a lot of things to do."_

_-"Fly in the Freedom" (Theme of Rouge, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle)_

**~ヒーロー~**

Tails and Jet had a _lot_ of work left to do on X-Tornado, though even Omega was helping now with his surprisingly large arsenal of built-in tools. Still, they had no more time to work for now. Wave had called, reminding him that the group had to leave to get to the race on time. They really had no choice but to finish up what they were doing, then prepare to leave. Tails and Cream, of course, climbed into the ship. the Ark was still resting in the back seat. Jet, still missing his board, was forced to ride the ship as well. However, he'd learned from Sonic by now the simple joy of riding on a ship's wing. So, instead of getting inside the cockpit, he took a seat on the left wing. Shrugging, Tails closed the cockpit and powered the ship up. Omega, of course, flew of his own power. On the way, Jet called Wave back very briefly. She confirmed that they couldn't find an Ark. Jet sighed. _So far... this is not going in our favor._

**~ヒーロー~**

**7,675 words this time. My longest chapter in a while! Also, very very good news! I have decided that, after the story arc with Chaos in Tikal (which will come right after this one), I'm going to do a Sonic and the Secret Rings Arc (though it may be more of a mini arc) instead of going straight to the Sonic X Arc. That last scene with Kaden is directly tied to this new Arc, and you'll all see how when that eventually comes around. ;)**

**I'm too lazy and tired to do a summary this time. Sorry. Posted 02-09-16.**


	187. Catch Me If You Can

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I'M SO GLAD YOU LIKE IT! Yes, I did! I'm happy you're happy! :D Haha, yes! Such a spoiler! XD I did as well. It was cute and funny. :)**

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Yep, a lot really did happen. I'm glad you enjoyed. And yeah, lots more foreshadowing. Haha, I agree! That song is amazing. XD Yeah, it's _so_ complicated. Poor thing. Oh, yeah, something's definitely gonna happen. But don't worry. No one will die. :) Hahaha, no not at all. XD You're welcome, and thanks for the cookies!**

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Catch me if you can..."_

_-"Catch Me If You Can" (Theme of Jet the Hawk and the Babylon Rogues, Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity)_

**~ヒーロー~**

Every single seat in Gravity Tracks's stadium was full. There was _well_ over a few thousand people here. Plus there were people watching events unfold _live_ on television screens all over the world. After all, this was an event worth watching. The Riders were racing again for the first time in close to a year. Their opponents were nothing but old rivals. There was the team known as The Gods, who (as the names suggested) thought the world and more of themselves. They had held a grudge against Jet and his team for close to six years, ever since the birds had beaten them, thus making a sort of laughing stock of the other team. The Gods were led by a male bear who went by the odd nickname of Claw (though his real name was Brutus). Claw's teammates were a male wolf name Lobo and another bear (this one female) named Ammie. They were just as bad as their leader in regards to their selfishness, greediness, over the top self-love, and so on. Worst of all, this team wasn't above playing dirty or cheating. They had done both before, but had somehow never been caught. Infuriatingly. Still, they were fairly skilled racers and had the potential to win if the rest of the teams were either careless or incompetent.

The second team that The Riders would be facing had an odd name. They were called The Chains. There was nothing especially remarkable about them, save for the fierce tempers every member of this team possessed. The leader was a sly male lizard nicknamed Slick (no one knew his real name), and his teammates were a male chameleon named Faris and a male croc named Tarlo. They were very skilled, and like The Gods, were only all too happy to cheat. They were more subtle about it, however, making it harder for any sort of authorities to catch them. Still, it was beyond Jet and the others how they had gotten away with such things for so long, undetected.

The third and final opponent The Riders would be racing against were called The Stars (in reference to the stars in the sky, not celebrity stars). The leader was a spotted female cat name Aria. Normally she was calm, but she had a temper. Her teammates, a female wolf name Whitney and a male lizard of some kind named Clementine. Whitney had her leader's personality mostly, just without the temper. Clementine, however, was generally more happy and open. They were also very skilled, but unlike the other two teams, they had no interest trickery and cheating. They sought only to win fairly. As such, their rivalry with the Riders was far more friendly and fun for both teams. It also meant that the two teams kept an eye out for each other during races such as this, where they were facing cheaters. They still wanted to beat each other, yes, but they had no desire to come by victory if it meant letting the other team get knocked out of the competition by an unfair maneuver or whatever it was the cheaters decided to pull.

This race track, like all the others these special races were held at, had been supplied with Extreme Gear by Sonic a long time ago, back when he and The Riders had just started racing. These boards were slightly different than the original four he'd built, though, because they wouldn't work outside the stadiums, thus ensuring that no functioning model could be stolen. And it wasn't like anyone knew how to replicate the boards so that they _could_ make them work. They were much too complicated and unique for that. All Sonic had taught the mechanics working at these places to was how to maintain the boards and keep them in working condition. That was it. So, while Jet and his teammates would be using their own boards, the other three teams would be using the boards supplied to them by the racetrack.

Now it was a waiting game.

There were about ten minutes left before the racers were to line up on the track and prepare to take off. So, for now, all they could do was stand in the designated area, out of sight of all the crowds and cameras, and wait for the signal. As they waited, Wave watched as Jet, who was wearing the Ark on his right wrist like a bracelet, glanced around, undoubtedly making note of who they were up against. Storm was looking around as well. His usual scowl visibly deepened after a minute or two. "Shoulda known Brutus'd be here."

Wave looked over. "Oh, great," she muttered. Jet looked away, seeming supremely disinterested and unconcerned. Instead, he focused his piercing gaze on Slick. _That_ was the opponent he was concerned about, it seemed. Which made sense. After all, that man wasn't against injuring them if it meant securing victory. Hence the reason he'd blown up Storm's board while Storm was on it during their last race. Slick's team had still lost in the end, but that was beside the point.

"What're we gonna do if that guys blows up my board again?" Storm asked, noticing where Jet's attention had strayed.

"We're going to do what we can to keep you in the race so we don't get disqualified for not having enough racers," Wave answered for Jet. "Same as last time."

"We're also going to try to prevent that from happening in the first place," Jet added, speaking for the first time in several minutes. He was tense. Normally, he wasn't tense before a race. He was always relaxed, eager, even excited. The circumstances this time were different, though. A Chaos Emerald of all things was at stake, not just some money or a trophy. That meant that, for once, there was actually a strong pressure on them to win. Normally they just won these races because they _wanted_ to for the sheer thrill of it, not because they _needed_ to for any reason. This race was going to be serious. For once.

Wave sighed when the announcer said the line that was the racers' cue to go out and line up on their boards at the starting line. Catching Jet's eye briefly, she walked out. As they all lined up at the starting line and got on their boards, she saw Jet turn his head and smirk at Brutus. He seemed oddly... _confident_ right now, for once. It was nice to see him not doubting himself like she knew he so often did, but it was still odd at the same time. _What's going on with him?_

It was then that Jet unexpectedly tossed a taunt back at Brutus, one that the bear himself had used against Jet the first time their teams had raced. "Hey, Brutus."

Brown eyes flicked irritably to him. "What?" came the gruff reply.

Jet's smirk grew. "Catch me if you can."

And with that, the signal came, and they were off.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hatred."_

_-Yoda_

**~ヒーロー~**

His task complete, Kaden prepared to head back to Analia and the others. However, before he had a chance to take more than a small step forward a searing laser shot by him, uncomfortably close to one of his sensitive ears. The caused his ear to flick of its own accord. He turned calmly and looked the offending robot. It was holding the gun it had fired at him. _Muso, _he thought irritably. ("Pathetic.") This robot was a sorry excuse for an opponent. Still, Kaden was no fool. He knew more were coming. They _had _to be. Glancing around the vast, sandy desert, he caught sight of the city of Shamar resting in the distance. No robots, though. His eyes drifted back to his attacker. It had deliberately missed him and was no longer shooting. It hovered there, silently threatening, it's laser gun aimed directly at his forehead. "So if I move, you intend to shoot me...?" he asked, his voice soft and almost mocking. He closed his eyes and shook his head. He heard the gun power up in preparation to fire, as if the robot knew what he was about to do. "Shoot quickly, then."

He became a blur. The robot fired into empty air. Kaden reappeared behind the robot and, with a deft sideways strike of his hand, he broke clean through its own hand. A second blow, this one from his foot, took out something vital within the robot, and it dropped like a rock. As it slowly "died", it said in a tinny, annoying voice, **"Direc... tive..."**

Kaden took a moment to wonder about that, but ultimately decided that that it didn't matter whether the robot's "directive" was to capture or kill him. Either way, he didn't care. He wouldn't let Ivo do either to him. Turning his head, he watched as more robots suddenly came into view, flying rapidly toward him from the east and sending sand billowing up behind them. He head turned again, this time to the west. More robots. And again his head turned, south this time. Yet more robots. His entire body turned north. There were robots coming from that direction as well. Looking up, he saw yet more robots. _Oh, fun._ He ignored the sarcasm in his own thought. Before long, he was utterly surrounded. He could hear different robots burrowing in the sand beneath him.

Yep. Totally surrounded.

His eyes flicked to a sort of intercom-bot. Ivo's voice was transmitting through it. There was a grin in his voice. _"Well, well, well, if it isn't __Ali__," _the madman greeted.

Kaden rolled his eyes at the reminder of the name an ancient desert tribe had given to him centuries ago. That name held a sense of strong respect and honor, something Ivo _clearly_ didn't understand. How the man even knew of the name was beyond him. "You're an idiot," he calmly accused in lieu of a response to Ivo's comment, "if you think this pathetic army of yours can harm me."

_"Well now, it's rather unlike you to sound so self-assured,"_ Ivo taunted, the grin still clearly present in his voice. _"For that mattered, you seem to be rather ill-tempered at the moment. I daresay you must not be feeling well."_ He clearly didn't mean physically.

That earned Ivo an angry growl. Kaden felt his expression darken, but he did little to try to change it. That was far from being one of his main concerns right now. "You know full well why, Ivo," he bit out. "Don't act so damn surprised. This is _your_ fault." Generally, Kaden didn't swear that much (at least not aloud). However, he knew that he tended to swear more and more the closer he was to going Dark. He gritted his teeth.

Ivo unexpectedly cackled. He sounded so amused, as though he were listening to a child that was attempting to sound wise. "You are apparently more intelligent than I'd given you credit for. I hadn't expected you to figure it out."

"You thought I would no notice?" Kaden asked harshly, slipping back into a more formal manner of speech. "Have you not been paying an _ounce_ of attention?" Ivo seemed taken aback by the harshness in his tone, but Kaden did nothing to censor it. He _hated_ being accused of stupidity.

"What are you going on about?" Ivo demanded.

Kaden glared at the intercom-bot. "You are an idiot," was his only reply.

Kadne suspected that Ivo would have growled if he were capable of making such a sound, if the man's tone of voice was any indicator. _"You will pay for your tongue."_

Kaden uncharacteristically rolled his eyes, not that Ivo could see him do so. It wasn't like he hadn't heard _that_ threat before. Granted, that had been during an entirely different and much darker point in his life and in a vastly different time period from this one, but regardless. "Your threats hold no merit, Ivo."

_"Oh?"_ Ivo challenged.

Kaden could hear the confidence and certainty in his own voice, but he hardly cared. "You will not lay a hand on me."

Now Ivo's voice held an audible grin, a fact that, as a rule, was concerning. _"No one ever said that your punishment would entail me bringing you pain."_ Kaden scowled, but was interrupted before he could get more than a syllable out in reply. _"I think that a certain lady and white would be better suited for the role of helpless victim here... don't you agree?"_

Kaden felt his heart drop. His ears lowered and he thought he might have paled a bit. _Analia._ This was so _beyond_ bad and terrible. He was much too tired right now to teleport to her, and there was no way he could defeat these enemies and run back to where she was in time. Worse yet, if Ivo was serious about "punishing" him through harming her, than there was no telling what the man would do to her. He might even kill her. Kaden felt a stab of panic. _No..._

Ivo was _very_ clearly still grinning. _"Well, Kaden? What do you think? Should I capture and steal away the love of your life?"_ His grin seemed to grow as he suggested, _"Or perhaps I should take your precious child instead."_

Panic instantly gave way to fury. Kaden's lips curled in a vicious snarl. His ears went back again, only this time as a clear sign of hostility. "You will not touch either of them," he threatened in a low voice, his tone dark and dangerous. Now that the panic had been ebbed, it occurred to him how foolish said panic had been. Analia was much too powerful for Ivo to subdue, and she _would_ fight the man. She would not go quietly, not by any means. But, even so, he couldn't quiet the voice that whispered in his mind, _And yet..._

_"I can, Kaden,"_ Ivo replied easily, still completely unconcerned by Kaden's anger. _"And I will, quite willingly, do so if you continue to resist me."_

_And yet... _Ivo sounded so confident. So sure. That was normal. But something about it felt so different about it this time... so alarmingly different. Which meant that this was all an elaborate bluff... or the man really had some sort of terrible trick up his sleeve. Kaden's ears lowered a bit further in another display of anger. "What the hell are you planning, Ivo?" he demanded harshly.

_"If I answered that, then where would all the fun be?"_ Kaden let out another snarl. He was in _no_ mood for any of this. Ivo was undoubtedly counting on that. He was _goading_ Kaden to fight, knowing full well that Kaden would do just that if he lost control of any of his anger. The malicious grin never left Ivo's voice._ "Now you must choose, hog. Either come quietly, or I will ensure that someone you love will pay dearly for your decision."_

Kadne never took kindly to being threatened and coerced, but he had _far_ bigger concerns to worry about right now. He was _so_ torn... Torn between his desperate need and desire to protect his family even if it meant his own death and his equally desperate need to no be captured by Ivo under any circumstances. But no matter what option he chose, the outcome would be far from pleasant, nor would it be in any way a desirable one. He felt another bright spark of anger ignite within him. _Damn you, Ivo..._

Ivo spoke again. He seemed to be loosing some of his patience. _"Well, hedgehog? Choose quickly, or I'll be forced to make your decision for you. And I can assure you that you won't like what I choose."_

In response, Kaden spun and destroyed a robot, taking its sword in the process. He was so, _so_ sorry to his family for any harm that may come to them, for whatever Ivo might do to them (or at least try to), but no matter what he _had_ to stay free. Still, his heart ached as he imagined what could happen to his family now because of his choice. _I'm sorry... All of you, please, please be safe._

He could hear in Ivo's voice that the man was displeased by Kaden's blatant refusal to come quietly. But Kaden was sure that Ivo wanted to fight, perhaps to try to force Kaden's anger levels to rise even higher than they already were. Not that Kaden would _ever_ let that happen._ "So be it, then."_ The intercom switched off and the robots rushed forward to capture their target through any means necessary. Kaden readied his "borrowed" sword.

He would not go quietly.

**~ヒーロー~**

**2,897 words this time. This would have been longer, but... meh. Sorry for the delay, too. Posted 02-18-15.**


	188. Resonance

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Yeah! :D I am, too! I think it turned out great! YEAH! GO KADEN!**

**Hello IAMBATMAN! Thanks a lot! :D That means so much to hear!**

**Hello, nagato922! Arigato! :D**

**Hello, superbook5012! Haha, that was the point (somewhat). XD Thank you! I hope you enjoy this installment! :)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 186: Austria?! Luckyyy! XD YES! IMMORTALS! OH, YES, IT CAN! AND IT WILL! I DUNNO! MAYBE YOU CAN! XDD IT MAY BE A SMALL WHILE LONGER YET, SO WE'LL SEE! I- UM- I DUNNO! XD**

**Your review to Chapter 187: UH-OH! QUICK, TAKE THIS! *Hands you an oxygen mask* OH, THEY WILL BOTH DEFINITELY KICK SOME ASS! DON'T YOU WORRY! Don't you worry, Pyro-kun. It's going to happen. ;) It looks different. Since Kaden's Darkness is much more potent than Sonic's, he doesn't become super dark blue when he transforms: he actually turns black (black glow, black fur, everything). Also, when he has his hair pulled back like he normally does, the ring ends up out of his hair somehow and, during the initial power-rush brought on by the transformation, his hair flows up a lot like Sonic's does, but then goes back to it's normal position. One thing that's the same with both his and Sonic's Dark forms, though, is that they're eyes lose their pupils and become pure glowing white light. Prety cool, huh? ;) I will do my very best, Pyro-kun! Thank you! :D**

**Hello, Samantha12! Oh, thank you so much! That means so much to hear! :D Oh, it's there, trust me. All those little moments they share are building up to further closeness between the two, which will, in turn, lead to true romance eventually. Don't worry about it, for it will come. :) Haha, aw, thank! :3**

**~ヒーロー~**

**QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT! My deviantart username is yasha77. On that account, I have posted a few of my own drawings of Sonic, Sen, and a couple floorplans of Amy's parents' house. I'll soon be posting floorplans for other character's homes as well as other Hero-related illustrations. If you're interested, feel free to check the pictures out!**

**~ヒーロー~**

_"A smooth race never made a skillful racer."_

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

Victory had never been more imperative. To some, their determination to win was silly. Foolish, even. This _was_ just a local race, after all. And yet, it was so much more than that at the same time. At least to those who fully understood just what the stakes were. The prize was just a gem that seemed normal to most (excluding its uniquely vivid color and the way it glowed). But the Riders knew that that was now _ordinary_ gem. It was a Chaos Emerald. In the stands, Cream, Amy, Tails, Silver, and Blaze cheered the team on (however silently on Blaze's part). They held no doubts that their friends would win. Racing was their life, in a way. They knew the Babylon Rogues would win. They _had_ to. But what Amy and the others didn't know what was how unusually _tough_ the competition was that Jet knew. Wave and Storm knew, too. There was no way they couldn't. Each racer was flying as fast as their boards could go. Everyone was neck and neck. Jet, Brutus the Bear, Slick the Lizard, and two other opponents were somehow taking the lead (thought only by a mere foot or less), but Wave, Storm, and the other competitors weren't far behind. It was already a very close race, and they'd only just begun.

But Jet was optimistic.

The Riders, both with and without Sonic, had never before lost a race. Not _once_. They sure as hell weren't going to start now. Not when so much was at stake. It didn't matter to him that the whole world was watching; that had never been important. He didn't care what the world thought, and he never had. Because it didn't _matter_. No, what mattered here, what had _always_ mattered right from the beginning, was the fact that people they cared about were counting on them. That was why he and his team wouldn't lose, no matter what this race threw at them. Because they couldn't let their friends down. Because that emerald waqs so precious and dangerous and not just anyone could be allowed to have it. Because if Ivo got ahold of the emerald, it could all be over.

Gritting his teeth, Jet swerved out of the way as Brutus and his teammates, Lobo the Wolf and Ammie the Bear, together tried to knock him off his board. The opposing team's action, of course, went unnoticed by the judges. As always. All Jet could do was dodge. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wave dodge Slick and one of his cronies (specifically Faris the Chameleon) when they, too, tried to knock her off of her board. Not too far behind, Storm ducked with unusual quickness to avoid a wicked punch thrown by Talroc the Croc, Slick's other teammate.

Just as the croc backed off of Storm, the racers finished the first lap.

Glancing back, Jet made a mental note of the Stars, the only other team in this race that wasn't trying to cheat their way to victory. It was thanks to Slick that the three of them were all at the back of the group of racers. The lizard had knocked the three of them of them with a small device he'd detonated an explosive (which, unfortunately, couldn't be heard over the roar of the crowds, thus sparing Slick any penalties), and now the Stars were stuck back there. Still, at least none of them were hurt like they _could_ have been. Things could have been much worse. One that thought, Jet's eyes narrowed and his gaze turned to Slick, who was on his left. "If I had the time to, I'd knock your light out after this race."

Slick hissed with laughter, the sound making him sound more serpentine than lizard-like. "I'd like to see you _try_."

Jet would have _loved_ to make good on is threat right then and there, but there were a few reasons why he couldn't do that. One, he'd probably get caught (knowing his awful luck) and get disqualified, thus disqualifying his entire team. Two, he refused to stoops to his rivals' level and fight dirty; he would win this race _fairly_. Three, he didn't like the feeling of hitting people, because he knew only all too well what it was like to be the victim on the other end of those blows. Four, he needed to focus more on other things. _Like making sure the three of us don't get knocked out of this race._

Onto the third lap.

Ammie slammed sideways into Storm with all due force and then some, causing the albatross to swerve hard and uncontrollably for several heartstopping moments. He careened toward a wall at the very end of all his swerving about, then somehow managed to snap his hand out and shoved himself off of said wall just in the nick of time. Seconds later, he was back in the race. At around the same time, however, Lobo knocked into Aria the Cat, leader of the Stars, and sent her flying off her board. When it became clear scarce seconds later that Aria was going to slam into Wave in her fall, Jet reacted almost without before the two women could collide, Jet reached back with his right arm snatched Wave's wrist and dragged her. board and all, away from Aria. He winced slightly out of sympathy when the she-cat hit the ground hard on her stomach, her forehead smacking the pavement in the process. _Sorry, Aria._ _But Wave has to finish this race._

_"Ooh, that looked like it hurt!"_ one of the announcers exclaimed unhelpfully and with a distinct lack of sympathy.

_"Guess that the esteemed Stars are no longer in the race!" _the second announcer crowed. _"That means is up to Jet and his Riders to uphold their half of the famous alliance and win this race!"_

Somewhere behind Jet and Wave, Storm grumbled just loud enough for Jet to hear, "We _get_ it already. The pressure's on. You can shaddup at any time."

Realizing with a small start that he was still holding Wave's wrist, Jet abruptly released his grip on her. In spite of the unnatural confidence brought on by he Ark he was still wearing, Jet was still Jet, and he was _not_ confident with relationships. If anything, when it came to just about anything involving him interacting with Wave, he was rather... shy. According to Sonic, at least. Not that Jet would _ever_ show shyness, let alone admit in any way shape or form that his friend was right. He didn't doubt that the hedgehog knew it already, anyway. Wave's voice successfully pulled him out of his thoughts just meters from the finish line. "Thanks, Jet." With slight, hopefully invisible heat to his cheeks, Jet just nodded. It was all he could do.

They crossed that line, an action that was closely followed by an announcer's voice. _"Last lap, folks, and the remaining racers are still neck and neck! It's going to be a close finish! Who will win?!"_

Jet privately thought that all that enthusiasm was unnecessary.

It wasn't like they were in a world tournament. It was just a local city race with a prize that most of the world regarded as normal and appropriate for a competition of this size. The only reason for all the attention and publicity was the simple fact that the Riders were here, racing for the first time in quite a while. But that was beside the point. He refocused on the race, but too late. Brutus threw a punch that Jet didn't see coming due to having been distracted by his thoughts. It hit him hard in the temple and made him see stars while the rest of his vision lurched and swam. Brutus's voice filtered through the haze, deep and much too full of pride. "_Caught_ you, you stupid hawk!" In spite of the pain and the _highly_ unwelcome reminder of his second-to-last encounter with Ross, Jet somehow managed to shake off the effects of the blow for the most part. The headache obviously lingered, but the haze had faded. Everything that remained could be dealt with. He could live with is all easily. He'd done so before, and as a damn _child_ no less. He could certainly do it now, now that he was an adult that was so much stronger than his past self could have ever been (and not just physically). The injury he'd sustained today was minor, anyway. It really didn't matter. What mattered was that he needed to focus, as him taking that blow had proven. A quick glance behind. Wave and Storm were with him. His gaze returned forward.

_Let's finish this, then._

They were nearing the finish line. The roar of the crowds was deafening. Brutus, Slick, and Ammi were closing in on them. His heart was pounding with the sort of adrenaline that could only come from the sheer, unparalleled thrill of participating in a race. He could see Tails and the others on their feet and cheering (or at least smiling, on Blaze's part) in the stands to the left of them. The seconds were ticking by far too slowly. He could hear Sonic's voice in his head, repeating the words that had been spoken to him the night they'd learned of this competition, the night Jet had agreed to come here on this day. _"You've never lost a race before. You won't lose this time."_ In spite of everything that was weighing on his mind and heart right now, Jet found himself smirking. _Damn right._

The roar of the crowds became a shrill, collective scream as The Riders shot through the finish line together at breakneck speeds, going so quickly that all that could be seen of them was a blur of there colors. They twisted their boards sideways and slowed to a quick halt, Jet's scarf streaming behind him as he did so. He and his teammates traded small grins. They had done it. They had won. _"And they've done it again, folks!"_ one of the announcers exclaimed, his voice barely audible over the still-screaming crowds of fans surrounding the racetracks. _"The undefeated Riders have secured yet another victory with superior and impossible ease! The future looks bleak for their rival teams is looking grim as they-"_

Jet tuned the announcer out. He had no desire to listen to whatever scripted exultations the man had to offer. Jumping off the board he'd borrowed for this race, he led the way across the flat expanse of pavement and grass to the woman responsible for handing out the prizes. He had become well acquainted with her over time, if only because they had to interact every time he and his team won a race. Which, of course, was every time they entered a race. Wave was right behind him as he walked up the three short steps to the grand, glass podium Shauntell was standing at. The prize-woman smiled as she held the emerald out to him. She couldn't know what kind of power she was holding. She _couldn't_. And he had no intention of ever telling her. "Here you go, Jet. It's what you came here for, right?"

He nodded as he accepted the precious gem by taking it into his left hand. "Yeah." He lowered his arm, gem in hand. "Thanks." Smooth purple surfaces glinted in the sunlight as he turned and stepped away from Shauntell and the podium and back to Wave. He glanced over his teammates and friends: Storm, who was clearly pleased (in his own, gruff way) with their efforts and victory, and Wave, who was just... smiling.

He did his best to ignore the uncomfortable thump he felt in his chest when he realized _who_ she was smiling at, and he quickly diverted his gaze (which he was pretty sure caused her smile to grow).

Catching Silver's eye for just a moment, Jet (who was struggling to force back a small blush thanks to Wave) turned again and walked back inside with Storm and the aforementioned swallow on his heels. Once inside, he returned "his" board to the staff member he'd rented it from pointedly ignoring the venomous glares he was receiving from Brutus and Slick's teams as he did so. Their hatred meant nothing to him. It wasn't like they really had any idea what they'd lost to him on this day, anyway. _Namely, a damn Chaos Emerald... _He was still trying to figure out how it had even ended up here, but he supposed it didn't really matter. So long as they had it and it was safe. That was what was most important here. _Now we just have to get this safely back to camp and, later, back to Sonic._ He pulled himself out of his thoughts as he began heading toward the exit, Wave and Storm still in tow. Catching Aria's gaze on the way, he did his best to let his silent apology be known. She accepted it with a small incline of her head, and he was satisfied with the response. With that out of the way, he continued on his way out, completely ignoring the countless news reporters swarming around him, all but begging for interviews and victory statements. He never spoke to them. This was normal.

Tails and the others met them outside. They wasted no time with congratulatory remarks or praise. Jet was private;y grateful. He'd never been good at accepting praise and whatnot (which was a large part of the reason why Sonic and Wave were so insistent on giving it when they felt it was due, much to his annoyance), and things were easier on him when he didn't receive such kind words in the first place. The fewer times he was put into that sort of situation, the happier he could be. He preferred it that way, very much.

Stooping briefly, he picked up Cream in his left arm, switching the emerald to his right hand as he did so. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and Cheese hovered by their heads. Wave got back on her board, then turned a bit and helped Amy climb on behind her. Amy then placed one of her hands on the other woman's shoulder for balance. At about the same time, Storm got onto his own board and brusquely gestured with his head for Tails to hop on. To his credit, the young fox wasn't put off by the larger male's mannerism at all. Twin namesakes spinning briefly to give him some lift, Tails rose up, then landed lightly on the back of the board. He held onto one broad arm so as to not fall when they took off. Silver hovered a few feet off the ground and carefully picked Blaze up with his powers (with her permission, of course) to take her with them. The three racers and their passengers then took to the air, Jet using his newfound flight power to do so. Since he was still learning to use said power, however, he made very sure to stick close to Wave and Storm for safety's sake in the event that his power at some point accidentally "shut off" while they were flying. Once they were all in the air, Silver flew after them with Blaze in tow. Then, last but not least, Omega, who had been hovering high above the stadium all this time to avoid mass hysteria (as he _was_ a robot and all), flew after them, headed for the hangar where they'd left the X-Tornado.

It was time to head back.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"If you have everything under control, you're not moving fast enough."_

_-Mario Andretti_

**~ヒーロー~**

As Sonic, still in the second seat of Shadow's sleek black ship, rested his cheek in his hand and looked outside, he couldn't help but keep worrying and worrying about various things, predominantly his father. _Why did he leave? Where did he even go? Why didn't he say anything to us?_ A small frown appeared on his face and he unconsciously pursed his lips together just a bit as a new thought crossed his mind, unbidden and sudden. _Does... Does he not trust us?_

He damn near slapped himself for that almost as soon as he dared to think that.

Shaking his head lightly, he ruthlessly shoved that thought aside. His father's words and actions displayed no lack of trust. If anything, he gave them every bit of trust he was capable of feeling. He allowed them to be around him when he was so strongly at risk of going Dark, for god's sake. _That's complete trust. At least for him__. _Still, Sonic worried. How could he _not_? Ivo was by _no_ means above killing even the most innocent of people. Who was to say that he wouldn't do the same to Kaden with or without the older hedgehog's power? Sonic wouldn't put it past the madman to do such a thing, and that scared the hell out of him. He couldn't stand to lose any member of his family. _Not again. Not after I already lost them all once. _But Sonic knew that he wasn't the only one worrying about his father. Everyone was, at least to a point, but Analia and Locke were especially. They were, after all, his partner and his closest friend. Of course they worried. Hell, there were probably even more worried than Sonic himself was, if only if because they had a fuller understanding of that would happen if Kaden lost control of his power. Sonic's firsthand knowledge on the subject, however, was basically nonexistent. The vast majority of what he knew came secondhand and didn't do him, much good. But it was all he really he had. After all, it wasn't like he remembered the only time _he'd_ gone Dark himself. He'd just learned about it later.

An explosive, painfully loud sound and a jarring impact that made the ship rattle like a tin can full of sharp rocks was what finally startled Sonic out of his ruminations. Turning his head fast to the left, he saw nothing short of a massive freaking _horde_ of robots coming straight at them. And one of those robots was armed with a freshly smoking bazooka. _Well. That explains a lot._

For the first time in quite a while, Locke pulled free of his own thoughts and spoke, directing his full attention to Shadow. "Can you land safely?" he asked quickly.

Shadow nodded. The actions was somewhat curt. "More or less," he muttered through teeth that were, quite audibly, tightly gritted together.

Sonic took in the damage to the ship in under two seconds. "It's going to be far from a nice landing, though," he added quickly. Everyone knew what that meant. _Hold on tight._

The three interior passengers clutched their seats or the seats in front of them while Shadow gripped the controls of his failing ship. Outside, Sonic watched out of the corner of his eye as Knuckles and Rouge (Analia must have contacted them mentally and warned them to hang on) quickly latched on to the edge of the wing they had been sitting on, resulting in them laying on their stomachs, side-by-side and _almost_ touching. Sonic would have grinned and probably laughed and cracked a few jokes (after all, those two could never seem to get along well enough to allow for that sort of proximity normally) if only the circumstances had been different. The ships started to nosedive right then, and Sonic was suddenly quite vividly reminded of his small plane wreck in the woods the day before he'd first met Gerald, which ultimately resulted in him having to literally push the ruined Tornado home. However, the sound of Shadow's low voice as the darker hedgehog cursed under his breath in the front seat brought Sonic back to the present-day. _This situation is different from then..._ He was pretty damn sure that he heard that bazooka he'd seen earlier being loaded up again. _This is actually much worse than back then._ Not that that was a comforting thought.

Finally, just as Shadow managed to level out the ship for the most part, said ship struck the ground with far too much force for anyone's comfort. The moment it stopped harshly and skidding across the ground in the lush, grassy plains they'd crashed in, Locke, reacting even quicker than Sonic managed to (an impressive feat, truly), waved his hand slightly in some particular way and wiped out the flames licking at the grass and savagely killing the engine, stopping the fires before they had a chance to ruin the landscape and/or explode the ship. Still, no one _really_ wanted to chance it and, as such, they all quickly disembarked. As his feet touched the soft ground, Sonic's mind registered the fact that he could sense an emerald straight ahead of the ship's nose, though he had no idea how exactly how far ahead said emerald was. Still, he was certain that it wasn't that far away. They were so tantalizingly close... Which, of course, explained all the robots. Ivo had clearly located the emerald as well. It occurred to him that Ivo had seen what direction they were traveling in and had also gone that way because he'd suspected what they were doing or... something. But that hardly mattered right now.

For now, the fight was on.

Sonic quickly drew Caliburn while Shadow hurriedly retrieved dual dark grey pistols from inside the ship. Rouge pulled several wicker-looking throwing knives out (though Sonic didn't know from _where_). Locke and Knuckles called forth some fire, as they had no weapons to speak of currently. At the same time, Analia _somehow_ summoned a pure white bow into her hands with a bright flash of equally white light. A quiver of arrows sporting the same pure color appeared in her opposite hand, and she wasted no time in shouldering said quiver. Unable to comprehend this at first, Sonic couldn't help but ask, "Mom, how did you _do_ that?"

Something in his mother's eyes twinkled as she looked at him. "Magic."

Sonic must have gaped a little, for Locke suddenly smirked. "She's not lying, kid." Not that Sonic had expected her to be, anyway, but _seriously?_ She used _magic_?

Knuckles voiced the question lying in wait at the end of the road Sonic's thoughts were traveling down. However, he did it more... _brusquely_ than Sonic would have liked. "Isn't magic supposed to be a _myth_?" the echidna questioned pointedly.

"That doesn't mattered right now," Shadow cut in tersely. "Just accept it and move on."

Sonic supposed that the other hedgehog had a point. "He's right," he said quickly. "Let's just focus on kicking some robot ass for now, alright?" Locke's smirk immediately grew.

Knuckles crossed his arms and looked away. "Yeah, alright," he grumbled, not really offering any complaints against the idea of teaching these bots a lesson. And, for some reason. Rouge smirked in his direction.

With that, the fight finally truly began. As Sonic slashed out with his sword, he watched Shadow out of the corner of his eyes, curious to see how the other hedgehog fought. Much to his surprise, he noticed something fairly unexpected. _He fights like me._ To a point, of course, this was normal. They were, after all, both hedgehogs. And yet, this was also so strange. _If he fights like me, then that means..._ He watched as Shadow shot down a robot, then Homing Attacked several in rapid successions. _...He's untrained._ Spinning around, Sonic rapidly cut through multiple enemies with great ease and speed. _If the only training he has is experience..._ He spun again and destroyed another robot with a powerful kick. _If everything he knows is self-taught..._ Another spin, another kick. A robot forcefully exploded. Out of the corner of his left eye, he watched the subject of his thoughts execute a powerful but imperfect martial arts attack. The sight of such an attack brought on a memory of Kaden, who often used various forms of martial arts during combat. In collaboration with that memory, a fleeting thought entered his mind. _Maybe Dad can train him._ That would certainly remedy the problem, such as it was. Still, that was not the thing to focus on right now, as emphasized by the laser that nearly shot him in the right shoulder. It seared the ends of some fur as it went by.

The rest of the fight went by in a blur (at least for Sonic), if only because he kept getting distracted by his own thoughts and worries. Then just out of nowhere, it was suddenly all over. Looking around slowly, Sonic mentally made note of the aftermath of the fight. Robot parts were strewn about all over the place, some smoking (though none were burning, undoubtedly Locke's doing), some chalk full of knives, arrows, or both, some blown up, some melted, some dented by punches and/or kicks, some littered with bullet holes... Everyone was injured, too. Sonic had suffered a few laser burns (all of which were hidden by his fur) on his arm, shoulder, and cheek. Analia had a nasty laceration on her side (that she was likely unable to heal at the moment), and the blood was flowing sluggishly from the wound and staining her once pure white skirt crimson. Locke had been shot in the shoulder and, as Sonic watched, the older echidna rolled both shoulders with a small grimace as the to try to alleviate his pain even as he bled. Turning a bit, Sonic's gaze fell upon Rouge and Knuckles, who were (surprisingly) standing right next to each other. They both had some laser burns, some cuts, and their fair share of nasty bruises, but nothing serious and warranting more than a moment of Sonic's attention. Turning one last time, he looked at Shadow. Amazingly, the only wound that the darker hedgehog had suffered was a short but deep cut on his leg.

Catching his gaze, Shadow, arms crossed and pistols still in hand, gestured significantly with his head off to the right. Sonic looked in that direction. Sitting there amidst all the rubble was the brightly glowing light blue emerald. It was calling to him; that was a call Sonic no longer hesitated to answer (unlike during his childhood). Walked over, he gently picked it up. He hadn't even realized it was here, that the robots had actually had it all along, let alone this close. With no time left to spare and no working ship to travel in, the group simply began to travel of their own power. Sonic and Shadow began running while everyone else flew after them. Sonic really wasn't paying attention to that, though. Instead, he was paying attention to that, though. Instead, he was paying attention to the fact that they now had one of the seven emeralds. There were only six left, plus four of the five Arks. Progress was slow, but they were making it. And that was _far_ better than nothing, especially when considering the fact that Ivo had none of those twelve precious objects. Sonic knew they couldn't they couldn't get comfortable with their few victories, however. _He'll try, and keep trying, until he either gets what he wants or we defeat him permanently._ They had to keep searching for the Arks and emeralds, get them before Ivo no matter what it took. And yet...

Sonic was torn.

Torn between the aforementioned need regarding those ancient and precious objects... and the need to find and help his father. But Sonic knew that finding and collecting the Arks and emeralds was by for the more realistic goal out of the two. After all, the objects could be _sensed_. His father could not. Kaden hid his energy far too well for that. So, with great reluctance, he left his father behind and steered the group in the direction of the next emerald. It was times like this that Sonic sorely wished his father would actually _use_ his damn communicator. After all, it wasn't like they could track the device, due to the simple reason that, save for the original three communicators (the three belonging to Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails), none of them had trackers in them. Tails and Sonic simply hadn't had the time to add that feature to each communicator. And, besides that, it was a liability, an accident waiting to happen. Ivo could hack those trackers, and doubtless that he _would_, if and when given the chance.

Not long after the group took off, Sonic's communicator began to go off. It was Jet's ringtone, a snippet of the song "The Show Goes On" by Lupe answered the call without a second thought. "What's up?" he asked with a slightly abnormally casual tone.

Jet went straight to the point, wasting no time with pleasantries. That was pretty normal. _"We won the race,"_ he said. _"I have the emerald."_

Sonic wasn't surprised. He had fully expected to receive this new. Still, he was pleased nonetheless. He felt that some praise was in order. "Great job, Jet." Jet didn't verbally respond to that (not that Sonic expected him to), but he could _feel_ his friend shrugging on the other end of the call. They were just in sync like that, he supposed.

Jet abruptly switched the subject. _"How are things on your end?"_

Sonic once more glanced over his group. "Well enough," he finally answered. Then, seeing again the blood on his mother's skirt he warned, "Be extra wary of Ivo, though, alright? He's seriously out for blood right now, worse than usual."

Jet's response was as simple and direct as Sonic had expected it to be. _"Right."_

Now it was Sonic's turn to change the topic of conversation on a dime. "How are your other tasks going?"

_"Well enough."_ Sonic could fell the hawk shrugging again. _"The Tornado is almost ready to go, and Tails is doing well in his training."_

_Good,_ Sonic thought in satisfaction. "And the Arks?" he inquired. "How is your search for them going?"

_"We still only have one,"_ Jet told him honestly, _"but I think I know where the next one is."_

"Good. Be safe, alright?"

_"You, too."_

With that, having said farewell in their own way, the two long-lasting childhood friends hung up. And, somehow, Sonic found that he was actually feeling just a bit better.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off."_

_-Gloria Steinem_

**~ヒーロー~**

Kaden never killed if he didn't have to/. His past forced occupation as a teenage assassin had led him to abhor the thought of killing someone, no matter _how_ much they deserved it. He would use near-deadly force if and when it was necessary, but never anything more unless the situation truly warranted it. To add to that, he didn't typically take _any_ fight anywhere close to serious enough to warrant him feeling the need to use that kind of force in the first place. He fully admitted both of those things (though, with the latter point, he generally only did so internally). And why shouldn't he? These things were true, after all.

Normally, that is.

Now, however, with his continually building anger and hatred and equally rising Darkness, Kaden was taking things _very_ seriously. He couldn't afford _not_ to, lest this situation spiral entirely out of his control. Also, as if that wasn't enough, he found that he was very quickly feeling less and less like sparing the lives of his enemies. Of course, he fully knew and understood that these enemies were _robots_, and therefore really didn't _have_ lives for him to take in the first place. At least, not really. But that wasn't the _point. _The _point _was that he was starting to feel_ wllling_ to kill. It was so deeply troubling... And he knew exactly why it was happening, of course. His Darkness was moving closer and closer to the surface, and he knew it. He was stifling it and holding it back as much as he possibly could, but... the anger was so obviously _there_. The hatred was _there_. His fur had become quite a bit darker in color than it was naturally. His eyes had darkened, too, a fact which he only saw when he caught sight of his reflection in "his" blade or the shiny metallic surfaces that made up the bodies of his enemies. His control was slipping like streams of sand between his fingers, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to stop it. _I hate this._

Still, he continued fighting, in spite of the constant pain his injuries (especially that of his right leg) gave him, pain he felt with every jump, every landing, every twist, every turn, every swing of the sword, every breath, every movement he made... He fought on, in spite of his pain, in spite of the exhaustion weighing so heavily down on the mind, in spite of the constant internal struggle he'd been locked in every second of every day, ever since he'd woken up after the fight with Dark Gaia. And, as he fought, he couldn't seem to keep his thoughts off of the source of his pains and struggles, the thing causing him all these troubles in the first place.

His Dark form.

He only had vague memories (at best) of that infamous night at Chun-nan all those centuries ago, the night when he'd truly gone fully Dark for the only time ever in his life. However vague the few memories he;d retained of that night were, however, Kaden knew for an absolute fact from Locke that he very much _had_ gone Dark that night. He also knew that he himself, much like Sonic (god, why did his so have to be burdened with this power, too?), had multiple levels of his Dark form that he, unfortunately, had the possibility to attain should he ever transform again. Dark, Hyper Dark, Pure Hyper Dark, and quite possibly beyond... The only real hope he could cling to in this matter was that, thanks to his training (however brutal that had been), he simply maintained too much control over his emotions for those two to ever awaken. So far, that had held true, as proven by the fact that he'd never even come _close_ to reaching those levels of Darkness. It was a small hope to cling to, but at least it was something.

And yet, he couldn't just pretend that him reaching those levels of Darkness wasn't a distinct possibility, because it _was_. And there didn't exist a shadow of a doubt in his mind that Ivo was aware of that possibility and very much planned to exploit it in any and every way possible. Kaden's greatest fear right now (beyond the obvious one regarding what could end up happening to his friends and family thanks to Ivo) was that, if and when Ivo managed to to awaken his Dark form, the madman would somehow deliberately fuel its power as much as he possibly could. And, the worst part was, Kaden had no idea what he would end up saying or doing once in that state of such pure, raw, uncontrolled power and emotion. Worse than that, however, was the fact that he had no real idea (at least not for sure) of just what Ivo intended to try to do with him after forcing him to that point. All Kaden knew was that he never wanted to find out.

_I can't let this happen... I have to get away._

**~ヒーロー~**

_"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."_

_-John wooden_

**~ヒーロー~**

For at least the seventh or eighth time that day, Ivo was pulled from his thoughts against his will. However, when he realized that it was because of his computer giving him good news, his irritation over the matter faded. He read over the notification twice ad even three times, but not because he didn't understand. No, it was entirely for the sake of basking in his victory and letting it sink in. Slowly, he grinned.

_ARK OF THE COSMOS RETRIEVED_

All to gleefully, Ivo pressed a button to connect his voice to the robots that had his treasure and commanded, "Bring it here! No delays!" No sooner than he released the button, Decoe and Bocoe (who had been working on digging up more information on Astral Babylon, per his orders) suddenly put the current fruits of their research up on the appropriate screen. Most of it was mere drivel: numerous myths and legends with no ounce of truth anywhere in them. Or, at least, he'd _thought_ that that was the case. And it was true, for the most part. Most of the so-called "information" his robots had discovered was useless. One small myth they'd sent to him, however, was most _definitely_ worth looking into.

_"It has long been rumored that Astral Babylon rests beneath the vast Savannah of Mazuri."_

For the second time in the last five or six minutes, Ivo grinned. _Well, now, I guess we'll just have to poke around there, then, won't we?_ Of course, he knew that doing so would be utterly pointless without the five Arks. _So I'll get them first. _One that thought, he glanced at one of his screens to ensure that his robots were still bringing the Ark they'd found (the only one of the five to have a flat, rectangular surface on one of its otherwise circular sides) to him. Satisfied with what he saw, he turned his attention to yet another screen. This one was displaying his ongoing struggle against Kaden, who was every bit as powerful as Ivo had expected him to be and more, even with his injuries and exhaustion visibly inhibiting him. _So he truly won't come quietly, then? _He watched as the dark, ancient being spun and powerfully kicked a robot with his right leg, heedless of the agony that that action surely caused him, thus making his mechanical victim go flying and hit the ground with so much force that it created a crater and exploded. Ivo's grin only widened. _Good. _Once more pressing a button to connect his voice to his robots (though a different group than before), he maliciously ordered, "Capture Analia... _alive_."

**~ヒーロー~**

_"I'm still looking for answers... and wondering why."_

_-Larry Rodriguez_

**~ヒーロー~**

Rouge was flying close to the back of the group. They were en route to the next emerald, which Ivo _hopefully_ didn't even know about yet. _With any luck, he'll be too distracted by other things to take notice of our little group, at least for a short while._ It was probably a bit too much to hope for (maybe even more than a "_bit_"), but she had to have _some_ hope to hang onto, however meager that hope was. Still, she couldn't help but reflect on the fact that it was times like these that she sorely wished that she had never left her cozy, expensive apartment in Empire City to help Ivo try to steal the Master Emerald.

And yet, as her eyes drifted to the red, long-haired warrior flying about six to eight feet in front of her, she found that she couldn't actually bring herself to regret a single thing that had happened to her so far (expected maybe the parts that involved her almost being killed). She _couldn't_ regret anything. After all, Locke, her idol since childhood, was _here_. She'd gotten to _meet_ him, to _talk_ to him, to watch him _fight_. She was still utterly amazed by it all. Far more amazing than that, though, was Knuckles and the simple fact that he was Locke's _son_. He was the son she had never known about, in spite of having grown up knowing _so much_ about the older echidna. But, in spite of the fact that she hadn't known that her idol had had a son, she still couldn't believe that she hadn't seen it before, back when she'd first laid eyes on him (and even every time she'd seen or thought about him since then). But now... Her gaze drifted to the right and backward, her head turning to accommodate her wandering gaze. Violet eyes briefly met her own, a sort of challenge glittering within them. _But now..._ Now, seeing Knuckles in his father's hat, and seeing them in the same vicinity at the same time... Taking all that into consideration, it simply became impossible to not see the oh-so obvious similarities between the two of them. And yet...

_How utterly different they are._

Locke was laid-back. He was calm, easygoing, and enjoyed the simple things in life (like grapes and warm sunshine and people). He wasn't afraid to smile. He enjoyed making conversation and having fun. Knuckles, however... Knuckles was gruff. He was rough around the edges and closed off enough that even Sonic didn't really seem to have any real clue what he liked and disliked. He could be calm, but he was more often temperamental and, frankly, cranky. He didn't like conversation. He didn't like having fun (or, at least, he did an_excellent_ job of making people believe that). He didn't like people. He didn't like _her._ He never had, and never would. And, as she reflected on all of this, she was in inevitably led to wonder... If this was all true...

Then why did she go to such great lengths to get him to acknowledge and talk to her?

**~ヒーロー~**

_"The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."_

_-Nelson Mandela_

**~ヒーロー~**

Now that everyone was back at the camp, it was time to resume business. Specifically, Tails needed to get back to training. This time, Jet was going to be actively sparring with him, a fact that has Tails feeling a bit excited. _He's going to be sparring with me... Just like Lei did. _As he retrieved his twin swords from the ship, it occurred to him quite suddenly just what sort of power he was actually up against. He smiled a little to himself as one of his searching hands closed around the hilt of a sword. "You know," he said casually, almost as though in passing, "I used to be afraid of lightning."

Jet blinked once, tilted his head as if in thought. His arms were crossed, and he was no longer wearing the Ark. He'd given it to Wave for now for safekeeping. The emerald they'd won had been left in the third seat in the ship. "And now?" he inquired calmly after a long moment of pause. "Are you still afraid of it?"

Tails's smile grew while he climbed down off of the wing of the ship with both blades in hand. He strapped both blades to his back in their customary 'X' shape (just like Lei used to), then carefully unsheathed them. "Not at all," he replied.

Jet smirked and, without any further hesitation, he charged up his lightning. It crackled all around him, bright, hot, and dangerous, as he assumed a ready stance. Without a trace of fear, Tails also got into a ready position, the one he'd been so painstakingly taught in the ruined future timeline. He knew he had no reason to be afraid. It had, after all, been Lei's lightning that had helped save all their lives in the aforementioned timeline. Lei had talked Tails through his fear and helped him get over it. Tails no longer worried. Not about this. _I have no reason to be afraid. _Smirking a bit with determination and rare confidence, he ran forward to make the first move.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"The biggest hearts carry the heaviest stories."_

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

Knuckles was flying at the back of the group, barely paying attention as Sonic said something to Locke and Analia, then to Shadow (who nodded), then darted off diagonally ahead and to the right. Soon, he was out of away from where the famed blue blur had been mere seconds ago, Knuckles turned his attention to his hat, which he took off his hat in order to beat the dirt off of it. When he did so, he tipped his hat a bit and almost immediately spotted a barely noticeable slit in the fabric inside the hat. Frowning slightly in both confusion and curiosity, he reached into the slit on the off-chance that something was there. His searching fingers immediately touched something and, after a moment, he pulled a small photograph out into the open air. His frown eased and was quickly replaced by an expression of surprise.

It was a baby picture... of him.

In the photo, baby him was fast asleep with a tiny frown on his little face, and his equally tiny fists were clenched lightly as though ready to throw a punch at his invisible enemies at any second. He was wrapped in a soft-looking sky blue blanket and seemed to be resting in the grass. Even at that age, his hair had reached his shoulders. Looking over the photo some more, Knuckles noticed other details about the photograph. Obviously, this photo was _old_. It was covered in crinkles and bends and (more surprisingly) had a few small tear stains as well. These were all clear indications of someone carrying this photo around for a long time, frequently pulling it out to look at, and apparently crying while looking at it at least a few times. And, considering whose hat this had once been, that not-so-mysterious person could only be...

With a sudden jolt, Knuckles realized, perhaps for the first time, just how much his father had (and very much still) truly loved him.

Unable to really stop himself (and not really wanting to, anyway), he allowed himself a small smile without an ounce of care for anyone who might see it. His gaze traveled across the space separating him from his father, and his smile grew. That space was meaningless. It was nothing. He suddenly felt closer than ever to his father, and it was a truly wonderful feeling, one that he found himself clinging to. _I love you, too, Dad._ He carefully replaced the picture in the fabric of the hat, then put said hat (his small but undeniably invaluable inheritance) back on.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"No matter how much pain you've been through, you can always find something to smile about."_

_-Naruto Uzumaki, Naruto Shippuden_

**~ヒーロー~**

Cream missed her home... the home she no longer even had. She missed it, and missed it terribly. How could she not? That home was the only one she had ever known. It was where she'd been born and raised up until this point in her life. It was the home her great-grandparents had built, where they had lived, where her grandparents, mother, and aunt had all been born and raised, where her father had lived... There had been so much history in that house, so many memories, so much love... She wished it could all come back, but she knew that just wasn't possible. But still she wished. Part of her also wished that she had never come on this adventure in the first place. And yet, even though never meeting Sonic and Tails on that fateful sunny afternoon probably would have spared her home its later fate, she had no desire to think about what her life would be like if she _hadn't_ met Sonic and the others. She worried, sometimes, late at night when she was supposed to be sleeping, that she, Cheese, and her mother would be dead by now, anyway, if not for all their new friends. At least then they were with Sonic and the others, he ensured that they were _safe_. And, even if there wasn't any promise of protection, she knew she still wouldn't change a thing that had happened up until now, even if given the opportunity. She wouldn't trade her friends and and all the love and the memories they had shared with her, not for anything.

That was why, in the end, she decided that she didn't truly regret a thing.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"It hurts to let go, but sometimes it hurts more to hold on."_

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

Silver and Blaze had been quietly talking about all manner of things while simultaneously half watching as Jet and Tails rapidly sparred near the center of the clearing. One way or another, at some point in their conversation, Blaze made some sort of small comment that prompted Silver to reply with, "Well, yeah, we know all about what happened to _me_ in this timeline, but what about you?" He paused, then added, "And you parents, too, for that matter."

Blaze offered a small shrug in response, looking away from him briefly to watch Jet and Tails more directly. "I do not know."

Amy, who was sitting just a few feet to the right of the time-traveling duo and doubtless heard every word they'd said, suddenly spoke up, her voice oddly softly and subdued. "I know about, Blaze." When both Silver and Blaze looked at her in surprise, she looked down at her lap and elaborated. "I was curious why we've never seen another you running around before, Blaze," she murmured, "so I did some research on it."

Something in Blaze's eyes changed. It was a subtle change at best, but Silver read it well. She was part cautious, part troubled, part curious, part hopeful, and part very much afraid... "What did you learn?" the cat asked very quietly.

Amy looked _so_ sad... and so, _so_ sorry. "I found an article," she told them, "about a sixty-story concrete hotel in a large city that collapsed." Blaze's breath almost seemed to hitch as Amy said this. The young pink hedgehog typed something on her communicator while she spoke. "There were over three-hundred casualties." She visibly swallowed and looked up at Blaze again. "You and your parents were among them." She stopped typing and unstrapped her communicator from her wrist, then passed it over to Blaze.

Silver and Blaze both looked at the old news article Amy had pulled up. It described, in greater detail, everything that she had already explained, providing the proof Silver knew that his childhood friend needed and not to mention _wanted_. When they finished reading, Blaze swallowed and passed the communicator back. All she ended up saying, in scarcely a murmur, was just, "...I see." She got up and quietly walked away. Silver could tell she was upset, but he didn't know what to say, or how to comfort her. Clearly, neither did Amy.

In the end, all they could do was watch her go.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Sometimes the most shocking surprises are also the most beautiful surprises."_

_-Lori Wilhite_

**~ヒーロー~**

Sonic couldn't believe his luck.

It hadn't been that long since he'd left his mother and the rest of the rest of his small group in search of the emerald he was still sensing. He'd been expecting robots, obstacles, all kids of danger, but not _this_. No, not this. Because what he'd actually ended up finding was so incredible and unbelievable and most certainly _not_ a danger or an emerald... _These ruins... they're from South Island..._ Stretching out before him were the remains of one of the only towns that had ever existed on that ancient, famous island. But it was more than just a random, dead town. Sonic _knew_ this place. He'd _been_ here before, back before the Great Cataclysm had destroyed his life and the lives of so many others. Overcome with curiosity, he began walking slowly through the silent, ruined streets. He passed crumbled stores and houses, parks that had utterly been decimated by the final blast, various trees and others plants that were very slowly taking everything over... but, amazingly, not everything was ruined. There were a surprising number of buildings that were still standing. Turning a corner, he passed another small park and entered a close-knit (at least in appearance) residential area. Toward the outer edges of the neighborhood (and thus the town itself), one particular house caught his attention and damn near made him freeze. A house with deliberately boarded up windows on the second floor...

And one that _had_ been boarded up and was missing its screen.

Gritting his teeth a bit, Sonic walked straight up to the house and went in. Ignoring everything else in this terrible place, he headed to the stairs and climbed briskly up them. Once on the second floor, he followed a hunch and took the first door on the right (or doo_way_, as the door had been blasted down the hall on that terrible day). Sure enough, he found himself in the bedroom of a young boy. One that was fond of science and music and drawing and skateboarding and racing and games... Not making a sound, he walked deeper into the room, taking everything in as he went. Just by looking around, he could imagine what the room had once looked like. There was a desk, a twin-sized bed, a small closet, various tools and gadgets, a tall bookshelf, many books, various board and video games and a few handheld systems...

Something poking out of a bright red book caught his attention.

Walking over to the book, which was laying closed on the floor in front of the overturned, splintering wooden desk (which was all but crushing the chair that had clearly been sitting in front of it), he stooped briefly and closed his thumb and index finger around the object of his attention, then pulled it out of the book and up to eye-level as he straightened. It was a photograph. And a very old one, at that. Much to his incredible surprise, in that photograph was six-year-old Jet (who apparently had and wore his goggles even back then) and an equally young-looking dark brown hawk with bright amber eyes. They were both smiling happily at the camera, and they were clearly close with each other. Incredibly confused and curious, Sonic tucked the photo away, making a mental note to ask Jet about it later as he did so. Returning outside, he got back on track, running back down the empty streets and returning to the wilderness.

He had an emerald to find.

**~ヒーロー~**

**9,373 words this time. My _god_, you would not _believe_ how long it took me to type all of this out! But, hey, it's done! And this chapter is roughly the length of a Ruined Future Arc one, so I'm super pleased with it! :D**

**Now, a few quick notes: W****hen I say that the author of a quote I use is unknown, I don't usually mean that no one knows who said or wrote the quote. I usually just mean that I myself could not find the person responsible for the quote. Next, the description of blood staining Analia's pure white skirt red is massive symbolism. And, for those of you who don't know, one meter is equivalent to 3.37 feet. Also, Jet taking the emerald into his left hand when it's given to him is big symbolism, too. Don't understand how? Think back to the chapter where Lei died. It has to do with, "We're friends for life, right?!" Lastly, since I didn't translate the new linebreaker for you all before, allow me to do so now: it reads "Hero". Appropriate, ne? :)**

**I hope you all enjoyed this extra long chapter! I'm stoked to finally be able to share it with you all! Posted 02-26-15 (at about 8:30 p.m.).**


	189. Strife

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I;M GLAD YOU THINK SO! NOOOO! Bad Ivo! Bad! *Scolds Ivo, then runs from robots* Oh, I know, right? XD Yeah, it was. I loved it. It was so sweet. :3 YEAH! Same here. Poor thing. :(**

**Hello, gwencarson 126! Thank you! I will! :)**

**Hello, Samantha12! You're welcome! And thanks to you, too! :D**

**Hello, nagato922! Thanks! :D**

**~ヒーロー~**

_"The knock-out punch is always the one you never see coming."_

_-Aimee Mann_

**~ヒーロー~**

Sonic still wasn't back with the next emerald when the next attack came. Locke's shoulder was still on fire from being shot earlier, but that pain was _nothing_ compared to the agony he felt from that wound when a robot shot him in the same spot out of nowhere. His hiss of pain went unnoticed by the others, an rightfully so, as they focused their full attention on the robots that were flying up to them. Locke balled up one hand into a fist, encasing it in a ball of fire, and watched out of the corner of his eye as the bat (he recalled from their first meeting that her name was Rouge) again pulled out her throwing knives. It again struck him just how eerily similar those blades looked to other blades he had seen in the past, blades that Kaden himself had forged. _I'm almost certain that that's his craftsmanship._ There was a deadly beauty to those knives, the very hallmark of Kaden's weapons. And it was distinctly possible that they _were_ his. _He made so many weapons in the past besides just Caliburn. There were other swords, knives, daggers, shuriken, kunai, bows, arrows, battle axes, war hammers, scythes... And most of them were lost when Chun-nan was destroyed. The destruction of South Island only further ensured that they remained lost._

The robots were close enough now, meaning Locke had to focus. Rearing back, he let his fiery punch fly, listening to the satisfying crunch of the metal as his fist tore through it spikes-first. Off to the side, he could see as Rouge threw the knives that _may_ or may not have once belonged to his friend. Farther off to the side, Analia summoned her bow again, drew an arrow, pulled the string taught, then let that arrow fly. Down on the ground below her, he could see Shadow, who was fighting with his pistols as he had been before. Though Locke couldn't be sure, he thought fleetingly that the mysterious hedgehog's fighting style seemed..._ familiar_ somehow. He dismissed the thought, not necessarily as erroneous but just as irrelevant at the current moment, and made note of where his son was. Though he knew full-well that Knuckles could handle himself just fine, Locke still worried. Of _course_ he did. And yet, as he watched Knuckles single-handedly take out a buff robot more than twice his own size, Locke's worry turned to pride.

He refocused on his own part of the fight just as Rouge gasped in pain from being sliced by some robot's sword. He punched through the robot directly in front of him, then threw a fireball at the robot that had attacked Rouge. She gave him a grateful glance, and he nodded in response, understanding what she was saying without the use of actual words. Time seemed to speed up after that, only ever slowing down to prolong the bad moments, the moments they would have all rather not experience in slow motion.

Rouge was again slashed by a robot's blade, though this time across the stomach. The wound began bleeding heavily almost immediately, even as she put pressure on it with one hand. Analia was shot in the knee, making her wince (though only subtly). She was then grabbed by the ankle and swung around. The robot released her at just the right moment to allow her to slam into the ground on her back. About a hundred yards away, Shadow was stabbed in the side, punched in the jaw, then also sent flying, blade still protruding from his wound. Locke was shot _again_, this time in the foot (_My god, standing is going to be painful_, was all he could think about it), and Knuckles was hit so hard in the chest that he coughed up a bit of blood. Several of his ribs audibly cracked. Not two minutes later, a robot delivered a savage blow to the side of Locke's head. Pain like nothing he'd experienced in a long time blossomed in his skull and everything instantly went black. But in the small, excruciating instant before he reached unconsciousness, he became aware of falling.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"There's something about childhood friends that you just can't replace."_

_-Lisa Whelchel_

**~ヒーロー~**

Jet closed his eyes. Flying without a board beneath his feet was a novel experience, truly. He supposed it was kind of euphoric, in a way, if only because it shouldn't have been _possible_. He certainly hadn't _expected_ it to be. And yet, clearly it was. After all, he was _doing_ it, wasn't he? _It's interesting to think that even powers that one isn't born with, powers that are obtained, can be passed down._ There was no other way to explain how he was doing this. controlling gravity was something that only the Arks could do for countless years. Then it was just the Arks and his grandmother. _And now me, apparently..._ And yet, he had no idea if his grandmother had been able to use these powers to the extent that he currently was, namely to gain the power of flight. In fact, come to think of it, there was a _lot_ that he didn't know about his grandmother. He didn't know who her husband, his grandfather, had been or why she'd left him. He didn't know for sure how powerful she 'd been. He didn't know anything about her personality. He didn't even know for sure how she had died. But it wasn't like he was going to go find Ross again and ask him. And, as interesting as this subject was, he had other things to focus on.

Like the fact that Sonic was calling him.

Sighing softly, he lifted his wrist to stop the call and halt the incessant vibrating (as he never had the sound on on this thing). Of course, as it _was_ on his wrist again, he saw the Ark as he did this. It wasn't messing with his emotions right now, oddly enough, but it wasn't like he was complaining. That was a good thing. He'd found over the years tat he hated having his emotions messed with, whether by people or otherwise. "Yeah?" he asked simply once he'd answered the call.

_"Hey."_ Sonic's voice was somewhat garbled by static. That was... odd, to say the least, especially when considering the fact that these things had a signal no matter where on the planet they were. So maybe the Ark was messing with the connection, then, in lieu of messing with Jet. The Arks were such an uncontrolled, raw source of energy, that this wouldn't be surprising if it were true. It was for this exact reason that the Arks could mess with emotions as well. _"I have a question for you, if you've got a moment."_

Jet blinked once. That was unexpected, but not necessarily _bad_. "Okay," he agreed without much thought. "Shoot."

Suddenly, Sonic switched the call from a phone-like call to a video call. Jet immediately took notice of the fact that the hedgehog was running somewhere, and quite fast. The scenery around him was scarcely a blur. He blinked again, watching as his old friend pulled out something and put it in front of the camera for Jet to see. Jet felt himself tense up involuntarily. He _knew_ that photograph... but it had been _so_ long since he'd last seen it. That photo couldn't _not_ be familiar, the photo of him and- _"I found this about half an hour ago." _When Jet didn't reply (simply because he didn't know what to even say), Sonic pulled the photo away from the camera and continued. _"I thought you didn't even have any childhood friends besides me, Wave, and Storm."_

Jet felt himself frown. "_I_ never said that," he responded. "You just _assumed _that." Now Sonic was also frowning. Without pause, Jet continued on and admitted, "I just never felt the need to correct you."

There was a brief pause before Sonic asked, "Why?"

Jet shrugged and looked away from the screen, returning his attention to the open sky ahead of him. "That friend... left a long time ago." It was all he'd say about it, all he'd admit. He then abruptly hung up on Sonic, effectively ending the conversation. Inhaling slowly, he closed closed his eyes, feeling the wind flowing almost soothingly around him, then released the breath he'd taken in.

_Arthr._

Arthr was the other hawk in the photo. That boy had been his best friend when they were little. They had played games together, roamed around the woods and town, hung out in their tree house almost ever day, pulled numerous pranks, taught each other about different things they learned about, shared every small secret... and then Arthr had moved away. Jet never saw him again, save for when he'd looked at that photo from time to time. But Arthr had once said something, not long before that photo had been taken, that almost gave Jet a measure of hope when he remembered it. _"We'll always be friends, won't we? ...Then that means we'll always see each other again, even if it takes a long time sometimes."_ Jet sighed. If only that had been true.

Shaking his head, Jet refocused on his current task. Namely, flying to the location where he suspected that the next Ark lay in wait. _Gigan Temple._ He didn't know _why_ he thought the Ark was there. He really didn't even know anything about the temple, save for the name of it. The whole place was shrouded in mystery for all those who actually knew that it existed in the first place. Most didn't. All he had to act on here was a hunch. A hunch that might very well lead to nothing. Still, had already had nothing in the first place, save for that hunch. _I have to at least check... Maybe I'll get lucky. For once._ Right at that moment, robots swarmed around him.

_Or not._

**~ヒーロー~**

_"What you resist persists."_

_-C.G. Jung_

**~ヒーロー~**

Kaden hated how much noise the robots made. Their metal bodies shrieked when he cut through them. They clanked when he hit them. Their gunshots assaulted his ears. The explosions caused by destroying them damn near deafened him. Their creator was no better. He was constantly talking, jabbering on and on and grating on ever last nerve Kaden had with maleficent threats, infuriating mockeries, crude insinuations, and bold undertones. Kaden also hated how tired he was, how every part of his body felt heavy and weak and even shaky with the feeling. He hated how distant and detached his mind sometime felt because he was so tired, how slow his movements were becoming, how easily his enemies were now able to track his movements now because of it. He also hated how much _pain_ he was in. His right leg in particular was stiff and locking up because of how badly injured it was. At this point, it seemed likely that it was nearly broken. He was covered in other injuries, too: lacerations and smaller cuts from blades as wicked as their wielders, thick, tender bruises from blows he hadn't seen coming thanks to his current exhausted state, grazes from bullets that had come much too close for comfort. Right now, he even hated the sun, for being too bright in his eyes, the air for being too hot, the ground for being too hard when he landed on it, himself for even getting into this situation in the first place... It felt like he just genuinely hated _everything_ right now.

He was resisting his Darkness with everything he had, but it was never enough.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Hold onto whatever hope you can find. Life will forever be unbearable without at least a small light to run toward."_

_-Analia, year 1627 (according to the new calendar of the era)_

**~ヒーロー~**

Cream knew that trouble lay hidden beyond the horizon. Thinking about Sonic's mission proved this to her. _We have succeeded in some things and are working on others, and other details were made irrelevant, but we've failed a few times as well._ She chose to think of their successes first.

_"Get Shadow on your side before Ivo can. With him, Rouge and Omega will come, too."_

_"If you can, find a way to wake [Kaden] up as soon as possible." _

_"If you can't wake Kaden, then talk to Locke. Ask him about Caliburn. He'll know what you're talking about."_

_"Ask your mother about the Dragonfire when she recovers. You may need it."_

_"Learn all you can about the Babylon Garden from Jet. His teammates know some things about it, but he knows everything. Learn it all."_

They had succeeded in all of these areas. That much was true. And a few other things had been made irrelevant, due to the simple fact that this timeline was more different than the ruined one than everyone had previously suspected.

_"Learn everything you can about a young girl named Maria."_

_"Should you fail, you have to try and make him realize the truth about Maria and her wish for him."_

_"Part of the key to [preventing Ivo from learning about Babylon Garden] is stopping Ross. Prevent him and Ivo from ever meeting."_

These three things were irrelevant to them. Sonic didn't need to learn about Maria or her wish. Not really. Because the Shadow of this timeline already understood everything he needed to. And that was enough. But, in spite of these victories (if one could call them that), there were still things that they had failed to accomplish or prevent. That was why the task involving Ross was no longer relevant.

_"[D]on't let Ivo [learn about Babylon Garden]. Don't let him learn anything."_

Cream didn't know what Ivo knew, precisely, just that he knew _something_. And that meant that they had failed before they could even try to prevent the problem. But, even still, this was only _one_ failure. They still had every opportunity (or close enough) that they needed to win this war. So long as they succeeded in their current goals, Ivo would lose.

_"Protect your father by any means necessary. Don't let Ivo get anywhere near him. If Ivo gets ahold of him, everything will be over. Everything. No matter what you do, the moment Ivo gets his hands on your father, the battle will already be lost."_

_"Gather the Chaos Emeralds as quickly as you can and hide them, protect them. The Master Emerald, too. Ivo will need them for his plans to work, and you can't let him have them. Make them dormant if you can."_

_"No matter what happens, you can't turn your back on the Voice. What it tells you is always important. Even if things end up terrible like they did here, never stop listening to it like my time's Sonic has."_

_"Do what you can to protect Cream. Ivo should have learned of her hidden power by now, in your time. Don't let him touch her."_

_"Don't let the Biolizard awaken. If it can't be helped, then destroy it as soon as possible."_

_"Destroy the ARK."_

Part of Cream's mind wanted to be cynical, traitorously so, but Cream held it back by trying to hold onto a measure of hope. After all... _If winter comes, can spring be far behind?_

**~ヒーロー~**

_"There is no greater truth that truth itself."_

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

Sonic was still running toward the next emerald. It was so far away that he had no real idea of _exactly_ where it was right now. It could be at the bottom of a lake for all he knew. All he knew at the moment was that they still needed six emeralds and four Arks, Amy and the others were okay for now (he'd just spoken with her, so he was certain of their current safety), Jet was upset, his father was still M.I.A., and he couldn't get ahold of Knuckles and the others. That latter point worried him almost as much as the one right before it, and all he could seem to think about it was a myriad of pointless questions, including but not limited to, _How did everything get so crazy so quickly?_

He nearly jumped when, for the first time since the start of his trip to Chun-nan, the Voice decided to speak to him._ "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Everything that has a beginning has an end, and everything that happens has a cause."_

He frowned slowly, mulling this over a bit, before finally giving in and silently asking, _What do you mean?_

The Voice ended up actually giving a straight answer. Sonic felt almost proud of it for not being vague and enigmatic for once. _"I mean that all the chaos and strife in this world happens for a reason. Good and Evil work together. One is needed for the other. When the balance is upset, however, the world plunges into chaos."_

He huffed aloud in response to this. _I already know all of that Voice. And I'm pretty sure that you knew already that I know. So why bother sharing it with me?_ No answer. Of course. Though mildly annoyed by this, he really wasn't surprised. By this point, how could he be? This was the _Voice_, after all, and since when did it ever care enough to answer all of his questions. _I have bigger things to worry about than that little message, anyway. _He had to hurry up and find that emerald as soon as he possibly could, so as to prevent Ivo from getting it. Then, once he had it, he had to return to Knuckles and the others in record time. He had a terrible feeling.

**~ヒーロー~**

**3,087 words. And laziness prevented me from writing until today. Um... Sorry about that, guys. Also, this would have been up earlier today, but I was on the forum and my sister came over at one point, so... yeah. Anyway, I don't feel like doing a summary of this chapter, so yeah. Lastly, interested in learning a bit more about Arthr? He's in the oneshot chapter entitled "Forever". :) Posted (at about 10:57 p.m.) 03-04-16.**


	190. Time to Say Hello

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Thanks! Well, not as much as I wanted, but I tried. :P They are, truly. And yeah, I think they do. :( Well, Locke does know already. He just had a brain fart or _something_ there. XD**

**Hello, nagato922! Thanks! :D Haha, who's there?**

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Dear Luck: We're not playing Hide &amp; Seek. I searched for you for many years. It's time to come out now._

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

Mazuri was a vast Savannah at the western portion of the world, hot and full of tall, dry grasses. The water here was sparse, the trees tall and umbrella-like, the sky wide and open and so, so blue. The raindrops that were currently kissing the sun-parched landscape were a rare and beautiful blessing, a reminder that life could always find a way, even here. That was one of the reasons why Jet loved this weather so much. That, and he just loved it when it was cool outside, or even cold. He didn't mind that he was soaked. He was just enjoying the gift the sky had decided to bestow upon the area that so desperately needed it.

At the eastern edge of Mazuri was a foreboding cluster of sharp, dark, rocky mountains. Hidden within them was an isolated cliff face that had been hollowed it many years ago. Inside that hollowed-out portion of that cliff was his destination: the long-forgotten Gigan Temple. Its association with the ancient Babylonians could very well have been a myth, but no one was sure. Few still retained any memory of this place's existence in the first place. But that didn't matter. Associated with them or not, there was a chance (however small) that the Ancient Babylonians hid one of the Arks here. Jet was counting on that chance.

He landed on the lip of the cave-like entrance to the temple, slipping a bit due to how slick the smooth stone was from the rain. He was doing better with landing (and just using his new flight power in general) but he was fairly certain that he needed more practice. Pushing that matter aside, he passed several stone pillars and entered the temple, heedless of the cold and dark air. He had no problem with the space until it started to grow narrower. He felt his breathing and pulse start to quicken as the walls grew closer to him, limiting the range of his movements. Memories of being locked in tiny closets and the basement and attic, sometimes for several days at a time, flooded through his mind for a moment before he shoved them away. _Just breathe,_ he told himself. _Relax. It's just a tunnel._ The anxiety remained no matter what he told himself, but he found that he was at least able to regulate his breathing a bit. That was better than nothing.

The narrow space opened up into another wide, cavernous space. He could now see what he was here for: the actual Gigan Temple. He climbed up the four flat stone steps and walked through the door-less entryway. Once inside the temple, he simply chose a direction and began walking. If there was an Ark here, he couldn't sense it right now. He hated how finicky his senses were, how they only worked whenever they damn well pleased rather than just working all the time like Sonic's, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. As such, there was no use griping. So he did't do it. It was as simple as that.

The temple was filled with artifacts. Vases, bowls, cups, plates, candle holders, paintings, scrolls, books, writing utensils, jewels, jewelry, weapons, religious scepters, tapestries... The list went on and on. The part of him that adored history and learning wanted to drop everything and study these artifacts, but that was something that _had_ to wait, at least for now. Maybe he could come back some other time, but right now there was only one artifact he was truly interested in. Whether or not it was actually here was another matter entirely, but he still had to look. He had to do whatever it took to keep the Arks from Ivo. If that lunatic activated Astral Babylon and got to the sphere inside... Jet didn't even want to think about the incredible ramifications that would bring upon them. _The Immortals of old gave the Ancient Babylonians the sphere for a reason... They were intelligent enough to handle it and protect it. People like Ivo would misuse it, if it didn't kill them first. There's a reason why not just anyone can come into contact with it._

Pushing those thoughts aside for now, Jet turned another corner and walked down a hall with walls covered in framed paintings depicting battles and landscapes and even people. At the end of the hall was a single doorway that, like all the others, had never had a door in the first place. Instead, dangling across that space from inside the room the doorway led to was a thin tapestry that looked as vibrant and beautiful as the day it had been made. Reaching out a hand, he very carefully (in case the tapestry was actually more fragile than it appeared to be) pushed the cloth aside and ducked into the room. He let the cloth fall back into place once he was through, eyes on a pedestal in the center of the room. The pedestal was dark oak and only about half his own height. It was covered it fancy, elegant engravings that he didn't have the time to make much note of. Resting atop it was a royal red, lush square pillow with golden trimmings along the edges. Dangling off each of the four corners were equally golden tassels without a single tangle in them. Sitting on that soft, cushy pillow was the treasure he had come here for. It was a miracle, a turn of luck that he'd been needing for some time. He'd worried earlier, when those robots had surrounded him out of nowhere, that his already terrible luck had been worsening, but he had defeated them easily. And now, to make an already good situation even better, he had the second Ark. It had to be some kind of a miracle.

Grabbing the Ark, he turned and walked back to the doorway, once more pushing the tapestry aside so that he could exit the room. He walked back through the halls and down the corridors, picked his way through the piles of artifacts and slipped through more hanging tapestries, slipping the Ark onto his left wrist as he went. As he made it to the temple's entrance, he noticed that this Ark (the only one that didn't have some sort of gem embedded in it and instead had a band of reddish patterns wrapping around it) wasn't messing with him in any way. _Good._ He stepped outside the temple and walked back through the large, open space leading back into the tunnel. Once back in the tunnel, he deliberately focused his thoughts on the rain he could still hear rather than thinking about how tight and small this space was. Then, once free of the tunnel, he stepped back out into the open air and resumed flying, this time headed back toward the east. He _had_ to find the next Ark. There was no more time to wait.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Worry is interest paid on trouble before it is due."_

_-William Ralph Inge_

**~ヒーロー~**

Espio was on the second floor of the Chaotix Detective Agency's building. The lower level was all one giant office area, but upstairs had their bedrooms, kitchen, and smaller, more private office. He was currently in his own room, sitting on his bed as he tried to meditate. He had a lot on his mind right now, an unusual fact that Vector had noted the night before. Espio had told him nothing about it, though, if only because even _he_ wasn't sure as of yet what was troubling him. All he knew was that he kept having incredibly vivid dreams involving flooding, dark emeralds, and a deafening roar of a beast he simply couldn't name. That was why he was meditating: to try to root out the source of his troubled dreams and work through them. However, as was usual in this household, things simply did not stay quiet long enough for him to achieve his meditative goals.

The front door downstairs swung open so hard that it smacked the wall and Charmy (who had gone outside to play less than an hour ago) could be heard shouting, "Vector! Espio! I found something!"

Sighing softly, Espio stood and heeded the child's call by exiting his room and calmly going down the stairs to the first floor. "What is it, Charmy?"

"Yeah, what's all the hollering about?" Vector added as he stood from his desk across the room.

"Look!" Charmy exclaimed, extending his hand. "I found that special green emerald Sonic used to always carry around!" True enough, the bright, shining emerald was resting safely in the bee's small palm. It was unmistakably a Chaos Emerald. There was no mistaking it for any other gem.

Espio blinked slowly, then calmly allowed his gaze to drift from the emerald to Charmy's excited face. "Where did you discover this?"

"Y'know the big fountain near the university?" Charmy asked in return. At Espio and Vectors nods, he continued. "It was just sitting in it, under the water. I dunno how no one else noticed it."

Espio privately shared in that latter sentiment, but that was hardly what was important right now. And, apparently, Vector agreed. "Well what're we waiting for?" he all but exclaimed in that booming voice of his. "Let's go return it! I'm sure Sonic's gonna need it sooner rather than later!"

Espio turned his head to look at the crocodile. Vector was and always would be the leader of this group, but Espio was ever the sole voice of reason in this group, it seemed. "We are in out west in Spagonia," he reminded his leader and friend. "Last we saw them, Sonic and his friends were southeast in Apatos. It will be a long journey that we cannot make in any decent time with our small plane."

"So we'll rent a better one for now," Vector decided. "I'd rather not spend the money, but this is important."

"Besides, we've had a lot of good cases lately," Charm added helpfully with a grin. "Renting a better plane or even a ship won't make much of a dent in our wallets, right?"

Espio blinked again. "I suppose not," he conceded, pleased that these two were for once using their heads. He was also proud of Vector, in a way, for not being stingy with their money. For once. He glanced over the both of them. "Shall we get going, then?"

"Yeah!" Charmy cheered, fist-pumping energetically as he did so. By the time Vector and Espio began walking, the young boy had already flown out the door.

Espio shook his head in amusement. _Let the world never remove his smile,_ he prayed as he shut and locked the door. _And let him never know pain as we have known it._

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Finishing things creates momentum."_

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

Amy was startled when Tails suddenly let out a wordless, happy exclamation of sorts. She wasn't the only one who was surprised, either, it seemed. Omega's robotic head swiveled to focus on the young fox, and both Cream and Cheese looked up quickly from their flowers to see what all the fuss was about. Wave and Storm's bickering trailed off and they too turned their heads to look at Tails. Silver and Blaze weren't back yet (as Silver had gone after his friend when she hadn't returned for ten minutes after walking off once she'd read that news report), but everyone who was here was now focused on Tails. His ears lowered sheepishly and a nervous sort of grin spread across his face, showing off his small fangs. "Um... Sorry, guys."

Amy ignored the apology, dismissing it as unnecessary, and instead asked, "What was that about, Tails?" Her curiosity was evident in her voice.

At this, Tails's grin turned more happy. "I finally finished it!" he exclaimed. He jumped off the wing of the X-Tornado, his twin namesakes spinning lightly to slow his descent so that he landed very lightly on his feet in the wet grass. "The Tornado is ready to go to space now!"

For the first time in a couple of hours, Cream also smiled. "That's wonderful, Mr. Tails!" Cheese happily exclaimed his agreement.

Wave also smiled, unexpectedly, and she nodded her agreement with them. "Great job, Shorty." By now, that nickname had become less of a demeaning thing and more of an affectionate moniker, much like Jet calling Tails and Silver "kid". Tails knew that and, as such, his smile didn't falter when she used that name to refer to him.

Storm crossed his arms and gruffly nodded his approval as Omega intoned, **_"The X-Tornado is indeed well-prepared for space travel."_** No one had needed the confirmation, but they said nothing about the comment, if only because this seemed to be the robot's way of _almost_ offering praise.

"So now what?" Amy asked no one in particular. "Besides getting the Arks and emeralds, what is there left for us to do?"

"We're supposed to be protecting Cream over there," Wave said, jerking her head to the side to indicate the small bunny girl, "which is why Omega stayed here. So that's more or less taken care of."

"We're also supposed to be protecting Kaden," Tails added, "but Sonic's got that handled. And once we have the emeralds, we're supposed to hide them from Ivo."

"And we need to go to Mazuri once we have all the Arks," Amy remembered aloud.

"The most important things beyond that are all related to the Space Colony," Amy murmured. "We have to destroy it and stop the Biolizard."

That brought on a long moment of silence. The silence was only broken when Storm finally asked, "What the _heck_ is a 'Biolizard'?"

It was Omega who answered. **_"A genetically modified lifeform born in a test tube and tested on repeatedly until it reached it's current physiological state. It was created for the sole purpose of preventing the Space Colony ARK from ever being destroyed by biological forces or otherwise."_**

Another moment of silence. "...So it's kind of like a guard dog... on steroids," Tails decided slowly after that moment had passed.

"Essentially," Wave answered. "By the sounds of it, anyway."

Yet another moment of hush fell over the group, only broken by the constant sounds of water dripping and flowing throughout the forest. Finally, Storm spoke up again. "I think we should move?"

Surprisingly, Cream nodded in agreement. "Staying in one place for too long is dangerous," she murmured, now looking again at her hands as she wove some flowers into a crown. "We're well hidden here, but Ivo can still find us if we stay for much longer."

"We should probably meet back up with the others soon, anyway," Amy added. "We're safer when together, for one thing, and plus we can help search for the emeralds and the Arks. That will make those two tasks go a bit faster, with any luck."

"So let's get going, then," Wave said decisively, standing up and grabbing her board as she spoke. "I can fly the Tornado-1 while Shorty pilots the X-Tornado."

"That works," Tails agreed. "We'll just need to call Silver and Blaze and let them know that we're headed out."

"I'll call them," Amy replied immediately. Nods answered her. By the time Tails had climbed into the pilot seat of Sonic's ship, she was already calling their friends. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Cream got into the second seat of the ship with her Chao. Storm climbed into the seat right behind her, and his and Wave's boards were carefully crammed into the last seat. As the cockpit closed, Wave got into the only seat of Tails's small biplane, and Amy climbed onto the back, grabbing the passenger handle with one hand. The propeller started up, it's noise both familiar and in a way comforting. The X-Tornado's engines then roared to life as the smaller Tornado-1 lifted off. The ship wasn't far behind.

Finally, Silver answered the call. _"Yee-ollow?"_ he asked, a joking lilt to his voice. She could just _hear_ his ever-present grin, and it made her smile.

"Hey, Silver," she greeted. "We're taking off to catch up with Sonic and the others."

_"Oh, okay," _Silver responded easily. _"Hey, don't worry about us. We'll catch up later. We're still talking."_

Amy knew what he meant by that. He was trying to comfort Blaze after what she had learned before. All her hopes, whatever ones she may have had, about meeting her parents in this world like Silver had (at least with his father) had been utterly dashed. Amy couldn't blame the other woman for not taking the news very well. "Alright," she murmured. "I understand." She sighed almost inaudibly, her concerns returning. "Just be careful, okay? I don't want anyone getting hurt."

_"No worries,"_ Silver assured. _"We'll be fine."_

"Okay," Amy responded, watching the forest flying by below them as the group really began moving. "We'll see you two soon, then."

_"Will do."_ And with that, the call was ended.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"If all the world's a stage, I want to operate the trap door."_

_-Paul Beatty _

**~ヒーロー~**

Ivo watched with a sadistic sort of glee as he prisoner struggled in her trap. Her bangs played across her face, shadowing her eyes and making those spark of temper within those bright green depths even more visible. Her clothes were crumpled and filthy and blood continued to run sluggishly down her side from her earlier injury. He had to admit, she was very pretty. Beautiful, even. And she was very strong, very sure of her own abilities, and so very wise. He could really see what it was that Kaden saw in the woman, but he didn't share the deep interest. He certainly didn't share in the hedgehog's pathetic _love_. She struggled some more, and he grinned. "Come now, Analia. Surely you've figure it out by now."

"K'nul etu," she spat at him, though the meaning of her words was lost on him. Her temper had uncharacteristically flared, and she clearly was far from shy about showing it.

When she struggled once more, Ivo spoke again. "I would have thought that you would recognize these cuffs from what you learned in the past." Analia stilled. His grin grew. "So you _do_ remember, then. I'm glad. You had me quite worried for a moment there. I was becoming concerned that I had unintentionally knocked something loose in that pretty little head of yours." At this, her sharp, pearly white fangs bared in a small snarl. He was unconcerned. "Considering the fact that a much cruder version of these cuffs was once used to restrain your _dear_ partner and keep him trapped for the worst and most painful months of his pitiful life, I must say that I'm rather surprised that it took you so long to recognize them."

Analia snarled again. "Do not speak so lightly of his suffering," she bit out. "You know nothing of true pain._ Nothing_."

"I don't believe that you're in any position to be ordering me around, rat," Ivo responded, tone light and ever unconcerned. Swiveling his chair around, he turned from the woman's cage to once more face his numerous screens. He made a brief note of the freshly started fight raging in Mazuri, where he was currently attempting yet again to capture the hawk (who was proving to be surprisingly difficult to detain). Then he looked over his other screens, watching as Knuckles and his motley crew fought to defend his unconscious father from the tide of robots that were still attempting to defeat them. On yet another screen, he could see Sonic as the little pest ran ever on and on toward what Ivo could only presume to be the next Chaos Emerald. The last screen Ivo looked at was the only one that he was really interested in at the moment: the screen displaying his ongoing struggle against Kaden. The hedgehog appeared to be slowly tiring out. His movements were more sluggish than ever before, and there was an exhausted sort of shine that was faintly visible in his eyes. Ivo was fairly certain that he'd seen Kaden panting occasionally as well.

Analia noticed these things as well, it seemed, and her anger bled away to be replaced by concern. "Emila," she murmured, eyes on Kaden onscreen. Ivo couldn't be sure, but he thought that she might have been telling her partner to be well or something pointless like that. But that was irrelevant.

"I think it's time we say a little hello to him," he said with another grin. Her expression hardened into another glare as he pressed a button, and that glare was soon turned onto several robots that suddenly marched into the room from some corridor or another. Ivo's grin grew. It was showtime.

**~ヒーロー~**

**3,632 words this time. I may finally be back to my one-chapter-a-day schedule/routine/whatever-thing! Hooray! Posted (at about 7:23 p.m.) 03-05-16.**


	191. Shining Tears

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! THANKS! Me, too. I sure hope it will be. :) I do, too... Poor Blaze. :( YEAH! GO KADEN!**

**Hello, Randomblackberry! YAY! Haha, guess so. XD Unfortunately, yes. That is a distinct possibility. Haha, that's so true! Either way, though, Tails was right about it being on steroids. Possibly. Maybe. ...Um. XD I love them, too! They're awesome! I really like their groups dynamics and how they interact with each other. :) Thanks for the cookies! :D**

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Worrying doesn't take away tomorrow's troubles. It takes away today's peace."_

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

The first thought that entered Locke's mind was distant as best, but it still rang clear enough for him to make sense of it. _Holy crap, my head hurts..._ After that thought faded, he wasn't sure how much time passed before the next one came. _What the hell happened...?_ Vaguely, he recalled the battle, the struggle against a seemingly endless tide of robots. He faintly remembered the pain that had blossomed in his skull just before everything had gone black. How long ago had that all happened? Was it minutes? Hours? Or, god forbid, even days? He hoped that the latter option wasn't the case, but even the second one was far from ideal. After all, weren't they on a massive time-crunch, here? He was fairly certain that was the case. A low sound of pain reached his ears, and he thought for a moment that he must have imagined it. Then he became aware of a hand on his shoulder, lightly pushing to keep him from getting up, and he realized that the sound must have come from him.

Vaguely, he heard a voice. "Easy, Dad. Stay down."

It didn't take much time for him to recognize the voice as the one belonging to his son. Relief, as strong as one could feel when barely conscious, flooded through him. Some thought entered his mind, but it was disjointed and slow to the point where he could quite understand what it had been saying. A new voice, one that wasn't his or Knuckles's, said something to him, but he didn't understand the speaker's words. _...What?_

The voice tried again, but he only understood a few words. "Locke? Can... hear...?"

Was that Rouge? He thought it might be. The voice didn't match any other person he could think of offhand, and it was definitely female. He tried to get his uncooperative mind to focus long enough to make some sort of a response to what he thought she might have been asking him, but all that seemed to come out was a mumble. The last thing he was really aware of before his mind started really drifting again was the fact that that hand was still on his shoulder.

Seemingly ages later, sensation returned to him again, less distantly this time. He became aware of the hard, cold rock he was laying on, the whisper of the breeze as it sifted through the surrounding grass, the lingering warmth of the sun as it beat down upon him. The voices of multiple people filtered through the lingering fog in his mind, and he slowly realized that some of these voices belonged to people who hadn't been present when he'd been felled by that robot. He managed to focus on one of them long enough to recognize it. _...Is that... Amy...?_ Slowly, more of the haze lifted. He realized that the pain he'd been experiencing at some point earlier had mostly faded. There was a warmth on the wound that he recognized as healing energy.

Amy's voice spoke again. "I think he's waking up."

Scarcely two or three moments later, Locke managed to open his eyes. His vision was bleary at first, but a few blinks cleared it up for the most part. While he was still attempting to wake up some more, a strong hand grabbed his in a firm grip and helped him up into a sitting position. Knuckles's face came into view, his violet eyes alive with worry. "You okay?" Locke was pretty sure he managed to nod, and his son's entire body seemed to sag briefly with relief. The younger echidna might have even sighed in further expression of that emotion.

Out of the corner of his eye, Locke saw Amy smiled. "Thank goodness you're alright," she murmured. "I wasn't sure how much I was going to be able to help you, since I'm still learning how to heal."

Another voice spoke up, this one trying too hard to sound casual and unconcerned in spite of the words it was saying. "Do us a favor and try not to worry everyone for so long next time, okay?"

Locke turned his head and saw Rouge. His head had cleared enough that he was able to notice more details about his surroundings. He saw that the sun was now setting, and the X-Tornado was resting on the ground beside Tails's smaller Tornado-1. Standing near the two aircraft were Wave, Storm, Cream, Cheese, Omega, and Tails himself. Rouge was directly to Locke's right, standing with her arms crossed and the majority of her light weight on her right leg. To his left was Amy, who was sitting on her knees on the same rock upon which he was sitting. Directly in front of him was where Knuckles was still kneeling. But... There was no sign of Shadow, or Analia. That worried him greatly. Knuckles must have read his worry, too, for the younger male looked away. "Analia was captured," he said honestly, not beating around the bush or trying to sugarcoat anything. "We couldn't get to her in time to save her. We don't know where she is right now."

Locke swallowed hard. _Analia. Captured._ That was... He didn't even know what to think. No thoughts that entered his mind were strong enough in their tone and vocabulary to express how bad this was, how worried this made him, how horribly distraught (among other things) he knew Kaden would be when he found out. "And Shadow?" he managed to ask after a short pause.

"Sonic radioed in for help about the time we arrived," Wave answered. "I guess he was struggling in some fight or something. Shadow went to go help him."

So Sonic was in trouble, too... Why, why, _why_ did everything have to be going so badly right now? He pushed himself up and onto his feet, almost immediately swaying from a headrush that was undoubtedly caused by the remainder of the wound that Amy wasn't able to heal. He squeezed his eyes shut briefly, hand on the side of his head, and waited for the feeling to pass as someone's hand came under his elbow to help steady him. Another worry came to him in that moment that, amazingly enough, he was able to voice immediately in spite of his current lightheadedness. "Where are Silver and Blaze?"

"They're coming," Tails assured. "They're just a ways behind us, that's all."

Locke nodded again just before Storm spoke. "We should get a move on," he grumbled.

Though Knuckles and Storm typically butted heads like one could not _believe_, the echidna actually openly agreed with the albatross this time. "Yeah, we're wasting time sitting around here. We still have a lot to get done."

No one argued with them, and soon everyone was ready to go. The two Rogues mounted their boards and Omega took to the sky of his own power. Cream and Cheese again got into the second seat of the X-Tornado while Tails got into the pilot's seat. Locke was seated behind the child, and Knuckles was seated in the very back. Amy (who apparently actually knew how to fly a plane) took the pilot's seat of the Tornado-1 while Rouge stood on the back and held onto the handlebar. Then, once everyone was ready, the group took flight.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"I can't escape this now unless you show me how."_

_-K. El., January 13, 2013, 7:50 p.m._

**~ヒーロー~**

"Let me _go_ you rotten bastards!" Jet fought against the robots restraining him, his wrists straining against the cuffs that were holding back the vast majority of his power. "You motherf-" he cut himself off before he could drop the bomb, then repeated, "Let me _go_!" Cursing quietly in his native tongue (namely, Ancient Babylonian), he kicked at some robot, only to have his ankle grabbed in a robotic grip. _Dammit!_ He could not _believe_ that he had gotten himself captured. And with two goddamn Arks on-hand, no less! _Dammit, dammit, dammit!_ Why did his luck have to _constantly_ turn sour at the _worst_ possible moments? _K'so mari hellvet, intenu mikala p'son-_

His internal swearing (ranting, more like) was cut off by some robot's voice projecting over some intercom in the hallway he was currently being manhandled through. _"You may as well stop struggling, Jet the hawk. These cuffs are no ordinary restraints, as I'm sure you've noticed. They drain peoples' power, so you'll never break free."_

A second robotic voice spoke up in the background. _"Well, not unless he uses one of the few powers that can break these."_

_"Good point, Bocoe. If he uses the proper power, he'll be free in no time."_

Jet stared at the nearest speaker. _Are they really that stupid?_ Quickly looking down, he studied the thick cuffs that were currently shackling his wrists together. Then, thinking with a speed that would make all manner of racers proud, he asked aloud (on the off-chance that these speakers worked both ways), "Hey, what are these things made out of?"

_"Oh, funny you should ask!"_ the first voice remarked cheerily as he was forcibly dragged around a corner. He got the feeling that he didn't have much time left to escape. _"We only just found out not two hours ago. You see, it's a rather complex compound of various metals created though highly experimental means..."_

As he listened, Jet slowly grinned. He knew about each and every one of the metals listed... _And they're all weak to electricity. _He gathered up whatever energy he had that wasn't being blocked by these damn cuffs, then let it loose. Lightning surged through the cuffs, all but shattering them within moments. Then, once the force restraining it was gone, the lightning shot fiercely out in all directions, taking out lights and robots and cameras and on and on until Jet finally decided that he'd wreaked enough havoc in this hallway for now. He smirked at the only speaker that had somehow survived the metallic carnage. "Thanks for the tip!" he called out before fleeing down the hall, scarf streaming behind him.

A moment later, Bocoe's voice sounded from that lonely speaker. _"Oh, no."_

**~ヒーロー~**

_"You can't stop being afraid just by pretending everything that scares you isn't there."_

_-Michael Marshall_

**~ヒーロー~**

Kaden gritted his teeth to remain silent when a robot's hard, metal first collided with his side and sent him skidding to the left, sword still in hand. Once the momentum died down and he was able to stand steady, he coughed and braced his free hand on one knee as he bent over, trying to catch his breath. The air had been knocked out of him, but he'd been low on it already. He was _so_ tired... He hadn't had anywhere near enough time to recover from the damage he'd sustained from Dark Gaia before this. His vision swam briefly from sheer exhaustion, and he had to close his eyes to keep from getting sick from the motion his traitorous mind was perceiving. He swayed again, and another blow hit him with a great deal of force. This time the attack sent him flying a short distance, and he hit the ground on his side. For once in his life, he actually lost his grip on "his" sword, and he wasn't sure where it ended up. Several more coughs escaped him. He couldn't seem to muster up the energy to open his eyes again, let alone stand. But then a burst of static sounded from one of the robots and a voice a reached his sensitive ears as he fought for breath.

_"Kaden! Satasei!" _("Get up!")

For a split second, his exhaustion and pain vanished and his eyes snapped open. He rolling away from a slashing sword and on his feet before he even fully realized that he was moving. His eyes darted around, praying he'd hear wrong, hoping against all odds that he'd just imagined her voice. But all his hopes were cruelly dashed when he caught sight of his partner's face on a nearby robot's smooth screen. He felt his heart sink. "Analia..." His voice was scarcely a whisper. The whole battle seemed to just stop, each robot simply surrounding him to ensure that he didn't leave, but he hardly noticed.

Analia was bloodied. He could see the bruises covering her, could see the bars separating her from whatever was projecting her face to this screen. _"Kantalei?"_ she whispered back to him, worry clouding her eyes. ("Are you alright?") Kaden felt a piece of his heart break at how tired she sounded. She was obviously in pain, but trying to hide it from him. But there was no way he could not notice the lack of joy in her eyes, the happy light that was always there normally. His ears lowered as he nodded, and she smiled at him. But, before she could speak, the camera was turned to reveal Ivo's face. Kaden's ears lowered further, but this time as a result of his blatant hostility, which was further expressed through a snarl.

_"Now, now, Kaden,"_ Ivo sneered. _"Is that anyway to treat your lady's host?"_

Kaden snarled louder than before. "K'eto!" he snapped, uncharacteristically cursing aloud. "Kuso ikente!"

Analia's voice reached him, attempting to soothe the sharp spike in his anger. _"Kaden-"_

Ivo cut her off before she could do anything to help her partner. _"Another word and I'll slice you open like a pig, woman."_

Kaden's snarl grew ever louder. "Touch her and you're _dead_, Ivo!" His voice had gotten lower, his tone darker, and he could feel the power rising dangerously within him. He was fighting to keep it at bay and control it, but he just couldn't seem to hold it back enough. A faint black aura was starting to surround him. Anger and hatred were flowing through him at dangerously high levels and it just _wouldn't go away. _There didn't exist a single doubt in his mind that Ivo _wanted_ this to happen. What other purpose could he have for capturing Analia _alive_ instead of just killing her?

Ivo grinned all-too gleefully, and called out to his robots, _"Do it."_

Split seconds later, Analia's sharp cry of pain sounded out from the other end of the video call, and Kaden's anger reached entirely new, never-before-seen heights. Before he could even make sense of the extreme, intense emotions he was feeling, a Dark Blast that he had _no_ control over shot out from him and decimated the ranks of robots surrounding him. Everything fell apart. Metal rained down into the crater he had created. Then the power abruptly receded (at least enough for him to regain a measure of control) and he fell down onto his knees. As he squeezed his eyes shut, a tear slid down his cheek.

**~ヒーロー~**

**2,591 words this time. And this took _way_ longer to write than it should have. Posted (at about 10:45 p.m.) 03-06-16.**


	192. Knowledge Long Past Due

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I'm glad you think so, and I'm happy you're so excited! D: Yeah, I do, too. I'm sure it does. YEAH, SHE'LL BE ALRIGHT IN THE END! DON'T CRY (more)! AND DO WHAT STAR SAYS! STAY AWAY FROM IVO AND ALL THAT!**

**~ヒーロー~**

_"The more original the discovery, the more obvious it seems afterward."_

_-Arthur Koestler_

**~ヒーロー~**

Jet sprinted down the metal corridor, skidding as he made a sharp turn around a corner. A spat of gunfire chewed up the wall where he'd been just seconds before. Whipping around briefly, he thrust his palm forward and released a blast of searing heat that melted the walls and robots alike. Barely a split second later, he was turned back around and running once again. He wasn't entirely sure where he was going. All he knew was that he could feel another Ark _somewhere_ in this place. He just had to find it. Turning another corner, he cursed aloud when he caught sight of more robots. The only weapons he had on him were his Babylonian dagger and the staff Sen had given him. Though he wasn't sure how much good either would do against robots with guns, he drew the staff, anyway. He extended it and channeled a fierce current of lightning through it. He hadn't used the weapon much before, so this was a good opportunity to further test its mettle. He already held no doubts that this weapon was good, though. _It must be, if Sen used it._

The closest robots lunged at him, swords drawn and poised to strike. He ducked under one slash and dodged around two others, then lashed out with his staff. He was momentarily amazed when it tore straight through the robot he'd hit. _This isn't ordinary steel._ That much had been obvious before, but it was still a bit surprising to have it confirmed. In spite of his present circumstances, he found himself smirking. _Cool._ He parried a blow from a large sword, then kicked the robot away with so much force that it sailed through a nearby wall, taking out a great deal of machinery in whatever room it ended up crashing into. The resulting explosion hurled him into a wall on the opposite corridor and he unintentionally cut off the lightning flowing through his staff as he slid down into a sitting position on the floor. Shaking his head lightly, he reopened his eyes and stood, taking in the damage surrounding him. The fires really didn't bother him (his friends and allies used that element all the time, after all), and he was pleased to note that his opponents were all either totally destroyed or simply too damaged to be of any sort of threat. He retracted his staff and put it away again.

After taking a moment to fix his scarf and brush some debris off of himself, Jet continued walking down the corridor. Picking his way carefully through and around the patches of flames, he followed his senses farther down the hall, around a corner to the right, through a few rooms, and then down yet another corridor. He sighed softly in annoyance. He was almost certain that Ivo made these places huge and maze-like on purpose. _Why must every base he has be so convoluted and huge?_ Turning yet another corner, he was surprised for a moment to see blood on the floor. Then surprise gave way to concern. _Does he have a prisoner?_ Sliding his dagger out its sheath with an ominous _hiss_ of steel, he began utilizing his skills as a Rogue to tread silently down the hall without setting off any alarms or alerting any cameras to his presence. He wasn't entirely sure how Ivo didn't know already that he was loose, but he supposed the madman might be busy with other things. Either way, Jet wasn't complaining. Right now, he had bigger things to worry about. Three of them, to be precise. Finding whoever else might be here, locating and stealing back the Ark, and getting the hell out of here.

Seeing as how the blood was trailing down the corridor he was already headed down, Jet kept walking straight. He murmured an Ancient Babylonian curse under his breathe as he went. "K'so mari hellvet..." The blood only went a short distance down the hall. There were numerous doors, and he lacked the necessary time to check behind them all. "Great..." he muttered to himself. Taking a chance, he walked up to the nearest door and opened it just a crack. _Storage room._ Abandoning that door, he chose another one at random. This room was full of cages, but they were all empty. However, one of those cages (one that seemed to have been thrown into this room at some point recently) clearly had _not_ been empty earlier. There was blood in it, too. _Someone was here._ That much was obvious. But... where were they now? And who were they, for that matter?

That was when his finicky senses regarding the Arks decided to work again and he realized he could sense the Ark Ivo had stolen. It was very nearby, and he walked back out into the hall. It felt like some sort of an invisible thread had been tied to his mind and was tugging almost imperceptibly but still very insistently, trying to get him to walk down the hall. Hesitating only briefly, he ended up heeding the inaudible call and walking to the door at the very end of the hall. Once he reached the door, he cautiously tried the handle. It was locked, but that wasn't concerning in the slightest. He'd broken into facilities with far more imposing locks before. This was nothing. It took some finagling and a bit of prying with his dagger, but he soon popped the latch and the door swung open slightly. Pleased with his work, he shifted the dagger into his left hand and used his right to open the door farther so that he could enter the room. A quick look around revealed that there was no danger prsent currently, so he sheathed the weapon and walked farther in.

Resting in a glass case of all things in the center of the room was the Ark of the Cosmos, the one with a flat rectangle on one side and two green gems embedded in it on either side of said rectangle. The case itself looked fragile enough, but it was attached to some sort of complex machinery that would likely set off an alarm if he just broke it. Following this line of thought, he approached the keypad on the other side of the machine from where he'd been standing. This machine was clearly very complicated. Normally, he would have left the hacking to someone like Sonic or Wave or Tails, but he was alone here. And he knew how to do this. He'd done more than enough hacking in his life, too much so to be helpless here.

Looking over all the data on the screen attached to the keypad and other machinery, he discerned enough information to figure out what he needed to do. Pressing exactly seven keys in a specific order and within a certain amount of time, he got into the system. Then he typed in several commands at a rapid pace, the keys clicking as he did so. The glass surrounding the Ark lifted into the air toward the ceiling, carried by thick steel cables. Once his prize was freed, the typed in another command that shut the machine off entirely. Within seconds, he'd grabbed the Ark and started to turn to leave, only to pause when something on a nearby computer caught his attention. He stared at the screen. Had he just seen... _Sonic's_ name? Frowning, Jet slipped the Ark onto his left wrist and approached the computer. After a bit of hacking, he got into the system and began quickly poking around, trying to find whatever bit of information he'd seen scrolling by onscreen. Before long, he clicked on a file that completely caught him by surprise and captured his attention.

_1._

_I, Gerald Robotnik, successfully located the fabled city of Chun-nan, whose size and might far surpasses every modern puny village in existence combined. In it, I located a bloodstain from many centuries ago. A DNA analysis has proven the identity of the hedgehog the blood came from: an ancient warrior known as "Kaden". It took a great deal of research, but I managed to dig up more details about him. A trained assassin, swordsman, and all-around weapons master, a powerful fire-user, and the bearer of a incredible power known simply as "Darkness"... This will prove most useful._

_2._

_I have sent many robots into space to investigate the strange lifeform my scanners detected hanging about near the planet's atmosphere. Perhaps I can use this alien as well._

_3._

_I have dubbed the alien "Black Doom" in reference to its highly malevolent nature and incredibly destructive power. I did not kill it; instead, I had my robots steal a DNA sample and bring it back to me. Many of them failed to survive the confrontation, but it was well worth the loss of precious resources. _

_The alien has left; I am tempted to believe that I simply annoyed it to the point where it no longer wanted to bother watching our world._

_4._

_The little rodent pest Sonic destroyed another one of my bases. Over two hundred robots, countless weapons, and many resources were in there. I know have even more reason to finish this project and use it to kill him._

_5._

_Construction on the Space Colony ARK is finally complete. My niece, Maria (who came from Earth, as I did), is currently residing there. I sent a few robots up as well to guard her._

_I finally created a lifeform to combat Sonic. A scan of it has revealed that it has the molecular structure of a being that was born naturally. It is currently in an infant state, but the alien DNA is versatile enough to allow for the creature to withstand an accelerated growth. It should be an adult by around the same time Sonic is. The DNA from "Kaden" will ensure that it lives long and does not die of old age before it can be put to any use. With any luck, I can use this new weapon, this Ultimate Lifeform, to destroy the rat before he ever has a chance to live that long._

_I have decided to name this creation, "Shadow"._

Jet stared long and hard at the information he'd just rest, feeling like he was almost in shock. _Shadow was created with Kaden's DNA... Kaden is Sonic's father... Which means..._ He stilled for a moment as realization fully hit. _Oh my god._ Not wasting any time, he began typing again, fingers flying over the keys. Once he'd sent the file off, he turned and headed back out of the room. He had no time to focus on what he'd just found out; he needed to try one last time to find Ivo's current prisoner, then get the hell out of here. And yet... he couldn't quite keep his mind entirely off the subject of Shadow. _He's Sonic's half-brother._

**~ヒーロー~**

_"The worst surprises are sometimes also the ones that do the greatest amount of good. Not always right away, but with time."_

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

Sonic and Shadow had only just finished their fight against the robots that had earlier been causing Sonic so much trouble, the robots that had been so forcefully barring his way to the emerald. He suspected that said emerald lay somewhere in the thick, dark woods outside of which he and Shadow were currently standing, but he didn't know anything for sure just yet. He had just sat down on a hollow log for the sake of taking a small break (after all, his sword was heavy, he hadn't slept recently, and he'd been in multiple fights today alone) when he received a message on his communicator. The message tone, a snippet of the song "Hello" by OMFG (one of his best friend's favorite songs), told him that the message was from Jet. He pulled up the message without any hesitation, only half paying attention as his silent companion sat down beside him, leaving several inches of careful, almost polite space between them. They both read the message at the same time. It was brief, concise, but succeeded in piquing his interest.

_You need to read this._

Blinking once, Sonic glanced at the attached file. For whatever reason, he and Shadow traded a look. He wasn't sure why; there didn't seem to be any specific reason for it. But, as he looked back to his communicator, he supposed it didn't really matter, anyway. Then he opened the file. He and Shadow both immediately tensed when they saw Gerald's name, and their tension only continued to increase as they read the journal entries (or whatever they were) that Jet had sent to him. When they reached the end, they stared. Shock left then frozen. This time when they traded a look, their eyes were slightly wide with unspoken thoughts and emotions that neither seemed inclined to share with the other. Neither had any words. What were they even supposed to _say_ here? Anything? Or, perhaps, nothing at all? All Sonic seemed to be able to think was, _ Oh my god._ He read and reread the information, as if doing so would somehow change the text displayed onscreen and prove this to all be some sort of vivid hallucination. But that never came to be. Then, all at once, he realized that Shadow knew Kaden (at least as Sonic's father), but the darker hedgehog didn't_ know _Kaden like he clearly _needed _to. Sonic had to think quickly. What to do? Mind racing, he closed the file and turned off the screen on his communicator. Finally, he made a decision and stood. Red eyes watched him mutely. "I need to find the emerald still," Sonic told him. "It's not far from here.

Shadow nodded and also stood. "Good," was all he said in response to that last sentence. As usual, he kept his speech brief and rather curt, when he deigned to speak at all.

"Shadow," Sonic continued, voice becoming quieter and ears lowering just slightly, "you should go find Dad. ...You two need to meet." He couldn't quite read the other hedgehog's reaction, at least not well, but he thought he saw a measure of... _discomfort_ in Shadow's gaze. Sonic's expression softened, perhaps out of sympathy (though it could have been any number of other things). He was just as uncomfortable and shocked, but he couldn't take the time to wallow in those feelings. He had no time for _anything_, and he was starting to hate it even more now than he already had. "You _need_ to meet," he repeated just as quietly as before in lieu of voicing his other thoughts.

Shadow clearly didn't like this idea, but he had agreed to defer to Sonic and take his orders. He had promised, in his own way, to do as Sonic said, at least for now. And he was a man of his word. "...Fine..." he muttered, obviously reluctant but just as obviously concerned with not going against what he had already said and done.

Sonic nodded once, pleased with the lack of argument (not that he had truly expected an argument to come from Shadow, anyway) and adjusted Caliburn, sheath and all, on his back. Then, with one last look at the other hedgehog, his _half-brother_, he turned tail and ran away under the guise of simply needing to find the emerald.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"You make my heart smile."_

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

Espio carefully piloted the ship he and his friends had rented. The massive city of Spagonia had long since fallen away into the distance behind them. Charmy was dozing in the middle seat while Vector listened to loud music through his headphones in the very back. Espio looked down at the bright green emerald that was resting on the seat against his thigh. It was glowing fairly brightly, as if trying to make it plainly known that it wanted to be returned to its owner. _Patience__, _he thought calmly as he returned his attention to the open sky ahead of the ship. _You will be returned soon._ The emerald's glow brightened infinitesimally in response, then slowly the glow faded again, returning to its previous levels of brightness.

Behind him, Charmy (apparently awake now) mumbled sleepily, "Espio...?"

Espio chanced a quick glance back. "Yes?"

"D'you think we'll see Cream again?"

Espio felt himself smile a little. Cream and Charmy had met briefly in Apatos after the Dark Gaia mess, and Charmy had been, essentially, daydreaming about her constantly ever since. Espio and Vector were almost certain that this was a classic case a "love at first sight", though it was more like a crush in this case rather than actual love. It was sweet, especially since this was Charmy's first ever crush. "I do not know. It is possible."

Charmy perked up a little at Espio's last sentence, and his smile carried through his voice. "Cool. It'll be nice to see her again. She's nice. And fun. She's smart, too." Apparently realizing that he was starting to ramble, he cut himself off.

Vector piped up. Clearly, he'd had his music paused for at least a couple of minutes. "You plannin' on telling her about your crush anytime soon?"

Charmy was almost certainly blushing now. "W-What?! No! I don't have a crush on _anybody_!"

"_Sure_ you don't," Vector teased. He followed that statement up with, "I could tell her, if you'd like."

The yelling and laughter that ensued afterward was typical of those two and was largely a summary of their interactions as a whole. Though the noise grated on Espio's senses, he continued to smile just a bit. Though he preferred the silence typically, he would always enjoy noise if it meant listening to his friends, his family, enjoying themselves and being so happy.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"You want it? Then fight for it."_

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

Silver and Blaze had finished talking not long ago. Blaze didn't seem to be feeling _okay_, per se, but she was doing better now than she had been before. Still, her pace was slow as they walked, her head and ears minutely lowered and her tail subtly drooping. These sings were so faint and minute that other wouldn't have been able to notice. He only saw them because he had known her so well for so long. He felt _so_ bad for her... but what was he supposed to say? No words were going to make this better. All he could do was stay with her and hope she'd be alright in the end, but what if-

"Silver."

Blaze's hushed tone pulled Silver out of his thoughts. He noticed that she'd stopped walking, so he did the same, and he turned slightly to face her. "Yeah?"

Blaze wasn't looking at him, or at anything in particular. He gaze seemed more focused on her senses than at anything visual. "Something is coming," she murmured.

Silver immediately stretched his senses out, but he couldn't sense the minds of any biological creatures. "Robots?" he asked her quietly, ears now working to try to hear the oncoming threat. However, this didn't help him much. He'd inherited his father and grandfather's hearing to a point, but not enough to do him terribly much good. Most of his senses were psychic, and those suited him well enough, anyway.

"They must be," Blaze responded just as quietly.

Silver swallowed hard. "Did you hear them?"

"Yes."

"How many?"

"Many."

_Not helpful._ Silver put that matter aside and instead simply got ready for a fight. Pure psychokinetic gathered in around his fists in the shapes of two perfect spheres. Off to his right, Blaze summoned up balls of fire into the palms of her hands. The two lights, cyan and orange, clashed but simultaneously melded together in the dim light of the evening. Other lights, artificial ones from robots, came into view. Silver glanced at Blaze, his best friend since early childhood. He wanted to protect her... He wanted to always keep her safe from anything and everything that would seek to do her harm. And her safety was something he would forever be willing to fight for. That was why, when the enemies came upon them, he didn't hesitate to lunge forward and attack.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Say what you will, but you're never prepared for the surprise attack."_

_-Sarah Dessen_

**~ヒーロー~**

Knuckles watched as Locke cradled his head in one hand as the ship flew. His father still seemed out of it, but not as much as before. Still, Knuckles was dead-set on keeping an eye on him. _If he starts passing out or something, somebody needs to be aware of it. _He looked away from Locke briefly toward the pilot's seat where Tails was sitting. He frowned. "Something wrong?"

Tails stared down at the ship's radar. He swallowed hard, unable to tear his gaze away from the large blob of yellow on the green screen. "There's... There's something on the radar..." Another hard swallow. "I think it's another horde of robots."

Locke sat up a bit. "Coming from where?" he managed to ask. He sounded a bit groggy, but not terribly so.

"All over," Tails mumbled. "Especially from just ahead of us." Not two seconds later, before anyone could say anything else, a missile hit the side of the ship, jerking them all around. Cream gasped aloud and clutched her Chao close.

Knuckles cursed under his breath. At first, he had no idea why Ivo was attacking them so constantly, beyond the obvious fact that he didn't want them to get the emeralds and he wanted them all dead. But then he remembered. _He wants access to Cream's powers. And..._ He tensed up. _He wants to make Kaden go Dark... _His gaze fell his father once again. _Through any means necessary._

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Fear is just a feeling, and you can get over it._

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

Kaden furiously wiped his cheek, removing the single tear that had slipped down it. It had been a very long time since he'd been so afraid. Oddly enough, he hadn't even felt this level of fear during the fight with Dark Gaia that had inevitably led his and Analia's death. He had, however, felt this afraid and more (_much_ more) during a period of time in his life when he had been alone and hopelessly trapped and in _so much_ pain, but he shoved those horrific memories aside. Thinking about that time would never do him any good, least of all now, when even the slightest negative feeling could cause him to lose control. In collaboration with this thought, he buried his fear for Analia as best as he possibly could and stood up.

In spite of his exhaustion, he managed to walk out of the deep crater he had created with his unintentional, uncontrolled attack earlier. Once back on level ground, he let out a small, tired breath and continued walking, looking around for the sword he had dropped, or at least some sort of decent replacement. He soon found one, a slim, lightweight blade that was visibly similar to a katana, and picked it up. Once he had it in hand, he turned to the right to walk away from the ruined battlefield, only to pause when he saw Shadow walking toward him calmly, pistols in hand.

Shadow's greeting was simple. "We need to talk."

**~ヒーロー~**

**4,040 words this time. Hope you enjoyed! Posted (at about 4:40 p.m.) 03-07-16.**


	193. Sparring Match

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Thank you! :D YEAH! THE BIG REVEAL FINALLY CAME! Haha, yeah, he does. :3 YEAH! GO SILVER! GO BLAZE!**

**Hello, superbook5012! Haha, sorry! XD Yeah, they are, more or less. This is the one arc where Sonic _isn't_ the big, main hero. For once. And yeah, they're finally getting more active in the story! Hooray! :D Yeah... That is a problem, and I am working on remedying it. Tails for sure has a scene coming up that focuses on him, don't worry. :) And as far as Sonic and Amy goes, the romance has been building up all along. All those little moments, small conversations, fights together, and so on are building up to it. And yes, it's slow, but love tends to come slowly, anyway, so it works, I think. :) Yeah, me either. I love working out their interactions. Omg, that line about SA2 and Ivo was the best thing ever! I busted up laughing! XD I do, actually! And I'd love to hear any recommendations you have!**

**Hello, Nagato922! Thanks! :)**

**~ヒーロー~**

Shadow read the emotions Kaden (his _father_) was displaying in his eyes. Normally, the older hedgehog seemed to be closed off, hard to read, and so on. His eyes were also brighter normally, more full of life and spirit. Now, however... Now, he was easy to read. He was full of anger and distrust and fear and hatred and grief and all manner of negative emotions, some of which they both knew he had no real reason to be feeling. The feelings were simply _there_, and it didn't seem like he was able to rid himself of them so far. All these emotions were visible in Kaden's eyes, which were darker now than normal. They were dark green now, rather than bright emerald, and his fur (although fairly dark anyway) was also darker than normal. The emotions in him seemed to be festering and building up... Shadow knew his father (god, would that ever be a label he was comfortable with using?) needed some kind of an outlet. Kaden's internal struggle would only grow worse and worse if he didn't find some way to work out his unwilling aggressions and hostilities. There was only one thing Shadow knew of that could help Kaden right now, right at this moment, the very same thing that Shadow often used to work through his own emotions: fighting.

Kaden's eyes became slightly narrowed. "Was there something you needed?" There was a hard edge to his tone, a bitter, hostile note that normally would not have been there (at least not that Shadow knew of). He seemed rather confrontational and _eager_ for a fight, which also didn't seem to be normal for him. Not as far as Shadow knew, anyway.

Shadow decided to choose his words with exceeding care. He had to be cautious. After all, Kaden was... unstable right now. After a long moment of tense silence, he spoke, making sure to keep his tone as calm and level as possible, so as to not elicit even more hostility from the hedgehog in front of him. "I was thinking we could spar."

Something in Kaden's eyes flashed. It was as though the logical part of him understood what Shadow was trying to do, but the currently uncontrolled emotional part of him was distracting his mind from that understanding. "_Now_?" he asked with borderline-angry disbelief.

"Yes," Shadow confirmed with a simple nod. "Now." He tilted his head slightly, then decided to take a small risk, a leap of faith of sorts. "You seem to be itching for a fight, anyway."

Kaden scoffed and turned his head to look away from Shadow. "Not with _you_," he responded, hostility still permeating his tone.

"But I'm the only one here," Shadow pointed out evenly, pulling out his pistols as he spoke.

Kaden looked at Shadow out of the corner of his eye, frowning and seemingly thinking this over. It seemed like he was warring with himself a bit on the inside, logic struggling against emotion. When he spoke, there was a tension present in his voice, as though he was having to force himself to say this single word of agreement even though some part of him wanted nothing to do with this sparring match. "...Fine."

Shadow was inwardly pleased with this decision, but he did his best not to let it show, as he was uncertain how Kaden would react to it. The last thing he wanted right now was to somehow further anger Kaden. This was true for several reasons. One, Kaden's power was already on the verge of going out of control. Two, Kaden, more-so than most people, was _not_ himself when he was angry (or least _this_ angry). Three, Shadow didn't want his first real interaction with Kaden, his father, to be tainted with anger and negativity anymore than it already was. That latter point sounded stupid to him, but it was the truth. One he decided to ignore. He watched as Kaden grabbed a sword, which he had stabbed angrily into the ground upon seeing Shadow, and adjusted his grip on the handle so that it was firmer and he was less likely to have it knocked out of his hand. It occurred to Shadow right then that he was facing someone who had been seriously trained, unlike he himself. _This will be difficult..._ He readied his guns. "Are you ready?" he asked, more as a courtesy and formality than as a real attempt to make sure his opponent was ready. He clearly _was_.

The reply was simple. Curt. "Yes."

Without another word, Shadow threw his arms forward and fired several times. Kaden vanished before any of the bullets could strike him. He sensed Kaden reappear behind him, and he whirled just in time to parry a somewhat halfhearted sword stroke with his guns. they struggled briefly and, upon each of them realizing that neither was going at this very seriously, their gazes hardened infinitesimally and they broke apart. Not two seconds later, Shadow was firing his pistols rapidly again. Kaden somehow blocked most of the bullets with the side of his blade, then, in a display of extreme skill and precision, slashed out with his sword and cut straight through the remaining two. They were sliced in half, Four small pieces of metal hit the ground with scarcely a sound.

Shadow decided to try a more direct approach and ran forward, kicking up a robot's dropped gun in the process. He released his grip on one of his pistols and snatched the larger gun out of the air with his now free hand. He fired twice. Kaden, who was now also running forward, dodged so quickly he became a blur, only coming more clearly into focus when he slowed enough to grab Shadow's second pistol and wrench it out of his grip. Seemingly having a distinct distaste for guns, he simply threw the weapon away. Letting out a small, "Tch," Shadow spun to face him and fired again. At such close range, Kaden was forced to duck as quickly as possible to avoid the projectiles. His leg swung out, knocking Shadow's own legs out from underneath him, but Shadow managed to catch himself on his hand and roll away. Then, apparently following the same train of thought, they both curled up and Homing Attacked each other. Balls of dark indigo and bright yellow clashed midair, bounced back, clashed again, and then again bounced back.

Shadow did something unusual for him and launched a Spin Dash next. Kaden reacted in time to block him when Shadow slammed into him. Shadow pushed hard against the flat of Kaden's blade (which was what Kaden was using to block him), and they both felt the sword start to snap. With some swift movement, Kaden knocked Shadow away and glanced at the blade, clearly irritated. The weird thing was, he didn't so much seem irritated that Shadow had cracked it; he seemed more upset by the fact that this blade had been crafted so poorly that it could crack in the first place. _Odd,_ was all Shadow had time to think about it before Kaden looked up from the blade and refocused on their combat. They Homing Attacked each other again and once again simply bounced off. They both landed so hard on their feet that they each skidded backward a few feet. Shadow voiced a question. "You were trained?"

Kaden just repeated what he'd said the last time he'd spoken. "Yes." Another clash, this time sword on guns, then they leaped back. Shadow fired at him several times, but Kaden kicked up a robot's carcass, effectively blocking the bullets. By the time the lifeless steel body hit the ground again, Kaden had already vanished. Before Shadow was even entirely sure what was happening, the wind was knocked out of him (though not painfully so) and he was thrown onto his side with a fair amount of force. Kaden was now standing over him. "You were not?"

Shadow rolled back onto his feet. "No." Without giving Kaden a chance to reply, he fired again, using up the last thirteen bullets in a matter of split seconds. Kaden cursed under his breath, _just_ loud enough for Shadow to barely hear him do so, and quickly jumped out of the way of the bullets. Almost as though trying to catch him off-guard, Shadow chucked his empty (and heavy) gun at the other hedgehog. Kaden knocked it away with a forward thrust of his hand that appeared to be reminiscent of a martial arts move Shadow had once read about. He then scooped up one of Shadow's pistols and fired it several times. As he dodged, Show was somewhat surprised to note that, in spite of Kaden's apparent dislike for such a weapon, he was holding it properly and steadily. His aim was true. And that wasn't exactly good for Shadow. He used a Spin Dash to dart out of the way, skidding to a stop in a crouch beside another robot (one that seemed to have been giving his father some trouble earlier, if the amount of damage Kaden had done to it was any indication).

It was then that Shadow noticed the large gun it was clutching, coupled with the numerous minor craters peppering the landscape. _A bazooka. _He smirked faintly and wrenched the gun free of that iron grip. _Perfect._ Kaden noticed the gun right away and his ears lowered slightly. That reaction seemed to be an instinctive one meant to guard his sensitive hearing against the noise of the weapon. Shadow's own ears had lowered slightly just seconds ago. He pulled the trigger. The projectile sailed forward at speeds unusual for this sort of weapon (indicating that Ivo might have improved upon it at some point), and Kaden dove out of the way just in time for it to strike the ground right where he'd been standing. He was on his feet again in an instant, and Shadow fired a second time. This time, Kaden struck back. He jumped up into the air, spun, and fiercely kicked the projectile with his bad leg (showing no signs of pain as he did so) and sent it flying right back at Shadow. Shadow scrambled out of the way by standing and quickly running to the left. Just as he tossed the bazooka aside (as it was now out of ammo and it wasn't like he had more), Kaden very unexpectedly threw his sword at him. Shadow bit back an inaudible surprised intake of breath and instantly ducked, watching with slightly wide eyes as the damaged blade sailed over his head in a deadly spin. It embedded itself in the ground and promptly snapped like a steel twig. The sound was harsh and sharp and made Shadow wince just slightly.

He quickly turned his attention back to Kaden. "Why did you do that?" Once again, Kaden's response was uncharacteristic. He shrugged lightly, almost casually. Clearly, he had a reason for his actions. However, he didn't seem like sharing them. Shadow supposed he couldn't fault him for that. _Fine, then._ Looking his father over again, he took note of the subtle signs of exhaustion that were starting to show themselves in him. He was breathing slightly heavily, though this was barely visible. His gaze, which had always been sharp from what Shadow had seen prior to this encounter, seemed to be wavering slightly from time to time out of a sheer need for rest. For just a split second, he seemed to sway slightly on his feet. But then he adjusted his balance and the moment was lost. Shadow also noticed that Kaden's fur and eyes were no longer quite as dark as before. He seemed to have, by some miracle, regained a measure of his usual control. Which meant this little impromptu, insane idea had actually helped, if only somewhat. Shadow stood. He was also feeling tired. Kaden was a hard opponent to face. And yet, in spite of all appearances, neither had been fighting very seriously. He hesitated to imagine what it would be like to truly fight Kaden. _It would probably end badly... And more so for myself than for him._

Kaden's voice, which had regained a note of calm (though it was still full of certain negativities that he couldn't seem to shake), pulled Shadow out of his thoughts. "You fight well."

Shadow looked to him in surprise, though he did his best to hide this emotion and feign unconcern. "Hn. Same to you."

There was a flicker of surprise in Kaden's eyes that was gone just as quickly as it was there. Shadow wasn't sure if he'd even seen it. He really and truly could have imagined it. But that was unimportant, anyway. "You need a new weapon."

Kaden let out a small, derisive sound as he tossed the pistol he'd been holding back to Shadow. "I'm not getting it from here." He still seemed irritated by the blades these robots possessed, almost like a craftsman looking down upon an unruly apprentice's inferior, pathetic work.

Shadow frowned minutely and caught the gun in his left hand, the motion of his arm almost making it look like he was snatching it out of the air rather than simply catching it. "Where from, then?"

"Nowhere near this place." The reply was brief, vague, and his tone seemed to contain a hint of annoyance. Shadow suspected that Kaden wasn't overly fond of being questioned, at least not right now. Not while he was like this.

Understanding that Kaden intended to leave and that Sonic had wanted Shadow to stay with him, the younger male present on this battlefield spoke up again. "I'll accompany you." When Kaden seemed ready to dismiss that idea, Shadow used logic to get through to him again. "You could use the help. You aren't in the best physical state to be fighting on you own right now."

For lack of a better way to describe it, Kaden let out a small noise that sounded for all the world like a little, "Kh." Then there was a pause, a silence that was less tense and heavy than the one that had settled between them when he'd been mulling over the idea of sparring with Shadow. While he thought, Shadow quietly walked across the battlefield and retrieved his second pistol and replaced them both in their holsters. Maybe a minute and a half later, or perhaps sooner, Kaden finally replied to him with real words. Or, rather, _a_ real word. "Fine." Suspecting that Kaden intended to teleport them (though this was more a sort of hunch than any sort of logical deduction based upon tangible facts), Shadow approached him. The older hedgehog seemed none-too-pleased with the proximity, but tolerated it long enough to somehow, in spite of all his exhaustion, gather up the necessary energy and send them away.

Shadow looked around. Though it took him a moment, he soon recognized where they were. He'd read about this city before. _Chun-nan._ He looked around some more, but his attention was soon captured by Kaden, who walked over to a pile of rubble and shoved aside massive chunks of stone. His father pulled out a sheathed blade, holding it by the strap. The strap, sheath, and handle were all black, but the handle and sheath also had thin, elegant golden embroderies on them (though for the sheath, they were only on the very end). Kaden unsheathed the sword as though to check it's condition, revealing the fact that the blade itself was as black as the night. The blade (which was a sort of katana) had a distinct, deadly beauty to it that Shadow had never seen in another weapon before. And it was clear that Kaden was well familiar with this blade. "You have another weapon?" The question sounded stupid, but it was too late to take it back now.

"No one ever said I only had one sword." With that said, Kaden sheathed the blade again, put it sheath and all on his back with the strap, then teleported them back. It was time to resume business.

**~ヒーロー~**

**Only 2,744 words this time, but I feel that this was epic enough that it's shortness isn't so huge of a deal. Posted (at about 9:40 p.m.) 03-08-16.**


	194. Knowledge is Key

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it that much! :D Yeah, I'm glad, too.**

**Hello, Guest! Haha, yeah, same. XD Yep, that's definitely still a mystery for now, huh? ;)**

**Hello, superbook5012! I'm so happy you enjoyed it that much! :D And I'm also glad you agree with what I was saying about Sonic and Amy. :) Also, thanks so much for all the story recommendations! I'll check 'em out when I have the time!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 188: Oh my gosh, that opening "myth" made me laugh so much. XD It's okay that it's been a while, Pyro-kun. I understand that you've been busy and whatnot. :) Thanks so much! I'm so happy you think so! And yeah! It was supposed to! X3**

**Your review to Chapter 189: They are! And I'm glad you did! Aw, don't cry! It'll be okay, Pyro-kun! Yeah, I kinda did, too. And hahaha! That's the best line ever! XD Yeah, Sonikku! Take a hint! (Lol, jk.) Yeah! Same here! (Wait... What is he not supposed to be doing there?)**

**Your review to Chapter 190: YES. I WAS MAKING OBSCURE REFERENCES INTO THE NEXT ARC. WHICH, OF COURSE, HAS THE BEAST CHAOS. MUAHAHAHA! (Idek.) Yes, yes he is. For sure.**

**Your review to Chapter 191: Yeah... he did. ;_; AND YES, HE DID! Yep. Yep, it is. That's an interesting theory! I hadn't actually considered that before. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 192: YEAH! THEY FINALLY KNOW! OMG! AND I DID IT BECAUSE I FREAKIN' COULD. XD Yep, seems so. Go, Jet!**

**Your review to Chapter 193: I'm so glad you think so. :) I liked it, too, and I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it so much, Pyro-kun. :) Yes! The sword is _amazing_! :D I will do my best, Pyro-kun! (P.S.: Me and Blazing Winds (another Hero reader/friend) were wondering if you'd like to join in on the Hero roleplaying in the forum. It's lots of fun, and we'd love to have you. :))**

**Hello, Shadowstar146! Haha! That's the best opening line ever! XD Anyway, hi! It's so wonderful to hear from you again! I'm glad you're life is mellowing out a bit. :) Aw, thanks! I'm glad that you think so! And yes, Shadow most certainly has his weak areas, as that chapter showed. Aw, you do? XD I'm glad it makes you so happy! Just knowing that makes me happy as well! :D Well, I'm glad to hear it! It'll be wonderful to hear from you more often, and you're always welcome back in the forum! :D I will do my best, promise!**

**~ヒーロー~**

_"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure that you seek."_

_-Joseph Campbell_

**~ヒーロー~**

"_Oh_..." Sonic groaned to himself as he ran. "There's _always_ a bigger problem... Why _is_ that?"

_"You're asking the wrong damn person,"_ Jet responded on the other end of the communicator call. He was keeping his voice low so as to aid himself in not being caught as he snuck around some base of Ivo's that was located fairly near Mazuri. _"And I seem to recall that you generally have the better luck out of the two of us when regarding those problems, anyway."_

Sonic huffed. "Maybe sometimes," he mumbled. Then he released a sigh as he ducked under a low-hanging tree branch. "Anyway, do what you can to save whoever Ivo has trapped there and get them to safety, then go back to hunting down the Arks." A pause, then, "You just need two now, right?"

_"Yeah,"_ Jet confirmed. _"And I got a call from Charmy a couple minutes ago. He, Espio, and Vector located Tails and the others and are headed over to them with another emerald."_

Sonic felt a wave of relief at this news. _That's two accounted for, plus I'm close to getting the third one... Good._ "Okay. Great. Do me a favor and send Tails a message, will you? I want him to hold onto it. He can use it to power up the X-Tornado if the need arises."

_"Fine," _Jet agreed easily enough. Then he asked, _"What are you going to do once you have them all?"_

Sonic hesitated. "The other Amy said to try to make them and the Master Emerald dormant."

Jet must have picked up on his hesitation. _"You don't want to do that." _It wasn't a question; merely a statement of what they both knew to be true.

Sonic sighed. "No," he admitted. "I don't. They're tied to my emotions, which means I'd have to stop myself from _feeling_ to stop the emeralds from _working_. There's no way in _hell_ I'm going to do that."

Jet's reply was unexpected... but in a good way. _"I know, Sonic." _Sonic ran up a rocky hillside and toward a steep, equally rocky mountain. As he did so, he smiled, just a little. After a long moment, Jet spoke again. _"...Did you read the file I sent to you?"_

Sonic's smile faded. "Yeah... Yeah, I did." He paused, released another sigh, and continued. "I don't know what to think of it, honestly. I sent Shadow to go find Dad and talk to him, but..." He shook his head, though it wasn't like Jet could see it. "I don't really know what else to do about it."

_"Don't blame you," _Jet responded frankly. _"And, before you ask, I don't have any advice."_

Sonic smirked faintly at this. "Aw, you're no help," he joked.

_"One of the perks of being an only child," _Jet quipped. It was clear by his tone that he was smirking as well. There was a small noise on his end of the call, like a latch on a door popping. Sonic knew what that meant: Jet had broken into somewhere. _"I've gotta go now. I'll call you whenever I have news about the prisoner."_

"I'm holding you to that," Sonic replied. Without saying anything in reply, Jet hung up. Sonic wasn't concerned by this, so he just continued running, up the side of the mountain, over the peak, and then down the opposite side and into a huge rift valley. He whistled lowly. _Wonder how I missed this place the last time I came through here._ He looked around some more as he ran, passing a small family of bunnies (which were promptly panicked by his presence) as he did so. _I should come back here and explore this place sometime. _Pushing that thought aside for now, he shot down the interior length of the chasm, headed for some point toward the center of it. Of course, with his speed, he reached his destination within no time at all. His destination which, as luck would have it, turned out to be a cave. With a small sigh, he walked inside. It occurred to him briefly (and randomly) that there was no way in hell Jet would have come in here with him if the hawk were even in this rift valley in the first place. After spending so much of his childhood locked up in closets and whatnot, Jet had (unfortunately) developed a strong anxiety for small, dark spaces. It was borderline claustrophobia. _Assuming he was even here with me in the first place, I would never make him come in here. I couldn't do that to him._

Walking down the narrow passageway, Sonic followed his senses past several openings in the walls, through a couple random puddles created by water dripped from the ceiling, around various stalagmites and stalactites, and finally to a small, shallow tunnel opening in the wall directly in front of him. Sighing heavily at the inconvenience, he got down on his belly and army crawled into the opening, heedless of the dark and dank and highly cramped conditions. It occurred to him briefly that there could be bugs or snakes or rodents or something living in here, and that thought only made him crawl faster. He had _no_ desire to encounter such creatures in here. Or at all, really. His mind cleared after that, more focused on where he was going than anything else. After working himself around a stiff corner, he caught sight of a yellow glow just ahead of him. He was instantly reminded of the first time he'd found this emerald, back on South Island. It had been in a cave then, too. He huffed. "Why is it always you that ends up in a damn cave?" Without waiting for a reply (it wasn't like he was going to get one, anyway), he reached out and grabbed the emerald, then began crawling backward as quickly as he could to get out of here. He already missed the sunlight.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"I choose to be happy today."_

_-Unknown._

**~ヒーロー~**

Tails gripped the controls of the X-Tornado and swerved harshly, throwing his passengers against the sides of the ship. The purple emerald, the one the Rogues had one in the race, rolled across the seat and bumped his leg. "Sorry, guys!" he called as a missile exploded midair where the ship had been just seconds before. He hardly listened as Knuckles cursed under his breath about "damn robots" or something along those lines. His mind was far more focused on a much larger problem. _We're highly outnumbered... and sorely outmatched as far as weaponry goes._ It was true that the X-Tornado and Tornado-1 both had weapons, but the Tornado-1 was very limited in that area and the X-Tornado could only take out so many robots by itself. _And it's not like we're all carrying guns or anything. We're limited to my swords, Amy's hammer, and everyone's powers._ He swallowed hard. _This won't be easy._

Tails swerved hard again, and Cream suddenly exclaimed, "Tails, let me out!"

All eyes in the ship swung to her. "What?!" Knuckles exclaimed before Tails had a chance to respond. "We're not letting you out there!"

"I can ride with Miss Wave!" Cream responded immediately. "I have to be outside to use my powers so I don't damage the ship!"

_Like she accidentally did to Jet's board a while back._ Tails knew of that incident, if only because he'd heard Wave speaking with Cream about it during their brief stay in Future City.

Something hit the ship, making it rumble harshly. Locke suddenly spoke up. "Let us both out! I'll get her over there safely!"

"Get ready, then!" Tails responded. He pressed a button and the cockpit opened with a loud _hiss_ of air. He listened as two buckles were undone, then watched out of the corner of his eye as Locke, Cream, and Cheese jumped out of the ship. He started to reach for the button to close the cockpit again, but was stopped.

"Wait! I'm getting out, too!" Another buckle clicked as it was undone, and soon Knuckles was also jumping out of the ship.

Now left alone in the ship, Tails closed the cockpit again and got one of his weapons ready to fire. Just as he hit the trigger, a small psionic blast from Amy decimated the ranks of robots just ahead of him. The pink glow died down and the propeller plane roared by, pursued by multiple other bots. Momentarily distracted, Tails watched as Rouge jumped off the back of the plane and spun midair. With a single fierce kick, she knocked one robot into all the others, making them all blow up. He was pleased to note that she, like Knuckles and Locke (save for his lingering minor head injury), was doing much better now that Amy had healed her.

A spat of gunfire to his left drew his attention away from the two women, and he spun the ship hard, firing rapidly at the robots that were trying so hard to destroy the ship he and Sonic had spent so much time and effort creating. _Jet and I literally just got this thing ready to go to space. I am not letting it get destroyed right now._ On that thought, he switched weapons and fired a missile into the crowd of robots that was currently attempting to surround him. An explosion tore through the ranks of steel bodies, closely followed by a second as either Locke of Knuckles launched a blast of fire at them. This attack was closely followed by another bright pink psionic blast. This one was larger and more powerful than Amy's (and therefore Wave's, as they had about the same amount of power awakened in them so far), which meant that Cream was responsible for the attack. Glancing to the side, he saw the young girl shoot by on the back of Wave's board as the swallow launched her own psychic attack. Not far from them, Knuckles and Storm were (for once) working together to punch through various robotic enemies. Turning his head the opposite way, Tails soon spotted Locke and Amy, who were flying close together and helping to keep each other safe as they fought.

So far, everyone was okay.

_Thank god._ Tails didn't have much time to think anything else before his attention was once again dragged back to his own fight. Gritting his teeth, he channeled his electricity into the ship's weaponry as Zeki had taught him how to do in the ruined future timeline (which Tails had learned recently was the twelfth timeline to the left of theirs, not that that was relevant at the moment). By doing so, he was able to send off quite a few weapons at the same time, and each weapon was made more powerful by the currents of bright yellow electricity that were surging through each bullet and missile. As he swerved the ship to avoid a large laser that he been fired at him, he watched in satisfaction as many of their enemies exploded.

Once again, a blast of fire took out quite a few enemies off to his side. This fire was so fierce but so controlled at the same time that Tails could only believe that it came from Locke. Seconds later, there was another blast of fire, and a psionic blast was released at the same time. The two powers seemed to merge, bright pink glowing energy combining with dark orange heat. It was a combination of deadly beauty and incredible, destructive power. The latter was very quickly proven to be very true, if the number of robots destroyed by the attack was any sort of an indication. He turned his head back to face the front. _Focus,_ he told himself. It was hard, though. He had such an inquisitive mind that it was hard to not be fascinated by the other powers people were using. And, of course, being fascinated led to being distracted. _Focus, Tails. You're in a fight._ _Get it together. _He fired another missile.

More gunfire sounded from somewhere straight ahead and Tails quickly looked up over the heads of his enemies to see the Chaotix in some new ship, firing rapidly at the enemies. _Espio! You guys made it!_ Espio, who had called Tails earlier to let him and the others know they were coming, somehow (in that mysterious way of his) seemed to know what Tails was thinking. His amber gaze flashed calmly Tails's way for a moment before the chameleon looked away again and returned his full focus to the fight. Like Tails knew he himself should be doing. He once again started to refocus on his portion of the fight, only to be distracted one last time when he spotted Cream and Charmy. The two young kids locked gazes for a moment. Then, with a small smile, Cream averted her gaze and resumed fighting. Now wearing a smile of his own, Tails fired another electrically-charged missile at the robots, watching in satisfaction as the yellow bolts jumped from one metal body to another, utterly destroying each one they hit.

By now, the fight was nearly over, by some miracle. Tails decided to take a huge, daring chance for the sake of trying to end the fight quicker (as it was majorly wasting everyone's time and they had better things to do). He charged up a great deal of pure electricity within himself, feeling the power rising up and crackling dangerously around him (much as Jet's lightning did when the hawk was using enough of it). Then he opened up the cockpit, raised a hand, and let the electricity he had built up loose. The attack _decimated_ the remaining robots, and he could see out of his peripheral vision as Locke and the others watched with eyes. When everything was over, the aforementioned echidna let out a low whistle. "Impressive, Tails." Tails grinned at him.

Amy was beaming like the proud, adoptive sister she was. "That was amazing!" she called out over the space separating them.

Tails turned his own beaming smile on her. "Thanks!" With that, he closed the cockpit and, after locating a spot on the ground that wasn't littered with robot parts, he landed the ship, reopened the cockpit, and jumped out. By the time he got out of the ship, Wave, Cream, Cheese, and Storm had already landed and were stepping off the boards they had been riding on. Amy soon landed Tails's biplane. Not long afterward, Locke and Rouge laded together. Knuckles touched down just seconds behind them. Finally, last but not least, Espio landed the ship he and his companions were flying in, opened the cockpit, and watched as Charmy hopped out. Espio got out just after him, green emerald in hand, and Vector climbed out last. Espio walked over with the emerald and handed it to Tails, and Tails kept smiling. "Thanks, guys. You have no idea how much this means."

A faint shadow of a smile appeared on Espio's own face. "I believe we have some vague idea."

Knuckles spoke up, getting straight to the point. "You guys headed back home now?" he asked, standing there with his arms crossed and his expression as serious as normal.

"Depends on whether or not you guys could use some extra help," Vector answered, arms also crossing. Tails knew the crocodile was usually one to grin most of the time, so seeing him so serious was a bit odd, to say the least.

"_Could_ we stay?" Charmy asked with a not-so-subtle glance at Cream (one that Cream didn't notice, it seemed, for she was preoccupied with dusting off her dress). "I wouldn't mind helping out."

Amy, however, _did_ notice the glance, and she smiled. "I don't think there would be a problem with you three staying here."

"We could use all the help we can get, anyway," Locke added reasonably. "One can never have too many allies." Rouge said nothing, but she seemed to completely agree with him.

Storm, shockingly enough, nodded his agreement. However, it was Wave who spoke and not him. "I agree. We're in the middle of a war. Allies are a valuable thing to have."

Knuckles voiced his question again, but in a different way than before. "Will you guys stay?"

Tails watched as Espio gave Vector a small glance. Then, apparently seeing whatever it was he was looking for in the croc's eyes, the chameleon returned his full attention to the rest of the group. "Yes," he responded calmly. And Tails's smile grew. "We will stay."

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Real knowledge like everything else of value is not to be obtained easily. It must be worked for, studied for, thought for, and then you must be sure to keep it all safe."_

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

Kaden and Shadow were running through a thick, dark forest in search of an emerald. Neither one held onto much hope that they could actually find one. They were both silent as they ran, ducking under branches, weaving around tree trunks and bushes and ferns, leaping over streams and small rivers... Deeper and deeper into the woods they ran, wary and on the lookout for any signs of danger. Every time Kaden heard something, his hand would reflexively go back and grab his sword's handle. Saika was more than powerful enough to cut through any robots that they might potentially encounter.

They both jumped over another stream and then began all but sprinting through flat, dense woodland. This forest seemed to be dark naturally, but it was even more so now, as it was night out currently. Occasionally, they both glanced at each other briefly, both feeling curious and cautious at the same time. And yet, after that sparring match, there existed an element of trust and respect between them now. Trust, because they had both had _perfect_ opportunities to harm or even kill each other. And yet, neither of them had done it. Respect, because they had both seen and acknowledged each other's strength. And, in a way, they had seen each other's flaws as well. It was strange to think that they had both gained so much out of something as simple and commonplace as a sparring match, but it had happened, and it had helped. But Shadow was no fool. He knew he had, essentially, only delayed the inevitable in regards to his father's Darkness. It had receded to a point... but for how long?

A distant rumble signified that robots were wreaking havoc in the distance. Neither of them stopped running. Now was not the time for a confrontation. There was a lot to do, as always, and no time to do much of anything (also as usual). However, neither hedgehog really had any time to think about that before there was another rumble, this one much hard and violent. It shook the ground, knocking a large boulder (that was resting among several others) aside, revealing a dark hole. More shaking, and then the ground violently _jumped_, knocking both hedgehogs off their feet and sending them both skidding down the hole. When they finally came to a halt, Kaden sat up and lit a fire in his right palm to give them some light. He immediately paused when he saw ornate double doors (crafted out of dark oak wood) that were built into the rock wall he was facing. He stood immediately (as the ceiling was more than high enough to allow for such a thing). _I know this place._

Shadow also sat up. "Doko da?" ("Where are we?")

Kaden was practically shocked to hear Shadow speaking the ancient language. But, then again, it seemed like the younger male read a lot, so Kaden supposed that that could explain how Shadow knew the language. He responded slowly to the question, if only because he was still trying to process the fact that they were _here_. "This is..." He trailed off briefly and walked forward. His fire-free hand came up to rest lightly on the smooth wood. So familiar. So comforting. He felt some deep part of himself relax in a way that he only could when surrounded by the knowledge he so heavily adored. "...My library."

Shadow blinked several times. "You're... library?"

Kaden nodded and moved his hand to grip one of the black iron door handles. Pulling the door open, he stepped inside the library for the first time in over a thousand years. Shadow followed him when he walked in. With a deft movement of his hand, Kaden lit all the torches on the walls in this vast, underground space. The soft blue light illuminated rows upon rows of wide, tall, and heavily packed dark-colored bookshelves. There were also several lonely tables in various locations, including in the main, front area. That particular table had a very old pad of paper, equally old pen, and a stack of three books sitting on it. Deeper in the library, Kaden knew there was a record play and a very old television set (as he and Analia had died around the time such things had first been invented). He had quite a few records and video recordings stored in this place, too, as well as quite a few film negatives and black and white photographs. There were also ancient paintings, wall scrolls, drawings, wood carvings, and so on.

Mostly, however, this place was used to store knowledge. Which, of course, meant that this place was _beyond_ full of books, journals, and scrolls. He had spent _years_ upon _years_ gathering all of this. Some of these books and scrolls were texts that he'd owned since childhood. Some of them were writings that he'd collected on his adventures. Some of them had been given to him by a man whom he had once thought of as a father. And still others were things that he himself had written, journal and scrolls on various things that he had experienced or studied (things like herbology, martial arts, civilizations, geography, languages, writings on the war, and so on). And the only reason why this was all still here, why it wasn't all destroyed and therefore lost forever (as it had always been underground, as it was now, but on _South Island_ and not down here in what used to be the Land of Darkness), was because a powerful spell had been placed upon it so as to prevent this knowledge from ever being lost. Thanks to that spell, whenever the library was in danger (such as when the island had been destroyed) it would simply be teleported into an area where it would be safe.

Hence it ending up here.

He was reminded briefly that it was thanks to the same magic (all of which came from that almost-father figure from his past) that none of the things stored in here were rotting/decaying/deteriorating, that there was no dust or bugs, and that the television and record player were still capable of working. But that was irrelevant right now. They really needed to leave and get back on task, but he just wanted to walk through here at least once. For old time's sake. On that thought, he began walking. He still remembered where everything was; it was all just as he'd left it. Nothing was knew or out of place. He even found the pen he had dropped beside a bookcase the last time he'd been in here. Picking it up, he carried it over to the nearest table and set it down. It was so quiet here... so peaceful. He'd missed this place.

That was when Shadow, who had been following him all this time, spoke. "This is all yours?"

Kaden glanced at him. "Yes," he confirmed a bit curtly (though that curtness in his tone was unintentional).

Oddly enough, Shadow seemed to almost... _hesitate_ before voicing his next question. "The next time we have a bit of peace... can we return here?"

It once again occurred to Kaden how much Shadow struck him as the type to be interested in the very sort of things that could be found in here: knowledge and history and many, _many_ things to read. It also occurred to him again just how much he had once loved spending time in here, and how much he would love to be able to do so again. "I do not see why not."

If Shadow was pleased with this answer, he didn't show much sign of it. He just nodded. Kaden turned a corner and walked down yet another familiar aisle in between rows of shelving. This area was darker than elsewhere in the library, but that didn't stop him from seeing the dark blue glow resting on the ground in the shadows against the wall. He immediately bent down and reached out for it. When he stood, he had a Chaos Emerald in hand. Shadow frowned. "How is that _here_?" he muttered.

"How do these things end up in half the places they're found in?" Kaden countered with a small sigh. Without waiting for a reply, he turned on his heel and began walking out.

**~ヒーロー~**

**4,318 words this time. I intended to do a scene with Jet at the base this time, but... meh. There's always the next one. Posted (barely before midnight) 03-10-16.**


	195. Snap

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! THANKS! I'm glad you enjoyed. Yeah, I agree, too. Hahaha, I guess it must be. XD Heck yeah, he is! :D They are. And there's more sweetness to come. :3 I DO, TOO. AND THAT'S 'CAUSE IT _IS_ AMAZING.**

**Hello, astroshadow! Yes, that's a very good question, huh? Yes, yes we are. And yeah, he makes it hard to tell, huh? :P**

**~ヒーロー~**

**So this chapter's mostly comprised of various short-ish scenes with two longer scenes at the end (one of which is divided up a bit). Yes, this is deliberate. Anyway, enjoy!**

**~ヒーロー~**

_"There are many people who would rather save themselves than anyone else. I will never be that person."_

_-Unknown_

****~ヒーロー~****

Jet snuck oh-so-quietly into the room he'd just broke into. It was dark in here, but that didn't matter. He could see just fine without the lights. Edging forward past the rows of cages surrounding him, he glanced around, looking for any signs of life. He stretched his senses out, trying to pick up on any auras. He could feel Ivo's much deeper into the base, but he ignored it. There was also a smaller one near Ivo (probably that Bokkun kid's, he reasoned). Then, as if sensing that he was searching for it, a pure white aura revealed itself deeper in this dark room, casting a bright light that Jet knew most others couldn't see. He recognized the look and feel of this aura, and his concern redoubled. He broke into a run and turned a sharp corner to find Analia sitting in a cage by herself. She was cuffed, beaten, and bloody, but still she managed to smile. He didn't understand how she always seemed to be able to do that, even when there was _nothing_ to be happy about. "Hello, Jet."

He knelt in front of her cage and focused his gaze on the lock he was now busy trying to carefully pick. If he just broke it, he knew he'd set off some sort of an alarm. That was the _last_ thing they needed right now. "How did you get here? Weren't you with Knuckles and the others?"

"There was a fight," Analia responded calmly. "Things went... badly, and I was captured."

Jet nodded his understanding just as he succeeded in popping the lock open. He got it off the cage and tossed it aside without a care, then opened the door and helped her out. He normally hated physical contact of any kind, but he would tolerate it in situations like these, when someone needed his help. He shifted his touch to the cuffs and looked back up at her. "I have to use lightning to break these."

Again Analia smiled at him. "You figured it out," she murmured, almost sounding like a proud mother. "That is impressive."

He shrugged and looked back down to the cuffs. She had voiced no complaint, so he decided to believe that she had given him her permission and trust, at least for now. With that in mind, he very carefully called forth his lightning (by far his favorite power besides his newfound flight) and used the small, thin crackling bolts to break the cuffs apart. He then helped her slip them off her slim wrists. "I don't suppose you have enough energy to teleport us out of here."

"I do," she murmured with a small nod, "but I cannot take us much farther."

He again nodded his understanding. "That's fine. Once we're outside, I can take care of the rest."

"Alright," she agreed. He watched as she summoned up her power (power which looked suspiciously like magic, if all the books he'd read on powers before had taught him anything). The power gave her body a faint white glow, which then extended to him. Within seconds, they were suddenly just... outside. He hadn't even seen the transition. It was amazing, to say the least, but there was no time for him to lose himself in awe.

Using what he knew about his powers of Gravity, he carefully lifted Analia into the air (as she was clearly too tired to fly on her own) and then lifts into the air as well. He used his communicator to get a signal on Knuckles's (as it had a tracker in it like Sonic and Tails's did) and, following that signal, began flying to the northeast. As he moved, she was pulled along as well (though she was beside him and not behind him), as though tied to him by some invisible force. However, he didn't pay that much notice. As they flew, he quickly called Sonic, as he'd promised to do. When Sonic answered, Jet greeted him with a simple, "Hey."

_"Hey," _Sonic greeted back. He quickly followed up with, "Please tell me you have some good news.

He glanced to Analia as he responded. "Yeah. Listen, that prisoner Ivo had?" There was no tactful, "nice" way to put this, so he bluntly said, "It was your mom."

There was a small growl in Sonic's voice. _"What?"__  
_

"She's alright, Sonic," Jet assured immediately. "Calm down." Sonic was silent, so Jet sighed and continued. "I'm taking her back to the others. She'll be safe with them.

There was still tension present in his friend's voice, but it had eased somewhat. _"Alright. Keep her safe until you get there."_ This wasn't a plea; it was an order.

"Like hell I'd do anything else." Neither was really one for heartfelt goodbyes or anything like that, especially with each other, so he and Sonic just hung up after that. He didn't doubt that Analia had listened to their entire conversation, but she said nothing about it, gave no hint as to her thoughts and feelings on the matter. It struck him how odd it was that she could be so open and so hard to read at the same time. It was odd. _Guess Sonic gets it from both sides, then._ Dismissing that thought as irrelevant, he simply continued flying. He had to get her back to the others quickly, both for her own safety and for his own sanity. The Arks were calling to him incessantly, and it was driving him crazy. The sooner he found them, the better... and for more reasons than one.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Silent men, like still waters, are deep and dangerous."_

_-Proverb from an unknown source_

**~ヒーロー~**

Sonic grew angry when he learned what had happened to his mother, but he also felt _so _relieved that she was now safe. He continued running as he thought about her, searching for his father and brother to let them (Kaden especially) know that she was okay. All the while, he kept looking for the emeralds. He could sense one fairly nearby, and it was moving. He sorely hoped that it was Kaden or Shadow who had it, and not some damn robot. He skidded on his feet down a low, sloping hill, ducking under several branches as he went, and entered a thick, dark woodland that he had never explored before. It didn't strike him as foreboding in the least, so it was with no sense of trepidation that he entered the forest. However, before long, he found himself skidding to a hard halt, whirling around, and running back the way he'd come. Two darker hedgehogs, who were only just slightly ahead of him, glanced his way. Without a word, Kaden tossed the dark blue emerald to him. Now Sonic only needed the white, light blue, and red ones. Pleased, and relieved all at once (both because they had another emerald and because he was now certain of his brother and father's safety), he ran just slightly ahead to led the way back to the others.

"You took your sweet time getting here," Shadow comment in a sort of irritated mutter.

Sonic shrugged nonchalantly. "One can only crawl so fast in a cave." Shadow raised an eyebrow, but Sonic said nothing more about it. Instead, he turned his attention to Kaden. "Dad, Mom's alright. Jet found her and got her out of whatever base she was in. He's taking her back to the others."

Kaden felt even more of his earlier fury ebb all at once at this news. Almost instantly, he felt like he wanted to cry out of relief, but he buried that reaction and instead settled for a small nod. This seemed to satisfy his son, who gave a smile before turning his head back around to face the front. As Kaden followed, just slightly behind the two younger males, he briefly reflected that, excluding certain things in his childhood, it had always just been his partner and son who were able to bring him to tears, or at least to the verge of tears. However, he quickly pushed that thought away, not wanting to think about the last two times he'd been brought to that verge before his and Analia's death. Seeking a distraction but finding nothing, he focused instead on clearing his mind for the time being as they ran back to the the others. Back to Analia. He closed his eyes and inaudibly sighed. _She's alright. _He had never felt so relieved in his life, save for when he'd learned, upon his revival, that their son had lived on. Swallowing hard, he continued running.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Tough times never last, but tough people do."_

_-Robert H. Schuller_

**~ヒーロー~**

They were once again in the middle of a fight. Things weren't going well, either. Knuckles gritted his teeth as he took a bad punch to the side. Then, angrily, he whirled around and returned the punch. _Asshole!_ The robot exploded brilliantly, and he listened with half an ear as Tails electrocuted some other robots. At about the same time, Storm punched some robot and Espio shot multiple others. One of the three psychics of the group blasted another section of them. Locke unleashed a blast of fire, and Knuckles soon did the same. He twisted around and punched a robot away from himself shortly afterward. However, before had a chance to do anything more, he heard a sharp cry of pain from across the midair battlefield. That was Rouge's voice. He spun around just in time to see her get slashed again. She was bleeding very heavily from her two fresh wounds, so heavily that it made her very quickly lose consciousness. Without even thinking about it, he rushed over and caught her in one arm. He wasn't quite sure why he did so, though. Wasn't she supposed to be an enemy?

The fight raged on. As he punched and blasted fire at various robots, Knuckles found himself doing his very best to defend her while she was helpless and unable to do so her self. She was already getting very pale. She looked so little like the strong, confident fighter he'd grown used to seeing when he looked at her. She seemed so... small right now. So vulnerable. He didn't know where these thoughts were coming from. And, logically, he knew she would be fine in the end. They had a healer in their group, plus several people who knew how to tend to a wound through more traditional means (i.e. with bandages). She would be just fine. And yet, he couldn't shake his worry, his irrational concern that she might _not_ be alright. And what was he supposed to do if and when that happened? Treat her like an enemy as he had been doing and barely give her death more than a single thought? Or treat her death with respect, treat _her_ like the woman who had been brave enough to dare to defy Ivo and switch sides to help them? That _had_ taken bravery, he knew. She had betrayed Ivo, and, as such, he very much wanted revenge... in the form of stealing away her life. And, for some reason, this only furthered Knuckles's worry.

He punched through the last robot and watched as the others quickly landed to tend to everyone's injuries, however minor most of them were. Swallowing his concerns, he landed lightly and gently set Rouge down on the ground. His fur was soaked with her blood. She didn't respond to the movement at all. Heart slightly pounding in his chest, he clenched his fists and teeth and stepped away to allow Amy room to heal the wounded bat. However, he didn't go far; he couldn't _quiute_ bring himself to turn his back on her. Not this time. He had done it once before, back when she had returned the Master Emerald to him. He had known then that something was wrong. Just based off of what she had said, he had been able to tell beyond a shadow of a doubt that Ivo had been after her. But he had done nothing to help her. He had turned, and he had flown away. He wouldn't do it again.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Life has to be dangerous."_

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

Silver dodged a vicious uppercut launched by a robotic arm and threw a fierce, sharp sickle of cyan psychokinetic energy at the robot responsible for the attack. Down below, to the right, and slightly behind him, he caught sight of a blast of bright orange flames. Blaze was still going strong. Neither of them were having any sorts of problems with these robots, but he considered it luck, not skill. After all, while they both did have a long history of fighting experience, there experience came from combat against elemental creatures with no minds of wills of there own. None of them had been made of metal. None of them had had weapons. None of them had had any sort of intelligence, no matter how artificial said intelligence was. That was why these robots were so different. That was why he and Blaze were so lucky right now. ...Especially since these robots had guns. "Whoa!"

Blaze glanced up at him sharply. "Are you alright?" she called out to him.

"Yeah," he called back reassuringly. "I'm fine." He turned and blasted another robot just as Blaze did the same. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Blaze unleashed a wave of intense fire (mostly likely with the intent of wiping out all the robots all at once), and he soared higher into the air to avoid the attack. He watched the wave melted and blew up every single robot in the entire area. Somehow, none of the trees, grasses, or other plants in the area were harmed, and neither were the few animals that had lingered about in the area when the fight had begun. He landed lightly and hurried over to Blaze. "Are _you_ okay?"

She nodded in response to him, her fingers typing rapidly on the communicator. After a moment, she spoke. "I located Tails's communicator. We need to go."

Silver also nodded. "Right." Without another word, he took off into the air again. She ran after him, eyes never leaving the map on her communicator.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"I still remember the day I met you, because it was the best day of my life._

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

Charmy watched as Cream knelt in the grass while waiting for Amy to finish with Rouge. He walked over to her and her Chao. "Watcha doin'?" he asked, trying to sound casual and not as interested as he actually was.

Cream looked up at him with a small smile. "I'm making a crown of flowers." She showed it to him. It was brightly colorful, all yellows and blues and whites and light pinks. "See?"

He nodded and sat down beside her, wearing his own smile. "Looks neat," he told her honestly. "How do you get 'em all to stay together like that?"

"I tie the stems together." Once again, she showed him what she was talking about, smiling a bit wider all the while. Then she offered sweetly, "I can teach if how to do it, if you'd like."

He smiled wider as well and nodded readily. "Okay. That sounds like fun."

Cheese said something happily in his language, and Cream giggled. "Cheese says that it's nice that you're willing to try this."

Charmy picked some flowers as he replied. The ones he grabbed happened to all be yellow and white. "Why's it so wonderful?" he questioned.

Cream shrugged a bit. In spite of her words, her smile never faded. "Not many people are interested in such childish things."

Charmy frowned a little as he picked another small, healthy-looking white flower. "Well, _I_ don't think it's childish."

This time when Cream smiled at him, there was a happiness present in her expression that hadn't been there before. And right in that moment, Charmy knew he had said something right.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."_

_-T.S. Eliot_

**~ヒーロー~**

Ivo had _let_ Analia escape. He'd _let_ Jet break loose and set her free, then escape with her. Granted, in letting his idiotic robots give the hawk the information he needed to break free he had cost himself one of the Arks, but it would all be well worth it in the end. He'd learned from earlier that harming Kaden's loved ones would be a much more effective tool in getting the hedgehog to go Dark if said loved ones were there with him, thus allowing him to see their pain and suffering in person. He'd never been surer of his plans regarding Kaden's Dark form than he was right now. He would get that power one way or another, and it would happen soon. And as for Jet... _Well, I'll deal with him later. _He grinned at his screens. _I have bigger things to worry about._

**~ヒーロー~**

_"I live not in dreams but in contemplation of a reality that is perhaps the future."_

_-Rainer Maria Riike_

**~ヒーロー~**

Espio was standing between Vector and Charmy (who was still with Cream), just watching different members of the group interact. Amy was almost finished healing the she-bat, who was now conscious and talking with the other woman. The two birds were standing near each other, neither speaking or looking at each other. The brightly colored robot was conversing with Tails. Knuckles was watching over Rouge from where he stood beside the other echidna. They were finally having a moment of peace... So of course it was time for that peace to be shattered. And this time, it wasn't thanks to Ivo and his seemingly endless supply of robots and heavy artillery.

Espio inhaled sharply and squeezed his eyes shut against the searing pain that was suddenly sharply stabbing at his head. Just as he pressed two of his fingers to his temples, a vision of tidals waves surging down the streets of a familiar city that was darkened by a thick layer of grey storm clouds in the sky. Then reality returned for a moment. The headache was still there, and it was so severe now that it caused him to sway dangerously on his feet. He felt a large hand that could only belong to Vector grab him by the arm in order to steady him. Vaguely, he heard Charmy's voice off to his left.

The visions returned. He saw bright orange fur and deep, sad blue eyes, then eyes that were brighter and angrier and green instead of blue.

Vector shook him a bit. Espio's eyes fluttered slightly, but couldn't remain open. The pain was too severe. It just wouldn't end.

Another vision. He saw numerous small blue and yellow Chao, heard their cries and pleas for someone, something, to stop what they were doing and end the cycle of hatred.

Charmy's voice reached him again. "Espio? What's wrong, Espio?" He couldn't have responded to the bee if he'd tried.

Yet another vision appeared. He saw a fierce blast of orange fire, heard an angry voice shouting at a monster that should not have been there. He felt someone's shock and disbelief, was aware of the grief they had once felt.

This vision was quickly replaced by another. As with the last time he'd slept, he saw the emeralds, dark and devoid of energy and light and, in a way, life.

The next voice that reached his ears wasn't Vector's or Charmy's. It wasn't male at all, in fact. This voice belonged to Cream. Her voice was soft, almost soothing, and it was so full of knowledge that she shouldn't have possessed. "Just relax, Espio-san. It won't be much longer." His teeth were gritted so tightly against the pain that speech was impossible.

There was one last vision. He again saw those bright green eyes. He felt the anger buried within those orbs, felt all the hatred that this creature felt. The blue eyes from the first vision brimmed dangerously with tears. There there was an earth-shattering roar.

When it was finally all over, the headache rapidly faded away as though it had never been there in the first place. It left him feeling weak and tired and vaguely ill. He slowly lowered his hand from his temple and moved away from Vector in order to stand on his own. Vector let him go without any argument or complaint. However, he did ask, "You alright there, Espio?"

Charmy quickly piped up with, "Yeah, did something happen?"

Espio slowly shook his head, subtly taking a deep breath as he did so. He let it out just as slowly and silently as he'd taken it in, then replied to both questions at once. "No... I'm fine." Neither of them believed him. Nor did the young bunny girl standing in front of him. That much was obvious. But his teammates (his family, even, he supposed), had long since learned that if he didn't want to tell people things, he wouldn't. Simple as that. So, even though it was clearly with great reluctance, they let it go.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet."_

_-Aristotle_

**~ヒーロー~**

Jet was flying toward the next Ark, using his ever-finicky senses to do so. He had dropped Analia off a while ago, so now he was back on task. The sky in this area was darkening with rain clouds again, which meant another small storm was rolling in. His attention, however, was not focused on something as trivial as that. As he flew, he heard voices whispering to him, so soft that they could barely be heard. They seemed to be coming from the Arks. _"Go to Mazuri..."_

He huffed. _Mazuri._ He couldn't quite resist a frown. _I know that already._ The whispers continued, and he frowned and muttered to them, "Be patient. I'm working on it." He felt instantly stupid for talking to a rock and voices he's probably imagining, but brushed it off and continued flying. At least his little comment had quieted the whispers, if only for now.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Be prepared for the worst, but do yourself a favor and don't forget to hope for the best."_

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Do you think our fates are determined by the stars, Sonic?"_

The Voice watched as the young hedgehog's ears perked in response to the question. After a moment, he responded, but the Voice knew what his reply was before it was ever voiced. _No. Not at all. Why do you ask?_

_"You are right in not believing in destiny, young one," _The Voice replied. _"There are never any certainties in life. '__All events are preordained and unalterable. Whatever will be will be. If anything happens, it's not my fault. It's fate.' Thoughts such as these are erroneous. __Things will forever be capable of changing. This is why, though certain things occurred in the ruined future timeline but not in this one."_

Sonic frowned for a moment in thought. _Things like us failing to get Shadow on our side right away?_

_"Yes," _The Voice replied. _"However, because there are no certainties in life, there is also no guarantee that everything in this timeline will go differently compared to the ruined one your friends visited."  
_

Sonic frowned even deeper. _What, specifically, are you referring to?_ he asked pointedly.

The Voice did not give a straight answer. Sonic needed to figure this out on his own. _"__Whatever life throws at you, even if it hurts you, just be strong and fight through it. Remember, strong walls shake but never collapse."_

Sonic bit back a growl. The Voice knew that he was growing irritated. _What are you talking about, Voice?_

The Voice's last response was a dire warning. It was simple, but infinitely necessary. Sonic needed to understand, because something terrible could happen, and he needed to be prepared for it. _"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." _The Voice said nothing more. It was up to Sonic to figure out the rest. It knew he could. So, without offering any other aid, it faded away.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"The calm before the storm is truly a thing to be feared."_

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

Sonic, Shadow, and Kaden finally caught sight of the others. Two ships and a plane were landed on the ground, which was covered in loose rocks of varying sizes, and people were gathered in the in the space in between the three aircraft. It was Analia who spotted them first. And, though her concern for her child was great, she could see that no harm had come to him, rendering her concern for her partner greater for the moment. Kaden walked quickly over to her; it was as close as he would come to running up to someone. Without any warning, he gently grabbed her and held her so very close. She closed her eyes and smiled tearily as he held her, noticing as she did so that his entire frame was shaking minutely out of a mixture of relief and lingering fear. Her expression, while already soft, softened even further. "I am alright, Kaden," she gently assured, moving her arms to hold him just as much as he was holding her. She felt more than saw that he relaxed, if only somewhat, and nodded in response to her.

She wasn't quite sure how long they stayed there like that, losing themselves in their own little world, before Kaden finally pulled away. She let him go and watched as he turned to face Locke, who was walking over to them with a small scowl. Kaden and Analia both knew _that_ look, and Kaden's ears lowered slightly on reflex before Locke even said a word. When the echidna made it over to them, full focus on Kaden, the first words out of his mouth were, "What the hell were you thinking?!" Kaden's arms crossed and he looked down and off to the side, never saying a word. He remained like that the whole time, defensive but not verbally so, as Locke scolded him like an older brother. Analia had always thought that it was funny that, while Kaden was the older of the two by several months, Locke was the one who tok on the role of "big brother" most of the time. He even went so far as to whack Kaden over the top of the head. Analia's smile, which had been one of gentle amusement for the duration of this conversation, turned to one of gentle happiness when Locke suddenly pulled Kaden into a brief, brotherly hug.

After a moment, Kaden (for _once_) returned the hug, though just slightly. But then he huffed, and the moment was ruined. "You can stop being so mawkish at any time, Locke." Locke just laughed and released him, mood much better now that the serious portion of their reunion was in the past.

Cream surprised Kaden when she suddenly ran over and gave him a small hug, eyes closed and face brightly smiling. Her little Chao (he'd never heard what she'd named him) joined in on the hug. Being unused to physical contact as a whole (and not to mention generally hating it) and being even less used to hugs in particular, he stiffened almost involuntarily and didn't return the gesture. This didn't seem to bother her, though. She kept smiling. "I'm so glad you're okay, Mister Kaden."

Somehow, after a moment, he found it in him to smile back, just a little. He gently smoothed a hand over the top of her head. It was as affectionate as he could bring himself to be right now, even in the presence of such a sweet and generally happy child. "I'm glad that you're okay, too."

(-)

On the other side of the camp, Sonic and Shadow were standing together in silence. Both had their arms crossed. Both looked serious. Neither was speaking as they watched various members of the group interact with each other. Their attention was always inevitably to Kaden. _Their_ father. No longer was he just _Sonic's_ dad. He was _both_ of theirs. And they had had no _idea_. And speaking of not having any idea about their relation... Sonic turned his head to the left to look at his half-brother. "How did he react? When you told him about how we're all... related, I mean."

Shadow frowned a bit more than was usual for even him and looked away, never uncrossing his arms. When he spoke, he uncharacteristically mumbled, rather than speaking clearly like he usually did. "I didn't tell him."

Several long moments of silence passed and, eventually, Sonic simply walked off to check on the others, opting not to respond to what Shadow had said. Upon reaching Tails, who was standing beside Amy in front of the newly improved space-ready X-Tornado, he fist bumped the young fox with a small grin. "Hey, Tails."

"Hi, Sonic," Tails responded cheerily, face and eyes smiling brightly. "Didja get another emerald?"

Sonic pulled out the yellow and dark blue emeralds and showed him. "Right here." He put the emeralds away again. "Now we just need three more." Amy smiled and Tails nodded. "So what all's been going on with you guys?" Tails and Amy did their best to recount everything that had happened to them since he'd left. Tails spoke briefly of his training and the work on the X-Tornado and Amy explained about what she'd learned about Blaze's parents and other self of this timeline. They explained about how Locke had been knocked out and how Analia had been kidnapped (though these were second and not first-hand accounts, as they weren't there to witness those two events). They explained about what Omega had told them about the Biolizard. They explained about how the Chaotix had arrived with the green emerald and Amy recounted Tails's heroics with his powers during the fight. That, of course, evoke a smirk from Sonic. "Great job, Tails." This blatant praise again earned a bright smile from the young fox.

It was then that Sonic realized with a sort of jolt that Silver and Blaze were nowhere to be seen. Fearful worry, especially for his son, rose up in him. Amy, apparently seeing his sudden distress, was quick to speak up. "They're alright, Sonic. They were just talking. They're on their way right now." Sonic found himself trusting every word she said almost automatically. Her comforts had eased his worries, at least for the time being, and he found himself able to relax and smile once again.

(-)

Not for the first time since arriving here, Charmy caught sight of Omega. In that curious manner that only a child could really possess, he found himself unable to tear his gaze away from the stoic robot. Quickly giving into his curiosity, he abandoned his flowers for the moment and flew over to the brightly-colored metal sentinel and began poking and prodding at various random parts that sparked his interest. _Cool..._

Omega spoke up quickly. **_"Desist."_**

Charmy flew around to the front and grinned. "Nope!" He then, almost anticlimactically, flew back off toward Cream.

(-)

Knuckles was standing at the edge of the group with his arms crossed as usual. Off to his right was his father while the Chaotix and Cream were to his left. His focus wasn't on _them_, though. He was still watching over Rouge, though he refused to admit it, even though she was clearly fine now. She was no longer bleeding, no longer pale, and was on her feet speaking with Shadow about something or other. She was obviously okay now... _So stop watching her, you idiot,_ he told himself sternly.

Vector must have noticed his attention. "She's pretty cute, eh Knuckles?" he teased with a sly grin, lightly elbowing the tense echidna as he did so. Knuckles scowled and didn't reply.

"I bet'cha like her," Charmy piped up with a grin of his own.

Knuckles growled at the both of them. "Cut it out," he muttered. He wasn't in the mood for this. Not at all.

They didn't take the hint, not-so-subtle though it was. "Knuckles has a girlfriend!" Charmy sang out in that annoying way that only a child could. "Knuckles has a girlfriend!"

Vector was doing _nothing_ to help this situation. "Got that right!" he laughed merrily.

Locke suddenly and unexpectedly joined in on the teasing. "You chose a heckuva girl to get interested in," he smirked. He clearly didn't mean it in any sort of a bad way, but the comment still irked Knuckles, who's cheeks burned just slightly with invisible heat out of nowhere. It was a reaction he couldn't explain, and he quickly forced it away.

The laughter and singing and teasing remarks continued until Knuckles finally decided that he'd head enough. He whirled on the Chaotix, yelling at the group as a whole even though he knew that Espio was innocent here (a fact which caused said chameleon to pay him and his words little notice at the moment). "I don't have a girlfriend!" he snapped. He then whirled on his father. "And I'm _not_ interested!" Vector, Charmy, and Locke all laughed. None of them were in the least bit bothered by Knuckles's outburst. He could _feel_ Rouge's eyes on him throughout the whole exchange, but it didn't matter. He didn't look at her again.

(-)

Wave and Storm were on the edge of the group opposite to where Sonic and Shadow had been standing together earlier. They had their backs to the others, boards held lightly under their arms, as they quietly talked (without arguing for once) about a subject of shared worry. "The Boss'll be fine, right?" Storm asked. "I mean, he's strong and all."

"And he's more intelligent than he likes to let on," Wave added with a small nod. "More than people sometimes give him credit for."

"But you're still worried, ain't ya?" Storm returned with a sideways glance at her.

"Well, yeah," Wave admitted readily enough. "For that matter, so are you."

"'Course I am," Storm agreed gruffly. Then he admitted something she never thought she'd hear him say aloud. "I'd be lost without people like him and you."

Wave released a small smile. "I think we're _both_ a little lost right now," she murmured. "It doesn't help that he hasn't said a word to us, save for when he dropped off Analia earlier."

Sonic, with his sharp ears, easily picked up on their conversation. He was immediately annoyed with his friend for letting those two worry so much like this, but he buried the emotion for now as he approached the two Rogues at a calm, even pace. "Jet's fine, guys," he assured them quietly, causing them both to quickly turn to look at him. "I've talked to him several times today. He's just busy looking for the last two Arks. That's all."

Wave was secretly deeply relieved by this news. She worried about Jet all the time (especially when she knew for a fact that he was in some form of danger), so hearing from someone like Sonic, who would never lie about such a thing, that Jet was safe did a lot to soothe her frazzled nerves and deeply-ingrained worries. She did her best to hide her relief, and the reason for it, but she could _tell_ that Sonic and Storm knew the truth. They could see her secret as plainly as they could see the sun or moon in the sky. They _knew_... that she liked Jet. She liked him a lot. Maybe even almost loved him. There was one huge problem with that, though, and that was the simple fact that she didn't know for sure what _his_ feelings were. So, as always, she did her best to just not think about it.

(-)

Once his conversation with Wave and Storm was over, Sonic walked away and, looking down at his communicator, he pulled up the file Jet had sent to him earlier. The one on Shadow's creation and "birth". Once he had the file pulled up, he unstrapped the device from his wrist and walked over to Kaden. Green eyes that were still darker than usual and yet not as dark as earlier soon turned his way. Sonic was quiet for a moment as he looked his father over, making absolutely sure for at least the third time that the older hedgehog really was okay. He noted Kaden's exhaustion and injuries, but none of it was so serious that it warranted any sort of great concern. ...At least, not right this second. It was all worrisome, but not _too_ much so. Walking over to Kaden the rest of the way, he extended his communicator out to him. "Here. You need to read this."

Kaden's right ear flicked just slightly in some minute display of a thought or emotion that Sonic wasn't able to read. Without a word, Kaden reached out as well and accepted the offered communicator. He seemed vaguely curious, but mostly just calm (or at least as calm as he could be while his powers were still acting up). He read quickly in silence, eyes skimming the words on the screen while Locke and Analia talked nearby and Sonic waited for a reaction. Sonic knew the instant Kaden was finished reading, knew the precise moment that understanding dawned on him. His father's eyes grew slightly wide as he stared at the words on the screen, seeming (understandably) to be in some form of mild shock. Analia, likely sensing her partner's shift in emotions, walked over to see what was wrong, and Locke did the same. "Kaden?" she asked softly once she was by his side. "What is going on?" Kaden just wordlessly, seemingly almost numbly, handed the communicator over to her. He looked at nothing in particular as she and Locke read the file. He seemed to be thinking hard and deeply about this news, which Sonic had expected, and remained silent for now.

Sonic happened to glance at his mother and old friend. Locke, oddly enough, didn't see, at all surprised by what he was reading. _He might have learned about it in the ruined future or something,_ he reflected briefly. This still begged the question of why the echidna had never _said_ anything to anyone about it, but now was not the time for an interrogation. His gaze drifted to Analia. Unlike Locke, she _did_ seem surprise, and greatly so. She murmured something in the ancient language that Sonic, for once, didn't understand. Her gaze flicked up briefly to look at him, then at Shadow, then at Kaden, and finally back down at the communicator again. Sonic also glanced at his half-brother, then to his father. Kaden was clearly still trying to process this. He stayed by his father's side, trying to offer whatever silent support he could.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"Love is the most powerful emotion, and that makes it the most dangerous."_

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

Luck was on no one's side but the enemy's today, not that that was unusual. The group had just been starting to get ready to move again when their luck abruptly turned sour again. Omega was standing right beside Cream, protecting her as Shadow had ordered him to do some time ago. A missile soared through the sky and slammed into the robot out of nowhere. The missile exploded, blowing up Omega with it, and fire and robot parts rained down from the ensuing fire ball and all around Cream. She shrieked the moment Omega exploded, throwing her arms up reflexively to cover and protect her face. Locke lunged forward and snatched her away from the ruined robot, holding her close as he leapt away with Cheese clinging to his shoulder. Now hovering in the air, he joined the rest of the group in staring briefly at Omega's ruined body. Then he and everyone else quickly turned to the southeast. A crackle of tension permeated the group as they watched a massive tidal wave of robots race toward them at high speeds. Mere seconds after spotting the enemies, several of the aforementioned bots launched a huge blast that simultaneously took out both Rouge and Knuckles. They were both sent flying away from the ships and all their friends and allies. They were left conscious but already badly injured, and the fight had only just begun. They could hardly stand, but they did it, anyway. And, left with no other options, they stayed together, each one helping to defend the other as the fight truly began.

A speedy robot lunged forward and punched Sonic in the jaw, knocking his teeth together and leaving him badly dazed for a moment. Kaden suddenly felt his anger start to return, and he wasted no time in using his fire to blast the offending robot away from his son. He quickly glanced around the group, taking notice of where everyone was. Analia was right beside him. The crocodile and his two teammates were by their ship, and Storm was fairly near them. Wave was about ten feet to the right of the four of the, Shadow was near Tails and Amy (who were by the X-Tornado), but was separated from them and everyone else by a thick crowd of metal bodies, putting him about five-ish feet from the X-Tornado and about seven or eight from Sonic, who was alone in the very epicenter of the conflict. The closest he was to anyone was about six feet. Locke (who still had Cream and Cheese with him) was diagonally to the left of Sonic, about midway between him and Shadow. Knuckles and Rouge were a good twenty feet or better behind the X-Tornado. Just about everyone was isolated and thus on their own, in a way. This was not good.

This attack was all-too quickly proving to be one of the most brutal ones Ivo had launched on them in a while. Locke was hit by multiple vicious attacks in rapid succession, bringing him pain in his right side, middle chest, right arm, and elsewhere. The last attack he was hit with was the cruelest of them all, however. Some robot _deliberately_ hit him in the head (where the remnants of his previous head injury were) with far too much force for anyone-s good, rendering him unconscious for the second time that day. It was this that really caused Kaden's anger to begin to awaken once more. It wasn't even difficult for it to come back; it had been so close to the surface earlier that very little needed to be done to bring it back.

Knuckles was far away, but not too much so to prevent him from seeing what had happened to his father. Though internally pissed off as all hell at Ivo for treating his father so terribly, he bit back his growl and continued fighting by Rouge's side, watching with incredible as poor Cream (who was now crying out of fear) grabbed her little Chao and scrambled away from Locke. She daringly ran through all the crowds of robots and straight to Shadow, who immediately shifted to stand in front of her, blatantly protective. While she trembled and shook, too afraid to use her powers, he kicked at the robots that were trying to get to her (doubtless that Ivo wanted them to capture her, so as to take her back and allow himself access to her powers). Drawing his pistols, he blasted several more away.

On the other side of the battlefield, Vector and Storm somehow ended up fighting side by side, both using punches and brute strength alone to take out their enemies. Neither was really keeping track of how many each was taking out, but they still managed to make this feel like a competition, where each combatant was trying to defeat more baddies than the other. But their little competition was quickly cut short when they both simultaneous took wicked punches from two large robots built for strength. They were sent sailing back and crashed into the Tornado-1 one, further injuring them and also greatly damaging the little biplane. They were both knocked out by the two separate impacts. Storm's board was also left damaged, though thankfully not severely so. Seeing what had happened, Espio whirled on Charmy. "Get into the ship and _stay_ there!" he ordered sharply. Thankfully, since it was incredibly rare for Espio to be so commanding, Charmy obeyed without any argument or complaint. Once he was in the ship, Espio vanished briefly, only to reappear and blow up the robot that had attack Vector by hitting it with a fearsome kick. There was a rare spark of anger in his eyes, one that few had ever seen in him before. But, right now, he cared not. He did nothing to hide it.

Across the battlefield from the Chaotix's ship, Tails and Amy were fighting together, weapons drawn and struggling against the tide. They were fighting to defend the X-Tornado, as they desperately needed it to go to space, but these robots were vicious. One of them lashed out with a wicked blade and sliced Amy's stomach and chest open in one fell swoop. She was knocked back with a sharp cry of pain. Kaden (who already considered her to be a fairly good friend) and Sonic (who felt oddly attached to the woman in red) both felt sharp spikes of anger when they heard her cry. Tails could only stare for a moment in horror as his adoptive sister bled. At about the same time, Shadow managed to get Cream and Cheese safely into the ship and close the cockpit, but was then knocked away by a searingly painful blast that also struck Tails (effectively snapping the young fox out of his shock). They were both quickly able to regain their weapons and stand, but seeing Shadow (Kaden's _son_) only served to tick the ancient hedgehog off further. When Shadow and Tails were again blasted (leaving them both heavily injured), his anger began to ascend into rage.

Back on the opposite side of the battlefield, Wave unleashed several small psionic blasts that succeeded in taking out a good few robots. However, her last attack was almost immediately cut short when she was shot multiple times in the side, thigh, and shoulder. She was then kicked aside, sending her flying like a ragdoll. She hit the ground, gasping in pain and unable to stand. Not too terribly far away, Espio was hit so hard after reappearing from a short teleport that he crashed into his team's ship, nearly knocking it over and causing Charmy to cry out in alarm. He was barely able to stand after the blow, and his building anger was giving his eyes a dangerous spark. He whirled and kicked his attack hard, threw deadly knives at multiple others, but was again sent flying. Meanwhile, a good distance behind the X-Tornado, Knuckles and Rouge were blasted again and knocked onto their sides, resulting in them facing each other unintentionally. They were too exhausted and injured to get back up, their chests heaving as they fought for a decent amount of air. However, the moment Rouge saw danger coming their way again, she very quickly pushed herself up on one injured arm and lunged forward toward Knuckles. The moment her fingertips came to rest on his strong shoulder, they both turned invisible and the danger passed them by. That time. She immediately and almost apologetically removed her hand from his personal space and they become visible again. She fell back down on her side tiredly.

Not long afterward, Locke, who was still about midway between Shadow and Sonic, was starting to come to. Cream hurriedly popped open the X-Tornado's cockpit and tried her best to protect him by using her powers to blast robots away from him. Tails used his electricity to help her accomplish this. Seeing this, Sonic turned and ran over to lend them and his old friend a hand. As he was running over, something tried to attack him from behind. Shadow sensed the threat and whirled on it, instinctively launching a blast of black Dragonfire that took out the robots and further proved to all who had read the file that Shadow _was_ Kaden's son. In spite of the older hedgehog's current state of anger (which Analia was doing her best to soothe both with her words and her powers as she fought), he still felt another nearly dizzying wave of shock. Once he was up and okay for the most part, Locke wasted no time in running over to Knuckles and Rouge. He furiously took out the robots that were daring to try to harm them. Right about then, Silver and Blaze finally arrived. They announced their presence to all, not with words, but with action. At the same exact time, they both unleashed deadly attacks, cyan psychokinetic energy and bright orange flames that mixed and mingled into an unintentional combo attack that had elements of grace, beauty, power, and control all mixed into it at once. Those who had the luxury of stopping their fighting long enough to watch it were left awed.

Not far from where the two fighters from another world had launched their attack, Espio was hit once again and was sent flying a short distance. That blow left him barely conscious. Vector, who had only just woken up, felt a wave of genuine fear (a rare thing) for his friend and unofficially adopted "son". He ran over with the intention of keeping them both safe, barely managing to get Charmy out of the ship before it's struck by a large laser that ruins the left wing and catches it on fire. A quick glance to he side showed that the albatross was still out. A glance to the other side showed that the swallow was also still down. Turning, he saw that Amy was still unable to get up and fight. By this point, neither could Tails. Due to his injuries, the older echidna was also wearing out. The older male hedgehog was clearly being hindered by his own wounds exhaustion, as was the woman beside him. _Not good._

Seeing that Kaden and Analia were starting to struggle, Blaze started to rush over there to help them. However, she was hit by a terrible attack that sent her flying and left her bloodied and injured. Before Silver had a chance to voice the reaction everyone could see in his face and eyes, he too was blasted and sent flying. He crashed into Shadow, and they both hit the ground hard. Neither was able to regain their feet quickly enough to avoid being shot. There was an explosion somewhere behind them, and Knuckles cursed loudly in pain while the bat gasped. The crocodile was cut deeply and sent staggering to the side as he struggled to defend the chameleon and young bee (the latter of which he was carrying and holding protectively). Locke was punched so hard that when he coughed blood sprayed the ground. A hard kick knocked him aside. Cream was hauled out of the X-Tornado and cruelly cut with a knife, causing her to cry out in pain as tears ran down her cheeks. Tails and Amy feebly tried to save her, and were repaid for their actions by also being cut up with the knife. Not far away, Silver was shot with a laser, eliciting a small cry of pain from him as he fought to get to Blaze. Blaze hissed softly in pain when a blade sliced first her shin and then her forearm. Kaden, seeing all these horrible things and unable to do a damn thing about them, found himself _struggling_ to remain in control of his power. He was barely hanging on by a measly _thread_ when Analia was brutally shot multiple times before he (being as exhausted as he was) even had a chance to react to the threat that had been aiming at her. What finally broke him, however, was not _her_ injuries.

Sonic's eyes widened in shock and he was unable to make even a single sound as a robot's sword stabbed him in the stomach, it's blade protruding out his back and keeping him lifted several feet off the ground. The world stilled. And it was in that moment that Kaden finally snapped.

**~ヒーロー~**

**9,043 this time, and I apologize for the delay in posting this. I intended for it to be up yesterday, but I kinda gave up on that after a while, so... yeah. Also, the quote, "****All events are preordained and unalterable. Whatever will be will be. If anything happens, it's not my fault. It's fate." comes from Calvin and Hobbes. The quote, "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." comes from Yoda. Posted (at about 3:33) 03-12-16.**


	196. Light vs Dark

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! THANKS! I'M GLAD YOU LIKED IT SO MUCH! I liked those scenes, too. :3 Yeah, she is. Good thing, too, otherwise this chapter never would've happened. XD Oh, I know, right? XD Yeah, that was super sweet, in my opinion. Super, super sweet. She trusts him a lot. :3 Yeah, they did. And yeah, that about sums it all up. Haha. XD**

**Hello, Spell of Dawn! Wow! That is a _lot_ of reading! I'm kinda surprised you stuck with it for so long, but hey, I'm not complaining! :D I'm really happy that you're liking it so much so far. That means a lot to hear. Oh, I know, right? If nothing else, we've gotta give Ivo credit for that, huh? I've never read Artemis Fowl (I _think_ it's a book, anyway), so I'll take your word for it on that one. :) Haha, whoops! Sorry for confusing you there! XD Aw, thank you so much for saying that! That means a lot to hear! :D**

**Hello, Skye the Hedgehog101! Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Yeah, it was very brutal. I'm sorry, I had to! 'Twas necessary for the plot! D: Yeah, a miracle it will take, indeed. Oh, I know, right?! Go epic Shadow-style Dragonfire! Yeah! XD Well, I won't spoil anything here! You'll just have to read on and see for yourself! :) I will do my very best, Skye-chan!**

**Hello, superbook5012! Haha, gomen-ne. 'Twas all necessary for the plot. I'm so glad to hear that you liked this chapter so much, though! I'M SORRY! But, hey! He's a robot! He can come back! :D I'm sure I will! Thanks again for the suggestions!**

**Hello, Shadowstar146! THANKS! It means so much to hear that you enjoyed this chapter that much! I did my best with all of that, so it's very nice to hear that everyone worked out so well. :) SORRY, BUT I LIKE CLIFFHANGERS. ...When writing them, anyway. XD Well, be eager no more! Here's the next epic (hopefully) installment! Haha, thanks! Super happy you liked it that much! :D Thank you again!**

** ~ヒーロー~**

_"One cannot plan for the unexpected."_

_-Aaron Klug_

****~ヒーロー~****

There was something so beautiful about the state Kaden was in right now. Unlike Sonic when he went Dark, Kaden's fur didn't become such a dark indigo that it was nearly black. His fur _was_ black, as was the powerful Dark aura that was utterly surrounding him right now. His eyes were nothing but pure white light that further bespoke of the raw, untamed power that was flowing through him. The gold ring that normally held his hair back in a low ponytail had fallen out during the initial transformation as his hair had flowed upward much like Sonic's did. However, after the initial intense power rush, his hair had gone back down again, leaving it in a position that looked very much like Sonic's usual hairstyle. The Darkness had healed all of his injuries and completely removed all of his exhaustion. However, it had also removed all of his positive emotions, leaving nothing but negative ones (namely animosity and true fury) in their place. Pure _power_ was being embodied right now in the form of an ancient hedgehog who had found himself unable to control the Darkness for even a split second longer. It was so beautiful. So deadly. So perfect.

This was no longer _Kaden._ Not really. He no longer had memories of good things, things like Analia's smile or Cream's flowers or Locke's companionship or his son's birth or name of the man who had, for a short time, raised him as his own son. All that remained were his bad memories, memories of being brought up by six men who cared about the dirt more than him, of suffering beyond words for months at the hands of two twisted minds, of being killed after seeing Analia die, and on and on. He also remembered that these robots had pissed him the _hell_ off, though it wasn't like he knew how anymore. But, while he was in this state, the _how _didn't matter. All that _did_ matter was that they _had_ pissed him off. And that meant that they would be made to regret it. He showed no remorse for his enemies when he was like this. He literally couldn't. But he also couldn't care less, not when like this. Fury and animosity ruled his entire being.

With the Darkness fueling him, he raised a hand and unleashed a Dark Blast (which was very similar to a Chaos Blast) that utterly _decimated_ the ranks of robots directly in front of him. He'd attacked with an air of calm that completely opposed the intensely negative emotions that were radiating off of him in a continuous, invisible wave. He showed no care for the innocents that were also scattered across the battlefield; right now, he truly _didn't_ care about them. He cared about the robots, the current source of his ire. It was in everyone else's best interest that he _didn't_ respond to them right now. The things he responded to were the things he saw to be threats. And those he saw to be threats were certain to die.

When one robot dared to shoot at him, he whirled on it and blasted it with Darkfire, the Darkness fueled version of his usual Dragonfire, and watched with dark satisfaction as it blew up. The rest of the robots then also began to attack, armed with guns and lasers and knives and swords and hammers and a myriad of other weapons. None of them could touch him. He disappeared and reappeared many times such rapid succession that each time he reappeared all that could be seen of his was a vague black blur. Each time he reappeared, a robot or two or three was spontaneously explode as a result of whatever he'd done to them. Then, seemingly growing bored of that, he reappeared one last time, skidding lightly on his feet in a crouch. In one fluid motion he stood and moved his arm in a sort of graceful swoop from his left side to his right, creating a terribly deadly wave of Darkfire that once again decimated the ranks of robots. More than seventy-five percent of the army was gone already. The people he had considered to be his friends and allies before this transformation wisely did whatever they could to stay out of his way for now, doing their best to remain safe during the uncontrolled rampage.

Ivo decided that he had let Kaden have enough fun for now. It was time to get down to business. The hedgehog was undoubtedly taking a great deal of dark pleasure from utterly destroying his enemies like this, but the power he was using to do it was something Ivo wanted. Something he needed. And, of course, he very much intended to _have_ it. He watched on his screens as his large, specially-designed robot (which was built solely for the purpose of absorbing power) landed on the ground to Kaden's left, shaking the ground slightly due to its sheer weight. Kaden turned just his head to look at it. His acknowledgement meant the obvious fact that he already very much saw this robot as an enemy and thing he sought to destroy. Ivo waited gleefully for the hedgehog to attack it so that the robot could steal away his power, a power far more ancient than Kaden himself.

Soon enough, Kaden did just what Ivo wanted him to. In spite of the incredible intelligence he clearly still retained in this form, he raised a hand and shot of beam of Dark energy from his palm straight at the robot. Instantly, the robot began to absorb his power. Sonic and the others seemed to realize right away what was going on and, in spite of the sorry states they were all in, all those who could move rushed toward Kaden to try to get him to stop. His eyes remained locked on the robot and he never lowered his hand as a shockwave of Dark energy exploded out all around him, knocking the heroes back and preventing them from getting to him. Even Analia was sent flying. She and Sonic were likely the only people who could get through to him right now, but they could do nothing to help if they couldn't even get close enough to him to make him listen. He was far too focused on the robot, anyway.

As it continued to absorb his energy, he intensified the beam, filling the area with a dark and terrible light. Dark energy began crackling around the robot. It began to shake violently, and Ivo's eyes flew to his scanners. Said eyes soon widened at the levels his computers were reading. The robot Kaden was attacking had been built to store vast amounts of energy, enough to power numerous cities and the entire Space Colony ARK at the same time. And yet, the energy Kaden was feeding it was _too much_ for it too handle. And, judging by the small, dark, fanged smirk that spread across the hedgehog's lips, he had _known_ it would be too much. He had known... which meant that his mind was not as lost to the sheer power as Ivo had thought it was.

For the first time in his life, Ivo felt truly defeated. All he could do was watch as Kaden finally blew up the robot, then released another massive Dark blast that destroyed the remaining robots. Then Kaden turned, again raised his hand, and destroyed the camera that had been watching him.

**~ヒーロー~**

_"You cannot have darkness without light."_

_-Unknown_

**~ヒーロー~**

Analia knew she had to do something. The sheer amount of power Kaden was radiating was much worse than it had been when he had initially transformed. The more power he expelled, the more his body created to compensate for the loss. Overloading that robot had severely exacerbated that process. She feared that he had reached levels of Darkness equivalent to a Pure Hyper transformation. This was so bad that she couldn't even begin to put it into words. She had to do something about this... but that likely meant fighting him. She didn't _want_ to, of _course_ she didn't, but using even just a tiny amount of her light on him would likely cause him to react to her as though she were a threat. She didn't want to do it. But... _It must be done._

She slowly stood, completely ignoring her injuries to the point that they may as well have no been there in the first place. Her eyes never left her partners back as she regained her feet. _I am sorry, Kaden. This will not be painless... for either of us. _She turned briefly to Locke, who was by her side. He was watching her, violet eyes bright with understanding. He knew what she intended to do. "Keep everyone as far away from us as you can, Locke." Locke nodded and stiffly stood, one arm wrapped around his middle. He coughed again and more blood met his lips. Though he quickly wiped it away, she took notice of it. She knew she needed to make this fight as brief as possible. Everyone needed healing, and sooner rather than later. Even young Cream, Cheese, and Charmy were injured. As if pushing Kaden into this state wasn't enough, Ivo had had the gall to harm _children_ on top of everything else. _You will come to regret your actions, Ivo. I promise you that._

Locke spoke. "I'll get them away, but I'll stay nearby in case you need help getting through to him." His eyes glanced to Kaden. With nothing left to lash out at, Kaden was growing visibly tense and irritated. That power was running rampant all throughout every fiber of his being right now, and it's very purpose was expression of emotions such as rage. And, of course, it's main means of doing so was lashing out at things and destroying them. Without that outlet, the power was growing... restless.

Analia nodded in response to Locke's words. "Do not stay too close, Locke. I cannot guarantee your safety if you do."

At this, he managed to smirk a bit. "There was no guarantee of safety for me the day I started hanging out with him. I think I can handle another day of imminent danger."

She smiled, though just slightly. "Just be cautious, Locke. He would not forgive himself if he ended up harming you in any way."

His smirk vanished. "He'll feel far worse if he learns that you got hurt because of him, Analia." He looked deep into her eyes and his voice lowered. "You know he loves you, more than he can really express. It might kill him, in a way, if you get hurt."

She kept smiling. There was a sort of special sparkle in her eyes. "And who ever said that I would allow any harm to befall me?" Without waiting for a reply, she turned away, returning her attention to Kaden. By the time she was fully turned back around, pure white light had begun gathering around around her in a visible aura of power that was the exact opposite of the one surrounding her partner currently. She barely paid attention as Locke somehow got everyone away from the two ancient hedgehogs and started fleeing with them. For now, all her focus was on Kaden. She closed her eyes briefly. _I am sorry, Kaden... _Raising her hand, Analia sent a wave of light energy at him in the hopes of easing some of that darkness. Before it ever had a chance to touch him, he whirled and blasted the light away. And just like that, the fight was on.

Kaden fired a beam of Dark energy from his palm at Analia, and she swiftly dodged it. Mere seconds later, she sent another wave of pure light crashing toward him. He teleported out of the way and moved in to strike her, but she also teleported. They both moved so quickly for several long moments that all that could be seen of them were vague blurs of black white. Explosions of energy taking on the same two colors tore apart the landscape as they attacked each other, each one trying to overpower the other but neither succeeding. Kaden suddenly spun and kicked at her, but she blocked the blow with her arms. She then hit him with a ball of light energy that sent him hurtling backwards. He landed hard on his feet and skidded backward in a crouch, a low growl escaping him from in between bared and gritted teeth.

They vanished again. More explosions tore apart the ground. Kaden shielded himself from a fierce blast of light by putting up a barrier briefly, then dropped the barrier and let loose a blast of his own. Analia dropped to her knees and leaned back in one fluid motion, allowing the blast to pass over her, mere millimeters from actually touching her. She then lashed out with her right leg, and a stream of energy like a whip shot out from it. It wrapped around Kaden's leg and she used the connection to try pouring some of her light, her positive emotions into him. He stilled for a moment, momentarily frozen by her actions, then shook his head, denying the emotions she was showing him. With a single motion, he broke the connection. They clashed again, exchanging rapid blows, then broke away and watched each other warily, if only for a second. Then his stance shifted, and she knew she was in trouble.

Analia barely managed to dive to the side in time to avoid a massive Dark Blast that emanated from her partner. It decimated the ground where she had been standing , leaving nothing left but rubble. Analia thrust her palm forward, hitting him square in the chest with bright white light. This time, instead of trying to quell his emotions alone, she tried to help him regain his good memories. If she could get him to remember, to wake up, he could fight the Darkness on his own. Not that she wouldn't still help him then, too, though. She closed her eyes and focused on sharing a good memory with him.

_Analia walked back into the camp at a sedate pace. "Kaden?"_

_Kaden looked up from the blade he had been sharpening. It was around ten at night and Locke and the others were asleep in the camp. It was just Kaden and Analia who were awake right now. She held no doubts that he was staying awake to keep an eye out for their Babylonian enemies. "Yes?" he asked after a moment._

_Analia smiled at him and offered him her hand. "Come," she murmured to him, her voice and eyes soft. "There is something I want to show you." _

_Kaden hesitated for a long moment, looking at her hand and not at her eyes. Eventually, however, he set his blade and tools aside and almost shyly accepted her hand. She thought it was... cute, really, that he was so boyishly nervous around her. Once he was on his feet, she led the way back the way she had come, out of the camp and out of the woods. They stepped into a nearby clearing filled with grass and flowers, but that wasn't what she was showing him. Instead, her gaze found the sky. He glanced at her, then also looked up. She could feel his wonder as huge meteors, which were invisible to them through the thick forest canopy at the camp, shot across the sky. Showers of this size were rare, and she had learned by now that he was fascinated by the night sky, perhaps because it offered a tantalizing hint of the what lay beyond their little world. He was so drawn in by the sight of it that he didn't notice for a long while that they were still holding hands. And when he finally did notice, he averted his gaze and quite possibly blushed. She couldn't help but smile._

Kaden growled again and shoved the memory aside. He once again refused what she was showing him, denied it, ignored it. But the memory had made him pause for a moment, which gave her a measure of hope. For just a moment, he had paid attention to the memory, might have even recognized it. That meant that some small part of him was still awake. He was _in_ there. She just had to bring him back out. ...Which, of course, was much easier said than done. They clashed again. "Kaden," she called as they broke apart. "Kaden, do you remember-" she dodged a beam, then fired her own back, "-the day you, Locke, and Marthal all visited me in-" she dodged another blow, "-in my tribe? The day you taught me how to play your flute?" He frowned slightly as though confused, but made no reply. All he did was dodge one of her attacks. "Do you remember the day you and I met?" That brought on a moment of complete pause. Kaden still for just a moment. He seemed to be warring with himself, his normal half fighting to remember and his Dark half fighting _not_ to. Analia waited tensely, waiting to see which side of him would win out this time around, but, in the end, his normal half never had a chance. Even if some stray robot _hadn't_ shot at him right at that moment, the Darkness was still much too strong for him to subdue it right now. He whipped around and blasted the offending robot, practically wiping any trace of its existence away, then spun back around and sent a blast at Analia. She quickly dodged it and returned fire. He also dodged.

Once again, the two of them simply vanished from view as they fought, moving at such high speeds that few would be able to follow their movements. More black and white explosions radiated from them and tore apart both the ground and the open air. Kaden and Analia landed on the ground and, still standing, raised their hands toward each other. Beams of pure Light and pure Darkness shot forward at near impossible speeds. They clashed at the midway point, filling the air with intense light and energy. Neither was able to overpower the other. But Analia knew she had to win this struggle. _When like this, t__he more power he expels, the stronger he becomes. _But there was a far larger concern on her mind than just that. _I refuse to lose him to the Darkness of his emotions. _

Analia's waist-length hair and shorter bangs whipped around her face as the power from the beams stirred up fierce winds in the surrounding area. In spite of the determination in her expression, her eyes teared up slightly. She reached her mind out to him, trying to make her voice heard in spite of the distance and power separating them. _Kaden, I know you have been through much in your life. Your childhood was far from easy, and your adulthood was only that much harder. You were alone. You suffered, greatly. You were treated as a dangerous weapon and not a person. You went through things that no one would wish upon even their greatest enemies. _She gritted her teeth and poured more power into her attack. _And yet, somehow, you managed to smile at me when we first met, if only just a little. Do you remember that? _He further strengthened his own attack, so she was forced to do the same. _Do you remember how many lives you saved during all those wars you fought? Do you remember how many times Locke made you laugh, how much fun you two had when you were together as you grew up?_ He growled lowly once more and once more strengthened his attack. She immediately strengthened her attack as well and tried to overpower his. _Do you remember the day I said that I love you?_

Something in Kaden's attack faltered, and Analia was able to push her own attack forward. He didn't manage to recover fast enough to stop her, and her attack hit him dead-on. A bright light filled the area. When it finally slowly died down, she was relieved to see that he was uninjured. He was still surrounded by that Dark aura, but it was much less powerful now than it had been mere moments before. He was visibly weakened by what she'd down. His defenses were low. It was now or never. Closing her eyes, she connected her mind to Locke's, then (with his unspoken permission) connected both his mind and her own to Kaden's. Locke was quick to share the first good memory he could think of.

_Locke paused for a moment when he found Kaden sitting alone on one of the outer walls surrounding Chun-nan. The other ten-year-old had his knees hugged up to his chest, and his ears were low. Frowning, Locke scaled the wall to sit beside his newest friend. Kaden was quick to turn his head away, but Locke didn't miss the tears that were staining the young hedgehog's cheeks. "...You okay?"_

_Kaden kept his head turned away. His voice further gave away the fact that he was crying. "Go away."_

_"No," Locke said immediately, his frown deeper now than it had been before. "All people do is leave you, and I refuse to be one of 'em. I don't wanna be lumped in with those-" He bit his tongue to keep from saying a word he knew he wasn't supposed to speak. He settled for a less offensive word in his own language instead. "Those palsos."  
_

_"Leave me alone, Locke!" Kaden suddenly snapped, voice breaking slightly as he hid his face in his arms. He didn't seem to know how to react to the fact that Locke wouldn't leave like everyone else would have._

_"No!" Locke snapped back. It sounded like Kaden choked back a small sob. "I already said I wouldn't!"_

_Kaden sniffled and a shaky breath, almost like a sigh, escaped his lips. After a long moment, he spoke. "Jerk..."_

_Locke crossed his arms stubbornly. "Call me whatever names you'd like, but I'm not going anywhere." Kaden didn't say a word after that. Locke never left his side. He'd promised, and he never broke his promises._

Kaden's expression shifted minutely and the dark aura surrounding him flickered slightly as though affected by what he'd been shown. Analia shared a memory next.

_Kaden's eyes were bright and happy as he turned to her, a rare and beautiful smile on his face. Even in the dark of the night, she could see how bright his eyes were. "Kantalei?" he asked her. ("Have you seen it?")_

_Analia returned the smile. "Seen what?" she questioned, gently indulging him and his incredibly rare happy mood. _

_Kaden gestured vaguely to the woods stretching out below the cliff he was sitting on. "The field of fireflies. It's in a clearing out there, about twenty miles from here." It was also rare for him to speak so openly, without the formal tones he usually carried in his speech._

_Analia kept up her gentle smile as she sat down beside him, legs also dangling over the edge of the cliff. "You like fireflies?" she questioned._

_He looked away, back at the forest, and shrugged. He suddenly seemed a bit sheepish about the whole thing. "I guess so."_

_She kept smiling. "Would you like to go see them again?" His expression brightened again. It was a small change, but she noticed it, anyway. Still smiling, she stood and he followed suit._

Locke didn't waste a moment. He very quickly chose a new memory to share with their old friend. Analia reached out with her light to her partner again to aid in Locke's efforts of bringing him back. This time, Kaden didn't resist her anywhere near as forcefully. He was squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head (which was now in his hands) as he struggled against his own power, half trying to wake up and half trying to resist them.

_"Promise you'll come back?" Locke asked, turning his head to look at the other ten-year-old boy, who was standing by his side on one of the walls surrounding the city, watching the sun as it slowly inched its way higher into the sky early that morning. _

_"Why wouldn't I?" Kaden returned with a small snort._

_Locke shrugged unhelpfully. "I don't know."_

_Kaden's gaze flicked down to the grass below the wall outside the city. The group of elders was leaving already. "Gotta go," he said briefly before jumping down off the ground._

_Locke's voice stopped him before he could run off to catch up. "Kaden! We're friends, right?!"_

_Kaden turned around and, after a moment, he grinned. "Duh!" Locke's left fist shot into the air with a grin of his own, an unspoken but no less clear declaration of friendship that they had created for themselves. Kaden copied him without hesitation. "We're friends for life!" he shouted. Then, still grinning, he turned and raced off after the elders._

Kaden was really struggling now. He was getting closer to snapping out of it, but he still needed help. Analia thought of one of the happiest memories they had ever shared together and showed it to him, trying to make him remember.

_When Kaden refused to meet her gaze, Analia reached out and softly placed her hand on his cheek, using the leverage to gently turn his head back toward her. He kept his arms defensively crossed. "Kaden," she murmured softly, "please look at me." He glanced up very briefly, not meeting her gaze for any longer than a split second. It wasn't long enough for him to see what she was telling him without words. She sighed very quietly. "Kaden-"_

_He shook his head and backed away, breaking the contact between them and still averting his gaze. When he spoke, his words were almost a mumble. "We should go back to camp." He was trying to end this conversation, trying to find an excuse not to be here right now talking to her about this even though he never wanted to even think about it ever again. _

_She also shook her head. "No," she responded calmly. She walked forward so that she was once more directly in front of him. "We are not finished here."_

_His posture seemed to tighten, almost like he was prepared to defend himself against a verbal blow that he should have learned by now would never come. Not from her. "I don't want t-"_

_And then she kissed him._

Her partner was showing signs of strain now. He was fighting _so_ hard, trying so hard to come back to them... Locke shared another memory, this one not one that Kaden had been apart of, but still something that normally would have made Kaden smile, anyway.

_Sonic darted around through the jungle, young and (for once) carefree in spite of all of life's troubles. His illness had worn off finally, leaving him more energetic than ever after having been cooped up for so long while he'd been getting better. After several minutes, the boy skidded to a halt just inches in front of Locke, and Locke smirked at him. "Guess you're feeling better, huh?"_

_Sonic grinned and replied dramatically, "Nah, I totally__ feel like I'm gonna die."_

_"Gee, I guess you'd better go lay down again!" Locke laughed._

_"Not a chance!" _

_Sonic zipped away before Locke could try anything, and Locke smirked even more widely at the energetic display. 'So much like Kaden.' He recalled the heroics the boy had accomplished, which had led to him getting sick in the first place, and his smirk shifted into a smile. 'And so much like Analia.' He pushed those thoughts away and resumed watching the child run around, having fun by himself in the trees._

Analia could see that the Darkness in Kaden was weakening. He just needed one final push, one last good memory to bring him back to himself. She smiled through her tears at this memory as she gently pushed it out toward Kaden for him to see.

_Kaden ran up to Analia, eyes slightly wide with fear for her. He hadn't been with her at all that day, save for early in the morning, before the giant, dark creature from space had attacked. However, all his fear vanished when he saw her. And when he laid eyes on the tiny bundle in her arms, he still. He barely managed to whisper out, voice strained, "Is that...?"_

_Analia smiled at him so widely that it hurt, but she hardly cared about the pain. The tiny life she was holding against her chest moved slightly, a tiny blue ear poking out of the white blanket its owner was wrapped in. "Yes," she whispered back. She saw a faint shine in Kaden's eyes. He almost looked like he wanted to cry out of a mixture of joy and relief. "This is our son."_

_Kaden quietly walked over and stood next to her. When he gently moved the blanket a bit with one finger to reveal the baby's sleeping face, the shine in his eyes became more visible and he also smiled. Her smile only grew as she watched him oh-so-gently touch the child's cheek with his fingertips, eliciting a tiny sound of protest from an equally tiny mouth. Kaden's expression, like Analia's own, was one of pure love. "He's perfect," was all he managed to say, voice scarcely a murmur. Words could not express what either of them felt when the looked at their son, their light._

_Analia nodded quietly and, smile never fading, lifted the baby slightly toward her partner. "Do you want to hold him?" _

_Kaden swallowed hard and nodded, and she carefully passed their son over to him. He took the child safely into his arms, smile growing softly as he looked down into the child's face. "Did you name him yet?"_

_Analia shook her head and leaned against her partner's strong arm. "I was thinking you could do it." When he glanced to her in surprise, she just continued to smile and said, "Next time, if there ever is a next time, I will be the one to do it."_

_Kaden was silent for a long time as he thought, eyes once more on their baby and now never leaving that small, peaceful face. The baby shifted again, moving the blanket as he squirmed and revealing wind-swept hair that looked like it had been blown back after it's owner had finished traveling at high speeds. He would likely be fast... just like his father. The thought made Analia smile even more. When Kaden finally spoke, the pure fatherly love in his tone could be denied by none. "Sonic." She looked up at him, eyes and face bright. He gently touched the baby's cheek again. "His name is Sonic."_

This specific memory, combined with all the others and the Light Analia was still pushing into him finally made woke Kaden up. The Darkness receded all at once, and his eyes fluttered shut as he collapsed, completely spent from both transforming so suddenly and from using so much power all at once. Analia lunged forward and caught him before his head could hit the ground. There was a frown on his face, but it was small. He looked as though he was just sleeping, though she knew he wasn't. She sighed softly, allowing her own power to recede as she leaned in and gently kissed his forehead. _Welcome back... _He didn't stir, but that didn't matter. He was back to normal, and he wasn't hurt. That was all that was important. _I'm so glad you're okay..._

**~ヒーロー~**

**5,438 words this time. And all but two of those memories are ones you guys have never seen before, so I hope you enjoyed 'em. And this chapter as a whole, for that matter. I had to listen to some _seriously_ epic music to help me write this. XD Posted (at about 8:00 p.m.) 03-13-16.**


	197. Eternal Hope

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! THANKS! I'M SO GLAD YOU DID! I did as well... and that last one is my personal favorite. :)**

**Hello, Spell of Dawn! Yeah, they are. And yes, I think that it's nice as well. :) Well, in Hero, he produces robots in all of his bases, which are scattered around more-or-less the entire world. This was never directly stated, but rather implied. Sorry if I confused you prior to this explanation. XD Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing! It means a lot!**

**Hello, superbook5012! Thanks! XD Thanks again! I'm so glad you think that about the emotions and the memories. That was very much the main focus of the chapter, and I truly tried to convey those things properly. :) Awesome! I'm glad you're excited! That one will be coming in a long while, though. The sequel will be coming first. But, yes, it's certainly gonna be one heckuva ride. Hahaha! Yeah! Take that, Ivo!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 194: ...ARIGATO! Yes, he does! XD (Haha, I did. I swear, I must've watched Avatar at least four times over. 'Course I knew what you were talking about. :D) Yes, yes he did. And I suppose he is. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 195: YES, HE DID! TOLDJA IT WAS COMING! THANKIES! HAHA, TRUE THAT. AND WE ALREADY DISCUSSED THE RATING THINGY, SO ONTO THE NEXT PART OF THE REPLY! Yes, they do! And yes, he did! I'm glad you think so highly of this installment!**

**Your review to Chapter 196: Aww, don't cry! *Tosses tissues at you* I'm so, so happy that you think so, Pyro-kun. That truly means a lot to hear. It makes me happy to know that my work was enjoyed. And I'm glad you liked the fight and memories. :) I will, of course, do my very best, Pyro-kun.**

**~ソニック~**

Scarcely a couple of minutes after Kaden collapsed, Locke came running up to him and Analia. Analia gently lowered Kaden's head to the ground and stood up. Placing a hand on the echidna's shoulder, she stopped him briefly and used the physical contact to pour some healing light into him. Once she sensed that he was fully healed both internally and externally, she released him and watched in silence as he walked over to Kaden. Realizing what he intended to do, she walked over to give him a hand. With her help, he got his friend onto his back piggy-back style. Kaden's arms were over Locke's shoulders and the unconscious hedgehog's head was turned on its right side, resting against the back of Locke's neck. He didn't even stir for now, but neither Locke nor Analia worried for him. They knew he'd be alright. He just needed rest.

Locke and Analia walked quickly back to the group with Kaden in tow. Those who were conscious looked over at the three of them with expressions of varying degrees and relief. Sonic in particular seemed greatly relieved, and for good reason. Though he was by no means the most badly injured person in the group, Analia walked over and healed him first. She may have been a person who was kind and caring toward all (with some rare exceptions like Ivo), she was a mother first, and mothers would always seek to help their children before all others. Once she was certain that his wounds (the most serious of which being that stab wound) were healed, she began healing the others. There were burns, lacerations, bullet and laser wounds, torn muscles and ligaments, dislocated joints, fractured bones, blunt force traumas... It was all so painful to look at, and even more painful to bear. And, in her current state of exhaustion, it was very difficult for her to heal the wounds. Still, she managed, albeit slowly. Everyone, including herself, was soon fully healed and those who had been unconscious (save for Kaden) were awake again.

When this task was accomplished, Amy stood up and spoke, her voice soft and her bright green eyes on Sonic in particular. He held her gaze steadily, gazed back at her with something unspoken in his eyes. "Now where do we go?"

It was young Tails who answered. "Easy. Wherever the last three emeralds are."

Silver piped up next. "Someone should call Uncle Jet," he said, "make sure he's alright."

Wave replied to him. "I'll do it." Analia didn't miss how quickly she volunteered.

With that matter now settled, Locke carefully shifted Kaden so as to support the hedgehog's light weight better. Now that his power had fully settled down again, Kaden's fur was back to it's usual color. "I don't think we should split up again. Not when Ivo's getting this violent."

Sonic tore his gaze away from Amy and stood up and, for the first time since Analia had returned, he spoke. "No. We're not splitting up again. It was okay for a while, but not anymore." Several people voiced their agreement. No one argued. They all began walking back to where the fight had taken place, the area where the ships, plane, and the Rogues' boards had been left. On the way there, Analia bent down and picked up the ring Kaden used to keep his hair pulled back normally. Using her magic, she made the ring larger and slipped it onto her wrist.

Once they reached the ships, it was immediately determined that the Chaotix's ship and the Tornado-1 were simply unusable in their current sorry states. They would have to be abandoned for now. There was simply no getting around it. Though Vector bemoaned the fee he'd have to pay to replace the rented ship and Tails seemed saddened by the loss of his biplane, no real argument was raised. There was simply no time for it. And, besides that, considering what all had happened only too recently, no one was in the mood, anyway. So, with no complaints being voiced, everyone prepared to leave. Amy and her formerly secret piloting skills got into the front seat of the X-Tornado. Cream, Charmy, and Cheese were carefully seated together behind her. Vector took the third seat, and the salvageable pieces of Omega's ruined body were piled into the backseat. Locke carefully set Kaden down on the right wing, then sat down with him. The ship took to the air, as did Knuckles, Rouge, Silver, and Analia. Silver used his psychokinetic powers to lift Storm's board into the air with the albatross on it. Wave then got onto her board and took to the air as well. When they all began flying, Sonic, Shadow, Blaze, and Espio ran after them. In spite of all that had happened, there was still more that needed to be done.

And they were running out of time.

**~ソニック~**

_A man was standing at a balcony under the stars. The building was unfamiliar. The landscape was beautifully foreign. Deep blue eyes were gazing up at the sky. In them was a sort of calm that generally could not be found in those who had been through what he had. Those who had seen the things he had seen, who had lived what he had, were often angry. Vengeful. Violent. But he was not. He was calm, and his eyes showed that. The moonlight illuminated him, perfectly revealing all of his features. He was young, but not a child. He was an adult, probably in his early twenties, and very handsome. His eyes shone with an intelligence the likes of which could never be rivaled by any. He wore black boots and a pair of pants that, while not tight, wasn't loose either. His shirt was unusual by Mobian standards... but not where he came from. Where he came from, the style was unique, but not odd. The shirt was slightly loose and both sleeves were different. The right one was skin-tight and went down just to the elbow. __The left one was a traditional kimono sleeve, loose and long.__ Both the shirt and the pants were light in color, thought it was hard to tell what color they were in the moonlight. They were most likely white. There was a necklace tucked under the shirt so that only it's delicate chain could be seen. The man's feathers were light grey. He was clearly a Babylonian._

_Somehow, it was clear when this scene was taking place: the year 12,000 of the sixth calendar. The fact that the world was 12,000 years into this calendar meant that they would soon be starting a new one, according to custom. And this date meant that this man was on the original planet Babylon. The man kept his gaze focused pn the sky, lost in thought about things that others could not understand, things that only one of his impossible intelligence could even begin to grasp. But then his thoughts slowly began to shift, drifting almost deliberately from the universe as a whole to something much smaller... and much more threatening. 'Astali Babylonia.' Astral Babylon had been taken out of it's hiding place, and it had been left in the open for the world to see. If not for the unfathomable risk that ship held within it, this wouldn't be so much of a concern. It might be good for the world to see it under those circumstances; it was, after all, an invaluable part of Babylonian history. However... 'So long as the Cosmic Sphere resides within Astral Babylon, we cannot simply allow just anyone access to the ship.' __There was a reason, a hugely important one, as for why the ship had been hidden away before, with its location only known to a select few. But now it seemed as though the world had forgotten that reason. It was as though his people no longer remembered how unspeakably dangerous it was to allow anyone near Astral Babylon and the orb within it._

_'Tragedy is coming.'_

_The fact that activating the ship had the potential to kill the chosen heir (the only person allowed to even attempt to awaken that ancient power), was a huge threat in and of itself, as it meant risking the life of their as-of-yet heir-less queen. Her death would mean that the world would have to scramble for new leadership, during which time their vulnerability could be exploited by their enemies. But that wasn't the real problem, the real reason behind his certainty that disaster could be very fast approaching their world. No, the real problem was the very sphere they relied on to power the ship in the first place. That sphere could very well spell their doom. It wasn't for no reason that they were so heavily warned by the Immortals of old to be wary of the power they were being allowed to wield. 'If any but the chosen heir dares to touch the sphere, they will die. However...' __It was the part of the tale that came after that haunting last word, that slow "However," that terrified him. __He normally knew no fear. __'If any but the chosen heir touches the sphere... whole worlds could perish.'_

_His eyes reflected the stars he was watching. A shooting star shot across the sky, earning a small blink from the man. He laid his right hand on the balcony, feeling the coolness of the stone beneath his hand. A breeze whispered through the open space, telling him secrets that others could never understand. The moon shone brightly in the sky, surrounded by billions upon billions of tinier lights, some stars, some distant worlds. He had seen many of them, but he could never see them all. Even with his gift, his truly one-of-a-kind power, he could never see them all. And, if fate (if such a thing even existed) decided to frown upon them, he would likely never see even just one more star in his life. For if Astral Babylon was misused, everything would be over. Their world would be gone. The math had shown time and time again that it would be a miracle of the greatest kind for even just a small group of people to escape the destruction the ship would wreak upon the world. Disaster had been called upon... and it was only all to giddy to respond to that call. And yet, there remained a glimmer of hope. He could see it in the light of the stars. Their light was memory, beauty, and, in a way, life itself._

_In it, he saw the only hope that could be found._

_Astral Babylon had every capability of destroying the world and countless others. There would always exist those who would willingly die just for the sake of setting the ship off and pushing it into a state of uncontrolled power release, all for the sake of destroying everything they could. Innumerable lives could very well be lost. Arts, knowledge, history, and technology belonging to a civilization whose existence stretched back countless eons would all be lost. Irreplaceable landmarks in space would forever be gone. And yet, there was hope. Life could not be called such a thing if hope never existed even in the darkest of times. One just had to know how to look for it, and where to search. He knew both of these things, and he had found the answer he had sought. Hope still existed. For, while everything could very well be destroyed, Astral Babylon also had the potential to save everything. 'We are just as doomed without it as we are with it.' It was for this reason that he would fight to protect that ancient treasure; because hope was always worth fighting for. It was the most important lesson he had ever learned, and he would practice it until the end, whenever that day came. On this thought, a small smile played across his lips and his eyes brightened in a rare show of happiness. Someday... Astral Babylon __would__ save the world once more._

_He was sure of it._

**~ソニック~**

Jet shook free of the vision he'd been shown by one of the three Arks he was carrying. He teleported his backpack (the dark grey one he'd gotten from Sen) to him and had stashed the Arks into it, but apparently direct physical contact wasn't necessary for them to affect him. But, whatever. He had other things to focus on. As he flew through over some vast forest, following his senses to one of the last two Arks, he typed rapidly on his communicator. He'd hacked into Ivo's systems and was going through all the files as quickly as he could, trying to figure out _exactly_ what that madman was up to right now. He had a very bad feeling... and it was soon proven that he felt this way with good reason. For, several minutes later, what he found was so terrible that it made him feel pale. _Oh, no..._ His fingers flew across the onscreen keypad on his communicator as he struggled to send out the quickest message possible, one that was quite possible the most important message he had ever sent. His heart pounded as he sent the message off to everyone else in the group, wherever they were.

_Ivo's gone to space. He's at the Space Colony ARK._

He lowered his arm and began flying even faster than he already had been, shooting across the sky at speeds that even his board couldn't reach. He _had_ to get those Arks now. He had to get them _now_. The situation had just deteriorated into the worst possible scenario, and everything could soon be over. Even single mistake would mean the end. He couldn't keep his mind off the last two sentences of his message as he swooped down and snatched the fourth Ark that, thankfully, had simply be resting on the ground in plain view at the bottom of a canyon in the middle of the forest. Taking a chance and acting on a hunch that could make or break their entire effort to thwart Ivo, he began flying to Mazuri. Again he recalled the ending of his message. He couldn't keep it out of his mind.

_He has two emeralds... and he's going to activate the cannon._

That cannon could, when powered by two Chaos emeralds, blow up half the world. Almost literally. Two shots, and Mobius would be gone. The world had never seen a darker day.

**~ソニック~**

**2,486 words this time. A late and very short chapter, but this is one of my favorites thanks to that middle scene. :) Also, if you want to see a visual of the bell sleeve I described, let me know and I can send you a link to a picture.**

**LASTLY, PLEASE READ! I have started a GoFundMe to try to raise money for my dream trip to Japan. I do not by any means expect anyone here to donate money, but I was hoping that at least some of you would share the link around online so as to help (potentially) raise the money that way. Please don't feel obligated; this is merely a friendly request. I'd be greatly appreciative of any help, but none of you have to do anything. Don't worry, I won't feel betrayed or anything. XD If you want the link, let me know and I'll send it to you.**

**Posted (at about 11:22 p.m.) 03-17-16.**


	198. Yet Another End?

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! THANKS! Yeah, everyone is safe. ...FOR NOW. Well you of all people should know who he is! XD YEAH! GO JET!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Thanks! Haha, sorry it cpnfused you. XD Hehe, that would have been funny. And yes, I know of that anime (I actually listen to Sora Iro Days quite frequently). I've just, sadly, never seen it before. :l Well, you'll meet him again later during a very important time in the Hero series. Just wait. ;) Hahaha! Best question ever! XD I will do my very best, as always, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Spell of Dawn! Yes! He's finally there! ...I mean, oh no! XD Aww, that's so sweet. I'm so happy you like it that much. :) Yeah, very. Well, this is SOnic logic, so he doesn't really need one, but still... XD ****Ne, in this sentence: "****I hope it isn't Atticus or Lavinia to make it more intresting, since it was already found out Ross warn't Napoleon", what did you mean?**

**Hello, Skye the Hedgehog101! Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed! :D Oh, no, not at all! Oh, yes, several people! IronShadowZ created Kaden's design, and youu can find it by looking up his profile through a google search. The picture "For Yasha77" has Kaden, the picture "****Hero Chronicles: Times of War" has Analia in the background (the clothes aren't _exactly_ what she normally wears, but are still awesome), and the picture "HC-ToW: Best Bud Ponytail Banta" shows what Kaden looks like with his hair down. :)**

**Hello, superbook5012! Haha, true. XD Thanks! ANd yeah, it was. :) More adaptions. In order, there with be an arc adapting each of these games/series: Sonic Adventure/Adventure DX, Sonic and the Secret Rings (though this will be a mini arc and I'll be changing a _lot_), Sonic X, and then an ending arc that's just peacetime stuff to wind the story down from the climax and bring things to a close. :) Hahaha! That was funny (if only because I wasn't expecting it)! XD Well, because FF is strict about links, I have to give to people a different way. If you'd still like it, PM me and I'll give it to you. And thanks. :) Yeah, it is M rated now. The story's no darker than it was before, though. I put in an A/N in Ch. 1 explaining my reasoning behind the change, so you can read that for the explanation. Heck yeah, I am! I always wanted it to get long, but I was never sure if it would happen. Haha, I dunno about it being the longest, but it certainly _is_ long. And sadly... I have no cookies. :( Lol. Anyway, bye!**

**Hello, Luna gets fluffy for Easter! Aww, I'm so glad that you like it that much! That means a lot to hear! :) Haha, as do I... As do I... XD **

**~ソニック~**

Sonic fought back the surge of panic he felt upon receiving Jet's message. It's words chilled him. The dark possibility for how this day could end terrified him. He hadn't felt like this since the day South Island had been destroyed. The imminent doom her had felt then had been a malevolent, crushing weight on every fiber of his being, a terribly evil force that had threatened to consume him long before the battle had even been lost. He had felt so hopeless, so powerless, so incapable of turning the tide that he had been struggling for so long to swim against. This situation was different. He was stronger now. He wasn't alone. There were people here with him, all of whom were ready, willing, and capable of fighting by his side until the bitter end. And yet, the way he was feeling now was worse than it had been on that horrific day all those years ago. Because, while South Island _had_ fallen, he had always known that at least _some_ people could and _would_ suvive the horrors of the end. But not this time. If Ivo won, there wouldn't be a single life left to save. And that had him feeling more terrified and frozen and helpless than he had ever felt in his entire life. Not even losing Locke had made him feel this way. And yet, when he spoke, his voice was calm. Level. There wasn't a single hint of his true emotions in it whatsoever. Even he wasn't sure why this was so, but he wasted no time questioning it. He had to remain calm for everyone else's sake. "We need to go. Now."

"We can't all go," Tails replied quickly. Sonic wasn't surprised that the young fox had picked up on the problem so readily. "It'll take too long."

"Right," Knuckles agreed gruffly, arms crossing. "So who's staying?"

"Storm," Sonic said immediately. "And the Chaotix." His emerald gaze slid to Espio, who he knew, even before he looked, was watching him closely. "I know you can fight, but if Vector and Charmy are staying, you'll need to be here to protect them." Espio, of course, understood Sonic's logic and didn't bother arguing. He wasn't one to argue, anyway. And, for once, there were no complaints from Charmy. He seemed to scared by the prospect of more combat to want to argue for going to space this time. Vector also voiced no complaints, and neither did Storm (though the albatross did frown and cross his arms).

Surprisingly, Wave spoke up and said with complete honesty. "I'm staying, too. I'm not cut out for this sort of combat yet. Not with my lack of training."

"I'll also stay," Locke replied with a glance over his shoulder at his unconscious friend. "Someone has to stick with him 'till he wakes up."

Sonic nodded, approving these arrangements, and glanced around at who was left. _Amy, Tails, Cream, me, Shadow, Rouge, Knuckles, Mom, Silver, Blaze..._ Tails, of course, would be piloting the X-Tornado. Amy and Cream could share a seat in the ship (though it wouldn't be terribly comfortable), and Knuckles and Rouge could take the last two seats. Shadow, Blaze, and Sonic himself could ride on the wings without weighing the ship down so much that it slowed the Tornado down. And Silver and Analia, of course, could fly of their own power and keep up just fine. With this worked out, everyone who was staying quickly disembarked from the recently landed ship and those who were going prepared for travel. On Sonic's orders, those who would be riding inside the ship got in and those who would travel on the wings got on. Silver and Analia prepared to fly. Sonic swallowed hard. This was it. Zero hour. On his word, they took off as the highest possible speeds to space. Their destination...

Space Colony ARK.

**~ソニック~**

Jet fled across the landscape, dodging and weaving between weapons fire of all kinds. A laser fired just inches over his head, bright, hot red light nearly searing his feathers as it went by. He cringed and ducked his head slightly on reflex, then lifted his chin again and pushed himself to run even faster. Of all the times for his newfound flight power to refuse to work... But there was no time to seethe about that right now. He supposed that there had never been any time in the first place. Time never seemed to be on their side. However, he had other things to worry about. Like the fact that he could feel an Ark somewhere in this godforsaken Savannah. He just had to _get_ to it. Preferably without getting killed along the way.

He dodged around a huge, grey boulder that was protruding out of the ground near a huge lake. That lake was actually his destination. He shifted his arms and dumped his backpack on the ground (if only because his sketchpad was in there) and simultaneously teleported the Arks to him so that they couldn't be stolen. Once they were all safely on his arms like bracelets, he jumped clear over the water to what was practically the center of the lake, then dove into the water. Unlike Sonic, he had no problem with water. In fact, he loved it. This swim wasn't for leisure, however, which was why he was swimming so quickly to get to the bottom. Even he could only swim so quickly, however, and his lake was deep. And, of course, he only had so much air. Normally he would have been able to hold hi breath longer, but hadn't had much time to even take in any air before he'd had to go under. _Crap..._

A missile shot into the water with a muffled roar. The ensuing explosion knocked him down with surprisingly force (in spite of the resistance of the water against any rapid movement), inadvertently bringing him even closer to the Ark he was trying to get. His right hand reached out in the dim lighting. His fingers grazed smooth, cold stone. Then frigid metal fingers grasped his ankle in a painful grip and swung him away from the Ark. Something hit him in the back before he even had a chance to react to being grabbed, striking his spine with so much force that he felt paralyzed for a long moment. That moment was ample time for one of his attackers to punch him in the stomach, knocking out of him what little air he had left and making him double over in pain. Gritting his teeth, he kicked the robot responsible for that blow away from himself with as much force as he could manage underwater. Then, twisting around, he quickly did the same to the second robot, the one that had hit him in the spine. The movement caused a painful jolt to race up that part of his body, but he ignored it.

The lack of oxygen was starting to make him feel dizzy and lightheaded. His eyes scanned the waters. Robots of all kinds were entering the lack. Apparently, these ones were waterproof. Of course. Which meant that Ivo had somehow known where this Ark was. Jet put a hand over his mouth with a small grimace, struggling against the urge to try to breathe even though that would mean sucking in water. He had to wait for the right moment. As he watched, more and more robots dove beneath the water's surface and began rocketing toward the Ark. _His_ Ark. As he One True Heir (he still wasn't sure how Ivo knew about that), he had the _only_ right to these treasures and the power they unlocked. And Ivo had the gall to try to take them from him... It was one of the few things in Jet's life that were truly _his_, by birthright even, and he refused to let it fall into the hands of such a psychotic, purely evil force. _I won't let him end this world. This will__not__be repeat of what happened to Planet Babylon._ In the year 12,000 of the sixth calendar on Planet Babylon, an evil force had activated Astral Babylon and the ship had ended up blowing up the world and killing virtually all of the billions of people living there. He refused to let that happen. Not again. Not here.

His right hand raised. Lightning gathered withing him, building and creating waves of power that made his scarf flow slowly behind him in the dark water. All at once, he released it. Bright, terrible heavenly blue bolts shot out in all directions at speeds that even Sonic couldn't reach. Robots and rocks and sections of ground alike were instantaneously obliterated. However, because he kept such a tight leash on his lightning and didn't it let it get even slightly out of his control, none of the life in this lake was taken away. All the fish and whatnot were safe. Cutting the lightning off, he swam as quickly as he could and grabbed the half-buried Ark with one hand. With a forceful yank, he freed it of the compacted sand, then braced his boots on the ground. Using the ground as leverage, he pushed off hard and propelled himself back to the surface and immediately began coughing and gasping for air. He had never been more thankful for oxygen in his entire life. Well, save for one time, but that was a different set of circumstances in a time he had no desire to think about. It was irrelevant nowadays, anyway.

Still panting, he lifted his hand and brought the Ark up out of the water. He finally had it. It was safe. He felt oddly whole. Brushing that thought aside, he sucked in another grateful breath of air and looked around. No robots. His little plan, which had consisted of trying to destroy the entire robotic team Ivo had sent all at once, had apparently worked. Still, there was no telling how long he would be left alone. As such, he immediately began swimming. Within a couple of minutes, he reached the shore and climbed out. Only taking a moment, he used a blast of wind on himself, drying himself (and his scarf) in an instant. Then he teleported his backpack to himself, shoved the Arks into it, and very quickly put the bag back onto his back. With that done, he resumed running as fast as he could across the vast, flat expanse of land stretching out before him. He had to get to Astral Babylon. And he knew exactly where to go.

**~ソニック~**

The moment they reached space, Shadow saw the very familiar dark shape that was the Space Colony ARK. It was his birthplace, in a sense. It had been the only home he had ever known. It was where his only friend had been murdered by the insane man who had once sent her there to keep her safe. This was place that housed some of his best memories... and all of his worst nightmares. He remembered being tested on constantly all throughout his life there. He remembered finding Maria crying in her room when he'd been little, and seeing her smile as she explained kindly that he was too young to need to know what was wrong. He remembered learning that she had become terrified of her uncle and what he was doing on the planet below. He remembered being taught by his creator that his sole purpose was to hate and kill everyone. Everyone except for Gerald himself and Maria. He remembered...

_'Weapons don't cry,'_ _Shadow told himself as yet another large needle was pushed into his arm, this time only to draw some blood. This had been going on all day. He hurt all over. He had became afraid of this room. So many bad things happened to him in here. A whimper threatened to escape him when another sharp piece of metal poked him, but just as quickly as it was there, it was gone. Soon, he was left alone. Taking the chance as it came, he hopped off the sterile white bed and ran as fast as his small legs could carry him. A yellow flash showed his path from that room, down the hall, around the right corner, around a left corner, and on and on until he very nearly slammed face-first into Maria's legs. He skidded to a halt and looked up at her._

_As she always did, Maria smiled in spite of everything that she undoubtedly knew was going on. Her deep blue eyes shone with happiness and some other emotion he wasn't very familiar with. When he had innocently asked her about it once, she had called it love. He watched as she knelt down before him, still wearing that same smile. "Happy Birthday, Shadow."_

_Shadow blinked several times. "Birthday?"_

_She giggled. "Yes. Did you forget?"_

_He had only been taught about the concept of birthdays a few days ago, so he had forgotten, in all honesty. "Uh-huh," he nodded._

_She giggled a second time, then asked, "Let's see... so how old are you now?"_

_Shadow had to think about that one for a moment. "Six," he remembered aloud._

_"That's right," Maria responded, almost as though she were praising him. She stood and held her hand out for him to take. "Come on. I have something I want to show you. Think of it as my gift to you."_

_Taking her hand, he followed her down the hall._

Shaking free of the random memory, Shadow watched as the ARK drew ever closer. Beside him on the left wing of the X-Tornado was Sonic. The other hedgehog was tense, every muscle seemingly coiled and ready to spring at a moment's notice. He was very ready for the upcoming fight, but Shadow wasn't so sure that he was. It had nothing to do with the robots or the incredibly high possibility of injury or death, nor was it even Ivo himself who bothered him. No, what bothered him was this _place_ and everything associated with it. This place had stolen away his childhood, his innocence, stripped him of every ounce of happiness he may have ever possessed. It had ended the innocent life of a young girl who had had so much reason left to live. She had been just as much of a victim as he, if not even more so. Yes, this place had given him life, but it really wasn't _life_. Not really. What he had experienced was more simple _existence_ rather than actual life. He hated hated it then, and he still did now. He couldn't get over what had happened within those dark metal walls, not until the ARK in its entirety was as destroyed as he was. And yet... wouldn't destroying this place also mean wiping away the few good memories he'd had there? Wouldn't that mean, in a way, erasing Maria?

He closed his eyes and shook his head. _Foolish._ He could feel emerald eyes looking at him. Silent. Observing. Questioning. He ignored them, ignored everyone. When his eyes opened, they were locked on the ARK. Determination, coupled with the natural redness of his eyes, gave his gaze a fire that he rarely displayed. He looked at the ARK, the place where he had grown up, and saw through it to what lay within. Ivo was in there somewhere, and he would make the man pay for his grandfather's mistakes. Of this, he swore. And he never went against his word.

**~ソニック~**

Ivo was in his grandfather's control room in the Space Colony ARK. He was seated in a large padded chair before a massive control panel complete with screens and gauges and sensors and levers and switches and buttons and slots for power sources to be inserted to strengthen the ARK's two ultimate weapons. As he sat there, he gleefully looked at the two emeralds in his hands. White and red. The very colors of good and evil. His eyes locked on the white emerald in particular, the very instrument of South Island's demise. _And yet, white is supposed the be the symbol of purity..._He grinned, almost hungrily. If one emerald could destroy a continent that encompassed more that seventy-eight percent of the world, he could scarcely dare to dream what _two_ of them could do. It was a beautiful prospect to imagine, but there was one hindrance, one problem that continually got in his way. His now scowling eyes turned to the screen to his right. On the screen, he could see Sonic and some of his pathetic friends on their pitiful ship. They were headed straight to the ARK, undoubtedly having every intention of stealing the emeralds back and stopping Ivo's grand, brilliant plans. He grinned widely. _As if I would let them come so easily._

With a single press of a button, he released close to a hundred thousand robots on the heroes, watching as their puny ship instantly swerved to avoid a barrage of missiles. The cockpit opened briefly to let all but Tails, the young pilot, out so that they could fight. Ivo counted heads quickly. _Only ten, hm?_ This was all the better for him, then. The less people he had to fight, the better this would go for him. Grinning even more, his glasses shining maliciously in the harsh lights of the room, he inserted the red emerald into one of the sockets in the control panel. With a small twist, it was locked into place. He repeated the process with the white emerald, then glanced up at the monitor measuring the power flow to both the Eclipse Cannon and the Biolizard. With the emeralds now in place, the gauges indicating the power began to fill. The cannon was charging... the Biolizard was waking up. Now all he had to do was wait. With time, he could release the beast. And, with a bit more patience, he could unleash the cannon and witness the glorious end.

**~ソニック~**

**3,084 words this time. And this is _sooo_ late because I was trying to finish the entire arc (as far as the action goes) in one chapter (as a sort of chapter-to-end-all-chapters sort of thing), but clearly that failed. So I broke it apart until I can finish the rest of it. The result was this. Hope you enjoyed. Posted (at about 10:38 p.m.) 03-24-16.**


	199. Hero

**Hello, Spell of Dawn! Oh, don't worry! He wouldn't have, even if I'd kept everything together. And I have no worries about this fic being too long. I _like_ that it's long, in fact! :) I'm so happy you enjoy the story, by the way! :D My guess would be that those characters are from the Arche comics. Either that, or another fanfic. Either way, they aren't canon. If they were, I'd know 'em. :P And it's never stated in the games who Jet's father is. He's never really mentioned. Therein lies my reasoning for making up Ross. XD Well, Ivo _is_ a huge threat. And Mobius isn't exactly run by an international government and whatnot. There's just a general peace between civilizations (excluding everything that Ivo does), so that sort of thing isn't necessary for them. But, without it, they're left vulnerable. But don't worry. There'll always be heroes to save the day. :)**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! GYGJGTFJAKEGAGFAJWG I'M. GLAD. YOU. ARE! WGJAGEFWAJGTFAETGFAEWP I SURE HOPE THIS LIVES UP TO THAT EXPECTATION! XDD**

**Hello, Mutt7! Okay! Here are three answers/responses! :D 1.) I;m so happy you enjoy it that much! That means so much to hear! 2.) Nice! I'm personally hooked on that song as well, as are several other readers that I know. It's _so_ sad, but _so_ good. 3.) Haha, I'm good! XD How about you? :)**

**~ソニック~**

Sonic felt himself almost unconsciously grimace when he felt the energy of the two stolen Chaos Emeralds being forcibly drained by some machine or another. The power was being stolen from them rather quickly, too... which did not bode well for anyone at all. Of course, neither did the almost-literal cloud of robots that was swarming toward them. He was pretty sure that that was bad news as well. _Pretty_ damn sure. _I've had enough robots to last me thirteen lifetimes... Maybe even more. I had enough of dealing with robots the first day I fought one._ Brushing aside his memory of his ten-year-old self's first real brush with a madman and his creations, he turned to Shadow. "You ready?"

Shadow turned his head to face him. "Are you?" he returned calmly.

Sonic looked away again, returning his gaze to the swarm of robots that was nearly upon them. "Ready as I'll ever be." Working together, Silver and Analia granted everyone the gift of flight, if only for now. Analia allowed Blaze, Sonic, and Shadow to share her flight power with her while Silver did the same for Amy and Cream. Once everyone who was normally stuck on the ground could fly (and thus safely fight in space) the X-Tornado's cockpit opened and let Cream, Amy, Knuckles and Rouge out into the dark openness of space. Once they were out, the cockpit closed again. The four passengers on the wings jumped off. It was time for the fight to begin.

Blaze was briefly taken aback by a huge explosion that tore apart absolutely nothing in front of her. Shaking off her surprise (though not literally), she glanced over to Cream to check on the girl's well-being. The abject terror the girl had been displaying in the earlier fight was now gone, replaced with courage and determination. _She intends to fight for the sake of her friends._ Blaze turned away. With a deft movement of her hand, a large fireball was sent hurtling from the appendage and into the crowd of robots. Metal bodies were set ablaze if not blown up entirely. Her attention focused on one large robot in particular. The fires ate away at all of its parts as it raised one arm to fire its gun. But before it ever had the chance to, fire breached metal armor. Both of its arms fell off. The ablation complete, the fires ate away at the robot's insides until it simply blew up. Satisfied, she turned away to resume fighting.

Aboard the X-Tornado, Tails channeled his lightning into several missiles before pressing a button and letting them fly. Twin yellow explosions wiped out sections of robots, but metal bodies continued to abound in the otherwise empty space surrounding him and his comrades. A robot shoved roughly against the ship's right side. The abrasive surface of the robot's body sheared precious layers off of the metal of the ship. Hearing more than seeing what was happening, Tails very quickly fired another missile. It flew forward a few feet, arced, soared over the ship straight above the cockpit, then dove down and struck the robot. The robot exploded, as expected. The explosion jarred the ship, but at least it was safe for now. _We need this ship. I can't let anything happen to it._ Gritting his teeth and eyes flashing, he flipped a switch and let more explosive fly.

The abrupt explosions caused by Tails and Blaze's attacks caused energetic winds to blast past Cream, sending her ears and dress flowing frantically from side to side. Cheese clung to her shoulder as she charged up a high amount of psychic energy within herself. _We have to win this fight... If we lose..._ As always, Cheese seemed to understand her thoughts without her ever voicing them. The small Chao suddenly released her shoulder and, spinning rapidly in a move reminiscent of a spin dash, sprung forward with power that Cheese's small form did nothing to hint at. Turning intently to the right, Cream simultaneously raised her hand and aimed her palm at a huge robot that was steadily approaching her through the crowds. The psionic blast that she released was massive... but it very rapidly shrunk into a tiny point centered at the robot's middle, then vanished entirely. The robot was unharmed, and she knew precisely why. This robot had absorbed her attack. However, it wasn't incapable of defeat. Kaden had certainly proved that earlier. All she had to do was overwhelm it. The concept wasn't abstruse, though it would likely be difficult to carry out. Cheese returned to her, and a faint light blue aura began forming around him. She realized what her friend intended to do: he was going to use the ancient magic possessed only by the Chao to help her fight. With a tiny, appreciative smile, she again began charging up her attack.

Amy summoned her hammer into her hands and, in a risky move, tried channeling her psychic powers through it. It was an accidental idea, one borne of idle thought, but it was worth the try. Upon finding that her hammer could handle it, she swung. The impact, couple by the pink explosion it caused, wiped out a good-sized crowd of robots, but they were only all too easily replaced. She accelerated her swings, giving them more strength as she did so, but more and more robots always came to replace the ones that Ivo lost. She let loose a rather large psychic blast, and Silver randomly shouted some bit of praise in her direction upon seeing it. The accolade was lost of her, however, for her ears were filled with the sounds of gunfire and explosions. All her focus was on this fight. There were so many robots, and they were hardly making a dent in the army-sized crowd. Ivo was ruthless... and clearly very well-prepared. _I'm just glad he doesn't have an accomplice... I don't know if we could handle a second madman trying to blow up the world..._ As a reflex, her arms moved of their own accord and her hammer swung out toward a fast-approaching robot. The weapon made impact with the robot's head and the bot crumpled like an accordion, then exploded. Seeing that more robots were beginning to accumulate around Sonic, she blasted them, then returned her attention to her own fight.

Shadow's movements were deft. Accurate. Powerful. Using what little training he had received in that accursed ARK, he spun and lashed out with his foot. The impact was harsh and made the limb ache, but he'd become accustomed to such things by now. The robot's side caved in, and his foot tore through undoubtedly vital wires and whatnot. Practically only an instant later, the robot spontaneously went up in flames, then exploded all at once. By the time her'd completed his incredibly quick spin, all that was left of the robot was floating, fiery debris. Having achieved his goal, he allowed his gaze to sweep briefly over the crowd of virtually monochromatic enemies. There was a splash of color here and there, usually obscenely vibrant colors, but... _How bleak._ Brushing aside that odd thought, he spun again and dodged an odd ball that some robot fired at him. It began to release a gas that was highly acrid to his nose. Releasing that it was likely intended to be inhaled so as to knock him out, he leapt away (holding his breath all the while) and used his Dragonfire for only the second time in his life. The fire wiped away the gas (which was apparently flammable) and that, combined with some acrobatics and powerful punches and kicks, destroyed quite a few robots. Then, finally, he managed to steal a gun. Smirking, he began firing into the crowd.

With an acuity borne of a mixture of his powers and his natural intelligence (the latter of which didn't _always_ show itself, but was still present), Silver very quickly discerned that virtually every robot they were facing could be easily destroyed through a variety of means. That really wasn't the problem. The real problem, which was rapidly growing clearer and clearer to all present here, was the sheer _number_ of robots they were facing. And, of course, there was only so much ten people (no matter _how_ united and powerful) could do against an army that boasted ranks of gun-toting, blade-wielding robots in excess of at least two-thousand. Gritting his teeth, Silver let a cluster of psychokinetic sickles, both horizontal and vertical, fly into the robots surrounding him on all sides. The sickles separated from each other and each honed in on their own targets. The hit their marks and destroyed the robots they made contact with, but it wasn't muck good. For every robot he defeated, around six always seemed to come forward to replace them. _This is bad..._ He teleported briefly, which succeeded in briefly addling the robots. However, as soon as he reappeared, the confusion (if robots could ever even feel such a thing) vanished and they all turned on a dime to face him in his new location. Too late. He blasted them with cyan energy and watched grimly as they exploded. Then, with uncharacteristic seriousness, he turned his attention to new enemies.

Knuckles swiftly punched through the center of one robot just as Rouge kicked down a robot directly adjacent to his own former opponent. He watched her out of the corner of his eye while he released a small, dangerous fireball. It careened destructively through the crowds going this way and that, bouncing off of robots like a deadly pin-pong ball, taking out numerous robots as it went. As it slowly died down, as did the fires upon the wreckage of the robots it had encountered, he saw Rouge turn invisible for a split second, only to become visible again behind some large robot. She tore through it with a solid kick before it could even detect where she had gone. He blinked once. _She's pretty good at this, _he realized, though not for the first time. He paused slightly at this thought, then brushed it aside and resumed fighting. Adjusting his angle somewhat, he lashed out with his arm and again punched through a robot. It exploded brilliantly, but the destruction he caused was never enough. He'd never felt so _hopeless_ in his life. This whole fight felt ad-libbed on their part, which it basically was, whereas Ivo had clearly planned everything out (not that this was particularly surprising). He growled lowly at how inevitably _screwed_ they seemed to be and again took out his anger on some hapless robot.

Analia had just finished blasting a crowd of robots when she suddenly turned around to face another robot. This one was pointing a gun at his forehead. _It would not be advisable, _she thought, as though it could care. Raising her hand, she blasted it as well. Robot parts were sent afloat as a result of this, but she ignored them. Twisting around, she kicked straight through a robot's head and made it and the rest of the robot explode. What alarmed her, however, was not her proximity to the flames. It was the numerous dots of light that were now decorating her. Lasers. Without waiting for even a second (lest she end up shot), Analia teleported away with a flash of pure white light. As soon as she reappeared, she blasted the robots again. She alighted on a small, stray meteorite and gazed slowly all around. Metal bodies were aglow with the light of the fires, giving them a far more sinister appearance than normal. Refusing to be shaken by such baseless intimidations, she again raised her hand and blasted light into the crowds.

Rouge allowed a missile to soar past her, then used a powerful Drill Kick to destroy the robot responsible for nearly killing (or at least greatly injuring) her. She didn't doubt that ending her life was at least some kind of a minor priority for Ivo, but then again, _It's not like he isn't trying to kill everyone else, too, so my life really isn't all that special to him, clearly. _Pushing down powerfully with her wings, she shot higher into the vastness of space just in time for a missile to sail beneath her feet, closely followed by several bright green lasers. _Missed me, idiots._ She pulled out of her thoughts again after that and grabbed one of her treasured throwing knives. She normally never used them unless she could be certain that she could gather them back up later (as they were irreplaceable), but there was no guarantee of that out here. However, this was no time to be concerned with such things. They needed to use every power and weapon available to win this fight. With this in mind, she threw one of her knives, striking a robot right in it's core. The robot exploded, and her knife was sent flying. Much to her surprise, Knuckles reached up, caught it, and tossed it back to her with a deft flick of his wrist. Though surprised, she caught it. Then, smirking faintly at his surprising talent, she returned her attention to her own part of the battle.

Ivo was out to kill them. That much had always been clear, ever since the first day Sonic and Tails encountered him. But this time was different than all the other fights against him. He was so much more prepared this time, so much more _able_ to carry out his plans... but he wasn't almighty. Tat meant that they still had a chance. Sonic clung to that hope. With every swing of his sword, with ever blast of fire that he let loose, with every Chaos attack that unleashed, he clung to that hope. There was precious little else that he could do. A laser beam almost hit him, pulling him out of his thoughts immediately. The brightly-colored beam seared alongside the X-Tornado, but, thankfully, no serious damage was done. Sighing softly to himself out of relief, Sonic again called forth the power of the green Chaos Emerald and let it out all at once in a medium-sized Chaos Blast. He then, almost immediately afterward, threw several bright blue Chaos Spears, then a small blast of Draginfire that was highly charged with the same power: Chaos. These attacks very quickly destroyed a very large amount of robots, but more and more simply came to replace them. A laser was fired at him, and it sailed past his head.

That was when fate truly began to frown.

Blaze literally bit her own tongue to keep from crying out when a laser struck her forearm. The pain was nothing like she'd expected; in fact, it was quite worse. Not two seconds after she was hit, there was a random explosion that sent her careening backwards. A robot grabbed her roughly (right by her injury, of _course_) and swung her around, slamming her hard into the side of the X-Tornado. The ship swerved hard and Blaze was left dazed. Before she really knew what was happening, she was again being grabbed. This time, she realized what was about to happen before it was too late and was able to react accordingly. She broke a sword with a swift kick before it could stab her, but that didn't stop a different robot from shooting her with a regular gun, this time hitting her in the stomach. She was left painfully gasping for air and temporarily unable to move. That was, of _course_, when some other robot went all-out with it's bombs and missiles and whatnot. Though she managed to dodge most of the artillery, she couldn't escape it all. In the end, she was left torn up, cut, bruised, bleeding, burnt, and still out of breath. _Not good..._

Silver cursed aloud when a bright purple laser sheared past the fur on his left arm, burning skin as it went. He'd already been shot once, though in the leg and not the arm, and he really didn't want to have it happen again. Fate seemed to frown upon him, however, for a bullet agonizingly lodged itself in his shoulder with a spray of dark red before he could even react. With a sharp gasp of pain, his free hand came up reflexively to clutch the wound, only for all his focus to be dragged away from the injury by a robot that was charging toward him. It was much too close to blast. _Oh, man__...! _Seeking an alternative, he prayed to himself that he had inherited his family's incredible kicking strength and lashed out with his foot with all his might. The impact was painful... but effective. However, his good luck simply refused to last. The robot wasn't destroyed, and it sliced deeply into his leg with it's sword. He cried out in pain and wrenched his leg away from the blade. Seconds later, he was literally thrown away like the garbage Ivo no doubt thought he was.

Amidst all the chaos stood Cream. Se had succeeded in overloading (and thus blowing up) the absorbent robot from before, but the unusually high amount of power she'd used had left her exhausted. The power she wielded was a force to be reckoned with... _But it's very exhausting._ And it wasn't one that naturally occurred in her family. But that was irrelevant at the moment. Cheese let out a cry of warning just seconds before an explosion sent the both of them flying. A blade of some kind met her arm, gauging deeply and causing her to cry out in pain. Cheese was sent flying again. Something hard hit her in the back scarcely seconds after that and, before she could react or even regain her breath, she was kicked hard in the stomach by a large metal foot. She doubled over with a painful cough and hot, thick tears threatened to spill from her eyes. No matter how many battles she fought, she didn't think she could ever get used to the pain, no matter how constant and unavoidable it was.

Amy swung her hammer again, only for it to be grabbed and and wrenched out of her iron grip. Soon, she herself was smacked by it, and she was sent hurtling sideways. A robot with thick arms grabbed her and very nearly crushed her arms in it's hands. While she was held in place, a different robot cut her, and cut her deeply. She blasted them both, earning severe burns and more lacerations for her efforts. She managed to reclaim her hammer and very quickly used it to block a missile that had been heading straight for her face. The hammer was utterly destroyed, save for a small section of the handle, and she was sent flying again. A painfully hard fist connected with her shoulder, knocking her into a kick that slammed her down and into another large robot. This one had a gun, and it wasted no time in shooting her. The bullet struck her outer thigh. _Why must they have so many guns...?_ she thought with a small, internal whimper. Another few bullets flew at her, several of which connected and dug in deeply. She was really starting to hate guns.

Tails recoiled when a bright red laser broke through the cockpit. It tore a searing hole through his seat and the ones behind him. Seconds later, the whole ship was grabbed by a massive robot that ripped the cockpit off entirely and tried to grab him. He reacted on a nearly instinctive level (a rarity for him) and electrocuted the brute. The ensuing explosion ripped off half of the right wing and took of most of the ships's power, leaving it stranded and unable to fly. A missile struck it and made more of the ship explode. Fires agonizingly licked at him with deadly intent, and he hurriedly unbuckled and flew out of the now ruined X-Tornado. _No... _was all he managed to think. It was not without a sense of deep regret that he spun his tails and left the ship behind, taking his swords with him. Mere moments later, some weapon he never actually saw agonizingly hit his leg, snapping the bone and making him cry out in pain. Several small bullets struck him in the arm. A knife or dagger was thrown at him, and it sliced his side open as it flew by. He shakily tried to draw his swords, but was blasted before he could ever grab them. Knowing that they would do him little good here, anyway, Tails left them and instead focused on trying to avoid another blast, one that left him even more burned and cut up. There was no dodging the flames.

With a fierce kick that came from behind, Rouge was sent flying. She collided with Knuckles and the two of them landed hard, tumbling across some stray meteorite until Knuckles finally stopped their tumble by slamming his fist into the "ground". He came to a halt and she crashed into his side. She quickly moved away, only to be blasted by some fiery attack that came from yet another robotic foe. Knuckles was blasted away from her. She began to fly, but was struck in the side by something wicked and sharp. Not more than two seconds later, she was sliced again, deeper this time, in nearly the same spot. She clutched the wound reflexively in pain and, out of the corner of her eye, saw Knuckles as he was slammed elbow-first back into the meteorite. He recoiled in pain and clutched the injury tightly. Very soon after that, she was rewarded for her inattentiveness by being hit in the back of the head. The blow left her dizzy and dazed and only faintly aware of what was going on. Another blow struck her, and everything seemed to nearly go black. All she could really manage to think was, _Helping Ivo... It was never worth this..._

The moment Rouge went down, Knuckles whirled around. Call it instinct, call it good nature, call it whatever, but he never willingly let any person get killed... even if the might deserve it. Ivo was probably the one exception. But Rouge... He got a running start off the meteorite and began to fly to try to reach her, only to be stopped by an explosion caused by a missile striking the floating rock he'd just been standing upon. Chunks of it hit him with all due force and then some, cutting, scraping, and bruising him all over. Though it was against his better judgement, he was forced to throw his arms up to shield his eyes when he was struck in the face by some of those chunks. But, of course, not too long after he did so, a bullet struck him in the side and several lasers seared past his already injured arm. Then, giving him no reaction time at all, some blunt weapon or another hit him in the shoulder with brute force, quite possibly dislocating it or worse. The pain was intense, and he reflexively used his still-good arm to throw a ball of fire. He never had a chance to see if it did any good, however, for he was hit again, three times in rapid succession. He felt bones crack under the trauma. He tried throwing punches with his left (and good) arm, but his punches almost seemed ineffective in light of his injuries. _Dammit...! What do I do...?!_

Analia could see that the others were struggling. As both a healer and person full of deep compassion and love, it was hard to not go over to them and try to assist and heal them all. But she was hindered. She herself was struggling. Though she managed to dodge several wild sword strokes, she failed to detect the laser that was shooting toward her. It tore through her back, precious inches from her spine, with a pain that was both fiery and slicing. It didn't take long for several other projectiles, some lasers and some bullets of varying sizes, to also hit her. One particular bullet hit her _just_ below her collarbone, leaving her frozen for a split second out of pain. That second was all it took for some robot to cut her open deeply under the arm. Then she was grabbed by the hair and painfully swung around. She slammed into a huge, bulky robot that then caught her in its massive arms and began to squeeze. The air immediately left her lungs and she struggled both to escape and to breathe. _Hanakusei!_ ("Let me go!") Finally, she managed to blast it, but the explosion was so close that she was left burned and even more cut up from the debris. A robot wielding some sort of crude, metal club-like weapon struck her in the right now, making her wince. In spite of the pain, however, she did her best to kick it away. The pain was too real... as was the knowledge that, so far, it did not look like this fight was going to end well. ...For them.

Shadow jumped over a missile and dodged a laser, only to be struck in the forearm by a bullet. He fired the gun he'd stolen, aiming it deep into the crowd surrounding him, but all too quickly ran out of ammunition without having destroyed enough robots to make a difference. He went to Homing Attack one brute that was getting too close, but was stop just after he'd jumped by a missile slamming into him. It cut him deeply, but thankfully didn't detonate until just after he'd managed to get it off and shove it away. Though the fires did nothing to him, the sharp metal debris both from the weapon itself and from the robots it had unknowingly vanquished tore him up, made him bleed. A sword he didn't see nor hear (as this whole battlefield was terribly loud) in time stabbed him through from the front of his side all the way through his back. He was then knocked away by a huge and hard metal fist that clocked him in his temple. He was left dazed and unsteady, as well as thoroughly confused as to what in the hell had just happened. _What...?_ Something slammed into him, dazing him further, but then a voice reached his ears, snapping at him to get up as a cold metallic hand roughly grabbed him. He realized belatedly that the voice was Sonic's. Gritting his teeth tightly, he forced himself to focus and blasted his would-be attacker with his Dragonfire. But, of course, he was soon shot again. Nothing seemed to be going write for them. Nothing at all.

Sonic cursed profusely (aloud, even) when Caliburn was, for once, knocked out of his hand. The sword had already been lost once, many years ago; he refused to let it vanish for a second time. As such, he made chase. The sword was grabbed by a heavy set robot that then swung the blade on him. But something... _happened_. The sword flashed with a sort of aura that was _almost_ heavenly blue, and the blade's deadly edge became guarded. By the time it hit him seconds later, it was as though the sword had no edge at all. It felt like he'd been struck by some kind of blunt object. It was still painful, but nowhere near as badly as it would have been. Relieved, he simply stole his sword back, and it instantaneously went back to normal. _How did it do that...?_ His thoughts were cut short when he was suddenly struck in the side by something large and sharp. His luck had turned again. He barely had the time to whirl around and face his attack before he was cut again (this time in the leg), revealing bone. There was barely an instant in time to gasp in pain before he was suddenly hit in the back of the neck with something that felt like it might honestly be a club (as barbaric and pathetic as such a weapon was). He was then punched across the face, leaving a dark bruise beside his mouth. Several bullets lodged themselves painfully into his back. And then, as if things couldn't get any worse, fate's frown deepened.

A deafening roar sounded from the Space Colony ARK. The robots seemed to still as though commanded to and the heroic fighters, save for Rouge, whirled (as much as they all could, in their current states) to face the massive structure. Shadow in particular seemed tense and and very highly wary of whatever was about to happen. Sonic remembered a key part of his mission. _"Don't let the Biolizard awaken." _The simple knowledge that he had failed so horribly in that made him tense up even further. But what really made him tense, what made him pale slightly out of fear, was the fact that this beast, this _lizard_, was power by his Chaos. Dark Gaia had been a foe that they could barely defeat, but it had been powered by only _one_ Chaos Emerald. One Chaos Emerald was all that it had taken to destroy South Island, a land mass that had encompassed at least around seventy-five percent of the world. It seemed almost unfathomable to think what _two _Chaos Emeralds _together_ could do. It was a terrifying prospect... And he had no idea what to do. Unlike with last time, he didn't have everyone here helping him. He didn't even have all the emeralds at his disposal. Everyone here was already hurt, and badly. Another deafening roar sounded from the Ark and a missive, orangeish reptilian monster began to emerge from it. The Eclipse Cannon, which was already ominously aimed at the world, began visibly building up energy. Everyone tensed further.

What was he supposed to _do_?

**~ソニック~**

The landscape Jet now stood in was unremarkable. It was flat and dry and hot, and nothing about it bespoke of how _special_ this place was. Still, he knew. He felt like he had always known, somehow, though he had never really thought of this place before. Beneath the arid sands and dirt here lay the ultimate treasure, the true ultimate weapon. It had been hidden here for so long, away from prying eyes and yet not truly hidden. It was out in the open, yet buried at the same time. No one had known for over a thousand years that it was here. And yet he knew.

He must have done something subconsciously. It was the only explanation he had as for why the Arks were all suddenly floating out of his backpack, coming to hover in a circle around him. As he glanced around at them, confused, the never moved. Then the ground began to violently shake. Equally violent cracks and fissures shot through the stone surrounding the area. A massive rock formation crumbled as though it was made of building blocks and some child had decided to kick it over. Wildlife of all kinds fled for their lives. Slowly, bit by bit, an ancient city began to rise up out of the ground. Sand and dirt streamed from it back down to the ground, cascading over the edges like waterfalls of varying shades of yellow and brown. His eyes were wide with a mixture of shock and awe as he realized that somehow, without even realizing it, he had used the Arks to call out to this ancient marvel of technological might... and it had responded.

Soon, Babylon Garden was resting peacefully in the sky more than a mile high. Suddenly finding that his flight power was again working, Jet wasted no time in flying up to the city, and the Arks went with him. He landed hard in the center of the city and, acting upon some nearly subconscious instinct, he raised his right palm slightly into the air. Just like that, the five Arks shot off in different directions. The Ark with the two green gems embedded itself in the wall of an ancient citadel to the north. The Ark with the single purple gem inserted itself into the ground in a large residential area to the west. The Ark with the flat rectangle on one end lodged itself into a wall near a small shopping distract to the east. The band with the pinkish-red band of color with a lighter pattern running through it entered its slot in the ground in a huge courtyard to the south. And, last but not least, the Ark with the single blue gem came to rest in it's place in the center of the roof of a huge tower in the very heart of the city.

As soon as the Arks were in place, the city began to shift and change. An intense bluish-white light overtook everything in the city, forcing Jet to squeeze his eyes shut, lest he go blind. He could _feel_ everything around him changing as the light intensified to the point where his eyelids were no long enough to save his poor eyes. He threw his arms up to further shield his eyes as fierce winds whipped his long red scarf around behind him. Then, all at once, the light all died down, vanishing just as suddenly as it had all appeared. Slowly, hesitantly, he lowered his arms and opened his eyes. Said eyes almost instantly widened. "Matri'so..." he murmured under his breath in awe as he looked around the corridor he was now standing in. Even just by looking at this one hall, it became incredibly clear that the ship he now stood it was _nothing_ like anything even the likes of Sonic or Tails could build. It was _incredible_, more than any words could express.

This was Astral Babylon.

Wasting no more time, Jet turned and began to run. He knew precisely where he was going and where it was. The control room was where he needed to be, so that was where he was going. He'd been close to it already, thankfully, so it didn't take him long to reach the room. He dropped his bag by the doorway and glanced around the large room quickly, only taking note of a few important things. On one end of the room were huge monitors that showed everything above, below, to each side of, and in front of the ship. In the center of the room was large control panel. An orb-like ball of pure white light had seemingly been embedded into the panel eons ago. His fists clenched at his sides when he saw that orb, and he took a deep breath. He knew what was coming, what he needed to do. He took another deep breath, silently preparing himself for what he was about to do as he stood before the orb. Then, slowly, ever-so-slowly he extended his right hand and very, very gently placed it upon the mysterious orb. The Cosmic Sphere of Knowledge.

The instant contact was made, the light intensified and the download (for lack of a better term to refer to this by) began. The things he was exposed to were nearly incomprehensible, and the instant mental overload he was experiencing was incredibly painful, far beyond words. He squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth tightly as he rode through the waves of pain and confusion and this vast, incredible sharing of knowledge that he doubted he would ever fully understand. He reflexively tried to remove his hand from the sphere, but he couldn't. It was as if has hand had become permanently attached to it, and he couldn't move away. He was soon far too distracted to even attempt to remove his hand, anyway.

Pictures flashed through his mind with such speed that he doubted even Sonic or Kaden would be able to make sense of them if one either hedgehog were to experience this in his stead. He saw forests, a tattered grey building, a flowing cloak, a pair of bright yellow eyes, a planet for which he had no name, a night sky filled with stars, a child crying, a kite soaring joyfully through the sky, a flower just starting to bloom... Then he saw death, groups of people lying motionless in the dirt and not moving. He saw a double-edged sword, a smoking gun, a trap that had been sprung. He saw a smile, a tear, a scowl, a cringe of fear. Then strings of code and numbers and letters and symbols in many different languages ran over all the thousands of images flashing through his mind, making the images even harder to understand. He saw mathematical equations, the likes of which not even Sonic or Tails could make sense of. He saw paragraphs written in languages from worlds hundreds of thousands of lightyears away from this one. He saw names, binary, dates, and even coordinates.

Some of the images he was seeing began moving like videos, though he never stopped seeing the codes and letters and images and whatnot from before. He could see someone running, a dog chasing a ball, a bird soaring through the sky, a bullet tearing through the bark of a tree, a planet rotating slowly as it orbited a dim red sun, a shooting star streaking across the sky... He saw a flower bud open fully in the sunlight. A person jumped off a cliff. Waves breached against the shore. A ship rocketed through space at high speeds. Two little girls held hand and danced in circles in the grass. Rain splattered against the pavement. Smoke rose from a blaze that was slowly wiping a city away. Two large hands spread a map across a table in a dim room. A light flickered and went out. Someone scribbled furiously on a whiteboard, drawing out more equations and codes at a madman's pace.

Sounds began to fill his head on top of everything else that was already running through it. They were always so random, things like gunshots and dogs barking and thunder booming in the distance and glass shattering and someone crying and someone striking a match against a box... He heard a wail, a scream, a screech of tires, and explosion, a laugh, a song, a beep, a small chirp, food sizzling over a fire, a pop and crackle of flames, a yelp, a spark, feet pounding on the pavement, the roar of an engine, a rocket taking off, a plea, a cry for help... That was when the whispers started. There were thousands of different voices, all talking all at once and none saying the same things as the others. He knew, somehow, that his ordeal was almost over now. But he was starting to feel weak and faint. His head was hurting so badly that he almost couldn't even feel it anymore. For several long moments, there didn't seem to be anything happening, and it seemed that he may have blacked out briefly. The experience was unreal, and _so, so_ painful.

Then one voice rose above all the others. This was the voice of a woman in her mid-thirties. The voice held authority and power, but also calmness, a sense of serenity and peace, and a sort of gentility and love that completely took him by surprise. _"Welcome."_

The voice was was both unfamiliar and not, one he had spent all of his life never knowing. And yet now he knew who this was. He knew who was talking to him. _Queen Laralei... My grandmother._His pain slowly eased and faded away, as did everything that he had been previously experiencing. His mind was his own again. And yet... it was different now. It had been expanded, in a way. There was so much more now that he understood. He took a slow, deep breath, then released it even more slowly than he had taken it in. Only then did he open his eyes.

The voice spoke again. _"If you are ready, you may go where you wish. Think it, and your ship will obey."_

His eyes closed again. He felt weak and exhausted, but also strangely elated. _My ship. _He was silent for a long moment, allowing himself a small amount of time to process this. Then, ever so slowly, he opened his eyes again. He couldn't waste anymore time. _Take me to the Space Colony ARK._

And the ship obeyed.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic and Shadow were forced to dive to the side to avoid a massive beam of yellow energy that the Biolizard fired at them from it's maw, which was filled with huge, dangerous, sword-like teeth. Though the beam destroyed plenty of robots, this did nothing at all to help the heroes in the end. For now they had a much bigger problem. The Biolizard was awake. And it was already too much for them to handle. Another beam shot out of it's mouth, this time aimed for Analia. She instantly threw up a shield of magic around herself, but the blast all too quickly shattered the shield. The beam struck her with every ounce of force it could muster, and she was sent hurtling backwards from the sheer force of it. Then the Biolizard began spitting out large balls of energy in all sorts of random directions. Knuckles (quite shockingly) scooped up Rouge bridal-style, as she was very nearly unconscious, but they were overtaken by a blast before he could get away with her. Another such blast hit Amy, who had rushed over to protect Cream and Cheese, and the two youngsters themselves were also hit. Shadow was the next to fall, though he evaded the attacks for much longer than the others. Still, in the end, he was blown away by one of the attacks and he, just like the others, was left unable to fight any longer. Sonic nearly met the same fate, but he somehow managed to avoid getting hit in the end. Still, he knew he couldn't fight this thing. Yes, the beast was using his own power, but that was the entire problem. He wasn't strong enough to, essentially, fight himself. He'd barely done it the last time, and he knew it. It had been a pure stroke of luck that he;d managed to get all seven Chaos Emeralds together. Without those, that fight _would_ have been lost, and very quickly.

Just. Like. Now.

He cursed himself and his weakness as he dodged another attack, then jumped up high, using a robot as leverage, and soared toward his opponent, Caliburn raised and poised to strike. He swung with all his might (or however much of it he could manage at the moment), but the lizard blocked the blade with it's damn _teeth_ as though his sword was a mere toothpick wielded by a petite flea. It blasted him then, holding absolutely nothing back. At such close range and with him as tired and injured as he was, the attack was rendered unavoidable. He was struck dead-on. Again he felt as he did on the day South Island had been destroyed. Helpless. Terrified. Furious. Exhausted. Desperate. Hopeless. He felt as though he was nearly dead. The pain was _so severe_ that it hardly felt real. He wanted so badly to believe that he was dreaming... but he knew he wasn't. Everything was so dark now. So bleak. They had been defeated, and he knew it. His friends and family knew it. Ivo knew it. His grandfather's monstrous pet knew it. They had failed. Failed to stop the robots, failed to stop the Biolizard, failed to destroy the Ark, failed to destroy Ivo... They had really and truly failed, and now the world would suffer and die as a result of their failure. The cannon was charging. It was nearly ready. It's aim was true. It had all the power it needed and more. There was no way they would be able to stop it in time. There was no way they could save the world. He had never felt so utterly defeated in his entire long life. Everything was _so_ dark. But then...

Light.

An intense, bluish-white light that was both harsh and soft at the same time flowed through and around him, and he felt his pain fading far quicker than it ever did even when Analia was healing him. Opening his eyes, he pushed himself up with his hands on whatever large chuck of debris he was resting on. That light was surrounding him utterly. Throughout it, he could see his mother and the others all quickly recovering as well. They all watched together, awed, as their wounds healed and Rouge seamlessly slipped from unconsciousness to consciousness. No one was fully healed, but they were healed _enough_ to where their lives were no longer in danger. All around them, robots were being silently vaporized, leaving not a trace behind. It was as though they had never existed. Even the debris Sonic had been on faded away, leaving him hovering in place due to the flight power he was borrowing. The moment the robots were all gone, the light simply faded away. Sonic's eyes instantly grew wide. He had never, not in his entire long life, felt the kind of awe he felt now. Floating before him, facing the Space Colony ARK and the Biolizard, was a massive ship the size of a city. It was like nothing, _nothing_ he had ever seen before, nor could he have imagined such technological beauty and raw, hand-crafted power. He knew right away what he was looking at... _Astral Babylon._ They all knew it. Even without having ever had any idea before know as to what the ship looked like, they _knew_. There was no mistaking this ship for anything else, for anything less than it was. This truly was the technological marvel of the world, Babylon's true greatest masterpiece. And it was the heirloom of only one. No one else could ever use it. That was how it was meant to be. And Sonic knew who that person was. Even without any sort of cockpit or window to see through, he knew who this ancient ship's not-so mysterious pilot was. _Jet..._

The group could only watch in awe as Astral Babylon let out another blast, this one aimed directly at both the Biolizard and the Ark. In one, cataclysmic explosion of pure, bluish-white energy, the foe Sonic and the others had been so unable to destroy was utterly vanquished. There was never even time for the beast to roar in pain or rage or defiance or whatever else it may have been feeling, if it was capable of feling at all. However, all was not destroyed in the blast. One way or another, the incredible energy that the ship had released was so _perfectly_ controlled that the emeralds were left unharmed. In fact, they were teleported into Astral Babylon, somewhere near the heart of the ship. Sonic could feel it. And... though he hated to admit it... Sonic knew that Ivo was not gone. He didn't know how he knew, just that he did, nor did he know for sure when the man had escaped. Sonic supposed it was likely during the vaporization of the man's robots that Ivo had realized how inevitably screwed he had become and how closely death had begun to stalk him. But that didn't matter for now. Ivo was gone, even if only temporarily, and his forces had been severely crippled, more than ever before. That was all that matter. And, Sonic reflected with a very small smile as he turned toward the silent ship that had saved them all, a hero he'd always known was there had finally come to light.

**~ソニック~**

**8,212 words this time. This chapter is way later, but, hey! Guess what! With the end of the next chapter (which I hope to have up soon) THIS ARK IS FINALLY OVER! :D I hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 12:26 a.m.) 03-28-16.**


	200. Peace Restored

**Hello, Spell of Dawn! Nah, Astral Babylon was never gonna blow up, It's too powerful and badass for that! XD And I'm not surprised that you guessed the fight was coming. I was kinda hinting at it for a while there. And I'm glad you'll be here, too! :D Well, this chapter does feature that ship a _bit_ more. Yeah, SA/SA DX, the one with Tikal and Chaos (the beast, not the energy). Well, I dunno about betrayal and Sonic and Shadow fighting, but a new antagonist is a given (Chaos has to be there for that to be an SA/SA DX Arc XD), and the Chaotix will certainly be there as well. :) Haha, thanks!**

**Hello, Skye the Hedgehog101! Yeah, those were pretty... well, horrific. Admittedly. :/ Sadly, no. I don't. I'm one of those people who can stand to read it so long as I don't _see_ it, when it comes to blood and wounds and whatnot. Yeah, I was relieved as well. And I'm glad that the Biolizard part had you that engrossed in the story! :D Haha, you're welcome! Glad I could be of assistance! XD Yes, we shall see. We shall see... ;) XD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 198: Yeah! Keep Holding On like the song says, Sonikku! Yeah, Jet! Get going! You have a crap ton o' work to do, man! Oh, I agree! Space fights are awesome! :D Sadly, I have not seen The Last yet, though... ;_; Yeah! Go, Pyro-kun! I believe in you and your epicness! Go kick butt! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 199: It was... and they certainly did. I'm glad you enjoyed that! It was hard and time-consuming to write, but I love how it turned out. :) Yeah, I like that part, too. It was so much fun and so interesting to write that bit. :) Oh, I know. You just _know_ shit is real when even _Sonic_ thinks their screwed. :( But then... A wild Astral Babylon appears! It uses Cosmic Hyper Beam! Foe Space Colony ARK was defeated! Astral Babylon gained 5,113 experience points for winning! ...Sorry, I had to. I've been playing a lot of Pokemon the last few days, so... XDD Pfft, hahaha! I just pictured that! And Sonic and Shadow's expressions... Priceless! XDD I will do my very best, Pyro-kun! And thank you for all the months of support! It means so much! :D**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! HJGDHKGEKHDGLFDP THANK YOU! Yep, that about sums it all up... They really did almost die. Poor things. :( I liked those parts, too! They were kinda sweet, in their own way. And they made me smile, too. :3 I'm glad you liked that part. I did, too (as you probably could've guessed). And I really only included _some_ of the things he saw. There's no way I could've put it all. Would've taken _waaay_ too long. XD THANKIES! I'M GLAD YOU'RE SO EXCITED! :DD And, as I said to Pyro-kun, thank you so much for all the months of support! That means so much to me! :D**

**Hello, superbook5012! I'm so glad you enjoyed it so much! And yeah! They're gonna be great! :D Yeah, I got your pm. :) Cool! I'll check it out sometime! :D Also, sorry I forgot this before... I truly thought this reply was here...**

**Hello, Mutt7! Oh, cool! :D I love Castle of Glass. It's one of my favorites by them.**

**~ソニック~**

As Sonic and the others watched, Astral Babylon again let out a wave of light, the same kind as before. But this time, the energy wasn't destructive. It was, instead, healing in a way. The light enveloped his ruined ship and, by the time the light faded, the X-Tornado was somehow fully repaired. There wasn't a scratch on it. It looked as though it had never left Tails's workshop. Amazed, Sonic stared at it for a moment. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tails break out into a grin, Silver closely followed suit. Meanwhile, Knuckles apparently realized all of a sudden that he was still holding Rouge, and he quickly let her go. She flew sideways away from him, leaving a respectful few feet between them. A moment later, the light again returned. It flowed around them, warm and inviting, and they flowed seamlessly from space to land. It was nothing like the sort of teleportation they were used to. It wasn't abrupt. It wasn't startling in spite having happened out of nowhere. It was... perfect.

Sonic looked around and quickly caught sight of Locke and the others. Locke was standing beside a tree and Kaden was sitting in the grass next to him, tired but alert. Vector and Espio were standing near them talking while Charmy (who was sitting by Espio's feet) practiced the flower-crown-crafting techniques he'd learned from Cream. Storm, who was sitting on the opposite side of Locke from the Chaotix, was gruffly looking over his board while, standing to his left, Wave was typing rapidly on her communicator. They were all here. They were all safe. Sonic felt himself relax even further, and he ran up to his father and Locke. Locke smirked, pride evident both in his voice and in his eyes. "Great job, kid," he said warmly. It was a tone Sonic knew well from his childhood and, somehow, that (along with the well-familiar nickname) comforted him in spite of all that had _almost_ happened today. "We could see the explosion from down here."

For whatever reason, Sonic looked down at his father. He felt a sense of warmth and pleasure when he saw that the approval and pride Locke was displaying was reflected in Kaden's emerald eyes. "You fought well," Kaden murmured in that quiet voice of his.

Sonic found himself smiling. He shook his head. "No... Not me." Locke's expression gave away his surprise, and Kaden blinked. "I didn't save the day this time." Kaden's gaze drifted almost questioningly to the group Sonic had brought along with him, and Sonic shook his head again. "No, not them, either. We weren't the ones who stopped Ivo this time."

Locke looked puzzled. "Then who...?"

Kaden, unlike Locke, had clearly figured it out. His next statement gave that away. "That explosion... It was light."

Understanding dawned in Locke's eyes. "But it couldn't have been Analia," he added. "It wasn't pure white."

Sonic nodded. "It was Jet." His old friend's violet eyes widened slightly. "He used Astral Babylon."

Locke whistled lowly, apparently impressed, but Kaden closed his eyes and lowered his head slightly with a small frown. After a few seconds, his father decided to speak. "That was highly dangerous of him to do..."

When Kaden let his sentence trail off, Locke finished his thought for him. "But he's alright, and you're all alright, so that's what matters."

Sonic smiled again. They really were all safe. The crisis had been averted. The future was saved. They had done it, even if only barely. They had won.

**~ソニック~**

Jet teleported into the area just feet from Wave. He was still exhausted from awakening Astral Babylon, but he was startled into a more awake state by Wave's cry of his name. He turned to face her and was startled when she tackled him in a hug. He nearly stumbled back a step, but managed to hold his balance. He was too shocked to even blush, though his eyes were wide. "Where _were_ you?!" she demanded, almost as though she were scolding him. He didn't take scolding very well (for obvious reasons), and generally responded one of two ways. One (the response he was most prone to) was by getting defensive, sometimes angry, and fighting back (even if only verbally). The second was by shrinking away, just sort of giving in to the person who was getting angry at him. But, this time, he was too tired to act out either response. As such, he was quiet while she continued. "I've been calling and calling- Why weren't you _answering_?"

Sighing, Jet for once initiated physical contact (something he seldom did with anyone) and placed his hands on her shoulders to gently push her away from himself a bit so that he could look at her face. The anger in her tone wasn't reflected in her expression. Her eyes were heavy with worry and fear, emotions that he was instantly compelled to alleviate. He didn't like seeing such feelings in her. He briefly explained everything that had happened from start to finish, glossing over certain things along the way (such as how he'd heard the Arks whispering to him and precisely what he'd gone through when waking up the ship and where he'd found the ship in the first place). He ended his small tale with, "I was taking Astral Babylon back to where I found it and scattering the Arks. That's why I took longer to return than the others did."

After a moment, Wave released a long, heavy sigh. "Whatever," she muttered. In spite of her response and the irritation it implied, she threw her arms around his neck in a second hug. "I'm just glad you're okay." She closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest under his chin.

This time, he found it in himself to blush.

**~ソニック~**

Knuckles glanced at Rouge, feeling tense and awkward but concerned nonetheless. They were both standing in utter silence not far from where the X-Tornado was proudly resting in the grass. Neither had spoke since sometime before Rouge had been knocked out earlier. Their silence had only intensified when she'd woken up in his arms. Finally, he just had to ask. He glanced at her yet again, only to be stopped before he could even speak. "Most people consider staring to be rude, Knuckie."

Knuckles frowned. He _hated_ that nickname. And, more importantly... _I wasn't staring._ He crossed his arms and looked away. "I was just going to ask if you were alright."

Rouge seemed surprised for a long moment... but then she smiled. Her smile was small, but it wasn't soft. It's wasn't happy. It seemed... bitter. "It doesn't really matter." She turned, and he noticed her wings unfurling. She was about to leave.

He spoke without thinking. "We all make mistakes, you know."

She turned back to face him. "What?"

He looked away. "You helped Ivo. That was a mistake." She immediately turned away again, and her wings unfurled once more. He found himself rushing to finish explaining before she could take off. "It was just that: a mistake. It's not something you have to carry with you for the rest of your life. You've learned from it; you can just leave it behind and try again."

She shook her head slightly. "How can I just leave it behind?" she asked quietly. "What I did could very well have helped end the world. If nothing else, I could have ended up aiding in the killing of countless people. How is that something I can just _leave behind_?"

He was silent for a long moment. When he spoke, his response was the honest-to-god truth. It was the best response that he could give her at the moment. "I don't know." Though he could have been wrong, he thought that her ears might have lowered just slightly. He felt... sorry for her, sympathized with what he knew she must have been feeling. He found himself trying to help lift some of the weight on her heart. "When you tried to steal the Master Emerald from me, you couldn't have known what it was beyond it's name. You couldn't have known how crazy Ivo was and what he intended to do with the emerald. You made a _mistake_, but that's all it was. You don't have to carry it around with you wherever you go, beating yourself up over it for the rest of your life."

Though Rouge made no response, didn't even make an attempt to voice some sort of a reply, he saw her wings slowly fold back up against her chest. And, in the end, she stayed.

**~ソニック~**

Cream, Cheese clinging to her shoulder, sat down next to Charmy and his pile of flower crowns. They were messily crafted and unlikely to stay together, but they still looked beautiful to her, especially when compared to almost everything else she'd been seeing today. However, before she could comment on the colorful, fragile rings, he spoke. "I don't get how you do it." He busily tied two dark green stems together in a tight knot as he spoke. "I don't get how you're able to fight, even when things are as bad as they were today."

Knowing that he didn't mean physically when he mentioned her being "able" to fight, Cream took her time replying. Her gaze drifted to the clear blue sky. It was sunny and beautiful and absolute perfect. "I don't know," she finally answered with complete honesty. "I think it's because... my friends give me hope."

Charmy lowered his crown and looked at her with surprise. "That's all it is?" he asked her immediately.

The innocence of the question actually made Cream giggle in spite of all she'd been through today. "Yes. I think so," she replied.

Charmy suddenly grinned. His serious attitude was gone. "That's pretty cool."

Cream returned her gaze to the sky, wearing her first real smile in a while. "Yes... I suppose it is."

**~ソニック~**

Though his limbs were heavy with exhaustion and he really and truly just wanted to rest, Kaden stood. Analia walked quickly toward him and embraced him in a tight, warm hug. He closed his eyes, self-deprecation evident in the slight scowl on his face. It took a moment, but he did finally raise his arms to return the hug. Not long after he did, she spoke. Her voice was just above a murmur, and there was nothing negative in her tone. "I am glad that you are alright."

He didn't reply to that immediately. He focused, at first, just on the feeling of having her in his arms. Safe. His family was safe. His friends were safe. They were all alive, and they were well. Those facts alone served him well in banishing the lingering Darkness that had remained in him up until this point. Then he spoke, his voice softer than normal and his words ones that he only seldom ever voiced. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head, her chin brushing across his shoulder as she did so. "Do not be sorry," she murmured in response to his words. "I was afraid as well."

He again made no reply. He didn't know what to say, didn't know what was worth admitting and what was worth denying. He didn't know, and he was too tired to try to work it all out. For right now, just this once, he focused on just living in and for this moment. He didn't worry about the future. He didn't bring up the past. All that existed was the here and now, and, for once, he was okay with that. If only for a few more precious moments...

**~ソニック~**

Sonic noticed as he walked up to Jet that his friend's eyes were bright and dull at the same time. Knowledge brightened them. Exhaustion kept that light at bay. Sonic offered him a small smile, which was (amazingly) returned. "That was amazing, what you did up there."

Jet shrugged. Another thing that was amazing was how modest he could sometimes be. "Not really. The ship did all the work."

"Even still," Sonic insisted, "you were the one controlling it. It didn't do all that of it's own volition." That earned another shrug, but Sonic's smile didn't falter. The smile was warm in both a friendly and a brotherly way. He clapped his old friend on the shoulder gently and said, "What have I always told you, Jet?" Piercing blue eyes slid to the side to look at him again. "Anyone can be a hero and do wondrous things. Even thieves."

Jet huffed and crossed his arms as he looked away. "No one likes an 'I told you so', remember. Or did you somehow miss class the day they taught us that in Kindergarten?"

Sonic chuckled in response to the sarcastic joke. "Deal with it," was his simple reply.

That time, Jet smirked.

**~ソニック~**

Locke was genuinely surprised when his son approached him. Though the two had made amends, in a way, Knuckles seldom sought him out and hardly spoke to him or acknowledged him in any way the vast majority of the time. Locke suspected that Knuckles was still angry at him (and the younger echidna had every reason to be) because of everything that had happened in the past. After all, Locke's failure was unforgivable, as was all the strife and pain his failure had brought upon his son and now dead wife, Laura. But, he supposed, this was all irrelevant right now. What _was_ relevant was the fact that Knuckles seemed to want to talk about something. He watched the younger echidna out of the corner of his eyes, saw him cross his arms and lean back against the trunk of the tree to his left. Silence persisted for a long while. Then Knuckles decided to speak. "...I'm sorry."

Locke was surprised... and utterly confused. "Why are you apologizing?" he asked immediately. "You have nothing to-"

"Yeah. I do." Locke blinked once, and silence fell between them again. Then, suddenly, Knuckles closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "I have a lot to apologize for."

Locke really didn't understand. Where was all of this coming from? What was Knuckles talking about. "...I don't understand." It was the truth, and he hoped that it wouldn't irritate his son. After all, Knuckles had Locke's old attitude and temper, and if that was anything to go by-

Knuckles sighed again. "I see you smile all the time," he said. His words took Locke by surprise. "But your smiles are never... happy. Sonic's noticed it, too, and you can be damn sure that Locke and Analia have as well." Locke was silent. All this time he'd thought he'd been hiding his pain, and yet... "I know _why_ you aren't happy, or at least a big part of the reason." His violet eyes opened to look at his father. For once, he wasn't frowning out of anger. He seemed... contrite. "You blame yourself for everything that went wrong on South Island. Gerald forcing you to leave, Mom dying, me ending up alone... You beat yourself up for all of that every single day, and I haven't exactly been making things any easier on you by acting the way I have." He looked away again, eyes becoming somewhat downcast. "I'm sorry," he repeated.

Locke stared for a long, long while before finally reaching over and ruffling his son's head through the fabric of his old hat. And this time, when he smiled, though it was small, it was truly believable. "Don't be, Knuckles."

After a long moment, Knuckles found it in himself to return the smile.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic stood by his half-brother's side, overlooking the crowd and watching the others interact. When he spoke, his voice was both calm and concerned at the same time. "You gonna be okay?"

He watched as Shadow's crimson (or maybe ruby?) gaze slid over to him. Shadow's tone was level as he replied with a simple, "Yes."

"Are you sure?" Sonic pressed.

"Yes," Shadow returned just as calmly as before.

Sonic gave him a sidelong glance. "I don't believe you." Shadow made no reply. Sonic pressed on. "If you're not alright, you need to _say_ so. No one can help you if you keep everything to yourself."

Shadow frowned. "I never asked for anyone's help."

"You don't need to," Sonic replied easily. Shadow glanced at him for the second time. "Dad, Silver, and I are your family. Mom may as well be, too. Family members look out for each other." Shadow seemed stunned into silence. He didn't appear to know how to respond, for once. Sonic guessed Shadow was still trying to process the fact that he actually had family. Sonic didn't blame him.

In the end, neither said another word to the other. Silence persisted. But... that was alright. Because, in the end, they understood each other well enough with words, anyway,

**~ソニック~**

Blaze had been watching the children talk as they wove flowers together. A small smile had been present on her face all the while. The only thing that really pulled her focus away from them was Silver when he took a seat in the grass next to him. She glanced at him and, for once, initiated their inevitable conversation. "You fought well today."

Silver quickly looked at her, almost seeming surprised, then broke out into one of his usual grins. "You, too, Blaze," he replied with genuine warmth. She smiled a little and looked down. She almost felt vaguely shy, somewhat unused to compliments as she was. That, and... "You were really badass out there," Silver continued, cutting off her thought before she could even tell what that thought was to begin with. "You were like, _pew_, _bam_, _pow_, _boom_, _kablooey_!" He couples these verbal sound effects with wild gesticulations of his arms and hands.

Blaze smiled and, honestly, very nearly giggled. Needless to say, that was _quite_ rare for her. She supposed that her exhaustion (not all of which was physical in nature) might have something to do with it, but nevertheless... "You were not bad yourself."

"'Not bad'?" Silver asked with feigned disbelief. "I shower you with compliments and _that's_ all I get? I even did epic sound effects for you and everything!"

Blaze continued to smile as se gently pushed his shoulder with one hand. "Oh, hush."

Silver laughed, then stuck his tongue out at her like a child. "Never."

Blaze still continued to smile. She wasn't even fighting it. Moments like this, moments of peace and genuine happiness, were rare... and she had chosen to enjoy every second of this one.

**~ソニック~**

Shadow watched as Cream approached him. This child was always so bright and happy... he didn't quite understand it, but he didn't particularly mind it. It was nice to see someone who smiled as much as she did. Someone who was like _her_. He didn't _say_ that, though. Instead, all he said was, "Did you need something?"

Cream kept smiling at him. "I wanted to thank you, properly this time," she told him brightly. "I never did get a chance to, after you saved me from Ivo just before Dark Gaia was freed."

Shadow blinked once. "You don't need to thank me."

Though her smile never faltered, her head tilted to the side. "Why _did_ you save me, Mister Shadow?"

_Because... your smile... reminded me of Maria._ This was something else he didn't voice aloud. But she seemed to understand.

He noticed for the first time that Cream was holding a crown of flowers in both of her hands. The crown was made solely of yellow flowers (though he had no real care for flowers, yellow was a color he supposed he liked, bright though it was), and the whole thing seemed to have been made with some care. She extended the crown out to him with both hands. "This is for you. To thank you."

Shadow, for once couldn't find himself to turn down the offering, bright and innocent and caring though it was. Still, he had no intentions of actually _wearing_ the thing. He slowly extended his hand and accepted the gift, such as it was, though he never put it on. However, he apparently didn't need to. The simple fact that he'd taken it seemed to be all she had been asking of him.

He watched as, with yet another bright smile, she turned and walked away.

**~ソニック~**

Amy stared at Sonic for a long moment, unable to speak for a long moment. Then, finally, she asked, "Are you sure about this, Sonic?"

Sonic nodded readily. "Yeah. I am." After a brief pause, he sighed and admitted, "After what happened today, I just... I realized how much more prepared I need to be, how badly I need to toughen up. With some time, what almost happened today can be better preventedin the future."

Amy sighed slowly, sadly, and looked down. "If you're sure..."

"I am," Sonic repeated. Then, suddenly, he smiled, one of his rare bright and beautiful smiles that truly made his eyes light up. "But, hey, you kicked some major butt up there." She looked up at him in mild surprise as he said, "Thanks for saving my butt from those robots. They nearly had me surrounded until you blasted them."

Amy finally found it in herself to smile as well. "You're just lucky I was there," she teased. "You might've been mincemeat, otherwise."

Sonic actually laughed. "Yeah, maybe." Sonic then turned, addressing the rest of the group just as much as her. "Thanks for putting up with my selfish decision."

"No big deal, Sonic," Tails smiled. "We can handle it."

Jet smirked. "It's not like we haven't had to before."

"'Sides, this'll be good for us, anyway," Locke replied. "I can see the merit in this decision."

Sonic said nothing in reply to those comments, nor did Amy. Amy was silent as she watched Sonic glance at her one last time before turning away and dashing off into the distance. Soon he was out of sight. _Two years..._ She slowly turned away and began walking toward Tails and Cream, her brother and sister. _Two years. That's how long we'll all be apart. To recuperate. To train. _She turned back slightly to look back at where Sonic had disappeared. _...I'll miss you, Sonic._

**~ソニック~**

**4,178 words this time. And the Sa2/Sonic Riders/Save the Future Arc (entitled "Awakenings") is finally over! I hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 10:30 p.m.) 03-29-16.**


	201. Premonitions

**Hello, superbook5012! I am _so_ sorry. I went back and fixed that the moment I saw your review a while back. Sorry about that. :( Oh, and I also fixed the repeat scene thing. Thanks for pointing it out. XD Anyway, I'm glad the chapter made you smile so much. That was the entire purpose of it. :) Well, sorry you had to wait so long, but here's the next installment! hope you enjoy!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Well I'm glad you're so excited! :D YES, SONIKKU! GO TRAIN AND COME BACK STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE! YOU CAN DO IT! I actually based this separation off of the one in One Piece... Wonder if you caught that. ;) I'm glad you enjoyed it. And I certainly hope they will be. :) I'm also looking forward to that, definitely. Haha, you're welcome. XD And I'm so happy you've enjoyed the ride so far. That means so much to hear, always. :) Alright, I'll check that out sometime! I will do my very best, Pyro-kun! And that was one ot the best review endings ever! :D**

**Hello, Sonic and Raven fan! Thank you so much! That all means so much to hear from you! :D Thank you so much for all of your continued support, and you have nothing to be sorry for. :) Sayonara! Have fun with work!**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I'm so happy you did. I enjoyed those parts as well. :) And yeah, I fixed that. ^-^" Haha, yeah, it kinda is. XDD**

**Hello, Spell of Dawn! Thank you so much! And, actually... I did. XD Thanks again! And yeah, I fixed that. Oh, and don't worry about Shadow-kun. He'll be around for a long while and has plenty of POV's to come. :) Haha, yeah. I agree. Yeah, it was sudden. But it worked. And two years to Sonic is nothing compared to how long he can live and how long he already has lived. :P Also, people can get stronger on their own easily. But no one ever said that Sonic wouldn't enlist some help from time to time. ;) I actually have no idea. Is that sad? XD I'm glad! I'm looking forward to it, too! And yes, always! I'd love to hear your suggestions! :D**

**Hello, Mutt7! No, not at all. We just finished another story arc, that's all. And then, coincidentally, I got both busy and lazy, hence the delay between that posting and this one. XD**

**Hello, Gerogina! Yes, most definitely! ...When the story is actually completed. XD**

**Hello, karygarcia7! Don't worry, there is a sequel coming! But this story's not over yet. ;)**

**Hello, gwencarson126! YEAH, SONIC! XD Thank you so much! I'm happy that you think so highly of this tale! :D**

**~ソニック~**

**GUYS, THE STORY ISN'T OVER YET. I PROMISE I WILL PROPERLY MARK IT AS COMPLETE AND LET YOU KNOW WHEN IT IS. WE JUST FINISHED A STORY ARC, NOT THE STORY ITSELF. ALSO, KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR CHANGES IN MY USER PROFILE. I WILL BE POSTING THERE THE UPDATED VERSION OF THE SEQUEL TEASER PLAYLIST, WHICH WILL GIVE HINTS OF HOW THE CHARACTERS HAVE EITHER CHANGED OR STAYED THE SAME.**

**~ソニック~**

Three weeks into the two years, Tails was busy, and so was Shadow. They were hard at work in the young fox's workshop, each working on their own projects. Tails was currently working on upgrading the X-Tornado, improving upon its weapons, its aerodynamics, it's speed, and so on. Shadow, meanwhile, was merely there to borrow Tails's tools. He had his own, but they were in his apartment in Empire City, and it wasn't like he had the space to work on this project there. Hence the reason he was here.

Omega had been blown up in a matter of seconds. It struck him as highly anticlimactic, but it hardly mattered. After all, Omega was a robot. It wasn't like he was _dead_. He could be rebuilt... so that was what he intended to do. Still, he would have preferred to be doing this in his own space. He didn't mind Tails, exactly, but he was a loner by nature. And, on top of that, he was still getting to know everyone in the group. Hell, he was still getting to know his own _family_, not to mention their friends and acquaintances. It made him... uncomfortable. But, whatever. He would deal with it, as he did with everything else, and keep working. Omega needed to be repaired, Because... robot or not... Omega was a friend. And friends didn't abandon each other, ever. At least, not from what he had heard. Not from what Maria had tried to teach him. But, really, this didn't matter terribly much right now. What truly mattered right now was just getting this robot repaired. Enough vitals parts (microchips, for example) had survived the attack for Omega to retain his "personality", "memories", and so on.

Tails spoke up suddenly, causing Shadow to look up at him in mild surprise. He hadn't expected the young fox to speak to him at any point. "Are you gonna upgrade Omega, Shadow?"

Shadow paused, then turned his head to look at what had currently been repaired of the robot (which, so far, was just his feet). He pondered Tails's question for a moment, then answered, "I don't know." Another brief pause. Then, "Perhaps I might."

Tails smiled out of nowhere. "It would be cool if you did. He could use better weapons systems, better scanners, and that sort of thing."

Shadow considered this, then decided that Tails was correct. He nodded to signal his agreement with Tails, then simply resumed working. And, still smiling, Tails turned away and did the same.

**~ソニック~**

It was now six weeks into the two-year separation. It was around ten o'clock p.m., and Espio was in bed fast asleep. However, he wasn't sleeping peacefully. He was once again plagued by premonitions that he simply didn't understand. Though usually a relatively still sleeper, he was tossing and turning on this night. These visions were heavily disturbing his sleep, but he couldn't seem to wake from the premonition-like dreams. At least, not until he again heard the vicious, monstrous roar of a blue beast like nothing her had ever seen before outside of these visions. When he heard that roar in his dream, he suddenly jolted awake, sitting bolt upright within a split second. Barely two seconds later, he threw his blankets aside and stood up. He had to do some research if he was ever going to understand what he was seeing.

He had to learn who Tikal was.

**~ソニック~**

Six weeks and two days into the two-year separation, Amy sat down on the couch beside her mother. They were in her house in Apatos which, like the entire city, had been painstakingly repaired by Analia's magic during the first two weeks of the separation. Amy had told her mother the day she'd come home about how her hammer, the hammer Marie had given her years ago, had been destroyed. She was now weaponless and full of guilt. That hammer had been her mother's mother's hammer, an object that had been precious to Marie. But Marie had insisted that the hammer could be repaired by an old friend of hers, another pink hedgehog living in Apatos. The woman, Sari, had come through. In Marie's hands was the fully repaired Piko Piko Hammer, which looked as though it had never seen a day of combat in its entire existence. It simply looked _that_ knew. Marie smiled and extended the hammer out to her with both hands. "Here is your hammer, Amy."

Amy smiled a little as well and took the hammer. "Thank you, Mom," she murmured. However, her smile soon faded and she looked down. "I'm sorry it was destroyed."

Surprisingly, Marie laughed, albeit softly. "_That _was not _destroyed_," she told her daughter with obvious amusement. "I have done much more damage to that weapon in the past."

Amy looked up at her in surprise. "_You_?"

Marie continued to look and sound highly amused. "Oh, yes. I once got into a fight that left nothing but a bit of powder and a section of the handle left of the hammer." Amy stared. She couldn't believe it. Her _mother_ of all people had gotten into _fights_? Her _mother_? Marie laughed again. "Do not look so surprised, Amy." Then she winked genially. "Where did you think your strength comes from?"

Slowly, Amy found herself smiling.

**~ソニック~**

Eight weeks and six days into the two-year separation, Cream was sitting in her room in Amy's house late one night. She was seated on the cushioned's windowsill and looking out at the moon while Cream slept soundly in the bed. All the lights outside of the room (much like in the room) were off. Everyone else was asleep. Cream, however, couldn't sleep. She had far too much on her mind. She was seeing things... Things in the future. She saw a beast that looked as though it was made of water and a young female echidna looking at it sadly. She saw seven glowing rings of the same exact colors as Sonic emeralds. She saw robotic monsters in space flying to this lonely world. And then... sometime after all of that... She saw her friends, her family.

In the first vision she had of her friends and family, she saw Shadow. He was walking through down the sidewalk in a small city with a woman. She was a black hedgehog, amazingly, and the two of them were talking as they walked. They appeared to be relatively comfortable with each other (as much as Shadow could be with anyone, that is). At one point, something he said made her smile.

In the second vision, Kaden was sitting in a library-like room of a house that seemed familiar to him. His right ear had been pierced and sported a small, golden ring. He was sitting in a chair and reading a book, which had a purple cover that was hidden mostly from view due to the book being open. He was only one page into it, reading and rereading what was written there. He appeared concerned.

In the third vision, she saw herself, Charmy, and even Bokkun standing together in a schoolyard in Station Square. They were all chatting and smiling while Cheese floated near them. Before too long, the school bell rang and they all turned and hurried inside the building.

In the fourth vision, she saw Storm leaving the Rogue's tower home in Future City. Then, in a second part of the vision, she saw Wave sitting alone in the home. It was night out, and she was leaning into a windowsill. She had a look of long-lasting loneliness and sadness in her eyes. She seemed to have lost something precious.

In the fifth vision, she saw Tails in his workshop, the same one that he used currently in the present day. He was hard at work building a complex robot like nothing even Ivo could build. He was smiling as he worked, clearly enjoying what he was doing. On a nearby table, laying amongst numerous tool, wires, papers, and so on, was a flyer advertising an invention expo. It was in four days.

In the sixth vision, Locke was sitting on his knees in the sands of an area that looked for all the world to be the desert in Shamar. He was looking into an excavation sight that revealed numerous ancient houses, streets, courtyards, and so on. As he looked over the ruins and all the people working on them, a small excavation tool in hand, he was grinning. He looked happier than he almost ever did in the present day.

In the seventh vision, she saw a orangeish-yellow cat walking through Station Square. As he walked, he pulled out a communicator from his pocket and, grinning a little to himself with a happy light in his eyes, he pulled up Kaden's name in his contacts list. He pressed a button to make the call.

In the eighth vision, she saw Vector working hard at his desk in the Chaotix's home/office in Spagonia. He seemed to have more business than ever before, but he was clearly enjoying it. She then saw Espio walking down the stairs. He was on the phone and seemed to be greatly enjoying listening to whoever was on the other end of the call. As he walked out of the building, Vector looked up from his work with a knowing smile.

In the ninth vision, she saw another cat. This one was a white-furred female. As she walked along a beautiful hiking trail, Analia did the same. The two were smiling softly as they spoke and walked. They seemed to be good friends.

In the tenth vision, Silver was sitting alone under a tree on a grassy hill with a a pencil and sketchpad. He was drawing a beautiful picture of the landscape stretching out ahead of him. When the picture was completed, he smiled and looked the picture over, then turned his attention to the bottom of the page. There, he wrote, "_Happy Birthday, Blaze_".

In the eleventh vision, she saw a grey hawk standing on the balcony of an unknown building. His eyes, which were very light blue, were locked on the night sky. His left sleeve, a bell sleeve that was longer than his right, was blowing lightly in a breeze. He looked calm in expression generally, but his eyes betrayed his growing concern. He knew something was coming.

In the twelfth vision, she saw Jet standing atop a very tall, unfamiliar building. His scarf flowed to his left in the wind. He watched calmly as a ship flew by overhead. In his eyes was a hint of concern. Then he looked away, jumped off the roof, and simply walked inside.

In the thirteenth vision, she saw Amy. She was hard at work in a very large and busy hospital, trying to save a young man's life. She was clearly very much in charge of the other doctors, nurses, and technicians. In the end, her serious expression melted into one of relief. The patient's heart was beating again, just as it should have been.

In the fourteenth vision, Blaze was standing in a dojo with a wooden staff. Standing before her were thirty young children. All of them were also wielding wooden staffs, and they were using those staffs to mimic Blaze's movements, attacks, defensive maneuvers, and so on. She was clearly training them.

In the fifteenth vision, she saw Knuckles. He, like his father, was at an excavation sight. He, however, wasn't with an archaeological team. He was alone. The sight he was at was in Adabat, and he was kneeling in front of an ancient stone monument of some kind. In his hands was two pieces of a very darkly-colored purple sphere. It had been severed powerfully into two pieces, seemingly from _inside_ the monument, judging by the damage done to that structure. All of the damage seemed recent.

In the sixteenth vision, she saw Rouge standing with another bat. This one was getting on in age but wasn't truly terribly old. He, like her, was a white bat and bore striking similarities to her in appearance. They were talking about something they both clearly regarded as being highly important. She showed him a photograph depicting the two pieces of the sphere and said something to him. The male visibly tensed, frowned deeply, and nodded. Rouge seemed to grow fearful.

With that, the visions ended. Cream closed her eyes and sighed softly. What was she supposed to make of all of these? They were all important in some way or another, but... what did each one mean?

**~ソニック~**

**2,163 words this time. The second scene hints at what is to come in the next arc. The scene with Cream contains _heavy_ foreshadowing/teasing regarding the plot and characters of the sequel, Eye of the Storm. Posted (at about 10:52 a.m.) 04-07-16.**


	202. Regret Hurts

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Thanks! :D Yeah! :DD He certainly is. I wouldn't take him entirely out of the story that anticlimactically. XD YEAH! LOTS AND LOTS! I did as well. And yeah, that was very sad. ;_;**

**Hello, Guest! Hahaha, you're welcome! XD Yeah, I agree. And Bokkun did show up once not long after Sonic met Knuckles. And Mettal Sonic was mentioned before. I'm looking forward to it, too! :) And yeah? I left out important details. XD**

**Hello, karygarcia27! Thanks! I will! :D**

**Hello, Mutt7! ACK! Don't kill me! D: Well, it's the sequel, so it'll come whenever this story ends. :P**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Hahaha, yes! The rings do exist in Hero! Just probably not in the way you think... ;) Thanks! I'm glad you like it! And we shall see... ;) Okay, cool. And I'm glad. :) Yeah, it seems like it. And of course I did! X) I will do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

**~ソニック~**

Ten weeks into the two-year separation, Shadow and Kaden were sparring in a large open field outside of Empire City. Analia was with Sonic currently, providing him the same kind of training. As Shadow and Kaden sparred, they both took notice of the fact that Silver was headed toward them. They paused briefly and glanced up at the flying hedgehog, then resumed sparring. Silver soon landed about twenty feet away. As soon as he was close enough, Silver called out with an obvious grin that could be heard in his voice, "Hey, Uncle Shads!"

Shadow froze for a split second, then narrowed his eyes slightly and looked over at Silver. "Don't call me that."

Silver just grinned, unapologetic and unrepentant.

**~ソニック~**

Eleven weeks into the separation, Jet took a break from his solitary training and returned to the Gigan Temple outside of Mazuri just as he had intended to do. He planned on leaving to track down his stolen board later that day. Once at the temple, he studied everything there that he could. He studied vases, tapestry, wall scrolls, books, paintings, engraved tablets covered in words and pictographs, jewels and coins of all kinds, and so on and so forth. He explored every room, ever hall, every single hidden compartment and chamber... It was all so fascinating, and he was enjoying himself thoroughly, for once.

In one of those hidden chambers, he discovered a small room that wasn't lit. He located a torch and, using a small spark of lightning, lit it. With the room now lit, he suddenly spotted something located in the center of the room. It was a pair of dual Bashosen, leaning against some sort of stone pedestal. There was nothing else in the room. Slowly, he walked up to the beautifully handcrafted weapons. He then spotted something else and turned his head to the left. There was writing on the wall in Ancient Babylonian. It translated roughly to, _Property of the One True Heir._ Smirking slowly, he reached out and grabbed the weapons. Somehow, he knew who had left this here. _Thanks, Grandmother._

**~ソニック~**

Fourteen weeks into the separation. Cream and Vanilla were visiting the Chaotix Detective Agency in Spagonia. While there, Vector and Vanilla (who were good friends already) talked and Espio researched something on his computer, something that he wouldn't tell them about (which, of course, raised his friends' concerns). Meanwhile, Cream and Charmy played outside with Cheese. While Charmy had his back turned, Cream experienced another isolated collection of small visions of the future.

In the first vision, she saw Kaden flying a black ship that, somehow, she knew was his. He was in deep space, flying above a world with a dark, swirling purple atmosphere. Then, in the second part of the vision, she saw that his ship was now surrounded by enemy ships. His own ship crashed, with him still inside, on the planet below.

In the second vision, she saw Sonic, who was standing in a very large, lush field surrounding a mansion-sized house. He was thinking deeply about a time of peace... and wondering why he felt so strongly that he was being watched.

In the third vision, she saw Locke. He was sitting in a house that was somewhat cluttered with books and relics (all of which were undoubtedly artifacts from various ruins around the world). He was sitting at a desk in front of some papers, logbooks, pencils, and so on, but he wasn't looking at any of that, let alone working on it. He was looking out the window. She could see in his eyes that his happiness was gone. He looked utterly depressed. Something had hit him hard.

By the time the visions faded, Charmy and Cheese were turning back to her. Cream forced a smile and resumed playing with her friends.

**~ソニック~**

Fifteen weeks into the separation, Rouge stood alone on the balcony in her expensive apartment in Empire City. As she stood, looking over the sprawling, business-center of the world, she closed her eyes to savor the breeze. While doing so, she thought over her life. She grew up idolizing her grandfather, the most famous thief in the world many years ago, and Locke, who had died many years ago. She ran away from home as a young girl, and ended up growing up on the streets. As every member of her family inevitably did, she turned to thievery, which she still did to this day. This earned her a worldwide reputation that very nearly rivaled her grandfather's. This reputation got Ivo's attention and prompted him to hire her to steal the Master Emerald. She later fought Knuckles for the sake of completing that job, won, but ultimately surrendered the emerald back to its proper owner. That earned Ivo's wrath. Which, of course, was how she ended up joining forces with Shadow. That, in turn, led to her assisting in the fight against Ivo in space. And then, after the fight, Knuckles had seemed for all the world to be trying to say that he forgave her.

She didn't think she deserved anyone's forgiveness.

**~ソニック~**

Eighteen weeks into the separation, Locke and Knuckles found that they _sorely_ needed to spend some quality time together. As such, they began making tentative plans to go treasure hunting together. When those plans became finalized, Knuckles found himself feeling... _excited_ as he awaited the day when they would go (three weeks from this day). He was finally going to spend some genuine time with his father, whom Gerald had forced out of Knuckles's life when it had just beginning. They were going to spend time together, do something they both loved together, maybe talking about various things as they did so... Knuckles smiled a little. A breeze whispered through the clearing on Angel Island where the Master Emerald's alter was. He was leaning against it. Turning his head, he saw that his father was doing the same. Locke was napping. Knuckles's smile grew a little wider.

**~ソニック~**

**1,032 words this time. There was more Eye of the Storm foreshadowing in Cream's visions here. I hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at around 6:30 a.m.) 04-08-16.**


	203. The Blue Scarf

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Thanks! :DD YES! GO SILVER! XD Yeah... Poor Locke... So sad... ;_; Well, she doesn't need to give up thievery. The Rogues sure as heck aren't, after all. :P But yes, Rouge! Save the day and spend time with Knuckie! Do it! :DD I did, too. :3**

**Hello, karygarcia21! Yeah! :)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm glad you enjoyed that part! I did as well. XD Yeah, large fans with blade ends. They were in the Ruined Future Arc as well. And yeah, he certainly does. :D Yeah, and there's more here, too! I'm glad you're so excited! I am as well! Yeah, that was an interesting typo. I fixed it, though. Haha. XD Yes, yes they have. Yeah, they are, 'cause they need it. :) I will do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Mutt7! Like I've been saying for months now, there are still more arcs that I'm going to do. After this mini arc, there'll be the Sonic Adventure/Adventure DX arc, the Sonic and the Secret Rings Arc, the Sonic X Arc, and a sort of Peacetime Arc (which will basically end the story). Haha, yes, please cancel those weapons owners. XD I will do my best!**

**~ソニック~**

Nineteen weeks into the separation, Locke walked down a highly familiar (yet highly not) path that wound it's way through the dense forests on Angel Island. After walking for a few hours, he found himself in the middle of a beautiful clearing in the woods. At the far edge of it was the ruins of a house that held some of his fondest memories. Smiling a sad yet happy and loving smile, he walked up to the ancient home and slowly opened the door. Once the door was fully open, he stepped inside. He felt his eyes tear up a bit as he looked down a nearby hallway and saw a door leading to the bedroom he had once shared with his wife, Laura. Not terribly far from that was the door leading to the room where their young son (who had been just a baby at the time) had slept. That was the room he walked into.

In that room, he found baby Knuckles's crib. In there was a thin, light blue scarf. It was the very some one that baby Knuckles had stolen from his mother and refused to give back. Locke's eyes teared up further as he remembered how baby Knuckles had clung to the scarf all day long, how Laura had laughed about it and let Knuckles keep it, how Knuckles had gone to bed with the scarf and cuddled with it as though it were a teddy bear or some other beloved stuffed toy. Eye tearing up even further and smile growing, he reached into the crib and picked up the scarf.

**~ソニック~**

Twenty weeks and four days into the separation, Jet and Tails were sparring together. Jet had been training in isolation for the most part, but he still made time to train Tails as well. For the most part, these training sessions were nothing out of the ordinary. They worked with Tails's swords and electricity above everything else, but also with the fox's overall speed, strength, endurance, and so on. All of these training sessions were normal. One day, however, something happened during their training that made things a little... _less_ normal.

Tails and Jet exchanged a series of fierce hand-to-hand blows. Jet then used one of his Bashosen to send Tails skidding backwards as the result of a blast of wind. Once the wind died down and the skidding stopped, Tails smiled a little and watched as Jet replaced the Bashosen in it's strap on his back. He turned away, perhaps to get something out of his backpack, and Tails called to him. "Can we have a break for lunch, sensei?"

Jet paused, then turned to face Tails again. "...What did you call me?"

Tails continued to smile. "Sensei," he repeated. "You know, 'teacher'."

Jet paused for a moment longer, then turned away again without saying another word about it. And, somehow, Tails knew he'd won.

**~ソニック~**

Twenty weeks and six days into the separation, Amy was sitting in her room in her parent's house in Apatos. She was on the phone, talking to a friend of hers that she'd known for a good few years by now. As they were talking, that friend mentioned something about a horoscope, and Amy smiled a little. "I really don't think that horoscopes are anything to base your life around."

_"But listen to this one!" _her friend insisted. _"This one is for people born in your month and on the same day as you. 'Someone, someday, will make you feel more beautiful than the moon, warmer than the sun, and lighter than a cloud. This person will utterly complete your life, and you will complete theirs. Someday, you will find your perfect love.'"_

"That sounds so cheesy," Amy replied immediately. And yet... she couldn't force herself to stop smiling.

**~ソニック~**

Twenty one weeks and a day into the separation, Cream had yet more visions. She was getting fairly used to this by now, but it was still a bit surprising to suddenly see the future out of nowhere. Still, she permitted the flow of visions and never resisted them. She closed her eyes and focused, trying to see every detail in each vision that she could.

In the first vision, she saw Analia. Analia was standing amongst the ruins of Chun-nan, looking over them with a smile. She had an idea... and, within a few days, she would be able to see it completed.

In the second vision, saw Tails. Tails ran into his workshop from outside and dashed around the Tornado-1. He dashed over to a very large ship and then inside. He needed to get this ship ready to go. Somehow, she knew the name of this ship. The Blue Typhoon.

In the third vision. she saw the male white bat again, the one that looked like he was related to Rouge. He was gazing down at the photograph of the broken sphere again. He was standing on the very edge of a cliff as he did this. He was alone.

In the fourth vision, she saw Sonic. He was sitting on the top of the Blue Typhoon's roof as it flew through space. As he sat there, she clearly heard his thoughts. _Time does a lot to change things, places, and people... But why did you have to change so much...?_

In the fifth and final vision, she saw herself. The other Cream was sitting on the roof of the Blue Typhoon at a different time than Sonic had been in the vision prior. She looked sad and lonely... until Charmy came out onto the roof and sat with her. As time went on, the other Cream began to smile.

**~ソニック**

Twenty one weeks and two days into the separation, Espio finally finished his research. He frowned softly and stood up. His research was complete, and he knew everything that he needed to know. This most important thing was... He knew now who Tikal was.

**~ソニック~**

**1,025 words this time. And yet more EotS foreshadowing in this one. Hope you enjoyed. Also, Sensei is a Japanese word that really does mean teacher. Posted 04-09-16.**


	204. Beautiful Coincidence

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Locke: "I... I'm not crying... ;_;" Kaden: "Liar." But no, seriously, that was a sad part. But it was kinda sweet at the same time. YES, JET! DO EET! I thought that was cool, too. :D Haha, that's awesome. XD But yeah, I liked that part. That news thing was awesome and funny. I liked it. XD "****Sonniku seems to be worrying over someone(Pyro: and I THINK I know who that is)". May I ask who you were thinking of? ;)Yep, yep he did. He did good! I will do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Thanks! I'm glad you did! And I thought it was, too. :) Yeah, poor Locke... But I agree that it was sweet. :3 That scene was based off of something in the Knuckles's Little Daily Achievements thing. :) Yeah, yeah she is. :3 I kinda do, too. It might be.**

**~ソニック~**

Twenty one weeks and five days into the separation, Locke and Knuckles went out on their promise treasure hunting trip. Locke loved seeing how happy his normally gruff, grumpy son looked right now. It made Locke happy, too. Very happy, in fact. That, in turn, seemed to make Knuckles's own happiness grow. It was a virtually never-ending cycle, but it was a good one. Locke certainly wasn't complaining. Several hours into their trip, they came across a large set of ruins hidden far within the depths of White Jungle. Neither could stop grinning as they flew down to the ruins.

**~ソニック~**

Twenty two weeks into the separation, Kaden and Analia were sitting in a field of flowers under the stars. As they sat there, leaning back against a large rock, Kaden uncharacteristically slept. He had fallen asleep unintentionally, and his head was on Analia's shoulder. She simply could _not_ stop smiling for the life of her. Though she was supposed to be watching the stars, her gaze was always inevitably drawn to her partner. He looked so peaceful. She loved every second of it.

**~ソニック~**

Twenty three weeks into the separation, Cream had yet more visions.

In the first one, she saw a massive Raiga effortlessly destroying a huge crowd of soldiers on a dark world she had never seen before. She could tell that Jet was furious.

In the second one, she saw that Locke was unconscious in some sort of a hospital-looking bed. He was very badly injured and covered in blood. His _own_ blood. Nearby stood Kaden, who was watching with lowered ears as Amy and Analia worked on Locke's wounds. His emerald eyes were clouded with worry. He, for once, truly seemed afraid.

In the third one, she saw a massive building like nothing she had ever seen before. It was far more grand than even a castle. Out of that grand building emerged the grey hawk with light blue eyes that she had seen in other visions before. He walked down a pathway that wound through a garden in a courtyard and out of view.

In the fourth one, she saw Shadow running through a thick, dark jungle. He seemed desperate to find something... or some_one_. Whoever or whatever he was looking for was in grave danger... and he refused to fail to do something about it.

In the fifth one, she saw the sphere again, the one from the first set of visions she'd had weeks before, sometime before it broke. It glowed brightly with evil energy that was dark purple in color. The energy visibly swirled beneath the sphere's surface.

In the sixth one, she saw a simple journal. It's cover was made of a soft black material that didn't seem to come from Mobius. It looked fairly old, but clearly was still being written in to this day. She sensed that it was deeply important.

In the seventh one, she saw Tails and Amy looking out over a dense, foreign world's forest. Amy asked something about why "they [were] fighting", and Tails just looked at her with worry shinning deeply in his eyes as he replied, "That's just it..." He looked back to the fight. All that could be seen of it was distant explosions, fires, and so on. "...We don't know."

In the eighth one, she saw a massive, four-legged dragon in space that was made out near heavenly blue colored energy. Someone was inside of it, controlling it.

In the ninth one, she heard Kaden's voice. It was a thought. _The joy is in the journey... and I have enjoyed this one._

In the tenth one, she again heard a voice. This one belonged to the grey hawk. He seemed to be speaking to someone, but she couldn't see who. "Life is a series of strange and often beautiful coincidences."

In the eleventh one, she saw Sonic and Amy. They were walking together through a lush, grassy park, smiling and laughing all the while. As they walked, Amy mentioned something about the joys of being a child.

In the twelfth one, she heard yet another voice. This one was female and sported a thick accent. The woman didn't seem totally fluent in the language that most people spoke (which was generally called the "Universal Language", since people from every world spoke the language to some degree). "You're like a child. Bumbling around, don't know where to go." She seemed to be scolding someone... possibly Sonic.

In the thirteenth one, she heard a name... Kethro.

In the fourteenth one, she didn't see anything. She just heard Jet's voice. "That's one of the remarkable things about life... It's never so bad that it can't get worse."

In the fifteenth one, she saw a small girl running around happily in the sunshine... only to freeze with horror when a massive, dark ship blotted out the sun.

In the sixteenth and final vision, she saw a female hawk with softly colored blue feathers.

When the visions finally faded, she sighed and resumed reading her book.

**~ソニック~**

**876 words this time. And yet more foreshadowing for EotS in this chapter. I hinted at a _lot_ of important things from that story in here. Posted (at about 12:01 a.m.) 04-10-16.**


	205. Rock N Roll

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Yeah. Uber cute. :3 Yas! Do it! Doo eet! :D YAS. LOTS OF IT. AND OF COURSE YOU DO! XD Don't worry, there'll be some. Promise. :3**

**Hello, Mutt7! Would you prefer that I put an inane amount of focus on two years of peace where not terribly much is happening. 'Cause I personaly wouldn't like that, nor would some others readers that I personally know. XD Anyway, if you want to write, I highly encourage it! And I'd be happy to help however I can! :D**

**Hello, Spell of Dawn! Your first review to Chapter 204: No, those weren't EotS chapters. They're just foreshadowing it. XD Oh, wow. That's frightening. I'm so sorry that that happened. :( Yeah, it does. And I am. But I skip a lot of weeks along the way, so it won't be so bad. XD Well, yeah, he is. Shadow has Kaden's DNA, so he very much does have their blood. He probably won't be calling Silver "Nephew" any time soon, though. Haha. XD Sonic X 2? I don't think there is such a thing. The Blue Typhoon is from Sonic X, though, yes. Same with the Metarex. And, as I have said plenty of times before, the Sonic X Arc will be here in Hero. EotS has a different enemy entirely. ;) Don't worry, it is coming soon. :)**

**Yoursecond review to Chapter 204: Lol, okay. Good to know. XD**

**~ソニック~**

Twenty four weeks into the separation, Kaden, Analia, Locke, Shadow, Sonic, Amy, Silver, and Blaze all went together to Kaden's library (which, after his last unexpected visit with Shadow, he had resealed with the same boulder as before). Kaden had only brought them here because Silver had begged him to. Plus, he _had_ promised to take Shadow back here. And, besides that, he truly did just love coming here. This was his sanctuary, in a way, a place he could go to in order to escape things. Anything. He loved it here. And... he supposed that sharing this place with others wouldn't be such a terrible thing. It might actually be nice, he supposed.

Locke lit the torches, as his fire was orange and therefore provided more light than Sonic and Kaden's did (as theirs was blue). Silver followed Kaden and the others as they walked in. He took in all the books, art, scrolls, journals, documents, and other such things that his grandfather had stored in here. Blaze walked over to a pile of scrolls that had been very carefully stacked on a high shelf on one of the many bookcases. She picked the very top scroll up off of the stack and very carefully unrolled it. Inside, they saw a great deal of writing. It was all very clearly written in Kaden's handwriting. It was dark, relatively small, and fairly cursive-y. Definitely Kaden's.

Though Blaze read the entire scroll, Silver did not. Instead, he merely scanned it over briefly with his eyes. Some sentences were interesting enough to catch his attention and warrant him reading them, but not all of them. Just a few.

_"Every movement has a meaning."_

_"How much of life is lost to waiting, I wonder? Far too much of mine has passed me by for the simple fact that I have wasted time waiting for things to get better."_

_"If you have knowledge, let others light their candles with it."_

No sooner than he had finished reading that, he heard Locke and Sonic talking about something as they walked by. He decided to follow the two of them. He didn't follow them for long, however, before he caught sight of an old record player. "Hey," he said, unintentionally interrupting the conversation, "does that thing still work?"

Sonic and Locke both followed his pointing finger, and Locke smirked. "Yeah," he confirmed. "'Course it does."

Sonic looked around at the many old records his father had stored throughout the massive library. He was now also smirking. "So let's play something, then."

"I have something _way_ better to play than all of those," Locke said, his smirk now growing. Kaden happened to walk up to them right as Locke said that, and he watched with obvious suspicion as Locke walked off somewhere. As they all watched Locke walk over to the nearby black and white television set, the girls and Shadow joined the group by the record player. Locke reached behind the TV and, _somehow_, pulled a record out of the space between the TV's back and the wall.

Kaden frowned. "You hid a record in my library?" he asked as Locke pulled the record out of its case and walked over to the player.

Locke grinned unapologetically. "Yep. And not just _any_ record."

Kaden tensed with realization, and his ears went back slightly as he glared at his old friend. "You _didn't_."

"Oh, yes I did," Locke replied evilly (though not really) as he put the large disk into the record player.

Kaden internally groaned as the song began to play. It was a very old one, and short. This was one of many songs that he had written and sang when he'd _thought_ he'd been alone. _Apparently not alone enough._

_"Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away._  
_Now it looks as though they're here to stay._  
_Oh, I believe in yesterday._

_Suddenly I'm not half the man I used to be._  
_There's a shadow hanging over me._  
_Oh, yesterday came suddenly._

_Why she had to go, I don't know, she wouldn't say._  
_I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday._

_Yesterday love was such an easy game to play._  
_Now I need a place to hide away._  
_Oh, I believe in yesterday._

_Why she had to go, I don't know, she wouldn't say._  
_I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday._

_Yesterday love was such an easy game to play._  
_Now I need a place to hide away._  
_Oh, I believe in yesterday._

_Mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm..."_

Sonic was smiling all the while as he listened to the song. It was beautiful. His father's voice was incredible. However, before he could voice any of these thoughts (or even decide if he wanted to do so in the first place), Silver piped up with a grin. "Boy, you sure do know how to make a guy feel sad, Gramps." Kaden gave him a dry look.

Blaze looked to Locke. "Are there more of these?" Clearly, she was asking whether or not there were more records like this one, specifically, though she seemed a bit shy as she asked this. Perhaps due to her idolization of the singer in question.

Locke grinned. "Quite a few," he confirmed as he removed the record from the player.

Kaden turned his dry, unhappy look on the echidna. "Next time you think about recording me singing, do yourself a favor and _don't_."

Locke just chuckled, flipped the record over, and replaced it in the machine. Mere seconds later, the record's second song began to play.

_"Spend all your time waiting_  
_For that second chance,_  
_For a break that would make it okay._  
_There's always some reason_  
_To feel not good enough,_  
_And it's hard at the end of the day._  
_I need some distraction,_  
_Oh, beautiful release._  
_Memories seep from my veins._  
_Let me be empty_  
_And weightless and maybe_  
_I'll find some peace tonight._

_In the arms of the angel..._  
_Fly away from here._  
_From this dark cold hotel room,_  
_And the endlessness that you fear._  
_You are pulled from the wreckage_  
_Of your silent reverie._  
_You're in the arms of the angel..._  
_May you find some comfort here._

_So tired of the straight line._  
_And everywhere you turn_  
_There's vultures and thieves at your back._  
_And the storm keeps on twisting._  
_You keep on building the lies_  
_That you make up for all that you lack._  
_It don't make no difference,_  
_Escaping one last time._  
_It's easier to believe in this sweet madness, oh,_  
_This glorious sadness that brings me to my knees._

_In the arms of the angel..._  
_Fly away from here._  
_From this dark cold hotel room,_  
_And the endlessness that you fear._  
_You are pulled from the wreckage_  
_Of your silent reverie._  
_You're in the arms of the angel..._  
_May you find some comfort here._  
_You're in the arms of the angel..._  
_May you find some comfort here."_

Analia smiled softly at the song. Amy found herself doing the very same thing. It was Amy who ended up speaking. "You're a wonderful singer, Kaden." Kaden just shrugged. Sonic smiled a little.

Silver once again randomly spoke up, prompting Shadow's ear to flick. "Hey, Gramps? What's 'The Day the Music Died'?"

Kaden turned his head to see that Silver was holding a new record. He quickly snatched it away, though not angrily. "Nothing," he said quickly. Sonic blinked several times in honest confusion, and Silver's expression became puzzled.

Locke smirked. He gestured for everyone to follow and began walking. "C'mon. I'll show you all."

Kaden blinked once. "_Show_ them?" He turned and began quickly following his friend. "What the hell do you mean _show_ them?" he demanded as he did so.

Laughing, Silver hurried after them. Sonic also followed, wondering more-or-less the same thing as his father. Amy walked by his side. Analia smiled as she also followed. She knew _just_ what Silver had unintentionally stumbled upon.

Locke walked over to the old TV and pulled out yet another recording he had stashed. This one was a video recording. On it was a title which read, "The Day the Music Died".

"Oh my god..." Kaden groaned, eyes closing as Locke smirked and loaded up the recording. "Someone recorded that damn thing on video?"

Locke grinned yet again. "Yep. Numerous people, actually."

Sonic's confused frown deepened. "What the hell are you guys talking about?" he asked them.

"Yeah, somebody explain, _please_," Silver added.

Locke turned his grin on them. "'The Day the Music Died' is the name of a world-famous rock concert," he said. "And it was the only day your old man ever performed for a crowd, Sonic." Kaden groaned again, though internally. He didn't like the reminder.

Silver stared for a long moment. However, it wasn't him who spoke next. It was Blaze. "He... performed...?"

Kaden released a sigh. "Once," he muttered. "Never again."

"Why not?" Silver questioned out of simple curiosity. Kaden didn't reply... if only because he didn't want to admit to having a bad case of stage fright.

At about the same time as Kaden fell silent, Locke loaded up the video tape to play the recording. This video was the best existing footage of that concert, but even it had its flaws. The first twenty seconds were so shaky and loud that it was impossible to tell what was going on. Then the image steadied and the roar of the crowd died down enough that the music could be heard. At about that point, Locke started fast-forwarding through the other performances to get to Kaden's. Silver soon caught sight of a performer he knew from listening to Sonic's collection of music: Rocky Hillton. That was one of the most famous Rock N Roll singers that had ever existed, and one of Silver's (and Sonic's) all-time favorite artists ever. He grinned a bit, silently wishing that they could have actually been there to see this all in person.

Locke accidentally skipped over part of Kaden's performance, so he quickly rewound the tape again. He quickly hit "play" once he was at the right part. The film began to play.

_The camera recording the whole thing was blocked by a person's head, but then it was moved to the right, revealing the stage just as Kaden, in full and clear black and white, made some sort of gesture to whoever his one-time band was (so as to indicate to them what to play). He already had his electric guitar ready. He and the band exchanged some words and even seemed to joke around a little. Kaden grinned slightly at one point, then turned around to the crowd. If he was nervous, he showed no signs of it. For once, his hair was down. After a small moment, he began playing the guitar and, not long afterward, the song began._

_"So you were six feet underneath me._  
_I felt the pulse, I swear you moved._  
_You're digging deep, deep down and recognized how much you had to lose._

_And if you wanna get out of here,_  
_Wanna get out of here,_  
_Save yourself,_  
_But you'll never get anywhere,_  
_Never get anywhere,_  
_Not without my help._

_Say it with me._

_I'm alive, I'm alive,_  
_Well you're dead inside._  
_I'm a slap in the face_  
_To your lullaby._  
_Got you all tongue tied_  
_'Cause you're living a lie, my friend._

_Say it with me._

_I'm alive, I'm alive,_  
_Well you're dead inside._  
_I'm your wake-up call,_  
_And you know I'm right._  
_So make a move,_  
_Let it bleed,_  
_Tear your heart off your sleeve,_  
_But I'm the only one who's gonna save your life._  
_I'm the one who's gonna save your life._  
_I'm the one who's is gonna-_

_So how far did you go for shelter?_  
_How long did it take you to find_  
_A place to sell your providence_  
_And a harmed peace of mind?_

_And if you wanna get out of here,_  
_Wanna get out of here,_  
_Save yourself,_  
_But you'll never get anywhere,_  
_Never get anywhere,_  
_Not without my help._

_Say it with me._

_I'm alive, I'm alive,_  
_When you're dead inside._  
_I'm a slap in the face_  
_To your lullaby._  
_Got you all tongue tied,_  
_'Cause you're living a lie, my friend._

_Say it with me._

_I'm alive, I'm alive,_  
_Well you're dead inside._  
_I'm your wake-up call,_  
_And you know I'm right._  
_So make a move,_  
_Let it bleed,_  
_Tear your heart off your sleeve,_  
_But I'm the only one who's gonna save your life._  
_I'm the one who's gonna save your life._  
_I'm the one who's is gonna-_

_I'm alive, I'm alive,_  
_Well you're dead inside._  
_I'm a slap in the face_  
_To your lullaby._  
_Got you all tongue tied,_  
_'Cause you're living a lie, my friend._

_Say it with me._

_I'm alive, I'm alive,_  
_Well you're dead inside._  
_I'm your wake-up call,_  
_And you know I'm right._  
_So make a move,_  
_Let it bleed,_  
_Tear your heart off your sleeve,_  
_But I'm the only one whose gonna save your life._  
_I'm the one whose gonna save your life._  
_I'm the one whose gonna save your life._  
_I'm the one whose gonna save your life._  
_I'm the one whose gonna save your life."_

_When the song ended, there was an enormous amount of cheering and screaming. Sometime in the middle of this, none other than Rocky Hilton himself jogged up the stairs leading up to the stage. Kaden turned to look at him, and the two exchanged words. Rocky was smiling the whole while. The two shook hands, and Kaden also began to smile. Then the most unexpected thing happened. The two of them fist-bumped._

Silver stared. And stared. And stared. Then he turned to Kaden. "So, let me get this straight: you _met_ Rocky Hillton and freaking _fist-bumped_ with him?!" His tone was full of excitement and betrayed his fanboyish jealousy. Amy laughed a little at him while Shadow highly uncharacteristically rolled his eyes, in spite of how undignified such an action was.

Kaden nodded calmly. "Yes," he responded, not paying much attention to Amy's laughter and entirely ignoring his son's attitude.

Locke piped up again with a small chuckle, then said, "You guys want to know something even cooler than that?" Blaze gave him a curious glance.

Sonic shrugged readily. "Sure."

Locke smirked. "Your old man was actually Rocky's inspiration. Without him, half of Rocky's most famous songs wouldn't exist." Kaden blinked once out of surprise. Even _he_ hadn't known that. ...Partly because he and Analia had died fairly early into the rocker's career.

Sonic's eyes widened a little. _No way..._

As Silver continued to fanboy aloud and Sonic seemingly did the same internally, Kaden occupied himself with punching his friend's arm. "Don't ever record me singing again."

Locke only grinned once more. "I make no promises."

Kaden punched his friend's arm once again.

**~ソニック~**

**2,607 words this time. No premonitions of the future this time around, but don't you worry. There'll be more tomorrow. ;)**

**Some quick credits: The quote, ****"Every movement has a meaning." (originally written as, "Every movement has a meaning!") comes from one of the many Garfield comic collections. I don't remember which one, but I know the quote was spoken by Garfield himself. The quote "How much of life is lost to waiting?" (originally written as, "Ah, how much of life is lost to waiting.") comes from Google Images. The person who posted the photo left no source, so I don't know who said this quote. Lastly, the quote "If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it." is by Margaret Fuller.**

**The songs in this chapter, in order used, are Yesterday by the Beatles, In the Arms of the Angels by Sarah McLachlan, and I'm Alive by Shinedown.**

**The last thing I have to say is that, in case you were wondering, I do still plan on using quotes in the linebreakers... sometimes. Just not as often as I was initially.**

**Posted (at about 6:25 ****a.m.) 04-11-15.**


	206. Hope for the Future

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed! XD Oh, I do, too! YAS! YAS HE IS! XDD Haha, yep. He was. XD Pfft, I dunno. A lot. Like, nineteen _bare_ minimum. :P**

**~ソニック~**

**So I decided to post this today just 'cause not much happening in the last chapter and I was excited share this one. :D**

**~ソニック~**

Twenty-five weeks and four days into the separation, Blaze and Silver were walking around together and just enjoying each other's company. As they walked, they talked. Their conversation strayed into nothing too serious. They discussed animals, places, their training, lunch plans, and so on. At one point while they were walking, Silver made a comment that made Blaze smile a little. That made his heart skip. He did his best to hide it as he asked, "So… Sandwiches for lunch?"

Blaze continued to smile that same small smile from before. Which meant that his heart continued to speak. "I would like that."

Unable to stop grinning, Silver turned and began walking to the nearest sandwich shop. Blaze followed him, never once straying from his side. He felt happier right now than he ever did when away from her. He couldn't stop smiling.

**~ソニック~**

Twenty-six weeks and two days into the separation, Espio did more research, this time into his family line. He was struggling to understand one important thing… How was it that he was seeing visions of the past, let alone the future? Couldn't only young Cream do such a thing? In search of answers, he began doing research into his family line for the first time ever in his life. Looking into his father Samuel's relatives, he found nothing remarkable and certainly nothing that could explain this remarkable ability.

Next, he turned his attention to his mother Carla's side of the family. He had to dig deep, very deep, and search very far back into her family's mostly unremarkable history. After digging back about two thousand years into the family history, he discovered one relative whom he had never heard of. Her name was Klari. She had been the renowned (at the time) possessor of a very, very, _very_ unique and rare form of clairvoyance, one that allowed the person with said power to view snippets of not just the _future_… but also the _past_. It was a power that normally couldn't be used at all. It's activation at any point in time was exceedingly rare.

The genes that Klari had inherited that have her that power hadn't been lost. In fact, it was clear to Espio's trained eyes that the genes were still being passed through the family. Which meant it was highly likely that he could _potentially_ have this power. This could very well explain his visions, and why Cream had seemingly known what he was going through during one of his visions before the final battle in space not long afterward. He leaned back in his chair at his desk in his room. This could explain everything… But it was a lot to take in.

**~ソニック~**

Twenty six weeks and four days into the separation, Cream once again had a series of visions about the future. Once again, she was hard-pressed to make sense of any of them.

In the first one, she saw words on a page in a very, very, very old book. They read, _"A storm is coming… and this time, nothing can prevent it."_

In the second one, she once again heard the calm voice of the grey hawk. "Release your worries. There is no trouble. Our world is at peace."

In the third one, she heard Jet's voice. It was one of his thoughts. _It's strange to say that I feel alone when I'm surrounded by people… but I do._

In the fourth one, she heard her own voice. _"I had a vision, Mr. Sonic," _was all she heard in the first part of the vision. In the second part, she heard, _"I think they escaped." _Then, in the third and final part of this particular vision, she heard, _"Their images were too vague."_

In the fifth one, she heard Amy's thoughts. _This sort of thing isn't normal anymore, not in this day and age. This world is safe. So why is this happening now…?_

In the sixth one, she heard Silver's voice. In the first part of the vision, he said, "The attacks were random, like they were trying to find someone and flush them out of hiding, or… something like that." In the second part of the vision, he said something else. "You can always come back, but you can't always save a life. Get going."

In the seventh one, there were no voices. Instead, she saw Sonic and Jet. They appeared to be arguing.

In the eighth one, she saw Blaze sitting on her knees in a hallway that Cream somehow knew was inside the Blue Typhoon. Blaze had her hands covering her mouth to as though to stifle her voice as she cried.

In the ninth one, she saw Kaden and Sonic in a large, very nice kitchen. They were both laughing and smiling as they interacted. At one point, Kaden deliberately smeared frosting on his son's chin. With a laugh, Sonic returned the favor by swiping his own frosting-covered fingers over his father's cheek.

In the tenth one, she saw Analia fiercely attacking an enemy that couldn't be seen clearly in the vision. She had never seemed angrier.

In the eleventh one, she saw Amy looking out a window and carefully observing a fight that she couldn't participate in due to injury. Her expression was nothing but serious.

In the twelfth one, she saw Rouge. Rouge and Blaze were talking with equal smiles outside of a cave. At one point, something one of them said made Knuckles (who was nearby) turn and glare at them. Blaze looked vaguely sheepish. Rouge just laughed.

In the thirteenth one, she saw Shadow. He was running, and running hard. He was clearly in a rush, which wasn't like him. He was frowning deeply. As he ran, he pulled out a gun.

In the fourteenth and final one, she saw a blast of Chaos.

**~ソニック~**

Thirty weeks into the separation, Amy went to visit Sonic. He was in Apatos and had invited her to have breakfast with him. It was an offer she happily accepted without so much as a second thought. She met him at a small restaurant that served the most delicious pancakes in this part of the city. He greeted her with a smile. Her own smile could only grow as she followed him inside.

**~ソニック~**

Thirty-two weeks into the separation, Cream had a single vision. In this vision, she saw a typed message on a communicator screen. _Future is now. _The message was simple… but ominous. Something about it was threatening. Then, right after seeing that message, she heard a baby cry.

**~ソニック~**

Thirty-five weeks into the separation, Knuckles awoke from a formerly peaceful sleep when it started to turn into some sort of nightmare. As he sat in the lush, cool grass under the stars on Angel Island, he slowly came to a troubling realization. That dream… was no dream. It was, in fact, a _memory_. One from when he was very, very young. In that dream, he had seen a woman. A woman that might, _might_… have been his mother. The most vivid thing he remembered was a simple color. Her eyes were hazel.

**~ソニック~**

Forty-one weeks into the separation, Rouge was sitting on a rooftop in a small city that had once been massive and crowded. Below the building atop which she knelt was a street. Across that street was a house, one that she knew well. She had grown up there, for a time. She had run away from there as a small child… though she knew not why. Not anymore. As she watched, well hidden in the shadows cast by the setting sun, she watched her mother, a woman she hadn't seen in years, walk down the sidewalk and then head inside. For a long moment, Rouge contemplated going down there and speaking with her parents… but, in the end, decided against it. Without ever saying a word to anyone, she turned and flew away.

**~ソニック~**

Forty-nine weeks into the separation, Shadow entered White Jungle. He looked around the specific area he was in and nodded slightly to himself out of satisfaction. This area was secluded (as was the entire jungle as a whole). It was also considerably less muddy than the rest of the jungle. It was certainly an ideal place for training, in his opinion. He loved training at the Sky Rail and all, but he also highly valued his privacy. He could certainly get that here. He vaguely thought about possibly making some sort of small home of sorts to use as shelter in the event of rain or him staying overnight, but brushed that thought aside as unimportant right now. He had a perfectly good apartment in Empire City, anyway. With that thought, he refocused on the idea of training and loaded his gun.

**~ソニック~**

Fifty-two weeks into the separation, Charmy went with Vector to go visit Cream and Vanilla. Charmy was so excited… and Vector would _not_ stop teasing him about it. Charmy huffily denied any claimed the crocodile (who had basically adopted him years ago) made about the young bee "_liking_" Cream, but Vector never bought a word of it. His eyes shined knowingly.

**~ソニック~**

Fifty-four weeks into the separation, Knuckles finally, _finally_ worked up the nerve to call Rouge. He invited her to go treasure hunting with him and his father. Though incredible hesitant… she, in the end, agreed. At this, he managed to smile a little.

**~ソニック~**

Sixty-three weeks into the separation, Cream had yet _another_ vision. In this vision, what she was shown was simple like the last one had been. And yet, it (much like the last vision) remained complicated and the meaning behind the vision was, as always, uncertain.

In the vision, she saw Wave. Wave was again sitting alone in the Rogues' tower home in Future City. She was thinking about the past and everything that had gone wrong… but still fighting to hold onto hope for the future.

**~ソニック~**

**1,660 words this time. Lots and lots of foreshadowing this time, and we are now fourteen months into the two years. This mini arc is gradually drawing to a close. Also, I know some of these scenes (and other scenes in this mini arc) were very short, and that's because they were drabbles (which is where the author tries to say a lot without using many words.) Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about six a.m.) 04-12-16.**


	207. Kiss of Love, Kiss of Grief

**Hello, Randomblackberry! I'M SORRY! BUT IT MUST BE DONE! XD Aw, thanks. That's so nice of you to say. :) Haha, yeah. That was a typo. I fixed that after you pointed it out. Thanks. :) Thanks for the cookies! XD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 204: Yeah, I do, too. It's so sweet. And there's more where that came from! :D It was, though! I loved it! X3 It is. It really, really is. Especially for some certain characters and particular. See, all of the characters are important and going through a bunch of rough stuff, but there are between three and six _main_ players in the story (besides the enemies). It's worse for them. :( I shall tell you more! There are more visions here! :D Also, if you ever have questions and don't mind spoilers, go ahead and ask questions. I don't mind answering them :) I shal do my very best, as always, Pyro-kun!**

**Your review to Chapter 205: Hahaha, yes! So true! He _is_! I'm so glad you enjoyed. I did as well. And I agree that it was fun to delve into that lesser-known aspect of his history. :) Dude, a mural like that would be awesome! :D Maybe I can put it into EotS as a sort of memorial of his role in important Mobian world history or something... :D I will do my very best, Pyro-kun! **

**Your review to Chapter 206: YEAH! WOO-HOO! Haha, I loved all those little ship comments. They all made me laugh and smile. XD Man, that scene you made up is awesome! I may not use that _exactly_, but the idea of the Chameleon ninja monastery and Espio leading them there and Sonic and Shadow having sarcastic, brotherly banter... I love it! :D I SHALL SAY NOTHING ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THERE IS A BABY. YOU SHALL SEE WHEN THE TIME COMES. ;D Yeah... yeah, he does, if only vaguely. It's so sad but so nice at the same time. ;_; Pfft, hahaha! "Normal." Riiight. _Totally_ the term I would use to describe it. XD I'm glad you did. I like this mini arc a lot as well, but don't fret. The end is near... ;) I shall do my very best Pyro-kun! :D (P.S.: You never answered mah question! XD)**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! I thought so, too. And I'm happy to know you approve. XD Yeah! It was short 'cause it was _kinda_ in drabble-style, but I liked it personally. :3 YAAAS. Yeah, same... It's very sad. :( He did! And he must! He has no choice! It's a requirement! XD**

**Hello, Mutt7! Haha, lol. Nice. XD**

**Hello, karygarcia! Thankies! Much appreciated! :)**

**~ソニック~**

Sixty-four weeks into the separation, Espio returned home for the first time in a very long time. He had said farewell to Charmy and Espio, his family (in a way), and went into the deep mountains where he had been born and raised, where he had received all of his training throughout his life. He needed more training... especially with this new power. That was why he was here. To seek out his former sensei... and pick up his training where it had left off all those years ago. He would need every once of it that he could get.

**~ソニック~**

Sixty-seven weeks into the separation, the Voice spoke to Sonic for the first time in a long while, thus interrupting his training and breaking his focus. _"Search deep into the past of the ones you love and you will find the answers you seek. In knowledge, there is truth." _

Focus broken, Sonic unintentionally toppled over from his handstand and landed hard on his back. He allowed himself a moment to groan in pain after his spine hit the hard, unforgiving ground. Then, with a heavy sigh of annoyance, he responded, _What the hell are you going on about now, Voice?_

But, of course, the Voice simply didn't answer. Annoyed, Sonic got back up and resumed training.

**~ソニック~**

Seventy-three weeks into the separation, Kaden had taken Analia out on their first date in many years. They had had dinner earlier in the evening, and now they were at a club. They had taken to the dance floor with hundreds of other people, and the song turned to something energetic and fast-paced with an amazing beat that was just _meant_ to be danced to. Analia laughed as he spun her around, then she twirled back toward him and tugged him back toward her. He smiled as they moved together, enjoying each other's company and having real, genuine _fun_. Then, suddenly, he twirled her again, gently pulled her back, then dipped her backward as he leaned forward. Right in that moment, for the first time in far too long, he kissed her. Her smiled could never express the full extent of her emotions as she reciprocated his affections. And amidst it all, she could still feel his smile.

**~ソニック~**

Seventy-seven weeks into the separation, Vanilla was going through an old box of photographs. She found pictures of Merry and her husband Eli, of her aunt Joy, of her mother Grace and father Will, of Cream when she was very small, of Cheese when he'd first become part of the family... Then, at the very bottom of the box, she found a frame that was turned so that she couldn't see the photo it contained, if it had any at all. Curious, she picked the photo frame up, lifted it into the air, and turned around so that she could see. She immediately felt a pang in her heart.

The photo depicted herself when she was younger, maybe early twenties, back before she had worn her current outfit. Beside her stood her now dead husband, Mark, who had perished when Cream was only a baby. His ears, unlike hers, stood up (since male "bunnies" were basically rabbits). He, like her, was smiling at the camera happily. In her arms was a small bundle with soft fur, floppy ears, and and a healthy glow. It was baby Cream. And just below her, written in black marker, was a message.

_Love you, Vani._

_-Mark_

Vanilla's eyes immediately teared up. And yet... still she managed to smile. Wiping her eyes, she called out, "Cream... come down here, please. Come and see your father."

**~ソニック~**

Eighty-one weeks into the separation, Locke and Knuckles were sitting around on Angel Island eating lunch. Just as Locke bit into an apple, a random bird swooped down and peck his head through his hat. _Hard._ He yelped in both pain and surprise and Knuckles busted up laughing. Locked huffed and fixed his old hat (which he was wearing while Knuckles recovered from a small head wound caused by a falling rock a few days ago) as Knuckles asked through his amusement, "What was that about?"

"It's the hat," Locke responded. "My tribe elder, Linan, had the same problem with birds always pecking him and whatnot." He took another bite of his apple, then added, "Kaden likes to claim that the hat is cursed."

Knuckles chuckled again. "Sucks for you."

Locke wasn't terribly pleased with that comment... until something occurred to him. "Wait, this isn't _my _problem anymore, remember?" Knuckles looked at him. "This is _your_ hat now, after all? That means the curse has been passed down to you."

Knuckles huffed and ate a small green grape. "Sure. And yet, _I've_ never been pecked while wearing it."

"No," Locke agreed. "Just hit by a stone." Knuckles glared, and Locke grinned. The older echinda picked up another apple. "You'll see; your day will come."

Knuckles rolled his eyes and shook his head disbelievingly and simply ate another grape.

**~ソニック~**

Eighty-five weeks into the separation, Silver was busy reading a book he'd snatched from his grandfather (earning a small whack from the older hedgehog). It was an incredibly interested murder mystery (something he never would have guessed that Kaden would read). By his side, Blaze was also reading. At one point, they both randomly turned their heads and looked at each other. Their eyes met briefly. Both smiling softly, they each looked away and resumed reading.

**~ソニック~**

Eighty-nine weeks into the separation. Ivo was sitting in his newly-built base. He was plotting, of course, Elsewhere in the base, robots were being built constantly by other robots. On one of his screens was a monster... a monster that looked to be made of water.

**~ソニック~**

Ninety-two weeks into the separation, Bokkun was sitting in his "room" in Ivo's base. He was gazing sadly out the window, watching the raindrops slid down it. Metal bars cross-crossed the glass on the outside. His door was metal and heavily latched. He was trapped... but he wanted to be outside. He didn't care that it was raining; he just wanted to be _free_. Rouge had done it. _She_ had escaped. But... he wasn't Rouge. He was just a sad, lonely child that had no hope. Wiping tears from his eyes, he turned away from the window and laid down on his thin, ratty mattress and pulled his single blanket up to his shoulders. He had no pillow. Wiping his eyes again, he tired to go to sleep.

**~ソニック~**

Ninety-six weeks into the separation, Cream was sitting outside in the grass with a book in the warm sunshine of the afternoon when, suddenly, she had yet _more_ visions. It had been a long while since she'd had any.

In the first one, she sensed someone she knew, though she couldn't quite decide who it was. Whoever it was had developed a terrible fear of fire.

In the second one, she saw Silver digging through Jet's backpack, the very same grey one that Sen had given him. Out of it, he pulled out a slim, white video camera.

In the third one, she saw terrified ruby eyes. She could tell that they belonged to a girl, but her identity wasn't one Cream knew. The girl was in grave, grave danger.

In the fourth one, she sensed someone else she knew but couldn't identify. They were tired, barely alive, and in so, so much pain... But still they were trying to get up and fight.

In the fifth one, she saw Espio. He was in the mountains on a forested peak surrounded by mist. He was bowing in respect before a grave marker with a lit incense burning on top. A thin, wispy trail of smoke drifted into the air.

In the sixth one, she saw a round, smooth-edged stone plopping into a brooke in the early evening light. Sonic was sad... and lonely. But then an old friend took a seat by his side.

In the seventh one, she again saw the huge fight that Amy had been asking Tails about in a previous vision. This time, she saw a blast of bright blue flames, the tell-tale fire that only members of Sonic's family possessed. It was quiet for a moment... Then again she saw the fire.

In the eighth one, she saw the old black journal again. It was sitting on the edge of the foot of a bed in an unfamiliar room of an unfamiliar home. There was a new entry. The last sentence was the only one that was revealed to her. _If it's a damn war they want, that's just what they're going to get. _

In the ninth one, she saw Tails. He was walking alone into an old orphanage. He was questioning himself and what he was doing, his motives, and so on... but he was determined. His mind was set.

In the tenth one, she saw a gorgeous night sky. In it was not one, but _two_ moons. The white one was at least twice as large as the Mobian one, and the soft blue one to the left of it was only about a third of the bigger one's size. Below that beautiful night sky was that grand palace-like building she'd seen the grey hawk at in previous visions. In one of it's many vast courtyards was a lush, grassy hill covered in in blue flowers (the likes of which simply did _not_ exist on Mobius) that seemed to glow softly in the equally soft moonlight. Amongst the flowers at the very top of the hill was a gravestone. The only word she could read was a single name.

_Selene_

**~ソニック~**

Ninety-seven weeks into the separation, Blaze embarked on the brief journey to the temporary home that Kaden and Analia had been staying in. Hero hero had agreed to train her for these last seven weeks... so of course she had accepted the offer. She still felt elated that he had even considered such a thing. A small smile played across her lips. She had never felt more nervous (though in a good way)... or more excited.

**~ソニック~**

Ninety-eight weeks into the separation, Tails was fighting (though not literally) to repair the X-Tornado as quickly as he possibly could. It had been fine, it had been _ready_ for use when it was needed, but now it was badly damaged thanks to an accidental detonation from a bomb he'd been working on constructing. Using a technique he'd learned from his sensei in the weeks prior to this day, he placed his palm on the side of the ship and channeled some bright yellow electricity directly into the ship without the use of tools or other aids. He smiled slightly, partly out of relief, as the ship's systems flickered back to life.

**~ソニック~**

Ninety-nine weeks into the separation, Silver was once again drawing. This time, however, it wasn't for someone's birthday gift. He had his grandparents in mind as he made this particular work of art. He smiled to himself and put the finishing touches on the beautiful black and white drawing. _Happy Anniversary, guys._

**~ソニック~**

One hundred weeks into the separation, Vector and Charmy were running through the upstairs of their office/house. Vector chased Charmy into the young bee's room, pinned him onto the bed (though not hard), and began tickling him mercilessly. Charmy laughed and squealed, scrambling helplessly as he struggled to escape his fate. Vector also laughed. "This is watcha get for trying to pull a prank on me, kiddo!"

Unable to stop laughing long enough to formulate any sort of an intelligible reply, Charmy just broke free, turned tail (or rather, stinger), and fled back down the hall. This time, still grinning, Vector let him go.

**~ソニック~**

One hundred and two weeks into the separation, Amy was again sitting in her room in her parent's house in Apatos. Outside, the sun was shining brightly. One of the city's famous ocean breezes sifted through the leaves and branches of a healthy tree beside the window and flowed into the room. Bright green eyes were locked on the sky and a happy smile was plastered on a pink face. As she stood there, leaning into her windowsill, a single face kept popping into her mind. She thought. And kept thinking. One single idea held all of her focus. It was the source of all her current joy. _Only two more weeks._

**~ソニック~**

One hundred and three weeks into the separation, Wave finally, _finally_ finished both fixing and upgrading her board. Grinning a bit to herself, she picked it up and hurried off to find Jet. She wanted to have a race. And, if she were being perfectly honest with herself... she just generally wanted to spend time with him, even if they weren't racing (though racing allowed them to connect in some sort of special way that she couldn't explain, nor describe). But, of course, no one liked a person who was overly candid, now did they? And yet... didn't people also hate liars?

**~ソニック~**

One hundred and four weeks into the separation, Sonic was standing in the woods looking down at his communicator. His emerald eyes widened. With only a moment of hesitation, he turned and began to run. He had news.

**~ソニック~**

**2,327 words this time. And there we go, the end of the mini arc is here! Finally! I have to say, I actually enjoyed this one. I especially liked all of Cream visions, personally. :) Oh, and that reminds me: the scene with the Voice serves as both foreshadowing for this upcoming SA/SA DX Arc, as well as the sequel. The advice the Voice gives applies very heavily to important events in both. ;) Posted (at some point around five-thirty or six p.m.) 04-12-16.**


	208. Eyes of Menace

**NOTICE! Remember that problem that occurred when I was writing the Ruined Future Arc? The one where I couldn't see the new reviews for a while? Yeah, it's happening again. I can't see review 1,467 or 1,468 (which are the only two new ones as I'm writing this) and I didn't get emails for them, either. I'll reply to them whenever the problem is resolved and I can see them. Sorry about that, guys.**

**~ソニック~**

The day was young. The barest light filtered through the trees in an ancient forest almost as old as South Island itself. An ancient rock formation stood alone, back to the sheer grey cliffs that towered over the forest. The rock was deeply engraved with markings and pictures all over. These engravings told a story far more ancient than the rock itself... the story of a creature that had once very nearly destroyed half of the island at _least_ by itself. But then someone had fought the beast, and one. They had permanently removed most of the beasts power, then sealed it away so that it could never again roam free in the world and begin a new reign of terror.

A split appeared in the rock. It was little more than a sliver, a tiny crack that could barely be seen, but it remained a massive cause for alarm to anyone with an ounce of sensibility and sanity. All at once, the crack seemed to jump farther down the rock as it grew. It elongated and splintered in different directions. Tiny bits of rock and dust cascaded from the damaged points in the rock. The crack continued to spread bit by bit. Each part of the crack was going in random directions. Some were longer and thicker than others. As the cracks continued to break their way through the thick, ancient stone, more and more debris fell away. Soon, entire chunks of the monument were falling to the ground. Eventually, a rather large piece of rock fell and hit the ground, causing said ground to shake just a bit.

The madman responsible for this destruction only grinned as more and more sections of the monument met this same fate, revealing an ancient, perfect sphere that glowed faintly with pink energy that most certainly did _not_ belong to the creature sealed within it. Pressing a button, he watched as a robot arm reached out, grabbed the sphere, and pulled it free. It hadn't been easy to get to. Not by any means. The barrier surrounding the monument had been powerful... but time did much in the way of weakening the strength of things and people. Which, of course, very much worked to his advantage. He continually grinned as the robot claw brought the small, emerald-sized sphere up to him. A menacing, hate-fill green eye glared at him from within while its twin remained shut. The simultaneously reptilian and water-like body seemed to be tightly curled within the sphere's depths.

He grinned again. "Well, now. That can't be terribly comfortable."

Though his ears could have been mistaken, it almost sounded as if a small, animalistic growl emanated from the sphere's depths. All the while, that green eye never broke it's penetrating stare. So much hatred and rage and hostility radiated from this creature, tempered by the ancient power keeping it sealed within this small, faintly growing prison. His pleased grin seemed to further anger the beast, if the sight of it's already thin, animalistic pupils thinning further was anything to go by, and some of the sphere's ancient power rose up to quell the beast. It worked magnificently, and his grin only grew.

The robot arm turned fully around and dropped the sphere neatly into the palm of his hand. He looked down at his prize, then glanced at one of the vaguely emerald-like gems he had stored in his machinery to give it some more power. He then looked back to the sphere and grinned at that hateful eye again. "Come, now. I have a much better home in store for you." With that, Gerald pushed a button and his robot lifted off into the air.

**~ソニック~**

Espio's eyes suddenly opened when he saw a light turn on in the hall. He rolled onto his back in bed, then pushed himself. By watching the shadows breaking the light coming in from under his door, he was easily able to determine that it was just Charmy. The child was probably just getting some water. He sighed softly and laid back down. His eyes closed, and he brought up both hands to rub at his temples. _Gerald... and a beast..._ Was it a dream? Was it a vision? It felt to vivid to have been a dream, yet almost didn't feel real enough to have been a vision. Somehow, though, he knew. He _knew_ that couldn't have been anything but real. That had to have been a vision. It just had to have been.

_A beast..._

He recalled the grey stone monument he'd seen so vividly in the beginning of his vision. He remembered each symbol, every marking, every picture, and yet... He wasn't sure what to make of it all. It wasn't a language he knew. But then, languages weren't a thing he typically studied very often. But if he could just get them down on paper somehow... Maybe, just maybe, if he somehow managed to write everything her remembered seeing, he could take the pages to someone who _could _read them. Someone like Locke, or even A'taiu... One symbol, however, demanded to be understood _now_. He couldn't seem to get it out of his mind, but he couldn't quite decide if it was because the symbol was familiar in some way or if it was the because the symbol was just so foreign. Something was tugging at the edges of his mind. He was on the verge of understanding, he just... needed... to _think_...

His mind drifted suddenly and randomly into his past, a thing he typically spent little (if any) time thinking about. He recalled a dream he'd had as a child, one he had never shared with his parents, teachers, or even fellow students. He recalled seeing a massive and terrible flood that destroyed a city, seeing a massive beast with terrible, hateful green eyes, hearing it roar and watching it's body lash out to destroy yet more buildings... He also remembered hearing a name, like someone was whispering it into his ear as he slept even though no one had been there. And the moment that memory from so long ago resurfaced, the pieces began to fit together.

_A beast..._ He sat up, eyes widening slightly. _...Named Chaos..._

Just like that, he threw the blankets aside and stood just as the hall light finally turned off. The position of the moon and stars outside told him just how insanely earlier it was, but he didn't care right now. He was typically a person of the night, anyway. And, besides that, he had a task to complete that was far more important than _sleep_. He walked briskly to his desk and pulled out a small stack of paper and one of his fine pens. Then, without a sound, he sat down and set to work.

**~ソニック~**

Locke knew he was supposed to be sleeping. Everyone was meeting together tomorrow morning. Tomorrow was the day when they would all finally reunite and resume their struggle against Ivo. And yet... something was eating away at him, him deep-seated worry that was somehow tied to the ruins he was walking through now. He couldn't place his finger on what, exactly, his worry was, but it wasn't leaving him alone. Whatever it was was a great, heavy concern that was weighing him down and making his shoulders feel heavy with burden. As he walked, a small subterranean breeze rushed past him briefly and made the fire he was holding up in his left hand flicked haphazardly for several moments. When the breeze died away and his fire calmed down again, he found himself turning his head to the left to look at some of the ancient paintings that decorated the walls of this incredibly ancient tunnel.

His expression immediately became puzzled when he realized that he scarcely recognized these pictures. Turning quickly around, he realized that this entire section of the tunnel was barely familiar. These tunnel systems were vast and maze-like... was it possible that he'd made a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in an area that was new to him? He turned back to the pictures he'd been looking at just a moment before. No... this was definitely familiar. But... only distantly. He thought he might vaguely recall being walked through here once as a small child and reaching up to point at this picture, but he wasn't sure if that memory was real or just something his mind had conjured up to make sense of this.

He walked from about the middle of the tunnel to the wall that had captured his attention. The fire in his hand bathed the picture in light, and he realized that what he was looking at was a huge depiction of South Island that stretched great lengths both to his left and to his right down the walls of the tunnel. He turned briefly in both directions to take all of this in, and one thing became abundantly clear to him. This depiction had been a huge undertaking. But, despite it's size and vast detail, there was truly nothing otherwise special about it. So why was it _here_? There must have been some sort of purpose behind it. His ancestors wouldn't have used up so much time and so many artistic resources to make a pointless picture. ...Right?

Turning again, he moved to face the wall that had been to his right when he'd initially been walking down the corridor. Nothing on this side was huge like the picture of the island, nor were these smaller depictions anything out of the ordinary. He saw paintings of various echidna settlements (typically just collections of tepees and tents), paintings of nature, food, animals, and even vague depictions of some of the other tribes and cities with which the echidnas had once traded and been allied with. Above it all was a semi-large depiction of the sun. None of this was anything unusual. That was pretty typical of the paintings seen in this place. They generally depicted every day life in all of its beauty, and the sun was always present at least once in every individual hall. But there were never any depictions of the island as a whole. How could they have even known what it looked like from such a sideways view back when this place was being occupied and painted in? Back during that time, the echidnas had no means of flying far enough or long enough to make it off the island, get far enough from it to be able to turn around and see the whole thing at once in one's vision, then fly back. They simply couldn't have done it back then. And yet... this painting, in spite of how vivid and perfect it's colors and whatnot still were, was clearly as old as the rest of them. Which meant it _had_ been made during that time. What he just didn't understand was _how_. And he still didn't understand _why_ it was here.

More confused than ever, Locke turned in the original direction that he'd been facing and resumed walking the way he'd been going. He did so in the perhaps vain hope that at least some of the answers he sought would be revealed farther down this ancient, dark corridor. Though it took him time, he did eventually pass the farthest end of the South Island painting (at least the one that stretched in this direction), and his searching eyes soon found another unusually large painting. This one was of a storm. It, like the picture of South Island, was uncharacteristically vivid in it's color and detail (in spite of the time period this picture was from). The painting depicted a massive storm that was encompassing all of the island. There was lightning, rain, thick storm clouds, and waterfalls were cascading violently off of the edges of the island. That latter detail was a very clear indication of horrific flooding of an impossible scale. It just didn't seem possible. How could such a natural disaster have taken place? The Babylonians were nowhere near this planet at the time, so that meant that no one with storm powers existed. It wasn't like people could control _water_, either, unless it was in the form of ice. So _how_ was such a cataclysmic storm possible? Was it even something that had actually _happened_? A part of him was tempted to consider that maybe it wasn't, but he also knew that the echidna artists of this time period were staunch realists. They depicted what they saw, what they heard, what the felt and did and otherwise definitively experienced. They didn't depict fantasy. So that still left the question of _how_ this storm could have come to be. He just didn't understand it.

Once again, he turned away from the large depiction and continued down the hall. This time, he didn't have to wait terribly long (probably because he was walking faster) before he was past the painting and coming upon the next one. This time, though the painting was large, it wasn't _huge_. And it wasn't a depiction of the island. Instead, it showed a sort of still-shot in vivid detail and clarity of an echidna tribe, one far older than his own. All around the various white and orange and yellow and red tents and tepees, echidnas went about their business. Some were working together to dig trenches to help keep the flow of the water away from their small settlement. Some of the people were repairing the infrastructures that held up the cloth homes. Others were busy gathering food or gathering wood for a fire or herding children and on and on. Still others were busying themselves by resting or even talking. Two echidnas who were standing in the center of the camp were occupied with the later task. One was a woman (who was on the left) and the other (who was on the right) was a man. Both had serious expressions, and the man (an orange echidna) was frowning deeply with his arms crossed. The female (a red echidna) had her mouth slightly open as though she was talking. In her upraised right palm, she held some sort of sphere.

Still not understanding anything that these pictures were trying to tell him, Locke again turned and walked further down the hall. And again he soon found yet another abnormally large and vivid and detailed painting. This one was, like the first two, absolutely _huge_ and it made his eyes widen. The painting was of some sort of monstrous beast that looked half like a lizard and half like it was made out of water. Extending from it were some tentacles made purely of water, and vital organs such as the creature's brain could be seen through the water. It's eyes were bright green and horribly filled with a hatred and rage that the artist was somehow clearly able to depict, and it's mouth was wide open in some sort of a roar. Sharp, sword-like teeth were easily visible in the mouth. Then, randomly, he looked to the right. He saw the very same picture of the beast, but this time painted to scale against a mountain backdrop with the small tribe from before below. The beast was practically the size of the mountain.

He turned and ran farther down the hall. The next picture he saw was a life-sized depiction of an orange echidna woman in ancient tribal clothing and sandals who wore a warm smile. Her eyes were blue. Just beyond her was a painting of the red echidna woman from before. She was facing off against the beast. In both her palms together, which she held out toward the creature, she held the sphere. Her eyes were closed and her haird and close were whipping around her as the sphere glowed with bright pink energy and power. Her mouth was open as though she were speaking. Or, perhaps... singing. The creature was letting out some sort of terrible roar. In the picture just beyond that one, the woman was laying dead in the grass. The sphere was inches away from her hand, as though it had rolled away when she'd fallen. Above her, the skies were clear and bright. Then, in the final picture, he saw a stone monument of some sort that was painted translucent so as to reveal the sphere inside. Painted in a steady hand just beside it was a sentence written in Onūl (which was the language echidnas had been speaking for many thousands of years). He swallowed hard as he read it.

_Sleep, forevermore._

Locke felt something in his stomach sink. He looked back to the first picture of the beast. A feeling of dread came upon him that he just couldn't explain. Something terrible had happened. He just didn't know _what_. Swallowing hard again, he pulled out the new camera he'd purchased just a few months ago and quickly snapped photos of every one of the paintings he'd just looked at. He took a close-up photo of the woman in her first depiction and the man she had been talking to, then took a normal photo of the entire scene. Then, once he had all of the ancient paintings photographed, he turned and began walking briskly in the direction from which he had come.

**~ソニック~**

**2,968 words this time. And I personally _love_ how this one turned out. Also, real quick: Onūl is pronounced "Onool". Just to clarify. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Posted (at about 10:33 a.m.) 04-13-16.**


	209. Drown

**I CAN SEE THE REVIEWS AGAIN! HOORAY! XD *...Ahem.* Anywa, on to the replies! XD**

**Hello, superbook5012! Your review to Chapter 206: It's fine! Haha, yeah. XD Thanks! I'm glad you are! I am, too! :D I liked those, too. It was fun to write. :) Haha, yeah, they do.**

**Your review to Chapter 208: I'm gonna miss it, personally. It was fun. And easy to write. XD Yeah, I hope so! Oh, cool! I'm glad they like it! :D**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Your review to Chapter 207: JGJDJHGFHGJHH. YES. 'TIS TIME. IT IS HERE. FINALLY. Yeah, I loved that bit. X33 It was. Glad you liked it, though. :) They are! X3 Hahaha, I know, right?! XD YAS. THERE IS MORE. AND IT IS ONLY OVER FOR NOW. ENJOY YOUR RESPITE WHILE IT LASTS.**

**Your review to Chapter 208: EJHREJJHJHEJWEJG IT IS! AND I'M GLAD YOU ARE! You seem especially hyped for this arc versus some of the others. XD Yeah, that'll be awesome. Uh, yeah. Massive bummer there. XDD**

**Hello, flashyhero! Good. That was the point. Heh heh. XD Yes. Yes he did. 'Tis definitely interesting.**

**~ソニック~**

The water was _freezing_. It was bitterly cold and horribly dark and viciously storming and so incredibly, vastly deep that there was no way that the bottom of it could ever possibly be seen. And, to top it all off, it was _raining_ right now. Of course. Because why not? It wasn't as though this situation weren't bad enough without that. After all, he was alone and there was no land in sight and there were probably sharks here and his powers weren't _working_... But, in spite of how cruel it was, the rain continued to fall. Every droplet was like a tiny shard of ice that felt like it was practically slicing through him. The ocean itself was hardly any better. In fact, it was, quite possibly, _worse_. Much worse, in fact. Because Mother Nature just hated him _that_ much. He would die of hypothermia... if he didn't end up _drowning _first.

That last, involuntary thought brought on a momentary panic that made his heart pound and his mind temporarily cease all sentient function. His body froze up for just a single small moment, but that was all the time a monstrous wave needed to come crashing over him and drag him forcefully under the surface. He was ill-prepared to go under and had little breath to spare. Without ever meaning to, he swallowed a thick mouthful of disgusting salty water and he reflexively began to gag and choke, inadvertently dragging more water down his already sore and protesting throat. Clamping a hand tightly over his mouth, he fought to cling on to whatever air he had left in his lungs and to resist the instinctive urge to try to breath even though he knew that, logically, he couldn't down here. Finally, the pressure of the wave released and he clawed his way back up to the surface. The bubbles were his guide. They knew the way up even when he did not.

When his head finally breached the surface, he coughed and gasped, spitting out mouthfuls of ocean water in between grateful gulps pf air. His throat burned. But his lungs were relieved. All around him, rain continued to fall. Lightning flashed in the sky as they icy droplets pelted him mercilessly. A second fearsome bolt cracked across the sky, illuminating yet another giant wave that was currently roaring toward him. The sounds of water filled his ears and a second surge of panic washed over him, causing a sound of alarm to escape his lips unbidden. He twisted around in the water as fast as he could and began feebly moving his nearly numb body in a pointless bid to try to get away. But it was no use.

For the second time in as many minutes, he was dragged down beneath the surface of the storming sea. A hand clamped down over his mouth again of its own accord and, randomly, he found himself gazing up at the sky through the surface of the water. His burning eyes widened when he saw the X-Tornado, streaking across the sky overhead, cutting through the storm as though it were nothing. His raised his arm as though to get the ship's attention and make a plea for help, but there would be no help this time.

A feeling of dread and horror sank deep into the pit of his stomach when yet another terrible lightning bolt made its presence known in the sky. It struck the fleeing ship with every ounce of power it had, cutting the Tornado's ill-fated voyage short. The ship immediately exploded into many fiery pieces. Smoldering debris of all kinds rained down from the heavens and crashed into the water all around him while he remained to stunned to move an inch. But then, something else. Something new. Something... terrible.

As he watched, a bright red and yellow hammer sank rapidly with the debris. A pair of twin katanas followed it down. He looked up in horror. A long red scarf flowed slowly through the water. A pair of headphones then caught it and dragged it down faster. Nearby, a blue ascot and a bright red bow tie sank slowly together. Yellow and black Extreme Gear floated by and clunked against a thick chain necklace. A white bandanna billowed in the water by his waist. A single shuriken hit the bandanna, causing it to close and envelope the weapon as they both sank. A black fingerless glove floated by, weighed down by the smooth blue gem embedded in the back of the hand. Beneath it was a single, elegant white sandal. A wickedly beautiful cut through the water between them, forcing them further apart. A thick, heavy white glove with twin spikes sank through the space created. A fur coat and a glove with a ring on the palm floated together, but not to close, in their own little area. A bright orange and yellow shoe made its descent a long a ways away. Another shoe, this one sporting jets on the bottom, also fell alone, only to be joined by a mechanical arm.

Then, an old brown cowboy hat drifted into his field of vision. His hand fell away from his mouth while the other slowly reached out to grab the object that had now so fully capture his focus. But before his fingers could ever so much as graze the rim of that old brown hat, a current tugged it away and he was left alone. A second current ripped him away from the other objects that he had been so closely watching before. His oxygen-starved body went weak. His vision faded. Everything went dark.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic awoke with a gasp and sat bolt upright in bed. Breathing heavily, he looked up. Water, _cold_ water, dripped onto his nose. His sensitive ears flicked minutely flicked minutely in response to the rain pattering against the cheap hotel room's ratty window. Another droplet splattered his nose, and he blinked. Then, all at once, he suddenly snapped out of it and threw the blankets aside so that he could stand. As he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, his thoughts lingered on his unusually vivid dream... and the source of _most_ (he glared up at the leaking ceiling) of his concerns that had caused it. _Chaos. __The beast that absorbs energy. _It would be far from their strongest enemy. Somehow, of this he was certain. And yet... he couldn't shake the feeling that this battle would be one of the worst yet.

**~ソニック~**

**1,109 words this time. Very short, but very, very important. There was a lot of symbolism in this chapter. It may mean nothing. It may mean everything. We'll see. ;) **

**Also, didn't catch who each of those items belonged to (though one belonged to a person formerly)? Well here's the list (though some should be obvious). Hammer: Amy. Twin katanas: Tails. Long red scarf: Jet. Headphones: Charmy. Blue ascot: Vanilla. Bright red bowtie: Cheese. Yellow and black Extreme Gear: Storm. Thick chain necklace: Vector. White bandanna: Wave. Shuriken: Espio. Fingerless glove: Kaden. White sandal: Analia. Knife: Rouge. Spiked glove: Knuckles. Fur coat: Blaze. Glove with a ring: Silver. Bright orange and yellow shoe: Cream. Shoe with jets: Shadow. Mechanical arm: Omega. Old brown cowboy hat: Locke.**

**Posted (at about 1:05 p.m.) 04-14-16.**


	210. When at Last We Return

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! Yeah, it was very sad, but I'm glad you enjoyed it, anyway. Yes, he definitely does. Poor thing. :( Haha, you do, yes. XD Ah, okie. What things, may I ask? Well, yeah, I suppose you have been. Ha. XD**

**Hello, Mutt7! Well, I certainly _hope_ it'll be good. :) Okie, good to know. XD**

**Hello, superbook5012! Haha, yeah, it was. ^-^" Thanks! Well, maybe. We shall see. XD As I've stated in more than a few A/N's in the past, this is the Sa/SA DX Arc, next is the Sonic and the Secret Rings Arc, then I'll do the Sonic X Arc, and then the story will end with a sort of peacetime mini arc thing. Hope this helps. :) Haha, no worries. I'm going to be doing my best with that. ..._If_ he even shows up, that is. I know the human world will come into play in the Sonic X Arc, but I may not involve the Thorndykes. We'll see.**

**Hello, flashyhero! I dunno that Chaos will be one of the strongest, but I'm not entirely convinced that he'll be easy to defeat, either. We'll see. XD Yeah, kina. After all, I killed Locke, Kaden, Analia, and Laralei in the past, plus every major villain has either died or been wiped from existence (save for Ivo) by this point, so... XD**

**Hello, thatguy4643! Nice job! That's quite a feat! XD Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked it so far!**

**~ソニック~**

_Kaden was sitting alone in the woods late one afternoon. He wasn't entirely sure where he was, but he was certain that he'd gone much too far to the west today. He was supposed to be near the bat clan Klarmaris, but that was farther east than he was currently. 'That's what I get for losing myself in thought all day long.' With a small sigh, he refocused on what he was doing: namely, digging up a root. Roots weren't exactly the best tasting things in the world, but certain ones were decently edible. It wasn't like there was much else to eat around here, anyway._

_He froze imperceptibly when the sound of a bowstring drawing back met his ears. He had just started to reach for his dagger when, all at once, the bowstring relaxed and footsteps moved toward him, no longer making an effort to hide from his senses. By the time he'd turned around, his almost-attacker had stepped into view and was... smiling? "Yo," the person greeted, tone incredibly friendly and deep blue eyes smiling almost as much as the face they belonged to. Yellow-orange fur seemed to glow faintly in the sunlight. "I almost shot you, you know. Thought you were an enemy for second there."_

_Kaden blinked once as he looked the cat over. He then looked away dismissively. "If you had shot me, I would have made you regret it."_

_The cat shrugged, clearly pretty damn unconcerned. "Guess it's a good thing I didn't do it, then, huh?" Kaden murmured a noncommittal hum in reply, and the cat spoke up again. "The heck are you doing out here, anyway? Don't all the hedgehogs live way off in the east?"_

_"Yes," Kaden responded, though he didn't answer the initial question. He finally finished digging out his root._

_The cat sat down. After a moment's silence, he spoke again. "If you'll trust me," he said, causing Kaden to look at him, "I can get you some better food than that."_

_The prospect of eating anything else besides a root was tantalizing, but Kaden trusted no one. The one exception was Locke, whom Kaden hadn't seen since they were fourteen. "Don't bother."_

_The cat shrugged genially and once again switched the subject. "Will you at least tell me how old you are? It's easier to have a meaningful conversation with someone when you know something about them."_

_Kaden supposed there was no harm in answering that particular question, so he responded, "I'm fifteen."_

_The cat smiled. "I'm thirteen. Guess I'm a bit younger than you."_

_Kaden shrugged minutely and finally took a bite of the root he had worked so hard to dig up. When he was finished chewing the awfully dry thing, he said, "That hardly matters."_

_"Guess you've got a point there," the cat grinned. He then unexpectedly plucked a leaf off of a nearby tree and ate it. Kaden hadn't even realized that those leaves were edible. "Mind answering one last question?"_

_Kaden looked at him evenly. "...That depends."_

_"On what?"_

_"What, exactly, your question is."_

_"Fair enough." The cat was still smiling. He seemed to do that a lot. It was very different from Locke, who was more often grouchy and frowning than happy and open. "I was just wondering what your name is."_

_Kaden took a long moment to consider this question, weighing risks versus potential benefits, before finally murmuring, "My name is Kaden."_

_The cat continued to smile. He really did seem like a happy soul... and Kaden was oddly curious as to why. "My name is Marthal." He held his hand out, still smiling all the while. "Nice to meet'cha."_

_Kaden looked at the hand for a long moment, almost as though it were some sort of foreign object that could potentially harm him. Then, slowly, ever so slowly, he reached out and accepted the hand._

**~ソニック~**

"Come on, you two! We're going to be late!"

Jet pulled his blankets up and rolled over, putting his back to his door. He did _not_ want to be up right now. He normally didn't sleep much, sure, but he'd actually been _tired_ last night and his two teammates had kept him up for several hours with their damn bickering. He had absolutely _no_ desire to be awake at the moment. He just wanted to catch up on the sleep he'd missed the night before. _Why is that so much to ask...?_

Wave pounded on his door. The door was locked, though, so she failed to gain entry. "I _mean_ it, Jet!" she shouted through the metal of the door. "Get your ass out of bed!"

Jet finally sat up. "I'm _up_ already!" he shouted back to her. "Go bother Storm instead, will you?!" He could hear her muttering to herself as she walked off further down the hall, and he sighed. _Finally_, some peace and quiet. He laid back down, hoping to close his eyes for at least a few more minutes. And yet, it felt like scarcely two seconds had passed before Wave was _again_ pounding on his door.

"Jet, you'd better not have gone back to sleep!"

If Jet could've growled, he would've. Of this, he was certain. Without bothering to reply, he through his blankets aside and stood. He grabbed his scarf off of his desk chair and put it on, then sat down and slipped on his boots. Then, after idly running his fingers through his hair, he walked to his door, unlocked it, and opened it up. The sight of Wave standing there, arms crossed and fire in her eyes, made his heart skip. He did his best to ignore it and tried to conceal his emotions under the guise of his earlier irritation. "I wouldn't even be _tempted_ to go back to sleep if you and Storm had actually gone to bed at a decent hour last night."

Wave huffed and looked off to the side. "It was _his_ fault, anyway."

Jet wasn't sure how true or not that statement was, as she just as often started those fights, but he didn't press the matter. Mostly because he didn't want to argue with her. So, with that in mind, he changed the subject. "Guess I'm making breakfast?"

"Obviously," Wave replied immediately. "It isn't like Storm and I can cook."

"You _can_ cook, you just don't _like_ to."

"That isn't the point."

"Isn't it, though?"

She huffed at his small smirk, then managed a minute smirk of her own. "Well, if you don't feel up to the task this morning, we could always go out to eat. We do have a _little_ bit of time."

Jet shook his head and fully exited his room. For once, he left his door open. "No, I'll just do it. I'd rather not deal with the Saturday morning crowds."

"Glad you and I are in agreement, for once."

"For now."

"Exactly."

As he walked to the kitchen, a loud barking echoed down the hall and excited paws skittered down the hallway toward him. He turned just in time to see a medium-sized white terrier running up to him. He knelt down briefly to pet the hyperactive dog, whom he'd owned for more than a few years by this point. "Morning, Tanner," he murmured. Tanner just barked at him. Jet knew what the dog wanted, but decided to pawn the dog off on someone else this time around. He grabbed his dogs leash and handed it to Tanner, who took it into his mouth. "Go tell Wave you want to go out, 'kay?"

As Tanner went running back down the hall, barks muffled by the leash in his mouth, Wave's voice echoed down the hall. "You'd better not have pawned him off on _me_, Jet!"

Laughing a bit, Jet just stood and disappeared into the kitchen. To make it up to her, he decided to make a Babylonian breakfast food that he knew she loved. Hopefully that would make her smile again.

**~ソニック~**

Analia walked quietly up the stairs and into the bedroom of the small home she and her partner had been renting these past two years. Unsurprisingly, Kaden was still asleep. He was _far_ from a morning person and, during times of peace, typically wasn't ever up before noon or one in the afternoon. He was the sort of person to sleep in late and stay up even later. It was just who and how he was. It was only about ten right now, but he needed to get up now.

She had allowed him to sleep in as long as she could, but he couldn't sleep in anymore. She very quietly opened the door, hoping not to scare him by making too much noise. He slept through her entrance into the room. He was laying on his right side in the bed, one of his hands lightly resting in the spot where she had been sleeping during the night. She smiled softly at him, pleased to note that he was sleeping peacefully today. Normally, he was plagued with nightmares each and every time he slept, but not this time around. She smiled a bit wider at this as she walked over and gently laid her hand on his shoulder. He almost immediately frowned and shifted in his sleep. She almost didn't have the heart to do, but it had to be done. "Kaden, it is time to wake up," she murmured.

Emerald eyes blinked open sleepily and, after a moment, he sat up. She continued to smile as she watched him rub at his eyes. "What time is it...?" he mumbled. Normally, he never mumbled. Yet another testament to how much he simply was _not_ a morning person.

"It is almost ten-twenty in the morning," Analia responded, "and you still need to eat." Kaden had a rather bad habit of not eating even when he was hungry, so she knew she needed to stay on top of him about that. She also knew _why_ that habit existed, but that was something she preferred not to think about. Kaden nodded a little in response to her and reached over to the nightstand beside the bed to grab the golden ring he used to pull his hair back into its usual ponytail. While he did that, she stepped into her elegant white sandals, then smoothed her skirt idly with one hand. He then pulled his own shoes on over his black socks. She found herself smiling again. "For one who prefers such dark colors, you certainly do have an odd taste in footwear."

Kaden glanced down at his brightly-colored shoes and huffed. "I blame Locke."

"You blame him for many things," Analia countered, still smiling.

"Only jokingly." That was the first time she had ever heard him admit that aloud. "And he really is to blame for this," Kaden continued. "He's the one who bought these and gave them to me."

Analia only continued to smile. "I see. And yet, you have complained about how bright they are."

"I do not _complain_," Kaden responded dryly as he stood up. He had ceased to use contractions in that sentence, but not because he had truly slipped back into his old. formal speech pattern. It was more done as... a joke.

"I might be tempted to believe that if I did not know you so well," Analia responded with a small laugh. She gave him a hug and, though he huffed, he returned the hug with no hesitation. After a moment, however, the moment was deliberately ruined when she suddenly shifted her hands under his arms and tickled him. He gasped softly, pulled away and fled out of the room and down the stairs. Laughing some more, Analia ran after him.

**~ソニック~**

Amy shouldered her backpack and exited her room, excitement fueling each step she made down the hall and stairs. In the kitchen, she was met by the smiling faces of both of her parents. "Finally off to go meet that boy again, huh?" Harold teased as he worked on preparing breakfast.

"_Dad_, he's just a friend," Amy responded as she grabbed an apple from a bowl on the counter.

"A boy you haven't been able to stop talking about for the past two days," Harold countered, busily whisking egg yolks all the while.

"I didn't talk about him that much! Maybe I mentioned him once or twice-"

"Try a few hundred times-"

"I wasn't talking about him that much!" Her outburst made her father laugh, and she huffed. Wearing a small frown, she took a large bite out of her apple.

"Aw, don't be like that, Amy," Harold chuckled. "I was only teasing."

"Perhaps you chose the wrong woman to tease," Marie responded with a soft laugh.

"Well it isn't like we have some _other_ daughter to do it to," Harold said, now looking at his cooking as he spoke.

"And even if you did, you can bet your butts I'd be protecting her from such a fate," Amy quipped. This evoked more laughter from both of her parents, and Amy joined in this time.

Marie then changed the subject. "Is Tails going with you all again?" She sounded worried for the young fox, which Amy understood. Tails had, for a long time, very much been a part of the family. He was practically her brother and, as such, her parents were practically his own. The four of them were all very close with each other, so it was only natural that her parents worried for Tails.

"Yeah, of course," Amy replied. "There's no way he'll willingly sit this out."

"We expected as much," Harold responded honestly.

Marie turned and gave their daughter a warm smile. "Just do your father and I a favor and make sure you two keep each other safe."

Amy returned the smile easily. "Of course, Mom."

The moment was warm and bright and happy... and it was soon ruined by none other than her father. "And be sure to tell that boy sometime that you l-"

"Dad, give it a rest already! I don't like him like that!"

Harold again laughed. And, this time, Marie also laughed, though more softly. Huffing again, Amy took another bite of her apple.

**~ソニック~**

Tails rushed around his small house, busily packing everything he needed. A few books, a camcorder, his swords, the dagger Jet had give him, his notebook, a pencil, a pen, some of his smaller inventions, his toolbox... He knew he should have done this all the night before, it had slipped his mind in light of the idea he'd had for some new invention he hadn't even ended up finishing. Hoping and praying that he hadn't forgotten anything, least of all anything _important_, in his rush, he crammed his things into the X-Tornado and then got into the pilot's seat. Once seated, he turned his communicator on and made a quick call.

The video call went through rather quickly and Jet answered. _"Yeah?"_

"Hey," Tails greeted with a smile. "Am I still meeting you guys in Future City this morning?"

Onscreen, Jet pushed an energetic dog away from his communicator, then replied, _"If you want, yeah."_

Tails continued to smile. "Great. I've just got to pick up Amy and Cream, then I'll head over."

Jet nodded. _"That's fine. Storm's still eating, anyway, so we're not exactly in a rush."_

Tails stifled a laugh. "How long has he been at it?"

_"About twenty minutes."_

"That's not that long, for him."

_"Just watch. I can almost guarantee that he'll still be eating by the time you get here."_

Tails lost the battle and let out a laugh. "Maybe he won't be, though."

_"How much are you willing to bet on that?"_ Jet responded dryly.

"Well, I have about twenty bucks in my backpack right now," Tails grinned.

_"You're on, then," _Jet responded with a rare, small laugh.

Tails grinned some more. "See you when I get there, sensei."

_"Yeah, bye."_

Pleased that Jet hadn't argued with him this time over his use of the term "sensei", Tails smiled some more, hung up the call, and started up the ship. He was almost late.

**~ソニック~**

Cream walked down the stairs from her room (Analia had used her magic to repair their house and village during the two-year separation) toward the kitchen with her backpack and Cheese in tow. "I'm all packed now, Mother."

Vanilla looked over her shoulder at her small daughter and smiled. "Good. Now come have some breakfast, dear. You'll need your strength."

"Okay, Mother," Cream agreed with a smile of her own. As she fixed herself a plate of some of the french toast her mother had made and Cheese sat down on his small rear on the counter, she spoke up again. "Mother, may I speak with you about something?"

Vanilla looked over at her again. "Of course, dead. What is it?"

Cream busied herself with grabbing a second slice of french toast. "I had another vision last night," she revealed quietly. "It was another one from some period of time after all of our battles against Ivo seem to be over."

Vanilla stopped washing dishes and turned the water off so as to focus more fully on her daughter. "What did you see this time, Cream?"

"Many things, Mother," Cream sighed quietly. In the same quiet voice, she began to explain her visions from the night before.

In the first one, she again heard a baby crying. The child was horribly distraught. Then, with little warning, a quiet, calm voice spoke over the babies cries and began to sing. The song was a lullaby of sorts. And, as the song continued, the baby slowly began to calm.

In the second one, she saw a young girl who was maybe seven years old running as fast as she could away from a group of horrible looking dark soldiers. The child was actually very, very fast.

In the third one, she saw Sonic, who was knelt in the ruins of an ancient ship that had crashed many years ago. In one hand, he held a burning branch. He was on a world she was unfamiliar with, one where powers didn't work. As she watched, his free hand sifted through the dust and uncovered a sheet of paper with detailed drawings of... eyes.

In the fourth one, she saw Jet sitting calmly with crossed arms in some sort of escape pod as it plummeted uncontrollably through the sky. It was spinning rapidly as it fell, had no power whatsoever, and he was also on a world where peoples' powers didn't work, but he was clearly unconcerned. He simply waited for the opportune time to break out and jump to safety.

In the fifth one, she saw a journal that was different from the black one she'd seen in visions prior. A sure and steady hand was writing in it. One word in particular stood out to her. It was a person's name. _T'alo._

In the sixth one, she saw someone's communicator. Displayed on it was a photo depicting a vast battlefield. Running through that battlefield was a horse with icy blue flames in place of hair. The beautiful flaming mane and tail flowed backwards, illuminating pure white skin and icy blue eyes. The horse was like nothing that had ever existed on Mobius.

In the seventh one, she saw Kaden laying in the bed of a very large room comprised of ancient stone walls and floors. He was breathing heavily and coughing constantly. He almost certainly had a fever and was clearly very ill. He also appeared to be unconscious.

In the eighth one, she saw Sonic defeat some horrifying dark bird creature with a massive wingspan. The fight was out in the middle of some desert. As he ripped Caliburn free of the creature's heart, black goop splattered him and also rained down on several people down below him. In the end, Jet, Kaden, and Blaze also got goop on them. Silver made a face.

In the ninth one, she heard a wicked, malevolent voice. It's tone and words were full of venom and malice and dark laughter at another person's expense. "Long live the _king_!"

In the tenth one, she saw a massive flood. It didn't appear to be _natural_, though. Someone was clearly controlling it. And, at the same time as that flood was raging, massive sections of the earth rose up and demolished the ships that the water was failing to reach. Vines shot up out of the ground and pulled unlucky soldiers into the depths of the earth, never to be seen again. It was all being caused by _one_ person.

In the eleventh vision, she saw a white blade with beautiful gold embroideries covering it. Engraved into a portion of the hilt was writing in a language she didn't know or recognize. However, somehow, she understood what the writing said. It was Tails's own last name, Prower.

In the twelfth vision, she saw the seven Chaos Emeralds floating together in space. Each one was glowing with far more light and power than ever before.

Now finished with her explanation, Cream looked up to her mother for a response. However, before Vanilla could think of one to give, they both heard the distinct sound of the X-Tornado landing outside and then, mere moments later, Amy's voice calling for Cream to come on. Cream looked back to her Mother and, somehow, managed a smile. "Never mind, Mother. It's alright. I can talk to Miss Amy and the others about it if I need to."

Though Vanilla appeared contrite for some reason, she also smiled. "Alright, dear." She hugged her young daughter close, then let her go. "Take your breakfast with you. I don't want you going hungry."

"Alright, Mother." Cream obediently picked up her french toast (which she had neglected to put anything on) and, backpack already on, headed for the door. Cheese flew after her.

Vanilla turned back to the sink and watched through the window as Cream, her light and joy, climbed into the ship. The cockpit closed behind her and, just as soon as they had arrived, the group was gone.

**~ソニック~**

Silver was hard at work making breakfast while Blaze packed their things. They, like Kaden and Analia, had been renting a small home for the duration of the two year separation, but now it was time to prepare to leave. When she finished packing, she headed down the stairs with the last of the bags, deposited them in the front room, and went to the kitchen. "Did you finish cooking?"

Silver turned to her, plate in hand, and immediately smiled. "Yeah. I made eggs and pancakes." He handed her the plate, which she accepted with a grateful nod. Then he made his own plate. As he picked up his fork, he suddenly grinned and commented, "Here's hoping I inherited Gramps's cooking skills and not Dad's."

Blaze smirked faintly. "That would be preferable," she agreed.

She watched as he took a big bite of his eggs, chewed, swallowed, and deliberately fell silent for several long moments before dramatically declaring, "Welp, I'm not dead, so that's a good sign! Guess I didn't manage to somehow poison these, after all!"

Blaze had to stifle a small laugh at his antics while he scooped another mouthful of eggs into his face. However, she was unable to stop herself from continuing to smirk as she finally took her first bite of her own food. Her smirk turned into a faint smile. _It's good. _She didn't say it aloud, but she hoped that her thoughts would somehow be conveyed to him. After a moment, she caught sight of his smile, now aimed at her, and she knew her wish had been granted. And yet, in spite of the happiness of the morning and how happy _she_ herself was feeling for once, she couldn't seem to keep her mind off of something starkly less happy, something that was a source of near never-ending sadness and grief and whatnot for her.

She couldn't stop thinking of her parents.

Silver knew his family (or at least some of them). He was so, _so_ lucky, because he got to know his father and grandparents and he had people who, while not related to him by blood, may as well have been his direct family. People like Tails and Jet and Locke... Blaze had no one. Yes, she had friends, but nothing more. She didn't have a family. And, to make it all worse, she didn't know _anything_ about her parents. Not their names, not how old they were, not what powers they had, nothing. Were either of them good at cooking? Were either of them artists? Were they fighters? Were they fast? Were they calm, cool, and collected, or maybe energetic and happy? So many questions she would never have the answers to. She tried to tell herself that she was being foolish for even letting these thoughts get to her, and yet...

"Hey, Blaze, you okay?"

Blaze looked up from her plate and into Silver's worried face, his concerned golden eyes. Her own amber eyes remained as calm as she could make them. "Yes. I am alright."

He didn't look like her believed her but, much to her relief, he didn't press the matter any further. He took her at her word in spite of his lingering doubts, and the rest of their once happy breakfast passed by in utter silence. The silence wasn't one their usual comfortable ones, but Blaze wasn't complaining this time. So long as she didn't have to speak about her troubles, especially not these particular ones, everything would be alright. ...She hoped.

**~ソニック~**

**"We must depart within the next fifteen minutes. If you do not finish packing soon, our departure will be delayed."**

"I _know_, Omega!" Omega fell silent after that and, for once, in spite of how undignified it was, Shadow rolled his eyes. Though he had his back to the robot, he couldn't shake the feeling that Omega somehow _knew_ what's he'd done. He paused momentarily to contemplate that thought, then shook his head and brushed the idea aside, essentially dismissing it as foolish and/or paranoid. Although, he refused to believe that he was paranoid. _Just because Father says that I'm on guard for danger too often-_

**"If you do not cease your distracting thoughts-"**

"Remind me _one_ more time and I _swear_ I will dismantle you."

Omega made some sort of beeping sound that, while entirely mechanical in nature, somehow managed to seem sullen. After that, the room fell silent. Shadow sighed. _Finally..._ With that thought, he resumed what he'd been doing: namely, loading and sheathing his various weapons and packing them along with some basic supplies like food and a black jacket. Also, taking both his father's and his brother's (god, he still needed time to get used to using such terms) advice, he packed a tent, a blanket, and a pillow. One could never be too prepared, he supposed. ...Hence all the weapons.

Shadow grabbed one last gun and shoved it into a bag along with its ammunition. With that task complete, he walked out of the building he had constructed in White Jungle. It was a small, simple home, built for functionality and not necessarily comfort. He hadn't minded that latter detail, though. He had enjoyed staying there. It had been quiet, peaceful, and he had been left alone (save for when Omega had decided for whatever reason to be an irritation). He had gotten a lot of training done out here. He supposed he would miss this place, but... oh, well. _I can always come back another time._ On this thought, he walked over to his ship, opened the cockpit, and threw his bags into the back. He then jumped into the pilot's seat and, without bothering to buckle himself in, he started the ship up, closed the cockpit, and flew off. Omega flew after him. And, in spite of all of his internal complaints about the robot, Shadow kept an eye on him as they went. He really didn't want Omega to be blown up again.

**~ソニック~**

Espio walked silently down the hall and toward the kitchen. He could already hear Charmy and Vector laughing and talking as they ate. The food they had made smelled good, but Espio wasn't hungry. He usually didn't eat terribly much, anyway, but the problem today wasn't him having a small appetite but, rather, a lack thereof. He felt far too... _stressed_, which wasn't normal for him. He couldn't even fully explain _why_ he was so stressed. He knew there was a great danger on the loose, but that was nothing new. So why the concern, then? He really didn't know. He could only hope that his fears remained hidden within him. The last thing he wanted was to somehow let on that he was worried because that would, in turn, cause those around him to feel worry as well. He didn't want to do that to them, no matter how unintentionally.

As he stepped into the kitchen and began getting himself a glass of water, Charmy called out to him happily, "Morning, Espio!"

Espio glanced over his shoulder and responded with one of his usual quiet nods of greeting. Vector spoke up next while Espio got his drink. "You want some pancakes? There's plenty left." The grin was apparent in his voice without Espio even needing to see it. He really couldn't be the reason why that happiness faded. He just couldn't.

Espio forced himself to sound normal. "I am alright."

"You sure, Espio? There really is plenty leftover."

"Yes, I am sure. I will be fine."

Vector shrugged and dug back into his plate of food. "You're loss," he replied around a mouthful of pancakes and syrup.

Espio glanced back over his shoulder again and managed a small smirk at the scene his two old friends made as they (rather messily) ate their breakfast. Turning away again, he drained his cup and set it in the sink. He held onto his amusement (as it was his only good emotion of the morning so far) as best as he could as he returned to his room to finish packing. They needed to be ready to go within the next twenty minutes or so. And there was one thing that Espio never was, it was _late_.

**~ソニック~**

Rouge watched with an air of amusement as Knuckles rolled over and grumbled a curse or two under his breath as he squeezed his eyes shut even tighter. His usual frown deepened visibly. She nudged him again with the two of her boot. "Come on," she repeated with a smirk. "You need to get up. You already missed breakfast because you wouldn't get up."

"You think I care about that?" was the grouchy reply, and her amusement further.

Locke finally walked over and plucked his son's hat off of the younger echidna's head, thus removing the shield that had been preventing the sun from reaching Knuckles's eyes. "Up and at 'em, Knuckles. We really are gonna be late if you don't get your butt in gear sometime soon." Knuckles, with a heavy sigh, finally sat up, and Locke smirked as he dropped the hat back onto Knuckles's head. "That's more like it. Now get moving. You still have to pack."

"I really didn't ask to be ordered around," Knuckles grumbled as he fixed his hat and stood.

"No, but you did ask for your old man to be back in your life," Locke quipped with another smirk, "and this is kind of my job as your old man. Now, whether or not you _listen_ is entirely up to you, however."

Knuckles sighed heavily, apparently deciding that an argument simply wasn't worth it, and turned to kneel in front of his backpack. As he worked on shoving various things into it, he glanced to Rouge. He had been doing his best to be polite to her, if nothing else. Being _friendly_ wasn't something he felt particularly capable of doing with anyone, though. It wasn't anything against her. "Did you get breakfast?" he inquired.

Rouge glanced at him, seemingly vaguely surprised, but she was quick to hide it again. He'd noticed quite some time ago that she always seemed to have some sort of mask to hide behind. He really didn't like it, but it wasn't his place to say so. So he didn't. "Yeah, I did. Your dad found a huge patch of berries in the woods." She suddenly smirked. "We had a mini feast of sorts, and you missed it because you chose last night of all nights to stay up and watch the stars."

Knuckles paused briefly, then looked at her again. "...You saw that?"

Rouge continued to smirk. "Well, obviously. You weren't exactly hiding, Knuckie. It was pretty easy to see you."

Knuckles snorted in reply to that, but otherwise didn't deign to reply. Her use of that hated nickname only further increased his desire to not respond to her statement. And yet, after a couple moments passed, he found himself speaking again. "Why do you insist on calling me that?"

She blinked once and looked at him, almost as though surprised, but then smirked yet again. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because your reactions to it tend to be so hilarious."

He snorted again. "Hardly."

"Just admit it: you're funny sometimes."

"I'm not."

"It's not such a bad thing to own up to."

"I'm not going to own up to something that isn't even true."

"It is true, though. Just ask anyone."

"Anyone I ask will be on _my_ side."

"But maybe they won't be. You never know."

"None of this changes the fact that you're wrong, Knuckie."

"Stop calling me that."

"Hm... Maybe if you ask _nicely_."

"No."

"It's not that hard."

"I know that."

"All you have to do is say 'please'."

"I _said_ I know that."

"I heard you, Knuckie."

"I said stop calling me that!"

"Only if you say please."

"Dammit, Rouge-!"

Locke's voice suddenly cut into the banter. "Alright, lovebirds, that's enough." His smirk and his tone both clearly conveyed his amusement.

Rouge's ears went back slightly, almost as though she were embarrassed by the insinuation, but Knuckles hardly noticed as he irritably shoved more supplies into his bag, growling and grumbling under his breath all the while. Locke simply continued to smirk. _He so likes her._

**~ソニック~**

Ivo watched on his monitors as his newest pet slipped out of the base on is orders and began heading to it's assigned destination. He smirked faintly. Chaos was far from being the strongest creature in existence, but the power it possessed to absorb certain other powers had garnered it a fearsome reputation. It helped that this creature could create insane and feakishly powerful floods. That was the _only_ thing this creature could do on it's own that was truly powerful and worthy of attention. Otherwise, it needed the aid of others, in a way, to become strong enough to wreak havoc on the world. But that was alright. Ivo knew of the _perfect_ power source to give his pet... and with the _heroes_ still seemingly off on their little _vacation_, he had ample time to do as he pleased. And, even if Sonic and his pathetic friends were at work again, it still mattered not. There was no way they could prevent Ivo from getting at least this first Chaos Emerald. And once he had _one_... He grinned.

A small, childish voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts. "Um... D-Doctor...?"

"What?" Ivo barked as he spun around in his chair to face the small, black, alien child he had... _acquired_ (or, rather, stolen) years ago.

Bokkun shrunk back a little in fear. His already watery eyes grew even more so, but he didn't cry (likely out of fear of the repercussions of doing something so weak). "Th-The robots you sent to Station Square," he began hesitantly, "someone destroyed them. And it wasn't anyone you've been watching for."

Ivo frowned deeply. There was _another_ so-called hero on the loose? Spinning back around, he turned his focus onto his computers and began typing rapidly. All of his cameras focused on the large city of Station Square. And yet, by the time he did so, there was nothing left to be seen besides the ruins of his robots and the usual hustle and bustle of the city crowds. Whoever had dared to step out of line and strike out against Ivo's robots had deliberately lost themselves in the crowds, hiding in plain view. Cursing under his breath, Ivo decided to make that particular city one of his main focuses. This hero seemed to be acting alone... which made them vulnerable. Which, of course, meant that they would be easier to wipe out. He needed to take care of this person before they could make allies. The last thing he needed was to have _two_ teams of enemies fighting against him. _As if one pesky hedgehog and his little fox friend weren't trouble enough right from the beginning... _With another small scowl, he returned his focus to Chaos.

**~ソニック~**

A shape that appeared for all the world to be a puddle of water flowed seamlessly over the ground as it traveled through the deep, dark woodland. It had one, single destination in mind, and it would reach that destination now matter what. It was hungry, absolutely _starving_, and the power that would feed it was located deeper in these woods. It was close... so very, very close. The puddle flowed toward a tree, not even bothering to go around it, then continued on it's way as it's two halves came back together without any difficulties or hesitation. Bright blue light called to it from within a thick patch of bushes. It was a summoning, in a sense, that Chaos simply could not resist. As it moved into the bushes, it took the form of some vaguely aquatic-looking bipedal creature with a sort of crest on it's head. reaching out with one hand, it bent down and picked up the Chaos Emerald.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic quickly shoved one last supply into his backpack and then quickly teleported to the meeting place. He wasn't surprised to find that he was the last to arrive there, but this increased his inner annoyance. _I shouldn;t be late. That was utterly brilliant of me. _

Apparently seeing the tension in his expression and posture, Amy hurried over. "Sonic?" she asked quickly. "What's wrong?"

Sonic turned his head to face her. He didn't want to be the one to say this, not when everyone looked like that had been having such overall good days so far, but... it wasn't fair of him to keep them in the dark. Though he didn't want to be the harbinger of bad news, they had every right to know what was going on. He didn't know much, though. All he really knew was that his past and present were colliding yet again in yet another highly undesirable way. An old, _hated_ enemy had stirred up trouble from beyond the grave, it seemed... And he and his grandson both needed to be stopped before this situation got any more out of hand than it likely already had. _Who knows how much damage Ivo has done already._ He returned his attention Amy's worried green gaze. As he spoke, he never broke eye-contact with her. "There's trouble again... Gerald found a monster... and Ivo restored it."

Everyone seemed to freeze.

**~ソニック~**

**6,835 words this time. I _love_ this chapter! I was working on it all weekend and for about an hour-ish this morning, so I definitely took time with it. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. :) Hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 11:17 a.m.) 04-18-15.**


	211. A Game of Truth

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! THANKS! A.) HE IS! B.) Yes. It shall happen soon(ish). :) C.) Hahaha, yes! XD YES! FINALLY! Yeah, he is. XD They are. X3 I agree. It is nice. He is. And I did add well. XDD Yes, Locke! Do it! XD I think Jet did, since he knows Storm so well. Haha, he is! Yeah... poor thing. They are! X3 YES. MORE. FORESHADOWING. YES, QUITE POSSIBLY.**

**Hello, BurstDolphin428! Thanks! :)**

**Hello, superbook5012! Hero 2? You mean Eye of the Storm? XD Alright, go for it! And feel free to PM me about anything whenever. :) Thanks! Oh, I know, right? XD**

**~ソニック~**

As the group traveled, Sonic looked around at everyone. Jet, Wave, and Storm were riding on their boards near the X-Tornado. Locke, Knuckles, Rouge, and Analia were flying near them. Tails was flying the Tornado, and Cream, Cheese, Charmy, and Amy were riding with him. Sonic and Kaden were both on the right wing of the ship. Sonic was sitting while Kaden reclined on his back with his arms behind his head. Shadow's ship was a short ways to the left of the Tornado. Shadow, of course, was piloting, and Espio and Vector were his only passengers. Omega was flying near the sleek black ship. Silver was flying near Omega, using his powers to carry Blaze with him.

This day was destined to be boring.

Until they found the creature, this would remain true. So, with a soft sigh, Sonic looked around again. He took this time to look everyone over and take in how everyone had changed (or not) physically. He looked over the Rogues first. Jet had allowed his hair to grow a bit longer and actually appeared a bit more relaxed now than he had in the past. Wave, beyond also looking more relaxed than she used to and wearing a small gold bracelet, looked unchanged. Storm had taken to wearing a thick cuff around his bicep on his right arm. It was either very dark grey or totally black.

Sonic looked at Knuckles's group next. Locke looked basically unchanged, though his hair might have been slightly longer than before. Rouge looked much more relaxed and comfortable (which was a good thing, considering how tense she used to be around the group) and wore a thin necklace with a small charm. Knuckles looked basically the same, though some of the hardness and temper in his eyes seemed to have faded somewhat during the past two years.

Next, Sonic looked at his parents. Analia had used her magic to change her outfit (which he'd learned a while back was something she did in the past, too). It remained pure white, but looked different. Her shirt was now a spaghetti-strap tanktop that, like her old shirt, only went down to just above her belly button. Her skirt was now completely smooth and bore a faint pattern on it that could only be seen in very direct sunlight. Her sandals were the same. Kaden's hair (which had always been waist-length) had grown out a bit, but he otherwise basically looked the same (though he, like some others, definitely seemed more relaxed now).

After that, Sonic looked at Tails and his passengers. Tails looked basically the same, save for one thing. He now wore a sort of bluetooth-like device that rested on his head and covered his right ear fully. A microphone reached around his head toward his mouth. Amy, meanwhile, looked totally unchanged. She was as happy and bright as ever (though he stopped himself from thinking about that any longer). Both Cream and Charmy had grown a bit taller, and Cream's ears had become a bit longer as well. They both looked happy, as did Cheese (who was basically the same in appearance).

Sonic then looked at his half-brother and his passengers, as well as Omega. Shadow looked as serious and calm as ever, but not as tense as he had been two years ago. He had a large gu strapped to his back in easy reach, but was otherwise the same in appearance. Espio looked... stressed, but otherwise he and Vector basically looked the same.

Lastly, Sonic looked at his son and Blaze. Both of them had grown their hair a bit longer, and Blaze, like Rouge, now had a necklace. She seemed more relaxed now and less serious than she had in the past, but otherwise looked the same. Silver, too, really didn't look any different than he had in the past. He still looked so much like his mother... But that thought hurt, so Sonic did his best to put it out of mind.

Now that he was done looking everyone over, Sonic found himself growing bored. And if _he_ was bored, he _knew_ his father and best friend were, too. He looked down and to his right, eyes coming to rest on Kaden's face. "So I'm pretty sure I needn't ask, but you're bored, too, right?"

Kaden unexpectedly released a small sigh. "Yes," he admitted readily enough.

Sonic now also sighed. "You're of no help to me, then."

"Deal with it. I'm not here to entertain you."

"Well you should be."

"You're an adult now. You can entertain yourself."

"But _Daddy_," Sonic pretended to whine. Kaden cracked an eye open to give Sonic a dry look, and Sonic couldn't help but laugh at his own joke. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry."

Kaden huffed and his eye closed again. "You don't _sound_ sorry," he responded.

"Maybe that's because I'm not," Sonic grinned. Kaden just huffed again.

Suddenly, small beeps sounded from everyone's communicators and from Omega, prompting everyone (save for the robot) to look down at their wrists. Silver had opened a channel, connecting everyone's microphones so that everyone could talk and hear each other without a problem. Barely a second after doing this, the young hedgehog spoke. "Hey, I don't know about you guys, but I think this is getting pretty freaking boring."

"I'd have to agree with you, there," Rouge replied with a small smirk. Then she asked, "What's on your mind?"

"I was thinking we could all play a game of sorts." Silver's grin was apparent in his voice.

Kaden closed his eyes yet again and asked in a voice that was quiet even for him, "What game?"

"Well," Silver replied, golden eyes flashing toward his grandparents for a moment, "Gramma taught me about that game you two used to play." Kaden's eyes opened, and he glanced at his partner. "I was thinking we could play that."

Sonic glanced at his parents as Amy spoke up. "What game did she teach you, Silver?"

"It's called 'Truth'," Kaden responded, eyes closing yet again. "One person asks another a question, and the one who was given the question has to answer the question truthfully. If they choose to pass, the first person gets to ask them another question until the second person answers."

"Then, once the question has been answered," Analia continued, "the roles switch. The person who was giving the question now gets to ask one. In a group of this size, they would have to ask it to someone other than the person who went before them."

Sonic took a liking to this fairly quickly. "I'm game," he said casually. "Anyone else want to play?"

Jet shrugged. "I guess I will."

"Yeah, fine, whatever," Knuckles conceded gruffly. After these two agreed, everyone else soon followed suit.

Of course, Silver asked the first question. "Okay, Dad," he started, "what's one funny thing you know about someone that most of the rest of us probably don't know?"

Sonic grinned, and Jet immediately glared at him. But Sonic didn't back down. "When Jet gets bored, bad things tend to inexplicably happen around him. Things like bookshelves falling over for no reason and whatnot."

"Not like it's _my_ fault..." Jet muttered as Silver laughed.

Sonic wasn't sorry, nor did he pretend to be. His eyes settled on someone and he said, "Up for some questioning, bro?"

Shadow's crimson gaze flashed in his direction. "Don't call me that."

Sonic continued to grin. "Alright, so... what's something you did as a child that you regret, but only because it was so childishly ridiculous?" Kaden slowly smirked.

Shadow huffed and immediately and firmly said, "_Pass_."

Sonic chuckled. "You sure about that? My other question is probably not be any more to your liking."

A long period of silence passed. Then, finally, Shadow released a heavy sigh and admitted, "As a young child... I never knew what paint was until I found some in the ARK. I got it all over my room and myself."

Analia smiled widely. "That sounds adorable." Shadow seemed to sulk.

"Your up, Uncle Shads," Silver grinned.

Shadow glared at him, but didn't argue. "Father," he started, immediately prompting Kaden to open his eyes, "why do you hit people on the head when they irritate you?"

Kaden thought about that for a moment. "I... have no idea," he finally responded, being genuinely honest. "I've never even thought about it before."

"It's because you're one crazy S.O.B.," Locke joked.

"Oh, shut it."

"No."

Kaden uncharacteristically rolled his eyes, then selected someone to ask a question to. "Amy."

Amy perked up and looked out him. "Yes?"

Kaden closed his eyes. "Is your hammer imbued with any sort of magic?"

Amy smiled at this. "I'm not surprised that you could tell," sh admitted. Then she answered his question. "Yes, it is. That's why it's so durable, in spite of not being made of any sort of insanely strong material." Kaden nodded his understanding, then Amy continued talking. "Knuckles, what's one thing you're afraid of? I don't think I've ever seen you afraid of something."

Knuckles frowned and looked down. He contemplated passing... But ended up answering the question, anyway. "I used to be afraid of Gerald's robots." He fixed his hat. "Now, I don't know if I have any fears." Sonic understood the reasoning behind that former fear, but kept quiet about it as Knuckles's violet eyes scanned the group. His gaze fell upon the emerald hawk flying not too far from him. "Jet." Piercing blue eyes slid in his direction. "What's something you like to do _besides_ racing?"

Jet took a moment to contemplate his reply before shrugging and saying, "I like doing art. You know, drawing, making music, that sort of thing." Knuckles nodded after a moment, and Jet looked to Espio. "Espio, where were you trained?"

Espio immediately looked north. "In a secluded mountain range," he responded. "There is a small community of ninjas there. That is where I was trained."

Jet looked to the north as well, and a small smirk formed on his face. "Cool."

Espio's amber gaze slid to Rouge. "Rouge," she glanced at him when he said her name, "your grandfather is Tchen, the legendary thief... correct?"

Rouge smiled a little. "Yes," she agreed. "He is." She then looked to Blaze. "Blaze, is there anyone in this group who worries you? Someone besides Silver."

Blaze immediately looked at Sonic. "Sonic," she said dryly. "He is almost as reckless as his son."

"Hey," Sonic laughed, "I resent that."

Jet was also laughing. "You shouldn't. It's true, and you know it."

"Whatever!"

Blaze smirked faintly and turned her attention away from their antics and instead toward the X-Tornado. "Tails."

Tails looked at her briefly and smiled. "Yeah?"

Blaze took a small moment to create a question, then asked, "What was your very first invention?"

This brought a fond smile to Tails's face. "I made a super computer, of sorts." He then laughed. "It never _worked_, but still." Blaze smiled. Tails didn't miss a beat. "Hey, Vector."

"Yeah?" Vector responded in his loud, happy voice.

"Is it true that Charmy is yours?" Tails asked. "Like, you adopted him?"

Vector turned to smile at the young bee, and Charmy easily returned the smile. "Yep, I did." Tails also smiled. Vector then looked at Cream. "Hey, Cream."

"Yes?" Cream asked sweetly.

"What's it feel like to have a vision?" Vector asked curiously.

Cream contemplated that briefly, then shrugged. "It doesn't feel like much of anything, really. It's just like seeing or hearing something like I normally do in every day life." Vector nodded to indicate his understanding, then Cream asked, "Mister Locke?"

Locke easily smiled at her. "Yes?"

"Have you always been able to fly?" Cream asked innocently.

Locke chuckled. "No, not at all," he replied. "And even when I _could_ fly, I wasn't always very _good_ at it." His smile grew a bit as he glanced at his best friend, who was still dozing very lightly in the sun on the wing of the X-Tornado. "Just ask Kaden; I used to fly at about a snail's pace."

"No," Kaden replied, voice a murmur. "You were actually slower."

Locke huffed in amusement. "I was not."

"You were."

"Was not."

"Alright, boys," Analia cut in with a smile.

Locke and Kaden both smirked, then Locke turned his attention back to the game. "Hey, Omega." Omega made some sort of robot sound in reply, so Locke continued. "Do you understand peoples' emotions on anything more than a technical level?"

**_"Affirmative," _**Omega replied in his usual metallic voice. **_"However, I do not 'feel' as biological organisms do." _**

"Makes sense," Locke replied, still wearing his easy smile.

Omega was silent for a long moment. When it seemed as though he would ask a question, he suddenly said, **_"Analia." _**

Analia turned her warm smile on Omega. "Yes, Omega?"

**_"How long have you been able to use your power of Light Magic?" _**

"Since I was a young child," Analia replied. "I inherited my magic from my father, and he began training me as soon as I showed signs of awakening said power." Omega beeped in reply. Analia considered her options for a moment, then looked at Storm. "Storm?"

Storm glanced at her. "Yeah?" he asked gruffly.

Unfazed by his gruff reply, Analia asked, "Is there anything that makes you happy?"

Storm genuinely considered the question, then shrugged and replied, "Good food, I s'ppose."

"That is not surprising," Analia smiled. "Good food makes many people happy." She glanced at her partner, and a sleepy emerald eye cracked open to glance at her briefly.

Storm shrugged, then reluctantly said, "Charmy."

Charmy perked up brightly. "Yeah?" he asked, excited for his question.

Storm hesitated, then asked a random question (which was the only one he could think of). "What's somethin' you like to do?"

Charmy didn't even have to think about it. "I like to draw and fly around and play with Cream and Cheese." He blushed a little at this last part, and Cream smiled. Storm just nodded. Charmy then turned in his seat to look at Wave through the glass of the cockpit. "Hey, Wave?" Wave looked over at him with her eyes. Once he had her attention, Charmy asked, "How long have you been inventing stuff?"

"Since I was eight," Wave replied immediately. "That was when I got my first tool set. I had been helping my parents work on and repair tech for years before that, though."

Charmy grinned. "Cool."

Wave then spoke to the person who asked the original question. "Silver."

"Yes?" Silver asked happily.

Wave slowly smirk. "Is it true that you like Blaze?" Silver sputtered, and Blaze seemed to blush. Wave never got an answer.

On and on it went, and question after question was asked. The game continued all day long... Until an attack shattered the fragile illusion of peace they had all been struggling to maintain.

**~ソニック~**

**2,563 words this time. Wow, it's been a while. Writer's block is a B. Haha. XD Anyway... Posted (at some point around 7:00 p.m.) 04-30-16.**


	212. Prod

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed! I agree. That last question was perfect. XD**

**Hello, Mutt7! I'M SORRY! I GOT BUSY! DX I'm glad that the new chapter made you happy, though! :D**

**Hello, Spell of Dawn! Your review to Chapter 205: Hooray! You're back! :D Wait, wait, what about Kaden? XD Same here! I want a library like that... it would be so awesome... Well, he does... just not about that, specifically. XD DUDE, that is one of saddest statements, ever. ;_;**

**Your review to Chapter 206: Yes, so much! XD DUDE, that would be awesome! :D Haha, maybe you should... especially since there's some more foreshadowing in this chapter. But I can guarantee that it's not hinting at what you'll probably think it is. ...I'll see if you can catch what it is. ;)**

**Your review to Chapter 207: Having Bokkun like that makes him a very flat, superficial, and boring character, though. I don't like writing characters like that, and I personally hate reading about them, too. And yes, he will be interesting to learn about in this arc. :) Haha, yes, that's what I meant. Darn typo. XD Yeah, I agree that it was cool. And we definitely have a _lot_ of fire users, for sure. XD Well, as for Silver not tagging along, there could be any number of things. Maybe he was visiting others, maybe he was just busy, maybe he had already seen Kaden the day before, maybe he wasn't feeling well... who know. But, yes, the new arc is finally here! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 208: AWESOME SONG! :D Nope, he won't be. Not here. His story is deeper and more complicated than that. :) Yep. Yep, it would seem that he was. Well, yes. He _had_ them. They were snatched away from him, remember? :) Haha, yeah. The Biolizard versus Perfect Chaos would be like pitting a kitten against a pitt bull that was raised to fight (as terrible as that analogy is). ^-^"**

**Your review to Chapter 209: Yes, Vanilla will be in this arc. As far as Amy's parents go, they're minor and generally unimportant characters. They aren't necessary for the plot, so they likely won't be here much, if at all. Well, Storm's strength is comparable to Knuckles's, and that's a power. And, with Vanilla, she theoretically has one power as well. She has the same ears as Cream, and Cream can use those ears to slowly fly. Vanilla never does this, but she _is_ capable of flight. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 210: Ah, yes, the Chaotix. Vector is in the same boat as Storm, what with the strength power. And Charmy can fly, which counts as a power. And, since Charmy is so young, there is a chance that he could unlock more powers as he ages. Vector, however, is unlikely to get anything more. XD Hahahaha, I remember that! XD But, yeah, Omega has always been able to fly in this story, mostly for the sake of convenience. Haha. Yes, so true! Ivo will undoubtedly do it sooner or later, too... XD**

**Your review to Chapter 211: Well, they all undoubtedly had things to talk about, it was just a matter of breaking the ice, you know? :) Haha, true. They probably would have never gotten some of those answers otherwise. Lol. I can answer those questions! :D The Tails question: Answer, no. The Knuckles question: Answer, just with the non-spiky sides of his hands. For the Charmy question: Answer, he very well might (after all he has a sweet tooth). Haha, yes, it finally happened. XD**

**Hello, superbook5012! Yeah, it was mellow, but I enjoyed it. :) Eh, I was fine with the length fr the most part. Not every chapter needs to be long and action-packed, you know? :) Haha, yes, they are. XD Yeah, sorry about the wait. Writer's block is a pain, as is the pressure of constant obligations (i.e. going to the laundromat). :l**

**~ソニック~**

_"The fear of rejection puts a ceiling on your dreams, locks doors of opportunity, and traps you inside vicious cycles of insanity."_

_-Unknown_

**~ソニック~**

The attack was unexpected, violent, and loud. The robots were powerful and heavily armed. The fight was hard, almost too much so. And... Sonic was almost dazed by the sheer brutality of it all. But, at the very least, it was over now. No one was seriously hurt, either, which was a huge relief. Still Sonic walked around the group, checking over everyone just to make _sure_ that everyone was alright. Silver and Blaze were near the X-Tornado, just talking. Tails was near them, as was Cream, though the two of them weren't interacting. Cheese, of course, was with Cream. Nearby them were Amy, Analia, and Kaden. The girls were talking while Kadne gazed into the sky. Not far from there were the Chaotix, who were near their own ship (the newer, improved version they had purchased during the two year separation). Espio was looking toward the mountains where he'd been trained while Vector and Charmy talked animatedly about something or other. Shadow, Rouge, and Omega were standing by Shadow's ship, and they appeared to be discussing something rather serious (perhaps something related to how careless and risky Rouge's portion of the fighting had been earlier). About ten feet from the small group were Wave and Storm, who, as per usual, were arguing about something (though, thankfully, they were being quiet about it for now). Not too far away from them were Knuckles and Locke. Neither was talking. They were both leaning against the trunks of two separate trees and seemingly just relaxing.

As he slowly walked around the group, Sonic noticed that Jet was sitting by himself at the edge of the clearing a good ways away from everyone else. The young hawk was sitting under a tree, the fingers of his right hand drumming lightly and soundlessly on his thigh as though he was playing piano while he gazed thoughtfully into the sky. Sonic walked over to him and sat down. Jet didn't acknowledge him right away, and there was a long moment of silence before Sonic finally spoke, voicing his concern in an indirect way. "You alright?"

Jet, who had begun gazing off into the woods aimlessly, glanced at him briefly before looking away again. The tapping continued, though it slowed noticeably. He seemed to be doing it unconsciously. It occurred to Sonic briefly that he'd seen his friend doing that same repetitive motion (though not all the time) for as long as they'd known each other, more frequently on some days than on others. "Yeah," Jet finally replied, his voice breaking into the hedgehog's thoughts. He turned his head away again, gaze drifting back into the woods. "I'm fine."

"You sure?" Sonic pressed, leaning forward just enough to see into his old friend's face. "You look kinda..." He trailed off, searching for the right word, settled on one, then continued, "lovesick, or something."

Jet let out an annoyed, _Tsk _in response to that. He clearly didn't agree with that little statement."I'm not," he responded in a mutter. "That's a stupid thing to say." It almost sounded like he was scolding his friend, but Sonic hardly cared.

"You so are," the young hedgehog countered, ignoring the stab in the second sentence. Jet had always been a bit... "rough around the edges". He couldn't _not_ be, considering how severely he'd been abused and neglected as a child. "_Nice_" wasn't something he did well, though that wasn't necessarily always true. "Just look at yourself."

"I am not," Jet repeated, seeming more sullen now than before. "Stop insinuating shit."

"I'm not insinuating anything," Sonic replied innocently. Jet gave him a look that _clearly _said he knew that Sonic's so-called "_innocence_" was false. Sonic wasn't phased.

Jet looked away with a small scoff. "You are, Sonic." It was rare for him to directly address people by their names. "You and I both know it."

"But I'm not insinuating anything," Sonic insisted, still keeping up the innocent act for the fun of it in spite of having been caught doing so right away.

"You're assuming," Jet retorted, seeming mildly annoyed. Sonic still wasn't sorry for any of it.

"That's different than insinuating," Sonic quipped.

"I know," Jet responded with an almost imperceptible sigh of annoyance. "You're doing both."

"I can't _assume_ about things that I already know," Sonic responded with a grin. He knew he was pressing some buttons, but it was for a good cause. Jet had had feelings (however minor they were at first) for their teammate since they were teens, and it was about time the hawk finally do something about those feelings rather than dancing around them and pretending they weren't there.

"Just shut the hell up." This statement let Sonic know right away that Jet was going from being annoyed to being irritated. "I'm not lovesick."

"Stop lying to yourself," Sonic responded. Then he resurrected one of their oldest and longest drawn-out arguments. "And me, for that matter. You're terrible at it."

Jet didn't reply to that very last statement. Instead, all he said was, "I'm not lying."

Sonic gave him a look. "You just did it again, Jet."

Jet gave Sonic a glance that, while generally calm and inexpressive, still managed to continue to seem annoyed. The absent tapping ceased as he asked, "Why does it matter to you, anyway?"

"Because I'm your friend, remember?" Sonic told him almost gently. He knew he was never going to get anything out of his friend if he resorted to being irritated and stern. That would only prompt Jet to grow even more closed off and secretive. He gave Jet a light nudge, though (as expected), Jet was quick to shy away from the touch. He was rarely _okay_ with being touched by anyone. "So what's bugging you?" Jet said nothing, but his glance at Wave was telling enough. Sonic smiled. "You know, there's a simple solution to your problem."

Jet said nothing, but his expression almost seemed to sarcastically ask, "And what's that?" However, he said nothing aloud in response to Sonic's simple declaration.

Sonic continued to smile, emerald eyes bright in a way they never were during more serious situations and conversations. "You _could_ just tell her how you feel." Jet muttered something in Ancient Babylonian, and Sonic huffed at him. "It's not that outlandish of an idea, you know." He had no idea what Jet had actually said, but he figured this was as good a comeback as any.

The tapping resumed. As always, the action seemed unconscious and unintentional. Sonic said nothing about it, had no comment to make. Jet finally responded after a long moment or two of almost awkward silence. "I can't tell her," he all but mumbled. It was the first time he had ever _not_ denied having feelings for their old friend. And, more than that, him mumbling was a rare thing. It told Sonic very clearly just how uncomfortable the hawk now was.

"Why can't you?" Sonic pressed. He wanted to understand this, if only so that he could try to lend a hand in some way. Social situations weren't Jet's strong suit, and Sonic had always sought to help him with that whenever possible. "It's not like she'd yell at you for it." Jet gave him some sort of look, one that Sonic couldn't make heads or tails off, but said nothing about it. And, as luck would have it, the conversation was interrupted (or ruined, depending on one's perspective) before it could be taken any farther.

"Hey, we're all ready to go now. You two coming?" It was Locke, who was now standing near the X-Tornado. Sure enough, everyone else was loaded up in the ships, ready to run, or prepared to fly.

The tapping again ceased, and Jet stood. He clearly had no intentions of continuing the conversation and was more than ready to take off. Sighing a little to himself, Sonic let his friend go as he too stood up. He supposed they really didn't have time to be talking about this, anyway. Because, truthfully, as terrible as it was, they had far bigger things to worry about than just someone's not-so-secret secret crush. And so, without another word, he jogged after his friend and back to the group.

**~ソニック~**

**1,463 words this time. This is short, but I enjoyed writing it. It's not especially important to the portion of the plot involving the big bad monster guy of this arc, but this chapter _is_ important to both other aspects of the plot and character development. Also, yes, I used a quote for the line breaker. For those of you who missed it, I posted an A/N a while back where I stated that I will use these sometimes (mostly when they're applicable/fitting). Hope you enjoyed! Posted 05-11-16.**


	213. Forever Broken

**Hello, StarryMoon33! YES! Listen to Sonikku! We all ship you and Wave! X3**

**Hello, Lynn! Aw, thanks! I'm happy you like it! :) Haha, yeah, he _is_ pretty creepy, huh? XD Thank you so much! It means so much to hear that you enjoy this story so much. I will do my very best to! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 207: OMG, hi! And nice hair. XD Yes, yes he is! And yes it has. Yeah, a lot certainly happened! I think you did a good job of summarizing the chapter. Haha. XD I'M GLAD YOU DO! YES, IT IS! LET'S GOOO!**

**Hello, Mutt7! Haha, gomen. XD I actually don't know this reference. I've heard that quote before, but I dunno where it's from. XD Thanks! I'm glad you do! And I will do my very best. :) Haha, thanks for the thumbs up. And lol!**

**~ソニック~**

_"When a close friend unexpectedly leaves us, a piece of our heart is forever broken."_

_-Chris Lumpkin_

**~ソニック~**

Kaden was again resting atop the wing of the X-Typhoon. He didn't feel like talking to anyone, so he kept to himself as he lightly dozed in the sun. His sons were both nearby, Sonic on the wing beside him and Shadow inside his own ship, and his grandson was flying relatively nearby to Shadow still. Cream was inside the X-Tornado. His partner was flying not far from Kaden himself, and Locke was near her. Blaze was sitting atop the opposite wing. Knuckles was near Silver. His family was safe. His best friend and _his_ son were safe. Cream, whom Kaden had come to care for as a niece in a way (as Vanilla had become very sisterly toward him), was safe. Blaze, who had both become his pupil and practically his granddaughter by this point, was also safe. And, of course, everyone else was as well. That meant he could relax. So he did. Savoring both the warmth of the afternoon sun and the coolness of the air flowing around him. It was all so nice... for now. He held no hopes that this peace and quiet would last for long, but he was sure as hell gonna enjoy it while it lasted.

Or at least, that had been the plan.

But, of course, the universe had a cruel sense of humor. As such, the peace was ruined. However, this was not so for the group as a whole. It was merely true for Kaden, who had begun to drift off into a deeper sleep. And, as was usual, the moment he did, he found himself tormented with nightmares. They were vague and formless at first, but then they began to morph into memories... ones he usually kept buried. He saw tentacles first, and he knew right away that he was looking at Perfect Dark Gaia. But then the dream shifted, and he began reliving something else, something that had happened mere _days_ before that final fight. In that dream, he saw... death.

_As Locke furiously punched a creature away from himself and Chip, Kaden did what he could to defend his other friend while he was down. Analia was with their baby, protecting him on Angel Island. With her safe for now, Kaden was able to focus on the fight, and on protecting the youngest member of the group. Marthal, the nineteen-year-old cat whom Kaden had known since their teenage years, had been badly sliced across the leg with vicious claws and was currently just trying to breathe through the intense pain. Kaden struggled to keep the creatures back and away from him. Chip, using small and concentrated blasts of bright green light-like magic, was doing everything he could to help from where he was by Locke's left side. Locke, unfortunately, couldn't fo much to lend them aid, considering how utterly surrounded he was at the present moment. If he took his attention away from his own fight for even a single moment, he would be made to regret it. Kaden was in a similar position. 'Damn it...'_

_About a minute later, Marthal finally stood with a grimace, expression tightly contorted in a clear display of pain. Kaden glanced back at him, still concerned, but Marthal waved him off with one hand. "It's cool," he stated casually as he stooped briefly to pick up his traditional wooden martial arts staff. "I'm fine."_

_Kaden frowned slightly, not sure whether or not he really believed the younger male, but he was forced to acknowledge the fact that this was not the time nor the place to argue about it. Which meant he had to give his friend the benefit of the doubt, no matter how strong that doubt actually was. As such, he didn't press the matter. ...For now. With a curt nod, he returned to his portion of the fight. He let loose a wave of hellish fire at Dark Gaia's creatures. He heard more than saw the monsters perishing in the flames. Their screeches were impossible to miss, especially with his hearing. Then he heard yet more horrid screeching off to his right about ten feet away. Out of the corner of his eye, he observed Locke rapidly punching away (and thus killing) some of the creatures that were surrounding him. Now in a position where he could actually help his friend, Kaden cut off his flames and over to Locke to give him a hand. Meanwhile, Marthal used his incredible martial arts and hand-to-hand combat skills to take out his opponents while Chip continued to solely use his magic (rather than his minuscule physical strength strength) to battle the creatures. Chip's magic, being somewhat light-based (unlike Analia's, which was entirely light-based) was doing the most damage of any of the attacks._

_Then, suddenly, there was a shift in the fight. Kaden didn't believe in fate or luck, but both truly seemed to be frowning deeply down upon them now. A large blast of combined energy, created by multiple creatures all at once, slammed into Kaden and Chip full-force, sending them both hurtling backward. Kaden hit the ground hard on his stomach on the unforgiving ground, and Chip (who was scarcely) two feet to his right) met the very same fate. The hedgehog coughed a little in the pain, eyes closed, as Locke was roughly knocked aside by a second attack of some sort. Then there was a shout, a sharp cry of pain that had Kaden on his feet before he even knew for certain what was going on. As soon as it registered that that had been Marthal's voice, Kaden began to rush in his direction, only to be forced to stop when he was again surrounded by Dark Gaia's creatures. He cursed aloud, for once, and began blasting the monsters away with his fire so that he could get to his injured friend. Locke and Chip soon recovered and began doing it the same._

_There was a commotion he couldn't see, then another shout as the creatures began audibly (at least to Kaden's ears) dragging Marthal away through the woods, brutally mauling him all the while. Kaden felt his heart drop and his blood ran cold. He felt like he was about to freeze, but he refused to allow himself to do so. Instead, he began fighting even harder to try to get to the young cat and save his life. But, as yet another unnaturally massive blast sent the three of them flying again and the commotion grew more and more distant, Kaden felt what little hope he had begin to flicker and weaken. He scrambled to his feet and ran forward as fast as he could in his injured and exhausted state. Marthal had gone silent by this point, was possibly unconscious, and the woods were so dark and thick that Kaden couldn't see him. He had this overwhelming feeling of fear and dread as he raced after his friend. Following the creatures ever farther away from Locke and Chip, he broke free of the forest and immediately slipped on stone that was slick with thick smears of blood leading straight to the very edge of a massive chasm so deep the bottom could not be seen.. There was so much of it here and all throughout the woods... There was no way, no way a person could survive losing that much blood. And, as the realization of it all hit him, Kaden fell to his knees._

Kaden's eyes suddenly snapped open and he sat up. Analia was kneeling beside him, a hand on his shoulder. He was normally deeply averse to touch, but he always tolerated it with certain people, especially when those people were members of his own family. Kaden glanced at her face, unintentionally making eye-contact for the barest of moments. The contact remained just long enough for him to see the sadness and sympathy shining in her bright green eyes. Then he quickly broke that contact, as was normal for him. Analia spoke, tone soft and gentle, her hand a soothing weight on his shoulder. "Was it another nightmare?" she murmured in question. He nodded, but didn't otherwise reply, choosing instead to focus most of his attention on the landscape that was flying by far below them. She spoke again, though, drawing some of his attention back to her. "Would you like to talk about it?"

Kaden immediately shook his head. "No." Even after all these years, the grief and guilt he felt was immense. Thinking and talking about what had happened only made those feelings worse. He never wanted to remember that night ever again.

**~ソニック~**

_"Study the past if you would define the future."_

_-Confucius_

**~ソニック~**

Locke only knew so much about the history of the world beyond a certain point. Once one dug deep enough into history that they went farther back than a certain long-past date, he was just as lost and clueless as the rest of the world was on the matter. As such, his knowledge on the beast Chaos, and it's massively important role in ancient world history, was practically nonexistent. That was where the group's historians (as well as Espio and, to a lesser extent, Sonic) came in. Locke, Kaden, Analia, Knuckles, Rouge, Jet, Wave, and Espio were all talking. In particular, they were discussing the symbols Espio had dreamt about and then written down, his visions, the paintings that Locke had seen and photographed, and the whatever other minor tidbits of information the group possessed. So far, all they knew for certain were eight things.

1.) Chaos had very nearly destroyed the ancient world before the echidnas had stepped in and stopped the beast. This the group learned from the paintings Locke had seen. Specifically, the woman who had fought and defeated Chaos had been from Locke's tribe (a forest tribe), which was known as the Tribe of the Sun. This they knew from what Analia had been taught as a young child by her father, Koda, who had known a great deal about history during his life.

2.) Chaos had piercing green eyes that were filled with hatred and fury. This they knew from the paintings and Espio's visions.

3.) Chaos's rage was somehow tied to an event involving a group of normal blue and yellow Chao, as well as a young orange echidna woman with deep blue eyes. The echidna, who was from a plains tribe known as the Tribe of the Skies, was named Tikal. They knew about the Chao group and Tikal's physical description from the paintings and Espio's visions, and they knew her name from the symbols he had written. They knew of Tikal's involvement and where she was from thanks to what Rouge had found in a lost library she'd discovered years ago.

4.) Chaos had the ability to control water. This they knew from an ancient scroll Jet had read, one which the Babylonians had preserved in the Gigan Temple. Chaos also had the ability to "eat" and steal energy and powers. This they knew from Espio's visions, what Sonic had told them, and the geological evidence Locke had once discovered on South Island that indicated a worldwide flood that had occurred in ancient times.

5.) Chaos had been sealed away in a transparent, light pink orb of some sort that had been further sealed away in a stone monument covered in carved symbols (the very same ones Espio had written down). Gerald then broke the monument somehow (in spite of all it's magical protections) and stole the sphere. This they knew from Espio's visions, what Sonic had told them, and what Wave had dug up in the old files of Gerald's that Ivo had saved.

6.) The ancient disaster involving Chaos happened more than one hundred and ten thousand years ago, which meant at least eight generations before Locke's time (even though his lineage could only be traced back _five_ generations). This they knew from information Knuckles had managed to dig up in a very old book.

7.) Without the power it had stolen from others, Chaos wasn't very powerful. This they knew from knowledge Kaden had gained from one of his countless books, and from what Sonic had told them.

8.) The woman who had fought and defeated Chaos was a distant ancestor of Locke's and Knuckles's. This they knew from more information Knuckles had found in that old book.

All in all, they didn't know _much_. It didn't help that some of their information (i.e. the color of Tikal's eyes) was trivial and unimportant. _But... _Locke sighed internally as they flew on to the nearby emerald Sonic was sensing, _beggars can't be choosy, I guess.. _After all, things could be worse. At least they knew _some _things about this, unlike in some situations of the past (i.e. the first few weeks or so of the war against the Babylonians on South Island). Really, he supposed he should be grateful. But... was, he really? No. No, he supposed he wasn't. _I'd be more grateful if the peace would actually remain, for once._ Pushing this thought away, he continued flying.

**~ソニック~**

_"The strength of a man is in protecting the weak."_

_-Unknown_

**~ソニック~**

A lone figure walked down the streets of Station square, light orange fur shifting subtly in the ocean breeze and deep blue eyes searching for something unseen. Crowds of people flowed around him, but he paid them no mind. They were all important to him, as he had sworn a very long time again to protect this place and its people, but he was busy at the moment. His nose twitched slightly as he sifted through the scents clouding the air. He smelled, salt water, cologne, hamburgers, fish, balloons, pavement, trees, exhaust, metal, and on and on and on... But there was a particular smell in the air that held his attention, one that he didn't understand. It smelled like energy (a kind that he didn't recognize) and negativity and... something that was almost like water. However, whatever he was smelling was most certainly _alive_. Which, of course, meant that it _couldn't_ be water... right? Frowning to himself, he coiled his muscles and sprung into the air, ignoring the few stares he received for doing such an act. Most people in this city had grown used to his acrobatics and agility by now. Upon landing on the rooftop nearest to him, he began running, jumping from that rooftop to the next and the next and the next until he was out of sight. Something was definitely here... and he refused to let it do harm to his people and his city.

**~ソニック~**

_"Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, and expecting different results."_

_-Albert Einstein_

**~ソニック~**

Ivo had never stopped to truly consider _why_ he wanted so deeply to take over the world. He supposed it might have _something_ to do with living up to and beyond his grandfather's legacy, just without the part involving fatal failure. However, he was very keen on the idea of forging his own path as well. Life was far more enjoyable as well. The sight of fear and people's eyes was greatly enjoyable, too, which heightened his liking of the idea of taking over everyone's lives. Plus, once he was in charge, he would no longer have to worry about fools like Jet and Sonic and Cream and Rouge getting in his way. He could make those same fools suffer before ending their miserable lives. Now _that_ would make taking over the world well worthwhile.

Now, none of this was as a result of a bad upbringing, as some might assume. Far from it. In fact, twisted though people seemed to think he was, his upbringing had been _fine_ as far as he was concerned. Was it all the product of mere insanity? Possibly. He wasn't opposed to accepting the idea. After all, insane or not, he was a _genius_, and a powerful one at that. With these two traits at his disposal, he _would_ accomplish his goals... And having a power-stealing monster certainly helped. He refused to fail as his grandfather once had.

**~ソニック~**

**2,801 words this time. Sorry for the delay, guys... Posted (at 8:00-ish) 05-12-16.**


	214. Bonus Chapter 10: Name Pronunciations

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight: YYYEEESSS, MMMAAARRRTTTHHHAAALLL! Yes... Yes, he does. HE IS! VERY BAD MAN!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 208: Yes, he surely did. Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :D Haha, I suppose it was. And I'm glad you are! XD**

**Your review to Chapter 209: Yeah, it was pretty bad... YES, SONIKKU! SHOW US YOUR INNER STRENGTH!**

**Your review to Chapter 210: YES! HE'S FINALLY HERE! I'M HAPPY, TOO! :DD Yeah, he finally gave up on that. Haha. XD I agree that it's cool. Yeah, it is amazing to see that! Shaow-kun is so formal about it. I mean, _yeesh_! Relax, man! Even Kaden ain't that stiff and formal! XD I'm glad you enjoyed! I felt it was a bit lacking in overall content, but I enjoyed writing it. :) Yes, Cream saw an alien horse of some kind... And it is most certainly important. YES, GO ASTRAL HORSE, GO1 XD As for the answer to that question, let us revive the madman for a moment and get his input... ****Gerald: "...F*** this. I have a world to destroy and a hedgehog to kill." *Leaves.* Me: "Well... That went well. ...Heh heh, sorry Sonikku. Guess you gotta kill him again... ^-^" "**

**Your review to Chapter 211: I'm happy that you did! This chapter was meant to be a happy and fun one, so I'm glad that worked. :) Haha, oh, I know! I loved that part, and so did Star! XD Pfft, _hahaha_! That's amazing! I can totally see it! XDD**

**Your review to Chapter 212: Yes, Jet-sama! Do what Pyro-kun says! Don't block you're feelings and hide them! D: I do, too. I loved it, really, and I'm glad you enjoyed it as well. Yes, I agree that it shows that for sure. :) I CANNOT TELL YOU HERE WITHOUT SPOILING CRAP! GOMEN! D:**

**~ソニック~**

_Key:_

_M = Male_

_F = Female_

(-)

**Sonic's Family:**

_Kaden and His Ancestors:_

**M: **Sen: "Sehn"

**F: **Kalina: "Kuh-lee-nuh"

**M: **Zakuro: "Zuh-koo-roe"

**F: **Karin: "Kah-rihn"

**M: **Sasori: "Sah-soe-ree"

**F: **Kadori: "Kah-doe-ree"

**M: **Satsuno: "Saht-soo-noe"

**F: **Seiko: "Sae-koe"

**M: **Kaden: "Kae-den"

_Analia and Her Ancestors:_

**M: **Saran: "Sah-rahn"

**F: **Neferti: "Neh-fer-tee"

**M: **Toki'en: "Toe-kee-ehn"

**F: **Samara: "Suh-mah-ruh"

**M: **Koda: "Koe-duh"

**F: **Temari: "Teh-mah-ree:

**F: **Analia: "Uh-nah-lee-uh"

_Shadow and His Ancestors:_

**M: **Black Doom: "Blak Doom"

**M: **Kaden:

**M: **Shadow: "Sha-doe"

_Sonic, His Ex-Girlfriend, and Their Descendent:_

**M: **Sonic: "Sah-nick"

**F: **Elsa: "Ehl-suh"

**M: **Silver: "Sihl-ver"

**Blaze's Family:**

_Blaze and Her Ancestors:_

**M: **Kane: "Cane"

**F: **Kari: "Kah-ree"

**F: **Blaze: "Blaze"

**Kimmy's Family (Ruined Future Arc):**

_Kimmy and Her Ancestors:_

**M: **Silver:

**F: **Blaze:

**F: **Kimmy: "Kim-mee"

**Amy's Family:**

_Amy and Her Ancestors:_

**M: **Harold: "Hair-old"

**F: **Marie: "Muh-ree"

**F: **Amy: "Ae-mee"

**Marthal's Family:**

_Marthal and His Ancestors:_

**M: **Setin: "Seh-tihn"

**F: **Ani: "Ah-nee"

**M: **Marthal: "Mahr-thul"

**Locke's Family:**

_Locke's Ancestors:_

**M: **Marin: "Mah-rihn"

**F: **Kar: "Car"

**M: **Axal: "Ax-uhl"

**F: **Nissa: "Nee-suh"

**F: **Ket: "Keht:

**M: **Aren: "Ah-rehn"

**M: **Tesh: "Teh-sh"

**F: **Saria: "Sah-ree-uh"

**M: **Saul: "Sahl"

**F: **Terra: "Tehr-uh"

_Locke, His Wife, and Their Descendent:_

**M: **Locke: "Lock"

**F: **Laura: "Loe-ruh:

**M: **Knuckles: "Nuh-klz"

**Rouge's Family:**

_Rouge and Her Ancestors:_

**F: **Evelyn: "Eh-vihl-ihn"

**M: **Tex: "Tehx"

**F: **Yasi: "Yah-see"

**M: **Tchen: "T-chen"

**F: **Yasmine: "Yaz-meen"

**M: **Jonathan: "John-uh-thuhn"

**F: **Rouge: "Rooj"

**Jet's Family**:

_Laralei and Her Ancestors:_

**M: **To'sato: "Toe-sah-toe"

**F: **Shara: "Shah-ruh"

**F: **Alana: "Uh-lah-nuh"

**M: **Shan: "Shahn"

**F: **Laralei: "Lah-ruh-lae"

_Ross and His Ancestors:_

**F: **Laralei:

**M: **?:

**M: **Ross: "Rahs"

_Selena, Her Ancestors, and Hers and Ross's Descendent:_

**M: **Tansuno: "Tahn-soo-noe"

**F: **Alkaria: "Ahl-kah-ree-uh"

**F: **Selena: "Suh-lee-nuh"

**M: **Jet: "Jeht"

**Wave's Family:**

_Wave and Her Ancestors:_

**M: **Han: "Hahn"

**F: **Mara: "Mah-ruh"

**F: **Wave: "Wave"

**Storm's Family:**

_Storm and His Ancestors:_

**M: **Carl: "Cah-rl"

**F: **Cyndi: "Sihn-dee"

**M: **Storm: "Stoe-rm"

**Espio's Family:**

_Espio and His Ancestors:_

**M: **Samuel: "Sam-yoo-ehl"

**F: **Carla: "Car-luh"

**M: **Espio: "Ess-pee-oh"

**Vector's Family:**

_Vector and His Ancestors:_

**M: **Cass: "Cass"

**F: **Harriett: "Hair-ee-eht"

**M: **Vector: "Veck-tore"

_Vector and His Adopted Descendent:_

**M: **Vector:

**M: **Charmy: "Charm-ee"

**Charmy's Family:**

_Charmy and His Ancestors:_

**M: **Max: "Max"

**F: **Marxi: "Mahrx-ee"

**M: **Charmy:

**Merry's Family:**

_Merry's Father, His Second Wife, and Their Daughter:_

**M: **Keith: "Keeth"

**F: **Amani: "Uh-mah-nee"

**F: **Lucy: "Loo-see"

_Merry's Mother:_

**F: **Luna: "Loo-nuh"

_Merry, Her Husband, and Their Daughters:_

**F: **Merry: "Mehr-ee"

**M: **Eli: "Ee-lie"

**F: **Joy: "Joi"

**F: **Grace: "Grayce"

_Grace, Her Husband, and Their Descendants:_

**F: **Grace:

**M: **Will: "Wihl"

**F: **Vanilla: "Vuh-nih-luh"

**M: **Mark: "Mahrk"

**F: **Cream: "Creem"

**Chip's Family:**

_Chip and His Ancestor's:_

**M: **Sinal: "See-nahl"

**F: **Kantalei: "Kahn-tah-lae"

**M: **Chip: "Chip"

**Bokkun's Family:**

_Bokkun and His Ancestor's:_

**M: **Aitaio: "Eye-tai-oh"

**F: **Oria: "Oh-rie-uh"

**M: **Bokkun: "Boe-koon"

**Tails's Family:**

_Tails and His Ancestors:_

**M: **Talin: "Tah-lihn"

**F: **Sani: "Sah-ni"

**F: **Aer: "Air"

**M: **Ari: "Ah-ree"

**M: **Kalin: "Kah-lihn"

**F: **Ira: "Ee-ruh"

**M: **San: "Sahn"

**F: **Snow: "Snoe"

**F: **Effi'la: "Eff-ee-luh"

**M: **Nato: "Nah-toe"

**M: **Uen: "Yoo-ehn"

**F: **Bétil: "Bae-tihl"

**F: **Leska: "Less-kuh"

**M: **Tanen: "Tan-ehn"

**M: **Mel: "Mehl"

**F: **Meira: "Mae-ruh"

**M: **Taen: "Tane"

**F: **Tani: "Tahn-ee"

**M: **Jacob: "Jae-kuhb"

**F: **Molly: "Mahl-ee"

**M: **Tails: "Taelz"

**Robots:**

_Omega:_

**N/A: **Omega: "Oh-mae-guh"

**The Robotnik Family:**

_Ivo's Grandfather:_

**M: **Gerald Robotnik: "Jaer-uld Roe-bot-nick"

_Ivo's Cousin:_

**F: **Maria: "Muh-ree-uh"

_Ivo:_

**M: **Ivo: "Ee-voe"

**Ruined Future Arc Codenames:**

_Kaden:_

Agni: "Ag-nee"

_Analia:_

Freyja: "Fray-juh"

_Shadow:_

Shanghai: "Shae-ng-high"

Rama: "Rah-muh"

_Sonic:_

Arik: "Ah-rick"

Sen: "Sehn"

_Silver:_

An: "Ahn"

_Blaze:_

Aithne: "Eye-th-nee" (Means: Fire)

_Cream:_

Saga: "Sah-guh"

_Cheese:_

Gair: "Gaer" (Means: Small one)

_Vanilla:_

Lenita: "Leh-nee-tuh" (Means: Gentle)

_Jet:_

Lei: "Lae"

_Wave:_

Mana: "Man-uh"

_Storm:_

Evron: "Ehv-ron" (Means: Overflowing anger)

_Espio:_

Keme: "Keh-meh"

_Vector:_

Amoz: "Uh-mah-z" (Means: Strong, robust)

_Charmy:_

Nashita: "Nah-she-tuh" (Means: Energetic and full of life (Note: yes, this name is male))

_Big:_

Celso: "Cell-so" (Means: Tall)

_Locke:_

Balroc: "Ball-rock"

_Knuckles:_

Ryker: "Rie-ker"

_Rouge:_

Leila: "Lae-luh"

_Harold:_

Anshel: "An-shell" (Means: Happy)

_Marie:_

Eddica: "Ed-dih-kuh" (Means: Sincere, serious)

Edeline: "Ed-uh-lihn" (Means: Sincere, serious)

_Amy:_

Arrossa: "Uh-row-suh"

_Tails:_

Zeki: "Zeh-kee"

_Omega:_

Stahl: "Stall" (Means: Armor and steel)

_Master Emerald:_

Aili: "Eye-lee"

**~ソニック~**

**862 words this time. This is the first bonus chapter in about forty-three chapters. Haha. Anyway, hope this helps you guys with the ****pronunciation of various names (i.e. Analia's). This list also shows the names of ancestors of plenty of characters. Some (i.e. Sasori, Koda, Tchen) have been mentioned before. Others (i.e. Shara, Aer, Oria) have not. Some you will meet later in this series... and others you, sadly, will not.**

**For the codenames, the ones that were never mentioned in the actual story were defined for you here. Also, the blanks on this list were deliberate. I wasn't doing names multiple times. XD Lastly, not all these pronunciations are true to how these names would be said in the languages they came from. Aithne and Kalina are examples of what I'm talking about.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! I'll try to have a real chapter up tomorrow. Today was crazy, hence my posting _this_ instead of something else. Posted (at about 10:05 p.m.) 05-13-16.**


	215. True Courage

**Hello, StarryMoon33! GLAD YOU THINK SO! YES, YES YOU MUST. XD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 213: Yes, Kaden... Don't be so sad... ;_; Yes, learn from Rafiki! Rafiki knows all! XD Dude, Tikal is awesome. Totally awesome. :) I shall revel nothing! XD Dude, I could hear Rafiki's voice so clearly in my head when I read that line! Hahaha! XD**

**Hello, karygarcia21! Wait, what's difficult? XD**

**~ソニック~**

_"Good friends care for each other. Close friends understand each other. But true friends... true friends stay forever. Beyond words, beyond distances, beyond time..."_

_-Unknown_

**~ソニック~**

Sonic had gone ahead of the group. The first emerald was close, very close, and there was no reason why he couldn't just go retrieve the emerald by himself and then run back. It would be faster that way, anyway. So he ran across the vast grassy plains, alone, and straight to the emerald. It was the green one. He thought it fitting, considering how green the landscape also was. His run slowed to a jog, then a walk, then he stopped entirely. Once he'd come to a complete stop, he bent down to pick up the emerald. The moment his fingers touched the shiny, smooth, glowing surface, the world around him flashed and his senses were overtaken by a vision... a vision of the ancient, _ancient _past.

_Tikal was sitting on a rock in the grassy plains. Standing beside her was a bipedal creature that looked to be made of water. It's vital organs, such as it's brain, were visible through it. Playing in the grass all around them were small blue and yellow "normal" Chao. About twenty feet or so behind Tikal was a large, sprawling tribe of orange echidnas like herself. As she sat there, she spoke to the creature with a smile that never faded. Though it looked to her from time to time, it never seemed to reply. It seemed incapable of speech. This never deterred the young woman, though. She continued talking away, eyes bright with happiness as though she couldn't think of a better place to be or a better activity to be participating in. She looked as though she believed this creature to be her best and closest friend. And... maybe it was._

The vision ended. Sonic blinked several times in a mixture of both surprise and confusion. But, for the time being, he decided not to think about it. He had far too much else on his mind to waste time worrying about this. There were so many things on his mind... Jet refusing to acknowledge his feelings for Wave, Kaden having nightmares he refused to explain about and clearly being depressed for some reason, Espio being stressed out to the point where he was't eating, Cheese seeming agitated and nervous, Ivo and Chaos going after the emeralds...

With a sigh, Sonic pushed all this out of mind for now and ran back to the group.

**~ソニック~**

_"Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate."_

_-Captain Jack Sparrow_

**~ソニック~**

The lone hero ran through station square, a crowd of robots hot on his heels. As he ran, he contemplated the strange glowing jewel in his hand. He had seen these things around before, these odd emerald-like treasures. The one he was holding now was dark blue, but he'd seen a purple one and a yellow one before. He had no idea how many of these there were, why they seemed so special, why they glowed, what sort of energy was filling them, or anything, really. All he really knew was that these certainly _were_ special. That was why he'd never messed with them before; because special things weren't _toys_ and shouldn't be messed with unless necessary. He'd only grabbed this one because the robots that were currently busy trying to shoot him had been trying to get their grimy metal fingers on it. So he'd taken it from them. This was his first time ever even touching one of these.

As he ran, the young hero let out a small, thoughtful, "Hm." Without another word or sound, he jumped up and spun in midair. Without an ounce of effort, he moved his hand and unleashed a torrent of bright orange flames. The wave of fire utterly decimated the robots in a matter of seconds. He cut the fire off the second they were defeated, turned back around, and landed lightly on his feet on the pavement. The second his feet hit the ground, he resumed his incredibly fast run through Station Square.

**~ソニック~**

_"True strength is smiling when you want to cry, laughing to hide the pain, and going on no matter what."_

_-Unknown_

**~ソニック~**

_Sonic was sitting on the grassy hill, eyes dull and tears staining his cheeks. His legs were bent at the knees and his arms were loosely wrapped around them. He seemed to be alone, until Locke walked up to him. The echidna took a seat beside him and the two began to quietly talk. Locke looked like he'd been crying, too, and both had clearly been doing so recently. They spoke for a short while, both visibly overcome by grief and pain. Then, finally, Locke said something that could be heard. "You really do have your father's eyes."_

_Sonic's eyes brimmed with fresh tears. He closed his eyes tightly and those tears began streaming down his cheeks. And yet, somehow, he managed to smile. That smile was tight and painful, almost like a grimace of sorts, and very small. His voice quavered as he spoke. It was thick with emotion. "That's good..." he managed to get out, voice very quiet. "I'm glad..." He had always known that he and his mother shared the same exact fur color, the very same shade of blue. This he'd always known. And, now that this had all happened... it was good to know that he shared some physical traits with his father as well. _

Cream blinked several times as the vision abruptly came to an end. With nothing but time on her side at this point, she contemplated what had been revealed to her, looking out the cockpit of the X-Tornado all the while. They were after another emerald... and she couldn't shake the feeling that finding it would only reveal more mysterious.

**~ソニック~**

_"Love is what we were born with. Fear is what we learned here."_

_-Marianne Williamson_

**~ソニック~**

As the group flew on and on to the next Chaos Emerald, Jet stole a couple glances at Wave. The glances were silent, almost nervous, and went unnoticed by all. Or, at least... they had been unnoticed until Wave happened to turn her head briefly and also glance... directly... at... _him_. His heart thudded and he quickly looked away, deliberately scanning the sparse forests below. He pretended for a long while to be on the lookout for robots of any kind before finally looking back up at Wave. She had turned away again. He felt relieved, in a way. And yet, he also felt a small pang. Though uncertain as to what that pang of feeling was, exactly, but he _did_ know that he didn't like it. And... he didn't like feeling so awkward and uncomfortable around Wave. Usually, in spite of his feelings (none of which he was _ever_ going to admit to, ever), he was able to still interact with her and whatnot without feeling uncomfortable. However, the knowledge that Sonic apparently _knew_ about his feelings had shattered the illusion he'd had for so long, the illusion that his feelings were hidden and everything was fine.

Now, he wasn't so sure that things would _remain_ "fine".

Wave had always been kind to him in her own way. Sure, she had a temper and an attitude, but he did as well and, honestly, neither of those things had ever made her _un_kind. She just showed her kindness in different ways than most people did. Specific examples he could remember right away were her sitting with him quietly when he was upset but didn't want to talk, helping him with things he couldn't do (i.e. anything involving mechanics), and forcing him to take it easy when he'd had a fever not long before he'd awakened his powers. For her, these were acts of kindness. He knew her well enough to know that, and he appreciated every kind thing she did for him. Kindness was often a rare thing in his life, and her ready willingness to show it to him had always caught his attention. That was one of the biggest reasons why he was so _fond_ of her. But he couldn't tell her that. Because, _dammit_, he was afraid for once in his life and he had no idea what to do about any of this. To him, the best option seemed to be _not_ doing anything. Yes, this meant that nothing would ever happen between him and Wave, but that was the whole point.

If nothing happened, if nothing changed between them, then nothing would end up ruined. And, knowing how things always worked out in his life, things _would_ end up ruined. Every time he'd ended up close with someone in the past, _something_ had happened that had ruined it. He'd been close with Arthr from the time they were six to when they were ten. Then Arthr and his mother had moved away, never to be seen or heard from again. He'd once been very close to his father, up until he was seven, but then his father suddenly started hating him. And everyone knew how _that_ had ended up turning out. Even things with Sonic had gone to hell in a hand-basket in the past due to what had gone down with Elsa and Mephiles. Granted, their friendship seemed to be fine now, but that wasn't the point. The point was that every close relationship he ever had ended up being torn to shreds in the end. He refused to let that happen again. And, so long as he didn't let Wave know that he saw her as anything more as a friend... everything would be fine.

So, with one last very small glance in Wave's direction, Jet flew on ahead of her and forced himself to focus on where he was going.

**~ソニック~**

_"Courage is not the lack of fear. It is acting in spite of it."_

_-Mark Twain_

**~ソニック~**

Bokkun quickly looked over the small computer he'd been hiding in his "room" (which was more like a dingy cell than anything else). It was one he'd stolen from a very old base of Ivo's, one that the madman surely didn't miss. Still, Bokkun was careful to keep the device hidden at all times when he wasn't using it. He only ever used it during nights like these, nights where he was being left alone and no one was monitoring him because he was locked up and, really, what could _he_ do? He had no powers, wasn't any sort of genius, didn't even have any friends... But he _did_ have determination. As afraid as he was of stepping out of line and defying Ivo, he remained determined. He was getting _out_ of here at the first chance he got. And, with any luck, this little computer would give him the means to do the necessary research to accomplish his goals. If this plan, weak as it was, failed... he didn't know what he'd do.

It was times like these where he sorely wished he had a friend.

**~ソニック~**

**1,932 ****words this time. Not as much of an eventful chapter as I would have hoped, but... whatever. My only real excuse is that I didn't have a lot of time to type consistently today. But, anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. Posted 05-14-16.**


	216. The Back That Fades Away

**Hello, StarryMoon33! IT KILLED ME, TOO. DDX YAS. YAS, I NEEDZ HIM, TOO. Yes, Jet! Do as she says! Do eet! Yeah. Poor kiddo.**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yay! Tikal and Chaos are here! ...Sorta! XD He is! I totally agree! And yes, that will be massively awesome. :) I WILL ADMIT TO NOTHING ABOUT THAT VISION! Haha, no worries. It's cool. XD ...I'm pretty sure Jet-sama is ignoring you... *Looks at Jet* Yep, definitely ignoring you. ^-^" Hooray! Bokkun has a friend! And, hey! I love that opening! XD I will do my very best, as always, Pyro-kun! :D (P.S. Your awesome idea with Pyros is finally coming into play! I meant for it to happen during the two year sep., but it never happened. I think this is better, anyway. :))**

**~ソニック~**

**AN IMPORTANT NOTE! I did something different with the line breakers today. This time, instead of quotes, I put in my recommendations of songs to listen to while reading each scene. The middle one I wrote while listening to "Guren" by Naruto Shippuden, but I felt that the song I listed there fits it better. Anyway, hope you all enjoy!  
**

**~ソニック~**

_"Shirohae (The Rain Stops)", from Naruto Shippuden_

**~ソニック~**

Sonic had known for a while, by this point, that several things were up. These things were bothering him, every single one of them.

One, his father was sleeping. That in and of itself wasn't a problem. Him sleeping was a _good_ thing. He, like Jet, really and truly seemed to have insomnia, and a bad case of it. As such, he got little sleep. And even when he _did_ sleep, he was almost _always_ plagued by nightmares. From what Sonic could gather, those nightmares usually came in the form of memories, and that in and of itself was troubling. The idea that he had so many memories that were truly _that_ terrible was awful, but beside the point. The point was that, while he usually had nightmares, he wasn't having any now. And yet, his sleep was still troubled and not peaceful. Whatever he was dreaming about was distressing him and, to make matters even more troubling, his distress was visible on his face. However, he wasn't shifting around on his sleep, wasn't making a sound, and his aura wasn't being very strongly affected by his emotions. Which, of course, meant that Analia (who was also asleep) wasn't taking notice of his distress at the moment. Sonic knew she would if his father began showing more outward signs of upset sleep, but he made a mental note to wake her before then if this continued for much longer.

Two, on the earlier subject of insomnia, Jet wasn't even attempting to sleep. Sonic normally wouldn't have had any qualms about getting on his friend about it, but this time was a bit different. Jet seemed to need to be alone with his thoughts right now, and Sonic had a feeling he knew why. This was about Jet's feelings toward Wave. That much Sonic understood. What he _didn't_ understand was why Jet was so nervous and upset about the whole thing. Yes, he understood that change was generally something Jet had learned as a child to fear and even hate, and he understood that Jet's social skills weren't exactly stellar, and he also understood that Jet had never been _close_ with someone in the same way that he was close with Wave. So, sure, he had every right to be nervous. But his blatant refusal to even acknowledge to _himself _that he had feelings for her was, honestly, a bit troubling. And Sonic _wanted_ to help him. He'd always been like that with his friend, wanting to help him with everything he struggled with. And yet, for once, he found himself actually unsure as to how to go about it. It didn't help that Jet likely wouldn't accept any kind of aid, and that upset Sonic in a way he was hard-pressed to explain. He felt like they were brothers, and he (according to Wave) had always taken on the role of "Big Brother" in this relationship. Because of this, he felt very compelled to help his so-called "Little Brother". He hated that he couldn't do so this time.

Three, Espio was stressed out. The chameleon was normally exceedingly calm. He was _not_ prone to negativity by any means. Yes, he was a realist. However, that was vastly different from being pessimistic. And, in spite of being realistic in even dire situations, he simply wasn't the type of person to grow stressed normally. And yet, ever since some time during the Space Colony ARK mess, he'd been feeling just that. To top it off, he was also apparently a clairvoyant. Which meant he'd been having visions. However, he hadn't been seeing visions of the _future_ like Cream had been. Instead, he'd been seeing visions of the _past_. And, of course, it was these visions, these "memories" of Chaos and Tikal, that were causing his stress. He couldn't even precisely explain _why_ at this point (though Locke had noted having the same feeling of dread that Espio had, which meant it wasn't just their resident ninja who was being affected by something related to this mess). All of this was news to Sonic and the others. Espio had only _just_ decided to tell them about this _today_, rather than straight away when it had all started two _years_ ago. Sonic suspected the stress in and of itself was likely to blame from Espio's distinctly irrational decision to keep quiet about all of this for so long.

Four, little Cheese was behaving strangely. Cheese wasn't an individual Sonic wasn't _heavily_ familiar with, as he and the young Chao seldom directly interacted. Still, Sonic knew a great deal about him. He knew that Cheese's size was misleading and that he was actually rather strong. Cheese was also intelligent, especially for his age (much like Cream). And, like Cream, he was usually rather happy. However... this hadn't completely been the case today. For the most part, Cheese _had_ been happy today. However, he had also seemed highly agitated and nervous simultaneously for a long while earlier in the day. He'd even been frowning. Cream had noticed this as well, but Cheese hadn't even reacted to _her_ and her attempts to find out what was wrong. He'd just kept frowning into the distance, seeming to sense something that none of the rest of them could. Not even Jet, with his powerful aura senses, could detect anything noteworthy in the direction Cheese had spent so much time looking in. It was all very odd... and concerning.

Five, Ivo had a Chaos Emerald already. There was no explanation needed as for why _this_ was concerning. Sonic feared that the madman may have already given the emerald to his newest "pet". And they had yet to even _see_ the thing.

Six, there was _something_ going on with the Master Emerald. He could sense it. Locke and Knuckles, being the guardians of the emerald, could sense it as well. Kaden and Analia could, too, but only because they were still tied to the emerald, much like Locke was. After all, the trio wasn't _technically_ alive, even after all this time (though Sonic preferred not to think about that). The worst part was, none of them could figure out what was up with the emerald this time around. It didn't seem to be an _urgent_ matter, though, which meant that they had no real reason as of yet to make a detour and pay it a visit. They lacked time for such a trip, anyway. In the end, Sonic could only do the same thing for this worry as he was having to do with all the rest.

He could only wait and hope for the best.

**~ソニック~**

_"Silent Song", from Naruto Shippuden_

**~ソニック~**

Kaden's troubled dreams suddenly gave way when he found himself being prodded awake by a large clawed foot. A deep, gravelly voice roused him further from his sleep. "Come on, get up. Sleeping doesn't do you any good if you can't rest peacefully."

Kaden's eyes flew open and he found himself sitting very quickly up before he was even fully awake while the other person gave him some space. His eyes came to rest on a face he'd never thought he'd see again, one that had accompanied him on many journeys long past. The person before him was tall, well-muscled (though not overly so), and shirtless as always. Save for the yellowish oval spanning from his stomach to his chest, the person was bright red all over. His shiny black claws and spines (the latter of which were still rather small, due to his age) were the exception. The rough texture of his scales was clearly visible even from a few feet away. His long, serpentine tail was resting heavily in the grass and his arms were crossed. The young man before him wore white pants that were held up by a plain brown belt with a simple buckle. He looked _just_ as he had in the past, in the memories of those who had once known him. And in his shock, Kaden stared.

The dragon smirked, wicked fangs showing in the toothy display of emotion. "Never thought I'd see you stunned speechless." His demeanor suddenly changed again, back to being serious. "Now come on, get up. We're wasting time."

Kaden normally would have bristled at this command. He and Pyros had been friends long ago, yes. That was much was true. However, they had also _never_ gotten along well. They had fought like _crazy_ for as long as they'd known each other, and had had more than a few all-out brawls against each other. But... this time was different. Kaden didn't know what was going on or if he was even awake or why he was suddenly seeing yet another long-dead friend. So, in the hopes of getting answers, he slowly stood. A quick glance around told him right away that he was back inside the Master Emerald at the moment. He hoped to _god_ that he hadn't been put back in here permanently. He didn't think he would be able to handle being taken from his friends and family. But he didn't want to think about that. As such, he returned his focus to Pyros and waited for him to speak.

Pyros surprised Kaden by actually asking him a question, for once. The question _itself_ was surprising, too. "So you've got a couple of boys now, huh?"

Kaden's only display of his surprise was a blink. However, he was still quick to answer the question. "Yes," he nodded.

"And the first one, your oldest," Pyros continued, "his name's Sonic, right?"

Kaden nodded again. He didn't let his confusion show. "Yes," he said again. After answering that question, he was quick to pose a question of his own. "How did you learn of them?"

Pyros gestured vaguely around them with his right hand. "We're in the friggin' emerald," he said, showing hints of his usual temperament. He was being _very_ unusually calm right now. Honestly, it was a bit unnerving. He was used to the Pyros that had a temper capable of rivaling _Locke's_. And that man had some _fierce_ anger. "It lets people look into the outside world if they want to. _Revival _is what it tends to be more strict about."

Kaden blinked again, having not known that at all, but chose not to dwell on it. It was generally in his nature to dwell on the past as much as look forward to the future, but he didn't have the time for that sort of thing right now. Pyros seemed to be in a rush, a rarity for him, which meant that they truly were pressed for time. _Great. _A part of him had, at first, very much latched onto the idea that maybe they would be able to just talk casually and catch up a bit or _something_, but so much for wishes. So, without further ado, Kaden delved right into the heart of the matter. "Why did you want to know about them?"

Pyros's tail moved slowly from it's somewhat curled position behind his left leg, coming to rest in a mirrored position behind his right. The movement made a soft but distinct _ssshhh_ through the lush, cool grass. Kaden was suddenly randomly reminded of just how tired he was. "I was more interested in Sonic," Pyros responded finally. Immediate retorts and comebacks were his usual style of speech, so him taking time to contemplate his words had immediately caught Kaden's attention. The fact that he was being so _indirect_ was very attention-grabbing as well.

"And why would that be?" Kaden hadn't meant to come off sounding so challenging, but that was how he'd been used to _always_ interacting with Pyros. It was never _intentional_, really, which made the behavior that much harder to change. Still, he really didn't want a fight right now. Certainly not with _Pyros_, who had died saving his his, Locke's, and Analia's lives. That memory, old though it was, still caused Kaden a sharp emotional pain he cared not to contemplate.

Some hints of that famous dragon temper flashed in Pyros's amber eyes, but Pyros kept himself under control. Honestly, Kaden felt a measure of pride toward him. He had spent _years_ trying to teach the other warrior how to control his anger. Such a shame that that lesson was finally learned after death. "Because there's something I think I'm going to do. I just wanted your..." He paused, trailing off, then finished his sentence. "Approval."

Now even more confused than before, Kaden allowed a small frown to appear on his face. When he spoke, he chose his words carefully, spoke slowly. For the first time ever in his life, he said aloud what he had always assumed Pyros had known. "I trust you... You know that... don't you?"

Pyros inclined his head immediately. There was no hesitation, which meant there was no lie. "'Course I do, idiot." Though he'd just called Kaden an insulting name, there was a sort of fondness in the tone used to say it, a reminder of how close the two had once been in spite of all the spats and disagreements. In light of this, Kaden found himself feeling a touch happier than he had been since recalling Marthal and his death earlier in the day. "I wasn't referring to whether or not you trusted me, anyway," Pyros continued.

Kaden now had a suspicion, though not a bad once, as to what Pyros was getting at. Still, he tilted his head and asked, "What were you referring to, then?"

Suddenly, Pyros smirked widely again. He always wore his emotions so openly... yet another way he and Kaden differed. It was also one of the reasons why Kaden had come to care for him as he had. After all... a warrior without a heart could never do more good than harm. "Why must you always make me spell things out for you?" the dragon questioned, "even though you and I both know that I could speak to you in complex riddles and you would _still_ understand perfectly?"

For the first time this night, Kaden allowed himself a small smirk of his own. "Perhaps I find this to be more fun," he returned jokingly. "Or perhaps annoying you is just that entertaining."

"Batola," Pyros huffed with amusement, speaking in his native tongue for just a moment. Kaden couldn't be entirely sure, but he thought Pyros might have just called him an ass.

"Kl'atal," Kaden retorted, just as amused.

"Enchu'din."

"Kenu."

"Tanziv."

"Hekurio."

Pyros continued to smirk in response to their childish bickering and even more childish name-calling. They had even been using rather childish versions of the words they had been speaking. But the smirk soon faded again. It was important for them to get back on subject, and they both knew it. "I was getting at something more related to the fact that Sonic is your boy," Pyros said, finally answering the question that had somehow led them to their minor argument. When Kaden said nothing in reply to this, the deceased dragon continued. "All I want to know is that you, as his father, would allow me to do something for him. To help him."

Kaden was really taken aback by this question, but not in a _bad_ way. It was just that Pyros offering to help someone, no matter who they were, was _rare_. The only exception was when he was with his few friends and at least one of them was in need of aid. Then Pyros would often be the first to stand up and do something about it. But Sonic... Sonic was someone Pyros had no way of knowing personally, let alone being friends with. Kaden _wished_ his old friend could meet his sons and grandson and get to know them, but that was almost a complete possibility right now. And it was beside the point. The point was that Pyros was doing something out of character, something very _good_, and Kaden didn't completely understand why. Instead of _asking_ why, though, he found himself instead inquiring, "What do you intend to do?"

Another smirk tugged at Pyros's lips. "Technically speaking, I can't tell you." Kaden's slight frown from earlier returned, but Pyros continued before he could speak. "But, if I do this, your boy will be able to tell you afterward. He ain't exactly a dragon, so he wouldn't be under any sort of obligation to uphold our tradition of secrecy."

Kaden nodded slowly. He understood well enough just how covetously the dragon clans had always guarded their secrets, so this made sense to him. He was still curious, but he knew better than to pry into matters like these. So, instead, he voiced another question that was on his mind, one that he had kept quiet before. "Why Sonic?" He didn't disapprove of the choice. Not by any means. He was just curious, had always been prone to such a feeling, and that curiosity had gotten the better of him in this moment.

Clearing seeming to sense Kaden's curiosity, Pyros allowed a glimmer of amusement to show itself in his eyes. He had always called Kaden a child for being so inquisitive and, well, curious, but now it seemed as though he meant this comment (which he left unspoken this time) in a friendly and almost fond way. Well, as fond as one temperamental friend could be toward another friend with a temper. "I'm surprised you didn't figure that one out already." His head canted a second later as he looked Kaden up and down with his eyes. "But, then again, you tend to miss things when you're tired."

Kaden crossed his arms, but not out of any form of upset. He merely did it because such posture was comfortable to him. He didn't understand why people did this out of anger, but that particular thought was irrelevant. "So explain it to me, then."

Pyros seemed to choose his words with great care, a fact which again took Kaden by surprise. When he spoke, he was serious again. "I've been watching the world for a long time. Ever since I woke up in here. By that time, you and Analia had already had Sonic. I saw the last day of your guys's fight against Dark Gaia." Kaden's ears lowered slightly at the mention of that day. That memory would never bring him anything but heartache, anger, guilt, and shame. "I watched Locke and your boy for a long time after that."

Something in Pyros's eyes shifted, making his normally hard gaze appear so much softer than normal. Was it... sympathy, perhaps? Since Pyros was dead and had no aura to speak of as a result and since Kaden had always struggled with reading people without the use of his aura senses, he really had no idea. Amusement was easy to see, but sympathy (if that was even what it was) was just harder for some reason. _Why must this be so difficult? _he wondered with a silent sigh.

Pyros's voice pulled Kaden out of his thoughts. "I was going to tell you guys that Locke and the kid were alright," he revealed, speaking unusually quietly, "but you two died so violently that your spirits needed a _long_ time to recover before you could wake up in here." There seemed be an apology implied in his words, but Kaden saw no need for it. It wasn't Pyros's fault, after all. Kaden just didn't know how to _tell_ him that it was alright. And yet... Pyros seemed to understand, a fact which Kaden was grateful for. Pyros turned his head to the left and up, gazing through the dark sky. "I watched your boy for a long time," he murmured. "I saw everything he accomplished, everything he struggled for, all the lives he saved, all the things he suffered through..."

The mention of his son suffering made Kaden flinch. Wasn't it bad enough that _he_ had suffered all throughout his life? Why was it that _Sonic_ had to suffer, too? _He never deserved such a fate... _

Pyros continued, paying no notice to Kaden's immense guilt. Kaden hoped he was hiding it well enough that it couldn't be noticed in the first place. "Your boy has already brought about incredible change to the world." This reminder caused some of Kaden's guilt to give way to pride. Sonic had done _so_ much for the world. There was never any denying that... and Kaden couldn't have been more proud of him. Pyros turned his head back to Kaden, wearing one of his small, exceedingly rare smiles. "I have never doubted that he'll continue to bring about this great change. That's why I want to help him."

Kaden knew Pyros's words and heart were true and genuine. He had no reason in the world to doubt that. And, more than that, he had no reason to deny this request. So he did the only thing that was left to do... and gave his formal permission. "If he accepts your help, then you may do as you see fit, Pyros." _I trust you. _He left this last part unspoken this time, but he had faith that Pyros would know and understand what he had left unsaid.

When Pyros let out a rumble (a noise dragons made when deeply pleased) and another small smile made itself known on his face, Kaden knew he had made the right choice. "Good," he replied. Then he added more courteously with a respectful incline of his head, "Thank you."

Minding his manners for once in his life, Kaden respectfully inclined his head as well. However, the moment was soon lost when he found himself unable to resist commenting, "You're being _repectful_. And _polite_. It's weird as hell. Knock it off."

This evoked a deep laugh from Pyros, and Kaden managed to smirk more noticeably than before. "You just had to kill it, didn't you?"

Kaden offered no rebuttal and didn't attempt to defend his words. There was no point, really, was there? Besides, Pyros was laughing, which made everything worth it in the end, anyway. The happiness of his friends and family was always far more important than virtually anything else would ever be, after all. _So it has been, and so it shall always be. _

The laughter died down slowly. When it did, Pyros spoke again. "See, this is what's it like to feel _happy_, Kaden." Once again, the unexpectedness of his words took Kaden by surprise. His smirk dropped again in light of that feeling. "Being depressed is _bad _for you. That I even need to remind you of that is ridiculous."

Kaden bristled (though only emotionally and not physically) in spite of himself. Still, he kept his tone level. "You think I'm _choosing_ to be like this?" He refused to directly admit to being depressed... but they both knew he was.

"No," Pyros responded. "I _think _that you've yet again gotten yourself worked up about shit that was never your fault. You need to stop telling yourself that you don't deserve happiness and instead spend your energy remembering that much you've done to _earn_ that feeling. You deserve it more than most people, Kaden, more than you seem to give yourself credit for." When Kaden made no comment right away, Pyros continued. His voice and eyes had softened again, but Kaden was again hard-pressed to tell what emotion the dragon was feeling. "What happened with Marthal was _never_ your fault, Kaden. You have to remember that. _Dark Gaia_ was at fault. Never you."

Logic told Kaden that Pyros was right. Logic had been telling him the same thing for a long time. And yet, emotion was a powerful counter to that. It didn't help that, seeing as how he had died two measly days after their young friend's death, the grief still felt so _fresh_. It was _raw_, like Martha's death had only just occurred. He had just paid it little mind until very recently. He wasn't even sure why. _Not that it matters, anyway... _

A hand suddenly came to rest on the top of Kaden's head, ripping him from his thoughts, and realized suddenly that he was looking down at the ground. He felt a sharp sting in his eyes, the very one that warned of tears threatening to appear. Though he _had_ cried the day Marthal had died, he refused to do so again. He swallowed past the dangerous lump in his throat and forced that sting away as Pyros spoke. "Stop beating yourself up, Kaden," he murmured in that rough voice of his. "People hurt you enough as it is. Stop doing it to yourself. No one will thank you for it."

A sudden memory struck Kaden full-force, as vivid as the day the memory had been made.

_Kaden nearly bit his tongue when, out of nowhere, a rock-hard fist hit him on the top of the head hard enough to knock his teeth together and force his head down. For a brief second, he honestly thought he saw stars. Now angrier than before, he whirled around to face Pyros. "What the hell was that for?!" he snapped. He hadn't meant to let his anger show so clearly. Being sixteen and thus being prone to the usual teenage mood swings certainly had it's downfalls, he supposed._

_Pyros was glaring at him, eyes burning holes into him all the while. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?" he shot back, words sharp and slicing. "And about as big of an idiot as I've ever seen!" Kaden's hands balled into fists, but he was cut off before he could even begin to retort. "Why doesn't it ever occur to you that maybe people are just assholes and don't know what the hell they're talking about?!" the dragon demanded. "The fact that you let these ass-hats walk all over you is disgusting, Kaden!"_

_"I don't let anyone do anything to me!" Kaden responded just as sharply. _

_Once again, Pyros cut in before Kaden could adequately defend himself. "You are such an idiot!" he snarled. "Can't you see what's right in front of your goddamn face?!" Kaden opened his mouth to reply, but once again couldn't get a word in edgewise. "They call you shit, so you treat and think of yourself like shit! Doesn't that seem even just the slightest bit messed up to you?!"_

_Again Kaden opened his mouth to reply... but he found himself stunned into silence. In the end, all that came out was a small and ineffective, "I..." and nothing more._

_Apparently seeing that he had made a breakthrough, Pyros's anger simmered down and his voice lowered from those painful, booming volume levels. "You may not let people physically hurt you anymore," he muttered, causing Kaden to cringe at unwanted memories, "but you are still letting them hurt you, and I don't get why. What makes you think that their lowly opinions of you are correct? What in the hell led you to believe that their thoughts and feelings meant you had to start hating yourself like they do?" _

_Kaden's mouth slowly closed as he frowned deeply at the ground. He had nothing. There were no words that he could use to defend himself here. He didn't have the answer... not this time. That was a fact he hated, and his hands balled up into fists again, tighter than before. 'Dammit...!' _

_A low growl emitted from Pyros and, for a moment, Kaden worried the larger male was going to start yelling again. But it never came to be. Instead, Pyros spoke through his growl, making his voice sound much rougher and more gravelly than normal. "The sooner your start treating yourself with some damn respect, the sooner other people will learn to do the same." He turned to leave. "Don't expect me to show you an ounce of it until I see that you've stopped holding the dirt in higher regard than your own life and feelings." With that, he walked across the dirt and back to the heavy double wooden doors leading into his home, leaving Kaden alone with his thoughts._

Kaden was pulled free of the memory when Pyros somewhat increased the pressure his heavy hand was exerting on Kaden's head. Since the sting had left his eyes, Kaden felt it safe enough to look up into the face of his old friend. He knew he should probably say... _something_... but he had no words, just as he hadn't on the day of that fight. But, in the end, it mattered not. Pyros was the one to break the silence, anyway. He apparently wasn't through speaking. "I respect the hell out of you," he admitted, catching Kaden completely off-guard and taking him aback once again. Pyros pulled his hand away slowly. "Don't make me regret feeling that way, alright?" Without another word, he started to turn away. By the time he had fully turned his back, he and the world around them had fully faded to white. Seconds later, Kaden awoke on the wing, his body having never left.

He could still fell the pressure of a heavy hand atop his head.

**~ソニック~**

_"Is This A Different World (Extended)", from Sonic X_

**~ソニック~**

Deep blue eyes that normally smiled, a heart that heavy with remorse. Orange fur that sifted in the breeze, a glow that continued throughout the night. There was loneliness, one that couldn't be shaken, and guilt. So much guilt. Fault could not be found within himself, but his heart tried to find it anyway. There was no one else to blame. And yet, his mind did what it could remind his heart that there wasn't always a person to hold responsible. But still the guilt, the ache... it remained.

A soft sigh was taken by the breeze. The eyes that reflected the stars closed. The glow persisted, visible even from behind his eyelids. There was no escaping it. No escaping the light, no escaping the guilt, no escaping the wish to do do it all over again and fix what was broken. Time remained unable to be rewound, a clock that could never be adjusted. Escape remained an impossibility. Pain remained an unbearable truth that he feared may never leave him alone.

And yet, how alone he already was. How utterly alone he had been for so long... But never entirely. Friendship remained rare, but that only increased its beauty. He was honored and privileged to experience that beauty to this day. But that sweet fruit could never taste quite as wonderful as it had the first time he had taken a bite out of it. How much he would always long for that first bite and the wonders it had contained... But there was never any recovering that which had already been lost. And weren't the all the moments following that first one just as precious, anyway?

Another soft sigh as he rolled over, the lonely hero without a name this world would remember. Happiness had been his once. Companionship remained his, though not in the same way as before. Not with the same faces and names. Those faces were gone. Those names were scarcely recalled by most. Loneliness was his burden to endure. So much was missing, but... the light...

His eyes cracked open. The emerald, the treasure of a lost world, rested on the shingled rooftop before him. Many years had passed it by. Blood had spilled over it. Lives had come and lives had gone, all under its watchful glow. Much darkness had threatened it and the world it existed within. And yet... the glow... it never faded. It persisted throughout it all, in spite of everything that had happened and ever would happen... And that light...

That light gave him _hope_...

**~ソニック~**

**5,482 words this time. This chapter felt _beautiful_ to me, more-so in regards to the middle and last scenes than the first one. I hope you all enjoyed this very special addition to the tale of Hero. :) Posted (at around 12:25 p.m.) 05-17-16.**


	217. Warrior's Grief

**Hello, Mutt7! Thank you! I'm glad you liked him! And I'm not telling! ...Yet! ;)**

**Hello, Meadow of Sparkling Starlight! YYYYAAAASSSS! IT'S HHHHIIIIMMMM! XDD Well, you'll see. ;) I. KNOW. YOU. DO. PATIENCE, STAR-CHAN. XD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Hahaha, nice job! You beat Sonikku! XD Sorry you're sick, though. That's no fun. Hope you feel better soon. :( Haha, nice. Great name change. That's perfect. XD But, yeah, it really only is three of them. Jet-sama, Kaden-sama, Sen-san. ...I mean Sonic-san. But, yes, even little Cheese... So sad... X( I'M SO GLAD YOU ENJOYED IT, PYRO-KUN! Thank you so much! I explored his character a lot in there, and I think we managed to dig pretty deep into what all he has to offer besides anger. I loved it. :) Yes, I'm sure they will learn the truth about Marthal soon enough. ;) WELL WAIT NO MORE! IT HAPPENED HERE! PYROS HAS DONE IT! :D Yes, Marthal! Listen to him! You have nothing to be guilty about! Cling to your light! Let hope set you free! X) ****DUUUUUDE, that quote seems awesome! ...Must use it! Somehow! Someway! :DD Haha, cool. Nicely done with that quote! :) I will do my very best, Pyro-kun! And I'm _so_ glad you feel the same about it! X))**

**~ソニック~**

_"I did not expect to see you return here so soon, sir."_

_Previously calm eyes narrowed slightly and turned toward the speaker with hints of obvious irritation. "Do me a favor and stop calling me 'sir'."_

_The guard inclined his head. "As you wish."_

_The owner of those narrowed eyes said nothing more as he walked into the observatory that guard and one other were protecting. Once he entered the room, he watched as an older male hawk with grey feathers continued to sit at his usual seat at the table in the center of the room, writing and studying as always. The glass roof overhead revealed nothing but stars in the heavens above. The man was reading through an old scroll, nothing unusual for him, and several others, some unrolled, some not, were resting on the table around the one that had apparently captured his interest. Finally, the younger of the two spoke. The irritability faded from his expression and tone, leaving his usual calm, unreadable mask in its place. "Why did you want to see me so late?"_

_The older male never looked up from his reading. "As the guard outside stated," the older bird murmured, eyes never leaving the page, "we did not expect to see you so soon, Jet. I was also uncertain as to when you would leave again, so I assumed it better to speak with you now rather than take the chance and wait."_

_Jet blinked. This had the potential to be troubling. "Speak to me about what?"_

_"Release your worries," was the calm and quiet reply. "There is no trouble. Our world is at peace."_

_'For now.' The older male's words did little to comfort him, but he didn't let it show. Still, he knew that this person, more than anyone else, was strangely skilled at reading signs that weren't even there to begin with. "Kath, none of this answers my question. Get to the point already. I have things to deal with."_

_Kath inclined his head again, a subtle smile on his face. "Yes, I am aware. Those four require much of your attention." A small huff served as the only response that would be given to him about this observation, and Kath's eyes sparkled with amusement. A moment later, he said yet again, "I did not expect to see you return so soon."_

_Piercing blue eyes narrowed subtly again. "Why do you keep coming back to that?" he inquired almost cautiously. "What's so important about it?"_

_Kath's gaze slowly drifted up from the scroll to the stars above. "You know I am old now, Setto sei'an." Jet blinked at the name, spoken in Ancient Babylonian. It was a title had been given ages ago, but people seldom referred to him by it. Partly because Ancient Babylonian was a dead language. "I have learned much throughout my lifetime," Kath continued, "as have you." The pause that followed was brief at best, but somehow managed to feel incredibly deep and thoughtful in spite of the short amount of time elapsed. "I see now that it is not enough to exist quietly for one's own satisfaction," he continued in a murmur after that moment passed. "We all share in the experience of transience. This is precisely why we, as people, must forge bonds with one another."_

_Slowly, Jet's narrowed gaze became calm once more as he listened carefully to the words being given to him, silently turning them over and around in his mind to try to discern their meaning, the point behind them. 'He wouldn't be sharing this with me if he hadn't deemed it important in some way or another.'_

_"How tragic," Kath continued quietly, "how pointless it would all be if faced alone."_

_Jet began to understand the implications, not that he hadn't suspected as to them already. Still, this was subtle confirmation, and it made his eyes narrow once more. 'I do fine on my own.'_

_"There is nothing lasting," Kath said sagely, "but the closest is our connections to one another." Then, suddenly, he turned his head and fixed the younger male with a sharply intelligently look, his heavenly blue eyes bright with something his silent audience of one couldn't seem to name. "Go," he commanded suddenly, his voice calm and quiet but somehow still forceful and powerful. "Open your heart once more. Make true friends, as I have, or reclaim the ones you have lost, and cherish them well. Do not make the mistake of continuing on without trusted and valued companions by your side. Second chances do not always come, but you have yours now. Mend the bonds weakened by time and distance and pain. Reclaim the happiness that was once yours."_

_'Joy is an illusion of chemicals.' That was something Jet had once written, he knew. Still, he couldn't deny the fact that, caused by chemicals or not, emotions were a very real experience that he couldn't ignore, couldn't escape from, try though he often might. Four familiar faces flashed through his mind, closely followed by three others, and then one more that he knew he'd never see again. As he turned away, he finally gave his simple reply. "I'm already happy enough."_

**~ソニック~**

Cream's eyes blinked open sleepily when her vision, yet another one from the same time period as her other random visions, finally drew to a close. Sitting up, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked around the camp. The two ships were, essentially, "parked" right next to each other off to her left. Right beside her on the same side was Cheese, who was curled up right against her leg, fast asleep. A short ways to her right was Shadow, who lay on his side with his arm under his head, a frown present on his face. She couldn't tell if he was actually asleep. About six feet away from him were Kaden and Analia. After his sleep had been disrupted earlier (and, of course, after they had set up camp), Analia had made him lay back down. He'd passed out again rather quickly, and she was asleep right in front of him. In the tree directly above them was Locke, who was sleeping in a semi-reclined position on his back in a branch. His arms were up behind his head. In a slightly lower branch on the other side of the tree was Rouge, who was sleeping in a similar position to Shadow. Unlike with Shadow, though, she looked peaceful when resting. Knuckles was sleeping in basically the same position as Locke up against the base of the tree trunk opposite of Kaden and Analia.

Approximately four feet away from the side of the tree that Rouge was occupying lay Charmy, who was curled in a tiny ball in the grass beside Vector. Vector lay flat on his back, sprawled out and snoring away. Espio was about three feet away from Vector's free side. He was resting well for the first time in what seemed to be a long while. Talking about his visions to everyone seemed to have helped relieve his stress enough that he could finally start catching up on his lost sleep. And, not far away from him, Tails was also sleeping. He, like Charmy, was curled in a tiny ball. His twin tails were wrapped around him much like a cat's. Silver, who was about a foot behind him, was sprawled on his back in a similar position to Vector. However, he wasn't snoring. If he had been, he would have been disturbing Blaze, who was sleeping silently to his right. About midway between them and Cream herself was Omega, who was crouched and seemed to be in some sort of sleep mode or something. Amy was fairly close to Omega, and she was laying on her side with her hands under her head.

Closer to The Chaotix were Storm and Wave. Even in their sleep they were bickering, lightly kicking and smacking at each other every so often as they slept. Finally, under a tree close to Kaden and Analia lay Sonic and Jet. They slept in mirrored positions. Sonic was on his left side while Jet was on his right, putting their backs together. They were close enough to nearly be touching, and both had an arm under their heads as makeshift pillows. Sonic's expression was mostly relaxed, but Jet (like Shadow) had a frown on his face. Cream watched the two of them in silence for a long moment before pushing her blanket aside and standing up. She tiptoed as quietly as she could over to the two "brothers" and laid a hand lightly on the hawk's shoulder. She didn't want to scare him, but she really wanted to talk to him. So, taking a chance, she gave his shoulder a small shake. Almost instantly, his eyes opened, only to close again as he sat up slightly and rubbed at them, mumbling something akin to, "The hell...?" as he did so.

"I'm sorry," Cream murmured, looking down at her feet, "but I had a dream, and... I want to talk to you."

Jet visibly stifled a yawn as he stood and fixed his scarf. "Alright." Cream reached up and took his hand. He made no move to stop her or pull away. In fact, he actually held her hand as well as she led him away from the others so that they could talk without waking anyone. Once they were far enough away, Jet gently turned her around to face him. "So what's this about?" he asked her. He still wasn't _entirely_ awake right now, but he wasn't half-asleep anymore, at least.

Cream continued to cling to his hand, happy that he was allowing her to do so. She knew that physical contact wasn't something he was fond of, but it was comforting to her. But that wasn't what she'd brought him here to talk about. "I had a vision," she murmured, eyes on the ground again, "while I was sleeping. And... you were in it." This earned a slow frown, but he said nothing. At least, not at first. So Cream spoke again. "It wasn't anything _bad_... I just..." She trailed off.

Jet quietly knelt down in front of her, the two trailing ends of his knee-length scarf now resting in the grass a bit. "Why is this bothering you so much, then?" he asked her, voice surprisingly gentle.

Cream looked down even further. She didn't know how to answer his question. All she could do was shrug. _I don't know. _

"Cream?" Jet pressed, tone still gentle. He also sounded... concerned for her. That alone was comforting, in a way.

The young girl released a soft sigh, then quietly asked, "Can you promise me something, Mr. Jet?"

Jet frowned a little again. He was careful about promises, she knew, since he (like Sonic, Kaden, Locke, and Knuckles) never made one unless he knew he could keep it. "What promise?" he finally asked.

"I don't want you to leave." Cream paused, then elaborated, "I don't want you to leave us. All of us. Your friends. I don't ever want to wake up and find you... _gone_."

There was a long stretch of silence. That silence was only broken when Jet stood up, making a soft sound in the grass he moved. Still letting her hold onto his right hand, he used his left to gently ruffle the fur atop her head. "I'll never leave unless I have to," he finally promised in a murmur. It wasn't quite the answer Cream had been looking for... but, for right now, she supposed it was good enough.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic awakened suddenly when he realized he could no longer hear the sounds of his friends and family sleeping around him. Not only that, but he could no longer feel Jet's presence at his back. In response to this discovery, his eyes suddenly opened, heart pounding slightly in fear of the worst even though the worst could not have _possibly_ occurred without his notice. Those emerald eyes then widened slightly when he realized with a sort of jolt that he was no long even in the freaking _camp_. Instead, Green Hill stretched out all around him on all sides. That could only mean one thing: he was inside the Master Emerald. The last time he'd been in here was when he'd first reunited with Locke all those ages ago. _Did you have something to do with this, Voice? _he asked silently as he sat up in the lush, cool grass. It was early morning by now, around the time when he knew the early risers of the group (namely his mother, Locke, Knuckles, Jet, and Espio) would be starting to wake up. He waited several long moments for a reply as he took note of this, but a response never came. This caused him to feel a flicker of annoyance. _Typical. _Sighing softly to himself and releasing the annoyance, he stood and lightly brushed some loose blades of grass off of himself. _I swear, you're getting less and less helpful all the time, Voice. _

Much to his surprise, that little remark, unkind though it probably was, provoked a quick response. The Voice was usually never _quick_ to reply to anything. _"That is because it is becoming less and less necessary for me to lend you aid on your journeys." _Sonic blinked, and the Voice continued. He hadn't expected to get even _one_ sentence out of it, let alone _two_. He supposed he should consider himself lucky. _"Do you recall what I told you when first we met?" _Sonic did, in fact, recall that (and quite clearly), but the Voice apparently deemed it necessary to recount the words to him, anyway. _"When you are ready, when it is time, I will cease to be."_

Before Sonic had much of a chance to consider how to reply to what the Voice had said, a new voice met his ears. It was rough, gravelly, deep, and most certainly male. "You're finally here. Took that voice-thing long enough to get off it's ass and bring you here."

Whirling around, Sonic suddenly found himself facing a _freaking dragon_. Stunned, he stared. And stared. And stared. _No way... _Weren't dragon's supposed to be _fake_?

The dragon actually let out a chuckle at Sonic's reaction. "Your old man did that to me earlier, too. Staring, I mean." His chuckle ceased, but an amused smirk remained on his face. "You look just like him when you do that."

Again, Sonic was stunned. Only this time, he managed to speak. "Oto-san?" he questioned quickly. "You know him?" ("Oto-san" is pronounced "Oh-toe-sahn". It means "Dad" in the ancient language and is very respectful.)

The dragon nodded once. "Yeah," he confirmed immediately. Then he added, "I guess you could say that we were friends, way back when."

This was certainly news to Sonic. He had _never_ heard of his father knowing, let alone _befriending_, a _freaking mythological creature_. And yet, strangely enough, he felt no distrust or suspicion. He supposed it was because of where they were. If this dragon had been someone with a wicked heart, he never would have been brought back to life (kind-sorta) in the Master Emerald, nor would he have if he had been just some random person. He _had_ to have been close in life in some way to at least one person Sonic was also close to. That was how it worked. Those were the rules. "So what's your name, then?" he asked.

"Pyros," was the simple reply.

That was a name Sonic knew. His parents and Locke had all mentioned it before at various points in time. Sonic even recalled what each person had said about Pyros, too.

_"That guy had a hell of a temper. Even I couldn't compete with it, and I was no Cream in my younger days." _That had been Locke's humor-filled comment.

_"I always did admire his courage. He gave his life defending what he held dear. He looked death in the eye and was not afraid. I admired that then, and still do now." _That murmured statement had been Analia's.

_"He wore his heart on his sleeve, more so than most. Even I could always be certain of what he was feeling at any given time. And yet, I never found reason to fault him for it. Instead of hindering him, his emotions brought him farther in life than logic alone ever could have. A warrior with no heart is nothing but a weapon. A killer. He was never a weapon... and I always respected and trusted him because of it." _That deep and surprisingly heartfelt admission had been spoken by none other than Kaden.

That was when Pyros chose to speak again. He suddenly seemed serious. "I've been waiting a long time to meet you, Sonic."

Sonic grew stiff, though he wasn't exactly sure why. "How do you know my name?" he demanded.

Pyros's expression shifted into one of amusement again. "You definitely got the same temper as your da', that's for sure." This brought Sonic a moment of pause, and his random anger gave way to surprise when he realized that Pyros was _right_. Sonic had just never noticed it before. "And he asked me the very same question when I spoke with him earlier."

Sonic's surprise remained. His father and Pyros had met and conversed earlier? Why hadn't Kaden _said_ anything? _Dad, you have such a terrible habit of keeping important things to yourself... _he internally sighed as though Kaden could hear him.

"You're really just like him," Pyros continued, apparently unbothered by Sonic's lack of verbal response. Before Sonic could even _ask_, the larger male spoke once more. He made quick work of explaining everything he'd apparently told Kaden earlier about him watching the world from within _this_ one. And... he also explained his intentions to help Sonic in some way.

Sonic allowed himself a few moments to digest this (after all, learning that people in the emerald could see the outside world was a big deal), then asked cautiously, "Help me _how_, exactly? What do you intend to do?"

Pyros responded by uncrossing his arms. His left lowered his to rest by his side while his right remained up by his stomach. The palm of that hand turned toward the sky. The entire hand was soon engulfed in bright Dragonfire. _Red_ Dragonfire. From what Sonic had been taught about Dragonfire from his parents, Dragonfire was normally orange or red-orange (the latter being the color of Locke and Knuckles's Dragonfire). The only other naturally occurring color for Dragonfire was bright green, though that was exceedingly rare and basically never seen. Kaden's particular form of Dragonfire was bright blue, though he wouldn't explain why (and, respecting his wishes, Analia hadn't explained, either). _Red_ Dragonfire was simply unheard of. ...Right? As if to confirm his thoughts, Pyros said, "This is Dragonfire. However, it isn't _normal _Dragonfire by any means." The red flames continued to burn all around his hand, never bringing him harm. "This is a unique form of it known as Wrathfire. It's, unfortunately, powered mostly through anger in all it's forms. Hence the name."

Studying the flames with his eyes, Sonic nodded his head slowly to indicate that he understood what he'd been told. _Wrathfire, huh... _

"The seven dragon clans came together in a secret meeting a very long time ago," Pyros continued, "long before even the time of your great-grandparents, Sasori and Kadori." Sonic's confusion returned. Never in his life had he ever heard those names before. But Pyros clearly wasn't about to explain who they were. Instead, he just continued on with his explanation of the fire. "Using various forms of Draconian magic, the clans created this Wrathfire as a weapon to help them combat their enemies and defend their ways of life. And, due to the way this power came to be, it can't be passed down through blood or genetics or anything normal like that." The brightness of the flames intensified for a moment, then they all vanished with a puff of smoke. Normally, Dragonfire never gave off any smoke whatsoever. Yet another testimony to how different this "Wrathfire" was compared to ordinary Dragonfire.

Curiosity took over Sonic's mouth and forced him to speak. "So how is it passed down, then?"

"Every time someone gets the Wrathfire, they also gain the precise amount of Draconian magic needed to transfer the fire to someone else," Pyros explained. "The transfer only occurs after the current holder's death. They choose someone to bequeath it to, someone whom they think will bring about great change in the world some way. Then the current holder meets the so-called chosen one in a dream very similar to this." Pyros clearly saw the realization dawning in Sonic's eyes. "It is in that dream that the power is transferred from one person to another."

Sonic almost couldn't speak. "And..." he said slowly, almost dumbly, "you intend to..."

"Give it to you?" Pyros questioned, interrupting the hedgehog. Then he nodded. "Yes."

Slowly, Sonic found himself frowning. He had to know one thing. He needed to _understand_. "Why? Why _me_?"

"I don't need to explain it to you." Pyros was right, and he knew it. Sonic could tell that much quite clearly. "I'm not going to explain it needlessly. The only person I'll do that shit for is your old man."

For some reason, that last statement amused Sonic. The fondness of the words also warmed his heart, in a way. Still, he had to remain serious. This was no time for smiles. There was one more important question that needed asking, and he had a feeling he was running out of time to ask it. "Am I even _allowed_ to have this power?" he asked, frown returning. "I'm not exactly a dragon of any kind."

Pyros unexpectedly rolled his eyes. "Obviously you aren't," he responded, seemingly annoyed by such an obvious statement. However, he kept whatever temper he had buried within himself, under wraps and under control. ...Mostly. "But this is _my _fire at the moment, so I can do whatever in the hell I please with it. And it's not like there are any other dragons around to put up a fight about it." The slight flame of his temper suddenly cooled visibly in his eyes, and he tilted his head slightly. "The only person who can say 'no' to this is you. You aren't obligated to take this power if you don't want to."

Sonic gave himself a long time to consider the offer, though he knew he needn't have done so. Pyros waited quietly all the while, seeming far more patient than one with his temper normally could have. But the patience wasn't necessary, nor was Sonic's hesitation. He knew his answer already. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This power was one-of-a-kind, existing nowhere else in the whole of the universe, and it was clearly and undoubtedly very powerful. And, honestly, he needed all the help he could get, especially now that they were again facing an enemy with the potential to destroy everything. All that was left to do now was accept the offer. He somehow knew that some measure of formality was required here, so he spoke in a polite and respectful manner, as Locke had taught him to as a child. "I'd be honored to receive the Wrathfire."

Pyros let out a deep rumble from within his chest, clearly pleased with Sonic's decision. The emotion showed all over him. In that rumble, in his eyes, in his face, in his body language... He was clearly a deeply expressive individual, and that reminded Sonic very much of his own son. And Tails, for that matter. Heck, Vector, Charmy, and Amy as well, not to mention Cream and Cheese. Pyros's expressiveness even matched Locke's on most occasions. It was...heartening, in a way. "This is a sacred gift," Pyros suddenly murmured, pulling Sonic from his thoughts. "Use it well." Without another word, he raised his hand toward Sonic. Then there was a bright red flash and the dream ended.

**~ソニック~**

Deep blue eyes were again watching the sky. The lonely hero was still on the rooftop he'd spent the night sleeping upon, the roof of his own home. It was about ten in the morning, and his gaze was locked on the few puffy white clouds that were in the sky. It was a perfect day in the seaside city of Station Square... However, he wasn't paying attention to those things. Not really. He wasn't even really seeing the clouds he was looking at. Instead, he saw memories of times long past. He saw the home he'd lived in all throughout his life on South Island, and the other three boys whom he'd grown up and lived with. He saw the older dragon woman who's life he had tried to save with his (at the time) limited medical knowledge, thus prompting her to gift him, a young child, with her fire just before she had died. He saw all the various places where he'd been trained and all the master's he had had over the years. He saw the stern but caring king who had ruled his people. And... he saw again the friends he had made during his life... most of whom he would never get the chance to see again. And, of course, he also saw the _bastards_ who had been responsible for nearly taking his life from him. They were the reason why he would never be able to see his old friends again. Those dark souls were the ones responsible for injuring him _so_ severely he had been left not even knowing his own name for _years_. But... of course... there was no undoing the past. As such, there was no use dwelling on it. He no longer had the luxury of being alone with his thoughts right now, anyway.

His gaze shifted from the sky and the clouds to the robots that were currently flying toward him from over the ocean in the distance. He had smelled them long before they had come into view, hence his knowing where the were coming from. The direction the scents had been in had given it away. Besides, the sharp, almost biting scent of saltwater clung to them. That scent wasn't the one that was constantly giving him a headache, though. No, instead it was the scents of the robots themselves. He didn't generally mind the smell of metal in and of itself, but something about the harshness that the scent of the metals they were made of gave off was just too much for his highly sensitive nose. Hence the headaches. He hated strong smells like that, but he had to admit that they worked to his advantage in situations like this. He was never caught unawares. Not by them. Robots were simply all too easy for him to sense, and there was nothing that their creator could do about it, try though he might. However, there were some certain things could be done to alter certain small aspects of the overall scents these things gave off. Things like killing innocent people and getting their blood all over their mechanical killers. His gaze narrowed and locked onto one robot that had been stained crimson in various places for a long time. _Damn you, Ivo... _

Growling lowly in the back of his throat, he finally stood to confront his opponents. He kept the dark blue emerald, which was the very same color as his own eyes, tightly clutched in his left hand as he shifted into a martial-arts-style fighting stance, preparing for the inevitable confrontation. A small camera-bot reached him first, undoubtedly taking live footage of his face (not to mention the rest of him) for Ivo to see. His ears went back instantly and he bared his sharp white fangs as he let out a loud and deeply threatening hiss. That was about the time when the other two robots, these ones actually built for combat, finally arrived. As soon as they were close enough, he tossed the emerald up into the air, thus freeing up his hand, and launched his attack. Using his extreme mastery of close hand-to-hand combat (as his weapons were inside and he had no time to get them), he utterly destroyed all three robots before the emerald even had a chance to succumb to gravity and begin to fall. Landing lightly on his feet on the rooftop, back to the three impressive explosions, he took a moment to lightly dust himself off with both hands before reaching the left one back up a bit to reclaim the glowing jewel that he had been guarding so closely. He did so so casually that he may as well have been catching a dull, ordinary rock as the explosions died down behind him.

A voice from down below caught his attention. "You let them get surprisingly close."

Looking down sideways off the edge of the roof, he saw a pure white she-cat with beautiful platinum eyes. She was looking up at him, head slightly tilted in that way he adored. He felt himself relax instantly. "I didn't feel like getting up," he admitted with a shrug and a sheepish sort of grin. While normally calm, serious, and quiet when left to his own devices, he had never been able to stand being that way around those he cared about. They brought far too much light into his life for him to _not_ be bright and happy like he was feeling now.

"Too busy dozing in the sun, were we?" the woman questioned jokingly with a small answering smile. Her eyes sparkled with amusement.

He didn't mind the teasing at all. In fact, he played along with it, like he always did. "And what if I was?" he asked with a small laugh.

"Then I would have to force you to go to bed earlier tonight to ensure that this doesn't occur tomorrow."

"Wow, back for two minutes from your six-day trip and you're already making threats, huh?"

"I will do it if I must."

"Nah, you wouldn't do that to me, Keiri."

"Are you certain?"

"Quite."

They were both smiling now, equally amused with their banter, but Keiri was quick to glance at the emerald and switch the subject. "What is that?"

He shrugged again and answered honestly, "No idea." Since he was well aware of the fact that she was going to ask, anyway, he quickly explained about how he'd come to posses this valuable gem.

Keiri inclined her head slowly. Then she stated something he already knew to be true. "That jewel is precious."

He nodded readily in completely agreement. "Yeah," he said. "It is."

"Guard it well," she murmured to him. Then she turned and headed into their home.

Not wanting to be left alone again, especially considering the direction his thoughts had been headed in earlier and the fact that she had only _just_ returned, he jumped down off of the roof and landed gently on the pavement below. Straightening from his crouch, he turned and made to follow his only remaining friend. However, he paused just as he right hand came to rest on the doorknob. A moment later, he turned and looked back over his left shoulder and into the sky, his eyes revealing his sadness clearly for the first time in nearly a week. He only had one single thought on his mind right now as he looked into the sky, seeing the faces of all his perished friends looking down on him and smiling. _I'm sorry I ever forgot you. _Without another word, internal or otherwise, he turned, went inside, and shut the door behind him.

**~ソニック~**

**5,460 words this time. Just a quick note: "Keiri" is pronounced "Kay-ree". In the ancient cat language, her name means something akin to "Life's pearl". A second quick note: "Setto sei'an" is pronounced "Set-toe say-ahn". As far as the meaning goes... you'll just have to wait until Eye of the Storm to find out. ;)**

**Also, a quick shout-out to some of mah readers! The first goes out to PyroShockZ, who created the whole idea behind Wrathfire, Pyros giving it to Sonic, and so on! He also created the visual designs for Kaden and Pyros before I ever used those characters (search for IronShadowZ on DeviantArt if you want to see the pictures)! He's also behind the basic concept of Dragonfire and also Pyros's name. The second shout-out goes to StarrMoon33! Not only does she beta for me regularly and help with the creation of ideas, but she also makes great fanart for the story (search for LeoninBlossom33 on DeviantArt if you want to see her works)! The last shout-out for now goes to Blazing Winds, who (like Star) helps me out regularly with the creation of ideas. Thank you all _so_ much! And thanks to everyone who reads the story!**

**QUICK UPDATE 1: "On My Own" will be updated either later tonight or at some point tomorrow!**

**QUICK UPDATE 2: "Every Hero Has a Story" will be updated at least once by the end of this week! This oneshot will be featuring baby Knuckles and his mother, Laura!**

**Posted (at about 8:20 p.m.) 05-18-16.**


	218. Stay With Me

**Hello, StarryMoon33! HOORAY! LATENESS! ...Kinda like this chapter. XDD WHO KNOWS?! IT SIMPLY HAPPENS! Well, we discussed the promises thing, so... onto the next part of the reply! XD Yes, they sleep right by each other like the brothers they are. :3 YES! IT DOES! YAS, HE DID. No, and no. However, the angrier he is, the more powerful the fire will be at that time. He can also access this fire while in his Dark form. And, like Dragonfire, the fire itself doesn't become Dark while he's in that form. YYYAAASSS! Yes, so cute. :3**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! UNLESS YOU WANT SPOILERS, I MUST NOT TELL! SADLY, I DON'T THINK YOU COULD KICK HIS BUTT. HE IS MUNDO POWERFUL, PYRO-KUN. AND IT'S OKAY TO BE AFRAID! XD Yes, yes he does! 'Tis awesome! :D I'm super excited, too! I also enjoyed that section and the quotes. I loved it. :) Haha, I know, right?! Lol! XD**

**~ソニック~**

The group was on the move again. They had only just left their camp about twenty minutes ago. Jet was busy looking at his communicator screen when Wave suddenly flew up beside him. "What are you looking at?" the swallow questioned.

The question was acknowledged with a small glance. Jet gave her no indication of his feelings for her at all as he replied, eyes on the screen again. He stayed completely calm, almost casual. Not even his aura gave him away. "I hacked into some of Ivo's systems."

Wave peered closer at the particular file he was reading as she asked, "Just now?" He nodded, and she asked a new question. "Find anything good so far?"

The corner of Jet's mouth twitched up in a smirk. "I might have found a few things."

"Such as?" Wave pressed, turning her head to look into his face.

Jet's amusement grew. "Ivo apparently thinks you're a violent diva."

Wave punched his arm. "Oh, I'm _so_ sure," she retorted.

"I'm serious," Jet told her, fully smirking now. "Look." He pulled his communicator off of his right wrist and handed it over to her.

Eyes scanning the page, Wave's expression grew mildly annoyed. She huffed, eyes now rolling. "That asshole."

"I _told_ you," Jet snickered.

"Shut it," Wave replied, passing the communicator back to him.

After strapping the communicator back onto his wrist, Jet started to resume reading. However, he was interrupted a second time when he noticed she was preparing to fly back off ahead (as he was at the back of the group currently, and she had been flying more toward the middle near Storm). He smirked again. "Gonna go start a squabble to relieve your tension?" he questioned casually as a joke.

Wave actually smirked as well. "And if I am?" she retorted.

"Just don't start yelling at each other," Jet told her. "I really don't want to go deaf today."

"I make no promises," Wave laughed. The sound of Wave's laughter made Jet's heart skip happily, and he found himself randomly forcing back a blush. He watched as she flew back to where she'd been earlier. Then, seeking to distract himself, he once again looked down at his communicator. But him finishing his reading any time soon simply didn't seem destined to be. ...Not that destiny was something he believed in.

A light weight landed on the back of his board and he glanced back. Sonic straightened, being careful not to make the board swerve as he did so. He was smirking. _Smirking_, damn him. Jet felt a sort of sense of dread before Sonic even spoke. "You're a damn good actor, you know that?"

Uncertain how else to reply to that, Jet settled on an eye-roll. "What the hell makes you say that?" he asked, feigning more annoyance than he was actually feeling. After all, there was only so much annoyance he could feel while doing something he loved. Namely, flying.

"You had me pretty damn fooled during all the craziness with Elsa." Sonic's reply was immediate, and it wasn't what Jet had expected his friend to say at all. "Hell, you _still_ had me pretty confused in that damn jungle, too, though I was starting to catch a clue by then."

"Whatever," Jet mumbled. He wasn't upset at Sonic really, but those weren't times he liked to remember at all. So, in order to get them out of mind, he switched the subject a bit. "Why are you even bringing this shit up?"

"You swear too much," Sonic randomly admonished, much like an older brother would. His comment earned another eye-roll. "Anyway, I was just saying that because Wave's no fool."

"Obviously," Jet agreed without even thinking. He hadn't intended to say that, but it was too late to take it back now.

Sonic gained a knowing smile. "She's basically a female, avian Tails," he continued. "But even with all her numerous IQ points, she doesn't have a _clue_ that you adore her."

Jet felt himself stiffen. Again he was having to fight back a blush. "I don't '_adore_' her," he responded quickly. Perhaps _too_ quickly. _Dammit. _

"Oh, you do," Sonic replied with supreme confidence. "You _absolutely_ adore her."

In spite of the distance separating them, Jet found himself feeling irrationally worried that Wave might somehow hear this conversation and would therefore learn his long-kept secret. "Shut up," he told Sonic almost harshly. And Sonic, _damn_ him, didn't seem sorry at all.

"No," the hedgehog responded with a challenging sort of grin. "The only way you can make me be quiet is if you kill me."

"Don't tempt me," Jet muttered, looking back down at his screen, stubbornly trying to resume reading so as to end this conversation faster.

"You wouldn't hurt me. You love me too much."

"As what? A 'brother'? We're not even related, idiot."

"So? Locke and Dad aren't, either, but they call each other brothers."

"You do realize that makes you and Knuckles 'cousins', by the logic." Thankfully, Jet's observation gave Sonic a moment of pause, ushering in some momentary quiet as he thought this over. But it was all over too soon.

"Eh. I can live with that."

Jet blinked once. _Okay... Not the response I was expecting. _

"Besides," Sonic continued, "having him as _cousin_ is better than having him for a _brother_. At least your fists aren't _sharp_."

Jet contemplated hitting Sonic atop the head, but decided not to this time around. It wasn't worth the effort of twisting around to complete the action without making his board swerve. _Next time. Especially if we're on the ground. _"I'm not your brother, alright?"

Sonic's smile remained. It looked _knowing_ again. "You and I also both also used to say that we weren't friends, but we do it now." Now it was Jet's turn to momentarily pause as he thought about the other male's words. "Silver calls you his uncle, too, and you haven't argued with him about it in a long time."

Jet suddenly found himself reassessing this entire situation. He hated the fact that Sonic was so obviously _right_ about all this. _Damn_. After a few more moments, he released a sigh. "You haven't won this argument," he promised. Though he didn't outwardly say it, he clearly implied that he was done discussing the matter for the time being.

Thankfully, Sonic seemed to accept Jet's desire to end this particular conversation. However, he immediately went back to the _other_ conversation Jet didn't want to be having, thus annoying the hawk again instantly. "But I _did_ win that argument about Wave and you damn well know it." Jet opened his mouth to reply, but Sonic cut him off before he could even begin to speak. "Just admit it. You're in love with her."

Feeling torn by his feelings and his own desire for Wave to _never_ know of them, he looked to the subject of his affections, who was currently busy bickering with Storm about who knew what. Deep down, he knew Sonic was right about all of it. Jet was _absolutely_ in love with her. He'd fallen for her _hard_ over the years, though he couldn't quite pinpoint specifically when it had happened or why. He just knew that he had been interested in her, in a way, since the day they had met. He'd had feelings he could genuinely recognize as love ever since they were sixteen. It wasn't too long after he'd realized his feelings that Sonic had met Elsa. Seeing what all had happened with those two, especially seeing all the _pain _Sonic had gone through when he had lost his love at the time... that was one of the reasons why he was _so_ afraid to do anything about his own feelings. He didn't want to grow even closer to Wave, only to lose her in some way (even if she remained alive) and thus go through the same kind of pain Sonic had. He didn't think he could bear that... not ever. So, burying his feelings once again, he said the only thing he could think to say in a situation like this. "I don't love her."

**~ソニック~**

The secret of the Immortals had been revealed to Ivo sometime ago. He had learned of their existence, the particular way they were immortal, how they had forged the Cosmic Sphere of Knowledge... and how one of the members of Sonic's group, one who was _not_ a hedgehog, was a member of timeless race. That Immortal stared down at the screen of their communicator, eyes slightly wide with disbelief. The secret of their immortality had been kept for their entire life so far, but that was the case no longer. Ivo knew their secret... and they struggled to come to terms with this one simple fact. _No way..._

**~ソニック~**

Cream was sitting quietly in her seat in the X-Tornado. For once, it was she and not Amy who was occupying the second seat of the ship. Cheese was sitting in her lap, busily eating a sandwich with lots of lettuce and one of his usual smiles. In front of them, Tails was expertly piloting the powerful ship, still wearing his unusual (yet undoubtedly cool) headset, the very same one that he'd been wearing when they had all reunited just yesterday. She wondered idly what the wireless device was for, specifically, but that was a question for another time. She glanced back. Directly behind her was Amy, who was eating a small bag of plain salted potato chips as she gazed out the cockpit, watching the clouds idly while she thought. Charmy was sitting behind her, playing a video on some handheld device Vector had allowed him to take along on this journey to keep him entertained. Cream looked forward again and sighed softly. She wished _she_ had some entertainment.

She really needed to be careful of what she wished for, as it turned out.

Her clairvoyance had been "acting up" a lot lately, though she wasn't sure why. All she knew was that, ever since they had defeated the Biolizard, she had been having many more visions than usual. The fact that she was having more than two _daily_ was rather excessive, in her opinion. Not to mention the fact that they were starting to give her small headaches. She wished that she could control this power, but it wasn't one that_ could_ be controlled. As such, she was helpless when a random wave of visions suddenly hit her. These, like the one from the night before, seemed to come from the time period she usually saw. Namely, the era following Ivo's defeat. Each of these visions was a small scene, and each scene had at least one person she knew present in it.

(-)

_"I just wish things don't get too crazy," Rouge sighed. She was laying on her back in the grass during one late evening. Three ships (the X-Tornado, Shadow's ship, and some other black one) were, in a sense, "parked" not far behind her. Rouge closed her eyes. "But, then again, these enemies seem pretty damn determined to kill us all off. I guess a whirlwind of craziness is fairly inevitable."_

_Knuckles walked over and sat down beside her. He'd been rummaging through an ice chest and was now carrying a can of soda. "If you ask me," he replied as he popped the dripping can open, "they seem way more focused on killing certain members of the group rather than the group as a whole." He took a drink of his orange Fanta._

_A thoughtful hum served as Rouge's only reply for a long moment. After that, there was a period of silence. After about three minutes, she spoke again. "I wonder why that is," she murmured. _

_"There are a lot of reasons, I'm sure," Knuckles shrugged. His violet eyes watched as Sonic walked over to Jet, who had unexpectedly passed out about twenty minutes ago. The hawk hadn't even seemed tired, but he was sound asleep now. Sonic covered him with a blanket as Knuckles subtly gestured to them. "It's not really that much of a wonder that those two are two of the biggest targets. Besides Kaden and Analia, their the biggest threats to our enemies."_

_"Hence the reason those four are being targeted more so than the rest of us," Rouge agreed. _

_Knuckles didn't immediately reply as he watched Sonic silently walk away from their estranged friend. However, he couldn't restrain his sigh forever. "Let's just hope that the enemy doesn't get brave an try anything right now."_

_Rouge frowned. "Agreed."_

(-)

_Amy blinked a few times as she read the message she'd just received. It took her about a full minute to wake up enough to make sense of what she was reading. It was a message from Sonic._

**_Sonic:_**

_"Hey, come outside. You have to see this."_

_Stifling a yawn, Amy closed the message and checked the time. It was nearly two a.m. Way too early any sane person to be up, as far as she was concerned. And yet, she felt no annoyance. Perhaps she was too tired to. Yes, that sounded like a good excuse. Finally losing the battle, she yawned, then tossed the blankets aside and sat up. After toeing into her shoes, she exited the bedroom and walked down the silent corridors of the Blue Typhoon until she reached the main entrance. Pushing it open, she walked outside to find Sonic standing there, smiling up at the sky. Looking up, she saw... stars. Millions upon millions upon millions of them. In awe, she could only stare at them as Sonic turned his smile on her and said, "Sorry to wake you. I just had to share this with someone, you know?"_

_Amy suddenly found herself smiling as well. "Well, I'm certainly glad you picked me and not someone else." She looked down from the sky and into his beautiful emerald eyes. "I wouldn't want to miss this... no matter how tired I am."_

_Sonic's smile only grew in response to her words. "That's good." He slowly looked back up at the gorgeous starry sky. "I'm glad."_

(-)

_Kaden's protective instincts were running wild at the moment. That was such a rare thing for him, especially since his friends and family (with the exception of very few) were all so capable of defending themselves. But this situation was vastly different from most. He and Locke were alone, stranded, and Kaden wasn't in a position where he could teleport either of them to safety. To make matters even worse, Locke was unconscious. He'd been brutally bludgeoned in the head when he and Kaden had been separated earlier. His head was covered in injuries, most of which were still bleeding profusely. Locke's breathing was ragged and he very pale. If not for the fact that he was currently struggling to keep their enemies __away__ from the echidna, Kaden would have been putting all his energy into stopping that bleeding. But, as things stood right now, he simply couldn't do that, and he hated it._

_A small, pained groan escaped his friend suddenly and Locke tried to move. Letting out a blast of fire, Kaden sent the enemies flying long enough for him to quickly turn and kneel before the echidna. He laid a gentle hand on his old friend's shoulder. "Be still," he murmured. There was no telling whether or not Locke actually heard him, but he did eventually stop trying to get up. That was good. The more he moved, the more freely he bled. And, besides that, if he was still, Kaden could remove his hand. After all, he needed to have his hand to be able to fight freely. Standing, he turned back around to face his opponents. His eyes were ablaze with fury. He would make these bastards regret ever laying a hand on Locke._

(-)

_Jet awoke suddenly from his dreams and sat up in his large bed. A random glance to his left showed that the two glass balcony doors were still wide open. The floor-length lavender (the shade of the color nearest to light purple) curtains were shifting subtly in the breeze. But that wasn't what had awakened him. Instead, it was his dream itself that had roused him from his sleep. With the dream still heavily on his mind, he pulled aside the blankets and stood. He walked over to his large wooden desk (which was covered in papers, books, small inventions, and so on), and sat down in his chair briefly to slip on his boots. After doing that and fixing his scarf, he walked out onto the balcony and leaned against the white stone railing. It, like the late-night breeze, was cool and felt good. It helped him to relax a bit. And yet, he couldn't relax fully. Not with that dream still playing through his mind so vividly._

_Piercing, icy blue eyes slowly scanned the sprawling courtyards, gardens, pools, and so on stretching out around the building nearly as far as the eye could see, even from this great height. However, though he was looking at all of this, he wasn't really seeing it. Instead, he was reliving the dream. Calling it that wasn't entirely correct, though, as that term implied that what he had seen hadn't been real. However, he knew it was. This was not the first time he'd been visited by his grandmother in his sleep, nor was it the first time he'd been given the message she'd relayed to him again tonight. _

_Beware the darkness..._

_All these years, and he still had no idea what she meant by that. He'd asked her, of course, but it wasn't like he'd ever expected a straight answer. And, as luck would have it, he hadn't been given one. He needed one, though. He wasn't in a position where he could often take the time to just relax and think like he was doing now. He had so much else to deal with right now, including but not limited to the many evil soldiers that wanted to kill him and everyone he knew and held dear. And he had a feeling that that warning he'd been given, one he'd first heard when he'd gathered the Arks of the Cosmos the first time, was directly tied to those enemies and their leader. But what did it mean?_

(-)

_Analia was sitting in a small padded chair she had moved to sit beside the large bed her partner was resting in. Heart heavy with worry, she gently laid a hand on Kaden's forehead. He was burning with fever, and he just couldn't seem to catch his breath. Reaching down, she pulled a simple cloth out of a wooden bucket that was full of cold water. After wringing it out, she folded it neatly and laid it upon her ill partner's forehead. He made a small noise and shifted in his sleep, seeming distressed, and she was quick to try to attempts to soothe him. "Kaden, senatal. Heikari telda no hen."_

_Kaden shifted again and his eyes struggled open. The fever made his gaze wavering and bleary, and his eyes struggled to focus on her. He was clearly barely conscious right now. "Analia...?"_

_"Shh..." Analia soothed, moving her hand to lightly rub behind his right ear. As always, this action quickly made him relax. His eyes drifted shut again. It seemed like he had drifted off again. Sighing softly out of sheer worry, Analia continued rubbing his ear to try to keep him relaxed. She silently prayed that he didn't become afflicted by any fever-induced nightmares. Now more than ever, he needed to rest well._

_Kaden stirred again. His eyes didn't manage to open this time, but she could tell he was awake. After a long couple of moments, he managed to focus enough to speak. He said her name again. "Analia...?"_

_Analia didn't try to shush him this time. Instead, she continued to rub his ear as she asked gently, "Yes?"_

_Kaden didn't seem to hear her. At least, not at first. As such, it took him a long time to reply. When he spoke next, his voice was very quiet, not that it wasn't that way normally. In actuality, his voice was actually quieter than usual. "Don't leave..." Though he'd worded it fairly poorly, she knew full well that this sentence was actually a request, one brought on by fears awakened by the fever... fears he kept buried deep within his heart... fears brought by his sufferings in the past. He had never seemed so vulnerable... not even immediately following his escape from the place where he'd been tortured all those years ago._

_A sad smile made itself known on her face. "Oh, honey..." she whispered very softly, sympathy lacing her tone. "I would never leave you..."_

**~ソニック~**

**3,599 words this time. The visions will continue in the next installment, and Chaos will be returning very soon. Also, I am _so_ sorry for the delay. Things got crazy yesterday and today, hence the reason this and the promised chapter for On My Own are both late. This was supposed to be way longer, but whatever. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, the next chapter of On My Own should be up soon, and I plan to still have the next oneshot in Every Hero Has a Story up soon. Posted (at about 11:22 p.m.) 05-20-16.**


	219. Inevitable Confrontation

**Hello, StarryMoon33! I DID, TOO! 'TWAS FUN TO WRITE. XDD Yes, way to go, Cream. Just showin' off with the powers lately, huh? XD Yeah... poor guy. :( YES. JET. FORESHADOWING. I did, too. It was sweet in the way only a SonAmy scene can be. :3 Yes... he is. Poor thing. :(**

**Hello, Samantha! YES! 'TIS DESTINED TO BE! XD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Well, you may be in it for the long-haul, Pyro-kun. It's not gonna happen for a long while yet, sad to say. Also, Jet-sama is _still_ ignoring you in that way that really only he and Kaden can. XD Yep, a tiny bit more detail on them for ya. I won't reveal their identity here, but I will say that you were correct in assuming it's not Cream. It's also not Blaze. That still leaves about ten people it _could_ be, though. XD Yes, you're absolutely right! Those are EotS visions for sure. :) Yes, SonAmy! Hooray! X3 Well, it's really happened twice. But still, poor Locke. :( Haha, nah, you won't go to hell, promise. Lol. Yes, she is. And I guess it is, yo! XD Yeah... it killed me, too. it's rare to see Kaden so openly vulnerable, even around her. It truly was beautiful, I think. :) I will do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

**~ソニック~**

Cream's visions continued.

(-)

_Silver walked quickly into one of the sitting rooms on board the Blue Typhoon, the very same one that Blaze was in. He knew she was crying before he even saw her tears. A small sob escaped his oldest friend as he sat down beside her on the couch and pulled her into a tight hug. She punched weakly at his chest as she tried to pull away. "Silver-" she choked out, eyes still squeezed shut, "L-Let me go!"_

_"No," Silver murmured, tone soothing and gentle. _

_Another sob escaped Blaze. Her struggles continued for a good couple of minutes before she finally went limp in his arms. Still crying heavily, she buried her face in his chest and reached her hands up and clutched his chest fur tightly between her fingers. The tug was mildly painful, but Silver ignored it. His old friend needed comforting, and that was just what he planned to provide for her. Her need for it was clear to him, especially in her next sentence. "I-I thought you were dead!"_

_Silver cringed. Guilt tore deep into his heart, even though he knew he wasn't truly at fault for what had happened. However, he still couldn't stop himself from apologizing for everything that had happened the past few days. "I'm so sorry, Blaze..."_

_Blaze suddenly sat up in his arms and, not replying to his apology, she demanded fearfully, "Did you find her, Silver? Please tell me you found her!"_

_Silver swallowed hard around the thick lump in his throat. Tears began to prick at his own eyes before he squeezed said eyes shut. "No..." he whispered. His ears lowered as he all but whispered the second apology of the evening. "I'm so sorry..."_

(-)

_Cream watched with a smile as Cheese chased Charmy and Bokkun around and around the yard surrounded her charming little house. Even after all this time, she and her mother still lived in the same home in the same village where they had met Sonic and Tails for the first time. Neither of them were here now, but that was okay. The four kids were having enough fun as it was already. This game of tag had only just begun, and already everyone had been it at least once so far. Every except for Cream, that is. She was currently standing near the left side of the house, watching and waiting until it was time to bolt. The three boys drew ever nearer to her, laughing and grinning and panting all the while. Cream prepared for the dash. Closer. Closer. ...Now!_

_Without any warning, the young bunny turned tail and fled around the house toward the backyard, tossing a quick, "Hi, Mother!" over her shoulder as went. _

_Vanilla turned from her gardening just in time to see her daughter vanish around the side of the house. Charmy, Bokkun, and Cheese followed, in that order. Vanilla smiled. "Hello, dears," she called back._

_Mere moments later, Charmy was tagged for the second time, much to his humor-filled disbelief. "No way!" he exclaimed. He quickly resumed grinning as he spun around to face his long-time friends. "I'm gonna get you guys! Especially you, Cream!"_

_Laughing, Cream again turned and fled, this time with Bokkun and Cheese by her side. "Just try it!" she called back teasingly as she ran. Behind her, she heard the distinct sound of a bee's wings flapping as fast as they could go., Trading energetic grins, the bunny, the alien, and the Chao all bolted in separate directions. They weren't going to make this easy for him._

(-)

_"Holy hell... I don't believe what I'm seeing." Vector (who was sitting at his desk in the Chaotix's office, the first floor of their home) stared dramatically, ignoring Espio's disapproving glance about the language the croc had just used. "You're actually texting someone?" Espio apparently chose to ignore that comment and resumed using the thumb of one hand to type out a message with surprising precision and speed. But, then again, he was a ninja. The fact that he had learned to text so well was probably nothing in comparison to learning the skills needed for that occupation. But that was something to contemplate another time. "I've gotta see this." Without any other warning, he reached out one large hand and took the smart phone (which Vector hadn't even know the chameleon had owned) away from his friend. Espio responded with a frown and crossed arms, clearly disapproving but making no moves to intervene. ...Yet. Vector read the name of the contact that Espio was conversing with. "'Kanari'?" A pause. Then it dawned on him. "Hey, that's a woman's name?"_

_Espio's expression and demeanor didn't change. "Your point?" he questioned coolly._

_It didn't take long for Vector to put all the pieces together. And the moment he did, he grinned. "You're texting a girl, a girl with a chameleon's name!" Espio looked nonplussed and didn't reply. "Why didn't ya tell me ya had a girl you liked?"_

_Espio suddenly had the phone in is hand again. "I do not like her in that way," he responded simply, even as he finished typing out his message and hit "send". _

_Vector had seen the message, knew that the two were planning on meeting for a walk through the city's central park later. However, he chose no to tease his friend any longer this time around, if only so that he could ensure that Espio would leave for his little date feeling annoyed. "Alright," he pretended to agree. He picked up his pencil and resumed dealing with today's paperwork. "If you say so, Espio." A slow grin made itself known on his face. "If you say so.""_

(-)

_Wave sat alone in the tower in Future City. Things were quiet here. They didn't used to be that way, she knew. Living with Jet, his dog, and Storm had ensured that things were always noisy inside the spacious home. Now, however... things were almost eerily quiet. The quiet only worsened her loneliness. She was so lonesome now that she was the only one living here now that Tanner (bless his old, sweet canine heart) had passed and Storm had moved out and Jet had... __Cutting that train of thought off before it could continue, Wave turned her gaze away from the window she had spent the the last few hours gazing out of. With great reluctance, she got up and turned away from the outside world. She needed some food. Maybe that would take her mind off of some of her sadness... at least for now. _

_She started walking toward the kitchen, only to have her best plans derailed when she walked by a round side table with a single framed photograph sitting on it. __Depicted in the photo was Wave herself, standing alongside all of her boys. She, Jet, and Storm were clearly happy in the photo, and so was Tanner. She was smiling and making a small peace sign. Storm was grinning widely with his arms crossed. Jet was holding his young (at the time) terrier in both his arms and giving the camera one of his rare, genuine smiles. It all hurt too much. _

_Blinking back tears, Wave entered the kitchen._

(-)

_"Dont'cha ever miss him?"_

_Shadow looked up from what he was doing (namely, repairing one of his guns) and turned briefly to look at Tails. They were both in Tails's workshop, a place Shadow actually found quite useful and, well, nice. "Omega is not a 'him'," he corrected simply as he turned and resumed his work._

_Tails smiled to himself a little as he tightened some bolts on one of his newest projects. "Well, his voice module certainly makes him sound like a him." Shadow opted not to argue with the truth and simply continued working. Tails spoke again without much pause. "Seriously, though, don't you miss Omega? I mean, now that he's off aiding the World Army with training soldiers and that sort of thing," he refrained from pointlessly adding how needless said army and soldiers were now in this time of peace, "he's gone nearly all the time. I know I sure miss him sometimes."_

_Shadow finished repairing his gun and held it up for inspection as he thought about what Tails had said. Yes, Omega was gone most of the time, and yes what he was doing was considered a pointless endeavor by most, but Shadow didn't disapprove. He had learned many hard lessons throughout his life, and one of them was to never been unprepared. It was like his father had once said in one of his more pessimistic moments... The fighting and wars never truly stopped. There were merely times between them when people could catch their breath. And, foolishly, those same people called those breaths "peace". But Shadow wouldn't allow himself to become comfortable like them. He would always be ready. He would always be prepared. And... unfortunately... he would always miss his friends when they were gone._

**~ソニック~**

"So... you knew that Pyros guy, huh?"

Kaden, who was again laying on his back on the wing of the X-Tornado with his arms behind his head, nodded quietly as he gazed up into the sky. "Yes," he murmured. "I did."

Sonic, who was seated barely two inches to his father's left, looked at him. "So that means you know about that power he had, right? The Wrathfire?"Again, Kaden nodded. "So what all can you tell me about it?"

Kaden finally pulled his gaze away from the early afternoon clouds to look into his son's face. After a slight and thoughtful pause, he asked in return, "What do you already know?"

"I was told it's a sacred gift," Sonic recounted immediately. "He also explained what fuels it, how the flame came to be and... that's it, really."

Kaden could practically hear what Sonic wasn't saying. Through his son's aura, he could detect the younger hedgehog's concern all too easily. "You fear that using the fire will... _trigger_ your Dark form," he deduced quietly.

Sonic sagged a little (albeit unintentionally) with relief that his worries were understood and that he didn't need to voice them himself. "Yeah," he sighed. He looked at Kaden almost earnestly. "Do you know if that will actually happen?"

"No." When Sonic's ears went back a little, Kaden huffed softly and clarified what he meant. "No, it won't cause you to transform in any way, nor will it make you feel angry. The way the Wrathfire works is that it reacts to anger you naturally feel on your own, thus giving it increased power the angrier you are. As such, it will be a powerful weapon you can use when in you Dark form, or any other time you are angry in combat."

"But it's safe," Sonic summed up neatly, relief clear in his aura. That, like concern and sympathy, was yet another emotion Kaden didn't know how to read in a person's voice, expression, or body language. It bothered him, but he knew there was no getting rid of this unfortunate... "_disability_". So he ignored it and just focused on the conversation. He nodded in reply, and Sonic smiled a little. "I'm glad, then," he said, turning his head to look out into the bluer than blue sky. "I'd hate to have a gift a can't even use."

Kaden was uncertain how to reply to that (_damn_ his poor social skills), so he fell back on his usual tactic of not responding at all as he too looked out into the open air. He and Sonic both fell into an easy silence, neither saying anything or doing anything in particular as they relaxed. But, of _course_, the peace was simply not destined to last. Kaden felt a power surge in the distance and quickly sat up. _The hell?_

Clearly, Sonic felt it, too. His bright emerald eyes widened. "That's... a Chaos Emerald." Kaden turned his head quickly to look at his son. "It's... mixed with something else's power..." It took only seconds for it to dawn on them just what that "_something_" was. It was the beast that had so long ago been nicknamed _Chaos_ in reference to the sheer amount of calamity it had brought to the world. Sonic's ears went back as he scowled, teeth baring in a low growl. Without waiting for anyone, he jumped off the wing of the ship, used his Spin Dash to reach the ground _much_ faster than he could have by falling, and sped off to confront the beast for the first time... And he was doing it _alone_.

**~ソニック~**

**2,170 words this time. A little shorter than I'd intended, but I'm pleased with this one. I liked the visions and the ending. Also, I'm _massively_ hinting at something Kaden hear (in the last scene, that is) that I will be revealing directly in the sequel. I wonder how many of you can actually pick up on it and tell me what it is I'm hinting at. ;) Also, for those of you who are confused, these visions in this chapter and the last are from EotS. I said this indirectly before, but I hope this clears things up. Anywho, hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 10:05 p.m.) 05-21-16.**


	220. That's What You Get

**Hello, StarryMoon33! I KNOOOW! 'Twas sad. :( Well, almost. Not quite yet, by that point. X3 YES! BE HAPPY! Yeah, it was sad, too. :( Same. Hopefully that helps people understand stuff. :) YAS! CHAOS! ACTION! YAY!**

**Hello, thatguy4643! I don't know, honestly, but it's okay. The fact that people like you care about it is good enough for me. And I'm _so_ glad that you think so highly of it. :) Yes! Just do it, Jet! Well, that version of him was also living a very different life in many ways. Different timeline, and all. XD Hey, no worries. Reviews are always deeply appreciated, but never required. Having readers matters more than getting reviews. :)**

**Hello! Spell of Dawn! Your review to chapter 212: No worries! I understand. :) Haha, yeah. I've been doing my best to get back on schedule. XD Yeah, this is not the last instance by any means. And no, Jet isn't the type to start conversations normally. Haha, yeah. End of the arc is probably true. XD And yeah, I changed that part of her deliberately. Yeah, they'll be staying together for a while. :) What's a "Cast Herd"? Well, as you already saw, it was about him. XD**

****Your review to chapter 213: No, it's not something from the past. I promise. XD Why would people in Station Square not know about robots? In this story, I said that the city has been around for quite a while, and it's a Mobian city and all that... they have to know about robots and Ivo. Well, the voice isn't a _person_ really, so no, it's not Marthal. XD And none of them can revive the dead. Only the power of Chaos can do that. :P****

****Your review to chapter 214: Well of course his is bigger than that. That's just as far as I bothered to trace it back. XD And no, he's the only twin-tail. It is a mutation, after all. And they're both aliens. Bokkun is a robot in the canon story, but I made him a living thing here. :P Yes, that's how his name is pronounced. The "e" in that name is always silent. Well, if they're not inherited, _anyone_ can end up with insane powers like Kaden's Darkness. At least if it stays in the family, there are relatives who know how to help the newest descendants learn to control the power, you know? Imagine the hell that would descend upon the world if that weren't the case. D: Well, the Ultimate Lifeform is an empty title, really. Even in canon. After all, Shadow isn't exactly invincible or anything. XD****

******Your review to chapter 215: Wait, since when can _Vector_ use fire?! XD Yes, that seems like a great plan! Let's go! *Runs off* XD Oh, don't worry about that. As you may recall from earlier in the story, they can put a special kind of barrier around the M.E. to protect it. It's fine. :) Haha, yeah, I guess so. And she does know that they aren't from anything they're dealing with now, don't worry. :) Lol, no need to worry about that. There's no way Jet would tell Storm. Lol. XD******

******Your review to chapter 216: Nope. Again, the Voice is not a person. And yeah, Kaden has lived a very long time, but his friends didn't exactly die of old age. The dead ones are all young and died from being killed. Sadly. :( Yes, it's the same person. The character is young, has orange fur, and deep blue eyes. Yes, that city has been around a long time. However, it's not exactly ancient (it couldn't be, really). And this guy hasn't lived their forever. But don't worry, everything will be explained in due time. :) ******

******Your review to chapter 217: Haha, you were waiting for that? Nice. XD Yes, I agree that it was fitting. Yeah, the title was a bit misleading in a way. Lol. XD But... there was no Japanese there... There was one word that was close to it, but no real Japanese. XD******

********Your review to chapter 218: Why not? She ain't goin' anywhere. Never ever. :)********

**~ソニック~**

Sonic gazed into the solid colored eyes of the hulking water-like beast known as Chaos. It definitely looked different than it had in the single photo he had seen of it just before reuniting with his friends and family after being separated from them off and on for two years. The very same friends who were going to be pissed at him for rushing off to confront this monster alone, he was sure. But that was unimportant at the moment, he decided silently as he looked his enemy over. Up close and personal like this, it was easy to see just how closely this thing resembled the water it could control. That, of course, freaked him out a bit. ...Okay, more than "a _bit_", but that was okay, for once. What he was facing now wasn't a river, wasn't the ocean, wasn't some sort of catastrophic flood. And, while he knew that the more powerful this beast got, the more water it could control, it wasn't yet powerful enough to make any of those three terrifying things. Which meant Sonic could handle this. He decided to speak.

"Can you talk?" Whatever the beast's reply was, it sounded like softly bubbling water. Sonic's tilted his head. "I guess that counts as a 'yes'." Without any real warning, Chaos threw its arm forward. It extended and the hand grew wider, almost becoming paddle-shaped. Sonic leaped out of the way just in time for the hand to slam into the ground with surprising force. Then it shrunk back to its usual size and shape and the arm retracted. "Hey, now, that was pretty uncalled for. I haven't done anything to you." _Yet._

Again, the beast seemed to say something in some weird water language or something, and again Sonic failed to understand what was being said. Using similar maneuvers to the first, the creature tried thrice more to attack Sonic and harm him in some way. Each time, Sonic successfully and all-too-easily dodged the attacks. Chaos actually seemed rather angered by this. This fact wasn't surprising in the slightest. After all, Chaos's very being was comprised of negativity. As the vision with Tikal had showed, though, there was a bit more to it than that. It had some definite light in it, too, but that light was currently being strongly overshadowed by the darkness brought on by the beast's anger. And it's anger... there was no doubt in anyone's minds at this point that this anger was the result of _something_ that had happened with Tikal and those ancient Chao. But what in the world had happened all those thousands of years ago? What had caused the creature that was once so peacefully allied with the echidna tribes to turn on them and attack them, along with the rest of the world? None of it made any sense, not with how little Sonic currently knew about the situation. He needed and even wanted to understand what had happened, though, and he feared that Ivo already did.

As if sensing and greatly disapproving of his thoughts, Chaos suddenly lashed out again. Fearing that it might be after his emerald, Sonic resumed quickly dodging. He was quick to try to use some of his Dragonfire against the beast, on the off-chance that this creature's body was different enough from water that it could be affected, but, as expected, the fire fizzled out uselessly the second it made contact with Chaos's light blue body. Without the use of that particular power, Sonic's combat options were limited. All he had left now were his speed, his physical fighting skills (i.e. kicking and punching), and what little bit of Chaos he could access with one emerald. However, his speed could only help him so much by itself, and things like punching and kicking and whatnot were going to be useless against an enemy that was practically water. And, to make matters worse, even his _Chaos_ powers weren't going to be of much use here. He and his enemy both had one emerald, and the beast could use the emerald's powers through it's unique ability to "eat" powers. That meant neither one could overpower the other as things stood now. _Great. Just great._

Just then, Chaos attacked again. It's right arm morphed into a tentacle and shot forward, somehow wrapping around Sonic's throat before he had a chance to react. He was lifted into the air at the same time and his hands reflexively grasped at the water-like coils that were constricting his throat. He struggled uselessly. No matter how much the beast _looked_ like water, it clearly was _not_ water. If it was, it wouldn't have been able to hold him like this. And yet, it was just like water in that it was impervious to ordinary physical attacks, as well as fire. With no other real options left and needing to free himself _ASAP_, Sonic tried to throw a Chaos Spear. But, as expected, the fact that Chaos had the power of one emerald right now rendered it immune to such attacks. Sonic cursed internally even as he struggled for breath. Needless to say, he was starting to regret his reckless, split-second decision to take off on his own and confront this enemy without aid. Even with an emerald, he (being a fire-user and a fighter that was heavily reliant on physical attacks) was ill-equipped to take on this foe. He needed rescuing now, thanks to his foolish decision... a fact which he hated. But it was a fact there was no use denying.

The tentacle constricted further, to the point where Sonic couldn't even get enough air to gag. His head was starting to spin a little, and his struggling intensified. If this continued for too much longer, he knew he could very well black out. He _hated_ that he was in such a position in the first place. It was his own damn fault, though, and he knew it. There was no getting away from that fact. And, seemingly, there was no getting away from that damn _tentacle_, either. At least, not without help. Not that help was here, though. After all, he had had a rare moment of stupidity and had come out here alone. Such an idiotic move in hindsight. _God, I reacted like such a ten-year-old, jumping in without thinking like that..._

The tentacle was suddenly hit by a fierce current of frigid air and was frozen instantly. Then a flash of green and red hit the frozen appendage and the pressure on Sonic's neck finally released. He hit the ground on his hands and knees, eyes squeezed shut as he coughed and gasped painfully for breath. He was only distantly aware of some sort commotion going on in front of him. Then, seemingly only seconds later, a hand came to rest on his shoulder and a familiar voice reached his sensitive pointed ears. "Get up, idiot. We're going back."

Sonic could only cough and nod. He allowed his old friend to pull him to his feet and begin guiding him back. As they walked, he asked, "What happened?"

"That thing grew it's arm back and left. I tried to stop it, but that obviously didn't work."

Again, Sonic could only cough and nod. Jet's grasp on Sonic's shoulder remained firm as the hawk guided him along. Sonic allowed it without any protest. He gazed blearily back at where his confrontation with Chaos had taken place just minutes before. Slowly, his unfocused gaze hardened. He had underestimated his opponent once... but he refused to do so the next time.

**~ソニック~**

**1,311 words this time. Kinda action-y... kinda... I'd hoped for better, but whatever. It's satisfactory. Posted (at about 8:24-ish) 05-22-16.**


	221. Protection, Murder, and Grief

**Hello, StarrMoon33! YEAH! Yeah, it was. Haha. XD**

**Hello, Spell of Dawn! Your review to Chapter 219: But, according to what I've been taught, the Japanese word is "Tosan", not "oto-san"... XD Anyway, yes, this is true. Lightning is usually strong against water, though one has to remember that Chaos isn't _exactly_ composed of water. And yes, as was explained ages ago in the story, Dragonfire is different from normal fire, mainly in that it is much stronger. Plus, unlike regular fire, one of its naturally occurring powers is green. :) Yes, that was very reckless, Sonikku! Bad, boy! XD *Doesn't bet for Chaos, but instead laughs***

**Your review to Chapter 220: Oh, that's easy enough to fix. Just search for "Chaos 2" in Google Images. :) Haha, nice. That was a god victory. XD Nope, it does not, sadly. Poor Sonikku is disadvantaged against this enemy. ...Which also means that Locke, Knuckles, Kaden, and Blaze are, as well. It may be up to some of the other heroes to save the day here... D: Yeah, I guess it did solve that. ARIGATO! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! And thank _you_ for reading it all! :D**

**~ソニック~**

As Jet and Sonic walked back to there the others were waiting for them, Jet uncharacteristically scolded Sonic by saying things like, "You're damn _lucky_ I found you," and "Why in the hell were hiding your goddamn aura?" The scolding was borderline harsh, and it occurred to Sonic very quickly that his friend had actually been worried about him. And more than just a little. The simple fact that _Jet_ of all people had been worried was a sobering fact, and Sonic felt a pang of guilt. He hadn't meant to make his friend worry... There was an apology on his tongue, one that ended up not being voiced, even after Jet fell silent.

They exited the woods and entered the grassy open space where the two ships were resting. Tails and the others were waiting around said ships, and people quickly took notice of Sonic and Jet's return. Sonic spotted his parents on the wing of the X-Tornado. He knew the moment they spotted the bruises wrapped around his neck. Analia brought a hand up to cover her mouth, and she stared at the bruises in obvious concern. Kaden's reaction, however, was less gentle and quiet. He jumped down off the wing of the ship, marched over, and proceeded to hit Sonic on the top of the head with his fist, much like he often did with Locke. This greatly startled Sonic, as Kaden had never done this to him before. Even gentle thumps atop the head were something Kaden simply never did to him. But this wasn't an act of irritability or any sort of genuine anger. It was a sort of fear, one hidden under a veil anger. "Don't _ever_ do something stupid like that again!" Kaden snapped at him, emerald eyes flashing.

Sonic rubbed at the top of his head, guilt tearing away at his heart. Again, there was an apology on his tongue, but he never had a chance to voice it before Locke spoke up. "That wasn't very bright of you," he commented, arms crossed. The disapproval in his eyes was painful, in a way, much like the fear his parents felt for him.

That was when Silver walked over to him. He wasn't smiling smiling, for once. His eyes were full of worry. Sonic was suddenly struck by a thought. What if _Silver_ had been the one to run off into danger like that? What would it have been like if he himself had been the parent who had been left behind to fear for his son's safety today? Silver spoke, pulling him from his thoughts. "Ar you okay, Dad?"

Sonic managed to force a small smile. He reached a hand out and gently ruffled some of the fur atop his son's head. "Yeah," he said quietly, voice still a bit hoarse thanks to his choking earlier. He looked around at all his friends and family members who were gathered around him. One pair of eyes in particular, bright green eyes that were filled with unspoken worry, held his attention. Though he spoke to everyone now, his gaze never left those eyes. "I'm sorry I scared you."

**~ソニック~**

Locke remembered being told stories as a kid, all of them tales of the past. These stories had captured his imagination and had birthed his love of history. He had heard all kinds of stories about all kinds of things... a woman who's love of flowers had stopped a war, a dragon who had actually been afraid of fire, a mountain that had been home to some of the world's greatest treasures... But it was a different set of tales that were currently holding his attention, stories that had escaped his memory up until this point, due to how long ago they had been told to him. Still, he remembered them now, each of them. One in particular, however, was the center of his focus.

_Many, many years ago, there was a woman named Tikal. He was an orange echidna. Like many echidnas, she was very fond of knowledge and friendship. She was friends with many, but especially the wild Chao that lived in the plains surrounding her tribe. Tikal was known as the friendliest soul in the entire tribe, and everyone loved her. As the daughter of the tribe's elder (or "chieftain"), she was expected to be able to get along with the many tribes members, anyway, so this personality trait of hers was accepted by all. _

_Tikal's father, whose name has long since been forgotten by this day and age, was very different from her daughter, however. He was once a kind soul as well, but this was not the case by the time Tikal reached age twelve in echidna years. By then, he had become a brute of a man, one who was filled with anger and powerlust. He constantly sought to start wars with the other echidna tribes, all of which he wanted to defeat and assume rule over. The reasoning behind his change is no longer known. _

_Due to her father's anger, Tikal's home life became dark and unhappy. This drove her to seek refuge with her friends, particularly the wild Chao, Chao, by nature, are happy creatures that (with the exception of the exceedingly rare Dark Chao) are virtually incapable of feeling anything negative. This was precisely the sort of environment Tikal craved, and it was the medicine that healed the wounds in her heart. She found happiness with her small friends, and therefore spent as much time as she possibly could with them. This behavior continued throughout young Tikal's life, all the way through until her late teen years. This was when she met a new friend, a creature that would later come to be known as Chaos. At the time, however, the creature had no name. It is unknown precisely how Tikal met this creature, but the most common theory is that the Chao, being so deeply tied to nature, sensed the creature and led Tikal to it._

_Tikal's father greatly disapproved of the friendship between his daughter and Chaos, as he had deemed the creature to be a monster the very moment he laid eyes upon it. Months after the creature entered Tikal's life, her father made plans... to kill it._

Locke was pulled from his memories of the story when he heard Sonic talking to Analia. The word "Chaos Emerald" in particular caught Locke's attention. He looked over at the two hedgehogs just as Analia asked, "You are certain the emerald is nearby?"

Sonic nodded readily. "Yeah. It's really close."

Analia returned the nod. "Alright," she replied. "Just be careful when you retrieve it."

"'Course," Sonic responded. Then he smiled and winked. "There are only so many stupid things I can do in one day, after all." With that said, he jumped off the ship and ran off.

Sonic was too tired to teleport, but apparently not tired enough to be incapable of running. This simple fact made Locke shake his head with amusement. The amusement remained in his eyes as he flew over to Kaden, he still looked as unhappy as he had earlier. He took a seat beside the hedgehog. "Hey, don't be too hard on the kid," he said, earning an emerald glance. "You were just as reckless as him when you were his age."

Kaden looked away again, and something about his expression softened greatly. "I know," he finally sighed.

It was all too easy for Locke to read the worry in his friend's eyes, and the echidna's head tilted slightly. "Why are you so worried about him?" he asked rather gently. "You know he can take care of himself, right?" _For the most part, anyway. _

As he often did, Kaden concealed his true feelings under a veil of irritability. "Of course I know that."

"So why are you worrying this much?" Locke, of course, knew and understood firsthand what it was like being a protective father, always seeking to defend his child whenever possible. However, he also knew there came a time when a person's child was no longer a child and therefore no longer needed protection from everything, and he knew that Kaden knew that, too. This was why he didn't understand the way Kaden was feeling and reacting right now. But, of course, Kaden wasn't about to explain any of it to him. The flight continued in silence.

**~ソニック~**

It didn't take Sonic long to run up to where the Chaos Emerald. Then again, it never took him long to run anywhere, truly, but that fact was unimportant at the moment. Coming to a stop in the dark, damp, cool forest, he knelt down in front of the gnarled, tangled roots of a large tree he couldn't name. Daring to reach into the dark space, his hand soon closed around a purple glow. The moment it did, he saw a small snippet of a vision of the past, just as he had when grabbing the green emerald not too many hours before.

_Tikal's normally bright and happy eyes were brimming with tears and filled with terror and utter despair. And yet, there was also willful determination and true bravery showing everywhere in her expression. She was standing protectively in front of a large huddled group of Normal Chao (the plain blue and yellow kind), arms outstretched to either side. "No!" she exclaimed as her father and a small group of tribal warriors ran up to her, weapons drawn. "You can't do this! These Chao are innocent creatures! They did nothing to deserve your wrath, Father!"_

_Her father stopped barely two feet from his daughter, aggression evident in his growling voice as he shouted back at her. "Any creature that is friends with that __monster__ is far from innocent and deserves to die!" As he shouted, her furiously thrust the blade of his spear at her throat, barely stopping before actually hitting her._

_The tears began flowing freely now. Tikal was obviously terrified of her father and what he would do... but she refused to back down. "You judge too quickly, Father," she said quietly, voice thick with her tears. Those were the last words she ever spoke before her father and the four warriors attacked. She and the Chao were all brutally killed... and Chaos stood in the distance, a silent witness to it all._

**~ソニック~**

**1,770 words this time. Short than I'd anticipated, but I accomplished everything I wanted it to. Besides, what's wrong with a short chapter once in a while? :) Also, this wasn't posted yesterday because I couldn't even be bothered to start writing until about 11:30 last night, so... yeah. Posted (at about 1:45-ish p.m.) 05-24-16.**


	222. Precious Existence

**Hello, Starrmoon33! Yes, yes he did. And yeah, he definitely did. XD Yeah, I agree. :) And he definitely is.**

**Hello, Spell of Dawn! Lol, okay. You may be right. XD No, it has one. It was in it's first form, the base one, without an emerald. Therefore, with one emerald, it's in it's second. Kinda make sense? :) Yeah, he definitely lost. Reason being? He's at a disadvantage in his normal state, since he's a fire user. Transformed, though, he'd likely be fine. :) No, that wasn't a typo. Sonic can do that. Remember, Sen was doing the same thing in the Ruined Future Arc. And yeah, there are always typos, sadly. I do try to work on that, though. And yeah, Kaden had never done it before then. Locke had, yes, though. Haha, I wasn't expecting it, either, actually. XD**

**Hello, Storm Can't Think of a Name! Your review to Chapter 97: WHY IS YOU SCREAMING? XD**

****Your review to Chapter 98: WHY IS YOU STILL SCREAMING? XD****

****Your review to Chapter 102: I am as well... But yes, the circumstances are unfortunate and terrible, huh? :( They are awesome! in my personal opinion, anyway. Haha. XD I'm glad you're liking them so far! And yeah, I think that's hilarious. XD****

******Your review to Chapter 105: What, what?! XD Just kidding, I know what happened. Lol.******

********Your review to Chapter 108: He is! :3********

********Your review to Chapter 110: You'll see... I promise you will. It's _hugely_ important. :) I liked that, too. And yes, she is. You'll see much more of her in the SA2 Arc, which is quite a ways from where you are, sadly. :)********

********Hello, Idalia! Oh my gosh, that's _so_ much reading. I admire your dedication. XD Yeah, some others were as well. I'm happy you've been finding it enjoyable thus far. That means a lot to hear. :)********

********Hello, firte123! Um... Okay, then. Anyway, thanks for reading!********

**~ソニック~**

Bokkun listened with half an ear (if even that) as Ivo spoke with the robots Bocoe and Decoe about something or other relating to the "lonely hero" of Station Square. He himself was currently locked up in his "bedroom" (which truly was like a sort of holding cell) right now. As he listened, he worked. Using the loud voices echoing down the hall as cover, he used a stolen miniature "pocket welder" of sorts to work on getting through the bars (somehow) preventing him from his sole means of escape: the room's only window. He was midway through the first black bar when something Ivo said caught my attention. "Oh, this is quite perfect. It would seem that my little prototype radar has successfully located an emerald, one that likely isn't being protected by the blasted 'hero' in the city."

"Where is it, Doctor?" Decoe asked straight away.

"Near the godforsaken desert, Shamar."

Shamar was a place Bokkun himself had never actually seen. However, he _had_ heard about it before, particularly around the time when Ivo and that hedgehog Kaden had had that confrontation there two years ago. He pictured hot, burning yellow sands under a blistering bright red sun. As he pictured this, he cut through the first bar. As quietly as he could, he removed the section of bar he had detached, then set it down on his old and dirty bed, which was simply a mattress resting on the cold stone floor. Once that was done, he got started on the next one. _Only two more to go... Then I can finally open this window and see places like Shamar for myself, instead of having to just imagine them. _He continued dutifully working on the bar. _I'll be free... Just like Rouge..._

The conversation down the hall continued uninhibited. When Bocoe asked a question (for once speaking quietly enough that Bokkun couldn't properly hear him), Ivo responded with an angry bark, "Of _course_ I'll be sending Chaos to retrieve it, you lunkhead!" This response gave a pretty clear indication as to what Bocoe's question had _probably_ been. Bokkun was nearly halfway through the upper portion of the second bar now. The bellowing continued. "Now make yourselves useful and get me a visual on the beast!"

"Yes, sir!" Bocoe exclaimed with as much fear as a robot could manage to express.

"Right away, sir!" Decoe exclaimed at about the same time that Bocoe spoke. The lanky yellow robot had the same tone, more or less, as his shorter and stockier counterpart. Bokkun, meanwhile, got through the top portion of the bar. Not thirty seconds later, the tall robot spoke up again, still being loud. "I found him, Doctor!" Bokkun removed the bar.

"Perfect!" Ivo responded almost gleefully. He was probably looking at some screen now, knowing him. Bokkun was working on the the third and final bar now. "He's already healed for the emerald! Wonderful!" There was some sort of clamor (one of the two robots likely knocked something over, as they often did), closely followed by Ivo snapping "You _idiot_! Look at what you did!" More shouting ensued, then the madman shouted, "Well, _fix_ it!"

The loud noises and and voices persisted. Bokkun worked quickly and quietly, not wasting a single second of opportunity. He cut clean through the bar and detached it, placing the rod with the others. There was now a near-perfect square cut out of the rows of bars. Gripping the stolen welder, the tool of his ultimate rescue, tightly in his left hand, he slid the window open with his right hand and flew out to freedom. He was gone long before anyone even realized that the tool was missing.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic was sitting on the wing of the X-Tornado yet again, watching idly as Jet and Wave interacted a ways away. They were alternating constantly between simply talking, laughing and joking, and bickering. It struck the hedgehog as funny, just how much those two already acted like some sort of a couple. They had each other's backs through thick and thin, fought constantly even over the smallest of things, protected each other fiercely, were, in many ways, utterly devoted to each other... They were so _obviously_ in love, yet neither could seem to see the other's true feelings. It was utter insanity, really, as far as Sonic was concerned. _Makes me doubt their IQ's sometimes... Well, no, not really. But even still, it really is crazy. After all, everyone else can see it, even Knuckles. They're the only ones who don't seem to have their eyes screwed on properly, and they're the only ones who truly need to see it. _Right at that moment, Tails suddenly called Sonic, and Sonic looked down at his communicator. Almost as soon as he answered the call, Tails spoke.

_"Hey, Sonic, can you sense an emerald yet?"_ the young fox asked.

Since he had been paying attention to other things up until this point, Sonic had to take a moment to consider his response to that. He closed his eyes and focused, though he didn't bother focusing _hard_. He didn't need to. Soon enough, he had determined that there was, in fact, an emerald he could sense. It was miles away, probably about an hour's flight at their current speed, which wasn't bad at all. "Yeah, Tails," he replied, confident. "There's one in Station Square, near as I can tell. It might be just outside of the city." He paused briefly, then asked, "You know how to get there, right?"

_"Yep."_ The smile was obvious in the kid's voice. _"I've been there before, so I can find my way back, easy." _As he spoke, he turned the ship slightly to steer the group in the right direction and, naturally, everyone else quickly followed suit. The group finally had a lead, and everyone could tell.

Suddenly, Sonic recalled something very, very important that he had neglected to share before, something that he needed to tell every right away. "Oh, there was something I needed to- Hang on a sec." He quickly connected all of the communicators together, much as Silver had done when they'd all played Truth before.

_"You need to what, Sonic?" _Tails asked, audibly confused, as the communicators connected.

"Explain something real quick," Sonic replied almost casually. He happened to look up as he spoke, and he watched as Jet looked over at him briefly. The hawk went against his own personal norm and make eye-contact for just the briefest moment. It was almost startling, but Sonic still managed to offer an almost reassuring smile. Jet looked away.

"Explain what?"Locke asked. His earlier conversation with Knuckles had trailed off, and both of the echidnas (and not to mention everyone else) were now fully focused on Sonic. Locke was close enough to Sonic that Sonic could _easily_ hear him even without the communicators.

"When I took off earlier..." Sonic began. Kaden's eyebrows drew together and he a small look, silently reminding Sonic to _not_ run off like that again. The look was clearly very disapproving. Sonic gave him a brief and very small expression of guilt. Analia offered no comment. "When I took off," the youngest hedgehog of the three began again, "I ran into Chaos. You know, the creature." He could practically _feel_ Locke and Espio's interest sharpen. Kaden, Analia, and Jet had known this bit of news already, so none of them reacted very much to it this time around. Amy did, however... He could feel her watching him. "It had an emerald," he informed the group as a whole, choosing not to say anything specifically to Amy right now.

Wave understood the implications almost instantly, as did various others. However, it was Shadow who voiced this collective realization. He was still piloting his ship. _"Meaning, due to the nature of it's energy absorption powers, it's no longer in it's base form."_

"Yeah." Sonic nodded with a glance in his half-brother's direction.

_"So, wait," _Charmy (who was in the Chaotix's ship, of course) cut in, _"does this mean it's transformed now?" _

_"Yes," _Blaze responded before Sonic could. _"It is in what is likely only it's second form."_

_"You mean there's more?"_

_"It is a high probability. Most likely, the more energy it absorbs, the more quickly the creature will transform again." _

This frank statement caused the group to fall into an uneasy silence, though it only lasted for but a moment before Rouge broke it. She, like Locke, could readily be heard even without the communicator, due to her proximity to the older echidna. "All the more reason for us to get a move on and find the rest of those emeralds before Ivo does." Knuckles grumbled his agreement. Sonic, however, simply fell silent. There was nothing left to say.

**~ソニック~**

Twenty minutes after the conversation about the beast Chaos, Sonic found himself somehow in the middle of a conversation with Amy. They had somehow ended up discussing powers, which had, in turn, led to Sonic off-handedly mentioning the newest addition to his arsenal of powers: the Wrathfire. He even showed the sacred red flame to her by summoning it into the palm of his right hand briefly. However, due to his distinct and powerful lack of anger in any of its various forms at the moment, the flame was horribly weak at best right now. She seemed happy for him (a fact which made him oddly as well), but she also obviously had a concern, too. This wasn't one she kept to herself, either. "But isn't anger dangerous to you?" As she spoke, she glanced from him to Kaden and back again.

Sonic was unusually quick to try to alleviate the female hedgehog's fears. "Yeah, but this fire doesn't create any. It just uses whatever anger I'm feeling in the moment to strengthen itself. That boost of strength only lasts as long as the anger does, too. So, long story short, this power's safe." He paused briefly, then amended, "Well, as safe as fire can be, anyway."

For whatever reason, this actually made Amy smile. "That's good," she murmured.

Just before Sonic could reply, both hedgehogs suddenly took notice of Knuckles and Rouge's arguing only a short distance away. "I'm _not_ cute!" Knuckles snapped at the bat.

Obviously amused, Rouge laughed. "Sure you are," she countered with a smile. "Especially when you're blushing. Kinda like now."

"I'm not blushing."

"Don't lie to me, Knuckie. I can see the truth pretty clearly."

"Don't call me that!"

Both utterly amused and smiling (much like Rouge was), Sonic and Amy exchanged knowing looks. They each clearly had the very same thought, _They so like each other._

**~ソニック~**

Cream randomly recalled, without any real reason, how she had wished as a younger child to have a brother. After all, she'd always had Amy as a sort of sister. Now, she had Tails, Sonic, Knuckles, and Jet as her "brothers", she knew. But even still, she found herself continuing to wish for a brother that was closer to her age, one who could and would live with her, her mother, and Cheese. She doubted it would ever happen, though. After all... her father, a man she had no memory of, was dead. Granted, yes, adoption was a thing, but she had to be realistic. What were the chances of some random boy-child wanting to be adopted by a family involved in so much combat and strife and pain? Probably none, she figured. Not that she had much time to think about it, though, for a vision suddenly hit her, this one involving the concept of "brothers" in some way. She couldn't actually see who was talking, but she somehow knew for sure that it was the mysterious grey hawk speaking. Somehow, she also knew that it was Sonic that the hawk was speaking to. However, whatever Sonic may or may not have been saying was... muted, in a sense. All she could hear were the hawk's words.

_"The best way to learn more is to go and speak with him yourself. And I know it will be difficult. Believe me, I understand. But you must remember something. Time alone can mend our wounds no more than it can create them. There are always other factors involved. This time, one of those factors is you. All that can be done now, all that must be done, is you seeking him out and speaking with him. You have questions, questions he will only answer if he hears them from you. Now go. Time is not a thing to be wasted. These seconds of existence are precious. I pray you use them well."_

**~ソニック~**

Locke couldn't stop remembering how he'd found the ruins of his old house, the one he'd shared with his deceased wife and their baby. He recalled how he'd found his wife's light blue, thin, soft scarf in baby Knuckles's crib, the very same scarf that baby Knuckles had stolen from his mother and promptly began using as a cuddle buddy every night as he slept. Of course, this memory prompted the unwanted memory that his wife was, in fact, _dead_. This was knowledge he'd been living with for a long time, by this point, but it was still hard to resign himself to the fact that she was _gone_ and not coming back. He knew what this meant for his own life... He was a widower and would always remain so due to the simple fact that he refused to fall in love ever again. He was loyal to Laura, always had been, and would remain so until the day until he died.

And he _had_ died. Gerald had killed him more than a few centuries ago. Locke had been one of the many, _many_ casualties from the day that South Island had fallen. He'd been just another number added to a historical statistic. And yet, he was _here_ now. Through the power of Chaos, he had been revived... but Laura had not. He wished so strongly that she had been revived instead of him, both for her own sake and for the sake of their son. He needed his mother... more than he would ever need his father. Although... he had to admit that either Kaden or Sonic or both might have gotten themselves killed or something by this point if he hadn't been around to help keep an eye on them and drag their butts out of trouble. Still, though, he missed his wife terribly and wished she was here. He wished he'd never had to leave her in the first place.

As he flew, lost in his thoughts, he remembered her personality, the way she laughed and smiled, the particular way she did things, how she and their baby interacted together... and he even had a few specific memories of her.

(-)

_Locke happened to look up from his cleaning (Knuckles, who was about four months old now, had gotten ahold of a marker and scribbled on part of the wall) just as Laura scooped their young son up off the floor. The grumpy baby had been crawling like the wind, trying to get out of the open front door before his parents could notice. That boy adored playing outside. However, there was obviously no way they'd let him go out alone. So Laura scooped the small boy up before he could escape. Knuckles began to fuss, clearly far less than pleased with his mother at the moment, but Laura was smiling. "Where do you think you're going, silly boy?" she asked him as she lightly tickled the bottom of one small, sock-covered foot. Knuckles squealed and squirmed, and Locke smiled as he resumed scrubbing at the black scribbles on the wall by the TV._

(-)

_Locke looked up from his book as Laura entered the living room. He had been sitting on the couch and reading a good novel while she had been putting their son to bed. He gave her a smile. "I'm guessing he's still holding your scarf captive?" he asked almost teasingly._

_Laura returned his smile as she took a seat beside him. She brought her legs up to her right side and leaned against him. "He is," she confirmed as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She continued to smile. "I'm thinking I may let him keep it."_

_"I think he'd like that," Locke chuckled. "He likes that thing more than his teddy bear, and he used to love that toy to death."_

_"You're probably right about that," Laura responded with a quiet laugh. She shifted slightly to get comfortable, eyes closing as she murmured, "That settles it, then. It's his now."_

(-)

_Locke knelt down in front of their seven month old son and smiled at him. Knuckles continued to reach for the hat so, still smiling and feeling thoroughly amused, Locke tilted his head enough to allow the baby to snatch the hat off of his head. Lifting his head again, the older echidna watched as Knuckles began to play with the old brown hat. Laura entered the room just as their son figured out how to get the hat onto his little head. She put a hand over her mouth to hide her smile and small laugh once Knuckles put the hat on. Of course, it was much too big for him. Chuckling, Locke reached out and affectionately ruffled their son's head through the fabric of the hat._

(-)

_Knuckles was currently asleep in his crib inside the house. The front door was closed but unlocked (this was, after all, Angel Island, one of the the safest places in the world), and Locke and Laura were on a stroll outside. They weren't far from the house, had no plans on going much farther away than they were currently (after all, safe though this place was, they were still parents and therefore fiercely protective). As they walked, they gazed at the stars together. Locke told her about the constellations he knew, and she returned the favor. They spoke of light and of love, of friends and of family. By the time their conversation ended, Locke found himself realizing all over again for the umpteenth time just how much his wife meant to him... and how much he truly loved her. He couldn't keep the smile off of his face._

(-)

By the time the flow of memories ended, Locke felt like he wanted to cry... but he knew he couldn't. Not right now. Not when he had so many important things to focus on and worry about and deal with and prepare for. As such, he did what he usually did and forced himself to be strong in spite of everything he was feeling on the inside. He wiped at his eyes with one arm and kept flying.

**~ソニック~**

Cheese, being a Chao, could easily sense the beast Chaos. The beast was far away. He could tell that it was. It was far to the west, possibly in one of the world's deserts, while they were all in the east. It was full of angry and hateful energy. Though the monster was far away, he knew the beast would soon coming... The threat was very, very real, and he had never felt this worried about anything in his entire life.

**~ソニック~**

Ivo was, at first, furious when it came to his attention that Bokkun was gone. The doctor had sent a robot to retrieve the small alien, whom Ivo had abducted during a trip to space some years ago, only for the robot to return and report that the cell was empty. Sure enough, upon turning on the security camera, Ivo discovered that the robot was, in fact, correct. Not that it could have been wrong, considering it's superior programming and sensors. But the fact that it _was_ correct pissed Ivo off for once, rather than pleasing him. This now marked the fourth person (pretending, of course, that Omega was one of the other "people") who had escaped him. But... "No matter," he decided aloud. "That little pest ceased to be useful ages ago. Now I have all the more reason to end his pitiful life."

"Right you are, Doctor!" Decoe chirped, almost as though he was praising his creator for coming to this decision.

Ivo ignored the lanky yellow bot and continued on with his plans. He was once more researching the mysteries of the Immortals. He was determined to find out as much about them as possible, especially now that he knew one of Sonic's pathetic non-hedgehog friends was one of them. If there was a way for him to... "_take care_" of that troublesome Immortal, he would find it. With this in mind, he began to read the newest tidbits of information he had dug up.

_-One of the key facts that allows Immortals to live as long as they do is their aging. They all cease to age at some point in their lives. Some stop aging very young, some very old, and some at some point in between. Because they all cease to age and cannot be killed (save for by each other), they all have the potential to live forever, unaffected by time in ways that no other person can ever fathom..._

_-There are certain weapons that are rumored to exist, weapons crafted by Immortals for Immortals. These weapons, like their creators, cannot be destroyed save for by other Immortal weapons and can withstand time effortlessly. There are three names said to belong the most legendary and powerful Immortal's weapons: Cleyferus, Teri'senin, and Alkarus._

_-Though it is unknown specifically why, certain races seem more likely to have Immortals born to them than others do. _

Movement on one of his many screens drew Ivo's attention away from his reading. He looked over to the screen that had distracted him. Onscreen, he watched as Chaos retrieved not one, but _two _emeralds. It now had the red and white Chaos Emeralds. Upon seeing this and watching Chaos consume them, Ivo laughed maniacally and declared that it must be his lucky day.

**~ソニック~**

Pyros was standing alone in the grass in the Master Emerald. He was again watching the world from inside the powerful Emerald. His focus was, for once, not on Sonic and his friends and family. It was, instead, now on young Bokkun, the boy who had been stolen as a baby and toward whom the ancient dragon felt pride, as the child hds chosen not to follow Ivo's path. Instead, the child was seeking Sonic and his friends, armed with the knowledge that the heroes could stop Ivo, his abductor and captor. The small alien planned to inform them of the fact that Ivo had located at least one other emerald, though Pyros knew that the mad doctor had actually found two. This was incredibly troublesome, needless to say. The creature was now in it's fourth form and more powerful than ever... and Sonic and his allies had barely even encountered the beast once so far. Things were not looking good for the heroes this time around, which did not bode well for the future of the world. Sill, Pyros had faith in them. He always had, and he always would. He was, after all, incredibly loyal to his friends. His belief in them was true and would never fade.

He watched as Bokkun continued his rapid flight through the world he had only barely ever seen before. On the way, the small alien child randomly stumbled across the yellow emerald. Pyros's eyebrows drew together in concern as watched the child slow down, then stop entirely and land on the ground. The lonely alien boy slowly bent down and picked up the brightly glowing gem in both of his small hands, looking at the treasure with apparent wonder. Pyros's earlier worry returned and was now deeper than before. There was no way it could not be, consider what this meant. Now things were far more serious than before. After all...

All seven emeralds, while still mostly separated, were now accounted for.

**~ソニック~**

**4,128 words this time. Sorry for delay... I was babysitting a two-year-old 24/7 for three (or was it four?) days, then I was busy yesterday at a family barbecue for the holiday. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm getting the feeling that this arc may end up being rather short. XD **

**SOME PRONUNCIATIONS FOR YOU IF YOU WOULD LIKE THEM! 1. Bocoe: "Boe-coe"**

**2\. Decoe: "Deh-coe"**

**3\. Cleyferus: "Clay-fair-us"**

**4\. Teri'senin: "Terry-sehn-neen"  
**

**5\. Alkarus: "Al-kuh-rus"**

**Posted (at about 4:52 p.m.) 05-31-16.**


	223. Seeing Ghosts (Or Maybe Not?)

**Hello, StarryMoon33! THANKS. Yeees, they do! X3 Yeah... poor, poor Locke. He downplays it a lot, but life has been hard for him. :( YES, BE FREEE! Yes, yes it is!**

**Hello, Spell of Dawn! Yes, black and white ones, because this is Mobius, not Earth, Therefore, technological advancements happen at different rates here. Also, I've stated it before that there's no humans on this world besides Ivo and, at one point, Gerald and Maria. The reasoning for this will be explained later on in the story, specifically in the Sonic X Arc. :) Yeah, the chances of that are pretty low... But low or not, there _is_ still a chance of it happening. XD I'm guessing there _may_ be some distinguishing factor about them, but I dunno. XD**

**Hello, thatguy4643! Hahaha! That had to hurt! XD *Helps you up after shoving Big off* But, no, I don't think Big will play much of a role here. He may make a cameo, though, or even a real but small appearance. We shall see. ;)**

**~ソニック~**

To pass the time, Jet and Locke were talking. Well, _Locke_ was really the one who was doing most of the talking. Jet was just offering small replies here and there so as to not make this conversation _entirely_ one-sided. He'd found that, though Locke was a bit too talkative for his general liking, the echidna was kind of nice to listen to. He was happy, easygoing, really knew what he was talking about, and was actually pretty funny. Those things, more than anything else, were what prompted Jet to not ignore the conversation entirely. Still, though, things were a bit awkward on his end. After all, he and Locke barely knew each other, even after all this time. They barely interacted on most days, if they interacted at all. But, whatever. It wasn't _that_ big of a deal, he supposed. _It could be worse, _he silently reminded himself.

The subject changed a few times. They discussed history a bit, a little bit of astronomy (a topic Jet loved), and then the conversation turned to something else entirely. "So, I have a question, if you don't mind," Locke said casually. Jet glanced at him, but said nothing. "You and I had a discussion once," he recalled aloud, "about your family." Jet remembered that rooftop conversation, the one that had occurred while Amy, Tails, and Knuckles had been trapped in that ruined future. "In that conversation, we briefly brought up aging, remember?"

"Yeah," Jet nodded. His memory was, by Sonic's words, astounding. He was much more likely to not be able to _forget _something than _remember _it, unlike with most people. "What about it?"

Locke turned his head to look at the young hawk. "I was just thinking about it earlier. Blue hedgehogs live _far_ longer than the other races, but you, Wave, and Storm seem to age at the very same rate as Sonic, Kaden, and Analia."

Jet understood. _He wants to know how this is possible. _"When it comes to our aging, there's something important you have to remember," he said frankly. "Blue hedgehogs have the longest lifespan of anyone else on _this_ world. Wave, Storm, and I aren't technically from this world. We were born here, but none of our ancestors were. We're aliens, for lack of a better term."

"That's true," Locke murmured thoughtfully. He managed a small, wry smile. "How foolish of me to forget."

Jet ignored that little comment. "There's one more bit that you have confused," he said. Before Locke could even ask, he continued, "Different Babylonian species have different rates of aging, too, like with the species here. Storm, being an Albatross, has the shortest lifespan out of the three of us. And Wave, being a swallow, ages a bit quicker than I do."

"And you age at the same rate as Sonic," Locke summed up. "That rate being three thousand, two hundred fifteen 'normal' years being the equivalent to twenty three years for you all and approximately one hundred thirty-nine point seven hundred eighty-two 'normal' years being the equivalent to one for you guys."

Another nod. "Yeah," Jet replied. "But I'll live longer than he will." Upon seeing Locke's confusion, he explained, "Blue hedgehogs have the potential to live to be one hundred and fifteen in their years, right?" Locke nodded. "Hawks can live to be two hundred and seven in our years."

Locke whistled lowly, seeming impressed. "That's... what? Twenty seven thousand years?"

Jet did the calculations in a matter of seconds. "Twenty-eight thousand, nine hundred thirty-five," he corrected. "Versus sixteen thousand, seventy-five for blue hedgehogs."

The echidna nodded quietly as he thought about this. Then he asked, "So how does aging work in relation to breeds for Babylonians?" he asked.

"It has no bearing on our aging," Jet responded. Then he added in a mumble, "It's weird that it does here." For whatever reason... Locke smiled.

It was about that time that their conversation was finally interrupted when Tails announced over the communicators, _"Station Square is only about twenty minutes away, guys."_

"Good," Knuckles muttered. He was flying with Rouge fairly close to Jet and Locke. "We've been flying for almost an hour."

"Oh, relax, Knucklehead," Sonic responded, eyes closed. He was relaxing on the wing of the X-Tornado still, as he had been for most of the flight. "An hour's not that long." Knuckles grumbled a reply but said nothing else. Sonic huffed and turned his attention to his best friend, whose attention had been drawn by something down below. Deciding to leave him be for now, Sonic turned instead to his parents. Kaden was laying on his right side facing Sonic, eyes closed and one arm under his head as a sort of pillow. He was actually napping. Analia had quietly explained earlier with a smile that he was doing so because he hadn't been allowed to sleep in this morning and was therefore still tired. _It's funny how the guys who puts up a fight about going to bed hates getting out of it in the morning, _Sonic thought with a small smirk. He stretched a little. _But maybe he has the right idea. _A nap sounded wonderful right now... so he let his eyes drift shut.

Meanwhile, Amy was still in the X-Tornado. She and Wave had, for the last five minutes, been "texting" (for lack of a better term) on their communicators. The two of them had become close friends over the past two years, so this was nothing unusual. However, this wasn't one of their usual conversations. This conversation had come about as a result of some lighthearted teasing on Amy's part, and Wave was less-than-pleased with it. Her last message showed that quiet clearly. Now it was Amy's turn to reply, and she did so with a smile.

**_Amy:_**

_Just admit it. You like him._

Outside, Wave seemed to huff, though it was hard to tell without hearing it.

**_Wave:_**

_I do not._

Amy's smile remained. It was... _knowing_.

**_Amy:_**

_You so do._

Wave frowned when she read that message, not that she hadn't already been doing so.

_**Wave:**_

_Stop insinuating stupid things._

Amy's smile grew as she typed and sent her reply.

**_Amy:_**

_It's not stupid. It's actually really adorable._

Again, Wave seemed to huff.

**_Wave:_**

_Whatever._

Amy decided to play a different card to try to get her friend to cave.

**_Amy:_**

_And I can see why you like him. He's really strong and intelligent, cares a lot, can be funny and friendly when he wants to be... I mean, I don't like him like that, but even still. You've got to admit that those are good traits to find in any guy._

The plan seemed to work for a moment, judging by Wave's slight hesitation, which lingered as she typed a slow reply.

**_Wave:_**

_...I guess so._

The pink hedgehog was quick to reply.

_**Amy:**_

_The sooner you admit to your feelings, the happier and healthier you'll be. Burying your feelings is a bad idea._

This earned an eye-roll from the young swallow.

**_Wave:_**

_I'm not unhappy or unhealthy._

In spite of this reply, Amy continued to smile.

**_Amy:_**

_If you say so, Wave._

Wave visibly sighed.

**_Wave:_**

_Why are you so insistent on me admitting to all of this?_

Amy's smile turned to one of delight at the idea she was about to propose.

**_Amy:_**

_Because the sooner you do, the better you'll feel. And besides, then we can have some genuine girl-talk._

Being that she was fairly a tomboyish girl, Wave's response was precisely the one that Amy had anticipated.

**_Wave:_**

_Ugh._

Amy laughed softly to herself at this reply. She could imagine her friend gagging at the idea.

**_Amy:_**

_Oh, come on. Don't be like that. It's not that bad. Not all girl-talk is about makeup and clothes and hot actors._

Wave remained firm in her refusal.

**_Wave:_**

_Still not interested._

Amy pretended to pout as she typed a joking reply.

**_Amy:_**

_Aw, you're no fun._

Wave continued to frown. She didn't continue the joking at all.

**_Wave:_**

_And you're still wrong._

This caused Amy's smile to morph into a small smirk, an unusual expression for her.

**_Amy:_**

_Sure, Wave. Whatever you say._

After tossing a glare in her direction, Wave typed a small reply.

**_Wave:_**

_I'm serious._

Amy only continued to smirk.

**_Amy:_**

_Mm-hm. Well, whenever you're ready to stop lying to yourself, I'll be here, ready to talk._

Wave's reply was simple, less-than-pleased, a sure conversation-ender, and once again precisely what Amy expected it to be.

**_Wave:_**

_Whatever, Amy._

**~ソニック~**

Ivo was continuing to do research on his computer. However, he was wasn't digging around for information on the Immortals right now. He was done with that for the time being. Instead, he was digging up facts on his enemies (save for Omegam since he'd built the robot). Some of the facts were interesting, some of them were mundane, and some of them seemed like they had the potential to be important. He had at least three facts on most of them, but he had less on some.

**Cream:**

_-Capable of slow flight by using her ears_

_-A clairvoyant (sees the future) who inherited her powers from her great-grandmother _

**Cheese:**

_-Possesses Chao magic, like many members of it's species_

_-Doesn't technically have a gender_

_-Can fly fairly quickly_

**Bokkun:**

_-Comes from a race not known to ever possess powers of any kind_

_-Resourceful, fairly intelligent, and agile_

_-So lightweight that a simple, small rocket on his back is enough to let him fly with great ease_

**Espio:**

_-A clairvoyant (sees the past)_

_-One of the most highly trained ninjas in the world_

_-Somewhat likely to have other powers now or awaken them later_

**Vector:**

_-Adoptive father of Charmy_

_-Has no experience using weapons_

_-Surprisingly skilled at organizing the actions of a group_

**Charmy:**

_-Abandoned by his mother as a baby (father had died)_

_-Posseses a form of minor poison, being a Mobian bee_

_-Quick reflexes, but little to no battle experience_

**Locke:**

_-An orphan (parents died in a war), raised by his tribe elder_

_-Much stronger than he tends to let on, has so far yet to show any of his true strength since his revival_

_-Can pilot planes (i.e. the original Tornado and the Tornado-1), but not ships_

_-A widower, legendary treasure hunter, and a thief_

**Knuckles:**

_-Was saved by his mother from being killed by Gerald, resulting in his mother's death (he was a baby at the time)_

_-More intelligent than he tends to let on, but is by no means a genius_

_-A world-renowned treasure hunter_

**Rouge:**

_-Ran away from home as a small child for unknown reasons_

_-Parents and grandfather are alive, grandfather is one of the most legendary thieves in Mobian history_

_-A world-renowned treasure hunter and thief, just like her ancestors_

_-Tends to suffer from low self-esteem_

**Kaden:**

_-Has PTSD and used to suffer from severe depression, muteness, and panic attacks as a result of being tortured during the Babylonian War on South Island_

_-The most highly trained member of the entire group_

_-Incredibly intelligent and powerful, has a long history of battle experience_

_-Has a distinct soft spot for children_

_-Was supposedly abandoned the day he was born, resulting in others raising him_

_-Inherited Darkness (a power that stays within his family line and therefore isn't one just anyone can have) from his father_

_-Due to how potent his Darkness is, he is capable of seeing and communicating with the spirits of the dead_

**Analia:**

_-Is usually borderline incapable of feeling negative emotions_

_-Inherited Light (a power which stays within her family line and therefore isn't one just anyone can have) from her father_

_-Inherited her Light Magic (a power tied to her Light and which also stays within her family line) from her father_

_-Is highly trained and knows how to wield a variety of weapons_

_-Can be surprisingly distrustful at times_

_-A clairvoyant (see the future), but virtually never has visions_

**Sonic:**

_-Inherited Darkness from his father and Light from his mother, but no magic_

_-__Incredibly intelligent and powerful, has a long history of battle experience_

_-Capable of wielding all manner of guns and swords, building just about anything, and learning just about anything he chooses to_

_-Was once in love and had a girlfriend_

_-Inherited clairvoyance from his mother, then unconsciously gave the power to his friend Merry before the power was ever awakened within him (he never knew he had it)_

**Shadow:**

_-An artificial lifeform created through genetic manipulation, was tested on throughout his life until his escape from the ARK._

_-Capable of wielding all manner of guns_

_-Likely inherited Darkness from his father_

_-Seems to have a soft spot for children (i.e. Cream)_

_-Isn't a neat freak, but hates having messes in his home_

**Silver:**

_-Can be almost overly trusting_

_-Inherited his psychokinesis from his mother, is the last known living person in the world with this power_

_-May have inherited Darkness from his father and grandfather, but didn't inherit any light_

_-Best friends with Blaze since early childhood_

_-Has a long history of battle experience, but little experience with weapons_

**Blaze:**

_-An orphan, has been best friends with Silver since earlier childhood_

_-Inherited her fire from both parents_

_-Inherited her royal title ("Princess of the Flames") from her mother the queen, but (like her mother) never had a throne to take as the cat monarchy fell centuries ago_

_-Powerful and highly intelligent_

_-__Has a long history of battle experience, but little experience with weapons_

**Amy:**

_-Has been studying medicine for nearly her entire life_

_-Has the mysterious ability to summon her hammer to herself out of thin air_

_-Has no known notable ancestors_

_-Didn't inherit her powers from either of her parents (save for the strength, which comes from her mother)_

**Tails:**

_-An orphan, was once in an orphanage, r__an away to live on his own at age five_

_-Has been inventing and otherwise working on tech since about age six_

_-Unknown which side of the family he inherited his electricity from_

_-Has the power to control microwave radiation, a very dangerous power he virtually never uses_

**Wave:**

_-Ran away from home at age fifteen to join Jet and Sonic on their adventures_

_-Both of her parents fought in the Babylonian War on South Island_

_-Had been inventing and otherwise working on tech since age eight_

_-Very intelligent and powerful_

**Jet:**

_-Much more intelligent than he tends to let on, incredibly powerful, and capable of traveling at unknown (but high) speeds_

_-Heir to his grandmother's throne_

_-Severely abused and neglected from age seven to fourteen by his father, l__ost his mother before he was two years old (neither parent was involved in the Babylonian War)_

_-Was born on another world, but raised on Mobius_

_-Has a long history of fighting experience_

**Storm:**

_-Abandoned by his parents in the woods when he was about six months old (perhaps younger)_

_-Has poor social skills due to growing up nearly feral until age twelve_

_-Ran away with Wave at age fifteen_

_-Very physically strong. but only averagely intelligent (if even that)_

After reading all of this, Ivo sat back in his chair, left to ponder all of this information in silence.

**~ソニック~**

Silver was flying fairly close to Shadow's ship, as he had been for a while now. They were coming up on the city, but it was still a good ten minutes away or so. As such, there was nothing to do but continued to fly. As he flew, he used his powers to carry Blaze with him so that she didn't have to run down below all by herself. There was currently no conversation or anything between them, though, leaving an awkward silence hanging in the air. He didn't like it. Not at all. So, naturally, he spontaneously decided to say the very first thing that came to his mind, as he so often did. "Hey, Blaze," amber eyes turned to look at him, "how do you think out world is doing now?"

Blaze turned away again. "I am sure that it is fine," she told him calmly.

"I sure _hope _so," Silver replied immediately. "I mean, that's our _home_ and all, you know? Ruined or not, we were born and raised there."

"And if you could see it healed you would very much like that," Blaze summed up in a murmur.

"'Course," Silver responded with a small smile. He turned his head to look at her. "Wouldn't you?"

No time was needed for Blaze to consider her answer to that question. He response was immediate. "Yes." A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she added, "We had some good memories there."

"Yeah, for sure," Silver smiled. Barely a moment after he said this, they both found themselves lost in their own good memories.

(-)

_Silver slowly reached out and poked Blaze in the forehead. The ten-year-old girl opened up one eye to glare at Silver, who was a year younger than her. Silver pouted. "I'm bored." The eye closed again. "Come play with me, Blaze." She ignored him. Silver's pout furthered, "Please, Blaze? Please?"_

_Finally, Blaze sighed and sat up. Silver celebrated internally, but said celebration was cut short when the young girl flicked him in the forehead. "I do not 'play', Silver." And yet, in spite of her words, she stood up. In that moment, Silver knew he'd won._

(-)

_Six-year-old Silver watched with a large grin as his mud ball hit Blaze square in the abdomen, soiling her outfit in an instant. He busted up laughing at her disgusted expression, then had a moment of common sense, turned tail, and began to flee with an angry kitten on his heels._

(-)

_On the eve of her thirteenth birthday, Blaze sat below the smoky sky and looked up. It was one of those rare nights when the faintest glimmer of stares could be seen through the dark haze. She loved nights like these, nights when she could see something that offered a sense of hope in an otherwise hopeless world. It was so beautiful... and she was so, so glad that Silver was there to share it with her._

(-)

_Blaze remembered the first time Silver had hugged her. She had been twelve, and he had been eleven. Though she had frozen at the time, his smile had never faded. She hadn't smiled on the outside, but she felt something smiling deep within her heart. And that smile had never faded, either. _

(-)

By the time the flow of memories was over... neither of them could stop smiling.

**~ソニック~**

Cream, Charmy, and Cheese were passing the time as the oceanside city slowly came into view. Specifically, they were talking over a call, just laughing and telling jokes and generally having fun. "Okay, okay, how 'bout this one?" Charmy asked through his laughter on the other end of the call. "What did the zero say to the eight?"

Cream hesitated, then shrugged with a smile. "I don't know. What?"

"Chao chao?" Cheese asked.

"'Nice belt'!" Charmy exclaimed with a laugh.

Unable to help herself, Cream also laughed. It wasn't so much that the joke was _funny_ per se, but with the way he _told_ it... "So, is it my turn?" she asked

"Yep!" Charmy replied brightly.

"Alright," Cream responded, still smiling. "Why did the police officer go to the baseball game?"

"Chao chao chao?" Cheese offered in reply.

"Uh..." Charmy hesitated, then said, "I give. Why?"

"Because she heard that someone had stolen a base," Cream giggled. Both the bee and Cheese began to laugh, and Cream followed suit. She couldn't help it. Their laughter was absolutely infectious.

"Cheese's turn!" Charmy declared a minute or two later. Station Square was growing even closer now.

Cheese cheered, then spoke. "Chao chao, chao chao chao?" ("Why did the book join the police force?")

"Hm..." Charmy murmured thoughtfully.

"Why?" Cream finally asked.

"Chao chao chao chao chao!" Cheese exclaimed, already laughing. ("It wanted to go undercover!")

And again all three kids busted up laughing... Only for the lighthearted moment to be utterly ruined when the city finally came fully into view.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic and Kaden both sat up straight when they sensed the danger down below. Looking, they both immediately tensed as their eyes fell upon the flooded destruction in the specific section of the city that they were flying over currently. Trading emerald glances, father and son both quickly jumped down off the wing of the ship and down to the ground below. Locke and Analia swooped down after them, never displaying even so much as a single moment of hesitation. Much to their shared relief, neither of the male hedgehogs landed in any water. They were _near_ it for sure, but not being _in_ it was their main concern. Analia used her magic for the second time that Sonic had ever seen and immediately rid the poor business district they were in of all the water that was flooding the streets and buildings. Everything was now as dry as it was supposed to be.

The youngest member of this four-person group sensed their enemy before he saw it. Chaos still had the same emerald as before, plus two more. This fact greatly alarmed Sonic, more than he could really put into words. Chaos 2 was now Chaos 4, assuming that the base form was considered the first one. Otherwise, technically, it was in it's third form. But that was irrelevant at the moment. The point simply was that it had transformed again, and this was very _bad _to say the least. His ears pricked when he finally heard the beast and whoever or whatever it was currently attacking. His parents' ears straightened as well, and they and Locke shifted into fighting stances. Balls of light appeared around his mother's clenched fists. A fireball appeared in Locke's upraised palm. Both Kaden and Sonic's hands moved to rest on the handles of their swords. Tense, the four of them waited. For now, it was all they could do.

Suddenly, there was an explosion of fire. Of course, fire was ineffective against water, but the sheer force of the blast knocked Chaos 3 (Sonic had decided to consider it such by this point) back forcefully and into view. It sailed through the air about sixteen stories up off the ground, perhaps slightly higher. The bright orange flames died down enough to reveal a pissed off looking orange cat (who was as high up as Chaos) with deep blue eyes, the very same color as the dark blue emerald. Sonic sensed and even _saw_ his three companions freeze as the cat furiously shouted at the beast, "_Get the hell out of my city_!"

**~ソニック~**

**3,904 words this time. Posted 06-03-16.**


	224. Emotional Return

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Hahaha, it was. XD I did as well. It was real sweet. They were, weren't they? XD YES! YES, HE IS!**

**Hello, thatguy4643! Haha, nice. That's a pretty appropriate response, I should think. XD**

**~ソニック~**

Kaden could only stare and stare and stare as he watched his _dead_ friend, who apparently _wasn't_ actually _dead_, chase the beast Chaos out of the city with well-aimed and powerful blasts of bright orange fire. He watched as the agile orange cat landed lightly in a crouch on the street and growled lowly until the creature was gone. Once they were all certain that it was, in fact, gone, he straightened from his fighting stance and visibly allowed his posture to relax. Only then did he seem to take notice of the presence of other people on the street. Namely, Kaden and the others. The cat whirled around and his expressive deep blue eyes widened in shock. Kaden's breath hitched a little when he actually saw his friend's face and the blue eyes that had haunted him for so long. He continued to stare, heart pounding, unable to say anything.

Sonic took notice of his father's reaction to seeing this cat, so he turned his head slightly toward him, eyes never leaving the mysterious fighter as he quietly asked, "Dad?" When that earned no response, he tried again. "Are you okay?"

Almost instantly, Kaden fell back on a very old habit and lied. He _wasn't_ fine by any means (how _could_ he be?), but he still nodded anyway. There was absolutely no way that he was going to admit to _not_ being fine, so he made absolutely not attempt to right the wrong he had committed by lying. Instead, he just continued to watch his not-so-dead friend. _Marak'enai... _(Pronounced "Mah-rock-eh-nie", means "Impossible".)

It was the cat himself who finally spoke. "K-_Kaden_?" Kaden was honestly genuinely surprised by this question (as if he hadn't been shocked already). After all, hadn't his friend always called him- "And you guys, too...?" he asked quietly as he looked over Locke and Analia. He of course noticed Sonic, too, but had no comment on it due to his current shock regarding his three friends.

Analia was the one who spoke next. She took a very small step forward, eyes earnest, and asked very quietly, "Marthal...?" Marthal visibly swallowed hard and nodded.

Finally, Kaden couldn't hold it in anymore, and he demanded, "How the hell are you _here_?!" His anger was just a show; he wasn't truly angry at all. Instead, he felt more like he was about to cry. The guilt he'd felt for so long, coupled with his relief that that guilt had been for nothing... it was just too much for him to handle properly.

"I could ask the same damn thing about you!" Marthal snapped. However, as with Kaden, there was no real heat to his words. His eyes looked watery. "I _saw_ yours and Analia's graves, and I heard about how Locke died when the island blew up!"

"And _I_ watched you be dragged away by Dark Gaia's creatures!" Kaden snapped back. "I saw how much blood you'd lost! There was no _way_ you could have survived that! None!"

Marthal's ears lowered and he looked down and off to the side. "I almost didn't," he admitted, voice suddenly lowering. Kaden choked back the tears that were threatening to escape him.

For the first time since their arrival here, Locke spoke. He was considerably more calm than Kaden and Marthal were, all things considered. "So how are you here, then?" he asked, repeating Kaden's question.

Marthal visibly swallowed again. "Sometime after I was dragged into that chasm..." he trailed off briefly, then continued, "a woman named Keiri found me. She's not a powerful healer or anything like Analia is, but she was able to do enough to keep me alive so that I could heal naturally."

"When you healed, why did you never come back?" Analia asked in a murmur. "Locke was still alive, though Kaden and I were not. You could have-"

"No." Marthal looked away further, seeming ashamed. "I couldn't have."

It was finally Sonic's turn to speak again. He had next to no idea as to what was going on here (though he had an idea), but that didn't mean that he didn't want to know more about this. "Why not?"

In response to this, Marthal's deep blue eyes closed and his ears lowered a bit further. "Because... for a long time... I didn't even remember who _I_ was, let alone who my friends were. I was lucky I remembered how to _talk_."

Kaden's ears went back completely out of deep sympathy and sadness. _If I'd only been faster that day... then he would never have been hurt like that..._

"So I explained my quarter of the story," Marthal said suddenly, looking back up. He was clearly hiding away his pain again as he spoke. "What about you three? How are you all alive? And who's your kid, Kaden?"

The fact that Marthal could tell that Sonic was related to Kaden and Analia wasn't surprising in the slightest to Kaden. He knew just how powerful the cat's sense of smell was. As such, he wasted no time asking questions and instead just introduced, "His name is Sonic." Marthal nodded a little, plainly curious but not attempting at any point to interrupt.

"As for how we're alive..." Locke almost seemed to stifle a sigh as he trailed off momentarily to try to come up with some way to explain this complicated situation.

Sonic stepped forward. "I can explain it. All of it."

Marthal nodded again. "Talk, then. Please."

Without wasting anymore time, Sonic set about explaining the unexplainable. Crazy and strange though it all was, Marthal seemed understood what he was being told. Sonic was relieved about that, simply because it prevented him from having to explain everything in more complex detail. But just to be sure... "This all make sense?"

"Yeah," Marthal responded with a nod. "I get it." He was looking away again as he thought all of this over, not making eye-contact with anyone. Kaden had just started to look away as well when he saw Marthal look back at them. There was a solemn moment that passed between them before, suddenly, Marthal smiled. It was a real, genuine smile, and Kaden felt some of his own pain finally start to fade at the sight of it. "I;m glad you guys are alright."

Kaden felt random tears prick at his eyes again. "I'm glad you're okay, too..."

**~ソニック~**

**1,106 words this time. A short chapter with a pretty pathetic ending, but whatever. I like it this way. :) Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed, and you should keep an eye out for a bonus chapter I'll be posting around midnight my time. It'll be a _long_ one. ;) Posed (at about 4:15 p.m.) 06-05-16.**


	225. Bonus Chapter 11: Fun Facts

**Hello, Starrymoon33! HEHJGHJEWDDnEDnem YEEEEEEEES! He is! :DD Yes, we did! Yay!**

**~ソニック~**

**Characters:**

**Cream:**

-Though it doesn't often seem like it, she hails from an Irish heritage. She, like most bunnies/rabbits (in Hero, bunnies are the females and have floppy ears, while rabbits are males and have the tall ears that stand up), is Irish through and through from both sides of her family. By this day and age, though, many (if not all) of the old traditions her family once had have been lost to the waves of time.

-She gets her ability of flight from the females of her family, as the males did not have floppy ears and were therefore never capable of flight in any way. This is true in every bunny/rabbit family.

-Before unexpectedly meeting Sonic and Tails and later going on adventures with them, she had never been to any cities besides Station Square and Apatos. Now, however, she's been to more cities than she can even name. This is a fact that makes her smile sometimes, as she loves that she was able to expand her horizons so much.

-Since her mother and Kaden have developed an almost sibling-like relationship (with Vanilla being the so-called "big sister"), she very much sees Kaden as her uncle now. This is part of the reason why she loves spending time with him. However, this is also just due to the fact that she sees him as one of the nicest people she's ever met (in spite of how he can act and speak sometimes).

-Due to spending so much of her life with Amy in Apatos, one of Mobius's seaside cities, she has some experience with boats. She used to get seasick even just being on a boat at the docks, but this problem seemed to fade away into nonexistence as she aged.

-Though a bit of an avid reader, she doesn't own many books. This is due to a couple of reasons. One, she never really had the means to get many books, due to living in a village. Two, she simply has no room for them in her bedroom.

-She isn't a genius or anything, but she is most certainly very intelligent, especially when one considers how young she still is.

-Partly due to being so young still, she has never had a crush or anything of the sort before, and she has never paid attention to boys in any sort of a romantic way. Truth be told, by this point in her life, she has never even thought about wanting kids or marriage.

**Jet:**

-Since his voice in Hero is different from the canon one he has (it's not high-pitched, screechy, and annoying in Hero), he actually has an absolutely _amazing_ singing voice, much like Kaden (a song I can imagine him singing is "Closer to the Edge" by 30 Seconds to Mars). He can also play literally just about any instrument with _incredible_ talent. His specialties are string instruments (guitars, violins, and the like) and woodwinds (especially flutes), but he's not limited to those instruments by any means. He makes music in all genres except for rap. He's also amazing at dancing, though he won't ever do it usually. He also listens to a lot of music. His favorite band is Imagine Dragons.

-As a little kid (from age six down), he was very happy and actually a lot like Silver. He was a very adorable child, and also a very energetic one. More often than not, his father simply had to let him run until he crashed, since he wouldn't sleep otherwise. Sometimes, however, putting on some quiet music would be enough to put him to sleep as well. Also, as a child, he developed _very_ quickly By four months old, he was already walking, talking as well as a ten-year-old, and running around. The reason for this heightened development is unknown.

-Though his Ruined Future self was (by his own admission) terrible at math, the version of himself in the main timeline is actually very good at it. He doesn't _like_ it, but the fact remains that he's very good at it. He also has an exception talent for sciences of practically any kind (but especially astronomy) and drawing. He, like Kaden, is so skilled at drawing that he can easily make a picture that looks more like an actual _photograph_ than a drawing.

-Sonic, Wave, and Storm don't actually know this, but he had fighting experience long before meeting Sonic. This is because, as a kid, he often got into street fights (usually over stolen food). His first fight was when he was only eight. He didn't exactly win the fight, partly due to his young age and partly due to his lack of experience, but he did manage to escape with the food he and the other kid had been fighting over.

-For a brief period in his life, when he was about thirteen, he lived in a neighborhood of a city that was, essentially, a hood. This environment is partly responsible for his current attitudes and behaviors. Living in that neighborhood, he found himself in constant danger, getting involved in constant street fights, and so on. He even had guns pointed to his head on more than a few occasions and had to learn how to use those weapons to keep himself safe. For these reasons and others, this is a period of his life he doesn't like to think about.

-Though he often downplays it and acts like he isn't as smart as other members of the group, his intelligence levels (much like that or Wave, Tails, Sonic, Kaden, and Analia) are astoundingly high. He's at least the second or third smartest in the group at this point, and his intelligence is fully capable of growing (and easily). Why he hides his true intelligence is unknown to all but him at this point, though Wave has made speculations regarding the matter numerous times before, as has Sonic.

-His tendency to hide his true feelings under a veil of irritability, anger, annoyance, and so on is a learned behavior from his childhood. It works as a defense mechanism to prevent harm. The reason for this is because, during the period of his life where he was being abused, he was taught quite harshly that showing "weak" emotions (i.e. sadness) was a punishable behavior. However, he himself doesn't consider those emotions to be weak.

-Thanks to everything Sonic has done for him, he actually really looks up to Sonic and Sonic's opinion about him and the things he does matters a lot to him, even though he normally doesn't give a shit what anyone thinks. And, besides Wave, Sonic is the one person he trusts the most in the world. Not that he'll ever admit to such a thing.

**Wave:**

-In spite of being a Rogue, she has barely ever stolen anything in her life. This is partly due to the fact that she's never really had a need to do it. Plus, on top of that, she's never been especially interested in that part of her heritage. For the most part, she leaves the thievery to Jet.

-Unlike Jet and possibly Storm, she doesn't feel especially proud of her heritage as a Babylonian or a Rogue. She's not ashamed of it by any means, but it doesn't have that much meaning to her. She's always been pretty impassive about it. She could have been born as a cat or a wolf instead and she probably wouldn't have cared either way.

-In spite of being surrounded by things to do (such as video games, sports, and so on), her interests are very limited. She loves to invent and build and otherwise work on tech, she loves to race, and she loves water-based sports. Her interests rarely stray from those things. However, she did one time take an interest in cooking. This interest remained alive just long enough for Jet to teach her how to cook some things (such as steak). However, her interest in cooking has since died.

-Amy gets her temper from her mother. For Wave, it's different. Her temper comes from her both father, who normally is pretty calm and and fairly serious, and her mother, who is a lot like her husband save for the fact that she's more prone to showing her emotions.

-More likely than not, her psychic abilities are unique to her in the sense that she didn't inherit them from any of her ancestors. People gaining powers like this isn't unheard of. It happened with Laralei and her Gravity Control and Tails and his Microwave Radiation Manipulation, for example.

-Though she often doesn't act like it, she really does care for Storm as a sort of brother. At least to a point, anyway. If nothing else, she at least cares enough to not want to see him be killed or go hungry. However, she _doesn't_ care enough to let him do stupid things and get away with it.

-She generally has no problem with animals, but she herself hasn't been interested in owning a pet since she was a child. When she was child (about ten), she had a pet green gecko, which she loved. However, after it eventually died of old age, she never sought to get a new pet. More likely than not, she never will, either.

-She has actually listened to Jet's music before, even though he's very private about it and never shares it with anyone. The way she accomplished this was by using his laptop (a sleek white model Sonic created for him when they were fourteen) when he was gone. He records and stores all of his music onto it, making it easy for her to snoop. She can never tell him (since that would mean admitting to snooping), but she loves his music. Normally, however, she simply doesn't care about music. She has maybe five songs that she likes, and that's it.

**Storm:**

-Needless to say, since they abandoned him when he was so young, he has no memory of either of his parents. As far as he's concerned, they're assholes, anyway, and therefore not worth remembering. He was asked once if he'd ever want to meet them, and he responded with a firm and angry, "_No_. Never."

-Though he likes music well enough, he's actually rather picky about what he'll listen to. For the most part, his musical tastes are limited to rap, rap, and more rap. However, he does like some heavy rock as well. But, besides that, he pretty much just listens to rap.

-On average, when there's nothing else going on (i.e. traveling, races), he sleeps a good twelve to fourteen hours a day. He also spends a good four hours of his day eating, whether it be meals or snacks or whatever. And yet, amazingly, he isn't out of shape. He's actually very well muscled and whatnot, somehow. Strange, isn't it?

-He is and always has been very proud of his heritage as a Babylonian. Specifically, he has always been proud of being a Babylonian _Rogue_. As such, he has never felt shame or anything of the sort while stealing (an activity he has been participating in since he was eight or nine). He's also a shameless liar, which kind of goes along with the thievery. It is his love of thievery and treasure hunting is what ultimately saved his life the day South Island fell (the full story of that can be read in the Hero side story, Every Hero Has a Story).

-He has absolutely no interest in art, reading, or anything "intellectual". The most intellectual hobby he has is racing. Beyond that, his hobbies consist of sleeping and eating. ...And sometimes racing video games.

-In spite of the way he acts, he really does care about Wave (as a sister and friend, that is). And, despite the fact that he doesn't always listen to the orders Jet gives, he really looks up to the hawk and honestly feels lost when he doesn't have his "Boss" to help guide him through situations. However, in spite of this, he still very much likes to feel independent.

-Though he often refuses to show it in any way shape or form, he considers young Tails to be one of his friends. They get along well, Tails always smiles in spite of Storm's attitude, and so on. So, yes, he considers Tails to be one of his friends, and they both know it, too.

-Once in his life, he actually beat someone at a board game. It wasn't anything terribly difficult such as shogi or chess, though. It was just checkers, but even still. He was proud of himself and even gloated about his victory for a while afterwards. ...Until Wave got sick of it and claimed that she simply _let_ him win. This, of course, sparked an argument. One that continues off and on to this day.

**Locke:**

-He met his wife during a carnival a good while after Kaden and Analia died. Since it was so long ago that they had died, he was considerably happier at the time and was therefore able to open up and have some fun at the carnival that night. When he reached an area with tables set up for food and a dancefloor in the middle of them all, he spotted his future wife, Laura. They ended up dancing together, which sparked a friendship that would eventually turn to true love.

-His hat has a truckload of sentimental value and meaning to him. The reason for this is simple. That hat once belonged to his tribe elder, Linan, the man who raised him after he was orphaned as a baby. When Linan died of illness during the Babylonian War on South Island, he gave the hat to Locke. He has treasured it ever since and would never part with it for just anyone. This gives him giving it to Sonic and then Knuckles much more depth and meaning.

-He is allergic to a very specific type of fern, but the allergy isn't severe. Being exposed to it doesn't make his throat close up or make him break out into hives or anything. However, it _does_ make him itchy. Very itchy. It's so unbearable that he always keeps a very sharp eye out for that particular fern when walking through certain types of forests.

-Ever since being revived, he has found that he is a huge fan of comedians on TV. He adores comedy and loves to laugh and smile. As such, he always watches those shows whenever he can do so. By this point, he has learned of approximately twenty-seven different comedians, and he loves the vast majority of them. A few of them, however, do some comedy that is either too dark or too cynical (or both) for his tastes.

-Although he loves to read now, he didn't before meeting Kaden. He had never bothered to even _try_ reading any books before then, save for when he had to for his lessons (he was educated by Linan and the tribe healer, a man named Yan-Shu). However, upon seeing how much his newest friend liked to read, he decided to give that activity a try. He's been hooked on it ever since.

-When he was basically raising Sonic for that short time, he found that the little hedgehog had the remarkable ability to piss him off with great ease. The boy's attitude, recklessness, inability to do what he was told, and so on severely grated on Locke's nerves. However, he never really let that anger show through yelling or anything. The worst he ever did was whack Sonic on the top of the head with a fist.

-For years now, he has been able to play the acoustic guitar. He's good, very good, and can sing as well. His voice isn't the kind that will ever get him famous, but it's the kind of good singing voice that people love to associate with their fathers in their fondest childhood memories.

-Once, he actually tried his hand at drawing. The picture he created was good, and Kaden even complimented it. However, Locke laughed and declared that that activity wasn't for him. Later on, he gave writing a try. He wrote some short stories, and again Kaden complimented his friend's work. That time, Locke didn't argue with him. He just smiled.

**Knuckles:**

-To this day, he actually does have vague recollections (somehow) of the day his mother was killed. However, he has always struggled to remember _her_, specifically. The robots, he can remember. The forest, he can remember. His mother... not so much. However, hazel eyes have haunted his dreams for years.

-He's been treasure hunting ever since he was about four years old. It was then that he accidentally stumbled across his very first treasure: a shard of an ancient vase. This shard sparked his interest and prompted him to go on the hunt for the rest of the pieces of the vase. He's been a treasure hunter ever since.

-The day South Island fell (when he was twelve), he'd been treasure hunting and had found a small amount of ancient coins. They weren't _quite_ what he'd been looking for, but treasure is treasure. Besides, he had no time to worry about it or be upset about it before the robot attacks started. Not too long afterward, the island blew up. He was nearly killed, but he somehow held onto those coins. He still has them to this day. (This story is told in a oneshot in Every Hero Has a Story, which is a Hero side story.)

-Though he doesn't listen to music very often, he does have a few favorite genres. He likes _some_ country, a little bit of rap, some hip-hop, some light rock, some alternative rock, and a very small amount of heavy rock. He doesn't have a favorite song, but one that he likes more than most others is "You're the Best Around" by Joe Esposito. He likes music well enough, but has never had any interest in trying to make his own. He's always been perfectly content with just listening to it.

-In fighting, his specialty has always been close-combat physical attacks, especially punches (just like with his father). However, he certainly sees the value in more ranged, energy-based attacks like his fire. Still, his preference is hand-to-hand combat, and likely always will be. It's just how he is.

-More often than not, he has an air of anger and irritation about him. He's excellent at showing the world a hard face and giving the universe a never-ending attitude. However, he doesn't always _feel_ anger and irritation and the like 24/7. Why he wears a mask that gives the illusion that he is is thus far only known to him.

-In spite of having six friends with avid interests in video games (namely, Sonic, Jet, Kaden, Silver, Tails, and Charmy), he himself has little interest in them. Although, he's _always_willing to play a racing game with Storm if it means kicking the albatross's butt. That's something he loves to do, and he's surprisingly good at it with those games.

-Ever since he was given his father's hat, he has felt strongly attached to said hat. It has _so_ much meaning to him (not that he'll ever admit that aloud), and he has no plans of ever willingly parting with it. It's by far the most valuable treasure he's ever obtained, as far as he's concerned, and he plans to keep it as long as he possibly can.

**Rouge:**

-Despite the fact that she ran away from home when she was a young child, she didn't have a bad home life by any means. She'd been well-loved, had been close with her parents and grandfather, had been receiving a great education and thorough training, and so on. To this day, even she doesn't fully understand why she ran away. All she has left of her former life right now is her mother's eyes and fur-color and a golden locket with a photo of her standing with her parents.

-She, much like Jet, has been a thief since she was very young. However, while he started stealing at age three, she started doing it at about age seven, not long after she ran away. She used to hate being a thief, as she hated being called a criminal and she hated feeling so unwanted because of that label. However, she did eventually get over these feelings when she recalled a valuable lesson her father had once tried to teach her when she was little: "Not every criminal is a bad person and, likewise, not every thief is a villain. Sometimes it takes a thief to save the day in the end. Thieves can be heroes, too. They just have to remember that."

-Though she often puts on a mask to make herself seem confident, happy, self-assured, and so on, she is often prone to feeling a lack of self-confidence/self-esteem. She doubts herself, doubts other people (for example, she doubts people when they claim to care about her and/or be her friend), and so on. This isn't something she ever plans on telling other people, though she fears that Knuckles may have picked up on it at some point or another since he's, as she puts it, "Not as blind as he likes to makes himself out to be."

-Much like in the canon stories, she has a strong love for jewels. For this reason, she robs more jewelry stores than banks, unlike the Rogues. However, she's never harbored any thoughts about stealing the Master Emerald and/or Chaos Emeralds since joining Sonic and his friends. She never even knew they existed before meeting Ivo and being sent on that ill-fated mission to steal the Master Emerald from Knuckles.

-Since joining Sonic's group, Locke and Knuckles aren't the only ones she's forged bonds with. She's also formed a friendship with Blaze (whom she sometimes affectionately calls "Kitty Kat" or just "Kitty"). However, as with all of her friendships, she is wary of the relationship and can sometimes keep Blaze at arm's-length.

-Contrary to popular belief, she really doesn't care about fashion, makeup, hair, and the like. She's perfectly satisfied with her appearance as it is and has no desire to change it up in any way. She also doesn't really like the color pink, even though she wears it. It's _okay_ in her opinion, but she prefers the color midnight purple to anything else. However, she also likes the color black (which is Kaden's favorite color).

-When she was a child, she had some mild lactose-intolerance, meaning she couldn't have a lot of milk, cheese, and the like. However, for whatever reason, this faded with time. Now she can have all the dairy she wants. She's very happy about this, too, because she loves milk, cake, and so on.

-Much like Kaden, she loves housecats (which are pets, not anthropomorphic cats like Blaze is). She's never owned one herself, though she has entertained the idea of getting one to keep her company in her apartment in Empire City. However, this is an idea she dropped when she started being away from home all the time to join Sonic and the others on their quest to defeat Ivo.

**Kaden:**

-He has one power that he has never revealed nor hinted at thus far in Hero. It's one that he's kept a secret for many years and is tied to his name's translation into the ancient language (a name that, as stated in one of the previous fun fact chapters, is yet another secret he keeps). The power and his reasoning keeping it and the name a secret will come to light in the sequel.

-When he was seventeen and living in his own house in Chun-nan, he lived alone... mostly. His sole companion? A fluffy white housecat he rescued off the streets. She had been sick and starving, and he'd taken her in and nursed her back to health. She became his pet after that, and he absolutely adored her. When she eventually died of old age, it killed him in a way. He hasn't had another pet since, though Locke once suggested he get a dog. However, Kaden doesn't like dogs. The reason for this is that he doesn't like it when they lick him.

-Oftentimes when he sees spirits, it happens in his dreams. This is one of the many reasons to blame for his troubles sleep. Usually when he sees spirits in his dreams, he sees them in a sort of "spirit world" (one that's nothing like the Spirit World of Avatar: The Last Airbender). "Bad" spirits are usually in a so-called "Realm of Darkness". "Good" spirits are in a vast, sunny field/meadow. Lost spirits, the ones that have so far been unable to find peace and come to terms with their life and death, are all in a world surrounded by a vortex of slowly twisting black clouds. It's a very bleak environment that he always remembers vividly.

-He has always been deeply into making and listening to music (his favorite band is Fall Out Boy, who he _adores_) and can play literally just about every instrument. He has an amazing voice (one modern song I can imagine him singing is "On My Own" by Ashes Remain; this is also one of his character themes). In the present, he makes music in every genre, save for rap (and, though he basically _never_ does it, he's an amazing dancer). Since being revived in the modern era, he's even done technopop songs and the like. Life without music would be a much darker thing for him, though he'll never say that aloud. Analia and Locke are struggling to this day to try to get him to release his music to the public, but he won't go for it.

-His white wooden flute was a gift he received as a child from his sensei, who is partially responsible for helping to raise and train him. When he was eight years old, his sensei gave him that flute and told him, "Play it well, Kaden. I should like to hear you do so someday." Two weeks later, his sensei, one of the most powerful magic users to ever live, was killed while stopping the Great Magic War (his efforts to stop the war were not in vain, though, for it did end with his death).

-Sometimes, when he's experiencing a great deal of stress, he will smoke (cigarettes, specifically). However, him smoking (which he also does in the Hero side story, On My Own) is a very rare thing. Locke knows of this rare habit, though Analia does not. And, the few times Kaden does it, he makes sure not to be near other people so as to not give them second-hand smoke. Also, in spite of the fact that he does do this (however rarely), smoking is something he hates.

-Being that he's such an amazing artist, he has a natural talent for making video games. He's actually done so twice before, purely out of boredom. The games he made? The Mobian version of Project Mirai for the Nintendo DS and it's sequel, Project Mirai DX for the 3DS. _He_ never released the games, but Locke got ahold of them and did it _for_ him. Locke made sure that people knew who made the games, too, much to Kaden's annoyance. The game is actually very, very popular and brings him a lot of money.

-He'll never admit to it, but's he's ticklish. Specifically, he's ticklish on his right side, under his arm on the same side, and on the bottoms of his feet. He also may or may not be ticklish on the side of his neck. He'll never admit to any of it, but Analia and Locke know the truth... and exploit it sometimes.

**Analia:**

-She, much like Amy, gets her temper and expressiveness from her mother, Temari. Termari, however, was by no means an angry person. As with her daughter, her temper basically never showed itself. However, in the case of both women, it's something to be _feared_ when it does show itself.

-When she was a ten-years-old, her blue and white Hero Chao used it's magic to show her a vision. It touched the reflection of the full moon on the surface of a perfectly clear and clean lake, and the image of the moon changed to a vision. In that vision, she saw Kaden (who was eleven at the time) and what he was doing at that very moment. She even got a clear view of his face at one point. For this reason, she recognized him in an instant when the two first met face-to-face during the Babylonian War.

-Though she prefers not to use weapons, even going so far as to claim it's not her forte, she excels at using them. When she does use weapons, her preferred weapon of choice is a bow. However, she is capable of wielding all manner of daggers, swords, and knives as well. Also, like Kaden, she knows how to craft weapons. The only weapon she ever forged with a single white sword. Where it is now is a mystery to all but her.

-She, much like Kaden and Jet, adores music. She doesn't listen to it much, but she does still love it. She has an angelic singing voice, can play the flute, and can play the harp. However, making music is simply something that she doesn't often do. She loves to do it, but spends her time doing other things generally.

-For years now, she has loved to gently tease and poke fun at her partner, simply because he gets embarrassed about it (though he'll always pretend like he's not). Sometimes, her teasing even makes him blush. This is something she loves, simply because she thinks it's absolutely adorable.

-Being as affectionate as she is, she loves to hug on Kaden and cuddle with him and hold his hand and whatnot. These touchy-feely things aren't something she'll do with just anyone, though, no matter how close she is with them. The fact that he always willingly puts up with her doing these things, in spite of his general hatred of touch, always makes her smile happily.

-Truth be told, she loves Shadow as though he is her own child. She doesn't treat him any differently than she does Sonic, and she very much consider him to be hers and Kaden's second child. Sometimes, though, she genuinely wants to have another child that's biologically hers, one that she and Kaden can raise together (something they were denied with Sonic). She has never brought this desire up with Kaden before, though, and possibly never will. Still, can't help but think about it sometimes. At times, it randomly crosses her mind that, if they were to have a little girl, she would name the child Sarai, after Kaden's mother's ancient name.

-Technically speaking, counting the years where they were dead, she and Kaden have been together (romantically) for 2,655.86 years. However, before their deaths, they had only been together for about 279.56 years. it was all time well-spent in her opinion (save the years they spent being dead), and she loved every second of it.

**Sonic:**

-He's fear of water stems from childhood trauma, as is the case with his father. Even before Gerald nearly drowned him in the Chemical Plant when he was ten years old, he's nearly drowned several times before (partly due to his inability to swim when he was younger). This is a fear he has struggled for years to get over.

-When he noted internally once that he'd had the green Chaos Emerald for as long as he could remember, he was being dead serious. He really has had it all his life, for Kaden left it with him when he was a baby the very same day Kaden and Analia died. The emerald kept him alive by eliminating his need for food and water until he was old enough to get said things for himself, sheltering him from the elements and temperatures and wild animals, and so on. If not for that emerald, he would be dead, and he knows it.

-Throughout his life, in spite of his occasional struggles to open up enough to make friends, he's actually had a really good number of them over the years. He's had at least twenty-five of them since he was ten-years old, and most of them are people he travels with to this day. Sadly, though, some of them (such as Antoine, a rabbit he knew during the Dark Days, and Merry) are dead, a fact he tried not to think about most days.

-Though he definitely has a strong bond with both of his parents, he is closer with his father than his mother. He still loves his mother dearly, though, and she knows it. As for the specific reason why he's closer with Kaden than Analia... Well, that fact is unknown to even him.

-When he was younger, he definitely preferred cold weather to warm weather. However, as he aged, he grew to love warm and sunny weather instead, which makes him the polar opposite of his best friend (who loves rain and snow and the like). He doesn't like the colder whether since he can't doze in the sun when the sun is covered by clouds and whatnot.

-Much like Jet, he loves video games. One of his favorite things to do is play against his best friend in competitive video games. Racing games are among his favorites, but he also loves fighting games. When playing solo games, he prefers RPG's to most everything else.

-He loves pet dogs. For many years, he has wished to own one for a long time, but was forced to admit that he couldn't have one after he left the Riders. After all, he had no home then and no money, which meant he had no real way to take care of a pet. However, the dream is not dead. He still very much plans to have a dog someday. Maybe even two. No more than that, though. That might be the ultimate death of him (so he says).

-Though he has an awesome singing voice and can play the guitar like a star, he has little to no interest in making music to share with the public. For him, making music is more of a hobby than a career. The only way he could ever see himself making music for a living is if he ends up being a DJ for some music club.

**Shadow:**

-Though he has no biological mother and he knows it, her very much considers Analia to be his mother. He treats her as such, too, by showing her the proper respect and care and whatnot. In spite of this, though, he'll never verbally admit to the fact that he considers her to be his mom. He's closer with her than with his father, though he does still have a strong bond with Kaden.

-As a young child (about age six and below), he tried to be strong and serious and tough and all that. He really did. However, he never succeeded at such things. He was simply too darn _cute_ and innocent and naive and whatnot to pull off that visage. His attempts never ceased to make Maria giggle, though.

-In spite of having been tested on so much before escaping from the Space Colony ARK, he never developed a fear of hospitals, needles, lab coats, or anything of the sort. He has no post-traumatic stress or anything like that, either. For the most part, so long as he doesn't let them linger for too long, he isn't that terribly bothered by his memories from his time on the ARK. The one exception is his memory of the day he saw Maria die.

-Much like his father, brother, and several of his new friends (not that he'll _ever_ admit that they're his friends), he has a soft spot for children. In particular, his soft spot is for Cream. Her almost never-ending happiness and smiles and whatnot warmed a spot in his heart when he first met her, and that spot remains warm to this day. However, the idea of ever having any kids of his own freaks him out terribly. He doesn't want any of his own kids, ever.

-When he discovered the internet, he also discovered YouTube. Oddly enough, he found right away that he liked that website. Whenever he has some free time to indulge in some videos on YouTube on his phone or communicator, he'll do it, no question about it.

-In another timeline, he has the ability to use swords like a _boss_. However, as of right now in the main timeline, his skill regarding wielding a sword is minor at best. The reason for this is the fact that, during the two-year separation, his training was focused more on hand-to-hand combat, guns, and his Dragonfire (per Shadow's request).

-Yet another thing he'll never admit is that he considered Maria to be his big sister when she was alive. She had taken care of him (in spite of only being fourteen) and loved him like a sister would have. It was something he always appreciated, and he treasures those memories to this day.

-Unlike his parents and half-brother, he has no interest in music. He likes to listen to very few songs (all of the rock genre), but no others. He also has zero interest in making any music. Whether or not he has any _talent _for making music, however, is a whole other story. Whatever talent (or lack thereof) he possesses is unknown to even him, since he won't even _try_ to make anything.

**Silver:**

-As a child, he often fantasized about his parents (the ones from his world, specifically) somehow being alive and coming back to him them, essentially, living happily ever after together as a family. However, those dreams died when he got older and came to understand just how _dead_ his parents really were. Still, he fantasized about his parents a lot, wondering what they were like and whatnot.

-Since his homeworld was so severely ruined and borderline dead, he was never exposed to music before coming to the main timeline with Sonic and the others. Since then, he has discovered that he has a great deal of love for music. He loves light rock and alternative rock, but he loves techno music much better than anything else. An example of a song he likes is "Aero Chord - Mortar" (the author of this tale is unsure which is the song and which is the artist).

-Since coming to the main timeline, he has discovered that he really, really likes to draw. He even convinced his gramps to give him some lessons. Thanks to this and a dash of genuine talent, he has become a great artist in his own right. This is an accomplishment that he's actually very proud of, and Kaden is proud of him, too (a fact which makes Silver beam every time he thinks about it).

-He genuinely loves to mess with people. He does this through harmless mind games (such as talking circles around someone for no reason whatsoever), cracking jokes at any given time (save for when he knows it's inappropriate to do so), and, best of all, by pulling pranks. He's been doing these things all his life, and has no intention of stopping now. To make matters worse for those around him, Tails has become his partner in crime in doing that latter activity. Their most recent prank was taking Jet's boots when he was asleep and dumping maple syrup in them. He was livid and his boots were nearly ruined, but they thought it was hilarious and well worth it.

-Although jelly bread is undoubtedly his favorite food, he genuinely loves food in general. This can partly be blamed on the fact that the cuisine in his homeworld was hardly divine. But, regardless of that, he has access to wonderful food now, and he loves the heck out of that truth. Some of his other favorite foods are steak, corn, hamburgers, salted potato chips, fried chicken, and chocolate cookies. He also loves brownies, and is of the personal opinion that the one batch of them that Blaze has ever cooked was the best batch of brownies ever.

-Though he genuinely is close with both of his grandparents, Kaden included, he harbors some insecurities about his relationship with his grandfather. This is because, unlike with Analia, he can never be sure what Kaden is thinking or feeling on the vast majority of occasions. Because of this, he never knows when or if he's irritating his grandfather, when or if he's boring the man, when or if Kaden wants to be left alone, and so on. He tries to keep these thoughts out of mind and be optimistic, though.

-Thanks to Sonic and Jet exposing him to it, he has found that he loves listening to true horror narrations on YouTube. He also loves watching scary movies late at night, in the dark. This is a behavior he learned from his dad and "uncle", who themselves often engage in such activities together. However, unlike them, he gets freaked out by these things fairly easily. They usually aren't bothered by scary movies and whatnot, a fact he sometimes envies.

-Much like his father, he has wanted a pet dog for _ages_. Ever since he learned about them at about age ten, he's wanted one. Badly. He doesn't have a specific breed or gender or anything of the sort in mind. He's not picky. He just wants a dog, though he knows he can't necessarily have one right now. Someday, though. Someday.

**Blaze:**

-After trying some jelly bread, she found that it was a surprisingly good food. However, it's far from being one of her favorite foods. She prefers foods like mashed potatoes, steak, pork chops, corn bread, white rice, and the like. Some foods she _doesn't_ like are asparagus, cooked carrots, dark chocolate, napoleon ice cream, anything with mint, and so on.

-Much like Silver, she has fantasized and wondered about her parents throughout her life (though she does know a fair amount about them, in spite of obviously never having met them). However, unlike her best friend, she tries very hard not to think on the topic for too long. It simply upsets her far too much, especially since she knows now that her parents are dead in even this timeline. However, there is one distant timeline where Tails told her once that he suspects her parents are probably alive, but she has learned by now to never get her hopes up about this sort of thing if she can help it.

-She has legitimately idolized Kaden since she was a small child. He has always been her hero, and he remains such to this day. For many people, meeting their idols in person leaves them disappointed. In her case, she was _far_ from disappointed. Instead of overestimating him, she found that she had, in fact, _under_estimated him. Spending time with him and getting to know his story, passions, and so on has only further proven that to her. The fact that he has come to treat her as almost a daughter by this point means the absolute_world_ to her, especially since her child-self used to wish that he were her dad.

-Though not very into music, she has found that she loves the violin songs made by people like Lindsey Stirling. She also loves piano songs. However, she doesn't like much else. She _especially_ doesn't like rap, hip-hop, or anything like that. She did, however, give funk a try once when she found out that Kaden likes that genre. That one wasn't for her, either, a fact which Kaden genuinely laughed about. He flat-out told her, "It would be rather... _odd_ if you listened to funk." After giving it a moment of thought, she found that he was right and managed to smile and laugh about it as well.

-Ever since she discovered them in the main timeline, she has loved board games. In particular, she loves chess, mahjong, and shogi, all of which are games Kaden taught her how to play. However, she also greatly enjoys playing more so-called "childish" games such as Sorry and Monopoly. The catch? She only enjoys playing those games when either Silver or Cream or both are playing. Otherwise, she considers it to be a waste of her time.

-In spite of the way the other woman can act, she knows that she and Rouge are friends. She understands Rouge's insecurities, concerns, and her need for reassurances with things such as friendship, and she is always happy to provide such things for the bat. And, when Rouge is in a good mood and starts calling her "Kitty Kat" or "Kitty" (or, more rarely, "Kat"), she always very willingly puts up with it.

-She would be lying to herself if she didn't say that she had a sweet tooth. Ever since she had her first taste of it, she has _adored_ chocolate. As such, she loves brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and so on. It was this love that prompted her to try her hand at making brownies that one time. She personally thought her brownies were crap, but Silver's steadfast assurance that they were lovely made her smile. A lot.

-Flicking Silver in the forehead when he annoyed her or when he did something foolish was something she did up until age thirteen. As for _why_ she started doing this, even she has really no idea. She also has no idea as to why she _stopped_. Sometimes, though, she is honestly very sorely tempted to start doing so again. It's an effective tool for reprimanding him, after all. He fears the flick.

**Amy:**

-She has a very small scar under her right arm. The scar comes from a deep cut she got when she fell on a sharp shell on a beach in Apatos. It's almost a crescent-shaped mark, but not quite. As a child, she was ashamed of the scar, as it came to be because she was clumsy on that day. No, however, she isn't bothered by it at all. That's not to say she's proud of it, either, though.

-With the exception of the incident where she was nearly kidnapped out of her own home, she really never had any bad childhood memories. Her childhood was a happy one, filled with love and smiles and reading and playing outside and beach days and so on and so forth. Her life had been normal... and yet, it had really been anything but.

-When they were both kids, she would literally fight to protect Tails from his bullies. The only reason she got into physical altercations with them is because of the fact that the bullies always inevitably started getting physical by shoving Tails around and whatnot.

-Besides just her friends within the group of heroes she met from being around Sonic, she literally has over about twenty or so friends. Most of them are from cities she doesn't even live in, though she has a couple from Apatos as well. The friend who was speaking with her about horoscopes during the two year separation is one of the friends she has in a totally different city than her own.

-Though she basically never _uses_ it, she owns a high-tech laptop. It was something she received as a gift for her birthday when she was fifteen, and she's kept it ever since. Simply_because_ it was a gift, she tries to at least find a reason to use it once or twice a month, though her usage of it tends to be even less than that. It's become even worse since she's gotten her communicator, since it can do everything a computer, phone, and camera can do.

-Though she has no truly notable ancestors, her family is very, very well-off financially, and has been for multiple generations. This explains how they have a mansion-like house large enough to house her family of three, plus Sonic and the others.

-As is the case with her Ruined Future self, she has a very large sweet tooth. She adores cupcakes, regular cake, candy, brownies, cookies, you name it. She does her best to limit how many sweets she intakes in a month, though. She loves sweets, yes, but she also would prefer to stay healthy rather not.

-Some members of the group (i.e. Jet, Knuckles, Shadow) aren't overly friendly and whatnot. She knows that, but she doesn't care. She has practically made it her personal mission to fully befriend each member of their group. She is well on her way to doing so with Jet and is making good progress with Shadow, but she has found that she argues with Knuckles too much to make befriending him an easy task.

**Tails:**

-Up until age five, he lived in an orphanage. When he reached that age, he ran away. The reason for this wasn't because he was being mistreated by his adult caretakers or anything. They had all been very kind to him, but the _kids_... many of them had been borderline _cruel_ to him. That was why he'd run away.

-As was indirectly revealed in one chapter of the story, the large lake he lives by is the very same lake where ten-year-old Sonic and young Merry discovered the wreckage of the original Tornado plane. Tails had had no idea of how significant this lake was to Sonic until Sonic told him on the way to the jungle where Knuckles had joined the group.

-Though he used to lack stamina when he flew, this has long-since changed. He is now capable of flying for as long an hour or better without tiring out. He sometimes wishes that he could fly without using any energy like Locke, Knuckles, and Jet can, but he always reminds himself that some flight ability is better than none. Besides, he has the Tornado-1 and X-Tornado (though the latter is still Sonic's) for a reason.

-He has always been curious about his parents, but some little part of him has always been almost irrationally afraid that he will dislike what he finds out about them if he ever takes a chance and does research to find out about his parents. This is the reason why he has yet to do any research about them.

-In spite of being fully capable of building robots of virtually any kind, he harbors no desire of doing so. He always finds himself worrying that doing so will somehow make him like Ivo or Gerald in some way. The worry is irrational and doesn't make a lot of sense, he knows, but he can't keep it out of mind regardless of this fact.

-It took him four whole tries to build a working plane, one that didn't spontaneously explode while in use. The result of his months of hard work and great effort was the Tornado-1. Since building it, he has improved upon in excess of twelve times. Likewise, he has upgraded his workshop (making it wider, adding tech and floors, etc.) over ten times. This is why the building is so huge now. It certainly didn't start off that way.

-When he was five years old (before he ran away from the orphanage), he became dangerously ill and had a fever of over 114 degrees Fahrenheit. He was so ill that he had to go to the hospital. In spite of the great care he received there, he nearly died. However, obviously, he survived the ordeal. Strangely enough, he hasn't been ill since.

-Although he has always been fully capable of making friends, he tends to lack the desire to do so. It's not that he dislikes people or anything. The simple fact of the matter is that he's introverted _just_ enough to be okay being by himself. However, he really does _like_ having his friends.

**Vector:**

-He's close with both of his parents. He affectionately calls his dad "Pops" and his mother "Mom" or, more oftentimes, "Ma". He hasn't lived with his parents since he was eighteen years old, but he visits them pretty frequently. The fact that they're so proud of him and his business, which he shares ownership of with Espio, means a heck of a lot to him.

-He has considered Espio to be his best friend for years now. Espio has never outwardly confirmed nor denied this, but Vector knows the truth of the matter. He relies heavily on his friend for support when stressed and to be the voice of reason when shit hits the fan. Espio always comes through, and this is as good as proof (as far Vector is concerned) that they're best friends.

-Though he has shown some pretty good skill in the kitchen and enjoys cooking to a point, it isn't something he plans to spend time improving on or turning into a hobby. Besides, he's often much too busy running the Agency and taking on cases and whatnot (especially since the Agency has grown in popularity in recent years and has thus been gaining more business than ever before).

-Never in his life has he ever been interested in anyone in any sort of romantic way. He has never entertained the idea of falling in love and starting his own family or anything like that. His parents and Charmy are his family and he loves them. He sees no need to have any other family.

-Much like the version of himself from the canon stories, he loves money and can be very, very stingy and whatnot with it. However, when he feels the need to spend it, he does so readily and willingly. One example of this was when he and his team needed a ship in the SA2 Arc.

-As a teenager, he once beat the tar out of another teen. This was due to the fact that the other teen was a thug and had tried to jump him and steal his video camera. Needless to say, a fight ensued and he knocked the attacker out cold. Beyond that, he didn't hurt his opponent... _too_ badly. If nothing else, the guy lived and had no permanent injuries.

-Considering the fact that he's a crocodile, he's very fond of red meat (and meat in general). However, he knows that he can't solely cook that, since Espio likes mashed potatoes and vegetables and whatnot, and Charmy (being a bee) needs more fruits and vegetables in his diet than most others do. Vector is always mindful of this when grocery shopping and cooking.

-Before the huge fight in the field that resulted in Kaden going Dark, he had never, ever, ever lost any fight he'd ever been in. Granted, he'd never fought anyone or anything like Ivo's robots before, but even still. That fight is not one he is proud of.

**Espio:**

-Due to being raised in a community of ninjas in the high mountains in the north, he was very isolated for a long time in his life. Because of this, he had no friends as a child, or at all before meeting Vector and Charmy and everyone else.

-The sole reason why he left his birthplace, the place where he was trained, was because he wanted to see and experience the world. He wanted to have friends. He wanted to make memories he could treasure and value for the rest of his life. His mother, father, and sensei (all of whom he was very close with) were accepting of this idea and let him go. He visits them, albeit infrequently, to this day.

-Though he generally prefers to spend his time reading, studying, meditating, and training, he does like watching movies. In particular, he likes samurai movies and other warrior movies of the sort. From time to time, he also finds general adventure-style movies that he likes.

-Although he can have some difficulties showing it at times (a fact which he fully admits to, just not necessarily out loud), he really does care a lot for his friends, even the ones he's still getting to know (i.e. Wave, Silver, Locke).

-Much like several other members of the group, he likes dogs well enough. However, he has never entertained the idea of ever owning one as a pet. He has just never seen himself as a pet owner, let alone a dog owner, especially considering the fact that dogs require a lot of car and attention (which he's often much to busy for). As such, his life seems destined to be a pet-less one. And he's okay with that.

-The name he goes by is how his name is said in the chameleon language. The names his parents go by, however (Samuel and Carla), are not the translated versions of their names. To this day, even he has never heard their translated names said aloud, though he knows what they are.

-As a child, one of his favorite things to do during his free time was climb into the thick canopy of branches attached to the many, many trees hiding his home from the world. Once in that canopy, he would jump from branch to branch as fast as he could. He developed a great deal of agility doing this, and can perform this activity effortlessly now.

-Flying is something that he often found himself wishing to do when he was a child. He still entertains this dream from time to time, but it has mostly faded since he's grown up. He doesn't know why, exactly. the dream faded or even why it came to be in the first place, but he usually doesn't waste time questioning it.

**Charmy:**

-In spite of being a boy, he has acquired a genuine love for flowers and the crafting of flower crowns thanks to Cream and Cheese (though mostly Cream). He's not ashamed of it, either, and likely never will be. As far as he's concerned, he has no reason to feel shame about something like this.

-Though he tries to be tough at times, combat is something he will likely never truly get used to. He isn't like Cream in the sense that he doesn't have a more serious side to him that would allow him to be able to adapt to a lifestyle involving a lot of conflict. He's all happy and bubbly and whatnot, generally speaking. As such, fighting is just not his thing.

-He first discovered the minor poison he possesses when he accidentally stung Vector once not long after they first met. Vector fell ill soon after that little mishap (Espio, having only just left home recently, was a tad nervous around him and Charmy and therefore did nothing to help), though he was obviously fine in the end. Since then, Charmy has learned to be much more careful about his stinger and how close other people are to it.

-Since his father died and his mother abandoned him as a baby (for reasons unknown to him and everyone around him), he has no memory of either of his parents. For this reason, he has always considered Vector to be his dad without a second thought since the crocodile adopted him (and even before then). They're very close.

-He met Vector and Espio the very same day that Vector and Espio met each other. The two adults had been brought together by Knuckles, who had needed their help to find the Master Emerald, which had been stolen for the first time since Knuckles's birth (this was after Gerald's time and before Ivo's, so their family had nothing to do with this theft). Charmy met the group merely by stumlbing across them on the streets of Spagonia.

-In spite of how innocent an optimistic and whatnot he is, he doesn't scare easily when he's presented with something like a fictional horror movie. It's reality that scares him most oftentimes, not anything that's been made up.

-Usually, he loves to draw and paint and color and whatnot. However, there are days where even he doesn't want to do something artsy and fun. There are some days where all he wants to do is relax in the sun and doze a while, or fly around like the busy little bee he is.

-Much like other members of the group, his favorite video games are racing ones. He usually doesn't play with anyone unless Vector decides to play with him. Otherwise, he plays alone and is perfectly content to do so. The only time he prefers company when playing is when he's playing outside.

**Misc.:**

-Ruined Future Ivo's files actually had a lot of flaws. To name a few examples:

1.) Jet was stated to be a purebred emerald hawk. The thing is, while he is pure hawk, he's not purebred emerald. He has some blue and grey in him as well. Wave was also stated to be purebred, but this is not the case. She's pure swallow, but has a mixture of purple, pink, and tan in her.

2.) It was stated that Cream had a very good sense of smell and could potentially even catch scents. Truth is, her sense of smell is average. Her file also said that her intelligence increased as a result of her clairvoyance awakening. However, this is not the case. She was always that smart, her intelligence was just a bit hidden by her childish innocence and whatnot prior to that power awakening.

3.) In multiple files, Ivo wrote that the healing factor many of the heroes possessed resulted in slowed aging. This was incorrect. As we learned later in Hero, this is due to Sonic's Chaos.

There were plenty of others, but too many to list.

-When he's not home, Jet leaves his dog with an older lady whom he's known for years. She loves Tanner about as much as he does. The only problem is that Tanner likes to chase her pet ferrets.

-Jet and Kaden are a _lot_ more alike than people (including they themselves) tend to realize, and the similarities only increase in number as time goes on. In Eye of the Storm, they'll gain even more similarities (though what those similarities are will remain a secret for now). A few examples of their similarities are: their artistic talents and achievements, their love and amazing skill for cooking, and the fact that they both have best friends who are practically brothers. And, with the "brother" one, both Kaden and Jet take on the role of "little brother" in many ways (i.e. being fully trusting of the "big brother" in the relationship, looking up to the "big brother" greatly, etc.).

-Currently, Sonic is about 2,376 years old. Jet, being exactly six months older than him in their years, is 69.891 normal years older than him. Meanwhile, Kaden is 3,215 years old (twenty-three in his years) whereas Analia is 3,075 years old (twenty-two in her years). The calculations to work out the exact ages for everyone else in the Hero universe are unknown to the author at this time, but to work out how old the purebred blue hedgehogs and the Babylonian hawks are, simply take their age, divide it by twenty-three, then times it by 3,215. For example, 17 divided by 23=0.7391304348. That multiplied by 3,215 is 2,376.3043478261, which is Sonic's approximate age (give or take a few years).

-In the Hero universe, there is an extremely rare phenomenon where some people are born hardwired for a certain language. This means that they're born knowing somehow knowing a language. So far, this is only true for four Hero characters. One is Kaden with the ancient language, one is Jet with Ancient Babylonian, and the third and fourth will remain a secret until Eye of the Storm.

-Kaden, Analia, and Sonic are all of pure Japanese heritage (though Kaden sometimes identifies himself as Chinese, since Chun-nan was a Chinese city, more than anything else). Silver is half Japanese and half Korean. Shadow is half Japanese.

-Locke is basically the Indiana Jones of the Hero Universe. He's a world-renowned treasure hunter, he has an old brown hat, is a master at using a whip (not that he owns one, though can make one out of fire), and gets into _tons_ of trouble (often unneccessary trouble) when treasure hunting. This latter fact both amuses Kaden and irritates the hell out of him. The irritation is due to the fact that he's usually the one who has to jump in and save his friend when the echidna gets into trouble.

-Tails and Silver have, so far, pulled in excess of twenty-eight pranks together since meeting. They very much consider each other to be best friends and each loves hanging out and causing mayhem with the other. Funny thing is though, Tails wasn't a troublemaker before meeting Silver. Weird...

**~ソニック~**

**11,226 words this time. I hope you all enjoyed this super long chapter. I sure enjoyed making it. :) Posted (at about 12:00 a.m.) 06-06-16.**


	226. Pure Joy

**Hello, Randomblackberry! Hahahahaha, yes, I did! Lol! XD Yes, yes they are. Fun to write, fun to read. :) Ooh, cookies! Thanks!**

**Hello, thatguy4643! Well, when he's older (like maybe sixties and/or older), he might wear those for reading. I can picture that. As for now, though, he's young and his vision is just fine. :)**

**~ソニック~**

No sooner than their quiet, emotional exchange was completed, Kaden suddenly hauled off and hit Marthal on the top of the head with a fist. "_Ow_!" the cat exclaimed, both hands going up to cover the spot that Kaden had just hit. "What the hell was that for?" Kaden crossed his arms and said nothing. Barely a moment or two later, Marthal suddenly understood, and it showed in his eyes. "Oh," he breathed. There was an apologetic note to his voice. Another small moment passed, then he murmured, "I'm sorry, Kaden... for scaring you like that back then."

Kaden huffed and turned his head to the left, looking away from his old friend. "You didn't scare me," he muttered. Whether or not he was telling the truth was unknown to Sonic. He tried determining it by reading his father's aura, but even that revealed nothing to him.

Marthal, apparently, could see what Sonic not. "Liar," he accused.

Unsurprisingly, Kaden was less than pleased with this accusation. It showed subtly in his expression and in his tone. "Hardly," he retorted without hesitation.

Suddenly, Marthal was smirking, and quite a lot. His deep blue eyes were lit up with happiness and some form of genuine amusement. "Just admit it," he said in reply, "the great Kaden was totally scared for once in his life."

At this, Kaden frowned noticeably, perhaps to cover up the fact that he was seemingly having to struggle to force himself to not roll his eyes. "Whatever," he muttered in response. That word in that context was one Sonic had never expected his father to say. It just seemed to _casual_ for him, given how serious and at times formal he tended to be. Then Kaden suddenly broke into Sonic's thoughts when he added, "No one ever said I was 'great'."

Clearly, no one else in this group of five agreed with him on that one. It just happened to be Marthal who said something about it before anyone else could. "Well, I did," he smiled. "And have many times before now." Kaden didn't reply to that, didn't seem to know how to, and Marthal left him be to go say proper "hello"s to Locke and Analia.

While Marthal did that, Sonic turned to his father. "Hey, Dad." Kaden left off sulking (or at least subtly appearing to sulk) long enough to turn his head and look at him. "I'm gonna head back to the others," Sonic told him. "You know, let them know we're not dead and all that jazz." He glanced briefly at Marthal. "You stay here with them... deal with whatever you need to."

Kaden's gaze slowly drifted to his not-dead friend and was probably about to nod or something in reply when Marthal suddenly turned to the two of them. "Hey, Sonic?"

Momentarily surprised, as he hadn't expected this guy to talk to him (in spite of how clearly friendly he was), Sonic blinked once. It took him a few seconds to reply. "Yeah?" he finally asked.

The question Marthal asked wasn't one Sonic had been expecting at all. "You're the keeper of the Chaos Emeralds, right? The one who owns them and protects them?"

Needless to say, Sonic was again surprised. Maybe even shocked. Before he could stop himself, he was asking quickly, "How do you even know that?"

Marthal's head tilted slightly to the right, another smile appearing on his face. His deep blue eyes sparkled with something akin to amusement. Maybe amusement was, in fact, all it was. Sonic didn't know. "Let's just say that Ivo's robots have loud mouths and are, perhaps, in need of some verbal filters for their own sakes."

Suddenly unable to help it, Sonic smirked and chuckled. "You have _no _idea how true that probably is."

"I think I do," Marthal countered, still smiling.

About two seconds later, Sonic suddenly recalled the original question and responded to it. "Anyway," he said, "yes. I'm their owner, so to speak."

This response earned a nod. Marthal seemed satisfied by this answer, maybe even pleased. Perhaps he was pleased because he knew and trusted Kaden and Analia and therefore, by extension, trusted Sonic. The young hedgehog had to acknowledge that as a possibility. "I have an emerald," the cat informed him, breaking into his thoughts quite abruptly. "The dark blue one, specifically. Stole it from some robots not too long ago."

Relieved that the powerful, legendary gem was safe in the hands of someone who, judging by Kaden, Locke, and Analia's reactions, could obviously be trusted, Sonic allowed himself to relax somewhat. _This means we have three emeralds already... That's good... _"Where is it?" he asked seriously.

"My house," was the quick reply. All humor was lost from Marthal's tone. He was being just as serious as Sonic right now. The change was almost startling. The fact that someone so light and happy and seemingly almost carefree (and, frankly, rather- Silver-like) could have such a serious side to him was almost too strange to contemplate right now. Perhaps that was something Sonic could mull over later, whenever he next had some downtime. "My friend Keiri is watching it right now," Marthal continued. "She can keep it safe from any robots easily."

Accepting of this, Sonic nodded. "Alright." He found himself suddenly and randomly glancing over at Locke, who nodded subtly as though he knew somehow what Sonic was about to say next and approved of the idea. This wasn't surprising to Sonic at all. Locke's perceptiveness was something he had long since learned to expect in the vast majority of occasions. He turned his attention back to Marthal. "Mom, Dad, and Locke can go with you to retrieve it, then," he told the cat. "I'm taking off for now."

"Alright." Again, Marthal was smiling. It was almost infectious, the happiness this warrior presented to the world, and Sonic found himself returning the smile a little, almost against his will. He just couldn't help but let the expression show on his face. It was a wonder his father could do it so easily and so well. But, none of that was very terribly important right now. Pushing those thoughts out of mind for the time being, he waved a brief farewell to them all, then turned and zipped off, leaving a bright blue trail behind him as he ran.

**~ソニック~**

With his speed, Sonic reached Tails and the others in good time. He wasn't even running that fast (for him, anyway), and yet he still made it to them in under two minutes. Upon reaching them, he was unsurprised to find that the group had already entered the city limits by now. They were gradually nearing the large business district where Sonic had left Marthal, Locke, and his parents, he noted as he ran up to the group. Once he was near enough to them, he jumped up and landed lightly on the right wing of the X-Tornado. "Yo," he greeted Silver (who was flying barely a foot away from the wing) with a smile and raised hand. He took a seat on the sun-warmed metal, legs crossing.

"Hey, Dad!" Silver responded brightly in his usual happy and cheerful manner. He was wearing one of his usual smiles. "Abandoned Gramma, Gramps, and Locke, did we?" he then joked.

"No, not at all," Sonic chuckled with a smile of his own. "I didn't leave them alone, not that they'd be incapable of caring for themselves assuming I had."

Catching on with surprising and slightly unusual quickness, Silver's expression swiftly shifted from one of happiness to one of surprise and confusion. "Wait- so who are they with?"

At this, Sonic shrugged a bit. "Some guy named Marthal," he responded. "He's an old friend of theirs, apparently." There wasn't much else he was able to tell his son about the matter because, honestly, he himself didn't even know anything more than that.

Silver visibly grew even more confused. "Gramps mentioned that guy to Blaze once," he said quietly, "back when they had that really long late-night conversation on top of the tower in Future City way back when." He looked his young father directly in the eye, expression somewhat troubled. "Gramps said Marthal was _dead_, Dad."

Sonic glanced randomly at Blaze, who was dozing on one wing of Shadow's sleek black ship a fairly good ways away. He then returned his full attention to Silver. "He wasn't lying," he replied slowly. "As in... so far as he knew, he _was_ telling the truth." As he gazed up into the sky, he felt himself slowly gradually begin to smile. "Turns out, though," he continued, "that Marthal didn't die like Mom, Dad, and Locke originally thought. See, the day he was nearly killed by Dark Gaia's creatures, someone found him and managed to save his life."

Unsurprisingly, Silver's expression bloomed into another one of his usual bright and happy smiles upon hearing this news. "That's awesome," he said right away, seemingly without so much as a second thought. "It's really cool that someone saved him and that he didn't, you know, die."

In response to this, Sonic nodded once. "Yeah," he agreed quietly, still wearing his own smile. He resumed looking out into the open sky, "It is good. Very good."

"Oh, and speaking of death," Silver said suddenly, prompting Sonic to look back at him, "you know that this whole 'no-aging-thanks-to-Chaos' thing won't last forever, right?"

Sonic blinked once. "Yeah," he repeated, trying not to show the confusion his son's random question had sparked in him. "'Course I know that, Silver."

"This means that, even if none of us are killed by, say, Ivo or something," Silver continued uninhibited, "we'll all still _eventually_ die."

_Well. This conversation got morbid. _Pushing that thought out of mind, Sonic spoke up. "Yeah," he again repeated, more slowly this time than before. "Then he started to ask, "Silver, why-?"

Suddenly, Silver was grinning. Widely. Sonic did _not_ like the looks of that expression. After all, that _usually_ meant that his son was up to no good in some way or another, and that never boded well for anyone on the receiving end of that 'no good' behavior. "So, if even _you're_ gonna die someday, then don't you think you shouldn't spend your life alone?" Sonic didn't like the way this conversation was headed. He opened his mouth to reply, but the younger hedgehog cut him off before he could even get a word in edgewise. "Don'tcha think you should spend it with somebody?" the silver hedgehog asked. Then he added slyly, "A _pink_ somebody, specifically?

Immediately, Sonic attempted to shoot the idea down as though he found it absolutely ludicrous and insane and utterly unthinkable. "Look, Silver, I've already _told_ you that I don't like her like that," he said quickly. "_She_ doesn't like _me_ like that, either."

"How do you know?" Silver challenged readily, still grinning.

"Silver-" Sonic tried to argue.

"_How_ do you _know_?" Silver repeated with the world's biggest shit-eating grin.

Sonic internally groaned in annoyance, a frown appearing on his face. His arms crossed. Emerald and gold eyes stared deep into each other for a long couple of moments. Finally, Sonic released a sigh. "Just drop it, okay?" he asked, exasperated. "We _don't_ like each other like that."

"Are you _sure_?" Silver asked, waggling his eyebrows ridiculously with yet another wide grin.

Now Sonic decided to turn the tables and try to gain the upper hand in this conversation. "Oi, what about you and _Blaze_ huh?" he asked with a smirk, deliberately emphasizing the name of the girl he knew for a _fact_ his son was massively crushing on.

As with the last time this had been brought up, Silver immediately blushed (quite brightly) and sputtered. "W-We- I mean- We-We're not- N-_No_!" he stuttered out almost frantically. Then he added, seemingly trying to sound like he _wasn't_ embarrassed as hell, "You've got it _all_ wrong, Dad!"

"Do I, now?" Sonic challenged, smirk morphing into a grin similar to the one Silver had been wearing earlier. "'Cause it seems to _me_ that _you like_ her." Silver continued to sputter, and Sonic laughed, pleased that he had won this argument once again.

**~ソニック~**

Not long after Sonic left to go back to the rest of the group, Analia suddenly took Kaden by the elbow and pulled him aside. Locke and Marthal continued chatting approximately five feet away. "Analia" Kaden asked, concerned by his partner's sudden and unexpected action. As always, his concern for any member of his family outweighed his thoughts and feelings about anything else in the moment. "Is something wrong?"

Analia melted him with one of her usual bright, perfect smiles, the kind of smile that honestly could probably have made him swoon in years past. It still made his heart pound and flutter happily, anyway, though he didn't swon at any way. "No," she murmured reassuring, "nothing in wrong. There is merely something I need to tell you." Kaden blinked once, honestly confused now. "I would have told you earlier, but these past couple of days have been..."

"Crazy," Kaden summed up neatly. Other adjectives floated through his mind as well, though. _Insane, stressful, painful, a trainwreck of unwanted emotion... _

His partner continued to smile as she nodded. "Yes," she agreed readily. "Most certainly." Before Kaden could say a word in reply, she continued. "Kaden," she murmured, taking his right hand into her own, "tani ken ā to'lei."

For a moment or possibly several, it didn't quite register in Kaden's mind what Analia had said. When it finally sunk in, he felt himself freeze and his eyes slowly widen. "You... You're... _what_?"

Analia only continued to smile, even in light of his shock. "Pregnant," she repeated gently in the universal language as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

_Pregnant. _The word entered Kaden's mind unbidden. _...Oh my god. _This was so sudden, and he could barely wrap his mind around it, because Analia was _pregnant_, and that was quite literally borderline _impossible_. After all, there was a _reason _why he and Analia had been together for so long (even ignoring the years when they had been dead) and only had _one_ child. They were _careful_, immensely so, and Analia even used her magic to aid them in being so. This was so... so... He sighed, releasing his shock in that slowly breath of air. The shock was finally subsiding a bit. He inhaled slowly, utilizing his deep knowledge of meditation to help him calm down. Once that happened, he was finally able to return his love's smile, at least a little bit. "This is... wonderful, Analia..." That sentence did nothing to express how wonderful this really and truly was. He had no words to express his emotions right now. He usually didn't, honestly.

His words caused Analia to beam at him, and he melted again at the sight of it. Then, she pulled him closer and hugged him. "I love you, Kaden," she told him. Her smile never faded as she held the love of her life.

Without any hesitation, Kaden gently returned the hug. "I love you, too," he murmured. His words were so _genuine_... she knew she had no reason to doubt them. So she didn't.

As was nothing unusual for her, Analia continued to smile. She was the very picture of pure love and happiness right now. However, she was also in a teasing mood, as was fairly normal for her when she was around him. As such, she ruined the moment deliberately, tone light as she asked, "I believe our friends will be ready to go soon," she told her partner.

In response to this, Kaden's hold around her tightened minutely, though not enough to cause her any pain. "They can wait," he responded simply.

Analia couldn't help but smile at his attitude. _Oh, Kaden... _she thought with yet another wide smile. _I love you so much..._

**~ソニック~**

**2,750 words this time. A short but eventful chapter in it's own right. This chapter is also (obviously) _very_ important to the story of Hero. :) Posted (at about 4:20) 06-08-16.**


	227. The Good News

**Hello, StarryMoon33! It was so funny. Haha. XD YEEEEEEEEEEEEEES! HEGEJDHDJ.**

**Hello, Mutt7! I might, I might not. You shall have to wait and see. XD No worries. It's perfectly fine. And I agree. That would be so awesome, but I also love the idea of him having a baby brother. X3 Haha, okay. Lol. XD**

**Hello, Samantha! YES! DO IT, SONIKKU! DOO EET! SONAMYYY! X33**

**Hello, Spell of Dawn! Your review to Chapter 223: No worries! :) Yes, yes it does. Haha. XD Don't worry, massive action is coming. I promise. And you think you know who he is, huh? Well you shall see. ;) OMG, IKR?! X3**

**Your review to Chapter 224: Well, that's not actually true. Only three important people to this fic have ever been revived, four if you count Silver in the Ruined Future timeline. Otherwise, most of the people who die stay dead. Examples: Gerald, Maria, Tails's parents, Queen Laralei, Cream's father Mark, Merry, Blaze's parents, Elsa... There are a lot of others, too. XD Oi, those two enevr saw him! XD Oh, and to clarify, Marthal and Blaze don't share powers. He has Dragonfire, she has regular fire. Different. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 225: Fourth wall references? Such as? XD Well, a lot of the things the heroes are bad at have been revealed in the main story. For example, Kaden and Jet have pronounced difficulties with making friends, Locke used to be very bad at controlling his anger, and so on and so forth. Hope that clears this up a bit. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 226: I didn't even expect that. I came up with that idea the same day I wrote that chapter. It was a very spur-of-the-moment decision. XD Like I said, action is coming, I promise. ;) And there have been lots of other enemies besides just robots. Iblis, Mephiles, the Babylonians in ancient times, Dark Gaia, Dark Gaia's creatures, the dark creatures in the Ruined Future Arc, Ross in a way... Plus, you've got to remember, this is a Sonic fic, and Sonic's main enemies have always been evil robots and their creatures. Beyond the robots, I have used just about every other enemy Sonic has ever faced in the canon stories. The one big exception was the main enemy from Sonic Colors, but adding the Wisps and the color powers would be _so_ hard... XD Also, I don't feel this fic needs more action. There's already a lot of it, and a story with too much action is hardly a story at all. There needs to be time for calmness and character interactions and development and whatnot, you know? :)**

**Hello, Luna MoonSinger27! YEAH! AHHHH!**

**~ソニック~**

By the time Sonic and the others reached the business district where he, his parents, and Locke had met up with Marthal, the four ancient heroes were already gone. Sonic recalled straight away that Marthal had said that he had an emerald at his home, and that some friend of his was currently watching over the precious gem. The only problem was that Sonic had no idea where the house was. However, the problem was very temporary for a number of reasons. One, he could sense the auras of his parents and Locke easily (as they were familiar to him), and Jet, with his special sensitivity to auras, could do the same far more easily than Sonic. Two, Amy, Cream, Wave, and Silver could sense the mind of Locke and Analia (not Kaden, as he kept his mind too guarded) with their psychic abilities. Three, Sonic could, of course, sense any and all of the emeralds. Using the latter sense almost instinctively, Sonic turned his head to the right and toward the eastern edge of the city. He looked in that direction for several short moments before determining the exact direction they needed to go in. Once he had that figured out, he sent a brief message to Tails over the so-called "public" channel on their communicators. It wasn't truly "public" (not just anyone could access it), but anyone with a communicator could see any message sent there.

_**Senzan:**_

_Hey, turn to the right at about a ninety degree angle. The emerald is that way._

Though Sonic had changed his name on his communicator to the name "Sonic" was translated to in the ancient language, Tails still seemed to know who the message was from and therefore asked no questions about it.

**_Tails:_**

_Alright. Let me know when we get close to it so I can find a place to land._

For whatever reason, Sonic felt himself nod. It was a pointless action. Tails was looking ahead at the sky ahead of him while he turned the ship, meaning he couldn't see his friend nodding.

**_Senzan:_**

_'Course._

Tails was quick to reply after he had the X-Tornado fully turned around. Shadow turned his ship barely a minute later, and those who were flying solo (such as Wave on her Extreme Gear) turned at varying times before, during, and after the time it took the ships to fully turn around in the proper direction.

_**Tails:**_

_Thanks, Sonic._

A small smiled tugged at Sonic's lips for some reason, though he didn't exactly know why. He typed a brief reply to his "lil bro".

**_Senzan:_**

_Sure thing, Tails._

He looked to the interior of the ship through the clear, perfectly clean glass cockpit just in time to see the young fox also smile a little bit. This made his own smile grow minutely, then found himself randomly looking to the seat Amy was in. Much to his surprise, she looked over at about the same time and their gazes met. A small, genuine smile graced her face. For whatever reason, he felt his happiness grow, and that happiness remained, even long after he looked away.

**~ソニック~**

On the way to the home where Kaden, Locke, Analia, and their friend were at currently, Cream _once again_ found herself having a wave of visions. They started with absolutely zero warning and continued uninhibited in spite of her attempts to get them to cease. She wanted to look at the city, as she loved Station Square for it's seaside beauty (much like Apatos), but the visions simply refused to stop.

(-)

_Sonic was sitting beside a lake in an unfamiliar area with his legs crossed. He was beat up, quite severely. His entire body was covered in cuts and electrical burns and bruises and dirt scrapes and on and on and on. However, he wasn't so badly injured that he was at risk of losing consciousness or dying. Still, his expression was far from relieved by this fact. He looked deeply troubled and upset, like he'd made a terrible mistake. His thoughts only re-enforced this idea. 'We shouldn't have fought...' Sighing softly, he turned his gaze up to the gray, cloud-covered sky. Emerald eyes searched the heavens as though they had the answer, then he averted his gaze as if ashamed. Now looking down at his right hand, which was lightly clenched in his lap, his frown deepened. _

_After a minute or two, he opened his hand and summoned his Dragonfire, encasing his hand in a bright blue glow of warmth and deadly beauty. The fire slowly began to turn red as he unintentionally called forth his Wrathfire, a gift of anger he rarely ever utilized. As he clenched his hand, the fire was extinguished. The anger remained, though. However, he wasn't angry at anyone else. His anger was directed toward himself. Gritting his teeth, he clenched his fist tighter and glared at the water as though it had wronged him. 'If I'd known beforehand... If I'd known he was afraid of fire now...' He squeezed his eyes shut. 'I wouldn't have used... I wouldn't have...' Clenching his eyes shut tighter, he fought against the random urge to cry._

(-)

_Locke was sitting at the large, dark wooden desk in his lonely home on Angel Island. The room he was in was his office, which was cluttered with papers, books, treasures, and artifacts. He was supposed to be writing in his logbook so as to keep track of all the artifacts and treasures he had found, which ones were supposed to go to which museum, which he was keeping, and so on... but instead, all he was doing was gazing out the window to his right, chin propped in his hand. His violet gaze was dull, lacking in the usual amount of life and joy and humor and whatnot that usual brightened them. As his dull eyes gazed out the window, his thoughts wandered slowly and aimlessly from topic to topic, all relating in at least minor ways to the same specific subject. All these thoughts only served to worsen his mood and dull his eyes further._

_A knock sounded at the door. With a small sigh, Locke stood, chair scooting back as he did so. He left the room and entered the living room, then walked to the front door. Upon opening it, he immediately saw his son. Knuckles's expression was already irritated by the time Locke opened the door, and the younger echidna's arms were crossed. "Why haven't you been taking your meds?" he demanded as he walked in._

_Suppressing another sigh, Locke shut the door. "I don't want to take them," he replied. It wasn't a lie; he really did hate taking medicine._

_"I don't give a damn what you want," Knuckles responded, already headed for the kitchen. His tone was made sharp with worry. Locke reluctantly followed him. "Without your medicine, your depression gets even more severe than normal, and you know that." He grabbed a pill bottle off the windowsill above the sink. "Now take these, or so help me I'll hit you over the top of the head!" _

_Unable to suppress his sigh this time, Locke slowly reached out and took the white bottle of pills._

(-)

_Kaden was sitting alone in the room of his and Analia's house that was basically his office. It was where he did all his writing, drawing, paperwork, and so on. Right now, he was busy darkening a sketch he'd made for panel in a manga he was working on, one that was currently very, very popular. As he worked, he kept half of his attention focused on his family, which he was listening to from where he sat at his desk. In the hall beyond his shut office door, small feet ran by and to the stairs, then down them and into the living room where Analia was. The conversation was easily picked up on by his highly sensitive ears._

_"Mom, can we go to an amusement park?" the child asked._

_The smile could clearly be heard in Analia's voice. "I do not see why not." Scarcely a second later, she added, "But you must ask your father as well, to see if he would like to go."_

_The ancient warrior found himself smiling slightly for whatever reason as the younger hedgehog responded and soon began running back up the stairs. He stood and had his office door open before the twelve-year-old could even knock. He was amused by the briefly surprised look on his child's face, and the emotion colored his voice as he asked, "Yes?"_

_Young emerald eyes were bright with excitement as their owner said quickly, "Mom said we can go to an amusement park but, she wanted me to ask if you wanted to come, too." When he pretended to be hesitant, the child pleaded. "Please, Daddy, please?"_

_He couldn't say "no" to that. He simply couldn't. Besides, he liked amusement parks well enough. They weren't his favorite places in the world, but he found roller coasters and other such thrill rides to be enjoyable. For these reasons, he instantly caved. "Alright. I'll come." His slight smile grew as he watched the young hedgehog cheer, and he couldn't resist a quiet chuckle as the child ran off to relay the good news to Analia._

(-)

This last vision made Cream's brown eyes widen in deep surprise. Once the implications of that vision fully set in, her eyes widened further (if that was even possible). _Are Mister Kaden and Miss Analia...? _She didn't let that thought finish when her innate politeness kicked in fully and reminded her that it wasn't any of her business whether or not the ancient couple was expecting another child now. If they were, she had no right to be asking questions about it until they decided to say something on their own. For that very reason, she decided to keep this vision a secret. Granted, she hadn't been sharing any of her visions with anyone anyway, but that was completely beside the point. The point was that this matter was private to her "uncle" and "auntie" and, as such, she had no intentions of sharing it... with anyone.

**~ソニック~**

Marthal led the way into the house he and Keiri had been living in together for ten years. They'd been living together for much longer than that, but had only been in this particular house for only a decade. However, they had been in this city since the very day it was founded as a village way back during the Dark Days. But he pushed those memories out of mind. Once inside, he led the way down the short entrance hall and into the kitchen. There he found the other cat sitting at the kitchen table. The dark blue Chaos Emerald rested on its side on the table before her. She closed her book and turned her head to look at him as Locke, Kaden, and Analia entered the room. Before anyone else could speak, Marthal introduced to his three old friends, "This is my girlfriend Keiri," he told them, gesturing with a small hand to the pure white cat with a small smile. He smelled the surprise his three friends felt even before he saw it in their faces. "She's the one who saved me all those years ago."

Analia suddenly began to smile. It was a beautiful sight that he remembered very well. "Thank you," she murmured with a bow. He recalled right away that bowing was a very clear sign of respect in hedgehog culture.

"You don't need to thank me," Keiri murmured back, head inclining just as politely as Analia had bowed. "I was more than happy to do it..." Though she didn't say anything, Marthal was certain that she already knew who Analia and the others were. There was no way she couldn't, considering how much he had spoken of them over the years.

This prompted Analia to continue to smile. Locke was also smiling as turned to Marthal and asked, "How long have you guys been dating?"

Now it was Marthal's turn to smile. His was a bit sheepish, though. "Probably about forty years by now." Without waiting for a reply, he picked up the emerald in his left hand, passed it over to his right, then handed it over to Analia. "Here. Your kid'll be needing this, I bet." She nodded her agreement as she took the emerald carefully into both of her hands. "I can smell him and his friends, by the way," he told them suddenly. "They're pretty close."

Locke whistled lowly, apparently impressed. "Your sense of smell is as good as ever, I see."

At this, Keiri's smile grew noticeably. "No," she corrected in her quiet voice. "It has actually gotten better than it used to be. Significantly so."

This made Marthal grin sheepishly. Her compliment made him embarrassed, and he made no attempt to hide it. There was no reason to, really, and he wasn't like Kaden, who never wore his heart on his sleeve. Looking over to the his old friend, he saw that the man was already heading outside. Without so much as a second thought, he followed Kaden out. Analia, Keiri, and Locke also followed. Together, the five of them waited for the arrival of the young blue hero and his friends. To pass the time, Marthal spoke with his old friends. He asked them questions, and they returned the favor. They told him about how they were alive, about their families and new friends, about the battles they had fought since revival, and so on. In return, he told them about how he'd been sworn to protect this city since it's founding as a village, how long it had taken him to regain his memories, how he and Keiri ended up dating, et cetera.

Not long after this exchange was completed, two ships and four individual fliers came into view. Gradually, they all came into view, though Marthal had smelled every individual before he'd seen them. There were four hedgehogs. One was female, three were male. One of the males was obviously Sonic, and the other male smelled so similar to Sonic that he could only be his direct descendant Silver (whom Kaden and Analia had mentioned in the earlier conversation). The fourth hedgehog smelled similar to Kaden, meaning he had to be the other son (whose name was Shadow) of Kaden's and who had also been mentioned in the earlier conversation. There was also a bunny, a Normal Chao, a cat, a bat, a robot, an echidna (Locke's son, no doubt), an albatross, a swallow, a hawk that was clearly a direct descendant of queen Laralei, a chameleon, a bee, and, finally, a crocodile. Soon after he saw all of these people, the group came into view. The main thing he heard that caught his attention was the banter between Sonic and Silver. They were each teasing and taunting each other about apparent love interests, and Marthal couldn't help but grin at this. Silver's obvious humor, general happiness, and his overall personality were very similar to Marthal's own. _This kid is my kind of guy, _he decided, still grinning. He nearly chuckled at his own thought.

When the group finally landed, the newcomers quickly disembarked from their various modes of transportation. Sonic was quick to approach his mother, and she handed the emerald to him without any hesitation as Marthal observed. "Good," Sonic murmured with a small smile. His interactions with his son on the way here seemed to have put him in a good mood. "This is one less emerald for Ivo to get his hands on."

"Yes," Analia murmured back, wearing a small smile of her own. "That is a very good thing."

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. Especially since we have three of these now. He and Chaos only have three, too, so we're even."

"Now we must get the last emerald before he can."

"Yeah."

After that least reply, Marthal was distracted from the conversation by Silver. The young silver-colored hedgehog was watching him curiously, and Marthal decided to break the silence before it could grow awkward. "Yo. I'm Marthal."

This introduction earned a smile. "I kind figured," Silver replied. Then he added, "Oh, and I'm Silver."

"I know," Marthal replied easily. When Silver looked confused and even surprised, Marthal clarified. "Your grandfather told me a little bit about you, name included.

Silver laughed. "The blabbermouth," he joked merrily.

"I know, right?" Marthal asked, now also laughing.

Soon enough, the two of them were laughing and joking and having fun with each other as though they were the oldest and "bestest" of friends. While they were grinning and having fun, Kaden and Sonic turned to each other and muttered a single, simple truth. They were going to have their hands full with those two... and they knew it.

**~ソニック~**

Not long after their two sons and the others arrived at Marthals's house, Analia gently pulled her partner aside again. "We still need to tell everyone the good news," she reminded him quietly, though she knew there was no chance he could have forgotten.

Her partner's head inclined briefly, but what he said in response was a slight subject change from that. "How long have you known about this?

"I sensed it with my magic a couple of hours after we all played Truth the day everyone reunited after the two years," she told him with a small smile.

He nodded to signal his understanding, then switched back to the original subject and told her with a simple honesty she was used to hearing from him, "Analia, I have no idea how to tell everyone about this." Though he didn't say it aloud, they both knew that this truth stemmed from his lifelong difficulty with conversations and other social interactions.

Analia smiled gently and assured him, "It won't be hard, Kaden." In response to this, Kaden uncharacteristically looked down, as though he was ashamed about something. He mumbled a response (him mumbling was also rather uncharacteristic of him), saying something about how she'd have a much easier time with it than he would, since she was much better at conversations than he had ever beem. Analia continued to gently smile, and she took his hand reassuringly. When he finally looked up at her face, he made direct eye-contact with her, Him making eye-contact was more than just uncharacteristic. It was rather rare, and she encouraged it with another loving smile. "Come," she quietly urged him, gently tugging on his hand to try to get him to come with her. He did so willingly, not that she expected anything else, and they went over to the rest of the group.

Locke noticed their approach and, in his usual perceptive way, quickly deduced that something was up. "You guys look like you have something to say," he commented.

Analia smiled a little wider and nodded. "We do." This response got the attention of just about everybody right away. The few who were sill distracted at that moment were also soon focused on the ancient couple when they realized that everyone else was. Still holding onto her partner's hand gently, Analia, in a tone of pure love and happiness, revealed without any hesitation, "We're having another baby."

At first, everyone was understandably stunned. There were stares, and she knew Kaden was uncomfortable with such a thing. Being the focus of attention for so many people had always made him uncomfortable, partly because he was anxious around crowds (which stemmed from how under socialized he'd been for so many years of his childhood). But, slowly, the staring was growing less intense. Shock was melting into joy. Then, without any warning, Marthal proclaimed loudly, "I _knew_ my nose wasn't lying to me!" Though Kaden rolled his eyes (yet another uncharacteristic action for him), Analia could tell he was amused,

Locke laughed, then clapped Kaden on the shoulder. Kaden allowed the contact very willingly, as he always did. "Congrats," he said with genuine warmth, "to both of you."

"Yeah, congrats!" Silver exclaimed with a beaming smile.

Soon, everyone was voicing their congratulations and their expressions of happiness for Kaden and Analia. Sonic's expression of congratulations is especially warm, and his emerald eyes were smiling joyfully. Slowly, Kaden felt himself beginning to smile a little as well as Locke and Marthal, his two oldest friends, gave him half-hugs and claps on the back. Amy, Cream, and even Blaze gave Analia hugs and bright smiles. Gradually, the initial slight anxiety Kaden had been feeling regarding the idea of having another child (anxieties brought on by memories of how they'd lost Sonic two weeks after his birth) simply vanished and he was left feeling nothing but elated and... even excited. Turning his head, he met Analia's gaze for the second time that day. She smiled brightly at him, and he knew right then and there that he didn't regret a thing.

**~ソニック~**

**3,589 words this time. This was supposed to be up on the ninth, but whatever. Posted (at about 12:10 a.m.) 06-10-16.**


	228. Entry 791, Entry 813

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Yeah! Who-hoo! :D I know, right? It's so sweet. :)**

**Hello, Luna Moonsinger27! I'm gonna go with... SUPER happy. XD**

**Hello, Cyan Quartz! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry for the inevitable struggle that lays before you. Should you choose to resume reading, I wish you the best of luck. XD A-ha... yeah, I know I update a lot. But I can't stand not to, so... sorry, I guess. ^-^"**

**~ソニック~**

Sonic walked over to Analia. "Congratulations again, Mom," he murmured softly with a warm smile.

His mother absolutely beamed at him. "Thank you," she murmured back.

Suddenly, Sonic winked. "Just try not to give us another boy, 'kay?" he joked with a smile. "We have enough of 'em in this family already."

In response to this, Analia laughed. "I make no promises, my son," she told him frankly, also smiling.

Feeling unusually happy in this moment, Sonic gently pulled his mother into a hug. She readily returned his hug. They held each other while simultaneously listening as Kaden fended off Locke and Marthal's teasing. Sonic chuckled a little while he listened to them. He wasn't paying much attention to what, exactly, the males where saying, but he was making note of their tones. Locke and Marthal were merry, joyful, and full of humor. Kaden was growing more and more flustered thanks to the teasing but, at the same time, he was also full of joy just like his friends and partner. This single fact made Sonic smile. _He deserves to find some happiness in life... Mom, too. And they both deserve to have the chance to actually raise a child without being cruelly separated from said child by the icy hands of death... _After a couple moments longer of holding each other, Sonic and Analia released each other, and Sonic turned to say something to his half-brother. His intention was to make some joke about Shadow being an older brother. As he turned, his foot inadvertently shifted toward a nearby drain in the gutter.

Barely a split-second later, a cold tentacle that felt as though it was made of water shot out of the drain. It wrapped around his middle and, before even _he_ with all his innate speed could react, the tentacle threw his harshly across the street. He slammed into a building with so much force that his body created an explosion of cracks in the concrete. As he hit the ground, momentarily dazed, his sensitive ears picked up on a loud commotion. It was clear that there was already a fight underway. Emerald eyes traveled dazedly across the distance separating him from his friends and family. Sitting atop the asphalt of the wide, quiet road where this fight was taking place, the green and dark blue emeralds rested out of his reach... but well within the extended range that their enemy's highly elastic water-like arms could reach. He got up and tried to run to the emeralds, but was knocked back by some sort of large water attack from Chaos.

By the time he regained his feet, soaking wet but miraculously unharmed, one of the emeralds had been grabbed. He quickly realized that it was the dark blue one, and it was Vector who had managed to grab it. The green one, meanwhile, was being absorbed before their very eyes. The beast now had four emeralds, and it transformed in a flash of bright light. Sonic had the time to reflect briefly that it looked almost like a shark now, but that was all he managed to think before he was again knocked back by a water attack of some kind. This time, the water was sharp like numerous knifes. He was sliced up all over his body, his face, arms, legs, torso, back.. It hurt, of course, but he paid it little to no mind. His focus was on the dark blue Chaos Emerald. They _had_ to keep it from their enemy, which was probably why Silver suddenly shouted, "Vector, throw it here!"

Just seconds before an attack could hit the crocodile, Vector used his powerful arm to throw the priceless jewel to Silver, who jumped up and caught it with ease. The young hedgehog then had to quickly passed the emerald off to Blaze, who leapt away just as Silver was hit by a sharp water attack. She seemed almost panicked by the water and, honestly, Sonic was very afraid, too. Still, both of them were doing what the could to ignore their fears for the moment. It was undoubtedly the same with Kaden who was terrified of water (even more so than Sonic had ever been) in spite of the basic, general tolerance for water that he had learned over the years. But none of that was relevant at the moment, Sonic knew, and, as such, he focused on the fact that Blaze was now throwing the emerald to Locke. Locke caught the emerald and Sonic decided he had to act. He knew his main power, his fire, was going to be completely ineffective against their enemy and, unfortunately, his Chaos would have virtually no effect either. After all, it was three emeralds against four, and the odds simply were not in his favor. Still, he _had_ to try.

With this in mind, he unleashed a small wave of Chaos Spears at the monster who had stolen his emeralds. As he'd feared, the spears were too weak to have any effect. They vanished upon contact with the beast and no damage was done. He dodged another attack and glanced to the right just in time to see Locke chuck the emerald to Storm, who caught it single-handed. The echidna and albatross were both attacked simultaneously. Storm was knocked into Jet before either could react and they both hit the ground hard. Storm dropped the emerald. In the same instant, Locke was roughly tossed into the air, though he managed to catch himself and begin flying. Sonic's head whipped back to his enemy and watched in utter dismay as the creature blasted the two fallen Rogues again and knocked them back and farther away from the emerald. The hedgehog began to sprint to the emerald, but the speed boost that Chaos was gaining from the emeralds it had absorbed rendered it faster than Sonic could ever hope to move without the aid of those ancient gems. The monster grabbed the Chaos Emerald and, by using the power of gems... simply vanished.

**~ソニック~**

Twenty minutes after the fight, Jet was sitting on the sidewalk just in front of Marthal and Keiri's house. As he sat, he watched his closest friend gaze off into the sky with a tight expression of anger and even guilt. They had lost two of the three emeralds that they had had, and he could only imagine how terrible Sonic must be feeling at the moment because of it. There was no doubt in his mind that Sonic blamed himself, though this was foolish in Jet's opinion. Yes, Sonic had failed to stop Chaos and save the emeralds, but everyone else had, too. Sonic was beating himself up over something that wasn't even entirely his fault, and Jet had half a mind to go over there and smack some sense into the hedgehog's head. However, he was stopped before he could by the sound of Wave's voice. "Are you okay, Jet?"

Jet looked to his left to see the young swallow walking over to check on him. Her worry was apparent both in her tone and in her eyes, but he tried to ignore it. "Yeah," he replied briefly, glancing at his injuries as he spoke. "I'm fine, Wave."

"Liar," Wave accused in her usual blunt manner. She knelt down and openly worried over his wounds, few though they were. "These are pretty deep, Jet. You need to get them bandaged, at the very least."

The hawk found himself rolling his eyes. "Sonic is hurt worse than I am, but no one's fussing over _him_."

"Oh, don't you worry about that," Wave quipped. "His parents, Locke, and Amy will undoubtedly be jumping on his case about his wounds at any given moment. Just you wait."

Once again, Jet's eyes rolled. _Not the point... _There was a retort on the tip of his tongue, but it died when Wave suddenly and unexpectedly skimmed her fingers over a bruise Jet hadn't even known before that he'd sustained. The touch was so light and innocent and he found himself blushing against his will... and this time, Wave noticed.

When she noticed the blush staining her old friend's cheeks, she was extremely surprised, needless to say. Suddenly, she as forced to question everything she once thought she knew about her relationship with Jet and his feelings toward her. She'd never thought before that he might feel the same about her as she feels about him... but now she was forced to wonder. Did he like her in the same way that she liked him? Did he ever think of her as more than a friend? And, if he did, how long had he felt this way? And, more importantly, why hadn't he ever _told_ her? And, for that matter... Why hadn't she ever told _him_...?

**~ソニック~**

Now that they once again were in the middle of another breath of peace, however short it would end up being, Silver finally had the proper time to say a proper and person congratulations to his grandparents, whom he was walking up to right now. Once he reached them, he waited politely with a smile for them to finish their quiet conversation and take notice of him. Once they did so and turned to face him, his smile grew. "Congratulations, you guys," he said warmly. Analia immediately smiled back at him, as he'd expected. "You guys deserve another kid... and I know you'll be great parents."

Analia couldn't seem to stop smiling, and even Kaden seemed to be smiling slightly. "Thank you, Silver," Analia murmured.

When he reached out for a hug, his grandmother didn't resist. She hugged him back willingly and immediately, and they both continued to smile for the whole time they were holding each other. They even continued to smile after letting each other go. Silver then took a risk (and perhaps a big one) and pulled his grandfather into a hug. Kaden stiffened minutely at the contact, as expected, but Silver never relented. His persistence was soon rewarded, anyway, when Kaden's tension oh-so-slowly began to ease. When he finally hugged his grandson back, the young silver hedgehog was pleasantly surprised. _Huh... You know, we've enevr hugged or anything like this before... _he reflected silently. _But... then again, there's always a first time for everything, isn't there? _This last thought made him smile, even long after Kaden let him go.

**~ソニック~**

While in the middle of a conversation with Locke, who was standing with Knuckles fairly near to Marthal's house, Knuckles commented, "I'm kinda surprised they're having another kid."

Locke's shoulders lifted in a shrug. "I'm not. I mean, they're young and all that. Young people tend to have kids."

"I know that," Knuckles huffed. Then he felt a random desire to make a joke, albeit a somewhat sarcastic one, so he did it. "Oi, you're young, too, as you might recall." Violet eyes so like his own turned to face him. "_You'd_ better not go off having any more kids."

This time, Locke held his gaze. "I won't," he assured his son simply. His eyes lacked their usual humor. "Laura's dead, anyway, remember." This sentence was said as though it were a statement, not a question.

In response to this, Knuckles shrugged a little and replied, "People remarry all the time, Dad." His own gaze shifted to look up into the sky. The once bluer than blue heavens were currently made grey with clouds, promising rain in coming hours. "It might be good for you to try to find new love and remarry, too, so you're not alone for the rest of your life." Granted, Locke wasn't _totally_ alone, as he had friends and family surrounding him, but that wasn't the point. The point was that it wasn't good for Locke to spend the rest of his life grieving over his wife. He needed _happiness_.

Locke's response was very quiet... and even sad. "I just... can't _do_ that," he told his son. There was a note of pain in his voice.

"Why can't you?" Knuckles asked almost gently.

When Knuckles asked him this, Locke looked away even farther. When he finally spoke again, his voice was even more quiet than before. "I can't stop loving Laura..." he nearly whispered. "I just can't..." he simply can't ever stop loving Laura. He turned and began walking away, presumably to end the conversation... and Knuckles let him go.

**~ソニック~**

While sitting on the sidewalk next to Charmy and near to Jet and Wave, Cream once again was struck by more visions . These ones are from were clearly from a time much sooner than her other visions ever were. Or at least... the first four were. The last six, however, were from the same timeline as the vast majority of the rest of her visions.

In the first vision, she saw giant robots, the likes of which even Ivo couldn't build. There was a huge, shiny, round, dark green gem embedded in the head that almost gave the impression of being an eye. There was a similar gem embedded in the robot's chest, and the robot wore a long, flowing, ragged black cape. The rest of the robot was purple (mostly dark purple, but with lighter purple in a few select areas). The fingers were sharp, each one like a knife. As soon as all of this revealed, two names were revealed. Dark Oak, and Metarex.

In the second vision, she saw a young girl who appeared to be some sort of green and white anthropomorphic plant being of some sort. She was laughing and smiling as she and Tails talked. They seemed to be close friends, and it was clear that they were both enjoying their conversation. They seemed to be sitting in the control room of a large ship, the one that had been identified to her in visions prior as "the Blue Typhoon".

In the third vision, she saw outer space. The Blue Typhoon flew through it without a sound. Time seemed to be being fast-forwarded in this vision. In a matter of ten to twenty seconds, she saw the huge ship visit over forty-two different alien worlds. Sometimes, it ran into trouble on the way. The enemies looked like robots... robots that appeared to be smaller, weaker, "small-fry" versions of the robot from the first vision. In the last few seconds of the vision, the ship sustained from massive damage from them.

In the fourth vision, she saw a planet surrounded by a black barrier that could only faintly be seen through. It was like peering through a tinted window. Within that barrier, covering the entire planet, was a truly _massive_ pink cherry blossom tree. In spite of the darkness surrounding it, the tree seemed to glow with positivity and hope. Petals flowed around it in a breeze that probably wasn't even there.

In the fifth vision, she saw Sonic. He was with Shadow, and the two (for once) appeared to be arguing aloud like the brothers they were. What they were arguing about, however, was a mystery. The vision was oddly muted. Not a sound could be heard. However, she could _see_ things just fine. It was clear to her that neither was truly angry with the other. They were clearly having a disagreement of some sort, yes, but that was it. They weren't angry with each other, a comforting fact. However, they did appear to be pretty deeply concerned about something. As for what, specifically, they were so worried about, she had no idea. That bit of information couldn't be discerned through sight alone.

In the sixth vision, she saw Jet alone in what appeared to be his bedroom inside the Blue Typhoon. She noticed he was injured and covered in bandages. He opened a locked drawer in his nightstand, revealing multiple types of medicine. All resting in pristine white bottles were pills for depression, anxiety, insomnia, PTSD, and something else that was never clearly revealed to her. As she watched, he grabbed the bottle containing the anxiety pills.

In the seventh vision, she again saw Sonic. This time, she was with Amy. They were discussing children and some sort of kidnapping that had apparently occurred hours before. Their enemies, whoever they were (the enemies were never revealed to her), had taken hostages, and the hostages were innocent children. Who the children were and where they were from was never revealed to her in any part of the vision, but it was clear to her that Sonic and Amy were _very_ worried. The enemies had no qualms about slaughtering a child.

In the eighth and final vision, she saw an entry in the old black journal she had seen in visions prior to this one. She recognized the handwriting, but couldn't place who it belonged to. It read: "_**791.** -I had a lot of nightmares. It's really late right now, but I'm too afraid to fall back asleep. I don't want to have more flashbacks again. That's what these nightmares are: flashbacks. I woke up on the verge of screaming. I had to bury my face in the pillow so that I could let it out without alerting anyone. I normally would have bit back the urge to scream, but I just couldn't this time. Guess I can only bury these things for so long._"

In the ninth vision, she saw Sonic once again. The hedgehog was running, and running hard. He was full-on _sprinting_, because the life of someone he cared about, and cared about _deeply_, was in grave, grave danger. This person was quite possibly about to _die_, but they weren't going to do so on his watch. He refused to let anyone he cared about die, not ever, and certainly not at the hands of enemies as cruel and merciless and malevolent and _dark_ as these ones. If he could save his loved one's life, he would. He refused to fail.

In the tenth vision, she again saw an entry in this journal. It read: "_**813.** -Someone was talking to me today. He was an old, calm, and serious man about Kath's age, maybe older. His name is Aphearus. We ended up discussing the war (unfortunately), and I mentioned something about grief. The specifics of what I said are irrelevant. What's important was his reply. "So grief isn't what you thought it would be, but it's yours to deal with however you can." He turned to leave and raised a hand in farewell as he called back over his shoulder to me, "Take care, Jet." I don't know what I should feel about what he said, but… it's really left me thinking._"

When the visions ended, she went with everyone into the house that Marthal and Keiri lived in. The group needed a plan... and they needed it _now_.

**~ソニック~**

**3,231 words this time. In case you couldn't figure it out, allow me to clarify: the first four visions were from the Sonic X Arc of this story (the last arc before the peacetime arc at the end), and the last six visions were from Eye of the Storm. Also, I actually got this chapter done on time today! About sixteen minutes before then, actually. XD Lastly, I know this chapter is fairly short and maybe even seems a bit rushed, but I accomplished everything I wanted to do in here and got all my points across. As such, I'm very satisfied with how this all turned out. :) Posted (at about 12:05 a.m.) 06-11-16.**


	229. Time To Say Goodbye

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Thanks! Glad you enjoyed! Yeah, undoubtedly... Poor guy. :( YES! DON'T DOUBT DA FEELINGS WAVVVVE! Yes, yes he did. :3 I know, right...? The poor guy... He acts all happy most of the time, but he's experienced a lot of hurt in life... ;_; YES! CHILL! I COMMAND THEE! (*Whispers to Cream* Not really. Your visions help my chapters. Keep 'em up.) XD**

**Hello, Luna Moonsinger33! Yeah! :D Well, you'll get your answers here! :)**

**~ソニック~**

Once inside, the group gathered in the cozy yet surprisingly spacious living room of Keiri and Marthal's house. Almost as soon as she was seated on the couch, Cream had a series of visions about entries in what was apparently _Jet's_ (of all people's) journal.

_**116.** -It's hard to believe that I could have a beautiful experience on a battlefield after a fierce bout of combat, but I did. There were so many stars out tonight. I love looking at the stars. I stood there with my sword in hand for what felt like hours, just gazing up at them. Then something happened that made it even better. There was a huge meteor shower. It was incredible. It allowed me to forget my troubles, if only for a short while._

_**164.** -I found a kid on the battlefield. I don't know how he got here. He's barely old enough to toddle around on his feet. There's no one else around right now. Thankfully, I had something for him to eat. He's sleeping in my tent. I don't know what to do with him._

_**174.** -It's been three months since I found the kid. We've pretty much given up on calling him by his actual name. He just ignores it. He goes by Ten._

_**197.** -I just remembered something I told Wave a long time ago. "Life's not about trying to just survive the storm, though." She responded with, "It's about learning how to dance in the rain… right?" I don't know why I remembered that conversation. It's irrelevant now._

_**208.** -I flew on my board for the first time in years. It was even better than I remember it being. I hadn't realized until then just how much I'd missed doing that. Sort of a silly thing to miss though, isn't it?_

_**228.** -It's hard to answer the question "What's wrong?" when nothing in my life seems to be right anymore. Maybe that's why, when Selene asked me this earlier, I couldn't look her in the eye and I couldn't respond._

_**276.** -Both moons were out and full tonight. One looks light, soft blue in the night sky while the other is white. The white moon's noticeable larger than the blue one. It was really beautiful to look at. Obviously I've seen nights like this before, but I think this might be the first time I've been able to really sit down and appreciate it._

_**338.** -I spend nights following defeats all alone. Even my victories I celebrate in solitude. I can't pretend my cheerless life is all that rough all the time, but there's still something missing. There's something I want, a dream I have but may never fulfill. Happiness may never be mine to keep. Death may come before the end of the struggle I'm facing, but for now I'll keep living. It's all for the memories, the few that are warm and bright. Those make this existence worth it._

_**366.** -You have all these notions about what life could be… But eventually, you have to let all of that go._

_**369.** -Our names won't be remembered if we die like trampled flowers. I refuse to be forgotten, written off as less than worthless._

_**383**. -Truth is Immortal._

_**741.** -My seemingly imminent death has once again got me thinking. When you're young, you spend all this time wondering, "Who am I going to be in this life?" And then for years after that you spend your time shouting defiantly at the world, "This is who I am! Take it or leave it!" But now I'm wondering… when I'm dead and gone… Who will they say I was?_

_**749.** -I try to be a good person, but I'm no hero. I wish people would stop referring to me as such. I've known real heroes in my life. Quite a few of them. I'm nothing like them._

_**755.** -I had a really, really bad nightmare last night. I can't remember specifically what it was about, but I woke up on the verge of screaming. I'm still shivering and having chills, and I woke up over an hour ago._

_**760.** -I made a stupid mistake. My wrist burns. I swore I'd never do that again, but so much for promises. Hell, I also promised Sonic more than two decades ago that I wouldn't_[the rest of this sentence wasn't shown to Cream]_. Like I said, so much for promises._

_**768.** -I'm finally back home. Apparently Selene found my journal after I vanished. I was gone for months, but I don't want to talk about why. I spent another good few months in the hospital after I escaped. Like I said, I'm home now. Everything still hurts, though. Physically, anyway. Otherwise, I guess I just feel… numb. I think one of the doctors said that I'm "still in shock." Even seeing Ten earlier didn't help me at all. Kath told me it's alright, that it's a normal reaction to what happened to me and that it'll pass. I don't even want to think about how he knows such a thing._

_**880.** -If you ever want to die, fall in love and you'll be killed._

_**882.** -I climbed the world's tallest mountain by foot today. I didn't fly, didn't teleport. I walked. I stand up here now to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way._

After the visions were over, she refocused on the conversations taking place around her. Everyone was trying to come up with some sort of plan regarding how they were supposed to deal with Ivo and Chaos now, especially since Chaos now had five of the emeralds. All but two of the precious gems were in the hands of the enemy... They were sorely disadvantaged, and no one really seemed sure what to do about it. Not even Kaden, Analia, Locke, Sonic, and Jet, who were the main people who led the group through hard times such as these a vast majority of the time. That in and of itself was unsettling. Cream knew she should probably help. She _wanted_ to help. But, the problem was, she was at just as much of a loss as everyone else clearly was. If her head weren't so clouded with visions all the time, she supposed she could be of use, but as things stood now... She sighed internally. _I need to focus..._

**~ソニック~**

The group _sorely_ needed a plan. That much was clear, very painfully so. The group's typical way of doing things, typically by rushing in (so to speak) without any sort of plan to speak of, simply wasn't going to cut it. Not here. Not this time. Running around without a plan was screwing them over in this fight. That was perfectly clear to all. Hell, even _with_ a plan, they had to acknowledge the fact that things may still not play out in their favor. Case in point, the entire fiasco with Astral Babylon, the Arks of the Cosmos, Kaden and his Darkness, and the Space Colony ARK had very nearly gone entirely to hell in a blood-soaked handbasket _multiple_ times, even though they'd had a plan to follow before those events had even occurred. The stakes weren't anywhere near as high this time around, no, but the fact still remained that there _were_ high stakes in this game. And this _was_ a game to Ivo... but not to Sonic and the others. This was why the heroes needed a plan.

All eyes turned to Sonic, who was sitting on the couch beside Cream. Yes, there were others in this group that were fully capable of leading everyone and coming up with the plan (Kaden and Locke and Analia and Jet and even young Tails), but everyone looked to _him_ as the leader of this motley crew. As such, he took charge. "The first order of business is definitely the matter of powers," he said quietly, tone thoughtful.

"A lot of us are disadvantaged here," Marthal was quick to add. He was sitting beside his girlfriend on the second couch with his arm around her shoulders. Kaden and Analia sat beside them, with Kaden on the other end. "Fire doesn't work against that creature."

"That alone leaves six of us at a massive disadvantage," Locke (who was leaning against the wall by the window near Sonic) agreed, eyes troubled. "Me, Knuckles, Shadow, Kaden, Blaze, and Sonic, specifically." He paused, then added. "Although, Kaden and Sonic have other powers they can use."

"Me, Charmy, and Espio won't be of any use, either," Vector, who was sitting in an armchair near Marthal, said to no one in particular. "We're limited to strictly physical attacks in combat, which doesn't do any good against a creature that's basically composed of water."

"It's the same with me and Big Guy over there," Rouge responded with a gesture of a hand in Storm's general direction. He was near Vector, and she was standing fairly near to Locke. "I mean, sure I can turn invisible, but a fat lot of good that does me or anyone else on its own."

"So what about psychic powers?" Silver asked, eyes skimming over the group. He stood near Blaze, who was standing next to Kaden. "Or psychokinesis, in my case?" It was a legitimate question. There were four people in the group with those powers, after all. "Will those do us any good in a fight against that Chaos thing?"

"It's doubtful," Wave sighed. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor next to Jet, who was standing and leaning against the wall near the doorway. "Attacks by those kinds of powers still have to physically hit their targets in some way, even if only in the mind. For all we know, that thing's mind is made of the same material as the rest of it's body. The psychic, or psychokinetic as the case may be, energy will most likely pass right through." She didn't attempt to explain it further, but there was no need for her to, anyway. Everyone understood.

"Sensei and I can still fight, though," Tails, who was sitting with Wave, said with a glance at Jet. "I have my electricity, and he has his lightning. Both of those powers are extremely useful against water." He paused, then added, "Plus he can freeze things, which'll help. And I might have that radiation power the other me in the Ruined Future has, so that could help us, too."

"The freezing thing already has helped," Sonic admitted, glancing at his old friend as he spoke. Jet raised a silent eyebrow and never said a word in reply.

"Kaden and I will be able to lend aid as well," Analia murmured. Kaden glanced at her and said nothing, neither confirming nor denying this claim. "Our powers will be able to do damage in a fight against the beast Chaos, but it will ultimately have to be Sonic who defeats the monster."

"'Cause it's using his power," Charmy concluded. Analia nodded.

"It seems to me that this means that most of us will have to stay out of any future fights against this thing for our own safety," Amy, who was near Vector, deduced quietly, "and so that we don't get in the way of those who _can_ fight."

Sonic sighed resignedly. He felt almost... _guilty_ about this, though he supposed he had no reason for it. "Unfortunately, Amy... you're right." Amy just nodded a little and didn't otherwise reply.

"Okay, so let's work out a division of labor to make use of _everyone_ in some way," Knuckles responded gruffly, arms crossed. He stood beside his father. "That way no one will be idle, and we can get things done more quickly."

"Agreed," Locke replied with a small nod.

"Those who can fight should do so," Shadow said, looking down at the ground rather than at anybody else. He was standing close to his nephew. "We cannot spare anymore people. There are too few people fighting as it is."

Several people voiced their agreement. Blaze then spoke. "And those of us who cannot fight must search for the remaining emerald," she murmured.

Sonic closed his eyes and voiced a small agreement. This wasn't _much _of a plan, true, but it was_ something_, and that was much better than the alternative, which was nothing. And, besides that, this plan was rather similar to his "grand" plan to take Ivo and Dark Gaia out, and that plan had worked out almost perfectly. They had experienced stellar success with that plan (minus the parts where Kaden had been put into a coma and Knuckles, Amy, and Tails had ended up in the Ruined Future). So... for now... this plan would have to be good enough. All they could do was hope for the best.

**~ソニック~**

After the plan was worked out, everyone agreed to take about an hour to recuperate from the earlier fight. It was then that Espio went up to the roof to be along for a while. While there, for the first time since the final fight against Ivo before Sonic and the others went to the Space Colony ARK, he found himself having more visions of the past. However, this time, the visions didn't involve the beast Chaos at all. Instead, they involved Kaden and his past... something he kept a secret from all... save for those who were involved.

(-)

_Young Kaden was fifteen and was standing amidst the soldiers from his clan on a battlefield. The general in charge of the army, a man named Ynche, was the man responsible for this fight even beginning. He expected the soldiers to all blindly give their lives for the sake of the war he'd started. For months, he'd been treating them as if they wee nothing and no one... and Kaden had finally had enough. Because of this, when Ynche shouted something particularly harsh to one young warrior who simply couldn't fight anymore. Kaden whirled around where he was standing and yelled at the hated general from where he was standing, Caliburn in hand. "We're not nothing!" he snapped furiously. Ynche's gaze swung to him, glaring. "We're all people! We all have names! We have identities and hopes and dreams and plans for the future!"_

_"You are tools!" Ynche shouted back. "You are my weapons, and you will fight to the death as you were told!"_

_"No!" Kaden snapped back. "We will not die like this, like trampled flowers that no one will ever remember! We're going to live, and there's nothing you or anybody else can doabout it!" Immediately following that declaration, Ynche attacked Kaden out of pure, unbridled rage._

(-)

_"Training with a sword is not so easy, Kaden," one of the elders muttered angrily to Kaden, arms crossed. His dark purple hood, which was the same color as his robes, was pulled up and shadowing his eyes._

_Ten-year-old Kaden scoffed, looking off to the side. "Then why'd I beat you already?" he asked._

_"Beginner's luck," the elder scoffed back. "Nothing more. You are nothing more than a child, and a small one at that. You cannot be even remotely skilled already."_

_This prompted Kaden to roll his eyes and shift to face the elder again. "Come and actually beat me, then," he challenged, a spark of temper flashing in his emerald eyes._

_The elder growled lowly. "You'll regret your tongue, boy." There was a threat in his words, and Kaden prepared for a beating._

(-)

_The lead elder of the group of six running Chun-nan had decided it was time to wipe out all the Babylonians. Kaden (who was twenty now), however, simply could not and would not tolerate this. "No!" He snapped furiously. This was the first time he'd spoken since Locke and Analia had found him after his disappearance more than seven months ago, so Locke and the others were understandably shocked. He ignored them as he listened while the elder said something else in the ancient language. Kaden grew increasingly angry. "That's genocide!" He snapped again. "You can't do this! You can't judge them all guilty and condemn them to death!"_

_"I can do what I wish," the elder responded calmly. "You have no say in it. Adult now or not, you have no choice in matters such as these. I am in charge, not you. You are but a weapon, and weapons need only obey their masters."_

_Growling lowly, Kaden whirled around on his heel and stalked out of the room, then the building. He was no weapon... and he took orders from no one. He would stop this war... no matter what anyone said._

(-)

_Kaden, who was eight years old now, ran up to his sensei. Saran was a purebred blue hedgehog like Kaden, but his fur and eyes had been white from the moment he was born, due to his magic. His magical power was immense, and that was why he was now preparing to leave. To end the Great Magic War that was raging in the east. But Kaden didn't want his sensei to go. He didn't want to be left alone. Not again. They both knew what would happen if Saran left... and Kaden couldn't bear the thought. "Sensei..." he choked out, eyes stinging with warning of tears to come._

_Saran turned to Kaden and knelt before him with a gentle smile. His right hand came to rest atop the much younger hedgehog's head. "Do not fret, child," he murmured. "All will be well."  
_

_"How?!" Kaden demanded, fear hidden under a veil of anger. "How can anything ever possibly be alright when you're gone?! The elders will take me back again and- and-" He couldn't even bear to voice the horrors and pains that came with living with the elders in Chun-nan, but Saran understood._

_"Just trust me, Kaden," Saran murmured to him. "Things will be alright. Perhaps not now, perhaps not soon, but someday."_

_"'Someday' isn't good enough!" Kaden protested. Fear was taking him over, causing him to shake. He didn't want to go back... not ever. But if Saran left... if Saran... died..._

_Saran gave his student, the boy he had cared for as his own son, a sad smile and stood. Taking his truly ancient magic staff into his hands, he offered it to the young hedgehog. "Take this," he murmured to the child. "It will offer you protection, whenever you need it."_

_The tears filling Kaden's eyes finally began to spill over and flow freely down his cheeks as he took the soft wooden weapon into his hands. He was crying much too hard to speak. All he could do was watch and quietly sob as his sensei, the only person who had ever cared about him, turned and left the secluded home and disappeared with a flash of light, leaving him all alone once again._

(-)

_It was Locke (who, like Kaden, was twenty now) who finally broke the silence by saying conversationally, almost casually, "So, you're pretty good with kids, it seems."_

_Kaden spared him a glance. "If you say so, Locke," he replied quietly. His reply, while calm, somehow managed to sound disbelieving._

_Locke shrugged a bit, then grinned at him. "Maybe you should consider starting a family someday."_

_Kaden gave him a look of shocked disbelief, though those feelings were only barely visible in his eyes. "Me?" he asked, seeming incredulous._

_"Yeah, you," Locke replied, still grinning. "Who else?" He looked away for a moment, then back again, and added more seriously, "Like I said, you're good with kids."_

_Kaden scoffed and turned his head to resume looking ahead. "Hardly."_

_"That little girl seems to like you."_

_"She has a mother."_

_"Not the point." Kaden gave Locke a sidelong glance, and Locke shrugged and looked away again, scratching his head under where the rim of his hat would have been, (had he had it yet) with one finger. "I'm not saying you should adopt her or anything, just that your interactions with her prove my point." A pause. Then, "I seriously think you should consider kids as part of a possible future for yourself. It's not such a bad thing to want, you know."_

_Kaden frowned at him. "Atashi?" he questioned in apparent, though subtle, disbelief, slipping back into the ancient language as he sometimes did. "Neilani no he?" He scoffed again and looked away once more, his eyes now closed and a small scowl on his face. He let out a small, "Tch!" as his head made this movement. "Takeira," he then muttered. ("Me? With kids? Tch! Impossible.")_

_"Oh?" Locke questioned. He raised an eyebrow at his friend. "And why is that?"_

_Kaden gave him a sort of dry look. "It isn't exactly a good idea, Locke," he muttered, switching languages again. Locke swore that Kaden seemed to have no idea that he did that. Ever. "You know that."_

_It was true, of course, considering how much danger was practically always in, thus endangering those around him, but… "That doesn't answer the question, you know," Locke said. "And that doesn't make having kids 'impossible'."_

_Kaden looked away once again, not deigning to respond to that. Silence settled between the two for only a few minutes before Kaden apparently decided to break it by turning the tables on the echidna. "What about you, Locke?"_

_Locke looked at him again in slight surprise. "Hm? What about me?"_

_Kaden let out a huff, though whether the sound was an expression of an amusement or annoyance was uncertain to even Locke. "Have you ever thought about having children?" Kaden clarified after a moment._

_Locke smiled a little at the thought and turned his gaze away from his friend's face to look up into the evening sky. "Oh, yeah," he replied easily. "'Course I have. Lots of times. That's just something for later in life, that's all. You know, after this war's over and after I've met the right girl." There was a pause. Locke then gave Kaden a sidelong look, his smile fading. "See, you're lucky, Kaden. You already have someone to love." They both knew whom he was referring to, but there wasn't even so much as a hint of teasing in his voice this time. This topic was, in a way, much to serious for that to be appropriate._

_Kaden frowned deeply, practically scowled again and, quite predictably, bristled a bit at this last sentence. "I don't love her," he said simply and a bit tersely._

_Locke shrugged for at least the third time in the last twelve or so minutes and looked away once more. "If you say so," he responded. "All I'm saying is that she's there, and it's obvious that she cares about you like you care about her." Kaden's ears lowered slightly, possibly out of discomfort, and he looked down. He didn't seem to know how to respond to Locke's words, which was rare for him. He was normally full of comebacks, smart-ass remarks, and the like. "So, like I said," Locke continued, "you're lucky. I haven't foundanyoneyet."_

_Kaden's response was immediate… and utterly surprising, for all it's simplicity. "You will."_

_Locke found himself smiling a bit again at the calm certainty in his friend's voice. He returned his attention to the clouds, quietly repeating what he'd said before. "If you say so."_

(-)

Espio blinked several times when the final vision ended. He glanced at Kaden, Locke, and Analia... but ultimately kept what he had seen to himself.

**~ソニック~**

"So you're going to be a big brother now, huh?"

Sonic, who was standing in Marthal and Keiri's front yard, turned his head to look into Amy's bright green eyes, her smiling face. Seeing the fact that she saw no signs of upset over the decisions made regarding the plan inside the house, Sonic allowed a small smile of his own to grace his face. "Technically speaking," he told her, "I already am one."

"But Tails and Cream and whoever else aren't _biologically_ your siblings," Amy, who now stood beside Sonic, pointed out, tone amused.

"I wasn't referring to that, anyway," Sonic replied, still smiling. "I was actually talking about Shadow." When Amy appeared confused, he explained further. "He and I appear of an age, yes, but that's not because we actually are. After he was created, Gerald put him through an accelerated growth to make him the same age as me, which was, at the time, ten. The alien DNA in Shadow is what allowed him to withstand this period of accelerated growth without experiencing things like mutations or even death. That's how he ended up being basically my age, even though he's actually quite a bit younger."

Slowly, Amy nodded her agreement of this. "I see." Sonic honestly had no reply to make in response to this comment, simple as it was, so he said nothing. This ushered in a surprisingly comfortable silence that persisted only until Amy once again broke it. "So, let's be honest here." She was smiling again. "Are you hoping for a brother or a sister?"

"Well, I jokingly told Mom not to have another boy," Sonic admitted with a laugh. Amy laughed quietly with him. "But, honestly, I don't know." He paused briefly, then continued. "I guess I don't have any sort or preference. Boy or girl, it doesn't matter to me. I'll be happy either way."

Amy nodded, still wearing that same bright smile. But then, slowly, her smile faded and she unexpectedly sighed. Worry was clearly evident in her tone as she did this. "I'm worried about Analia, though," she admitted quietly. "The longer she carries the baby, the less she'll be able to fight. She won't have the energy for it, or the strength. And I know that Kaden and you and your brother and everyone else can protect her, but..." She trailed off briefly, eyes troubled. "There's never any telling when or if something bad will happen to her."

"And, if Ivo finds out she's carrying a baby," Sonic murmured, ears lowering in their own display of worry, "we can almost guarantee that he'll begin actively hunting her and trying to kill her or the baby, even after the baby is born."

Swallowing hard visibly, Amy nodded again. "Yes," she agreed softly. There was another pause, another lull in conversation. And, once again, she was the one to break it. "But that's why we'll do everything we can to keep this a secret from Ivo and protect her and the baby." She turned her head, green eyes looking into emerald ones, searching them. "...Right?"

Sonic's eyes, heart, and very being filled with determination. "Exactly," he responded, voice firm. He turned his head away, gaze shifting into the grey and cloudy sky. _We'll make sure no ill fate befalls her. Because if Ivo harms my mother again... _His gaze hardened, crossed arms tightening and hands balling into fists. _I'll kill him._

**~ソニック~**

"So, lover-boy," Silver greeted with a grin as he walked up to Knuckles, who was still standing in the living room of Marthal and Keiri's room, "how ya been?"

Knuckles's violet gaze swung to face Silver. "Why did you call me that?" he demanded irritably.

Silver's grin widened quite noticeably, revealing pearly-white teeth. "Oh, come on. Don't play dumb." This comment did _not_ improve the echidna's mood. The next one wasn't destined to do so, either, and Silver knew it. Not that he cared. "We all know the truth, and that's that you're majorly crushing on a certain sly bat we all know."

"I am not!" Knuckles snapped at him.

"Ooh-_hoo_!" Silver exclaimed merrily with a laugh. "_Somebody's _defensive!"

"I have every right to be!" Knuckles responded harshly, clearly furious. "Especially when someone is making such false claims against me!"

"But are they _really_ false?" Silver challenged in a sly tone. "'Cause, you know, getting so overly defensive so quickly tells most people that you're lying."

"As if I would lie about something like this!" Knuckles shot back. "And I am _not_ being 'overly defensive'!"

"Really now?" Silver challenged, still grinning. "You sure _sound_ defensive."

"I'm not being defensive!" Knuckles bellowed, throwing his arms up in the air in exasperation.

"You sure seem like it to _me_!" The poor echidna was turning red in the face with a mixture of anger and obvious embarrassment, the latter of which he undoubtedly wouldn't ever admit to. Oh, Silver was _enjoying_ this.

"I'm _not_, Silver!"

"You are."

"I'm _not_!"

"You _so_ are!"

Knuckles glared. Silver grinned. Then, anticlimactically, Knuckles spun around on his heel and stalked out of the room. Laughing to himself, Silver watched him go, then left to go find Blaze.

**~ソニック~**

"Jet?"

Jet, who was sitting with his legs dangling off the edge of a rooftop near Marthal and Keiri's house, turned his head to look at Wave, the woman he'd had feelings for since he was sixteen years old. His heart pounded with emotion the second he laid eyes on her, and he quickly looked away again before awkwardly inquiring, "Yeah?" He tried to hide his discomfort from his voice, but wasn't sure how well he succeeded at doing so.

Wave sat down beside him, also dangling her legs over the edge of the roof. The scene was visually reminiscent of the one they had made when discussing surviving the storm of life atop Amy's rooftop in Apatos not long after Tails and the others returned from the Ruined Future. "Can I... ask you something?" she asked quietly, avoiding looking at him as much as he was avoiding looking at her. "Something kind of... personal?" she ventured to add.

This brought on immediate hesitation. Jet didn't like personal questions. Those were usually used to pry into his past and his experiences and his emotions and other such things that he usually had no desire to speak of. But... for Wave... he would almost always make an exception. That was the way it had always been. He struggled to say no to her, and simply couldn't do it now. "...I guess," he conceded, a tad reluctant.

The female Rogue audibly swallowed before speaking. "Earlier..." she started slowly, "when we were discussing your wounds after the fight..." She hesitated, then continued. "I thought I saw..." She swallowed again, clearly much more nervous than was normal for her, then said all at once in a quiet voice, "I thought I saw you... _blush_."

Jet absolutely stilled, feeling a stab of something akin to panic. _Oh, no. _The thought entered his mind unbidden several seconds before he tried to speak. "I..." The sentence was left unfinished. He almost felt like he had to defend himself in this situation, but he didn't know how to go about it in this situation. As such, he fell silent. Then Wave suddenly placed her right hand gently atop his left. He stiffened further, heart racing with a mixture of emotions. Nervous and afraid though he was, he couldn't help but honestly fell... _happy _that she was holding his hand like this.

"Jet?" Wave asked again, voice soft. Now it was his turn to swallow hard. He slowly turned his head and looked over at her, filled with nerves. He was struggling against his fight or flight instinct, which was currently ordering him to flee. Wave seemed to search his eyes, only furthering his anxiety. "Do you..." She trailed off again. He waited, tense and uneasy, for the question he knew was inevitably going to be hurled his way from her mouth. But, of _course_, before that question could ever be voice, Chaos struck again.

**~ソニック~**

**5,473 words this time. Now, a few notes.**

**1.) The visions from the journal are technically from two stories "True Storm" and "Eye of the Storm". The journal plays a role in both. These entries were written during the time period True Storm is set in, but they are revealed in Eye of the Storm. Eye of the Storm is going to be written first, but True Storm takes place between Hero and Eots.**

**2.) Espio's visions are teasers for "Hero Chronicles: Times of War", the prequel to Hero. While Locke, Kaden, Analia, Marthal, Keiri, and Pyros all play a role in that story, Kaden is the main character, hence him being the main focus of these visions.**

**3.) Just in case you all forgot, here's a quick reminder. After this arc, there will be an arc for Sonic and the Secret Rings. Then it will be the Sonic X Arc. After that will be a sort of peacetime arc, which will wrap up the story. Only three more arcs to go, not counting the remainder of this one! :D**

**4.) In order, here are the Hero stories I plan to write (this list only includes the stories tied to the main storyline, not side-stories like "On My Own" and "Every Hero Has a Story"). "Hero", "Eye of the Storm" and "Time" (I'll be doing these simultaneously bit by bit, and you'll all see why when the time comes), "True Storm", "The Path of Vision", "Hero Chronicles: Times of War", "A Father's Wish", "Riders", "Breathe In, Breathe Out", "On and On", then, finally, "Guardian". Guardian will end the main Hero series. However, there will be quite a few side-stories (two of which are already started), such as "Rose", "What I Never Wanted", "Distorted Pain", "Foresight", and so on. Of course, plans are subjective to change, but for the most part, the orders of the main stories are set in stone.**

**Welp, I hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 9:09 p.m.) 06-12-16.**


	230. Heir of Shadows

**Hello, StarryMoon33! JEHdwee Thanks! Yes, yes she is. NUU, DON'T STOP. XD Yes, yes he will be. :3 I'm glad you liked that scene, small though it was! I enjoyed it greatly as well. XD YES IT DID. IT MUST PERIIISSSHHH.**

**Hello, Luna MoonSinger27! YYYEEESSS III FFFEEELLL TTTHHHEEE LLLOOOVVVEEE TTTOOONNNIIIGGGHHHTT! Precisely. The perfect title for it. XD**

**Hello, Mutt7! Thanks. Glad you enjoyed. :) WHAT IS THIS BEAGLE YOU SPEAK OF. XD**

**Y~ソニック~**

Sonic was dazed by the attack that had hit him. He lay there for a good couple of minutes or better before he pushed himself up on his hands and knees and looked around him. All around him was water. A significant number of buildings in the neighborhood had been damaged and some smaller structures (i.e. street lamps) had been destroyed outright. Water shot up from every drain and every ever broken fire hydrant in the immediate area. Instantly made fearful by the sight of the so far minor flood, he teleported straight onto Marthal and Keiri's roof. His parents, half-brother, and Blaze were already up there, and Marthal and Keiri were in the higher branches of the tall tree in their yard not far from the rooftop. Amy and Tails occupied a couple of the lower branches. A quick glance around him showed Sonic that the Chaotix were taking shelter as much as they could on a neighbor's rooftop to the left of Marthal and Keiri's home. Silver, Locke, Knuckles, Rouge, and Storm were flying in the open air above the two homes. Cream stood on the back of Storm's board, Cheese clinging to her shoulder. Jet and Wave were standing, together but alone, on the rooftop of a tall office building across the street. Everyone was wet, though not soaked, and they were all looking for the same thing: their enemy. Chaos was here... it had to be. They just had to _find_ it.

It was Jet who finally alerted the group to the monster's whereabouts. His right hand shot forward, his index and middle finger together and pointing, and lightning instantly shot forward from those two fingertips. The immensely powerful bolt hit its intended target split seconds later with a deadly _crack! _Sonic and the others whirled around to face the legendary Rogue as he lowered his hand. They then looked to where his lightning had struck. Chaos, who had transformed once again (it was now Chaos 5, for lack of a better way to put it), currently seemed to be stunned or perhaps even temporarily paralyzed. Seeing the opportunity, Tails seized it and sent a wave of bright yellow electricity at their enemy, his incredible control a testament to his training for the past two years. The attack struck the beast dead-on. And it really _was_ a beast, visually speaking. It looked horrendous (as much as a water-being could) and they all watched tensely as the creature responded to the attack by suddenly moving again. It countered Tails's attack with a formless wave of Chaos composed of the energy that it had stolen from the emeralds, which Sonic could clearly see floating, drained and blackened, within Chaos's blue and translucent body. The attack completely killed Tails's (so to speak), and Sonic knew it was past time for him to act.

Without any further hesitation, in spite of still being surrounded by one if his biggest fears, he did what he could to counter the attack. Somehow, he managed to stop it almost utterly, but this did nothing to stop the tidal wave of water that had been kicked up by Chaos's attack. Kaden's ears dropped in some display of what was probably some form of horror, however mild (or not). Blaze froze in apparent fear and stared, also seeming horrified. Sonic flinched, eyes reflexively flinching shut. The ice-cold wave of water crashed over the house, soaking everyone to the core. The wave died down, but, for a moment, Sonic didn't move. Then, suddenly, a soft sound akin to smoke shifting around prompted him to open his eyes. He turned quickly to face the source of the sound and found Blaze surrounded by an translucent black barrier of some sort that appeared for all the world to be made of _shadows_. At first, he thought that Kaden was responsible for this. After all, Blaze had become Kaden's student in many ways, he was protective of her both as a friend and, in a way, almost as though she were a member of the family. But when Sonic turned to face the other hedgehog, he found that his father was, for once, utterly stunned. Even visibly so. While Jet and Tails worked on fending off Chaos for the time being, Silver flew over to the rooftop where Sonic was. "Whoa..." the young hedgehog murmured in awe, eyes wide as he looked over the barrier. "Blaze... how are you _doing_ that...?"

"I... I don't know," Blaze responded, still looking fairly panicked by all the water even though this strange barrier seemed to have kept her from getting hit by the wave. Her stammering, using any contractions, and showing any signs of fear was so unusual that it honestly took Sonic by surprise. He supposed that these were indicators of just how stressed out she truly was right now.

Kaden suddenly took a step forward. "Blaze," he said, entire demeanor suddenly calm, "you need to relax."

For once in her life, Blaze started to try to protest in spite of not being the argumentative type. "But-"

"_Relax_," Kaden repeated more firmly. "Let go of your fear." Blaze almost seemed to whimper in fear as she attempted to do what she was told. Sonic watched, deeply confused, as the barrier slowly began to fade bit by bit the more progress Blaze made. The more Blaze calmed herself, the more the barrier faded. When it finally vanished entirely, Kaden spoke to her again. He was frowning now. "We will discuss this later," he muttered. His tone brooked absolutely _no_ room for argument. Him being this firm and assertive with anyone was rare and prompted an immediate agreement from his pupil. Still looking shaken, Blaze simply nodded. Seeming satisfied with this response, Kaden turned away and, with no warning, unleashed an attack. Drawing on his innate negativity (some degree of negative emotions were almost always present within him), he thrust his palm forward as though performing a martial arts move and released a beam of pure Dark energy from it, causing his fur to darken. The beam shot directly at Chaos, who had gotten past Tails and Jet and was now nearing Sonic and everyone he was with. The beast unexpectedly screamed in pain (making Sonic cringe due to the sheer volume of the noise) and was blasted back. Kaden cut off the beam then, and his fur instantly returned to its usual shade of dark blue. Sonic wasn't surprised that his father didn't dare use his power for very long. It was _much_ too dangerous.

Mere seconds later, Sonic was blasted off the roof by another attack Chaos suddenly launched at the house and everyone standing on it. His parents, son, half-brother, and Blaze were all blasted away from him. At about the same time, Marthal, Keiri, and Amy were knocked out of the tree and promptly swept away by a current of water. Tails escaped this fate by spinning his twin namesakes and flying out of the way. The tree was uprooted and had completely fallen over by the time he rose up into the air and Sonic hit the ground, spine slamming against the curb. The lower half of Sonic's body was on the sidewalk while the upper half was on the asphalt. The wind was knocked out of him instantly. Agony shot up his spine from the blow. With a pained groan, he started to stiffly force himself to sit up. But, before he could get more than a few inches off the pavement, a cold tentacle wrapped around his ankle and tossed him into a building. He crashed through a window and landed with a tumble in some person's bedroom. The two women, both squirrels with fancy tails and fixed-up hair, who occupied the room screamed at ear-piercing volumes, and one even chucked a fat pillow at him. Resisting the urge to groan again (this time out of sheer annoyance at the screaming, the pillow, the girls themselves, and really just this situation in general), he forced himself to get up, ran back to the window, and leapt out of it.

Chaos attacked again. It's attack struck the Chaotix. Vector shielded Charmy from the majority of the attack but, regardless, they were all three still sent flying. They crashed into Locke and his group. Locke, like Vector had down with Charmy just seconds before, Locke grabbed Cream and Cheese and hugged them protectively, using his back to shield the kids from the majority of the blows. Once again, everyone was knocked aside, practically sent flying. Tails and Jet once again launched attacks, heavenly blue and bright yellow blending into some sort of accidental combo attack, and Chaos retaliated with more cutting, slicing, _dangerous _water attacks. Neither escaped unharmed. Tails ended up in the middle of the street, and Jet and Wave (who had managed to stick together up until this point) were finally separated. Approximately twenty seconds later, Analia mimicked her partner's earlier actions and fired a beam of pure Light energy at the beast Chaos. This distracted the monster long enough for Tails, who was nearest to the creature at the present moment, to turn tail and make a run for safety. Almost instantly after that, Sonic tried to attack. This time he did so by using Chaos's stolen against it.

The resulting explosion sent him and several of his friends (just the ones who were close by to their enemy) flying. He and Jet landed side by side on their backs on the asphalt in several centimeters of water. Chaos dropped the five drained Chaos emeralds, which all hit the ground with audible _clink! _sounds. Then, for whatever reason, the monster simply turned and left by slipping down into a storm drain and disappearing from view with scarcely a sound. Sonic closed his eyes and released a slow breath, trying to ignore the sharp, stabbing pain in his back. All was quiet for a long moment, save for the sounds of the dripping, flowing, and rushing water as the minor flood caused by Chaos's arrival slowly subsided. Then, suddenly, Jet spoke. "For the record, I blame you for this."

Frowning, Sonic reached over and punched what was probably an arm. "Shut up."

**~ソニック~**

"We all need to get a move on," Knuckles grumbled, arms crossed. Everyone had regrouped and were standing around in Marthal and Keiri's lush, grassy yard. The only people who weren't standing were Sonic, who was sitting in the grass with the five drained emeralds at his feet (he had tried using the only "good" emerald he had left to restore those five, but to no avail), and Analia, who was kneeling behind him as she worked on trying to heal his back (his spine was badly bruised, unsurprisingly) so that he could stand and walk properly. Knuckles continued talking without much pause in between his last sentence and this one. "We can't keep sitting around like this."

Silver, of course, chose _that_ particular moment to be a smart-ass. "Well, _technically_ speaking, only two of us are sitting."

Knuckles let out a low growl. "Not the point." Locke unexpectedly raised a hand and whacked him on the back of the head, cutting the growl short.

"Those of us who are supposed to be looking for the last emerald should get going then," Rouge responded, ignoring Knuckles's attitude and the abnormal irritation Locke had just displayed. Knuckles nodded curtly in response to her statement.

"Come on then, Lunkhead," Wave said to Storm with a sort of sigh as she jumped onto her board, which she had managed to hold onto all throughout the fight earlier. She gave Jet a glance, and he looked away quickly, visibly uncomfortable. She didn't pursue the matter; simply turned and flew away with Storm following close behind.

Trading glances of their own, Knuckles and Rouge began flying in a different direction to also begin their search. Not two seconds later, their arguing voices could be heard echoing back toward the house. Rolling his eyes in another uncharacteristic display of annoyance, Locke began flying after them. Cream and Cheese left with the Chaotix in their ship. Omega, who had _apparently _been in some sort of sleep mode since the last fight (the one where Chaos had stolen the green and dark blue emeralds) for an unknown reason (_Damn thing_, Sonic thought irritably), flew off on his own. Marthal and Keiri left together, predictably, and began running at high speeds until they were out of sight. Shadow, meanwhile, reluctantly agreed to go with Silver and Amy so, when Amy began walking, he followed. Silver then turned to Blaze. "Come on," he said quietly. "We should probably get going, too."

Blaze nodded and started to follow her oldest and closest friend, only to be stopped by her idol's voice. "No."

Both young heroes turned to face the older (yet also still young) hedgehog in surprised. He looked firm. Serious. "Kaden?" Blaze asked quietly, a hint of confusion apparent in her amber eyes.

Kaden flicked a glance at her, then informed Silver, "She needs to stay with me."

Silver's puzzlement made itself plainly known in his own eyes, which were so like Blaze's and yet also very different. After all, his were golden while hers were amber. Blaze's own eyes were now full of confusion. "Why, Gramps?" he asked.

Sonic finally stood, albeit slowly and painfully. Analia wasn't finished with him yet, but that wasn't his main concern at the moment. His eyes were locked on his father. "This is about that shield earlier... right?" Kaden simply nodded. He didn't say a thing about it. Not yet.

Though clearly still confused and feeling troubled by what had happened earlier, Blaze slowly inclined her head in agreement, not putting up any sort of a fight about this. "Alright," she murmured respectfully to her idol, her _hero_. "I will stay."

There was a moment of hesitation that Silver displayed, shifting from foot to foot and glancing between Blaze and Kaden, but he ended up caving in the end. "Well... okay," he agreed. "See you later then, Blaze." He turned and jogged up to his uncle and Amy without waiting for a reply. Using his powers, picked up Amy with a careful and practiced ease, then began flying with her at high speeds. Shadow ran after them, leaving a yellow trail behind himself as he went. They were out of sight in no time flat.

Sonic again turned to his father while Jet and Tails quietly discussed something nearby. "Alright, explain this," he said tersely. He normally would have _never_ spoken to either of his parents in such a way and Analia frowned at his tone, but all this water and the fact that they had gotten their _asses_ kicked by their enemy twice today had left Sonic in a bad mood, so he hardly cared at the moment. Kaden didn't react to it, anyway (he didn't often react to people's expressions at all, Sonic reflected silently). The ancient warrior remained dead. Serious. "What's going on?"

It was actually Analia who spoke first. Sonic hadn't even realized before that she knew something about this situation. "That shield... proved something," he said slowly, "about Blaze."

Blaze's attention sharpened and her posture seemed to straighten at this news. "Proved what?" Sonic frowned. "What about her?"

Kaden held his son's gaze evenly, arms crossed, for a long moment. He then glanced at Blaze again for a brief moment. When he spoke, what he said was simple... yet it remained utterly shocking. "She is my heir."

That's when it finally began to rain.

**~ソニック~**

**2,660 words this time. ARE YA HAPPY NOW, STAR! I FINALLY DID IT! XD Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed this short but _very _important chapter! Just to clarify, though, this doesn't mean Kaden and Blaze are in any way related. Posted (at about 6:10 p.m.) 06-13-16.**


	231. Ancient Inheritance

**Hello, StarryMoon33! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD. I'M GLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD.**

**Hello, flashyhero! You may be right... you may be wrong. This chapter explains all... kind of. ;) Thanks for the review!**

**Hello, Luna MoonSinger27! YOU SHALL SEE HERE! :D Also, thanks for the idea! It appears here! :D**

**~ソニック~**

Once, twice Sonic blinked. His silence persisted for what was honestly close to about three minutes, then he finally managed to ask, "Your _heir_?" Blaze still seemed too stunned to speak.

Kaden inclined his head very slowly in confirmation. "Yes," he murmured.

Even though she was visibly hesitant to do so just yet, Blaze forced herself to speak, though not until after she finished swallowing. Hard. Audibly. "How?" she asked, voice very quiet and uncertain.

It took Kaden a long time to reply. Just before he did, he sighed, and his eyes closed. "When I was seventeen..." he started slowly, "I made a decision and used vastly ancient magic to pass on a very diluted portion of my Darkness to a future hero who would one day need it, though I knew not who it would go to or even what timeline the power would end up in."

This explanation made Sonic frown for two reasons. One, it was very vague and didn't answer some of the questions he still had. Two... "Giving your powers to an unborn person..." he murmured. "That sounds a lot like what Queen Laralei Jet. Only, she knew who her powers were going to, and she gave him _all_ of her powers."

"What Kaden did is almost precisely the same as what Miss Laralei did," Analia murmured in response. The fact that she referred to Larai as "miss" was surprising, given how much less formal that title was compared to the title of "Queen". But now was not the time for Sonic to say something about that. "The concept of such a process is not unique to our world, though the precise way the ritual is carried out differs from world to world and may very well have originated on her homeworld."

Blaze nodded slowly, then turned to her sensei... her idol... her hero. "...You used magic?" she inquired, still speaking more quietly than was usual even for her.

Kaden acknowledged this question with a nod, then replied verbally. "Not in the way you think."

When he didn't explain this odd comment further, Sonic felt himself frown a bit more than he had been before. "How did you do it then, Dad?" he asked without even so much as a second of hesitation.

His father seemed hesitant to reply. This was unsurprising to Sonic, of course. There were many, many things in his father's past that the man was reluctant (even extremely so) to speak of to anyone. This was apparently one of those things. "When I was a child..." Kaden finally began to explain, speaking slowly with a noticeable sigh in his voice, "my sensei passed on to me an heirloom. It was his staff, which was imbued with his magic, and had been since the day he was born. There was enough magic stored on the staff to blow up an entire continent. I used a portion of that to do the ritual and give away a small portion of my Darkness."

"The power I used was... Darkness, then?" Blaze questioned hesitantly. The very idea of this seemed to make her nervous, and understandably so.

Analia shook her head. "No," she replied. "The power you were given was much too diluted to be Darkness." "It is much safer... more tame."

Even more thoroughly confused than before, Sonic asked, "What is it, then?"

Kaden's reply was only one word... but, in a way, it said everything it needed to. He remained entirely calm as he voiced his reply. And, for once, he made and held eye-contact with both Sonic and Blaze as he spoke to them. "Shadows."

Shadows. The diluted but still undeniably powerful version of Darkness. Safer than its predecessor, but still dangerous. Fueled by negative emotions, like the fear its new wielder had displayed earlier in the day. This was the power that had been given to the young hero from another timeline. This was the power needed to help save the world. And now...

Blaze needed to be trained once more.

**~ソニック~**

Not long after the vague explanation Kaden gave about how he gave away a portion of his Darkness, while he and Blaze quietly discussed the heightened need for her to resume her training, Sonic turned to his mother. "Mom?" he asked quietly to gain her attention.

Analia turned to face him (as she had been watching her partner and Blaze) with a question in her bright green eyes. "Hm?"

Sonic flashed a sort of sympathetic glance over at his father (not that the older hedgehog noticed it at all), the returned his full attention to his mother. "Can I ask you a personal question?" he inquired, still speaking quietly in the hopes that if he kept his voice down his father might not pay attention to the conversation. So far, this plan seemed to be working. "One about Dad?"

This inquiry earned a single blink in response. "Alright," Analia agreed after a short moment of pause.

Another moment had to pass before Sonic spoke again. "He's afraid of water," he said slowly. This clearly wasn't his question, but it was mostly certainly the _subject_ of his question.

His mother inclined her head slowly. "He is terrified of it, in spite of the tolerance he learned from Locke over the years," she murmured, confirming what Sonic already knew to be true. "It is by far one of his biggest fears." The fact that he even _had_ bigger fears was in itself troubling.

"But why?" Sonic asked, frowning for at least the third time since the start of the earlier conversation about Blaze's newfound power. "What _happened_ to him that made him fear it so much?" Something _had_ to have happened. Of this, Sonic was certain. Very certain. Kaden was not the type for irrational fears. He just wasn't.

At this, Analia sighed heavily. It was a soft sound, and a somewhat unexpected one. "There are two things from your father's past that he generally will not speak of, even with Locke and I," she informed her son quietly. "Those two things are solely responsible for his intense fear of water."

"What happened?" Sonic asked again, though he was now deeply uncertain of whether or not he even wanted to know. After all, if these two things were so genuinely terrible that they could terrify his _father_ of all people...

Silence persisted for a long while before Analia finally replied. "He, like your friend Jet, was severely neglected and abused while growing up," she murmured, looking down at her feet rather than at her son. This was uncommon of her. "The six clan elders of Chun-nan who raised him punished him severely for even the slightest mistake he made, even when all he did was act like the child he was." A rare, small frown faded into existence on her face while she continued speaking. "The way they punished him was borderline torture, and much of it, as one could only expect, has left him traumatized to this day. One method of punishment they used on him was taking him to water, usually a river or lake, and forcibly holding his head under long enough to nearly drown him."

Anger boiled up within Sonic's heart at this news. This explained so _much_ about the way his father behaved, why he was plagued with nightmares, why he was so deeply distrustful of people, and so much more that Sonic had never understood before. His anger was intense, but he did his best to curb it due to how dangerous anger could be for him at times. Still, a growl colored his voice as he bit out a reply. "How many times did those bastards do that to him?"

Analia shook her head, a deep sadness in her eyes. She said nothing about his choice of language in that question. "I do not know," she answered softly. "More times than he has ever cared to count."

Sonic nodded tensely, then dared to ask, "What was the other thing, Mom? The second thing that contributed to his fear?"

At this, Analia released another sigh and closed her eyes. "When he, Locke, and I were twenty, back during the war we fought against the ancient Babylonians, Kaden was captured and taken prisoner by three people," she explained quietly. "Two of them, Kochei and Ynche, were blue hedgehogs from Chun-nan, both of whom Kaden had severely angered a when he was about fifteen. The third was a white hedgehog, and an Immortal, who belonged to no clan. His name was Kathros, and, like his accomplices, was highly fond of... torture."

The younger of the two hedgehogs felt himself freeze up entirely, emerald eyes slowly widening. "T... _Torture_?" he whispered.

Tears visibly appeared underneath his mother's tightly shut eyelids. "Yes," she whispered back with a nod. Time passed so that she could collect herself, then she continued. "I know not the specifics of what your father went through while in their custody, but he has admitted to me before that his experiences during that time heavily contributed to his fear of water." She swallowed hard, then added once last small bit of information, "The three of them have long since perished, but the damage is done."

Sonic looked away. He had to give himself a long time to process what he'd just been told. His father had been _tortured_... and by an... an _Immortal_? He turned quickly to face his mother once again, bewilderment taking over his shock for the time being. "Mom... what's an Immortal?"

**~ソニック~**

"That combo-attack-thing we did was pretty awesome, huh Sensei?" Tails asked with a grin. He and Jet were still standing on the street where Jet and Sonic had fallen earlier.

Jet huffed and crossed his arms. "What we did was dangerous," he corrected. "We could have inadvertently destroyed the whole city with that attack."

In spite of his teacher's reply, Tails continued to grin. "Well, yeah, but... we made green lightning," he countered.

This earned another huff, but also a small smirk. "Okay," Jet conceded, "I guess that _was_ pretty cool."

"See?" Tails responded, still wearing that damn grin. "I _told_ you, Sensei."

"Yeah, yeah," Jet dismissed as he looked off to the side, tone fairly light and casual. But he quickly became serious once again. "I stand by what I said, though, Tails. Accidental or not, us combining our powers like that was dangerous."

"It was," Tails acknowledged, grin fading away. "I know it was."

"If we want to do something like that again," Jet continued almost as if Tails hadn't spoken, "we'll have to train in preparation for it, and we'll have to be very, very careful whenever we even _attempt _to execute the move."

"Because, if the attack backfires on us, there's no telling how much damage it could do to not just us, but also the surrounding areas and anyone in said areas." Tails's assessment earned a small nod, and this agreement and apparent approval made the young fox smile. "So when can we start out training, Sensei?"

The term "Sensei" made Jet sigh, and he brought up an old argument of theirs. "Will you stop calling me that?"

The smile Tails was wearing morphed into a grin. "Nope."

Jet sighed, but he ended up not pressing the matter any further. He dropped the subject. Instead he said, "We can start training again after this mess with Chaos is over." His gaze drifted to the cloudy sky, contemplating it as he often did. Doubtless he could sense the oncoming storm in a way that no one else could, in a way no one else could properly understand without being _him_. "I have a feeling this will be ending soon," he murmured, piercing, perfectly blue eyes reflecting a flash of lightning in the heavens.

Slowly, Tails also looked up into the sky, eyes searching the rain clouds as though they had all the answers to their problems. Eventually, he sighed. "Yeah... me, too."

**~ソニック~**

Even as Silver flew with Amy with Shadow running below in search of the final emerald, his thoughts remained with Blaze. He worried for her, worried about the power she had somehow used earlier, worried about her safety even though he knew full well that she was _more_ than safe with Sonic, Kaden, Analia, Tails, and Jet... He worried deeply, and Shadow apparently noticed. The other hedgehog's thoughts reached Silver easily, allowing the younger of the two to hear Shadow's comments even without Shadow ever actually voicing them aloud. _"You worry too much for someone who claims to merely be her 'friend'."_

Silver tossed a glance down at his genetically-engineered uncle. ...Well, half-uncle, to be precise. _"I am just her friend," _he replied telepathically, almost _too_ quickly.

A single black eyebrow raised, and crimson eyes returned Silver's glance. _"Oh?" _The response was so simple, yet so _challenging_, like he didn't believe Silver's claims at all and wasn't afraid to tell that fact to the world.

_"I'm not lying!" _Silver insisted loudly, perhaps just a touch _too_ earnestly.

Shadow smirked faintly (just enough for the expression to be visible) but, surprisingly, allowed the subject to drop after only one more comment. _"If you say so, then." _

Silver glared down at his uncle as though in complete and utter disagreement with what Shadow was saying. And yet, the second he recalled Blaze and one of the few times she'd genuinely _smiled_... he was helpless to stop the blush from appearing on his face.

**~ソニック~**

Wave largely ignored her large companion as they flew on their Extreme Gear in search of the missing emerald. Storm kept quiet and to himself for once, leaving Wave free to focus on what was currently weighing so heavily on her mind. That thing was her interrupted conversation with Jet, and Jet himself. She was troubled by the way he'd reacted to the question she had been about to ask him before Chaos had interrupted them. He'd been so anxious, so nervous, so _afraid_, and he'd reacted in a very similar way when she'd placed her hand atop his own. It had been such a simple gesture, such a truly innocent display of affection, and it had _scared_ him. This was troubling, yes, but not surprising. She understood full well why it had scared him...

The only sort of _genuine_ affection he had ever received beyond the kind exchanged between friends had been parental affection, and it had come from his father... the very same man who had later beaten Jet to the point of near-death, forced him to feed himself even at only six years of age, left him locked in closets for days on end, and who _knew_ what else. The man had seemingly loved Jet once, but that same man had later abused and neglected Jet to the point that Jet was left with permanent trauma and (for lack of a nicer way to put it) issues. So, yes, Wave understood Jet's fears and uncertainties. However, she was still deeply troubled by all of it. How could she not be? She wanted to help him, but how _could_ she when he wouldn't even _talk_ to her about anything that upsetting him? Things just like _this_?

Internally, Wave sighed. _We'll never get anywhere like this... _she reflected silently as she flew. Something had to change... but what? And how much longer would it take for that change to occur? How long would it take for Jet to finally fully open up to her? Or... what if he never did?

**~ソニック~**

Cream was sitting in the Chaotix's ship along with Cheese, Espio, Vector, and Charmy. Vector was up front piloting the ship (funny, she'd never realized he even _could_ pilot a ship), Espio was in the second seat, she was in the third seat with Cheese, and Charmy was in the fourth and final seat in the back. As they searched for the seventh and final emerald, Cream found herself having yet more visions.

_In the first one, she saw the very first sentence of yet another one of Jet's journal entries. She didn't know which entry this was. It read, "I've noticed that mine and Kaden's lives run along these crazy parallels." _

_In the second one, she saw a small, dark rock that was glowing with evil power. It seemed to be from another world and was strangely warm to the touch. It was resting inside Jet's grey backpack, the very same one given to him by Sen._

_In the third one, she saw Storm. He was in his room in the Rogues's tower in Future City. He was packing boxes full of his belongings. Clearly, he was preparing to move out._

_In the fourth one, she again saw the albatross. He was walking around Empire City by himself. His eyes scanned the crowds slowly as he went. It almost seemed as though he was searching for someone._

_In the fifth one, she saw Tails standing with the palm of his hand resting lightly against the side of Shadow's crashed ship. He channeled electricity through his arm and hand, desperately trying to give the ship new life. It looked as though he was in a massive hurry to escape something._

_In the sixth one, she saw Tails again. He was piloting the huge ship that, by now, Cream had come to recognize as the Blue Typhoon. As he struggled with the controls, he shouted a warning over the ship's intercoms, "I've lost control! We're gonna hit that Warp Zone!"_

_In the seventh one, she saw Marthal running after an emerald as it rolled and skittered toward the edge of a seventy-foot ravine. When it fell into said ravine, he fearlessly jumped after it._

_In the eighth one, she saw Marthal for the second time as he spoke with Keiri about something that seemed to be deeply upsetting the both of them. It wasn't like him to appear so bothered, and his concern seemed to be shared by the female cat beside him._

_In the ninth one, she saw Locke. He was in the same house she'd seen him in during visions prior. He entered the living room and picked up a frame off of a round side table. The frame contained a very old black and white photo of a smiling echidna woman._

_In the tenth one, she saw Locke once more as he flew amongst the ranks of enemies surrounding him and the rest of the group of heroes. After trading a glance with Kaden, he spun around in midair and released a deadly wave of reddish-orange fire._

_In the eleventh one, she saw Amy as the young pink hedgehog fought to save someone's life in the hospital. She was determined to succeed at her task, and that determination shined in her eyes._

_In the twelfth one, she saw Amy again. Amy was attempting to fall aslep in her bed on board the Blue Typhoon, but her worries were again keeping her awake. She rolled over onto her side and one of her thoughts was revealed to Cream. 'What are we supposed to do now...?' Her eyes closed. 'Oh, heaven help us...'_

_In the thirteenth one, she saw Analia. She watched as Analia pulled a book off of a shelf in Kaden's library. She flipped through the many detailed drawings of maps that her partner had made during his younger days and finally located a map of Chun-nan. Smiling to herself, she looked over the map._

_In the thirteenth and final vision, she saw Analia for the second time. She was trying her hand at drawing while Kaden rested in the bed before her. He was still getting over his illness. While she drew, he startled her by mumbling something. She looked up at him in surprise. "Hm?"_

_He gestured vaguely with his left hand (which was hanging off the edge of the bed) at her sketchpad and the drawing it contained. "That's not correct."_

_She smiled at him. "Show me, then?" Her smile grew when he murmured an agreement and pushed himself up off of his stomach._

When the visions finally ended, Cream blinked, then resumed looking out the glass of the cockpit. As she searched the landscape, something tiny and black down below caught her attention. She squinted and peered closer. Was that... Bokkun?

**~ソニック~**

**3,469 words this time. The first two scenes are good for two things. One, they help explain things in this story. Two, they provide some teasers for the prequel to this story, "Hero Chronicles: Times of War". The final scene, of course, provides foreshadowing for the sequel, "Eye of the Storm". **

**A QUICK SHOUT-OUT! The idea for the scene involving Shadow and Silver was suggested by Luna MoonSinger 27. The scene with Wave was suggested by StarryMoon33! Thanks to both of you guys!**

**Hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 8:05 p.m.) 06-15-16.**


	232. My Plea

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Same! It's gonna be so epic! :D So do I... it's very sad stuff. ;_; He does, doesn't he? Well done, Shadow. Well done. *Applauds him, even though he's ignoring the both of us* XD I agree. They need a nice looong break. Together. No interruptions. And fluff. There must be fluff. XD Answer: BECAAAAAAUUUUUUSSSSSE.**

**Hello, Luna MoonSinger27! :D Yes, he does! Hooray! :D YES, THEY DO! 'Cept for Kaden and Analia. I think they're good. :) Yes, that is coming. ...Later. XD**

**Hello, Mutt7! I know what a beagle is. I was just making a joke about you referencing random beagles in your review. Also, Scooby sounds cute. :) Thanks, by the way. Glad you enjoyed! **

**Hello, John! Your review to Chapter 200: Thank you! I'm glad to know that you liked it. I have been doing my best to create wonderful chapters and improve in my writing, so it's always nice to hear good feedback like this. :) Yep, I can assure you they will.**

**Hello, JohnW435! Your review to Chapter 202: Haha, yeah. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 204: I ADMIT TO NOTHING ABOUT WHO MAY OR MAY NOT BE PERISHING IN THE SEQUEL. JUST SAYIN'. XD**

**~ソニック~**

Cream continued to look out through the glass of the cockpit, eyes locked on the small flying figure the she felt _so_ sure was young Bokkun. "Espio-san," Cream called, "did you see that outside?"

Espio's amber gaze flashed to the left to look outside for the barest of moments, then he returned his attention to the open sky in front of the ship. "Yes," he confirmed quietly, "I did."

Cream looked over at him briefly, then looked back outside and at the figure as she asked, "Is it Bokkun?" The ship was starting to circle the area slowly so that Espio could look and find an answer to her question.

Charmy suddenly looked up from his handheld video game system, which he had been playing for at least the last ten minutes. "Bokkun?" he questioned. "Isn't he the little alien-thing that works for Ivo? The one with the exploding TV's?"

This question prompted Vector to nod once. He paused briefly in thought before actually speaking. "It never seemed to me like he worked for the guy _willingly_," he said, and Cream quietly agreed with him, "but, yeah. He's the one that sometimes uses those TV-bomb-things. I met him once, actually."

Rather than saying anything in response to that, Cream asked hopefully, "Can we land, Espio-san?" Espio glanced back at her. She could feel Charmy and Vector looking at her as well, but her focus was on their pilot. "I want to speak with him." A pause, then she admitted, "I may _need_ to." It was, of course, the truth. After all, she'd seen Bokkun in her visions, playing with her and Charmy as if he were their friend. How could he become their friend if they never even so much as _attempted _to talk to him at any point? Granted, now might not be the proper time for such a thing, but if not now, then _when_? And, not only that, but for all she knew, now really might _be_ the proper time, after all. Besides, she had a feeling...

As he occasionally did, Espio made a decision and, in doing so, overruled any decision Vector may have potentially been about to make. The reason why he was able to do this was simple: Vector trusted Espio's logic and judgement far more than he trusted his own. "Fine, then," Espio agreed quietly. As he spoke, he began angling the ship down for a landing.

While Espio moved the ship in for a careful landing, Cream again looked out the cockpit. It took her a couple of minutes of searching, but she did eventually manage to relocate the small alien boy again. He seemed to have landed already and, from what she could tell now that they were getting closer to him, he was now sitting on the shore of the lake (it was sunny in this area, making the lake sparkle beautifully) and watching the water. The ship was currently flying over the ship as it went in for a landing, but Bokkun appeared for all the world to be purely oblivious to the presence of said ship. Cream watched him quietly. _I wonder what your story is... _she mused quietly, _why you seem so sad... so lonely... _The ship finally landed, earning Bokkun's notice, and the small boy leapt back out of obvious fright. _...so afraid... _The ship powered down, and the cockpit opened. She was quick to unbuckle, climb out of her seat, and hop down out of the ship.

Bokkun watched the young bunny fearfully. "W- Wha- What-" he stammered out, never managing to say a complete sentence for whatever reason. The high levels of fear and anxiety that he was displaying was worrisome, to say the least.

Cream approached slowly and cautiously, giving him ample time to flee or at least back away if he so desired. Thankfully, he did no such thing. At least, not yet. "Your name is Bokkun, right?" she asked him quietly, though she was certain already that it was. She came to a stop a couple respectful feet away from him.

Shakily, Bokkun nodded. "Um... Yeah... It is..." He swallowed hard, visibly so, then ventured to ask, "And y... you're Cream... right?"

"Yes," Cream confirmed with a small nod. She took a small step forward, and she could have sworn that he whimpered. "Why are you out here all alone?" When he didn't immediately reply, she tilted her head slightly, fixing him with a sad and earnest look. "Are you alright, Bokkun?"

Finally, Bokkun seemed to summon up some measure of courage, and he drew himself up a bit as he replied, "I'm better now." It sounded like he was trying to be brave, as though he'd overcome something horrible and was trying to remind himself that he had the right to feel proud of himself. Maybe he had. Maybe he was. Cream didn't really know. "Honest."

This evoked a small smile from the young bunny. "I'm glad," she replied warmly. "You always seemed so sad before. Now you're looking at least a little happier. I'm happy for you."

At this, Bokkun's expression shifted into one of confusion. "Why would you be?" If the lack of understanding his tone conveyed was genuine, then Cream wasn't surprised. She didn't imagine that this poor boy had led a very good life up until this point. If that was so, then one could only imagine how strange and new something like genuine _kindness_ must seem.

"Because," Cream answered quietly, still wearing that small but warm smile, "you deserve to be happy just as much as anyone else, and I don't like seeing people sad and without friends." Bokkun frowned a little, but didn't immediately reply. She wasn't sure what he was thinking.

By now, Vector, Charmy, and Espio had exited their ship and the two adults looked on while Charmy flew over to the other two kids. He took in the other boy's appearance as he asked, "Oh, wow, are you okay?" Genuine worry colored his eyes and voice. "You look all dirty and stuff."

"I _am_ kinda dirty," Bokkun admitted slowly, frown fading, "but that's it. I'm not hurt or anything."

"Oh," Charmy replied. Then he began to smile. Bokkun really didn't seem to know how to react to that. "Okay. Good. I was worried there for a sec."

Bokkun frowned a little again, then ventured to ask, "Why? And why did you guys come over here just to talk to me?"

"Well, for once thing, your a kid all by himself in the middle of nowhere," Charmy replied easily, "and no kid should be by themselves, even in a safe area like this, so we wanted to check on you." Bokkun continued to frown. There was a note of suspicion evident in his eyes, but he was doing nothing to voice that emotion. "Besides, we all know that you working for Ivo was his fault, not yours. Even ol' Knuckles seems to know that." The mention of Knuckles's name seemed to prompt Bokkun to recall some encounter the two had had in the past, but he quickly pulled free of whatever memory he was seeing. "Plus, since your free now, I think Cream was thinking you might like to come with us."

Yellowish-green eyes swung to face Cream, and her small smile grew. "Yes," she confirmed. "I was hoping you would come with us."

When Bokkun, as Cream had expected he would, hesitated at this indirect offer, Charmy jumped in with, "We can help each other. We all can keep you safe from Ivo, and you can help us find the Chaos Emeralds and stuff." A slight pause, then, "Well, you don't have to help us if you don't want to, but we'll still help you if you'll let us."

Again, that small frown returned. Bokkun's suspicion seemed to have grown, as though he thought that Ivo had somehow set all this up as a trap. "Why would you do that?" he asked them a tad sharply. No doubt that living in Ivo Robotnik's "care" had influenced (badly) the way he interacted with people. But that was okay. It could be worked on over time, if he would accept the help.

"Because we want to be your friends," Cream murmured. Her smile had turned sad. She felt deeply for this boy. How hard his life must have been... If only she could take away all his pain, then she would.

"And friends help each other with all kinds of things," Charmy added helpfully with a wide and happy grin. "They keep each other safe as best they can, they play games together, they draw pictures together, and all kinds of fun stuff." Bokkun's suspicion quickly wavered, then gave way to newfound confusion. However, he didn't voice a reply this time. So, instead, Charmy spoke once more. "So, what do you say? Will you come with us?"

To be perfectly honest, in spite of how suspicious and wary and afraid he was, Cream doubted Bokkun would say no because, in the end, he really was still just a kid like they were. _And kids need friends, _she added silently. He was so _desperate _for a friend. She was almost certain he wouldn't turn the offer down. She could only hope that she wasn't proven wrong.

Finally, Bokkun spoke up. His entire reply was comprised of a single word, one spoken in a very small voice and nervous tone... but it was exactly the response Cream and Charmy had been looking for. "...Okay..."

"Great!" Charmy exclaimed joyfully, fist-pumping in the air with a small jump as he spoke. This (perhaps overly) enthusiastic reply seemed to startle Bokkun, if his slight jump was anything to go by. "Now we can go look for the last emerald together!"

Hesitation seeped into Bokkun's expression but, slowly, he did manage to find it in himself to speak up again. "Um..." he mumbled before saying a tad more clearly, "Actually... if it's the yellow one you're looking for... I found it already." Without giving either Cream or Bokkun a chance to reply, he pulled his small backpack off of his shoulders, opened the only pocket, and pulled out the very gem they had been looking for. Without another word, he simply handed it to them.

Cream, being the closest to him, took the gem. She wanted to ask him where he'd found the emerald, but ultimately decided that that was an irrelevant question. All that was important was that they now had the emerald, and Ivo and his monster did not. So, instead of asking pointless, silly questions, Cream opted to simply smile at Bokkun once more and offer a genuine, heartfelt, "Thank you, Bokkun."

This time, somehow, Bokkun managed to force a small smile in return.

**~ソニック~**

Initially, Sonic's question about what an Immortal was was met with silence. Then, slowly, Analia replied, "I am not surprised that you have not heard of them." There was another contemplative stretch of silence, this one significantly shorter than the one preceding it. Then she continued. "They are a race of beings far older than any of us can ever truly comprehend."

Now utterly curious and having temporarily forgotten how troubled he had been earlier after learning of some of his father's past, Sonic asked, "How old, Mom?"

"The original four Immortals, and there can only ever _be_ four at a time, were born at the same time as our entire universe was born," Analia answered. "They were born alongside space, time, and everything that makes up existence as we know it."

This was _astounding _knowledge, to say the least. _To think that it's even possible for a race that old to exist... Just... Wow... _Sonic had no reason to doubt his mother's words on this matter. She would never lie. Not about something like this. "Why can there only be four?" he asked. "And why, specifically, are they called '_Immortals_'?"

For whatever reason, this question earned a small smile. "They have earned the title 'Immortal' because they can never truly die in the way you or I can," Analia murmured. "If they suffer lethal injuries, they will perish, yes. However, their fatal wounds will soon heal, and they will revive. The only way an Immortal can ever remain dead is if another Immortal slays them, or if they kill themselves. That is where you and I differ from them." Her head tilted slightly, her eyes sparkling with some unnamed emotion. It may have been a twinkle of amusement that her son saw in those bright green orbs. "As for why there can only be four... Well, can you imagine the potential repercussions of there being hundred of those beings? Or perhaps even thousands?"

Sonic understood straight away. _If even one Immortal ends up being a bad egg, that spells massive trouble for everyone else, since we can all die but the Immortal can't. If hundreds or more Immortals were to somehow exist and be evil... _He shuddered to think of how badly _screwed_ little worlds like this one might be in such a situation. _Guess it's a good thing that that apparently can't happen. It would probably upset some majorly delicate balance of existence if there were to ever be more than four of those guys. _A moment or two more of silence between him and his mother passed before he spoke aloud again. "So, you said that this Kathros guy was an Immortal, right?" he inquired. "And that's he's dead now?"

Analia inclined her head to confirm this, not that he hadn't already known the answer to his questions. "Yes," she replied quietly. "I did."

Now Sonic had a new question, a new curiosity that wanted to be satisfied. "So what happens when one of the Immortals dies? Do the remaining Immortals choose someone else to give Immortality to or something?"

Once again, amusement seemed to shine in Analia's eyes. "No," she responded with a small laugh. "It does not work like that." He remained curious, and she was quick to continue. "When one Immortal dies, a new one is born. An Immortal can belong to any race, any world, any galaxy, any solar system... It does not matter. However, no one can have any say in who ends up being born as an Immortal. Whoever is born with the gift of Immortality is born that way, perhaps, through sheer chance. Nothing more." Sonic wanted to say something in return, but his mother apparently wasn't through speaking. "When Kathros perished, a new Immortal was not born immediately, though it is standard for the birth to occur straight away. It took years for the child to enter existence."

This was a puzzling matter, but Sonic had a different question to ask. "Why did the other Immortals let Kathros live for so long?" he asked with a note of bitterness in his tone. "Did they not _care_ that he was doing such horrible things to-"

For once, Analia actually interrupted someone when they were speaking. She cut him off rather quickly, in fact. "They were unaware of his actions for a great many years," she told him. "Your father was not the first nor the last person that Kathros hurt in such a way. Kathros's actions went unpunished merely because he possessed a great talent for hiding his crimes even from those who thought they knew him best."

"So what changed?" Sonic frowned. Something _had_ to have changed in order for the other Immortals to step in and do something, as they clearly had. But _what_?

"Around twelve months after your father escaped from Kathros's custody, he learned of the sacred meeting place where the Immortals gather once every decade or so," Analia began to explain. "It is an ancient place in deep space, a place that has existed as long as the Immortals themselves. When he learned of this place and of when the Immortals were next to meet, he traveled there to speak with them." She didn't elaborate on _how_ Kaden had gone to such a distant place, during a time period when ships were such a new thing to Mobius and he more than likely didn't have one of his own to use, and this left Sonic both confused and curious at the same time. But, that was a question to ask another time, it seemed. "When he arrived there, he was met with the other three Immortals that existed at the time. Kathros, thankfully, was not present." Something in her eyes became greatly troubled and deeply, deeply saddened. "Your father forced himself to speak of what had happened to him, something he had only barely began to do with myself and our other friends, and pleaded with the other Immortals to do something about Kathros. They agreed to look into the matter to ensure that what he had said was true and, in the end, they dealt with Kathros, as Kaden had hoped they would."

Now Sonic was just as troubled and saddened as his mother was. Kaden was not the type to speak of the things that had hurt him in the past, no matter how badly those things continued to haunt him in the present. He was not the type to seek help under most circumstances. He was not the type to _plead_. And, more than anything else, he was not the type that deserved to have suffered as he had. It was all just too, too painful to learn about. But Sonic had wanted to know. He had wanted to understand. But... at the same time... he also wanted to know about other things. Potentially _happier_ things. "So..." he began slowly, "you said the newest Immortal at the time took a long time to be born?"

"Yes," Analia confirmed with a slight incline of her head. Her waist-length hair shifted as she moved. Her bangs continued to cast a shadow over her eyes as they always did, ends dangling in front of said eyes. "However, it was not the first time such a thing occurred. It has happened a fair number of other times and likely was never a matter that was truly very concerning to the other three Immortals."

"And there's no telling where that baby could have been born, huh..." Sonic mused, eyes drifting to the sky and hands migrating to his hips as he thought.

Analia's reply was unexpected and prompted Sonic to look at her again. "Your father did speak with the other Immortals a few times after Kathros was killed," she told him. "From what I understand, they divulged to him, at the time of the baby's birth, the name of the newest Immortal, though he was never allowed to speak of it, as an Immortal is entitled to the right to keep their Immortality a secret from all mortals if they so choose. However, he was allowed to tell me one thing." She met her son's questioning emerald gaze. "The baby was born on a world very, very far away from this one, but was taken to this world days after their birth to be raised here. Considering when the child was born, they will be around your age now." She paused very briefly, then added, "Perhaps slightly older or younger, though."

Sonic allowed himself a good long while to allow this all to sink in fully. _Well, now. Isn't this all certainly food for thought. _Several minutes passed, but he ended up being pulled from his thoughts quite abruptly by his communicator going off. The sound of Cream's ringtone, a bright and peaceful little melody that he thought suited her personality quite well, startled him and made him jump slightly, earning a small giggle from his mother. Huffing with amusement at his own reaction, he lifted his wrist and answered the call. "Hello?"

_"Hi, Mister Sonic," _Cream greeted. She sounded _so_ much happier than she had for the majority of the mess involving Shadow and the Space Colony ARK and Astral Babylon and all that. That fact alone made him smile. Besides, it was just always nice hearing from her. _"I have great news," _the young, loving bunny told him.

Well, now. If that wasn't a ray of sunshine on this cloudy, rainy day (why _were_ they standing out here in the rain, anyway?) then he didn't know what was. "Lay it on me," Sonic replied with a smile. "I think we could all use some good news." By now, Kaden and Blaze had ceased their discussion and had both turned to listen in on this conversation. Jet and Tails appeared to be listening as well as they walked over to the small group.

_"Espio-san, Vector, Charmy and I have the yellow emerald," _Cream told him without even so much as a second of hesitation. _"Bokkun had it and gave it to us. He told us just now about how he escaped from Ivo, and he's traveling with us."_

The fact that that poor kid, whom Sonic had been intending to rescue for quite some time now, was finally free most certainly _was_ good news. That news, coupled with the news that they now had the last emerald, made his smile grow. Sure, Chaos still had the power of most of the other emeralds, but at least now things finally seemed to be looking up for the god guys. _One can only hope, anyway. _"That's wonderful, Cream," he told his young friend happily. "You guys start heading back as soon as you can. I'll call the others and let them know that they can come back, too."

_"Okay, Mister Sonic," _Cream agreed. _"We'll see you soon, then." _

"Sure thing," Sonic agreed. They hung up without another word. Sonic then turned to Jet, who was (perhaps), the closest friend he'd ever had. His smile turned into a grin. "'Bout time we had some good luck, huh?"

Slowly, Jet smirked. "No shit, stupid" he agreed.

"I think it's your fault we've been having such bad luck. You've been too bored lately, and that always causes bad things to happen."

"_My_ fault?"

Their banter abruptly ceased then, leaving neither in any sort of a worse mood than before. In fact, in spite of how borderline harsh they had sounded when speaking to each other, both remained happy. And, for once, they had a reason to be. Maybe this good luck was only temporary, maybe it would be short-lived, maybe their minor celebration was premature but, for the first time in a good while, things finally seemed to be looking up. And, honestly, that was all any of them had been asking for.

_Let's just hope the sun continues to shine for a while longer. The last thing we need is more bad luck._

**~ソニック~**

**3,883 words long this time. This chapter was like four-plus-days in the making and is late, but things have been minorly crazy lately. Plus I've been busy with some things. Plus I've been having too much fun doing some other things to write. Plus I was just lazy. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 4:55 p.m.) 06-19-16.**


	233. Muted World

**Hello, StarryMoon33! I'm glad, too. He needs them. And friends in general. :3 I agree... Kathros needed to be taken care of, some I'm happy he was. YES! IT WAS! :D**

**Hello, Luna MoonSinger27! Oh, I know, right?! XD Hahahahaha! Omg, that would be so perfect! XD**

**Hello, thatguy4643! Well, I'm not saying _nothin'_ to spoil it. XD Haha, anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Hello, Mutt7! No worries, you were fine. :)**

**~ソニック~**

Chaos was angry. The memories it retained of it's only true friend and life, the young woman named Tikal, had been tainted by the anger that poisoned it's watery heart. It had seen Tikal die, murdered by her own father. Innocent Chao had perished as well. They had died attempting to protect Tikal, who had been trying to protect Chaos. Chaos had watched them all die, unable to force itself to move to help, perhaps out of fear. Whatever it had been feeling at that moment on that day was, to this day, a feeling it was unable to name. It had been a negative emotion, as were all the emotions Chaos had ever known before meeting Tikal. Tikal had changed Chaos's heart. She had taught him how to feel _happy_. But with her death, that light had vanished.

Initially, the anger Chaos had been feeling had been understandable. Natural. Now, however, it was anything but. The negative energies it had drawn out of the Chaos Emeralds had heightened the anger into something very far from normal. It was frightening, horrible, undesirable. It didn't want to feel angry anymore, but it scarcely had a choice in the matter by this point. The negative energies it had absorbed had corrupted it's heart, leaving blackened. Anger and hatred poisoned every fiber of it's being. And yet... some good memories remained, memories of the only real friend it had ever known. It wanted to feel happy again like she had taught it to. It wanted to find _peace_... But maybe that was too much to hope for. Besides, it had come to crave the power the emeralds had given it. There were still two of them left. The sooner it got ahold of them, the sooner it could find _satisfaction_...

**~ソニック~**

As Espio piloted the ship back toward Sonic and the others, Cream once again found herself having a series of short visions.

(-)

_Sonic and Jet were traveling together at high speeds. Sonic was running while Jet was flying. Things were silent between them for a long while until Jet suddenly spoke without looking at Sonic. "Shut up."_

_Sonic glanced up at him with a frown. "I didn't say anything."_

_"You were thinking," Jet muttered in reply. "It's annoying."_

_For a moment, Sonic continued to frown. Then, slowly, he began to smirk. Whether or not Jet did the same was unknown to him honestly but, for just a moment, he thought he might have seen the corner of his old friend's mouth twitch upward just slightly in amusement._

(-)

_Wave was standing alone in a large one-room observatory. She was standing at the single large table that was resting in the middle of the room. In her hands she held a photo album. There were numerous pictures in it of a large, pure white wolf with blue eyes, a young Babylonian woman with a ponytail and glasses, two moons in a starry night sky, and so on. There were also some pictures of Jet. And some of the pictures were moving. Overcome with curiosity, she lightly tapped one of the moving photographs. It suddenly enlarged as a hologram and began to play with sound like a video. Somehow, in spite of her sadness, she managed to smile as she watched her old friend in the photo-video running around and roughhousing with the wolf, laughing and smiling all the while._

(-)

_Kaden dodged a huge explosion, anger sparking in his eyes. He yanked Saika out of it's sheath and threw it full-force at his enemy. It impaled the evil creature, earning a painfully loud shriek of agony from the beast, and he whipped around. Before the newest enemy could even reach him, he roundhouse kicked the the evil being with so much force that they were sent flying, digging a deep gouge into the ground as they landed. Teleporting his black katana back into his hand, he spun back around and began running. The whole time he ran, one thought continued to weigh heavily on his mind. Analia was alone, she was hurt, and he was nowhere near her. Worry plagued him, but determination kept that feeling at bay. No matter what happened, he would get to her in time. He refused to fail her._

(-)

_"Sensei!" Jet whipped around when Tails called out that warning, then jumped out of the way so fast he became an emerald-colored blur. As soon as his teacher was out of the way, Tails unleashed his attack. A wave of electrically-charged microwave radiation shot forward in a deadly rush, wiping out enemies as it went. As soon as the enemies on that side were gone, Tails turned and redirected his attack at the crowd of enemies that had been approaching from behind him. They were all wiped out with incredible ease as well. Once they were defeated, Tails cut off the attack entirely, then began running back to the X-Tornado. As soon as he reached the ship, he jumped into the pilot's seat and, without even bothering to shut the cockpit yet, started up the ship and got it into the air. The cockpit barely shut in time for him to shoot off across the sky with Jet flying after him of his own power, keeping up with ease. Seeing that they were safe for now, Tails allowed himself to sigh with relief._

(-)

_Analia was sitting on the same couch as Shadow, holding her young child as said child slept. As she sat there with that sleeping child, Shadow worked on cleaning one of his dual pistols (which were his favorite guns, and had been for many years). There was a tension in his movements, in his posture, and Analia saw it. "Your father will be alright," she murmured. "His fever is breaking. He will be over this illness within the next week."_

_Shadow almost seemed to scoff. "I'm not worried, Mother."_

_Reaching up with her free hand, Analia lightly tweaked a black ear, prompting Shadow to stop what he was doing and give her a look. "Do not lie to me, my son," she told him. This was as close to scolding as she ever truly came._

_After a small moment of pause, Shadow sighed and simply resumed what he was doing. He remained tense, but he didn't argue with her. As such, Analia counted this as a victory for her._

(-)

_Amy and Sonic were walking together under the stars not far from the camp. Almost everyone else was asleep, save for Jet and Kaden (who were lost in their own world together talking about music for whatever reason). As they walked, the two hedgehogs held a conversation of their own. They bounced from topic to topic before finally settling on one. "Our enemies really are ruthless," Amy sighed. "Trying to hurt innocent kids like that... What do they think they have to gain from such a thing?"_

_Sonic's emerald green eyes were troubled. "I don't know," he admitted, "but this may be somehow related to that weird comment that soldier made a while ago."_

_"The one about a 'vessel of darkness'?" Amy asked him, turning her head to look him in the face. Her own eyes became troubled._

_"That's the one," Sonic nodded._

_Amy turned her head back to look at the sky once again. 'A vessel of darkness... This doesn't bode well... And that's putting it all very lightly...'_

(-)

_In the middle of a fight, Cream and Espio were both suddenly struck with visions, hers of the future and his of the past. Incapacitated as they were, they were greatly susceptible to attack. Vector fought to keep enemies away from the two of them, Bokkun, and Charmy, but there was only so much he could do alone. Seeing the struggle taking place near him, Tails rushed in to help with Omega by his side. With great accuracy and power, they blasted enemies away from The Chaotix, Cream, and Bokkun. Cream recovered from her visions first and rejoined the fight, letting loose a psionic blast as soon as she was able to. Espio recovered last, seeming slightly dazed by whatever he had seen. But instead of giving himself a chance to recover, he just shook it off and resumed fighting. Cream kept an eye on him all the while. Knowing that he was still a tad out of it, she did her best to defend him._

(-)

_Knuckles and Rouge were on the hunt for treasure. It was their specialty, the one thing they did best besides fighting and arguing. But this was no ordinary treasure hunt that they were on. This mission was far more important that it would have been if they had been doing this for the sake of mere fun or relaxation. No, they were looking for something really and truly important, something that could change the tide of this whole war. The information it could provide their whole group was priceless. It would give them all so much more understanding of their enemies. And, perhaps, it could even tell them how to defeat these guys. Knuckles and Rouge, being as suspicious by nature as they were, were somewhat reluctant to believe that last bit, but Sonic held onto hope... so they did as well._

(-)

_The looked around at the hidden monastery in the northern mountain range where Espio had been trained. Though he had mentioned that he'd been raised in these mountains, no one had expected their to be such grand buildings hidden away here. Still, it was perfect. They all needed a place to hide for a short while, and this place was so perfectly hidden... Still, the fact that this was here remained surprising. "You never told me about this place," Vector said to his old friend, look around the whole while._

_"Or me," Charmy piped in as Espio led the way through the massive double doors. Espio gave no reply, instead choosing to remain silent._

_Sonic also looked around. "I don't sense anything," he said, his tone low as though he was concerned about disturbing people that he wasn't even sure were here. "Is this place abandoned?"_

_Suddenly, hundreds of chameleons dropped down from the shadowed rafters, dressed in what could only be described simply as "ninja garbs". Within seconds, nearly everyone in the group was pinned to the ground, save for Espio, Jet, Kaden, and the kids (all of whom these ninjas never even tried to touch for some reason). Shadow seemed to bite back a growl as he responded irritably to Sonic's question. "Obviously not."_

_"Nice one, smart-ass," Sonic replied, rolling his eyes. "You figure that out by yourself?" This time, Shadow gave in and growled._

(-)

_Silver and Blaze worked together to try to keep the tide of enemies back and away from the ships while said ships fled into space. Cyan and orange attacks lit up the night sky, the only source of light on this moonless night. They were quickly becoming surrounded, but neither was giving up any time soon. They had far too much to lose in doing such a thing. They had far too much worth living for. They had something far too precious that they so desperately wanted to protect. They wouldn't give up. They wouldn't die. Not now. Not here. Trading a look, they both new instantly what the other was planning to do. Both smirking suddenly, they returned their attention to their enemies and unleashed massive attacks of pure power. Cyan psychokinetic energy intertwined with bright orange flames, melting into the fire and giving it new life and power. The attack hit its intended target and exploded with a deafening roar. Their enemies couldn't even find the time to blink before they were vaporized._

(-)

When the visions finally ended, Cream had to blink a few times to clear her vision and refocus on the world around her. Once her mind was fully back in the present, she turned around briefly to look at the seat in the very back of the ship. Charmy was still back there, playing on his handheld video game system. Unless she was mistaken, it was a street-fighter-esque game that he was playing. In the seat beside him was Bokkun, who had warily pressed himself into his own little corner. He had both hands and his face pressed against the glass of the cockpit as he looked out at the world that was speeding past them. It occurred to her, not for the first time, just how little of the world he must have seen by this point. How much of his life must have passed him by while he had been trapped in that horrible place... And why _had_ he been with Ivo, anyway? She suspected that some form of kidnapping was a portion of the story of his past, but now probably wasn't the best time to try to have him speak of it. Not when he was still so wary of them all. So, instead of speaking with him about anything like that, she simply turned away and let him be. He had a lot of the world left to see... and she didn't want to make him miss a thing.

**~ソニック~**

Kaden was suddenly distracted from listening to the conversation his son was having with the others when he saw a small stream of water flow out of a storm drain and onto the street near his foot. Instantly wary, he tensed up, eyes remaining locked on the source of his sudden anxiety. When that small stream grew larger and began to flow out of the drain at a faster rate, his anxiety heightened. He tossed a glance to several other similar drains and found that water was flowing out of them, too. Soon, there was a whole pool of water filling the street ahead of him. Biting back a whimper, he took a small step back. Analia noticed his migration, for he had inadvertently moved himself closer to her, and she took his left hand into her right and gave it a comforting squeeze. By now, the conversation had died, and everyone was warily watching the water as it slowly rose up into the air and began to take on a more definite form. Within the span of just a minute or so, the beast Chaos was standing at it's full height before them. Kaden's heart pounded fearfully at the sight of all the damn _water_ the creature was summoning into the area. His free hand shook until he balled it up into a tense fist to get it to stop. He hid his fear under a veil of irritability.

Without warning, the monster roared. The volume of the roar was absolutely _deafening _to Kaden and to Sonic, who had inherited his father's hearing (to a point). And, though they didn't have super hearing, everyone else in the group suffered pain from the sheer volume of the sound. Their pain was visible in the way they winced. Kaden and Sonic's ears reflexively flattened to try to block out some of the pain. Then the roar turned into a screech mere seconds later, and Kaden squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth in pain. It hurt so badly that he found himself almost unable to move. When the screeching intensified, he abruptly released his partner's hand and reflexively covered his _highly_ sensitive ears with his hands. They did little to help; his hearing was simply too strong, and this sound was simply too loud. Slowly, he felt himself sink down onto his left knee in honest-to-god agony. His very being narrowed to a pinpoint of existence. It was hard to remember that anything existed beyond this pain, that anything had _ever_ existed beyond this single instance in time.

Then, all at once, the pressure of sound was released from his poor, aching ears. Feeling honestly deafened and therefore feeling extremely unbalanced and as though he had practically lost one of his limbs or something similar, he slowly forced his eyes open. For a long time, all he could do was watch numbly as Jet, Tails, Analia, and even Sonic forced the beast away from him and did their very best to drive it out of the city entirely. Then, suddenly, he became aware of the fact that Blaze was running over to him, looking shaken by all the water but appearing determined in her eyes. She was clearly saying something (her mouth was moving, after all), but he couldn't seem to hear her. Right now, he couldn't hear anything. Then, suddenly, she did something she had never done before and actually grabbed him by the hand, pulled him to his feet, and began to run, forcing him to run as well, lest he be pulled over and end up falling. He shook his head lightly as he ran after her, eyes closing briefly as he tried to shake off some of his daze.

Slowly, some sounds began to return to him as he ran blindly after his student. Upon opening his eyes again, he came to understand what those dull _whump_ sounds he'd been _sort of_ hearing for the past few seconds were. Chaos's tentacles struck the ground near him and Blaze, creating a minor tremor and another sound that was oddly dull and distant to his normally sharp and keen hearing each time. Glancing back over his shoulder for just a second, he saw that the street was cracked and damaged where he had been before Blaze had grabbed him and forced him to move. This explained why she had reacted so hastily and had touched him in spite of knowing full-well by this point that touch was something that gave him great anxiety, perhaps even more so than water did. He refrained thinking about the reasons why this was so, as it was irrelevant right now, but he did lightly pull his hand away from Blaze. She allowed him to without struggle (something he was internally grateful for) and simply kept running. He followed close behind her, picking up some speed now that he was feeling a little less out of it.

Intent on defending the girl he had taken in under his wing (so to speak), he decided to make use of some of the negative emotions he was currently feeling rather than just letting them fester within him. Whipping around, he fired a concentrated beam of Darkness at their shared enemy, causing his fur and eyes to darken instantly as he drew upon that ancient power. The attack struck Chaos's back, causing it to roar in pain (though he barely heard it, as his ears were still recovering from that auditory assault from just a couple minutes ago). Seconds later, he cut off the beam and his fur and eyes returned to normal. He then spun back around and dashed after Blaze, jumping after her when she leapt onto a tall building in an attempt to escape at least _some_ of the water. At about the same time as he landed, he felt the building rumble under his feet. Spinning around again, he watched as a nearby building collapsed. Jet was now missing from the battlefield. It was clear to all what had happened.

Not far away, young Tails was doing his best to help Sonic and Analia fend off the beast (which was almost certainly hear for the last of the two Chaos Emeralds). Whatever attack had hit Jet ended up distracting the hawk's student just long enough for a long, watery tentacle to strike him and send him flying as well. The fox smacked into the side of some small shop, shattering windows and knocking shingles off of the roof. Seconds later, a concentrated blast of water was fired his way, and he barely managed to scramble to his feet and take to the air in time to avoid the attack. Meanwhile, Sonic was calling upon what Chaos powers he could to try and lend his mother a hand while she hit their enemy with beams of pure Light and Light Magic. Protective instincts flaring, Kaden again called forth some of his Darkness and fired a beam of energy at the beast Chaos. He kept himself between the beast and Blaze, wanting to protect her as well. Yes, she now had a power that she could use to fight against a creature like this, but he still wanted to keep her safe. She was his friend, his student, and practically a member of his family. That meant he would protect her to the death if it came to that. He hoped it never _would_ come to that point, but regardless.

When he cut off the beam of Darkness, Chaos almost instantly retaliated. A towering wave of raging water surged toward him and Blaze (not that he could really hear it right now). His ears went back in response to his current emotions (which could only be described as terror and horror), and he felt himself pale at least a little bit. When the wave reached the building, he found himself too frozen with fear to move. Icy-cold water crashed over him and Blaze, sweeping them off of the building and trapping them in a wet space without air. It was over likely within seconds, but by the time the water receded, he still found himself on his hands and knees and shivering hard. It had nothing to do with the temperature of the water, but rather the water _itself_... For the second time that day, he found himself biting back a whimper.

By the time he opened his eyes, Chaos had already struck again. This time it was Sonic who was hit. He, like his best friend, was sent hurtling through a building, causing it to collapse. The purple emerald clattered to the ground. Just as Tails started to rush toward it in an attempt to prevent it from being stolen, one of Chaos's tentacles struck Analia across the chest and sent her flying. She crashed into Kaden before he could really react, and they both slammed into the ground. Though the back of his head smacked against the asphalt and made him see strange stars in his vision, he quickly forced himself up and rushed to her aid, momentarily forgetting his fears regarding the water. In place of that feat, he felt new fear for his partner and their unborn child. Once he helped her up, he could tell that she was trying to comfort him (it was evident in her eyes), but it all sounded very deeply muffled to him. There had been a time, many, many years ago, when he had been highly adept at reading lips, but he had been a child again, and that skill had been pushed aside and onto the back-burner the moment it had no longer been needed. He supposed he should work on relearning it, but now was not the time to worry about such things. He pulled Analia to her feet.

A surge of power drew his attention back to their enemy. A felt a growl rumble to life in the back of his throat and vibrate in his chest as he watched the creature transform once again. Everything about it's being increased. It's power, it's size, how utterly horrendous it looked... A light tap on the back of his right hand prompted him to look at Analia without even having to consciously think about doing so. Actions like that tap were signals, ways that they communicated without words. That tap meant something simple. _Look at me. _Turning his head, he realized that she was speaking again. It pained him that he couldn't hear her voice. Her voice was one of the few things that could drive away his inner demons, one of the only things that provided him with genuine comfort, allowed him to sleep well at night, made him feel as though he really was loved... But none of that was important right now. Signing quickly with his hands (sign language was the first way he had learned to communicate as a child, as he had learned how to speak late and his sensei had needed _some_ way of communicating with him), he did his best to briefly explain what had happened. Analia nodded once and signed a reply. He had taught her how to many years ago. _"Alright. Make more use of your eyes, then, Kaden. I do not want you getting hurt."_

Even though he knew that she knew that eyes could lie to their owners, he decided not to argue with her for a couple of reasons. One, there was no time for it. They had wasted too many precious seconds as it was. Two, he hated arguing with her for obvious reasons. Three, they had already had this dispute before, and he had lost. So, with that latter fact in mind, why bring this minor argument back up again? It was easier and better for them both for him to just drop it, so he did. Turning away, he returned his attention to their friends, their son, and their enemy. He watched as Sonic helped move some rubble off of Jet, then pulled the hawk up by the hand. The two of them then turned back to face Chaos. The six of them then seemed to have the same thought all at the very same instance in time: they needed to attack. And they needed to do it _n__ow_. In response to this thought, they all struck at the same time. A wave of Light, Dark, minor Chaos, Lightning, Electricity, and fledgling Shadow powers surged toward their enemy. The resulting explosion was (surprisingly) intensely bright, forcing everyone to shield their eyes, lest they go blind. Then there was a second explosion (which, as with the first, Kaden _felt_ rather than _heard_). This second explosion was a massive Chaos Blast, and it utterly _destroyed_ their combined attacks. The light then vanished. Growling lowly in his chest again, he bared his teeth slightly at their enemy in a display of hostility.

In that moment, The Chaotix's ship suddenly came into view. Before any of them had a chance to try to react and help the group inside that ship, Chaos spun around with surprising speed and attacked. The ship exploded. The yellow emerald dropped out of the sky and straight into a waiting tentacle.

**~ソニック~**

**4,470 words this time. Some more foreshadowing for EotS, courtesy of Cream-chan, and our dear Kaden has provided some insights into his past that will be further explored in "Hero Chronicles: Times of War" later on. REAL QUICK SHOUT-OUT! The scene involving Espio, the ninjas, the monastery, and pretty much all of the dialogue in said scene were created by one of Hero's readers, PyroShockZ. If you want to read his original version (as I left a teensy bit out) of the scene, read his review to Chapter 206. :) Posted (at about 6:50 p.m.) 06-20-16.**


	234. May You Find Some Peace Tonight

**Hello, Luna MoonSinger27! TOO LATE FOR THAT! Yep, OP for sure. Haha. XD Silver: *Sees you walk out* Oh, gee, thanks! So helpful! XD**

**Hello, thesoniczone11! Yes, in Hero, Jet is Sonic's best friend. You've got to remember, in this story, he and Sonic have a very long history together and therefore are much closer than Sonic and Tails. However, Sonic and Tails still _are_ close, and I have made brief references to them considering each other brothers. Also, with Jet flying, that's not something unique to Hero. At least, not completely. he does that in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity with the help of the Arks. I just made it so that he could do it even without them. And I'm not de-emphasizing Tail's ability to fly. He does that a lot in this story. As far as the intelligence thing goes, Jet is smarter in this story than in the games, yes. However, he definitely is rather smart in the games as well. After all, he's the leader of the Babylon Rogues at age fourteen, can pilot their entire airship by himself, is a master thief with a worldwide reputation, is a master of Extreme Gear (which probably isn't that easy), can wield Bashosen (which isn't as easy as it might appear), and so on. However, he certainly can _seem_ kinda dumb (for lack of a better way to put it) in the games due to being fourteen and therefore being immature. The biggest thing I did with him in Hero is make him older, get rid of that immaturity and the selfishness and whatnot he displays in the games, and give him some deeper intelligence. I honestly prefer him this way, but I'm not in any way trying to make him compete with Tails or whatever. They're both really smart and can fly, but I don't consider it to be a big deal. As far as Vector goes, I (unfortunately) never got a chance to play that game, so i wouldn't have known about him having such powers. Hope this clears some things up, and thanks for reading and reviewing. I really appreciate it. :)**

**Hello, StarryMoon33! YESSS, MORE VISIONS! XD YES, THE LAST TWO EMERALDS! THEY WAS TAKEN! DEY IS MOST DEFINITELY SCREWED! ...PROBABLY! ...MAYBE! XD**

**~ソニック~**

Two blackened emeralds fell to the ground with high-pitched _clinks_. Fire and debris rained down from above from the exploded ship. The ship's five passengers were held safely aloft by a gravitational field made visible only because of the ripples it created in the air. Water exploded into the air from every available source: fire hydrants, storm drains, pipes, the nearby ocean, the inside of plants... Buildings, trees, people, street lights, furniture, and so on were swept away in the floods. Lives were undoubtedly being lost as the towering beast responsible for it all roared into the heavens. The once beautiful and thrive seaside city of Station Square was now a watery ruin. Emerald eyes shone with a mixture of anger, fear, and hard determination. Turning to his companions, Sonic all but snapped, "Get to higher ground! Now!"

For all his stubbornness and protectiveness, Kaden wasted no time arguing, perhaps out of genuine desire to escape the water that was currently surging toward them. After trading a look with Analia, they both jumped onto the nearest rooftop together. From there, they jumped from rooftop to rooftop until they reached the tallest building in the area. Tails was quick to start spinning his twin namesakes and fly after them. Jet moved Cream, Bokkun, and The Chaotix in the gravitation field he had created and set them down on the same rooftop as the others, then also flew over. Blaze was the last to go, and she didn't move at all before telling Sonic with all due seriousness, "Whatever you are going to do, be careful." With that said, she jumped after the others, taking the same path as her sensei and his partner.

Eyes still hardened with a grim determination he hadn't felt in two years, Sonic walked over to the last two emeralds and picked them up, one in each hand. His eyes closed. All around him, time seemed to still. The reality those of the living realm new faded away to be replaced by the inner world of the Master Emerald, a place where time flowed in vastly different ways than in the outside world. Hours here could be mere minutes out there. Opening his eyes, he found himself standing just feet away from Pyros, a man he had come to regard as a friend and invaluable ally in spite of having met him only once. As seemed usual for him, Pyros was watching him with crossed and eyes that showed a greater intelligence than one might expect from such a bullheaded and angry individual. Sonic showed him the two blackened emeralds he was still holding. "What do I do with this?"

A broad red head tilted slowly to the left. "I think you can figure that bit out yourself," Pyros answered in that deep, gravelly voice of his.

Frowning softly in thought, Sonic looked down at the emeralds in his hands. "Chaos pulled all the negative energies out of these," he said slowly. "Nothing else."

Pyros inclined his head in response to this assessment, "He did," he rumbled in confirmation. Then he pressed, "And?"

"And..." Sonic trailed off briefly in thought, then continued, "And those negative energies are only _half_ of what these emeralds possess. They hold Chaos, which is everything and it's opposite. Yin and Yang, Twi and La, Push and Pull, Light and Dark, Positive and Negative..."

A rumbled emitted from deep within Pyros's broad chest, a sign of his approval and how pleased he was that Sonic had remembered these key facts that the Voice had explained so long ago. "Yes," he said again. Then, slowly, he began to smirk. "So," he continued, "what are you gonna do with those emeralds, then?"

Sonic found himself gradually beginning to smirk as well. _Draw upon the positive energies of the emeralds to extinguish the negative energies Chaos stole, if at all possible... and put an angry soul to rest once and for all. _He looked back up from the emeralds and into Pyros's pleased face. "Thanks, Pyros."

In response to this, Pyros shook his head. "You've got nothin' to thank me for. You had it all figured out already, and you know it." He paused, then added with another smirk, "But if you really wanna thank someone, thank your mum and da' for practically ensuring you would be born with a good head on your shoulders."

In spite of the present circumstances, Sonic managed a small laugh. "I'll keep that in mind, Pyros." The world around him was already fading away by the time he finished speaking, but he was sure that his words had been heard. And now, it was time to focus on other things. The reality of the regular world outside of the Master Emerald returned. Water crashed over him, but golden light rushed into existence and kept it at bay. Warmth flooded over him, starting in his heart and spreading around until it filled every fiber of his being. Positive emotions laid claim to his heart next. Happiness, love, peace, humor, hope, trust... Power surged into existence within and around him, and he felt a smile fade onto his face. As the power and energy and light flowed around him, his hair flowed upward and stayed that way. He began to float above the ground, feeling weightless and free as he was carried above the water. The seven emeralds, which were all glowing again as they were always meant to, disappeared within him. Slowly, he opened up his eyes. A much larger green eye, one full of hate and anger, glared at him from quite some distance away. But he only continued to smile.

Several tentacles shot toward him with the clear intent to beat and impale, but he raised his left hand and stopped them with a wave of light that vaporized them, almost gently, leaving nothing left. Chaos roared furiously, but his smile remained. He pushed that wave of light forward in an attempt to influence his opponent's emotions, but Chaos put a stop to the attack by slashing another tentacle through the golden wave of energy. Now forced to move, he dodged by flying straight up, then shot forward and toward his opponent. Swerving from right to left and then down, he dodged yet more tentacles, as well as an explosion of water from a freshly destroyed fire hydrant. Dodging one last attack, he came to an abrupt halt, straightened, and raised his right palm toward the raging creature before him. _Sorry, buddy. This isn't gonna feel good. _Wasting no more time, he released a second wave of golden light at Chaos. It roared in what seemed to be genuine emotional _agony _and honestly seemed to writhe as the golden hedgehog forced his light into the ancient being he was facing. At the same time, he drew the negative energies of the Chaos Emeralds out of the creature and replaced it back into his emeralds.

Golden light began to flood the entire area as he drew the dark energies from Chaos. At the same time, homes were restored, plants were healed, water was replaced back where it was supposed to be, people were healed as much as he could heal them, fire hydrants were repaired... Bit by bit, the damage done to this once beautiful city was undone... as was the damage done to the creature known as Chaos. Damage that had been done many thousands of years ago. Damage that could probably never fully be healed. The wounds would close, yes, but even the smallest of wounds had the potential to leave scars. And yet... even the worst of scars could fade with time. One simply needed to care for them properly, and give them time. In an attempt to provide at least some of the former, Sonic showed Chaos the happy memory he had seen of it and Tikal, the memory he had been shown when grabbing one of the emeralds so long ago. He showed it memories of his own, memories of love and laughter and joy and harmony and pleasure and peace...

Slowly, the anger and hatred began to fade away. Light began to truly fill the being before him, bit by tiny bit. And when he opened his eyes... for just a moment, he saw blue eyes, orange fur, and smile bright enough to put the sun to shame. His own smile grew incrementally, even as the sight faded away along with Chaos, his transformation, and the pure light and positivity that had been filling him. _You both will find new life in the emerald... _he decided right then and there. _You and all your Chao friends... May you find eternal peace and happiness there. _The golden light finally faded, and his feet touched the ground. His hair went limp and returned to its usual position and style. He leaned forward and braced his hands on his knees, releasing a tired breath. Nearly exhausted though he was... he was still happy. He could only hope that Chaos, Tikal, and their young Chao friends could be now, too.

**~ソニック~**

**1,527 words this time. A short chapter, but I'm really happy with it. I hope you all are, too. :) Posted (at about 12:45 a.m.) 06-21-16.**

**EDIT: AN IMPORTANT NOTE: Yes, this whole battle ended quickly. You can thank the Sonic X version of the fight against Chaos for that. Why? Because I love that show and decided to take inspiration from how they did that particular "Boss Fight". :)**


	235. Absolutely Perfect

**Hello, Spell of Dawn! Your review to Chapter 227: No worries! :) Oh, you're welcome. Glad I could help. But, sadly, I don't think reviews can be edited... ^-^" Oh, don't worry, there will be plenty of other baddies in the Hero-universe besides just Ivo and his robotic creations. ;) As for the comment about Marthal, what in the world is a "face-heel turn"? XD Oh, and Ross isn't a bad guy. He's not a _good person _by any means at this point, but he'd not truly an enemy. :P Well, yes! They are the same person, just from different timelines. Haha. XD Well, you've got to remember, "normal aging" is different for each species in Hero. None of them age at the same rate as humans (after all, they _aren't _human), so... yeah. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 228: Yep, Chaos kicked butt. Sadly. XD But, yes, they are young. Again, they age very differently than we humans do. Kaden and Analia are only twenty-three in their years. That's young. :P Well, really, I didn't give any spoilers. All I did was show some hints of the main bad guy and that sort of thing. Besides, those teasers I provided (ignoring the EotS ones) were for the Sonic X Arc, and anyone who has ever seen the third season of Sonic X will already know exactly what new characters will be showing up, who the bad guys are, and so on. I personally don't think the visions ruin anything, so I'll just agree to disagree with you on that one.**

**Your review to Chapter 229: Though, like I said, I will agree to disagree with you and whether or not to include the teasers, I feel I must clarify a few things. The biggest thing I need to clarify is that I'm already _writing_ Hero Chronicles and EotS. I know precisely what will be happening in those stories and roughly when, I know how my characters are going to be, and those scenes are set in stone. I'm not ruining anything for those stories by doing these visions, I promise. But, at any rate, I'm glad to know you at least enjoyed Espio's visions. :) Haha, yes, Shadow is technically the younger of the two. Lol. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 230: YES. Well, from another timeline, anyway. But, no, it's not destiny. I promise. XD Yeah, that's basically how it always went in the games, hence the reason it happened this way here. Nothin' much else to say about it. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 232: She does! ...'Cause she is. XD And I know, right? No, he's not an Immortal, if that's what you were gonna say. Haha. XD**

**Hello, thesoniczone11! No, I wasn't aware of that, truth be told... So far as I knew (before reading your review, at any rate), Tails have electrical powers was something made up for this story. The fact that he apparently displays those powers in the game is purely coincidental. *Insert sweat-drop face here***

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Yeah! Yay! I'm happy about that, too. They deserve it. :)**

**~ソニック~**

"You did well, my son."

Sonic straightened after taking one more deep breath to alleviate some of his exhaustion, then turned to face his mother, who was walking up to him in that usual serene way of hers. Her skirt was ruffled slightly by the seaside breeze as she went, and one of her usual bright and loving smiles was present on her face. Still feeling happy in spite of all that had occurred (or nearly so) today and even in the last _few_ days, Sonic found it in himself to return the smile. "Thanks, Mom." He looked to her left randomly a second later and caught sight of Kaden, who was checking on Tails and Blaze. Apparently sensing his gaze, Kaden turned his head briefly to look at his son. Their eyes met, an uncommon occurrence, and Kaden managed to hold that contact for a few seconds before growing too uncomfortable with it (visibly so) and looking away. _He's been doing that a lot more lately than normal... _Sonic internally mused. _Making eye-contact, I mean. _

Analia turned her head briefly to look at her partner, who was now checking on Espio, Vector, and the three kids. "Yes, he has been," she said, a note of some emotion clearly evident in her voice. Sonic was tempted to consider it pride, but it was too gentle an emotion to be that. He really had no other word for it, though. "He has been doing well with it," his mother continued in a murmur. "Normally he does not."

Truth be told, Sonic hadn't expected a reply from his mother about this. Mainly because he hadn't even realized that he'd voiced his thoughts aloud. _Guess I'm more tired than I thought I was. __...Oh, well. _Turning his head to look at Analia instead of Kaden for the time being, he decided to ask, "Why is that, anyway?" Analia, who had now also turned away from Kaden, genuinely didn't seem to know if she wanted to answer that, and Sonic found himself verbally backpedaling. "I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to or whatever-"

For probably only about the second time in all the time he'd known her, Analia interrupted him. "No," she cut in, shaking her head, "it is not that." She paused noticeably, then continued slowly, treading carefully, "It is merely that the answer to your question is a somewhat... personal matter that your father generally prefers not to have shared around."

"Which means that, at the very least, you, Locke, and probably Marthal know," Sonic deduced quickly.

This assessment earned a single nod. "Yes," Analia confirmed. "We do." She seemed about to say something else when they both noticed Kaden again briefly look their way. This time, it was Analia's gaze that he met, and something seemed to pass between the two of them before he looked away once more. Slowly, she began to smile.

Somehow, Sonic thought he understood. He managed a small half-smile as he once again looked at his mother. "He just gave you permission, didn't he?"

Analia turned her head back to face Sonic and nodded, still smiling. "Yes, he did." There was another pause, another lull in conversation that they both allowed to continue without breaking. She seemed to be gathering her thoughts, and he decided that there was no point in not allowing her to do so. He gave her the time she apparently needed and, within just a few short minutes, she seemed ready to talk again. At about the same time, Omega, Marthal, and Keiri returned to the group. "To put this rather bluntly..." Analia said slowly, frowning thoughtfully at the ground as though trying to determine a delicate way to put this even though she had stated she was being blunt. "...You father is autistic."

Sonic blinked once. Then twice. The two cats made their way over to Kaden while Omega lingered near Cream. Bokkun seemed delighted to see a familiar face. But, of course, the young blue hero hardly noticed these things as he considered what he had just been told. _Dad is... autistic? _

"One of his symptoms," Analia continued, "is generally avoiding any form of eye-contact, however brief. He does not _always_ do this, in part because certain people in his life, including Locke and I, have done what we could to try to teach him to make eye-contact when in conversation with someone. However, this still remains a symptom of his, and something he struggles with."

Unable to help himself and now feeling more curious about his father than ever (not that he wasn't curious about his mother, too, since he knew even less about her than he knew about his father), Sonic found himself asking, "What are the other symptoms he has, Mom?"

This question earned an amused look from bright green eyes. "It may take a good while to explain to you, my son," Analia replied.

"That's not a big deal," Sonic replied easily with a small shrug. Then he reasoned, "At least it'll help us pass the time while we wait for the others to return."

This logic seemed to do the trick. Analia was apparently convinced and, mere moments later, she was continuing with her explanation. "Another symptom your father displays is that he often struggles to read facial expressions," she said. "He generally recognizes 'basic' emotions such as worry and happiness, but not usually others such as jealousy, confusion, and anxiety, and there are others he can usually only recognize under specific circumstances." She paused briefly, then said, "For example, sadness he can recognize when there are tears, anger when there is a distinct frown, and so on." Another pause. Then, "He also struggles to read tones of voice. If not for his ability to read auras, which, as you know, directly tells a person's feelings, he would be virtually incapable of reading anyone on an emotional level at all." She almost seemed to sigh as she added, "Even with his aura senses, he still noticeably struggles at times."

Sonic frowned slightly as he took all of this in. Now that she had _explained_ it, he realized that he had noticed all of this before. He had just never really paid it any mind until now. "What about reading someone through their eyes?" he inquired. "Can he do that at all?"

"Not always," Analia replied immediately, "but he has learned how to do so to a certain extent. However, he is almost incapable of reading body language/posture. For example, seeing people cross their arms typically has no meaning to him. He generally only understands crossing one's arms as an act of comfort, since that posture is comfortable for him, so that is usually why he personally does it."

"And, from what I've seen, he also doesn't display much of his own body language, beyond crossing his arms from time to time," Sonic added in sudden realization.

Once again, Sonic's words earned a nod, then Analia continued. "Another symptom he has is one from his childhood. In spite of _knowing _many people, even other children his age, he failed to make friends as a child. The one exception is Locke."

"And Dad's admitted before that he only barely managed to make friends with him," Sonic added helpfully. "Plus he didn't befriend Marthal and Pyros until he was an fifteen and sixteen respectively, and then you when he was an adult."

Another nod. "Your father also shows little to no interest in sharing his interests, achievements, and the things he enjoys with others," Analia continued, "and the interests he has can only be considered extreme or borderline so. He shows preoccupation with certain topics/subjects, in particular, music, writing, weapons, and sometimes video games, and hardly anything else." Once again, she paused in the middle of her explanation before continuing. "He shows truly astounding vast depths of knowledge in those same subjects. Music, in particular, utterly fascinates him, and he spends a great deal of his time indulging in it in some way or another."

Now it was Sonic's turn to nod. "Yeah, I've noticed those before, to be honest. Especially with the music." His demeanor became thoughtful as he added, "It seems to me like he has a hard time going even just ten minutes without it."

"He does," Analia confirmed readily, "though he tends to do a rather marvelous job of hiding it." Whether or not this was a joke was unknown to Sonic, but it was probably irrelevant at the moment.

"So what are his other symptoms?" Sonic asked her just as Locke, Rouge, and Knuckles flew into view over the top of a tall building in the distance.

"He had a delay in learning how to speak," Analia replied immediately, without having to give it any thought. "He was barely starting to babble at about three years old and was virtually mute before then. He really only started saying words and small phrases at age four or five. By age six, he was speaking like a normal child. However, by age seven, he was speaking like a well-educated adult the vast majority of the time."

Now this truly surprised Sonic. He'd heard of a case like this before... but not with Kaden. And the case he knew of was different in that it only involved that last part. _That sounds like... _

"Your father also displayed, as a baby and young child," Analia continued uninhibited, "an unusual interest in certain _pieces_ of toys rather than toys in their entirety." Sonic gave her a curious look. "In particular, he was fascinated by wheels and other spinning parts," she told him. "However, this was only observable when he was with Saran, his sensei, as he never had access to toys otherwise."

This made perfect sense, truly. After all, from what Sonic understood, Kaden hadn't exactly grown up in a kid-friendly environment. _At least he apparently got to be a kid when around that Saran guy, though. _That was far better than nothing, truly.

Then, suddenly, Analia was smiling again, if only somewhat. "To this day, he seems rather fascinated by spinning things, wheels and gears included."

Sonic randomly got a vision in his head as he imagined some crazy contraption that didn't exist. This was what had happened when he'd gotten the inspiration for the X-Tornado and for the communicators. But he pushed it out of mind for now. _Maybe some other time, brain. We can try to work on that later._

Analia's voice broke into his thoughts once more. "He has also always been strongly averse to touch, as you know," she continued, "though he now generally tolerates it for the sake of his family and friends. "As a baby and young child, he also didn't like to be held. He only ever tolerated being held when he was with Saran." Her gaze noticeably saddened with no warning. "Some of this can be, in part, blamed on the circumstances in which he was raised, but not all of it." This, again, sounded like someone else Sonic knew, but he was given no time to think on that. "Another symptom he displayed early on in his life was seeming disinterested in games such as peek-a-boo and generally preferring to play alone, even after befriending Locke."

Once again, Sonic was reminded of another he knew, and this was starting to both puzzle and slightly concern him. But, after a small moment of consideration, he pushed this thought aside and refocused on the conversation at hand. By now, Locke and his group had landed and were conversing with some of the others. "What else?" he questioned his mother.

Analia, again, didn't even have to think about her response before she was able to give it. "As a baby and young child, in particular at age seven and below, he didn't always respond to noises, people saying his name, or people talking to him in general," she said, "and this often gave the illusion that he couldn't hear." Of course, the idea that his father couldn't hear was absolutely ludicrous. Obviously he _could_. His hearing was far too sharp for him _not_ to. "He occasionally still displays this symptom, but has generally gotten better about responding."

Of course, Analia was right, Sonic knew. He had noticed this before, too, though he had never given it much thought before. In particular, one example that came to his mind was from about six months into the two-year separation. He had been visiting his parents one day and, when his mom had gone to get herself a drink, he had tried to speak with Kaden. He'd had to say "Dad" probably about five times to get the other man's attention. _At least now I understand why. _Initially, he'd just brushed it off as Kaden being too distracted by his drawing to notice he was being talked to. Now, however, Sonic wasn't so sure.

"Your father has also always displayed difficulties in taking steps to start a conversation," Analia said, breaking into her son's thoughts, "and, in spite of possessing an unusually high vocabulary, he often has a hard time continuing a conversation after it's begun. However, this does not _always_ remain true when he is around people he is comfortable with, such as Locke and myself." This was yet _another_ symptom Sonic had noticed before but simply never given much thought.

Suddenly, Sonic remembered a couple other things he had noticed about his father that could be explained through this diagnosis. "You know, him being autistic might explain, at least in part, why he's so abnormally intelligent," he began, "why he has such a reduced interest in people generally, why he doesn't usually seek comfort, why he doesn't always seem to respond to displays of affection, and why he has such noticeable sleep difficulties." Granted, yes, the failing to seek comfort thing was partially a learned behavior (from what Sonic understood, anyway) and the sleep difficulties were also caused in part by trauma his father had experienced, but those still didn't explain these symptoms completely.

"Yes," Analia confirmed. "However, since he and I grew to be as close as we are today, he has grown better about seeking comfort at times. In certain situations, he has been known to go straight to me or even Locke without hesitation when made upset by someone or something. The same is true for him often failing to respond to displays of affection. Since he and I have grown closer, this symptom has lessened somewhat."

This all made sense to Sonic, so he didn't waste any time or energy discussing it. Instead he asked, "So, are there any other symptoms he displays?" Already, it seemed like there were quite a lot. Analia apparently hadn't been joking when she'd said that explaining all of this could take a while. Glancing up randomly, he noticed Wave and Storm were now flying toward the group.

"Yes," Analia said again with a small nod, breaking him free of his momentary distraction. "There are four more that I know about." When Sonic didn't immediately reply, she continued speaking. "One is that he displays a minor case of facial blindness."

Sonic frowned a little, momentarily confused. He needed clarification. "Isn't that where a person has a hard time remembering peoples' faces?" Once again, Analia nodded. Sonic was surprised by this revelation, as it had always seemed to him that his father remembered faces just fine. But, then again, Analia _had_ said that Kaden's case of it was minor. So, once again, Sonic let the matter go and simply moved on. "Okay, so what else?"

"Your father struggles, at times, to show his emotions in his voice and expression." This was another one Sonic has seen before, but he'd always attributed it to his father deliberately hiding his feelings. But that apparently wasn't the case, judging by Analia's next sentence. "His tone can sometimes be flat and he often displays a so-called 'beautifully blank' expression, even when he is not deliberately concealing his feelings. And yet, at the same time, when he _is_ being expressive, his face does not always match his mood. For example, he can often be seen frowning even when he isn't upset. To make matters worse for him, he also struggles to express his thoughts and feelings verbally. ...More so his feelings than his thoughts, in most cases."

Truth be told, Sonic didn't have much to say to that. However, the thought once again struck him that this sounded like someone else he knew. Not the whole flat-tone and blank expression thing, but everything else... _But, whatever. Not important right now. _"Alright," he said simply. "What's the last one, then?"

"Kaden tended to wander away from his caregivers all throughout his life, pre-adulthood," Analia said, "and, as an adult, he often still wanders off with little to no warning." She paused for the first time in a short while, then added, "This is the largest part of the reason why Locke and I work together to keep such a close eye on him."

"What good does keeping an eye on him do if he gives no warning about it?" Sonic asked, frowning again. _I mean, sure, it'll help them see if and when he actually does it, but I don't really how it could help before that..._

"He tends to seem distracted and 'off in his own world', for lack of a better way to put it, on days where this symptom is, in a sense, acting up rather badly," Analia explained, "and this generally warns us that he may start to wander off at some point or another." She paused yet again before adding, "Though, this demeanor is not one that typically shows up in other autistics with the same symptom, meaning it is fairly unique to him."

Sonic's frown remained in place. "I've never seen him wander off like that," he mused.

"He has not done it much in recent years," Analia responded, "though it did happen a few times during the two years we were all separated for the sake of recuperating and training."

Slowly, Sonic nodded his head in understanding. Then he caught sight of Amy, Shadow, and Silver coming into view. They were the last to return, by the looks of things. Suddenly desiring to check on Amy and make sure that she was alright (though, rationally speaking, he could see that she, his son, and his half-brother were all completely _fine_), he gave his mother an apologetic look that all-but told her that he was going to bolt. She smiled at him, gestured with her right hand for him to "go on, then," (though, really, she said nothing at all) and he returned her smile before taking off. He reached his young pink friend just as Silver set her down on her feet on the ground (as he had been using his powers to carry her here). Giving the two of them a wink, the aptly-named silver hedgehog flew off, undoubtedly to join Blaze. Sonic ignored him and his antics for now. "Hey, Amy," he greeted with a small smirk as Shadow walked off to who-knew-where.

Amy smiled at him, further increasing the random happiness he continued to feel. "Hi, Sonic," she replied. Her smile then grew as she suddenly said, "I heard you 'epically kicked butt without us', as Silver put it."

This comment earned a low chuckle from the blue hero. "Uh, yeah," he admitted almost sheepishly, lightly scratching the back of his head with his left hand as he did so. "Sorry about that. I kinda needed to act ASAP, you know?"

"I understand, don't worry," Amy assured him easily. Suddenly, though, her smile faded a tad bit. "I just wish that you hadn't had to kill Chaos." Her feelings were unsurprising to him. She was such a caring and loving person and, on top of that, she (like everyone else) had been filled in on the creature's rather tragic backstory. Of course she felt for the so-called "monster".

All at once, Sonic began to smile more widely, some more of his earlier happiness returning in an instant. "I didn't, Amy." When she looked briefly confused, he elaborated. "I mean, I _did_, but not in the way you think." Her confusion remained, and he sought to explain himself further. "I gave it, Tikal, and their Chao friends new life in the Master Emerald. You know, so they can be together and find peace."

Slowly, ever so slowly, Amy's smile returned to it's former size and brightness. The sadness she had once felt bled away from her expression and her aura. Then, without any warning, she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. She hadn't done this to him since... what? Her arrival to Silver's world back when he and Silver had only just reunited?"Oh, Sonic," she breathed, smile still clearly evident in her voice even though he could no longer see it, "I'm so glad..."

As the seconds ticked by, Sonic found himself relaxing more and more. His own happiness from earlier began to return, replacing the surprise he'd felt initially when she'd unexpectedly hugged him like that. As he gradually began to smile once more, he found himself hugging her back. And, just this once, he decided not to feel awkward about it.

**~ソニック~**

Wave and Tails had been talking for the past several minutes about something or other while Jet had been watching from a good ten to fifteen feet away. All of his attention was focused on _her_ and no one and nothing else. And when Tails walked away, when she turned and looked at him, his heart began to ache in a strangely weak way. A part of his mind continued to remind him of his fears. It screamed to him that he couldn't _have_ what he wanted, what he had wanted for so, so long, that wanting this was quite possibly dangerous to his health (physical, emotional, he didn't know), that things were so inevitably going to end up _screwed _if he tried to get what he wanted... But, the fact remained that he _did_ want, and he wanted badly. To watch her stand there, giving him a look of something akin to longing only furthered his want. It was utter masochism, staying here instead of going to her. But his legs refused to move. A part of him wished that _she_ would, but the sight of her walking away might truly kill him. Watching her come might end him. He wanted her to stay. He wanted her to go. He wanted. He _wanted_. To what?

Certainly not to tell her how he felt.

_To hug her?_

Maybe.

But doing that might honestly get him hit with a wrench, knowing her temper.

_And yet._

And _yet_...

Suddenly, he found himself moving toward her. He was half-way to her by the time his poor, sad brain even realized that he was moving. And, by the time he'd fully processed this, he had already reached her and she was talking, saying something about... about their earlier conversation? He wasn't really sure, was much too distracted to pay enough attention to what she was saying. Too much of his formerly scattered focus remained too zoned-in on one particular part of her face for him to pay attention to literally anything else. That is, until she finally said something important enough to grab his attention again and force his wandering mind to focus somewhat. "You won't ever talk to me about these things, or many things, really," she was saying quietly, eyes downcast. She seemed genuinely sad, and this _hurt_ to see. "Do you... Do you really not _trust_ me...?"

_Not trust her? _The damn guilt-trip at it's finest. And, honestly, he wasn't sure what to make of her question. All these years, he had assumed that she had _known_ just how deeply he trusted her, how much he allowed himself to rely on her in comparison to most others. There were things that he went to her for that he didn't even go to Sonic about, like some occasions when he had horrible nightmares or when he was sad but didn't know why. All this time, he had thought she'd _known_. And now that he knew that she apparently _hadn't_, he found himself uncertain what to do, and it was _so_ hard to try to think of a solution when his mind continued to allow itself to be distracted by her-

And they were moving, because she was apparently still talking and he hadn't been hearing a word of it this whole time because he had been too damn distracted and he _still_ just couldn't focus for the life of him, and he wanted her to _shut up_ for two seconds so that he could-

So that he could what? Hell, he didn't even know anymore. Honestly, he didn't think that he had had even the slightest clue before, either. And now it wasn't just her mouth that was capturing his attention. It was her eyes which were truly shining with emotion, her feathers which seemed to almost glow in the patchy sunlight, her voice that was continuing to fill his head and drown out all of his logic and reason... And suddenly, he found himself speaking for the first time since walking over here all those possible years ago. "Wave." Blue eyes deeper than the ocean suddenly looked straight up at him with a sort of stricken expression, and his heart pounded. _God, she can't look at me like that. _It resurfaced some of his past _ideas_, ideas that had already been revived when he'd initially walked over here and- He wanted this so badly, but his wish was...

_Unattainable. _

"Yes?" she asked, voice oh-so quiet.

Suddenly, he just couldn't take it anymore. Something in him seemed to snap, and in that moment he knew, he just _knew_ that it was all over. "Stop talking," he all but whispered. He was no longer thinking. He was simply _doing_, placing his hands on her waist and gently pulling her forward. Their lips collided.

_Insane. _

This was sweet, sweet torture, and he loved and hated every bit of it. And for that, he loved and hated every bit of himself. This was what he'd wanted for so long, something he had never thought even in his wildest of wild dreams would ever occur, and now that it _was_ he was both exhilarated and terrified. He swore he could feel her presence at every single nerve-ending he possessed, and tense though she remained in his arms, this damn blend of happiness and fear just would _go away_. There was no way in the _world_ he was supposed to be feeling like this, he was sure. Not for _her_, not from a simple _kiss_, but it was _happening _and surely there was no way any of this could actually be _real_ but-

_Unrequited. _

A probable eternity later, she relaxed, all at once, and began to respond, returning his affections with equal fervor, if not more so. In the background, the distant sound of someone or possibly multiple "someone"s cheering reached his pleasure-hazed senses, but that soon vanished from his mind when she placed her hands on his shoulders and moved closer to him, deepening their current interactions. His heart began to pound more painfully hard than it had been before, but he soon forgot about that as she again stepped just a bit closer, torturing him more than she already had been. Joy like nothing he had ever known before was flooding through him with every beat of his frantic heart and all he could stand to think at the moment was...

_Perfect. _

They pulled apart simultaneously. Dazed with pleasure and happiness, all he could manage to do in the moment was stare deeply into her eyes and smile. Almost goofily. He couldn't help it, because he felt really and truly _giddy_ for once in his life, and she was smiling back at him and- _God_, the way she _smiled_... It was, quite possibly, the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen in his life. _Absolutely_ _perfect..._

Her smile only grew as she turned and tilted her head to lay it on his chest directly under his chin, arms moving under his and enveloping him in a hug that he found himself returning for the first time ever in his entire long life. When she spoke, there was so much joy and warmth and pleasure in her tone that he found himself smiling even wider. "I love you, Jet," she murmured with the utmost conviction. "I really, really do."

If this was reality, then maybe the universe had finally decided to take pity on him and allow him some happiness in life. If this was a dream... If he was asleep or perhaps unconscious somewhere and just vividly hallucinating... then he prayed he would never wake up. He didn't want to ever see this moment end. And, as he stood there, holding securely in his arms the one person he had ever cared about this deeply, he found that there were only five words that would ever be good enough to be deemed a suitable reply to her heartfelt admission. They were softly spoken words he had kept secretly buried in his heart for years... but now it seemed it was time to finally share them with the one person in existence who would understand. "I love you, too, Wave..."

**~ソニック~**

**5,058 words this time. _Whew_! This one was a long one! And it was uber-important, as I'm sure y'all could tell. Let me tell ya, that scene with Wave and Jet was a long-time comin'. I've had that one planned for ages. Haha. Hope y'all enjoyed! Posted (at about 5:30 p.m.) 06-21-16.**


	236. The Promise For the Future

**Hello, StarryMoon33! YES! I THOUGHT SO, TOO! :D Yes, I suppose it was, wasn't it? And yeah, they are. :3 HE DID, HE DID, HE FINALLY DID! I AM, TOO! X33**

**Hello, anonymous rs! Your review to Chapter 160: Thank you very much! I'm happy you've enjoyed it thus far. :) Don't worry about the reviews. Leave 'em if you want to, but you don't have to. :) Wow, a friend recommended Hero? That's awesome! Stuff like that makes me smile. X) I will do my very best. Thank you again. Oh, and I appreciate you letting me know about the name. That helps me a lot. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 161: Wow, your friends certainly reads quickly. Kudos to her. Haha. XD Yeah, that one certainly was rather short, but I'm glad you were still able to enjoy it. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 162: Cool! That would be great! :D Thank you once again, anonymous. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 163: Yes, he is! Oh noes! D:**

**Your review to Chapter 164: UUUGGGGHHHH IT DOESSSSSS. DX**

**Your review to Chapter 165: No worries. It's cool. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 166: Haha, no worries. Lol. XD I know I say it a lot, but I truly am glad that you enjoyed. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 167: Thank you. I appreciate the compliment. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 169: Thank you once again. I'm very glad that you enjoyed. :) And yes, I get it. Haha. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 170: Haha, nice. XD Hooray! Kaden! :D**

**Hello, Luna MoonSinger27! I KNOW, RIGHT?! THEY HAVE! X33 AND SURE! *SHOUTS AMEN TO THE HEAVENS***

**Hello, thatguy4643! IT DID! I'M SO HAPPY! X33 No worries, you're fine. XD Yes, I did throw some of that in there as well. :) **

**Hello, PyroShockZ! ****Your review to Chapter 219: OMG, hi, Pyro-kun! Oh, and hey Sparky. XD I AIN'T REVEALIN' SH** 'BOUT THAT! XDD YES, HAPPINESS WITH CREAM-CHAN AND LOVE FOR ESPIO-SAN! X3 AGAIN, I AIN'T REVEALIN' SH** 'BOUT THAT! XDD And yes, I do as well. Lol. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 220: I know, right?! I think that was the worst beat-down he's received since childhood. :l Ooh, nice name-change! That actually sounds pretty freaking cool. XD And yes, I liked that bit as well.**

**Your review to Chapter 221: I KNOW, RIGHT! 'TWAS VERY BRUTAL! But yes, I agree. At least now we have a deeper understanding of Chaos's anger. It's already prone to negative emotions, and then it experiences something like that... 'Twas very sad. DX And yeah, I agree. It was very bittersweet, and he certainly has every right to be scared and upset. :(**

**Your review to Chapter 222: Yes, go Bokkun! Yep... Poor Sonikku. And poor Kaden. And poor everyone else, for that matter. Yes, gotta love those ships. XD AGAIN, I AIN'T REVEALIN' SHIAT! XDD It was so sad... ;_; *yasha also leaves* *yasha then comes back* Anyway, yes, Cheese is smarticle (I totally made up that word). XD Nope! Not Espio! So, so far, you have ruled out him, Blaze, and I think Cream, plus we know the Immortal is not a hedgehog. Keep trying! ;) I knooooow! It was super brief, but I thought it was cool, and I can totally picture that as well. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 223: I have finally rendered the great Pyro-kun speechless! Haha! Success! XD But, anyway, in all seriousness, I'm happy you enjoyed that so much. :) AND YEAH! MARTHAL!**

**Your review to Chapter 224: I DON'T KNOW! YASHA DOES NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS, BUT I'M GLAD YOU LIKED IT! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 225: I'm glad you enjoyed! Yeah, it's natural for him to have that, considering what all he's been through... :( Yeah, those parts were pretty darn sweet, and I loved the part about Silver as well. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 226: YES, IT MOST CERTAINLY IS! Yes, I will. Haha. XD **

**Your review to Chapter 227: I'm glad you like it. I really do, too. And thank you. :) SHUSH, SPARKY!**

**Your review to Chapter 228: Yes, plans have changed, meaning that that arc is next. See the notes below for the explanation on that. :) Yes, I agree. They're happy, so I am, too. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 229: YOU CAUGHT THEM! NICE! XD Wow, I didn't expect you to get the "Hello" cover reference. Nice going on that one. XD I'm super happy you enjoyed! And yes, yes he is. XD YES WE WILLL! WE MUST! **

**~ソニック~**

Chaos was defeated, yes. This marked the end of yet another beautiful plan, certainly. But did it mean the end of the struggle? Did it mean the ultimate defeat of the mastermind behind all of those past failures? No. Never. Ivo was not yet finished with his work, not yet finished with his enemies. Using Chaos had been a shot in the dark, a massive risk right from the start. This was the precise reason why his grandfather had never tried to see his own plans for the beast come to fruition. Ivo had taken a chance on the creature, and that chance had turned sour all too quickly. But, no matter. The past was the past, and present was now. He had more work to do, still had plans to make use of a certain weapon he had clashed with two years ago. His efforts had been unsuccessful, yes, but he still had a plan, an idea that may very well end up working. He had every intention of seeing that ancient power become his. He also had every intention on finding a way to capture Sonic's Immortal friend and finding a way to steal their gift, the power to never perish. And with those two abilities together at his disposal...

_I will never be defeated again._

**~ソニック~**

Jet and Wave stood together on the street, both fending off the well-meaning teasing of their friends even as the two of them tentatively held hands for the first time in their lives. The only time Jet moved away from Wave was when he walked forward a step to punch his best friend in the arm with his own free arm, earning a laugh from the damn hedgehog. "For the love of _god_ Sonic! Just let it go already!"

"No!" Sonic replied merrily, still laughing all the while. "All this time you flat-out denied liking her like that at _all_ and then you go and pull a stunt like _that_-!"

And Jet was blushing again because, _dammit_, Sonic was embarrassing the absolute living _hell_ out of him in front of _everyone_\- "Shut _up_, Sonic!"

"You can't _make_ me!"

"_Watch_ me, you goddamned asshole!"

"You wouldn't hurt your best friend!"

"You wanna bet?!" Silver was absolutely laughing his ass off by this point, and Jet whirled on him. "You shut up, too!"

"Never!" Silver declared with a wide grin. He betrayed his own defiant facade by then ducking to hide behind Blaze, earning one of her rare eye-rolls.

Still thoroughly amused (he truly was having _way_ too much fun with this), Sonic opened his mouth to make another merry comment, only to pause when he felt his ear be tweaked between two firm fingers. Expecting to see Analia at his side (as she was normally the only one who pinched his ears, save for occasionally Amy), Sonic turned his head. Instead of his mother, he actually saw his father standing there beside him. A mild surprise. "That is enough," Kaden lightly admonished. Doubtless the man knew what it was like to be in Jet's position in a situation like this. And yet, there was a faint light of amusement shining in his eyes even though the emotion didn't reach the rest of his face.

Only now that someone besides Jet himself had said something, Sonic agreed to give his poor friend a break. "Alright, alright," he chuckled. "I'm done, I swear." Jet huffed and gave Sonic a small glare, but Sonic didn't buy it for a moment. The hawk was much too happy at the moment to be truly angry. Embarrassed for sure, but not angry (not that his demeanor and tone gave that away much). Wave, however, was another matter. She and Amy were bickering like there was absolutely _no_ tomorrow, though Amy was doing it with a a laugh and a smile while Wave was doing it with much frowning and yelling, just like Jet had been with Sonic. _Those two share some interesting similarities... _Sonic mused with a smirk as he watched the two Rogues trade a small, embarrassed glance. His smirk grew. _No wonder they're so perfect for each other. _Smirk morphing back into a smile, Sonic moved away from his dad (who had already let go of his son's ear by now) and over to Jet while Wave continued to fend off Amy and her comments. The fact that Jet was doing nothing to save the swallow was laughable, but Sonic was done teasing him for now. Approaching the young hawk, he waited for Jet to look at him before saying, "In all seriousness, though, congrats."

There was a brief pause as Jet seemingly weighed just genuinely serious Sonic actually _was_, then he turned his head away a bit to try to hide his slight smile. "Yeah, whatever," he responded simply. He tried to sound unaffected and uncaring about the whole thing but, as always, Sonic saw right through Jet as though the alien warrior was as transparent as glass. Truth be told, he was probably the only one (save for Wave, perhaps) who could do that. It was a strange feeling, but one that was usually ignored.

The moment was then interrupted by a small commotion from Silver and Blaze. All eyes turned to look at them as Blaze exclaimed, "Don't tickle me!" She actually used a contraction in that sentence, which only heightened the humor of the situation as she lightly shoved the silver hedgehog away from herself. This earned a laugh from her oldest and closest friend, and she crossed her arms.

It was then that Marthal (who thus far had proven himself to be an ancient, feline version of Silver in many situations) spoke up and turned everyone's focus to something a tad bit more serious. "So what are you guys going to do now?" The idea that they would inevitably leave at some point had visibly saddened him, but he still continued to smile in spite of his less-than-positive emotions.

Sonic turned his head to look in the direction that one of the now scattered emeralds had shot off in. After a small moment of consideration, he responded. "None of us have actually seen Ivo since about two years ago," he said slowly.

"'Cept for Bokkun," Charmy added helpfully.

Clearly nervous at the few glances he received, Bokkun ducked his head. But, nonetheless, he nodded his agreement. "Yeah," he confirmed in a small voice.

"Since we don't know where he is," Sonic continued uninhibited, "we can't exactly confront him. And, besides that, he'll undoubtedly be _heavily_ protected, wherever he is. Considering the fact we have kids with us, a baby on the way, people without powers, are now down a ship, and so on, it'll probably be best for us to not try to find him and start something where he is."

"It'll be best for us to let him come to us," Locke agreed calmly, arms crossed. "It may not be the _best_ plan, but it's better than the alternative at this point."

"Yeah," Silver agreed with uncharacteristic seriousness. "At least if he comes to us he won't have as much protection as he will at whatever base he's hiding in right now." Blaze said nothing, but clearly agreed with this logic.

"And, if _he_ comes to _us _in person, he'll have much less ready access to his resources, weapons, and so on," Tails pointed out logically. The moment he started talking, Jet looked at him. "Whatever he's able to take with him on the go will be all he'll have."

"Exactly," Sonic responded with a decisive nod. "So, for now, let's just all go home. Keep an eye out for trouble and keep in contact with each other, but get some rest for as long as you can."

"Works for me," Vector replied with a lazy yawn, arms stretching up to the sky. "I need a decent night's rest in a _bed_ rather than on the ground."

"You seemed like you slept just fine to _me_," Charmy replied with a small glare. "You were snoring as loud as a train."

This comment earned a loud laugh from the crocodile. "Was I?"

"You were!"

"Haha!"

Rolling his eyes in amusement, Sonic turned his head to look at his parents. "Will you two be alright heading home by yourselves?"

Analia graced him with an amused smile. "I may be carrying a baby, but I am still fully capable of travel," she assured him with a teasing lilt in her tone.

"Alright," Sonic chuckled. Then he focused on his father. "Are your ears doing any better?" he asked worriedly. "Can you hear me okay?"

"You're muffled," Kaden admitted, seeming a tad reluctant to do so, "but, yes, I can hear you." He had refused to let Analia heal him earlier for whatever reason, so his ears were going to have to recover on their own. Since there was no real damage (at least none severe enough to be concerning), they would do so just fine. It would likely just take a while, that was all.

"Good," Sonic replied. Sensing that the two of them were ready to go, he switched the topic back to what it had originally been. "Well, I'll see you guys later, then."

Kaden nodded, but then cast a glance in Blaze direction. "Remind her to come and see me about her training later."

"Sure thing, Pops," Sonic winked with his trademark smirk.

Needless to say, this earned a dry look. "Don't call me that, Sonic." Kaden then unexpectedly ruffled his son's hair before teleporting away.

Smiling, Analia walked over to Sonic, gave him a brief hug (one that, of course, he readily returned), then also teleported away. But not before apparently repairing some damage Sonic had neglected to deal with earlier. "Hey!" Vector exclaimed, drawing the young hedgehog's attention his way. The brilliant light of Analia's magic faded away from around the place where the Chaotix's now fully fixed ship was standing. "Our ship!"

"Wow!" Charmy exclaimed, being almost just as loud as his adoptive father. Only Espio remained quiet as he circled the ship with a curious light in his amber eyes. "That was so cool! Did you _see_ that?"

Shaking his head in amusement, Sonic returned his attention to Jet, Wave, and Storm, all of whom had picked up their boards by now. "You guys taking off?"

"Yeah," Storm replied gruffly. For once, he genuinely seemed to be trying to be civil with Sonic and, come to think of it, he hadn't been very bothersome since the two-year separation.

_Weird. _Ignoring this thought, Sonic settled on a nod as his reply. "Alright. Be careful." His gaze zeroed in on Jet. "Especially you. You and Astral Babylon are connected now, from what I understand, and I don't know if or when Ivo may try to mess with that ship or the Arks again."

Jet seemed to softly snort, expression lightly derisive. "I won't let him touch them," he promised with simple confidence. Satisfied with that answer, Sonic nodded again and watched as Storm got on his board and flew off without waiting for his teammates. Wave turned to Jet and smiled, then lightly kissed his cheek before releasing his hand (which she had been practically glued to this whole time) and jumping on her board. Within seconds, she was also flying away. If Jet was blushing now, he was hiding it well. He turned his head to glare at Sonic as he issued a very clear and serious warning. "Not. A. _Word_."

Sonic raised his hands placatingly with an innocent grin. "I wasn't going to say a thing," he promised with false sincerity. After giving the hedgehog a disbelieving look, Jet turned and began flying away. For once, the board remained under his arm instead of beneath his feet. He flew of his own power.

Not long after they left, the Chaotix said their farewells (quite shyly, in Charmy's case when he spoke with Cream), then boarded their ship and flew off. Shadow ran off very soon afterward, not bothering to say a thing to anyone. Omega flew after him. It didn't take long after that for Blaze to say farewell to Silver and run off in the direction of Kaden and Analia's rented home without needing to be reminded that she needed to do so. Silver turned to Sonic. "I've been abandoned," he joked.

"Nah," Sonic replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You've still got me to deal with. You're not as alone as you think." Silver chuckled. Then, in his usual way, he wandered off happily to go talk to someone else. That someone happened to be Amy.

It was then that Locke caught Sonic's attention. "See you later, kid," he called from across the street, where he had been standing this whole time with his son and Rouge.

Turning, Sonic saw that Knuckles and Rouge were already flying away. _Nice of them to say farewell, _he inwardly joked. However, he refrained from saying that out loud. "Later, Locke," he called back. "Keep those two out of trouble for me, 'kay?"

"No promises," Locke laughed. Without waiting for a reply, he turned and began to fly off.

After that, Sonic turned and walked over to Marthal. Keiri had apparently gone back inside, and Marthal was turning to follow her. "Hey, wait." Deep blue eyes turned to face him with mild surprise. "Listen, I know Mom, Dad, and Locke didn't say it, but we're all going to keep in contact with you two. This goodbye isn't forever."

Slowly, Marthal started to relax. Within no time at all, he had begun to smile one of his usual smiles. "Well, that's good," he replied, voice a bit more quiet than seemed to be usual for him. Those jerks had me kinda worried there."

Knowing that this was a joke and nothing more, Sonic just chuckled. He then said, "Give me a week and I'll have communicators built for you guys." Marthal nodded in response to this. Sonic had little else to say, so he turned to leave. "See you." He and the cat parted ways, and the young hero walked over to his son and good friend.

Amy turned when she heard his footsteps approaching. As she often did, smiled at him the moment she saw him. "Ready to go, Sonic?" she asked him in her usual happy way.

Sonic nodded, but then asked, "But where did Cream, Cheese, and Bokkun go?" he asked. "I need to send them home still."

"Oh, I already did that," Silver replied. He was smiling, too. "She convinced Bokkun to go with her, so they're all at her house with Vanilla now."

Nodding once more, Sonic allowed silence to fall between then. In the span of one single instance, he teleported Amy home, then teleported himself and his son to the home they were going to stay in for now. It was finally time to get some rest once again.

**~ソニック~**

Kaden and Analia entered their home, and Analia took her partner's right hand while he used his left to shut the door. "You know," Analia murmured to him as he released the doorknob, "we will need to establish a more permanent residence before our child is born. This home is much too small to raise a child in."

Kaden murmured his agreement and leaned casually back against the closed front door. The fingers of his free hand drummed thoughtfully on his thigh as he spoke. "I would prefer not to _buy_ a home, and certainly not in such an unfortunately crowded city."

"You have never mentioned it being too loud for you here," Analia responded, head tilting slightly. This certainly explained why he was restless in his sleep at night, even when he wasn't dreaming. Kaden merely shrugged in response, and Analia let the matter go. "So what do you propose as an alternative solution, then?"

Again Kaden's shoulders lifted in a shrug. "I can always build us a new home," he told her. "One outside the city, but not _too_ far from it." This was his compromise, it seemed, because he disliked living in modern cities while she personally enjoyed doing so quite thoroughly.

A random smile tugged at Analia's lips. "I believe Empire City will miss us if we leave."

"I do not believe it will care very much," Kaden replied, a glint of amusement appearing in his emerald eyes.

"I believe _I_ will be missed, at the very least," Analia joked lightly, still smiling all the while.

"Yes," Kaden agreed, blinking slowly one time. "You. Not 'us'."

"Perhaps it would miss you more if you were not so antisocial," Analia teased him, earning a slight eye-roll. That action was a rarity for him, and she knew it. This furthered hr amusement.

"'Introverted' and 'antisocial' are two very different terms, ai'n," Kaden responded, dry humor (but humor nonetheless) coloring his tone. (The word "ai'n" is pronounced "Eye-n". It means "love" and is used in the same sense one would use the word "dear" as a sort of title for a person (i.e. "Yes, dear.").)

Analia giggled softly. "Yes, I am aware." Kaden leaned forward and gave her cheek a small kiss. Her smile widened, and she moved the conversation back on track. "Until you are able to find the time to build us a new home, we may have to covert one of the rooms upstairs into a nursery."

"We can do that in the music room," Kaden replied immediately. Considering how_ much_ his music meant to him, the fact that he was offering this (let alone so readily) was significant. "I can move my things into the office for the time being."

Now smiling even wider than before, Analia wrapped her arms's around her partner's slim frame and held him close. "Thank you," she said quietly, eyes closing.

"Do not," Kaden murmured back to her, his arms moving to hold her just as much as she was holding him. "I am happy to do it."

Smiling now more than ever, she leaned up, and then she kissed him.

**~ソニック~**

Standing outside Cream and Vanilla's home, Bokkun hesitated. Pain and darkness and fear haunted him. Warmth and love and laughter beckoned him. Happy brown eyes called to him, offering a promise of a life yet unknown to alien to which she spoke. Watery yellow-green eyes scanned the home, the promise, again and again. Debating. Thinking. Wishing. Hoping. Fearing. Again that sweet voice beckoned. The promise was again spoken. The smell of cherry pie tantalized, awakening an empty stomach and causing it to roar. A small blue and yellow body latched itself onto his hand and tugged, toward the house, toward the promise, toward the future. Awed by the kindness he was being shown and terrified of what would come to be if he denied himself this chance, he took the first small, tentative steps toward the future. _His_ future.

**~ソニック~**

**3,241 words this time. Not my best work, but whatever. I liked it. I liked it a lot. I'm especially proud of how that last scene turned out. It was kind of like a drabble. :) Oh, and before I forget, I made a song reference in this chapter. The line at the end of the Kaden and Analia scene, "and then she kissed him", was a sly reference to the song "...And Then I Kissed Him". That is a song from the Pearl Harbor movie, and one of Analia's themes. Although, whether or not I've actually remembered to put that song on the playlist is debatable... XD**

_**A FEW QUICK NOTES! IMPORTANT!**_

**1.) My author profile still contains the EotS teaser playlist, containing character themes and whatnot (but no spoilers of any kind). It has been updated recently, and I'll be updating it again soon. Please check it out!**

**2.) For those of you interested in the side stories, I just thought I'd let you know that "Every Hero Has a Story" and "On My Own" have both been updated recently, and should be updated again soon. If you're interested in seeing deleted scenes from this stories, ideas I never used, and so on, check out the chapter of "Every Hero Has a Story" that I will be uploading today.**

**3.) As stated before, my plans for the story orders is subject to change, though most of them are set in stone. I have decided to move a few of the stories off of the main list and onto the list of side stories. As such, here are my current plans for the order that In will write the main stories in: "Hero", "Eye of the Storm" and "Time" (as stated before, these will be written simultaneously, and you'll understand why when the time comes), "True Storm", "The Path of Vision", "Hero Chronicles: Times of War", "Breathe In, Breathe Out", "On and On" (this title may later change", and finally "Guardian". "Riders" and "A Father's Wish" may later rejoin this list, but we'll have to see.**

**4.) I mentioned multiple times before that, after this arc, I intended to do a "Sonic and the Secret Rings" Arc, then the Sonic X Arc, then the "Peacetime" Arc that would end the story. Now, plans have changed. I am dropping the "Secret Rings" Arc, but not as completely as you might think. I have decided to instead do that arc as a collection of oneshots from a different timeline. As for my explanation for why Cream had visions of that arc earlier on here in "Hero"... Well, who ever said she could only see _her_ timeline? ;)**

**Posted (at about 6:36 p.m.) 06-23-16.**


	237. A Little Help From My Friends

**Hello, Storm Can't Think of a Name! You're review to Chapter 116: I'M SORRY. IT HAD TO BE DONE. **

**Hello, StarryMoon33! YAS. XD It's be so cool... but we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see it. XD Me, too. it was sweet. :)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 230: I'm glad you did. I did as well. :) I agree! But, no, she won't. Haha. XD No, not all of them. I think that a couple of them might be 100 chapters or less. For example, I don't expect "Time" to get to longer than maybe 100.**

**Your review to Chapter 231: I know, right? XD I'm happy you did. That always means a lot to hear. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 232: I _told_ y'all who it is! I flat-out _told_ y'all! XD Think about it, the Immortal is an alien that was born on another world but raised on Mobius, is close to Sonic's age... that's _all_ I'm saying here. ;) I would, too. That man is so _beyond_ despicable that there are no words for it. AND SHUSH, SPARKY! XD**

**Your review to Chapter 233: Sure thing! Thanks again for providing the idea! :D I enjoyed that one, and I personally liked the title as well. Glad you did as well. :) Yes, she did! I can't wait for it either! We're getting closer and closer to it by the day! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 234: Saaaame! It's so epic! And thanks a bunch! I know I say it a lot, but I really am happy you enjoyed! :D **

**Your review to Chapter 235: YES! HE FINALLY DID IT! SUCCESS! HOORAY! Yes, I agree that he'd more relatable ('specially to me and my family... ^-^") now. I actually realized quite a while back that he had a lot of symptoms of autism (him and one other Hero character), so I decided to include it in the story. Originally, this was supposed to be an EotS reveal, but whatever. :P Oh, no, that wasn't a typo. I put "mum" and "da'" deliberately. He'd either got a British accent, or an Irish one. Not sure which. And wow, you're form the UK? That's cool! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 236: Yep, they're taking as long of a break as they can manage... and they need it. This struggle was short, but not easy (though certainly not as difficult as some in the past, for sure). And yes, I sure hope that arc will be good. We shall see. :) Yeah... I agree. It was, and he is. Well, without revealing too much, I'll say this about "Time". Remember the entries from Jet's journal that we saw in Cream's visions? Well, there are _way_ more of them. Some will be revealed directly in EotS, but not all. In "Time", I'll actually be posting the journal bit by bit with a hundred or so entries in each chapter. In doing this, people will also get to see the journal entries Jet is writing _during_ EotS, not just what he wrote before then. :) I'm glad you enjoyed, and I'm also glad you liked that word. Haha. XD And I will do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Samantha! ****Your review to Chapter 235: YES! XD**

**Hello, Skye the Hedgehog101! ****Your review to Chapter 235: Hooray! Mission accomplished! XD Yeah, I agree that it really explains a lot about him. And I'm glad that you approved of the idea. :) I know, right?! I was waiting for ages for that one, too! XD Thank you very much! I will do my best! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 236: Since the chapter "Pure Joy"! XD**

**~ソニック~**

Two long months past since the end of it all, since the defeat of the creature that had revived so many buried fears. Many minor battles had come and gone since that day, as endless as the seasons themselves, as plentiful as the raindrops that now fell upon his door. As he sat there, contemplating the innumerable patters that the rain was drawing on the windows, he waited, listening for the sound, the single noise that would reassure him that he was not as alone as he sometimes felt. As he sat, as he waited, his emerald eyes followed a fat droplet on its perilous journey from the top of the window to the very bottom. Ears remained ready to catch the sound he still waited on. When he heard it, the soft laughter of a woman purer than the light of the moon... somehow, he found it in himself to smile once more.

**~ソニック~**

A breeze whispered through the night, shifting flowering bursts of color all throughout a moonlit field. Two pairs of eyes, each blue as they could be, gazed upward with wonder as streaks of perfect light shot across the sky. Stars twinkled. The breeze ceased to whisper, though the night remained cool. The moon smiled down upon them. The meteor shower continued uninhibited, unconcerned with the trivial matters of the world it was passing by. The whispered resumed, and a new shifting sound entered the night as a hand moved to cover one slightly larger than itself. Piercing blue eyes turned and met eyes of a deeper shade. Neither said a word... and no words were needed. Their kiss ignited the sky.

**~ソニック~**

Unthinkable though it was, the longing for the genuine happiness of the past remained firm in his heart. A smiling face and hazel eyes haunted his dreams. Laughter reminded him of her, and every memory hurt. Hurt devoured joy, but there was only so much of the latter that could be taken. Pain had been his for too long. He wished for love to find him once more, but not the love of just anyone. _H__er_ love. He wished for her return, impossible as it was. He wished for happiness not just in the past, but in the present and for the future. And, in turning his head looking at the life his shared love had once created, he found that he had had that happiness all along. He had merely been looking in all the wrong places for it. Violet eyes smiled, even as his hat-less head turned away from the one who possessed eyes so like his own... and yet so different.

**~ソニック~**

White fur and dark wings were given a glow in the afternoon sun. The wind roared around her, drowning out all other noise. She closed her eyes and savored the feeling, the rush of the wind and freedom of flight. Alone though she was, she felt weightless and happy. Joyful, even. The weight that usually clenched around her heart vanished during times like these, times where she was able to genuinely find peace and relaxation. But then temperamental violet eyes flashed through her mind's eye, and some of that weight returned. A measure of her joy was replaced with the usual uncertainty that she felt. Her heart knew what it wanted, though the things it wanted it could never have. Of this she was certain. Resigned to this idea though she was, there was no denying how badly she wished for that certain someone to prove her wrong. But... for now... she simply focused on the feeling of the wind and lost herself in the pleasures of isolation.

**~ソニック~**

Colorful drawings covered the walls in a room filled with childish laughter. Three small voices chatted and giggled as crayons marked the pages decorating the table. Small hands moved their colored utensils with as much skill and precision as they could muster. When their mother (biological or not, they had no care) called them to lunch, heartfelt protests were made. But, in the end, the children left their drawings behind, if only for a little while.

**~ソニック~**

Red and black fur melted with the night. Crimson eyes watched their target without blinking. Metal glinted in the moonlight. Heavy footsteps thundered past the thick bush that the hunter was currently hiding in. Twin pistols were loaded silently. A sword slashed through the underbrush, destroying the nature without a single care in the world. The hunter sprang free of the leafy confines of his hiding place and fired four times, twice from each hand. The robot exploded, fire lighting up the dark woods and jumping onto all the nearby plants. With a single wave of a hand, the fires were eliminated, and the hunt continued.

**~ソニック~**

Silver and purple fur danced together to the beat of the music flooding the small club. Laughter, some of a common sound and some of it rare, echoed through the space between them. Amber eyes smiled with truly rare happiness. Golden eyes beamed with joy. Their feet moved together across the dance floor. Multicolored lights played across the room, across their fur, across their bright eyes. A smile played across purple lips, and a hand bearing the same color tentatively took a silver one for just a moment. That moment was all it took to make her closest friend smile as well.

**~ソニック~**

A welder moved slowly along two pieces of brightly-colored metal. When the tool shut off and the young technician backed away, a robotic voice intoned a rare expression of thanks. Blue eyes and a yellow face smiled. Robotic eyes followed his movement as he walked across the workshop, prepared to resume working on an invention that had the potential to one day save the world. And when the unemotional robot moved to help, the young inventor's smile only widened. He could always get by with a little help from a friend.

**~ソニック~**

Loud voices and even louder laughter echoed throughout the home/office in Spagonia, disrupting the ninja's morning-long meditation. But even with some of his focus broken, his mind continued to wander. He pondered the fluffy clouds outside, the whispering of the breeze through the trees, the movement of the people on the streets, the meaning of the countless works of art that this city was known for. On the floor below his room, the roughhousing continued and he got up, perhaps to chastise his friends for their noise levels... perhaps to join them.

**~ソニック~**

A large grey thief moved through the shadows on the city street. Silent as he could be in spite of his imposing size, he walked along past the crowds of people, unnoticed for once in his life. Ego boosted by the success of his deception, he slipped into the city bank, melting past the groups of customers without detection. The vault was a struggle to open (though it never would have been for his boss), the treasure inside well-worth the effort. Grinning to himself, he loaded his bag.

**~ソニック~**

Deep blue eyes grinned at platinum ones. Genuine laughter filled the otherwise quiet living room as joke after merry joke was told by by the owner of the blue eyes and orange fur with a vaguely yellow tint. White fur was given a healthy sheen in the sunlight pouring from the room's three windows. Her platinum eyes were bright with emotion, happiness chief among them. She enjoyed moments like these, moments where she could relax, where he could relax, and where they could both just let go and have some genuine fun together. She lived for the joy she found in him.

**~ソニック~**

Bright laughter was the response he gained for saying the small joke that had entered his mind, and he turned his head to give the pink woman a smile. An ocean breeze ruffled blue and pink fur alike, two sets of hair swaying from the minor force of the wind. Life in Apatos flowed around them, unconcerned with their private affairs. He cared not for the affairs of the many other people filling the streets, either. All of his emerald focus remained on the owner of those green eyes beside him. And when she smiled... the sun was put to shame.

**~ソニック~**

**1,423 words this time. This, as you could tell, was not a normal chapter. Instead, it was a collection of drabbles for about two months after the last chapter. In case you got confused about which drabble starred who, allow me to explain. 1.) Kaden and Analia. 2.) Jet and Wave. 3.) Locke and Knuckles. 4.) Rouge. 5.) Cream, Cheese, Bokkun, and Vanilla. 6.) Shadow. 7.) Silver and Blaze. 8.) Tails and Omega. 9.) Espio, Vector, and Charmy. 10.) Storm. 11.) Marthal and Keiri. 12.) Sonic and Amy. **

**I promise I'll be writing a normal chapter for tomorrow. Also, the last line on the Tails and Omega scene was a reference to a Beatles song, though I can't remember the name of it. Posted (at about 4:00 p.m.) 06-14-16.**


	238. Life and Death

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Cool! I'm glad you did! :D Perhaps I will in the future. We'll see. :)**

**Hello, flashyhero! Nice job! Kudos to ya! :D**

**Hello, ScarletTheCat14! OMG, HI! No worries, I understand. :) I AM, TOO! I MISSED YA! :D Well, good luck, and have fun reading! :D**

**~ソニック~**

Blaze sat with Kaden in the grass in an isolated location near the hedgehog's vast underground library in early August. Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy of branches and leaves above. Kaden sat with his legs crossed, hands lightly grasping his ankles. It was a strangely casual position, one she rarely saw him in, but she refrained from drawing his attention to it since that would likely make him revert to his usual, more serious posture. It was good for him to relax (though he wasn't _totally_ relaxed, as he was away from his partner, who was now four months pregnant), so Blaze said nothing. She herself sat with her legs crossed as she asked her sensei, "We are here to discuss my powers?"

Kaden nodded once. "Yes." There was a slight pause before he continued. "What you did on the say you awakened your powers was.. unacceptable."

It was an admonishment, however mild of one, and her ears lowered. "I was not aware..." she murmured, looking down somewhat.

"I know that." Emerald eyes betrayed little concern over her upset, though this by no means meant that he wasn't feeling it. A second later, he said seriously, "This is why you must train. To avoid making the same mistake for a second time."

Amber eyes looked up at him with something akin to guilt... and quiet determination. "What do I need to do?"

"Control your emotions." Kaden was dead serious about this, and it showed very clearly in his eyes. Her own eyes became troubled. "Your negative ones," he amended quickly. "They are tied to your powers. The more negative emotions you feel, the more you will lose control of those powers."

"As has happened with you and your powers," Blaze deduced in a murmur. Kaden nodded quietly. Her eyes again filled with determination. "I am ready."

Seeming pleased with this response, Kaden released his ankles and stood up.

**~ソニック~**

Pain flared in Shadow's ankle when he hit the ground shortly after being sent flying by an unintentional explosion in his training area at Sky Rail, which was located on a very warm and sunny mountain in the south. Hissing softly between clenched teeth, he fell down on his rear and clutched his now badly throbbing ankle. Just looking at it, it became awfully clear to him that his ankle was either badly fractured... or broken. Or perhaps both. And, of course, Omega was just standing by, not doing a single damn thing to help. _Great... just fu\- _That thought was cut off when his communicator began going off, playing a song by the artist Enya. Which meant it was Analia calling him. Cursing under his breath, he grabbed the device and answered in a more clipped tone than he generally used when speaking with her, "What?"

The frown Analia was probably now wearing could be heard in her voice. And yet, her concern remained clear in voice as well._ "Are you alright?"_ There was a very slight pause before she spoke again, not giving him time to reply. _"And do not lie to me."_

Shadow let out a small growl. Several moments later, he bit out, "No, I'm not alright." His ankle again throbbed. "But I'll _be_ fine."

_"I told you not to lie to me,"_ Analia responded, still audibly frowning. _"You are hurt, are you not?"_

Again, Shadow growled. _Damn it._ Finally, he released a sigh and admitted reluctantly, "Yes."

His adoptive mother wasted no time. _"Where are you, Shadow?"_

After letting out a second sigh, Shadow muttered out a simple reply. "Sky Rail." The location was not a mystery to anyone who knew him well, so he didn't waste his breath by explaining precisely where she needed to go.

_"Alright. I am on my way. Do not move."_

He sighed one last time, completely caving to the woman's strong will. "Yes, mother."

**~ソニック~**

Silver sat in the under the open sky with Tails, gazing up and into the puffy white clouds that occasionally provided shade to the pair while they were sitting atop the fox's roof. Together they contemplated what to do with their lives on this particular day. It was Silver who finally broke the silence. "Hm... We need some ideas..."

"Well..." This immediate reply was followed by a short stall. Then Tails spoke again. "I've got nothing, Silver."

An idea struck the young hedgehog, and his face suddenly broke out into a grin. "We could pull a prank."

Now, Tails was grinning as well. "We totally should," he grinned. "But on who?"

Silver contemplated this for a very short while, then suggested merrily, "Uncle Jet is the _best_ to prank." Tails grinned at this. "Seriously, he has the _best_ reactions, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Tails laughed. "He's very... _expressive_ about his displeasure when he's nailed with a prank."

"Exactly!" Silver grinned. "So that's why we should prank him!"

"But what should we do?" Tails queried. "I mean, he's learned to expect most of the types of prank we usual do."

"That's easy enough to deal with," Silver replied with a dismissive wave of his right hand. "All we have to do is come up with something new to pull on him."

"True..." Tails murmured thoughtfully. As he pondered their options, he randomly recalled the blueberry pancakes he had made himself for breakfast. He also recalled the fact that he had used up all of his maple syrup. _I'll need to buy some more of that... Pancakes are no good without maple syrup. _He paused. Then he blinked once. _Syrup. _Slowly, very slowly he began to grin. _...That's perfect._ Turning his head, he aimed his grin at his close friend. "I know exactly what to do."

**~ソニック~**

Espio lay in his bed late at night, staring up at the ceiling and listened to the white-noise provided from the droning of his small bedside fan. It was mid-August now, and therefore much too hot for his liking. But, being that both Vector and Charmy preferred warmer temperatures, the AC was never on, no matter how hot it got in the home. As such, the chameleon relied on the power of his fan. But it was never enough. It was still _so_ hot in here. Perhaps that was why he was still unable to sleep, more than two hours after he and his teammates had all gone to bed.

A sudden chime from a cellphone barely used startled Espio so badly that, for once, he actually jumped and reflexively camouflaged himself. He blended in with his bed so well that he was practically invisible. A second later, he ceased his camouflage and snatched the phone off of the nightstand. He didn't recognize the number displayed onscreen, but that was nothing unusual. After all, he rarely (if ever) used his cell phone, so why would he know the numbers of others? A small moment of hesitation passed before he hit the "Talk" button to answer the call. "Hello?"

The response was slightly delayed, generally an indication of uncertainty. When the voice on the other end finally spoke, their was a nervousness clearly present in the tone. _"Are you... Espio?" _It was female. Concerned that this may be a call regarding a new case, he didn't hesitate to confirm this. The woman sighed, perhaps out of relief. _"Oh, good... I was worried that I'd dialed the wrong numbed." _Espio blinked once, but gave no verbal response. _"This is Kanari,"_ the woman suddenly said. _"I'm the one who was messaging you on that dating site earlier. I was using the username 'amari101'." _

His confusion tripled, maybe even quadrupled. _Dating site?_ He knew for a _fact_ that he never used _dating_ sites. Hell, he never used the internet in general. Not unless he needed research something for whatever reason. And yet, she had his number and knew his name. No woman named Kanari had ever come to the agency before with a case, meaning there was no way she could have his information. Unless, of course, she really _had_ found him on some website. And that meant that someone had made a profile on that site _for_ him, someone who had been insisting for many a month that he needed "to get a girl". His amber eyes narrowed. _Vector._ In spite of his current annoyance, his sigh was... apologetic. "I believe there has been a misunderstanding," he told her. "I never made profile on any dating site."

_"Then how-"_

"I believe a friend of mine may have created it behind my back."

Silence. Absolute silence. Then, slowly, a small laugh emitted from the woman. _"That's funny," _she murmured when the laughing stopped. _"Two of my friends did the same thing to me, only I found them out right after they made the profile. I just never deleted it."_

For whatever reason, a very slight smirk of amusement played across the ninja's lips. "I see."

More silence ensued. But, finally, Kanari spoke again. _"Well, this certainly got awkward, but..."_ Once again, she hesitated. He wished she would stop doing that, if only because people ceasing to stop mid-sentence had always bothered him. It was just a pet-peeve of his. _"But, I was wondering," _she continued slowly, _"if you might like to still talk?"_

Espio surprised himself by taking time to genuinely consider this option. Truth be told, he wasn't _opposed_ to talking with people, even if he didn't generally do it much. And, provided that this conversation remained chaste and casual, he supposed that no real harm could come from having a conversation with her, specifically. Besides... he really was wide awake. So, in the end, he agreed.

**~ソニック~**

"Just admit it. Ya like her."

Charmy stopped flitting about the kitchen (he had been making himself some extra-buttery waffles for breakfast) and whirled on Vector. "No!" he exclaimed, face bright with embarrassment.

Vector barked out a laugh loud enough to probably rouse the dead. "_Sure_ ya don't!"

The eight-year-old bee turned around with as much of an angry huff as he (being the generally happy child he was) could muster. "If you wanna tease someone about liking someone else," he said as he buttered up his waffles, "then go bother Espio. I heard him staying up late talking to that girl on the phone again last night."

"That certainly 'splains why he ain't up yet," Vector chuckled. Then he added, "This is, what, the fifth time?"

"Yeah," Charmy nodded, still hard at work with his meal. "Something like that."

Vector again chuckled. "Right though you are, you're still not out of the woods, kiddo," he told his adopted son frankly. He ceased to use improper words such as "ya" in this sentence, since he was calmer now and filled with less humor. "And you never will be, until you actually admit you have a crush on Cream."

And again, Charmy exclaimed, "I do not!"

As Vector laughed, a glob at butter was hurled at him from across the room.

**~ソニック~**

It was currently late August. Weeks earlier, Locke had made plans with his son and Rouge. They were to go out treasure hunting together out in Adabat. When the day, August 23rd, finally came around, Knuckles was the first to show up to the designated meeting place. Since he had accidentally arrive more than twenty minutes early, he wasn't surprised to find that his father and Rouge had not yet arrived. So he laid down and reclined against a tree trunk, hat tipped over his eyes to keep the hot sunlight away from them so that he could nap. And nap he did, until a familiar teasing voice roused him from his light rest. "Hey there, Knuckie."

Cracking his eyes open, Knuckles moved his hat back into the proper position on his head as he sat up and glowered at Rouge. "Don't call me that." Rouge just laughed softly and sat down. Knuckles huffed. "What time is it?" he questioned, rather than continuing the argument.

"About noon," Rouge replied immediately. "Which means your dad is late."

Locke was never late. Never. Feeling concerned, Knuckles sat up completely and immediately called his father. The call went through, but it just kept ringing and ringing and ringing. Finally, Knuckles just gave it up and ended the call. "And he's not answering me."

"Odd," Rouge commented aloud, gaze thoughtful.

A moment later, Knuckles caught himself staring into her eyes. Blinking, he looked away and back to his communicator. _Focus, _he told himself. Typing as quickly as he could (he'd never been a quick texter), he sent out a message to his father, asking the man where he was and if he was okay. Not five minutes later, he got a reply.

**_Locke:_**

_Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it. Just got busy. I won't be able to make it. You two have fun without me._

For a good minute or so, Knuckles just stared at the message. Though what Locke had said was probable fact and seemed legitimate enough, Knuckles couldn't shake the feeling that the man had done this deliberately.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic sat idly at the kitchen table in the apartment he and his son shared together in Lester City. It was the first time they had ever lived together, and things were going very well. However, Silver wasn't here today. At least, not right now. He had gone with Blaze to her one of her daily training sessions and wasn't expected back until the evening. He wasn't home, but Sonic still wasn't alone. Amy was visiting all the way from Apatos and was, by the goodness of her heart, making lunch for him. "I can't believe you," she admonished with a laugh.

Realizing that she was joking, Sonic smirked slightly at the busy woman across the room. "Why is that?" he inquired.

"You're well over a thousand years old," Amy smiled, "and yet you _still_ can't cook." She neatly sliced some lettuce for the salad that was apparently meant to go along with their meal. "Whereas, I've been cooking since I was ten or eleven." Sonic opened his mouth to make a comment, but she continued speaking before he could utter a word. Since her back was now to him, she was likely unaware that he had been about to speak. "And, as I recall, you once told me that you, at about the same age, nearly burnt down your kitchen."

Sonic couldn't help but chuckle. "What can I say?" he replied lightly. "I can't inherit _all_ of my parents' talents."

This earned a laugh from Amy. "No, I suppose not," she agreed. She finished tossing the salad before speaking again. "Well, at least you managed to inherit the heroics," she joked. "That's what's important."

"Exactly," Sonic replied, smirking again.

"And," Amy continued, turning around with the salad bowl in hand and an affable smile on her face, "as long as the rest of us are around, you'll never go hungry."

Sonic's own smile grew wider, and his emerald eyes shown with happiness. "Thanks, Amy."

**~ソニック~**

In late November, Marthal and Keiri were walking together down a street in a neighborhood with many trees and, therefore, many fallen leaves. As they walked, they talked about anything and everything under the sun. Their topics ranged from their recent minor battles against Ivo's robots and their concerns about why he had been laying so low lately, how cold it was getting, how pretty the leaves were, how miserable Marthal and Kaden were going to be when winter truly came, and on and on and on. They chatted about their lives, their friends, their struggles, and their joys. And, as they walked, they laughed and smile and joked like the old friends they were. The subject then switched to a more personal matter. "Hey, Keiri?"

Platinum eyes shifted to look into deep blue ones. "Yes, Marthal?"

Marthal gave his girlfriend one of his usual goofy, happy smiles. "I was wondering... you know how we were talking about catching a movie this Saturday?"

This reminder earned a smile from the white cat. "Yes," Keiri replied. "What about it?"

"Well, I was thinking..." Marthal replied slowly, "what if, instead of going to see that movie, we go spend a day on the beach? We haven't done that in ages."

The idea of spending a day doing anything with her boyfriend was always a pleasant one, of course. The idea of a _beach_ day in particular sounded wonderful. She had always loved water, especially the ocean. As such, she had a deep love for the beach, hence her reasoning in always living so close to one. However, ever since Ivo had risen to power, neither she nor her boyfriend had been often able to find the time to relax on the beach. And, even when they did manage to obtain the time for such a thing, they were often too tired from recent battles to stray from their home unless necessary. Lately, however, they were well-rested. It had been more than two weeks since Ivo's last minor assault. They had the opportunity to do something genuinely fun together... and that opportunity was too tantalizing to pass up. "I would like that."

Beaming at her acceptance of his idea, Marthal leaned over and gave her a brief kiss.

**~ソニック~**

Wave walked quietly down the hall in the home she shared with Jet and Storm. She could easily hear the albatross snoring as she passed by his room and, rolling her eyes, she grabbed his door by the handle. Shutting it, she muffled the loud, rumbling snores, then continued on her way. Reaching the door of the young man she had only been _officially_ dating for the past two weeks, she very quietly opened up the bedroom door and stepped in. As was usual, Jet's window was wide open, allowing in the late-night breeze. What was unusual, however, was the fact that the lights were off and the hawk who occupied this room was currently in bed asleep. He laid on his right side, slightly curled (as he always was when he slept) under his thin blankets. Smiling softly, she walked over to gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek as a form of farewell for the night.

Sleepy, piercing blue eyes blinked open and looked up at her blearily. Clearly, he wasn't fully awake. "Wave?" he mumbled drowsily, head lifting slightly off the pillow.

The young swallow smiled softly and nodded. "Yeah," she murmured apologetically, hand lingering on his cheek in an uncharacteristically tender gesture. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." Her boyfriend visibly suppressed a yawn as he again mumbled something, though she didn't catch this time what he had said. Still smiling softly at him, she gave him another kiss, this time on the side of his head. "Go back to sleep. I'll see you in the morning." He gave no protest. His eyes closed again, seemingly of their own accord, and he laid his head back down. Within seconds, he was out again. Still smiling to herself, she removed her hand from his unusually peaceful face and left the room.

**~ソニック~**

In late December, less than a month before Kaden and Analia's new baby was due (they were to be born sometime in early January), Cream found herself having more visions related to the few she had had about seven glowing rings that glowed with the same colors as the Chaos Emeralds. The last vision she had had about them had proven to her that the events she was seeing involving those rings were from another timeline, one similar to this timeline in many aspects... yet also very, very different.

(-)

_"Tied to his emotions?" Sonic asked with a confused frown as he looked at the dark blue stone ring he now held. His mother, who was currently two months along in her pregnancy, nodded quietly. "So, am I right in assuming that this color represents sadness?"_

_Again, Analia nodded. "Yes," she quietly confirmed. Her own gaze saddened while she looked at the ring as she murmured, "Deep, deep sadness."_

(-)

_Locke slumped to the floor, looking shocked as the bullet tore through his head. He was dead before he hit the ground, eyes still open. A strained sound of terror and disbelief escaped Analia, and her hands flew up to cover her mouth in an expression of horror. Kaden could only remain frozen in shock, eyes wide, as he stared into the dead eyes of his best friend._

(-)

_Shadow hissed in pain and reflexively dropped the red ring when it began glowing brightly. The intensity of the energy it was emitting was so great that it had literally burned his hands. Immediately alarmed by this occurrence, Shadow picked the ring up again (ignoring the horrible burning pain) and resumed running._

(-)

_Ivo laughed loudly. "You honestly believe that that pitiful life meant anything to me?!" he demanded. He was being deliberately infuriating, attempting quite strongly to goad his enemy into giving him the reaction he wanted. Sharp, perfectly white fangs were bared at him in a display of fury and blatant hostility. This was further accompanied by a snarl. Pleased with his work thus far, Ivo grinned._

(-)

_Exceedingly rare tears stained Sonic's cheeks as he laid flowers on the grave erected for the slain echidna, whose funeral he had just attended. Knuckles was nearby, finding comfort in speaking softly with Rouge. Turning his head, the young hedgehog gazed sadly at his father, who sat in a chair far from the grave. He was leaning forward on his elbows, which were braced on his knees, just gazing numbly into the sky. Feeling again like crying, Sonic looked up. Locke had always loved watching the clouds._

(-)

By the time the visions had ended, Cream was also crying. Cheese, Bokkun, and Vanilla quickly took notice of this and hurried to her side. Their concern was obvious, and unsurprising. After all, Cream was not a child that cried. Not usually. Covering her eyes, she openly sobbed, because Locke was _dead_, even if only in another timeline, and she simply couldn't bear the thought. It was much, much too terribly.

Vanilla pulled her daughter into her arms.

**~ソニック~**

**3,797 words this time. Welp, there's my explanation for why Cream had visions of a story arc I'm no longer writing. And, since I'm no longer writing it, I gave it a new timeline and decided to involve some character death for emotion's sake. If you're interested in this alternate timeline, keep an eye out for it in the Hero side story "Ever Hero Has A Story", where I will be writing the tale as a collection of oneshots. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Tomorrow's chapter will be the last "peacetime" (though there really isn't peace it the moment, as I tried to portray) chapter before the Sonic X Arc. Lastly, the name "Lester" from the Sonic and Amy scene has a meaning. ****The name Lester is an English baby name. In English the meaning of the name Lester is "fortified place". ****Posted (at 3:00 a.m.) 06-25-16.**

**EDIT: I forgot to mention it, but the idea for the Locke, Knuckles, and Rouge scene came from Luna MoonSinger27 and StarryMoon33. Thanks, guys!**


	239. Saviors Will Be Born

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Thanks! Glad you liked it! Well, that was the start of it. At least we know the nature of her training, even if I end up not showing the training. :P I liked that as well. It was sweet. I know! Go, Silver and Tails! XD Yep! That was the story! Vector did a good! :D He so is. Haha. He really did! And neither he nor I is sorry for Knuckles or Rouge at all. XD Hahahahahaha, that would be so great! XDD 'TIS NOT LIKE SHE CHOOSES TO SEE THESE THINGS! DX**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 237: Yes. Super kawaii. X3 I agree! It's just so fitting! Thank you! Glad you enjoyed!**

**Your review to Chapter 238: I KNOOOW! ;_; Haha, sure, Pyro-kun. His head is so powerful it has a gravitational field of its own. XD Nuu, don't go there! D: Thanks! I'm glad you did, and I will do my best as always, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Guest! SAME! ;_; Haha, I know, right? XD**

**~ソニック~**

Kaden waited anxiously in the hospital waiting room, hands tightly gripping his knees. He hadn't been present, due to unfortunate circumstances, when Sonic had been born. This time, however, things were different. There were no huge battles needing to be fought at this time, meaning he had no reason to leave his partner alone. As such, he was here, and he refused to leave. He was tense, though, and so anxious that he felt the urge to pace, something he never normally did. Locke, who was sitting in the chair right beside him, seemed to sense this, and he placed reassuring hand on Kaden's shoulder. On reflex, the hedgehog shied away from the touch, almost as though flinching. Locke didn't pursue him, but he did speak. "Just relax, Kaden. She'll be fine."

Emerald eyes cast a glance at him, but Kaden didn't immediately speak. Eventually, however, he sighed. "I know," he responded quietly.

"So just relax," Locke insisted almost gently. "You're way too stressed for your own good." Kaden offered no reply to that. Taking a chance, Locke reached out and reassuringly placed a hand on his friend's shoulder again. Kaden flinched back slightly again, but didn't move away entirely. He allowed Locke to offer comfort in this manner, and Locke gave him a small smile. Kaden barely noticed.

"So, Dad, what do you think?" Kaden turned his head to look at his eldest son and saw that said son was smiling brightly. "Boy or girl?"

Of course, Kaden had no idea. Neither he nor Analia had bothered to try to find out before the baby's birth. "I don't know."

"Could be either," Marthal added helpfully with an easy smile. "They stuck with the old way of doing things and didn't get an ultrasound to find out."

This time, Kaden turned his head to look at Marthal. "'Old'?" he questioned dryly.

"Well, maybe not in _your_ years, but just in years in general-"

"Anyway," Locke chuckled, "the point is, we don't know the gender, but we'll find out soon enough."

"_Soon enough", _Kaden internally scoffed. _Far from it._ It had already been over two hours, and he was _so_ worried… though he did his best not to worry _too_ much, because Locke was right. He really was too stressed out for his own health at the moment. And, considering the stress-related health problems he had experienced in the past… Well, he wasn't eager to experience those again. So he tried to relax.

"Did you guys think of any names?" Tails asked suddenly.

The young fox hardly ever spoke to Kaden, so he was internally startled. On the outside, though, he didn't really react. Slowly, he felt a very slight smile tug at the corner of his lips. "No," he replied. "Analia tends to prefer doing so after a child is born."

"Just like when she used to name some of the babies born in her tribe," Locke smiled. Kaden merely nodded.

"For her sake," Amy joked, "I hope you guys have a girl. She's terribly outnumbered in your family at the moment."

Kaden managed a slight smirk, and Sonic chuckled while saying, "That… is so true. I mean, there's _four_ of us and _one_ of her, and there's even more guys in the family if you include the people we only _consider_ to be relatives. Like Locke."

Now it was Locke's turn to chuckle, it would seem. "Exactly."

After that, Kaden ceased to pay attention to the conversation. His mind drifted into the past, something he rarely dwelled on. He recalled the two short weeks he and Analia had had with Sonic when he had been an infant, before they had had to go fight Dark Gaia… and had never been able to return. They had died then… but the two weeks they had had with their son had been happy. Granted, being that Sonic had been a newborn, neither of his parents had been getting much sleep during that time, but it had all been well-worth it. Those days had been so happy… but they had ended so tragically. His fears that tragedy would strike their family once more weighed down heavily on his mind in heart, but Cream had assured him that nothing bad would happen. Of course, she didn't say specifically how she knew this (he suspected visions were involved), but he didn't press the matter. He just hoped that she was right.

"So, who's going to name this baby?" Rouge asked suddenly. Kaden glanced at her, and she spoke again. "You named Sonic, right?"

Looking away again, Kaden nodded. A small moment later, he added, "When Sonic was born, Analia asked me to name him. She stated that she would name the next child, should we ever have another one."

"That makes sense," Silver smiled. He then winked. "Here's hoping she chooses a good name, then."

"I'm sure she will," Keiri murmured, wearing her own smile.

"And you will not tease her about whatever name she chooses," Blaze warned Silver, tweaking a silver ear between two fingers.

Silver grinned sheepishly. "I won't say a word, I swear," he promised.

"Good." Blaze released the ear.

Kaden again zoned out. The conversation ceased to be as far as he was concerned. He barely heard any of it, focused as he was on his thoughts, until his eldest son's voice again pulled him from his thoughts. Looking over, he listened as Sonic bothered Shadow (something he loved to do, it would seem) about the possibility of Shadow one day having his own children. Shadow, of course, scoffed and simply refused to acknowledge the teasing. Doubtless that he didn't want his own kids, Kaden was sure. Shadow seemed to like kids well enough, but probably not enough to want his own. That was when Silver chose to pipe up again. "So, Wave, Uncle Jet," he grinned, "when are _you_ guys going to have kids?"

The two Rogues exchanged uncomfortable looks, then Wave said, "Uh, try _never_."

"Agreed," Jet muttered.

"Aw, why not?" Silver pretended to pout. "Tiny Rogues would be so cute."

"And you two are good with children," Locke added helpfully.

Neither Rogue deigned to reply to these comments, and Knuckles spoke before Silver could do so again. "Just leave them be," he muttered. "No one likes being teased."

_Kami, these seconds are taking too long to go by._ Kaden closed his eyes and sighed internally. Time ticked by uninhibited, but much too slowly for his liking. Again he zoned out, this time unintentionally. He found himself doing this often, and had for many, many years throughout his life. It was something that Saran, Analia, the elders of Chun-nan, Locke, Marthal, Pyros, and even Sonic had pointed out to him before. Analia and Saran both had suggested to him before that it could be another symptom of his autism, but he didn't really know, nor did he care that much. Besides, he had other things to worry about. Like the fact that only another hour had passed since he'd zoned out. _Damn it… _

The conversations around him continued without pause, though they were quiet enough that he could easily tune them out. Outside the hospital, a January snowstorm was underway, and he found himself incredibly grateful for the warmth of the hospital. He didn't like this place much otherwise, but he disliked the cold even more. But it was only the thirteenth day of the new year. That meant the cold would last a while. However, his attention was drawn away from that when Marthal began poking fun at him for "being so spacey". He redirected all his focus for the purpose of fending off the cat's teasing comments.

Four hours passed since the start of Analia's labor, then six. It was now nearly ten-fifty at night. Tails, Silver, Cream, Cheese, Charmy, and several others had drifted off to sleep. Kaden, however, remained wide-awake. Because of this, he was able to tell easily when someone walked over to the large group of people. Turning his head, he saw a female nurse approaching with a wide smile. When she reached him, she was quick to reassure him, "Your wife is fine."

He chose not to attempt to correct her (since Analia was his life-partner, a far more permanent arrangement than marriage, not his _wife_), and instead just focused on his immense relief. _Thank god… _

The nurse continued speaking. She gestured to the room that Analia was in. "Come and meet them," she murmured.

Kaden was on his feet before he even realized he was moving. "…_Them_…?" he questioned oh-so-quietly, tone one of shock.

This question earned a nod and a wide smile. "Twins," the woman confirmed. "Fraternal."

For whatever reason, Kaden glanced back at Locke, who gave him a wide smile of his own and gestured for him to go. "We'll still be here," he said. "Go say hi."

Turning away without a word, Kaden walked quickly to the room where Analia and their _two_ babies were currently residing. He entered the room soundlessly and shut the door just as quietly. He then moved over to the bed and was met by a tired but beaming smile from his partner. "Hello, Kaden," Analia murmured. She very gently shifted the two tiny bundles in her arms, and he looked down to see two peacefully sleeping faces wrapped in white blankets. A little boy and an equally little girl. His heart soared. "They're so beautiful," his partner whispered, looking almost teary with joy.

"Perfect…" Kaden whispered in agreement. They were so, so perfect… He didn't even have words for just how perfect they truly were. He slowly reached out and gently touched their daughter's tiny cheek, earning an equally tiny frown and sound of protest. For once, he genuinely smiled. He then looked back up at Analia. "Did you name them yet?"

Analia shook her head. "No. I wanted to wait for you." She looked down to smile at their sleeping son. "Besides, I stated before that I would name the next child that was born. That 'next child' is him." She carefully shifted the tiny boy in her left arm. "He is three minutes older than his sister. He was born at ten twenty-four."

Kaden found himself unable to stop smiling, not that he really wanted to, anyway. "I am here now," he pointed out quietly, once again looking at their beautiful new children. "You can name him now."

The woman he loved only continued to smile. "I was thinking…" she began slowly after a long pause, "…that we could name him Sen." Kaden looked up at her quickly. "It would be a sort of tribute," she continued softly, "to both your ancestor, and to the version of our son from the ruined future."

Considering just how much both his great-great-grandfather and his own son meant to him, Kaden was very, very okay with this idea. "That name will suit him well," he murmured. The newly named Sen shifted slightly, revealing windswept hair of a very similar style to his own. His fur was rather similar to Analia's and Sonic's, though it was also noticeably darker. When his tiny eyes blinked open for just a second, his father saw that they were just like the boy's mother's. Kaden's smile widened infinitesimally.

"Now it is your turn," Analia murmured, drawing Kaden's attention back to her face, but not her eyes. It had only been by accident that he'd made eye-contact with Sen. Eye-contact made him… uncomfortable, so he did his best to avoid it. "What will you name her?"

Looking down yet again, Kaden gazed at their as-of-yet-unnamed daughter. She had fur just like his own, and her hair was similar to Analia's. The difference was in the bangs. Her bangs (while obviously short) were naturally swept to the right side, meaning they would cover her eye when long enough. Again, tiny eyes momentarily blinked open, as though the baby was aware that she was being looked at, then closed again. They were emerald like his own. Suddenly reminded of the mother he had never met and the respect for her he had gained from the stories he had been told of her, Kaden decided to give this baby a name as tribute as well… this time to Seiko. "I want to call her Sarai," he admitted to Analia quietly.

Knowing that Sarai was the name of his mother when it was translated into the ancient language, Analia once again smiled. "It is perfect," she murmured. Feeling happier now than he had in a very long time, Kaden leaned forward and gave his partner a hug, being mindful of their angels all the while. A tiny protest sounded from Sarai, and Sen shifted slightly. Joy filled the room.

**~ソニック~**

**2,190 words this time. And this is officially one of my favorite Hero chapters ever. :3 And I even got this one written a full day early. Haha. Anyway, one last quick note: the word "Kami" is Japanese and means "God". Posted (at about 12:00 a.m.) 06-25-16.**


	240. Just a Touch of Joy

**Hello, StarryMoon33! I KNOOOOOOW! X33**

**Hello, Mutt7! NOTHING, I SWEAR! LOL! XD**

**Hello, thatguy4643! Sooo cute! X3**

**Hello, Luna MoonSinger27! THAT'S OKAY. :) Oh, okay. Good to know. :) WELL, WAIT NO MORE! IT HAPPENS HERE! :S**

**~ソニック~**

Sonic crept oh-so-quietly into the hospital room that his parents and new siblings were occupying. Upon entering the room, he saw that his mother was sitting up in the bed, covered from the waist down by a thin hospital blanket. A pillow was propped up behind her, and two tiny bundles of white cloth that could only be her new babies shared the space with her, as did Kaden (who was sitting on the edge of the bed beside her). Both she and her partner were each holding one baby. Smiling joyfully, Sonic joined the others in walking as quietly as possible to the four of them. Analia locked eyes with him and smiled, eyes bright. "Hey, Mom," he whispered.

"Hello," she whispered back.

Tails's own smile was bright as he looked at the baby Analia was holding. "Hey, he looks kinda like you, Sonic," he told the hedgehog. He, like everyone else was whispering.

"I should hope so," Sonic responded. "He _is_ my baby brother, after all."

"And here's your baby sister," Amy whispered, tone full of warmth as she looked down at the tiny baby that Kaden was holding. Sonic beamed at his father and the two girls and was offered a small smile from the latter. That was a rare thing, and made his own smile widen.

"What did you name them?" Silver asked his grandmother.

Analia beamed at him. "I named him Sen," she murmured, "as tribute to Kaden's great-grandfather and to Sonic of the ruined timeline."

Sonic happened to glance at Knuckles. Normally hard, grouchy violet eyes had softened both at the sight of such innocent life and at the knowledge that the other Sonic he, Amy, Locke, and Tails had come to know was remembered in such a way here. "It's a good name," the echidna said quietly, and Sonic felt himself smile.

"And the girl?" Marthal asked, peering down at the tiny girl with a happy smile of his own.

It was Kaden who answered. "Sarai," he murmured. Sonic gave him a questioning look, and Kaden looked away. The only explanation the older hedgehog gave was, "It was my mother's name."

Understanding that this was a painful subject (though he had never heard the full story explaining _why_ it was), Sonic let the matter drop. Instead, he asked almost hesitantly, "Can I... can I hole one of them?"

At this, some of Kaden's earlier happiness returned, a gentle swell of emotion that was, for once, detectable in his aura. His expression didn't give many hints as to the feeling, all though his eyes did portray the feeling somewhat. "Yes," he murmured, gesturing slightly with his head for Sonic to go ahead and come over.

Following the silent instructions, Sonic walked over and took a seat beside Kaden. Kaden very carefully and very gently passed Sarai over, and Sonic just as carefully and gently took the sleeping child into his arms. It had been _so_ long since he'd actually held a child younger than Cream. It had been even longer since he'd actually held a _baby_ of any age. That last time had been, of course... the short time when he had had the Silver of this timeline, before that poor, poor baby had died. He had slept so peacefully every night, much like Sarai now did. He had also smiled so much, constantly wanted to be held and played with, always had a smile to share with the world... And suddenly, Sonic felt tears filling his eyes, because these new babies reminded him of his own, the one he had lost so long ago. Yes, he had Silver back, but not the same _one_. The Silver he himself had _personally_ fathered was still dead, and it was quite possible that he would always remained so. But... this baby was not _that_ baby. She was alive, she was safe, she was happy... and no one would ever let anything happen to her.

"Dad? Are you okay?"

Sonic looked up at his young son from another timeline and, in spite of his sudden resurgence of grief, he managed to smile without a trace of sadness. "Yeah," he replied quietly as he gazed into golden eyes. "I'm just... really happy." In a way, it was true. Very true, in fact. As he gazed down into the peaceful, sleeping face of his baby sister, he felt all traces of grief be banished from his heart. And, in the end, he found crying any further to be simply impossible. Reaching out with his free arm, he pulled his own child into a small half-hug. His tears were wiped away.

**~ソニック~**

About two weeks later, Kaden and Analia were abruptly awakened by the sound of one of their babies starting to cry. Inhaling sharply, as he'd been startled, Kaden blinked blearily and sat up. It took him a second to realize what he was hearing and, by that point, whichever baby had started crying had fully awakened the other. Now both were crying. A quick glance at time showed that it was six a.m., meaning it had been only about an hour and a half since he and Analia had last gone to sleep. Being that the twins were infants at the moment, they woke up about every two hours or so to feed, but otherwise slept most of the time. Suppressing a yawn, Kaden tossed the blankets aside and stood up. Analia, who had gotten up about a minute before, paused in the doorway and glanced at him. "Why are you getting up?" she asked him, tone light in spite of how tired she (like he) was. A light of amusement entered her eyes. "You cannot exactly help me feed them, considering _how_ they feed."

Kaden managed to give her a small smirk. "I know that," he responded. For once, he didn't bother putting on his shoes before moving to leave the room. His smirk faded as he again stifled a yawn, then he spoke again. "I need to be up in an hour, anyway. This gives me extra time to eat and wake up."

"Oh, you are going to be training Blaze again today," Analia remembered aloud as the two of them walked down the hall together.

A small hum of agreement was all Kaden offered in reply. "Hn."

Analia smiled. "I have not heard you do that in a while," she said, amused.

"I'm tired," was the only excuse Kaden could offer at the moment. They then parted ways. She entered the nursery (formerly the music room), and he continued on to the stairs. Now that he was alone, he allowed himself to release a full yawn for once. With that out of the way, he idly ran the fingers of his right hand through his hair (he always took the ring out of it when he intentionally laid down to sleep and hadn't used it to pull his hair back yet today). After a few minutes of idly poking around the kitchen, he decided on what he wanted to eat and began to cook. When he finished cooking, he served himself a plate of the eggs, bacon, and pancakes he had made. There was more than enough left for Analia to take some as well.

By the time he finished eating, Analia had finished with the babies and was serving herself her own plate of breakfast. He swiped a small piece of bacon off of her plate as he walked by to the sink, earning an amused laugh. Smirking to himself, Kaden turned back briefly, already taking a bite of the bacon as Analia took another piece to replace the one she had lost. She flashed him a bright, though tired, smile and headed to the dining room. Kaden rinsed his dishes as quickly as he could (after all, he _hated_ water), then placed them in the mostly empty dishwasher. After closing the dishwasher, he walked out into the dining room where Analia was. Though he knew that she was fully capable of handling herself and two babies, even with Ivo as a threat still in the background, he still found himself asking her the same question he always asked when he was about to leave the house. He just... needed the reassurance. "Will you be alright?"

As was so usual for her, Analia gave him a warm, gentle, and understanding smile. "Yes, Kaden," she responded. "I will be fine." He nodded a little and teleported his shoes to him. As he stepped into them, she added, "And I will call you from time to time to check in."

She didn't have to do that, truly, but he appreciated the offer and accepted it. "Alright," he agreed. He then gave a brief wave of farewell and teleported away. He was very nearly late... but, of course, he was _never_ late.

Blaze turned to face Kaden when he appeared near her. After a very small moment, she smiled and greeted him. "Hello, sensei."

Kaden nodded in reply but, instead of vocalizing his greeting, he instead simply asked, "Are you ready?"

His student returned the nod and shifted into a fighting stance. "I am."

Without a sound, Kaden shifted into a battle-ready stance as well, prepared to combat her moves with simple martial arts. "Come at me, then."

Rather than speaking, Blaze simply did as she was told.

**~ソニック~**

"I'm not sure this is such a good- _whoa_!"

"Just _relax_, Wave. I've got you."

Wave wobbled uncertainly in the air, one of her hands firmly gripping one of Jet's as they flew together. They had gone flying together many, many times over the years, sure, but this time was very different from those other times for a few reasons. One, this was the first time they'd gone flying together since they'd started dating. Two, they were alone, whereas they were usually at _least_ with Storm (if not the whole group). Three, they weren't using their boards. No, they _had_ to be using the most dangerous method of flight out there. Namely, the self-sustained version of it. "Last I check, you didn't even have full _control_ of this power!" Wave told her boyfriend, still tightly clinging to his hand and arm. She had started using both hands to cling to him.

Jet uncharacteristically rolled his eyes. Normally, he wasn't _that_ expressive (though he certainly could be expressive at times). "That was only when I first woke up this power," he retorted, still flying slowly with her by his side. Future City sprawled out beneath them. A small business district was still trying to recover from Ivo's latest minor attack, but the city was otherwise doing just fine. That was good. "I've had control of it for a long time since then. I practically had full control of it before I even found Astral Babylon."

Wave huffed, but nonetheless continued to cling to her boyfriend. About a minute or so passed without either of them speaking again. The only sounds were the roar of the wind around them (a sound both were very well familiar with by this time in their lives) and the faint hustle and bustle of the city below. It was Wave who later broke the silence. "I can't believe the twins are four weeks old already."

In response to this, Jet actually managed a small half-smile. In spite of how nervous being around kids tended to make him, she knew he liked kids. He was good with them, too, and various kids themselves had actually stated before that they liked him a lot. But this was all off-topic. "I can," he replied. "It certainly _feels_ like four weeks have gone by."

They were, by now, flying over the wilderness surrounding their city. They had passed the city limits about two or three minutes ago. "Yeah, I supposed you're right," Wave agreed. "Time seems to pass pretty slow when you're not chasing evil lunatics around all day, every day."

"And yet," Jet quipped, "it never seems to go slow _enough_ when we're actually doing something fun."

This caused Wave to smile and turn her head to look at him again. "Like this?"

"Exactly like this." A small pause. Then, suddenly, Jet smirked. "Guess that means we'll just have to speed up, too." Before she could even voice a protest, he sped them both up. She gasped loudly and resumed tightly clinging to him, only to find herself laughing as the air rushed around them in a frenzy. Jet had been right, after all. This _was_ exhilarating. And the small smirk he tossed in her direction told her very clearly that he had known all along that she would come to see things his way. She dared to release his arm, now only holding onto his hand and nothing more. This earned another of his rare, _genuine_ smiles. The fact that she was sharing in something he loved so much was clearly making him happy... so she was happy, too.

Slowly, bit by bit, a large town was coming into view. Wave squinted at it, uncertain as to what this place was and trying to see enough detail to recognize it. Jet seemed to recognize it far faster than her, and he tensed up. That was when it clicked in her head. This was the town that they had gone to to retrieve the Ark of the Cosmos from Ross... meaning it was the very same town that Jet had been raised in after the fall of South Island, before Sonic had rescued him. This was Crestfor. And Jet almost certainly hadn't meant to come here. So Wave decided to give him an excuse to go elsewhere. "Jet?" Though her boyfriend didn't speak, he did look at her. "You met Sonic near here, right?"

After a moment, Jet nodded. "Yeah." He pointed briefly to some point a ways to the west of the eastern town. "Over that way."

"Will you show me where?" Wave ventured to ask. "I never have seen it before."

Jet seemed to debate this for a moment, but then took her up on the offer so as to escape the town where he had once suffered. "Yeah," he agreed. "Sure." Without another word, he changed the direction in which they were flying.

**~ソニック~**

The Choatix were visiting Cream, Cheese, Vanilla, and Bokkun in Eschire Village, which was located far outside South City. It was the very same village that Merry had called home and built her house in so many years ago, the very same one that Cream and Vanilla now lived in. It was also the very same house that the seven of them were now outside of. The kids were running around and playing together while Vector and Vanilla (who were good friends) talked together near Vanilla's garden. Espio, meanwhile, was sitting alone under a tree, trying meditate even as his phone occasionally vibrated. Each time it did, his focus would be broken, he would reply, then resume his task. By now, six weeks had passed since the birth of the twins, and things had been relatively peaceful for the past few days. Hence this "play-date".

Another text came, once again breaking Espio's focus. He opened it up and looked at it.

**_Kanari:_**

_So you're not playing with them?_

Espio felt a flicker of amusement.

**_Espio:_**

_No. Play is the work of children. I am no child._

Kanari, as usual, was quick to reply. She was very fast at texting, it would seem.

**_Kanari:_**

_From what you've told me, you never played much as a child. Perhaps now would be a good time to catch up on times lost._

This response gave Espio a brief moment of pause, but he was quick to regain his usual composure.

_**Espio:**_

_No. Let them play. I would not impose on their time with one another._

**_Kanari:_**

_But would it truly be imposing? You have stated before that Vector plays with them._

**_Espio:_**

_He is also Charmy's adoptive father. He has every right to play with them._

**_Kanari:_**

_You aren't exactly lacking in rights yourself, Espio._

Vector's booming voice suddenly broke into Espio's thoughts. "Hey, get your butt over here!" Amber eyes turned to face the large crocodile, who was still standing with Vanilla by the garden. "We're here for fun, not to be alone!"

Although he huffed softly, Espio obediently put his phone away, stood up, and walked over to join his friends in the warmth of the sun.

**~ソニック~**

**2,809 words this time. I meant to have this up in the early morning hours, but meh. Whatever. All's well that ends well. :P Posted (at 2:53 p.m.) 06-27-16.**


	241. Goodbye, Peace

**Hello, StarryMoon33! They are! I do as well. He really does. ;_; Yep. Yep, they do. :) It was. And they are. :) **

**Hello, Luna MoonSinger27! GLAD YOU ENJOYED IT SO MUCH! XD Nope, none at all! Lol! YES, KADEN DA BACON SWIPAH! LOL! XDD NO WORRIES, IT'S COOL! XD**

**Hello, Mutt7! Cool, thanks! I'll check it out! :)**

**Hello, anonymous rs! Your review to Chapter 171: Thank you very much. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 172: You'll just have to wait and see... ;) Thanks once again!**

**~ソニック~**

Sonic was visiting with Amy in the eastern seaside city of Apatos. It had been a while since he'd been here. At least, it had been a while since he'd been here for longer than a couple hours at a time. He'd been here for the last couple of days, staying in Amy's house and visiting with her and her family while Silver and Blaze stayed with Kaden, Analia, and the twins (who were, by now, six weeks old). Blaze's portion of this arrangement, namely the part where she stayed with Analia and Kaden, had been going on since the twins were three weeks old. She and Kaden trained as frequently as they could and, when Kaden was busy and/or not at home, his student helped Analia care for the twins. Silver also came over to lend a hand fairly frequently, taking over Kaden's portion of the childcare for a while so that his grandfather and best friend could work on Blaze's training like they so strongly needed to. For those reasons, the two of them were in the rented home of Kaden and Analia in Empire City (Kaden had started working on their new, permanent residence outside the city about six days ago), leaving Sonic free to visit other friends without having to worry about leaving his son home alone. Hence him being here.

"Gee, I wish _I _could cook this well," Sonic commented as he took a bite of the french toast Amy's father Harold had made.

"French toast isn't even hard," Amy responded with a small laugh. She worked on serving herself some bacon as the four of them sat together in the dining room of her family's mansion-sized home. "Just as Tails. He was making it when he was eight years old."

"Oh, sure, put me up against Tails, the kid genius," Sonic replied with a small laugh of his own.

"In all fairness," Harold joined in merrily, fork prodding at his bacon, "not everyone can be as talented as that boy. He's in a category all his own, I'm sure."

"Undoubtedly," Marie agreed. Almost as soon as she finished speaking, she took a bite of her scrambled eggs.

"Regardless," Amy said with a laugh as she cut up her french toast with her fork, "the simple fact of the matter is that Sonic can't cook, and that problem needs to be remedied."

The young hero coughed nervously. "Um, Amy, I'm not so sure that's a good idea. You _do_ remember what happened the last time I tried to cook, right? I told you that story, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did," Amy confirmed, "but you were also only ten years old then. Things may have changed since that time." She finally finished cutting up her french toast and resumed eating.

"Uh... Not likely..." Sonic replied slowly, nervous at the idea of trying out his nonexistent kitchen skills again.

"You never know-" Amy started to say around a syrupy bite/

"And besides," Sonic cut in unashamedly, "it's probably not the best idea to _test_ unless you have the fire department on speed dial."

This earned a huff and a small laugh simultaneously. "And here I thought you were always full of self-confidence," the young female by his side joked.

In response to this, Sonic set his fork down, sausage still skewered on it, and gave her an incredulous look. "Have you _seen_ me around water? _Ever_?"

Another laugh. "Okay, point taken," Amy conceded. Harold chuckled, but offered no comment, and neither did Marie. Sonic picked his fork back up and ate his sausage. A few minutes later, it was Amy who again spoke. "Alright, so if you're so worried about starting a fire, go ask your _dad_ for help, then."

Almost immediately, Sonic looked up at her. "Dad?" he repeated dumbly. He wasn't sure why he'd done it, but it was too late to take it back now. It was a harmless question, anyway.

"Not only is he a master chef himself, but he can wipe out any fires you may or may not cause," Amy reasoned. "And besides, he _loves_ to cook. You know that. Cooking with you, even if you do happen to make a huge mess, would be a great and fun experience for both of you." Sonic paused to genuinely give this idea some thought, but his thoughts were cut off when she spoke next. "In the meantime, though, you and I have a date."

Sonic nearly choked on his food. "Date?" he repeated, this time out of surprise or even shock. Harold seemed to be stifling his laughter across the huge table, and Marie was just... smiling.

Amy nodded, either ignoring or unaware of her unfortunate choice of wording. "Yep," she responded, eyes focused on her plate as she busily smeared some syrup onto her last slice of french toast. "We're going on a walk," she told him frankly. "There's a street vendor not far from here who sells something called a chilidog. I thought you might like to try one." When he hesitated, she gave him a look. "You can't seriously tell me that you won't still be hungry after you finish your breakfast."

Again, Sonic hesitated, but he knew that she knew that she was right. "Well..."

A bright smile spread across Amy's face. "I knew it," she said, laughing quietly. Then she said jokingly, "I have come to know you too well."

This time, Sonic's laugh was much less nervous... and much more genuine. "I guess you have."

**~ソニック~**

Silver laughed as Sen fidgeted and squirmed in his lap, tiny hands batting at the colorful, dangling toy that Silver was holding over the little boy's head. Sen, like his sister, was a full seven weeks old now, and their poor parents (while happy beyond words) were exhausted. For that reason, Silver and Tails were currently playing with the twins, giving Kaden and Analia a chance to take a break and getting in a nap (even though napping was something that neither of them normally did) while Blaze spent her day studying in Kaden's library as she often did when not training. Tails, who sat to Silver's right, was currently playing with little Sarai. He, like Silver, was sitting with his back against one of the two couches in the living room while he played with the baby. Sarai was a fiesty little thing already and seemed like she was taking more after her father in personality, whereas Sen seemed to be more like their mother. Smiling at the difference and just how darn _cute_ these two were, Silver resumed playing with Sen. Sarai, at about the same time, batted a toy right out of Tails's hand and sent it flying about half a foot. Silver and Tails laughed in spite of themselves. _Good luck, Gramps... _the young silver hedgehog thought as he grabbed the toy. _You'll need it... because your daughter is just like you._ Still wearing his same smile, he handed the toy back to Tails.

**~ソニック~**

It was a warm, sunny day, the very same day that the twins finally turned eight weeks old. Rouge had been staying in her apartment in Empire City for the past few days, and Locke had just returned to Angel Island from visiting the twins a few hours ago. Now he and Knuckles were sitting together, cross-legged, in the grass near the Master Emerald (which was on its altar a short ways behind them), just eating grapes and enjoying the sunshine as they guarded the Master Emerald. As Locke plucked another fat green grape off of the vine contained within the bag he had bought just that afternoon, Knuckles suddenly broke the silence. "Dad?" Locke popped the juicy treat into his mouth and glanced at his son right as Knuckles continued speaking. "Can I ask you something?"

Locke blinked once, puzzled as to why his son was even asking for permission like this. Normally, if he had a question, he just _asked_. So why the change? "Yeah," he replied easily. "Of course."

Knuckles leaned back on his hands a bit, violet gaze drifting into the sky. After a long moment's pause, he finally ventured to voice his thoughts. "I've been... thinking about Mom," he admitted slowly, almost carefully. Locke inwardly cringed, familiar heartache entering his chest. Knuckles was now frowning a little at nothing in particular. "I remember her eyes, I think," he said unexpectedly, "but not a single thing else." His head turned to look at Locke. "I was... wondering if maybe you could tell me about her. You know, what she was like, what she liked to do... things like that."

By now, Locke had looked away. His once happy smile had turned sad, but he was smiling nonetheless. That was an improvement over most times when any subject relating to Laura was brought up. "Well..." he said slowly, quietly, "she loved to smile most of all. I can barely remember ever seeing her without a smile on her face." He had to blink suddenly to rid himself of a tear that had started to form in his right eye. "She was an avid reader, but she also loved to watch TV, go on long walks, fly around the island, take pictures... but her favorite thing to do was dance." Once again, he was forced to blink in order to avoid crying. "That was how we met, actually," he all-but whispered around the lump in his throat. He cleared his throat a little before speaking again. This time, his voice was less... strained. "But then you came along, and her favorite activities all revolved around you. She loved to play with you, read to you, take you on walks through the woods, buy you new toys, show you new movies..." Swallowing was painful due to the lump that remained in his throat, but his smile grew regardless of that. "She always used to call you her 'silly boy', due to all the trouble you got into as a baby." Turning his head, he gazed squarely into his son's violet eyes, which were so much like his own. Knuckles was so much like him, truly, but... in him, Locke could see Laura. "She loved you from the bottom of her heart," he told his son quietly. "She always did, ever since she first learned you were on the way, before she ever even laid eyes on you. I know I wasn't there, but I know for an absolute fact that it was never her intention to leave you to grow up alone. It was always, always her intention to keep you safe and give you the best life possible. She loved you, Knuckles. _So_ much."

Slowly, ever so slowly, Knuckles looked down and away. There almost seemed to be a faint shine in his eyes. "I know, Dad," he whispered. He sighed then, eyes closing. "I know."

**~ソニック~**

Cream was laying in bed, sleeping. It was nearly midnight, and the twins were still eight weeks old. They were likely asleep, as she was. Or, at least, as she _had_ been, before he sleep was suddenly disrupted by an unexpected flood of visions.

_In the first one, Blaze was standing in the middle of a once sunny grassy field, struggling to move her legs. However, they and her feet seemed for all the world to be super-glued to the ground. She didn't know what had happened to the peace and joy from moments before, but an unparalleled sense of dread was washing over her without any explanation. The sky was filling with a thick blanket of suffocating black smoke. Her legs continued to refuse to move. A deafening roar, the likes of which she'd never thought she'd hear before, suddenly ripped through the air, all-but deafening her as she remained unwilling rooted to the spot. Her amber eyes widened, then shot up to gaze into the monstrous face of her most feared enemy... Iblis._

_In the second one, she watched as Jet and Wave tensely spoke to one another in the control room onboard the Blue Typhoon. Their dialogue was stiff, brief, to the point, and very awkward for the both of them. It was nothing like the conversations that they used to have, which had always been casual, easy, free-flowing, and sometimes even lighthearted. Now, however, there was a deep-set tension between them, a burnt bridge spanning a chasm that both stood on opposite sides of. And, as things stood right now, neither had any desire to repair that bridge and reclaim their middle ground. Their peace with each other. Their happiness._

_In the third one, Sen and Sarai both were sent hurtling through space as a result of a huge explosion. Though momentarily alarmed, their alarm soon morphed into determination. Emerald eyes traded a glance between bright green ones. Then, without any warning, they released a huge torrent of Dragonfire that wiped out the enemies that had been pursuing them. Once the way before them was clear, they both curled up into tight balls and propelled themselves forward. They practically crashed back onto the Typhoon and into their mother's warm and waiting arms._

_In the fourth one, Kaden was in Kingdom Valley. This was another place from South Island that had somehow survived the Great Cataclysm. It now rested approximately one hundred miles south of the massive and borderline insurmountable mountain range where Chun-nan continued to rest in secrecy and solitude. This valley was protected by magic and barriers, and had been for many, many eons. So many tombstones filled this place... but it was only two that currently held his attention. __He was sitting on his knees before them with his arms braces on said knees. His eyes were closed and his head was head bowed respectfully as he sat there. A breeze whispered through the lush, emerald green grass. He was clearly paying his respects... but Cream new not to whom._

**~ソニック~**

"For the love of _god_, will you sit _down_ already, kid? Your pacing is annoying as hell."

Silver turned briefly to give his "uncle" (who was currently visiting him and Sonic at their apartment in Lester City) a small glare. "I'm not pacing," he responded a touch more defensively than he'd intended.

"Mm-hm," Jet murmured disbelievingly. He took a sip of his coffee from the mug he held in both hands as he sat at the small dining table, then set the mug down again without letting it go. Steam drifted lazily into the air in a plume as he said, "It's fine to be worried about your girlfriends, but you don't need to pace to express it."

This comment immediately caused Silver to blush, and he whirled on the now smirking hawk. He now stood beside a hanging framed photo of the twins, who were still eight weeks old. "She-She's not my girlfriend!" he stuttered out. "We don't even _like_ each other like that!"

Jet again smirked. "Oh, yeah?" he challenged. There was nothing to the question, really, but at the same time there was _so_ much implication in it...

Blushing a deeper red than before, Silver turned to his dad, who was just now walking down the stairs and into view (as he'd been doing something in his room for the past few minutes), and beseeched him for help. "_Da-a-a-d_," he complained childishly, "do something about your 'brother'!"

But, of course, Sonic simply laughed. "Why should I," he responded, "when he's absolutely correct and you and I _both_ now it?"

"Ugh!" Silver exclaimed, throwing his arms up into the air. "Not you, _too_!"

For once, Jet actually laughed. It was a genuine sound that almost made Silver want to smile like usual. But then the teasing resumed. "Just admit it, kid," the young hawk smirked, "you like her."

"Augh!" Silver exclaimed before turning and running out of the room. Sonic and Jet all-but died of laughter.

**~ソニック~**

Nine weeks after the birth of the twins, Knuckles and Rouge were sitting together on Angel Island. They were on the western edge of it, near the Master Woods where Locke and Laura had once lived. As they sat there, legs dangling over the edge of the floating island that an ancient tribe had once called home, they talked. There was no major grouchiness, no suspicion, no caution, no hostility... it was just a nice, mellow, calm, and even pleasant conversation. They spoke of some of their childhood memories, some of their favorite things to do besides treasure hunt, some of their fondest memories since their teenage years, and so on. After that, they talked about their families, their friends, their homes, and even their joys. It took several hours for them to finally stop talking and, scarcely four or five minutes later, Knuckles was startled out of his happy mood when a random purple bird swooped in, pecked him on the head through the fabric of his hat. His hand flew up to the top of his now stinging head as the bird flew off. Rouge was laughing too hard to speak, and Knuckles growled at her. "What the hell is so funny?" he demanded.

Rouge clutched her stomach as she continued to practically die of laughter. "You- the bird- and your _face_!"

Knuckles glared at her. "It isn't funny!"

"It is!" Rouge exclaimed.

"Not _that_ funny!"

"More so!"

"Not even!"

"Yes, even!"

Violet eyes glared at the laughing bat, but she hardly cared, if she cared at all. Noticing this, Knuckles huffed and looked away. While she continued to laugh at him, he took his hat off to inspect the old thing and ensure that it wasn't damaged. Looking at the hat, he suddenly remembered the conversation he and his father had had during the two-year separation.

_Eighty-one weeks into the separation, Locke and Knuckles were sitting around on Angel Island eating lunch. Just as Locke bit into an apple, a random bird swooped down and peck his head through his hat. Hard. He yelped in both pain and surprise and Knuckles busted up laughing. Locked huffed and fixed his old hat (which he was wearing while Knuckles recovered from a small head wound caused by a falling rock a few days ago) as Knuckles asked through his amusement, "What was that about?"_

_"It's the hat," Locke responded. "My tribe elder, Linan, had the same problem with birds always pecking him and whatnot." He took another bite of his apple, then added, "Kaden likes to claim that the hat is cursed."_

_Knuckles chuckled again. "Sucks for you."_

_Locke wasn't terribly pleased with that comment... until something occurred to him. "Wait, this isn't my problem anymore, remember?" Knuckles looked at him. "This is your hat now, after all. That means the curse has been passed down to you."_

_Knuckles huffed and ate a small green grape. "Sure. And yet, I've never been pecked while wearing it."_

_"No," Locke agreed. "Just hit by a stone." Knuckles glared, and Locke grinned. The older echinda picked up another apple. "You'll see; your day will come."_

_Knuckles rolled his eyes and shook his head disbelievingly and simply ate another grape._

Huffing to himself again, Knuckles dared to put the hat back on.

**~ソニック~**

Cream, Cheese, Charmy, and Bokkun were once again outside playing together, just enjoying the peace and quiet. It was a beautiful day, Ivo had been quiet in this area for weeks (the twins were nine weeks old still, and he hadn't been nor heard from since a short while before their births), and the grassy outdoors beckoned them. As was rather usual for them, the group was playing tag. For once, it was Cream who was it. This in and of itself was cause for much laughter on all of their parts, if only because she was normally _never_ caught. For that reason, it was the main mission for the boys every game to see who could come closest to tagging her. This time, someone had succeeded. That someone had been Cheese.

Charmy huffed and puffed breathlessly as he ran. He wasn't used to running, and his small legs tired easily. It then occurred to him that no one ever said he had to _run_ in order to play this game fairly. Opaque white wings began buzzing furiously, lifting him several inches off the ground, then propelling him forward as they gained speed. Feet were rapidly approaching from behind him. _Wuh-oh._ Realizing he was in trouble, or at least _would_ be if he wasted anymore time, he began flying forward as fast as his young wings could carry him. Which, unfortunately, wasn't quite as fast as he needed.

Small hands grabbed his wrist and spun his whole body fully around, though not with so much force that he was hurt in the process. Beautiful chocolate eyes shone with happiness. Tan-ish fur shimmered in the sunlight. A pure and innocent young face smile up at him. Immediately flustered and blushing, he sputtered out nervously, "C-Cream? H-How d-did you catch me s-so fast?"

This stuttered (and, frankly, rather high-pitched) question earned a laugh from his closest friend. "I ran, silly," Cream replied, tone perfectly happy. She released his wrist, then lightly poked his left arm with her index finger. "By the way," he continued sweetly, still wearing one of her usual bright smiles, "tag. You're it." Without waiting for a reply, she turned and bolted away with Cheese and Bokkun in hot pursuit. Although still blushing faintly, Charmy smiled and gave chase.

**~ソニック~**

After finishing typing his message, Espio hit "send". The twins were still eleven weeks old, and he and Kanari were talking as much as ever. A loud voice drew his attention up from his phone. It was Vector, who was on the other side of the kitchen making himself some dinner while Espio sat in a chair, left side facing the table and left arm resting on the polished wood. "You're still talkin' to that girl, huh?" the croc questioned with some sort of sly smile that Espio decided his didn't like.

Espio's facial expression experienced no change as he replied simply and honestly, "Yes."

"You and your 'new friend' sure have been talkin' a lot," Vector smirked. "Probably about as much as a boyfriend and girlfriend would."

"It is your fault we even met each other," Espio replied smoothly, choosing to absolutely ignore that comment. "If not for you, we would not be talking at all."

"But it happened, so you are," Vector countered, still smirking. His beef sizzled on the stove as it cooked. Espio set his phone down on the table and, not two seconds later, it vibrated. Vector latched onto the possibility to put the chameleon through some further teasing. "That must be your girlfriend now," he said merrily, "because, really, who _else_ could it be?"

Now Espio frowned. "She is not my girlfriend."

Charmy, of course, chose that moment to enter the kitchen. As usual, he was flying rather than walking. Such was the nature of a bee. "Who's not your girlfriend, Espio?" Espio tried to give him a look to shut him up, but it failed, horribly, and realization soon dawned on the young boy. "_O-o-oh_!" he exclaimed dramatically, a wide grin spreading across his face. "That Kemari girl that you've been texting!"

"Kanari," Espio corrected, a tad sullen.

"And now he gets defensive!" Vector exclaimed with a booming laugh. It was certainly just a joke, but Espio's mood soured further. "Yet more proof that he likes her!"

The phone vibrated again. Vector continued to laugh as Charmy exclaimed, "Better answer your _girlfriend_, Espio!"

Snatching the phone up off the table, Espio abruptly stood and exited the kitchen. Their laughter followed him out, Vectors much more so due to the booming, echoing quality it possessed. As the chameleon marched stiffly to his room, he heard Vector exclaimed in good-humor, "For once in his life, I think he's actually embarrassed!"

Espio pursed his lips together and opened his door. An uncharacteristic thought entered his mind as he stepped into his room, shutting the door behind him. _Jerks..._

**~ソニック~**

Shadow and Sonic walked side by side down a busy street in Empire City. It was Thursday, hot, sunny, and the twins were now thirteen weeks old. In spite of the less than favorable temperatures and noise levels, Sonic was in a good mood. He'd just seen his baby siblings earlier that morning, he and Silver had played around in a park a little bit before Silver had left with Blaze to go train with Kaden some more, and now he and his brother were actually spending time together as brothers should. Today had been a good day, and he suspected that it would continue to be so. "Hey, did you hear about the carnival that's in Station Square right now?"

He could have sworn that Shadow sighed as he walked, arms crossed, down the sidewalk by Sonic's left side. "I really don't care."

"Aw, c'mon," Sonic pretended to pout. "Carnivals are fun."

"They're too loud," Shadow responded frankly.

"No worse than this place," Sonic replied with a small shrug.

"There are few screaming children running around unattended here," Shadow pointed out calmly.

Sonic had to concede defeat on this one. "...True."

Shadow seemed satisfied, even bore a small smirk. "Exactly."

Now Sonic had a new question. "Have you ever been to a carnival before?"

The smirk dropped abruptly. "..."

Fairly certain that he'd hit upon something absolutely golden, Sonic pressed, "Well?"

"Silver forced me," was all Shadow would admit. He now seemed a tad sullen. "Never again."

At this, Sonic laughed. _Way to go, kiddo, _he thought to his son, though he wasn't entirely sure that Silver could pick up on his thoughts from this far away. After that, he abruptly changed the subject. "Have you seen the twins recently?"

Something in his half-brother's expression seemed to soften. "Yes," he replied, tone a touch quieter than usual.

The memory of the newest edition to their family never failed to make Sonic smile. So he did it. "They're pretty freaking adorable," he said, "but I think we may have to watch out for Sarai. That little girl already seems to have Dad's attitude and temper."

Shadow smirked again. "You may be right," he agreed. "And if you are, we all may want to take cover once a month."

Unexpected though the joke was, Sonic found himself laughing. "Oh, god!" he exclaimed. "I hadn't even _thought_ about that! Dude, if she gets angrier than usual around then, we'll all be _screwed_!" Shadow offered no comment, only continued to smirk, and Sonic's laughter soon died down. However, the smile remained. The crossed a busy street, then his wandering emerald gaze happened across a movie theater. One of the current showings was a new samurai movie that he'd heard about before. "Hey, wanna go see that?" he asked, pointing at the title.

Blinking once, Shadow turned his head and allowed his crimson gaze to follow Sonic's pointing finger. "Now?" he frowned.

"Yes, now," Sonic responded, eyes rolling toward the heavens momentarily. "I'm not exactly gonna be here tomorrow, dummy."

"I know," Shadow retorted sharply. Then he paused, only to soon speak again. "...And don't call me that."

"I'll call you whatever I like, dummy," Sonic grinned.

"Sonic, I swear to god-" Shadow started to threaten before he was cut off.

"So are we gonna go see this movie or what?" Sonic asked him.

Shadow _glared_. "..."

"Well?" Sonic pressed.

Silence. Long moments of tension passed. Then, slowly, Shadow's posture relaxed, and he admitted defeat. "...Fine..."

Grinning at his victory, Sonic led the way inside.

**~ソニック~**

Cream, Cheese, Bokkun, and Vanilla were spending some quality time together in their home. The twins were eighteen weeks old now, and the family had seen them recently. Now, however, they were relaxing in their living room. While sitting gathered around Vanilla on the couch, the children listened as their mother (whether adoptive or not) read an old story to the three of them. It was a stereotypical story of princes and princesses, true love and wicked step-mothers... but it was written so well that the family was fully drawn into the tale. None of the characters in the story could seem to stop smiling at the end of said story... and neither could any of the readers.

**~ソニック~**

Shadow walked slowly through Empire City about three days after the twins turned twenty weeks old. His eyes were on a paper map he was carrying in both of his hands as he searched for a lonely gun shop in a rather convoluted portion of the city. As he walked, many voices filled his ears. Many were moving in the same direction as he was, many were not. Two voices in particular were getting rather close to him. Looking up from his map, he spotted two Babylon Rogues. One was tan-colored male with deep blue eyes was walking by a sort of magenta-colored female with similarly blue eyes. The two were lost in conversation as they walked by Shadow, never noticing as he turned his head to watch them go. As they gradually disappeared into the crowds, it occurred to him that the two birds looked a lot like Wave, though he couldn't determine if they were even the same species of bird. Though momentarily puzzled about his sighting, he slowly brushed it off and kept walking.

**~ソニック~**

Two days after the twins turned twenty-one weeks old, Jet was busy working on a gadget at his desk in his room. As he worked, he thought idly about the game he and Wave were due to play later. She wanted to play checkers, but he wished to play chess. They hadn't decided which to do (or if they were going to do both) at this point. As much as he liked checkers, though, he really did wish that his girlfriend would agree to play chess. He loved chess. One of the few _good_ memories he had from his childhood had involved playing that game.

_It was a lazy Sunday and warm light filtered into the large living room. Jet sat on his knees on the floor in front of the coffee table, facing the couch his father was sitting upon. The twelve-year-old boy moved his rook for the second time in the last ten minutes, never looking up from the board. Calm though this day had been so far, he feared angering his father in some way. So he kept to himself, just moved his piece when it was his turn, and didn't make eye-contact. Ross moved his last remaining pawn forward a single space, then removed his hand from the board. Slowly, tentatively, Jet moved his roof one last time. Swallowing hard, he dared to say in a small and nervous voice, "Checkmate."_

_Silence. There was absolute silence. Jet feared that anger and a beating were on the way. Small tremors began running through his thin frame as he anticipated the blows that he was so sure were on the way. But then... laughter. Loud laughter, even. Looking up quickly in fright, he saw his father's normally hard and angry face was now twisted in mirth as the man laughed. "Geez," Ross said, "hat was a bad play on my part." His laughter died down to mere chuckles. Then, unexpectedly and without any warning, he smirked at his young son and, for the first time in many years, actually praised him. "Good job, Jet. Well played."_

Jet's hands still and he stared blankly at his gadget for a long while. Eventually, a frown marred his face. He forced the memory away, pushing it ruthlessly into the back of his mind. Then, standing, he exited his room to find Wave. He was willing to play checkers.

**~ソニック~**

Three days after the twins turned twenty-four weeks old, Knuckles and Rouge were visiting Adabat together. They had heard rumor of some ancient ruins located where a giant sinkhole had once existed. This jungle was formidable and dangerous, but they were unafraid. Instead, both treasure hunters were practically giddy at the idea of finding those ruins. There were wild rumors that the ruins were of a castle belonging to the long-lost ancient fox clans from South Island. There were also rumors that the ruins might even be the tomb of an ancient king or queen themselves. Trading rare and identical grins, they angled themselves downward to fly into the deep, dark jungle.

****~ソニック~****

Kaden and Analia were in their bedroom together playing with their babies, each of which were now twenty-five weeks old. Analia sat on the left side of the bed (her side) and played with Sarai while Kaden sat on the right side (his side) and played with Sen. Little Sarai's soft young face scrunched up in an expression of displeasure when her mother tickled one of her little feet. Giggling, Analia gently lifted her daughter up to show Kaden, who was playing with Sen by dangling a colorful toy over the baby and letting him bat at it. "Look, Kaden," Analia said with a smile. "She has your pout." Sarai continued to look less than pleased. She seemed to want to be laid back down, and Analia obliged her.

Looking over, Kaden took in their daughter's face. His distraction lasted only seconds, but it was long enough for little Sen to knock the toy out of his father's hand. It landed on the bedding, and Kaden reached over the baby to retrieve the toy as he told Analia frankly, "I do not pout."

"Not frequently, no," Analia agreed, continuing to smile. "But you _have_ done it before."

"Only jokingly," Kaden huffed.

"But I am still right," Analia responded merrily.

Though he huffed again, Kaden also smirked in amusement. Smiling even wider at her "victory", Analia reached over and tickled _him_, sparing the children this time. Gasping softly against his will, Kaden moved away and quickly moved to sit in a chair across the room, taking Sen with him. Analia laughed, happy and unrepentant.

**~ソニック~**

It was around midnight on the day that the twins finally turned twenty-six weeks (six months) old. Sonic was sleeping in his bedroom in Lester City. He had been sleeping rather well all throughout the night and had even gone to bed at a decent hour for once in his life. However, at two minutes past midnight, he awoke. Sitting up abruptly, the thought entered his mind unbidden that there was great danger in space... and it was approaching their world _far_ too quickly for comfort. Throwing his blankets aside, he crammed his feet into his shoes and grabbed the seven Chaos Emeralds (all of which he had gathered over time since the twins were born). Without a word or sound, he opened his window, jumped out, and simultaneously transformed. A golden trail was left behind as he flew off at top speeds to confront the threat. The time of relative peace was over.

**~ソニック~**

**6,010 words this time. Sorry for the great delay. This was a long chapter, obviously, and I kept getting lazy and stuck. I eventually had to cut out twelve whole scenes (all of which had been outlined, but not written) just so I could finish this chapter. Ha. ^-^" Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. The Sonic X Arc will commence next time. :) Posted (at about 12:05 a.m.) 07-02-16.**


	242. The Perfect Future

**Hello, flashyhero! I did as well! I grew up with Sonic X, as well as virtually every game from Sonic Adventure 2: Battle and back. I take inspiration from them (and a few of the newer games and whatnot) constantly for that reason. :) I hope you enjoy what I do with the tale told in Sonic X. If you ever find something you thing needs improvement, further explaining, or is simply too far from the canon story (it's been a good long while since I've watched it, after all), please feel free to let me now. :)**

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed! I tried to incorporate all of your ideas in it, but some of them unfortunately ended up being scrapped because I was so burnt out just with the scenes I had and I wanted to get that chapter done. Sorry about that. ^-^" Oh, I know! So adorable! X3 I am as well! And I certainly hope it will be! :D**

**Hello, Luna MoonSinger27! THANKS! GLAD YOU LIKED IT! :D Hahaha, those two scenes would be so great! ...Peacetime Arc. I shall try to incorporate them there. :D I'm not saying anything about that... ;) ...Unless you really want a spoiler. Then I can just PM you the answer. :P**

**~ソニック~**

Golden eyes filled with hard determination and righteous anger glared at the enemy hovering before them. Silence filled the void of space separating the two combatants. One was badly injured, but the other seemed to have barely sustained even so much as a single scratch throughout this whole confrontation. It was difficult to tell with the latter being, though, as it was far more _robotic_ than _biological_ in nature. A dark, soulless, emotionless face gazed back at the golden warrior bathed in pure light. It was he who finally spoke, the so-called "hero" of a puny world destined to wither away and die.

"You shouldn't have come." The voice was so sure. So confident. So certain. It would not remain so for long. Fear would be struck into that glorious heart of gold... It had always been meant to be.

"Your world beckons to us," the dark being answered. "So many do. The life within them... they will cease to be in time."

There hero's confidence was shaken, replaced by concern that was visible both in eyes and in face. Such a lowly feeling. "What are your plans?" the creature, the _child_ dared to ask. "Why have you come here? Why choose _our_ world?"

So many questions. Animals were full of an endless tide of them. Yet another, albeit minor, reason to erase beings such as he from existence. Without them, there would be no chaos. No war. No strife. No suffering. There would only be peace... Tranquility. That was what this universe truly needed. Not _voices_. Not _thoughts_. Not _movement_. It needed _freedom_, a sanctuary for all of existence. " Your world is special," the dark one conceded, "but not in the way you beings will be inclined to believe." Golden eyes now narrowed with suspicion. Yet another lowly emotion for yet another lowly animal. How befitting of the dirt to feel like dirt. "The very creation that makes your world unique, special, and even _valuable_ will be the very object of its entire undoing..."

White gloved hands balled into tight and shaking fists in a display of yet more anger. "Whatever you're planning..." the golden warrior said slowly, "I won't let you succeed. I'll stop you here and now."

Ah. There was that confidence and certainty again. It had not been quelled, it seemed. It was still present, and had been all along. And more than that... there was _power_. The Chaos Emeralds, gems unlike any other that had been borne upon this sorry world. They were deeply connected to this being, but that was of no true concern. Their vast power was needed for the revolution. The universe would evolve into something more than it had ever previously been... and these jewels would be at the very heart of it all. "Surrender, 'hero'. You are in no condition for further resistance."

At this, the young hero unexpectedly smirked and even laughed, eyes briefly closing. For the first time since his arrival to this fight, he had managed to surprise his enemy. How truly unfortunate. "No..." he agreed. "I suppose I'm not."

The darker of the two did not relent, for her could see the the seven treasures and the perfect future they would herald in when in the possession of the proper master. It was all so _close_. All that was truly left to do now was for him to seize it. "Surrender the gems."

It was a simple order but, once again, the creature opted to select the most illogical option available to him at the present moment. "Never." The seven colored lights intensified before the word was even fully spoken, an indication of what was about to be done. Scarce seconds passed after the word was completed. Then those glows shot off in seven very different directions, streaking off through the vast emptiness of space until even the warrior himself seemed to no longer be capable of sensing them. And yet, he continued to smirk, as though feeling triumphant, while his own glow quickly faded into nothingness, leaving plain blue fur and emerald eyes in it's wake. "Good luck finding them now, metalhead." Then his eyes closed and he was falling, being dragged back down to the planet's surface by the gravitational field he had been misfortunate enough to have still been in. Soon, he too was out of sight.

The metallic enemy turned his dark head slightly to gaze into the blackness behind him. Red lights blinked into existence one by one by one, but only a single pair of them held his attention. "Retrieve the Planet Egg. Kill any who dare stand in your way." Dispassionately, he watched as the robotic servant obediently flew toward the planet below. His gaze then shifted to another in he sea of glowing red eyes. "Narcissus."

Another dark form emerged from the shadows. "Yes, Dark Oak?"

Dark Oak had no time for games. Now was only the time for action... and for justice far too long overdue. "When the time is right... find him. Kill him."

Black Narcissus inclined his head, ever malicious and obedient. "With pleasure."

**~ソニック~**

**862 words this time. Short though it may be, I love this chapter and how it turned out. Hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 12:20 a.m.) 07-03-16.**


	243. The Birth of a New World

**Hello, StarryMoon33! I sure hope it will be! And I have, too! :DD Ooh, yes, very new. ...With some canon stuff mixed in here and there. XD**

**Hello, Mutt7! Your review to chaoter 241: Nah, they just know a girl with a crush when they see one. XD Lol.**

**Hello, Skye the Hedgehog! Yes, they do! Well, as usual, all will be revealed with time... ;) Nope, the twins are safe for now. Promise. :) No, their powers can't start awakening now. They're _way_ too young for that. The earliest a power can awaken in a Mobian is when they're ten months old. These little guys are only six months old at this point. :3 As far as what powers they will have, I cannot reveal all of them until EotS due to one that involves _big_ spoilers, but I can tell you the rest if you really wanna know already. :) Welp, you'll just have to wait and see on that one as well! And I'm glad I have managed to do so! :D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 239: YES! TWINS! X33 Ah, plot twists. Gotta love 'em. I certainly do. I agree. Those name are cool. And cute. :3 Glad you enjoyed the chapter. And omg, I know, right?! Poor Sarai!**

**Your review to Chapter 240: I know! X3 I agree. That was a good scene for them, I think. :) Haha, I know, right? They're so perfect for each other already. Haha. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 241: Aw, thank you Pyro-kun! That made me smile! :) I like those little parts, too, and the Sonic and Shadow scene was a fun one to write. I agree that seeing them act like brothers was a good thing for them. :) I can say nothing about whether or not they ever do that, due to EotS spoilers. ;) I can, however, say this with certainty. As sad as it is for Jet, there was no other controlling force causing Ross to be like that. He was just a genuine arse and real dangerous guy. End of story, sad to say. Of course, people _can_ change (when Jet was six and younger, Ross was a great guy, after all). And this is where EotS will come in. Whether or not this leads to reconciliation or yet more problems, though... Well, you'll just have to wait and see. ;) But, yes, please for the sake of your account be careful of your language. I don't wanna see you get booted from here on FF. :( As far as the Iblis thing goes... I AM SAYING NOTHING, OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT WHAT YOU LIKELY THINK IS GOING ON WITH THAT MONSTER IN EOTS IS ALMOST _CERTAINLY_ INCORRECT. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 242: Haha, thanks! XD Yes, I have missed them as well... a certain sequel we've all been looking forward to will have it's fair share of them, though, I can assure you. :) I sure _hope_ it will be good! That's always one of the big, main goals when I write, of course. :) Haha, no worries. I understand. And wow. Nice job, Sparky. XD Well, good luck with your space battles! And I will continue to do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, thatguy4643! Well, then, you're in for one heckuva ride! Keep in mind, though, the actual show will be rather different from my take on the story. And this arc is only based on the last season of Sonic X. :)**

**Hello, Cyan Quartz! No worries. I completely understand. The Ruined Future Arc is not for everyone, and I know the struggles of constantly losing one's place in a story. If you want to skip ahead, go right ahead and do so. I won't be offended or anything, promise. :)**

**Hello, Luna MoonSinger27!**

**~ソニック~**

Kaden awoke with a start and sat straight up in bed. For just a moment, he stared blankly at the wall, not quite awake and cognitive, then he suddenly turned to Analia and the window on that side of the room, blankets twisting around his legs as he did so. Simply not _seeing_ what he had been sensing was what spurred him into movement. Not even bothering to put his shoes on, he teleported outside as far as he could go. He went more than halfway across the world, but it wasn't enough. Letting out a small "Tch," he began running. And he was running _hard_. When he caught sight of what had gotten him so upset and perhaps even fearful, he was compelled to go even faster. Tensing up, he prepared for the catch. His son slammed into his arms with so much force that his knees buckled and caused them to hit the ground, scraping them up badly. Sonic was unconscious and badly injured. Shifting his hold on the younger hedgehog slightly, Kaden teleported several times to get them both back to the house. Then, laying Sonic down on the carpeted floor, he ran up the stairs to wake Analia. Something had happened. Something was _wrong_. And in order to find out _what_, Sonic needed to be healed. Quickly.

Together, Kaden and Analia hurried back down the stairs. Kaden lingered by those stairs, sending out messages to everyone while Analia worked on healing their son.

**_Kaden:_**

_Group Message:_

_Get over here. Something has happened._

Moments later, in spite of the fact that it was only about two in the morning, numerous replies rapidly came into the group chat. And, unfortunately, Kaden was obliged to reply, if only because he was the one who had _started_ this conversation.

**_Tails:_**

_What's going on? Is someone hurt?_

Kaden had now time to reply to that before another message came through.

**_Locke:_**

_Please tell me the twins are okay._

The apparent concern was noted and appreciated, but ultimately unnecessary. Thankfully.

**_Kaden:_**

_The twins are fine. They're still asleep. Sonic is injured, but Analia is healing him._

**_Jet:_**

_Wave, Storm, and I will be there soon._

How like him to not ask questions. It was strange that he could always seem to sense when something was important, even if only through a simple text message.

**_Rouge:_**

_Knuckie and I are on our way, too._

Her use of that nickname would have been humorous in different circumstances, but not this one. And, even pretending that it _had_ been humorous this time around, Kaden still wouldn't have replied. He saw no need to do so with this type of message.

**_Amy:_**

_What happened to Sonic?_

This was a question he was both obliged and somewhat compelled to answer, if only because he _always_ felt the need to allay the concerns of those he cared about. Especially when they had the potential to one day become part of his family.

**_Kaden:_**

_We don't know yet. Whatever happened, I think it occurred in space. He will be fine, though._

After he sent that message, a couple smaller conversations started up. He responded to neither of them, but he did read them as they occurred.

**_Vector:_**

_I can't come right now. Espio and Charmy are real sick._

**_Amy:_**

_Bring them over to the house when you can. Analia and I can heal them._

**_Cream:_**

_Can someone pick us up? We don't have any way to get to you all._

**_Jet:_**

_I'll come get you._

**_Cream:_**

_Thank you, Jet-san._

By now, Sonic was more than halfway healed. He wasn't awake yet, though, and Kaden refocused on the conversation still taking place in the group chat he had opened up.

**_Tails:_**

_I've got the X-Tornado. I'm on my way. Amy, I'll come get you._

**_Knuckles:_**

_We should be there in about twenty minutes._

**_Amy:_**

_Thank you, Tails._

**_Locke:_**

_On my way now._

Kaden suddenly remembered something and, as soon as he did, he sent a quick and somewhat urgent message to his oldest and closest (well, closest besides Analia) friend.

**_Kaden:_**

_Locke, where is my book?_

**_Locke:_**

_The one on the da Asani?_

This question nearly made Kaden sigh. It was the only book he had let Locke borrow in recent months, so of _course_ that was the one he was talking about.

**_Kaden:_**

_Yes._

**_Locke:_**

_With me._

That answer was relieving, not that he had anticipated that Locke would leave the book laying around or anything in the first place. The man cared far too much about books (especially the old ones) to do such a thing.

**_Kaden:_**

_Don't lose it. We may need it._

**_Locke:_**

_Why?_

It was a legitimate question, but Kaden (for once) had no decent answer to give.

**_Kaden:_**

_I'm not sure. I just have a feeling._

**_Locke:_**

_Got it. I'll keep the book close._

That was the answer Kaden had expected and wanted, and he was glad to have received it. After getting it, he stopped replying to the chat. He did, however, continue to keep an eye on it for now.

**_Wave:_**

_We'll be there in about ten minutes with Cream, Bokkun, and Cheese._

**_Silver:_**

_Blaze and I will be there sooner than that._

**_Omega:_**

_Estimated arrival time, one half hour._

**_Marthal:_**

_Be there soon._

That was when Sonic finally awoke. Looking up from his communicator, Kaden turned to look at his son. Sonic slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, rubbing the side of his head with one hand as he did so. Kaden gave the younger hedgehog a serious look while Analia continued to heal the last of Sonic's wounds. "You have much to explain," Kaden told him quietly.

Sonic nodded a little, frowning down at the ground. "Yeah. I know." A moment passed, then he suddenly sighed. "I'll explain everything that I can."

Kaden nodded. "When the others arrive."

"Right."

Analia continued her work while Kaden went to wait outside. As soon as the others arrived, things would be sorted out. But, for now... all he could do was wait.

**~ソニック~**

Now that everyone had arrived, it was time for Sonic to share his unsettling encounter with the robotic creature in space. He explained about its looks, its army, its power, its desire for the emeralds... everything. "To think that someone could beat even _you_ up, Sonic..." Locke muttered, arms crossed and expression grim. "That must've been one heckuva battle."

"You have no idea," Sonic sighed. "And I went Super and everything."

Now this was troubling news, and Amy latched onto it. "How are any of us supposed to beat it if even _you_ can't, Sonic?" she asked worriedly. As she spoke, she worked on healing Charmy and Espio who, along with Vector, had been teleported here by Analia. The two Chaotix had contracted an illness, one of the very rare few on this world that was potentially dangerous to one's life. They were already doing much better thanks to the healing, though.

"That's not the biggest issue at the moment," Sonic responded, looking away and out the nearest window.

"So what is, then?" Knuckles questioned gruffly, arms crossed.

This questioned earned a substantial pause, one longer than most of the others had anticipated. When Sonic did respond, though, his voice was low, almost as though he was afraid of his words being picked up on by prying ears outside the walls of this house. "That enemy... spoke of stealing something besides the Chaos Emeralds," he said slowly. "Something called... a 'Planet Egg'." At this, Kaden and Locke abruptly traded a look. Sonic noticed straight away and zeroed in on them. "What?" he nearly demanded, mood poor due to his earlier beating and his distinct need for rest at the current moment.

Locke responded by tossing a very old book with a fading hard red cover to Kaden, who caught it with both hands. "That's up to him to explain."

In lieu of a more lengthy, verbal response, Kaden simply walked over to the nearby wooden kitchen table, laid the book flat on it, and opened it to the first page. He then turned to the rest of the group and said, "The history of this world, or at least the accepted version of it, is incorrect." He gave Analia a vaguely apologetic look, as if to say that even the version she knew (the one involving the Babylon Rogues settling with Mobian bird people in Mazuri after the war) was incorrect as well. Analia merely blinked, seeming unbothered as she usually was. Kaden looked away and resumed speaking. "Much of the history people know involving this planet's civilizations and people, for example, has been fabricated. However, this problem runs much farther backward in time than that."

"Which is where Planet Eggs come into play," Locke added helpfully. "See, _most_ worlds are born in the way that people teach you in books and schools and whatnot."

",,,'_Most_'?" Tails asked quietly. He looked troubled by the knowledge that something he knew and understood _so well_ was apparently not true at all.

Locke nodded. "Yeah. Most." He gestured to the book and the page Kaden had opened it up to. "All of you go read for yourselves. That book explains everything."

Frowning to himself, Sonic took the first few steps to the book alone. Then almost everyone else followed. When he reached the book, he picked it up and, since not everyone would be able to see it all at once, he simply began to read aloud.

"_'Mobius ("Moe-bee-us") is considered to be a very young and new world. Planet Babylon, while little more than rubble and dust now, is considered to be one of the oldest worlds in existence. Therius ("There-ee-us") and Syx ("Six") are also in this category. Another world in this category is known Asius ("Ah-sigh-us"). The race of beings who live there are known as the "da Asani" ("dah Ah-sah-nee"), and they are responsible for the creation of many worlds through the use of "Planet Eggs", which they invented. One such world they created through such means was Mobius. _

_Though the Babylonians did not agree with creating artificial worlds, they made no move to intervene and were noted by the da Asani to have "largely kept to themselves about the whole matter." The Therians (there-ee-ins), however, did not keep their opinions as quiet, nor did many others. Unlike many of these other races, the Therians were known to want their own Planet Eggs so as to make worlds that they could utilize for resources. They also intended to use these worlds to house their immense numbers of slaves. The Babylonians and da Asani both threatened war if the Therians should try such a thing, and the Therians became quiet once more. The matter was dropped, and Mobius was created without incident. The ruler of the da Asani, a man named Alata ne-on ("A-lah-ta nei-own") allowed his young daughter, Marita ("Marie-tuh"), to name the world. Mobius was then left alone for eons, so as to allow life to develop there naturally and in its own time with the aid of the Planet Egg buried in the once dead world's core._

_A Planetary Egg (Planet Egg is the more common term) is a glass-like containment unit that houses the immense power needed to create worlds suitable for life (plant or otherwise) to form and thrive upon. When a Planet Egg is buried within a terrestrial world (whether it is comprised of rock, ice, or so on is irrelevant) and left there for a long enough period of time, life with almost always begin to form there. In the event that it does not, the egg can simply be removed and placed in a new planetary host. However, if a Planet Egg is removed from a world that does form life, the life on that world will gradually wither away and cease to be unless moved onto a new hospitable world or a ship capable of sustaining said life for a fair amount of time (i.e. any ship in the Babylonian Galactic Armada). This process doesn't work on Jovian worlds, or worlds comprised solely of gaseous materials (such as the planet "Jupiter", near "Earth" in "the Solar System".)_'"

Silence. Absolute silence prevailed for over a full minute. Then Cream spoke, eyes wide in what could only be considered genuine horror. "They want to steal our egg and kill our world... but _why_...?"

"I don't know..." Sonic muttered, closing the book and gently setting it back down on the table. "But my guess is that they've done this before to other worlds created by those 'da Asani' people. Which likely means that our enemies know fully damn well what they're doing and how to do it."

"Which means we don't have time to waste," Jet summed up neatly, frowning as he often was.

Sonic nodded. "Whether or not these guys get our Planet Egg, we may have to chase them into space." It was hardly the ideal though, but a realistic one that needed to be properly considered.

"Why?" Vector asked, now also frowning. "If they don't steal our egg, then we'll be fine. No need to go looking for a fight, right?"

"No," Espio said quietly, speaking up for the first time since coming here. He was still sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of Amy and beside Charmy. "We will not be 'fine'."

"If they fail to carry out their plans to the fullest extent this time," Analia murmured, "they will almost certainly return again at another time. It would be a never-ending cycle, either until they finally did succeed or we finally took further action and did more than simply drive them away."

"And, besides that," Knuckles added, "if these guys are _that_ intelligent and powerful, then you can bet your ass Ivo will be interested in them and what they're doing. That almost certainly means that he'll be pursuing them, maybe even trying to help them."

"If Ivo goes into space, that will give us even more reason to do the same," Blaze agreed.

**_"It is the most logical option," _**Omega intoned in response.

"Okay, so let's say we follow through with this crazy idea," Wave said, her own arms now crossing. "Let's say we _do_ into space. How are we all going to travel? How will we store enough food and whatnot for us all to survive a journey away from our world? As it is, we can barely carry enough eupplies in the three ships we have and we constantly have to forage in the wilderness for food. Not only that, but not all of us can fit in the ships, and riding on the wings won't be safe. Plus our Extreme Gear runs on _air_, meaning they'll be useless. That's three _more_ people than usual without a mode of transportation."

Tails, who had been frowning down at the ground for some time now, suddenly perked up at Wave's rant. "Wave!" he exclaimed happily, causing her to look at his smiling face, quite startled. "I have a solution to that! All of it!"

"You do?" Silver asked in surprise. Then, all at once, he began to smile like he usually did. "That's great! What is it?"

"Yes, pray tell," Marthal added helpfully with a smile of his own. "We're all just _dying_ to know." Keiri gave him a small smile and a poke on the arm for that joke.

The twins chose that moment to wake up and begin crying, so Kaden and Analia left and headed up the stairs to take care of them. No one doubted that the two ancient warriors would be able to hear everything from up there, anyway, so no one bothered wasting their time by trying to have them stay. "There's this ship I've been working on," Tails explained excitedly, "a really _big_ ship. Like, we could fit this _entire_ house in it, with room to spare for the Rogue's tower home. And even _then_ we'd still have room leftover. There's enough room on that ship for all twenty of us to have our own rooms, with proper furnishings like beds and chairs and cribs and whatever else we might want or need. Plus there's a full kitchen and dining room, a power room, a control room with all the computers and whatnot, a medical ward, sitting rooms, space for a couple small libraries, full weapons and defensive systems, and indoor pool and gym, a huge storage area... All _kinds_ of space and things to do, all spread across two decks. ...Plus roof access."

"What about Mother?" Cream asked. "And Amy's parents?"

"They may not be safe here..." Bokkun ventured to add. He was still a touch nervous around everyone besides Cream's family and the Chaotix.

"We can fit them, too," Tails confirmed. "Easy."

Slowly, ever so slowly, Sonic began to smile for the first time since having his butt handed to him on a gold platter earlier. That had _not_ been a good moment. But this... This was _perfect. _"Tails, you have officially outdone yourself," he praised, earning a bright smile. "That ship will be perfect. We can fight and defend from within it if necessary, survive in it, not to mention live _comfortably_, we'll have more than enough room for all the food and whatnot we'll need... It's absolutely perfect."

"Agreed," Marthal said happily.

"What's this thing run off of?" Locke asked curiously.

Tails waved him off a little. "Same things as the X-Tornado, Shadow's ship, and Vector's ship." He had fixed up the last two during the two-year separation, meaning that they now all had the very same power source (one that never "ran out of juice", so to speak) within them, a fact which everyone here knew. "It's too complicated to try to explain it, and we don't have the time. We have a _lot_ of preparing to do, and not a lot of time."

"We're going to need Mom's help more than anything," Sonic deduced quickly. "With her magic, she can gather or create everything that we need but can't get together in a short enough span of time. Things like the vast quantities of food we'll need in the event of a space journey. Once we have all of that, everyone who can teleport things can get the stuff onto the ship easily."

"That'll probably be the best idea," Locke nodded, "especially in the event that the Planet Egg _is_ stolen."

"Speaking of which..." Silver cut in slowly. "_When_ can we expect this attack to happen?"

Just then, the ground decided to rumble. In the distance, an explosion could be heard. It lit up the dark, very-early-morning sky. Shadow, who was leaning with crossed arms against the wall next to the window the explosion could be seen out of, didn't even so much as blink. "Apparently now."

**~ソニック~**

**3,241 words this time. Welp, there ya have it, a little bit of universal history from the Hero-version of the Sonic universe. Hope y'all enjoyed. Also, no the mention of Earth does not necessarily mean that I will be bringing Chris Thorndyke into this story. I'm still undecided in that matter, though I am currently leaning toward not doing so. Lastly, yes that giant ship Tails talked about is probably the one you're thinking of and no I will not be including people of the da Asani race into this story as characters (most likely). Posted (at about 2:00 in the morning) 07-04-16.**


	244. Screams of Life

**Hello, Mutt7! I'm not that surprised. Not a whole lot of people who read my story have (a fact which surprised me initially, but no longer). But it's fine. I'll be explaining everything about the enemies and storyline and whatnot as we go along, as always. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that I never truly follow the canon/original story. That means this version will differ heavily from the show in many respects. Just a forewarning so that you don't ever go to watch Sonic X and go "WTF yasha, that's not how it went at all!" XD Anyway, thanks for the compliment. I will do my very best to live up to those expectations. :) You have a good day, too!**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm so glad you did! :D Hahaha, yes, he is! Of course, we all know who he gets that from. His old man is pretty badass, himself. XD I'm so glad you like that. I personally love making such things up. It's _so_ much fun for me. Not only do I get to invent my own history and planets and races and whatnot, but I also get to play with universal laws (such as with the Immortals, the alternate timelines, the Cosmin Sphere of Knowledge, and so on) as well. I love doing those things. They're challenges both intellectually and creatively, and I feel that this story is improved with such things. Without them, I'd have to stick to the few established things from canon, and that's just so... bland. XD Anyway, onto the matter of Chris. As I previously stated, I probably won't be bringing him in. I personally have no problems with his character (he struck me as pretty normal for a kid his age), but he really wouldn't fit very well into this version of Hero. I _may_ throw Earth into the Hero-verse (can you _imagine_ like the US president or some other world power meeting these guys and trying to control them? XD), but not likely. If I ever do, it'll probably be in a oneshot. Chris himself may make a cameo in that instance (I plan on having Big and Froggy make a cameo at some point, probably in the Peacetime Arc), but not otherwise. Anyway, I will do my very best, Pyro-kun! As always, thanks for reading, reviewing, and supporting the story!**

**Hello, thatguy4643! Hahaha, yep. XD**

**Hello, StarryMoon33! YEAH. I'm not surprised. Blaze (as in the forum guy, not the Sonic character) was for the longest time, too. It's no big deal. XD Ahhhhh, I am, too! Glad you're excited! XD No worries. I probably won't. I've been leaning heavily toward not doing so ever since I decided to include this arc in the story, and the very few plans I made involving him were so tentative that they're easily scrapped. So don't worry 'bout it none. :P**

**Hello, Luna the Proud American! YES! HE DID! HOW DARE HE! XD**

**~ソニック~**

Life was truly a curious thing. It was full of splendor and beauty and wonder, but also so much struggle and hardship and pain. There was so much loss, but so much joy. So much destruction, but so many births. The birth of knowledge was, perhaps, the greatest of all the creations to be brought into existence by life. The universe needed knowledge. It _craved _it. Knowledge was what separated the living from what had never been so. It was what aided in the preservation of all that life had accomplished. And yet, knowledge was also responsible for the deaths of so many who never should have perished.

Without knowledge, there would be no space travel. There would be no weapons, no wars. Without those three things, the invasion and destruction of peaceful, innocent worlds would never had occurred. Plants would never have been trampled as they had been. This war never would have been deemed necessary to wage. The total annihilation of anything and every animal-based lifeform would not be underway. The total forestation of the universe would never have been determined to be necessary. It was the last resort, the final truly logical option available. Either end all sentient life and prevent it from ever returning to existence... or allow it to continue to make other sentient beings suffer.

There was no other option. And yet, the life in the center of this world screamed to be left alone, pleading for the life it had nurtured for so many eons to be spared this untimely fate. The monstrous robotic trooper above it cared not for such sniveling and petty pleas. There were far more forces at work than that of one egg's desperate bid to save the life it had fostered for so long. The egg itself would be spared, but the life here... none but the plants deserved such mercy. Such a sad thing, to think that even they would have to perish before universal peace could be found. Consolation could be found, however, in the simple knowledge of the fact that all these lives were being given to a truly noble cause. None were to perish in vain. For their sacrifice, all of existence would at long last come to posses the freedom and peace it so desperately needed. Nothing was more important than that.

More than a dozen pitiful warriors, some of them merely children with naught but petty determination on their side, attempted to interfere in the grand task. They attacked, they got in the way, the flitted about this way and that, as useless and as weak as the insects in the trees. Subsequently, they were batted away, as bugs were always meant to be. Some were nearly even squashed by a large metal foot. And yet, they continued their efforts. In vain, they fought. Perhaps they thought they were being valiant in their efforts. Perhaps they thought they could win this fight. Perhaps they really and truly believed that they were being _heroes_. But that was of no matter. They would learn soon enough just how far out of their leagues they were. They would come to understand with great clarity the depths of their own ineptitude. Even the king himself did not stand a chance. The only real potential problem was the Immortal, but that was of no concern at the present moment. He would be dealt with at another time. For now, all that mattered was the retrieval of the egg. Nothing would prevent the extraction from being completed. Even if this trooper failed in its task, more would come, and keep coming, until the egg was finally removed. The loss of one or even one thousand members of the army meant nothing, _nothing_ if it meant retrieving even just a single egg.

A metallic hand shifted with horrific shrieks until it had morphed fully into a massive drill. The drill touched ground. Rock, dirt, and other debris billowed into the air. Blasts from built-in lasers only aided in the assault. The sun in the area was blocked out for miles upon miles. The area grew dark. Wild animals fled for cover. Some did not flee far or fast enough and were killed. Grass was torn into shreds ruthlessly. Tress toppled over, and some burned. Flowers flew away lifelessly in the powerful air currents after being ripped out of the ground. So much death... and yet, more was to come. No artificial world could survive without its equally artificial core. The one truly wonderful thing that knowledge had created were eggs just like this one. Without it, peace could never truly be found. However, that one redeeming factor was far from enough to redeem animal-kind and save their pitiful lives. They did not deserve to have this egg and continue to live. And yet, these so-called "_heroes_" continued to fight for it, as though they believed that they had some right to it. They had no such right to claim.

All surviving plants in the immediate area spontaneously wilted at the same time. Once green and beautiful life sagged and turned varying shades of brown and black and grey. Fires continued to bur all around, eating up the deceased plant-life with renewed fervor now that the fearsome winds had stopped. Wild animals continued to flee the area as fast as they possibly could. The sky remained dark and filled with so much debris that breathing was equal parts difficult and painful. And all the heroes could do was stare in horror. Clasped within a large metal hand in a grasp so tight it could shatter maraging steel was a box-like prism of pinkish glass-like material. Floating within it seemed to be a miniature spinning 3-Dimensional image of the universe itself. It was the Planet Egg.

The Extraction was complete.

**~ソニック~**

**982 words this time. Yeah, initially I was gonna do a big ol' battle scene for you all, but then I was out until around midnight and therefore didn't have very much time to write. I went to a family barbecue in a town about twenty minutes away from where I live, ate dinner, talked, played some DS with one of my cousins, watched fireworks (my poor two-year-old cousin got scared of them ;_;), and then eventually went home. It was quite the day, but lots of fun. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It, like the first chapter of this arc, was written somewhat in a general 3rd person POV and somewhat in the Metarex's POV. Until next time, my lovelies. Posted (at about 2:00 a.m. because I'm crazy and don't have a normal sleep schedule in the summer, or possibly ever) 07-05-16.**


	245. Some Hope Remaining

**Hello, StarryMoon33! YEEEES, DA PLANET EGG! Yas, beri bahd.**

**Hello, Luna the Proud American! NUUUUU! DON'T DIEEEE! D:**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I'm so glad you do! :D Thanks, Pyro-kun! I liked that, too. it felt uber-appropriate. :) Ooh, watcha writin'? I'm super curious now! :DD Oh, thanks! It's not a super big deal to me (I mostly just like the fireworks), but thank you, anyway. And yes, I live in America. You were not mistaken on that. XD Yes, I did, thank you. And I agree that it would be pretty awkward if I wasn't an America. Haha. XD Anyway, I will do my very best as always, Pyro-kun!**

**~ソニック~**

_"You know," Kaden murmured thoughtfully, eyes on the clouds outside the window, "there is another way to tell a bad person from a good one."_

_"Hm?" Sonic responded, chin in hand, with a glance through half-lidded eyes toward his father. He'd only just been pulled from his thoughts, so it took him a moment to actually speak. Slowly, one blue eyebrow rose as he looked at the older hedgehog, who continued to sit in one of the chairs in his office with his acoustic guitar and pick in hand. "Is there, now?" he finally inquired lightly. "Pray tell, then."_

_Slowly, Kaden smirked at the dry joke his son had just made. He turned his head to look at Sonic and told him seriously, "Bad people, quite fittingly, make bad music."_

_In spite of himself, Sonic began to laugh. "You can't be serious," he managed to get out. "Do they, really?"_

_"Absolutely terrible," Kaden confirmed with a chuckle._

_"You can't be serious."_

_"I am."_

_"You are?"_

_"Very."_

_Laughing some more, Sonic picked up his own guitar (a beautiful rock guitar he had bought for himself a few months ago) and began lightly strumming. When Kaden spontaneously joined in a few moments later, a beautiful harmony was created that quieted young Sarai's cries (she had just woken up a minute ago) in the other room. The blue blur smiled to himself. He supposed his father's joke had... some merit._

Sonic shook free of the memory by literally shaking his head just a bit. Then, leaning over to brace himself on his knees while he stood, he slowly began to smirk (and quite wryly). A low chuckle soon followed in spite of the fact that he was alright. In spite of how horribly to _shit_ everything had gone, he was laughing. And he didn't know why. Maybe it was hysteria over the fact that their world was now doomed to die a slow and horrible death. Maybe it was just the lingering humor over his father's joke from a couple of weeks ago. Maybe it was some combination of both. His mind flashed back to the freakishly powerful robot that they had just fought, as well as the one he'd encountered in space. _Bet they make terrible music, too... the worst in the universe._

A hand came to lightly rest on his left shoulder. Looking up through the dust that was still suspended in the air, his own eyes met deep blue ones. Orange fur was given a sort of ruddy tint in the poor lighting. "You okay?" Marthal asked in concern.

Looking away again, Sonic took in a slowly breath and just as slowly let it go. The smirk and chuckles faded away into nothing as his eyes closed. "Yeah... I'm fine." He repeated the processes of just _breathing_ to calm himself down, then dared to ask, "What about the others? Are they alright?"

His question, much to his great relief, earned a nod. "Yeah. The worst injuries anyone got were some cuts and bruises." Marthal paused for just a moment before continuing. "And I think Knucklehead got smacked by a pebble. You know, on the forehead." Now both he and Sonic were smirking. "It left a nice mark you can see through his fur. For some stupid reason, it looks like a flippin' downward-pointing arrow. It's hilarious."

Sonic chuckled again as he straightened, then he took another calming breath. Once he'd again soothed his own nerves, he turned to the group. Only his parents hadn't been able to come, and for good reason (they had the babies to protect, after all). Everyone else was here, though, and everyone was looking to him for guidance. So he spoke. "Tails, I need you to get the Blue Typhoon ready as quickly as you can. We can't waste a moment."

"Right," Tails nodded seriously. "Everyone can bring their own ships, too. They can be stored within the Blue Typhoon for later use."

Nodding as well, Sonic glances at Shadow. "Teleport Tails home, then get your ship and join him at his workshop. Help him get the Typhoon ready to go. When you're done with that, get yourself packed as quickly as possible." Shadow blinked once, but didn't argue. From him, that was as good as a verbal agreement. Sonic's eyes scanned over everyone else. "You all go home and get packing. Gather food, weapons, communicators, whatever you think you may want or need. When you're packed, get to Tails's house. If you can't get there in decent time, contact someone to teleport you. We leave in three days."

Nothing but solemn nods and looks answered him. No one bothered to argue. There was no time to waste. And... this was no time for laughter.

**~ソニック~**

Four hours later, Sonic and Jet were working together to pack the large amounts of food that Jet had in what was basically _his_ kitchen in the Rogues's tower home in Future City. Jet had already packed most of the other things he wanted and/or needed to take with him (such as his various ancient tech gadgets, his Extreme Gear, his I-pod, and so on). While he and Sonic worked on the kitchen, Wave and Storm worked on packing their own belongings elsewhere in the house. Sonic and Jet worked quickly and quietly. the two old friends barely said a word to each other as they packed, filling boxes and ice chests alike with food of all kinds. Perishable or not, it was needed and it was packed.

Eventually, when they were about three-fourths of the way through with their task, Sonic broke the relative silence and spoke. "We may need it, you know."

Jet spared him a perfectly blue glance, which emerald eyes returned. The hawk looked away without ever making direct-eye contact and let out a soft sigh. He leaned on his elbows on the now closed ice chest in front of him. "I know," he admitted quietly. "But it's not like I have all the Arks right now." He picked up a can and turned to place it in a box. "And even assuming I _did_, I can only use it one time. The moment I leave the ship, it'll power down and the Arks will scatter again." He sealed the box he had just finished filling up. "Besides, activating the ship is way riskier than I think you understand."

"I know. You could have been killed." Jet chose to say nothing in response to that, and Sonic sighed, eyes closing briefly. "So what're you thinking, then?"

"You know what I'm thinking."

"Hm. Sometimes."

Not looking at his old friend, Jet began filling up a new box with bags of rice, noodles, and so on. "This is a war we'll have to wage _without_ Astral Babylon, Sonic," he told the hedgehog quietly. "The risk of having the Arks scatter in space is bad enough, but if Astral Babylon powers down somewhere where I can't hide it and prevent people from messing with it..." He shook his head, hands gripping the edge of the cardboard box tightly. "You have no idea how much damage it could do. What it did to Babylon... that was _nothing_ compared to what it _could_ have done. It could have _disintegrated_ the world entirely, probably even that entire solar system, under the proper circumstances." After a small moment, he released the box and tensely resumed packing. "The risk is too immense. I refuse to take it."

This logic was impossible to argue with, and Sonic knew it. So he didn't bother. Instead, he just sighed once again and caved in to his friend's incredible will. "Alright," he murmured. "We'll leave the ship here." Jet nodded, some of the tension easing from his naturally slim frame. Sonic slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to gaze out the window above the kitchen sink. "Without it or the emeralds, though... I don't know _what_ we're going to do."

This caused Jet to pause for a small moment again. He just as quickly resumed packing, though. Then, unexpectedly, he said, "We're not totally helpless here, you know."

Sonic waved him off a little. "I know," he said. "We all have powers and whatnot and can fight. I got that."

"No," Jet said swiftly before Sonic could even _think_ to say anything more. "I wasn't talking about that at all." Sonic gave him a mildly confused look, and Jet rolled his eyes. "My god, you are dense," he muttered.

Frowning slightly, he whacked the side of his friend's head with a small box of crackers. "Who the hell are you calling 'dense'?" he questioned dryly.

"You, asshole," Jet responded, rubbing the side of his head lightly with one hand. He soon resumed packing, but the small scowl remained on his face.

"And how am I dense?" Sonic challenged, still frowning as he, too, resumed packing.

"If you really can't see it, then life has failed you."

"The hell are you talking about?"

"Fucking figure it out yourself."

Jet's use of _that_ word in particular was very, very rare. It was a sign that he was really and truly genuinely irritated with Sonic for the first time in ages. And it also probably meant that he wouldn't forgive his friend for that whack any time soon. _Well, since he's apparently no longer planning on telling me what he's thinking about... if he ever was to begin with... guess I need to start seriously thinking. _As he packed, the monotonous task soon began to allow his mind to drift into a sort of in-between state where he was both aware of the world around him and lost in his random memories at the same time. His memories ranged from recent ones to very, very old ones. And some of those old ones involved his now-lost Chaos Emeralds. Others contained a distinctive light green glow...

That was when it hit him.

He wanted to slap himself. He really, really did. "Oh my _god_... I really am dense..."

The emerald hawk beside him seemed to softly snort. "The hell tipped you off finally?" he asked dryly.

"Oh, come off it, you great lummox," Sonic retorted, rolling his eyes.

Jet sat back to give him an irritably incredulous look. "_I'm _the lummox here?" he demanded. "Since fucking _when_?"

"Shut it, alright?" Sonic responded, just as irritated. Then he sighed for at least the third or fourth time in the last twenty minutes. "_Anyway_," he said pointedly as an indication that he was dropping the argument and changing the subject (which Jet didn't object to, thankfully), "I figured out what you were referring to."

"Took you long enough," Jet muttered. He had already resumed packing. Once again, he was working on filling a box with noodles and rice. Being that this house was occupied solely by Babylonians a vast majority of the time, the kitchen needed to have those two foods. They were staples in a Babylonian's diet, much like noodles were for hedgehogs and vegetables were for bunnies and rabbits.

"I'm tired, alright?" It was really the only excuse that he could offer at the moment.

This time, it was Jet who sighed. "Chanti," he said quietly.

Realizing that he had _no _idea what that meant, Sonic was quick to ask, "Translation?"

The hawk sighed again unexpectedly, but told him readily, "I called you an idiot."

"Sounds like a child's version of the word," Sonic muttered sullenly as he grabbed a can of Alfredo sauce and put it in his box.

"...It is," Jet reluctantly admitted after a moment.

For the first time in too long, Sonic found it in himself to smile and even chuckle a little. "Jerk."

"Whatever," Jet responded. He was also smirking, though.

The mood suddenly felt so much lighter than it had been prior to this moment. And, with sudden clarity, Sonic realized that he had been forgiven. Smiling a bit wider, albeit just to himself, he continued packing.

**~ソニック~**

Light filtered into the ship in the early morning hours as the last of the immense number of supplies was packed into it. People's rooms were furnished and set up, the huge storage area was filled nearly to the brim with luggage, weapons, and non-perishable foods. The Master Emerald was safely tucked away in the power room to be used as backup energy in case of an emergency, and to keep it with them and safe instead of alone on the planet they were about to leave. Everyone was gathered here, ready to go as soon as it was time. Kaden, Analia, Sen, Sarai, Shadow, Silver, Amy, Harold, Marie, Blaze, Vanilla, Cream, Cheese, Bokkun, Vector, Espio, Charmy, Locke, Knuckles, Rouge, Omega, Marthal, Keiri, Jet, Wave, Storm, and Sonic himself. Everyone was accounted for. Everyone was prepared for the journey ahead. Now came the hardest part of it all...

Saying farewell to the only world any of them had ever known.

**~ソニック~**

**2,219 words this time. The ending kinda felt a little rushed to me but, meh. S'alright. It works out just fine. And, next chapter... BLAST OOOF! Lol. **

**QUICK NOTICE: I just updated the teaser playlist on my profile if anyone is interested. Check it out if you so desire.**

**Anyway: Posted (at about 2:00 a.m. because I'm still insane and who needs sleep, anyway) 07-06-16.**


	246. The Sound of Silence

**Hello, ****NoOneExpectsDarkBrotherhood! Your're from Poland? Awesome! I loved Sonic X as well. Personally, I had few problems with Chris's character, but to each their own opinion. The mere fact that you enjoyed the show like I did is nice to me. :) To be honest, I was never aware of the fact that Sonic X aired in your country. But I'm glad that it did. :) I agree that it is sad that Eggman has been losing his spotlight a lot in recent years. Perhaps this can be rectified someday. We shall see. Oh, and thank you so much for the praise. That means so much to here, and it always makes me so happy to know that readers are enjoying my work. Thank you, very much. :) Fear not about your English. Speaking in a language that is not your first is a struggle, and one that I can sympathize with (thank my schools for that). Besides, I personally was able to understand your English just fine. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 1: Haha, I know that struggle as well. That would be why, for me, I do all my typing on the computer whenever possible. XD**

**Hello, StarryMoon33! YEEESSS! MUST SEE IT ALLL! I have, too! I've been waiting for it since, what, the early Ruined Future Arc? That's a long time! And I'm glad that you're so excited! I am, too! :D Haha, I know, right? He really was. XD Well, perhaps you should go to sleep earlier then, silly! XD**

**~ソニック~**

The world below was beautiful. There was so much green, so much blue. On that world were vast forests bigger than entire cities. There was bright deserts and shimmering lakes. There were windy plains and open skies and mountains that touched the clouds. Also on that world were so many people, so many wonderful people. Children that laughed and played, mothers and fathers that smiled, grandparents with years of love to share... There was so much to love, and so much to miss.

It was for all this love and beauty that the heroes were willing to leave it all behind and possibly never return. It was for the sake of those smiles and laughs and moments of happiness that they would depart, that they would fight, and, above all else, that they would _win_. There was no alternative option. There would be no negotiation, no peaceful exchanges, no diplomacy. The moment their world became threatened in this way, all other options but war ceased to be.

The ship was ready. It was full. It's passengers were all onboard and prepared to leave the only world they had ever known. Amidst it all, Cream had a vision that was strangely befitting of this situation. In it, she saw Kaden and his thoughts. It almost seemed as though the cool, calm, and composed warrior was... fighting with himself.

_As soon as the danger met him on the battlefield, Kaden remembered a line from a song he had written during Ivo's time. "If you want to get out alive... oh, run for your life." He frowned to himself as he thought, 'I never run from anything."_

_Just as quickly as he thought that, he countered himself. 'But fleeing ensures survival.'_

_'Fleeing is a sign of fear, a weakness.'_

_'Weapons can show no weakness.'_

_'...But I am no weapon.'_

_Though he knew that he had every right to flee and that doing so might spare his life, Kaden drew his sword and prepared for his fight. He had only one shot at victory right now... and it was a chance he had to take._

Not long after the vision ended, Sonic approached his one friend who could never experience death as the rest of the universe could. He had not a clue that this friend of his was an Immortal, but he did know that said friend was writing something. Now curious, Sonic took the page once it was completed and looked it over. On it was a song, one that all-too-perfectly reflected the dark and rather emotional mood of the moment.

_Hello darkness, my old friend_  
_I've come to talk with you again_  
_Because a vision softly creeping_  
_Left its seeds while I was sleeping_  
_And the vision that was planted in my brain_  
_Still remains within the sound of silence_

_In restless dreams I walked alone_  
_Narrow streets of cobblestone_  
_'Neath the halo of a street lamp_  
_I turned my collar to the cold and damp_

_When my eyes were stabbed_  
_By the flash of a neon light_  
_That split the night_  
_And touched the sound of silence_

_And in the naked light I saw_  
_Ten thousand people, maybe more_  
_People talking without speaking_  
_People hearing without listening_

_People writing songs_  
_That voices never share_  
_And no one dare_  
_Disturb the sound of silence_

_"Fools," said I, "you do not know_  
_Silence like a cancer grows_  
_Hear my words that I might teach you_  
_Take my arms that I might reach you."_  
_But my words like silent raindrops fell_  
_And echoed in the wells of silence_

_And the people bowed and prayed_  
_To the neon God they made_  
_And the sign flashed out its warning_  
_And the words that it was forming_

_And the sign said,_  
_"The words of the prophets_  
_Are written on the subway walls_  
_And tenement halls."_  
_And whispered in the sound of silence_

Smiling a small smile in spite of the darkness both of the song and the present moment of reality alike, Sonic turned to his friend. "This is good." He set the paper down. "Very good. Fitting even."

A small hum served as the only answer given to those remarks as first, but then came a verbal reply to that final statement. "Unfortunately," the Immortal murmured.

"And unsurprisingly. The environment influences the artist, correct?"

"That's generally how it works, yes."

That was when Tails spoke up from where he sat in the main pilot's seat in the center of the large control room. His words communicated a message that they all had been dreading, one that none of them had wished to hear. "We just broke free of Mobius's gravitational pull. We're in free space now." Cream walked over to one of the windows and looked out sadly. Many others soon followed. Together, they watched their world slowly grow farther and farther away. Sonic recalled lines from the song.

_And in the naked light I saw_  
_Ten thousand people, maybe more_  
_People talking without speaking_  
_People hearing without listening_

No one spoke. No one even so much as opened their mouths. The quiet was absolute. It was unbroken. It was impenetrable. Ever so slowly, bit by tiny bit, their world grew farther and farther away and therefore became smaller and smaller in the eyes of those watching it. At these speeds, it would be out of sight in an hour, perhaps somewhat less. Everything was so quiet. There were no words that could be shared in this moment that would ever adequately express the deepness of everyone's emotions. It just wasn't possible. No one even tried.

_"Fools," said I, "you do not know_  
_Silence like a cancer grows_

Staring at his home was so surreal. The place he had spent nearly his entire life fighting to protect from within was no so far out of his reach. For the first time ever, Sonic would be fighting for the world from outside it's definite boundaries. Never in his life could he have predicted that such a thing would happen. No Mobian had ever undertaken such a voyage before... and it was hardly the grand experience a novelist would have conjured up. Closing his eyes, he whispered a plea to higher powers he had never believed in, a desperate plea that things would still manage to turn out alright in the end.

_But my words like silent raindrops fell_

It was time to say goodbye. Farewell to their previous lives. Farewell to their oh-so-young world. Farewell to everything they had ever really known. And yet, it was also time to say hello for the first time to new frontiers, new experiences, and, above all, new perils. So many things were awaiting them within the great beyond... but so many things were being life behind in the process. His heart tried to question whether or not any of this was even really worth it, and his mind was quick to correct the flaw in judgement. This war had to be waved. So, for now, it was goodbye, world. Perhaps the heroes would be able to see it again someday. Until, then, though... no one would speak a word... save for within their own minds.

_'And whispered in the sound of silence...'_

**~ソニック~**

**1,221 words this time. Short, but I liked it. This was supposed to be much more poetic, but whatever. Anyway, that song is called "The Sound of Silence". It's the cover done by Disturbed. The original is a folk song from about 1964 (performed by Simon and Garfunkel) and is much less... deep and emotional. The original is much too upbeat to be fitting here, although it's still a very good song (and rather revolutionary for it's time). I recommend that you check the cover out. Or both versions. Both can be found on YouTube. Anyway... Posted (at 2:00 a.m. and you all know why) 07-07-16.**


	247. Bonus Chapter 12: Fun Facts

**Hello, Mutt7! Thanks! I agree that it was fitting. :) Well, if you really want to know, I can PM you the answer (just to avoid spoiling things for others). :) Haha, yes, that was the point. Sorry. XD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 245: I'm glad! XD Oh, you do, do you? And what was I getting at, then? XD Well... I dunno. if you have, I don't remember, Pyro-kun. Gomen. ^-^"**

**Your review to Chapter 246: Thank you! I'm so glad you did! :D Yeah... it's so sad... And tragedy may very well strike... ;_; Haha, nice job deducing that that song would be involved. XD Anyway, I shall check out those other two songs! I meant to check out that first one when you mentioned it initially, but forgot to. Haha. XD I will do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Well, mission accomplished, then. I'm glad. :) WELL OF COURSE HE IS. XDD**

**~ソニック~**

**Since the normal chapter is taking longer than expected to write, please enjoy this bonus chapter I wrote about a week ago.**

**~ソニック~**

**Birthdays:**

**Kaden: **Jan. 1st

**Analia: **Feb. 2nd

**Sen: **Jan. 13th

**Sarai: **Jan. 13th

**Shadow: **Oct. 30th

**Sonic: **Aug. 2nd

**Elsa: **Nov. 8th

**Silver: **Jan. 12th

**Blaze: **July 4th

**Harold: **June 6th

**Marie: **Nov. 30th

**Amy: **May 16th

**Tails:** April 26th

**Laralei: **March 23rd

**Ross: **March 14th

**Jet: **June 17th

**Wave: **April 13th

**Storm: **March 12th

**Merry: **Dec. 20th

**Vanilla **Oct. 22nd

**Cream: **April 1st

**Cheese: **April 22nd

**Bokkun: **Oct. 26th

**Vector: **March 24th

**Espio: **May 26th

**Kanari: **Aug. 23rd

**Charmy: **April 8th

**Marthal: **July 28th

**Keiri: **Nov. 2nd

**Locke: **March 3rd

**Laura: **July 31st

**Knuckles: **March 5th

**Rouge: **Nov. 11

**Chip: **June 14th

**Kathros: **Nov. 13

**Gerald Robotnik: **March 15th

**Ivo Robotnik: **Sept. 26

**Maria Robotnik: **Dec. 21st

**~ソニック~**

**Fears (Excluding Fears of Friends/Family Dying):**

**Kaden: **-Kathros

-Somehow, someday making Analia hate him

-Water

-Spiders

-The future (sometimes)

-Kochei

-Ynche

-The six elders of Chun-nan (FORMER)

-Losing his bonds with friends and family for whatever reason and being left alone in life once again

-Being without Saran (FORMER)

-Dark Gaia (FORMER)

-Sonic hating him (FORMER)

-His Dark powers and Dark form (sometimes)

-Performing in front of others (i.e. music)

**Analia: **-Failing to help those she cares about when they are in dire need

-Getting lost in her home forest (the Northland Wilds) as a child (FORMER)

-Sonic hating her (FORMER)

**Sen: **-His sister's temper (sometimes)

-Being near a particular type of knife

**Sarai: **-Lizards

**Shadow: **-Being separated from Maria as a child (FORMER)

**Sonic: **-Water

-Needles

-Hospitals

-Having another child

-Falling in love again

-Heights (FORMER)

-The future (sometimes)

-The Chaos Emeralds (FORMER)

-Locke's temper sometimes (FORMER)

**Silver: **-Being separated from Blaze for extended periods of time

-Being separated from his father for extended periods of time

-Iblis (FORMER)

-Sonic not wanting him (FORMER)

**Blaze: **-Being separated from Silver for extended periods of time

-Upsetting Kaden and gaining his disapproval

-Iblis

-Losing her powers and being unable to defend those she cares for

**Amy: **-Seeing Sonic leave, never to return, when the world is finally "permanently" saved

-Her almost-kidnappers as a child (FORMER)

**Tails: **-Lightning (FORMER)

-Heights (FORMER)

-Being without friends

**Jet: **-His father

-Tight spaces (esp. dark and cold ones)

-Falling in love and then somehow losing the one he loves, even if only through a breakup and not death

-Sonic's anger (and people's anger in general sometimes)

-The future (sometimes)

-His own inevitable death

**Wave: **-Losing Jet as a friend

**Storm: **-Being without friends

-One day meeting his parents, who abandoned him in East Forest

**Vanilla: **-Being a bad mother

-Ivo

-The future (sometimes)

-Ivo's robots

**Cream: **-Her visions (sometimes)

-Ivo

-Ivo's robots

-The future (sometimes)

**Cheese: **-The wrath of the beast Chaos

**Bokkun: **-Ivo

-Ivo's robots

**Vector: **-Espio or Charmy getting hurt

-Espio's temper

**Espio: **-His visions (sometimes)

-Falling in love

-Being without friends

**Charmy: **-Liking Cream, but her not liking him back

-Being orphaned again

**Marthal: **-His friends being angry with him over the fact that he forgot them (albeit unwillingly) all those years ago

-Dark Gaia (FORMER)

-Keiri (briefly) (FORMER)

**Keiri: **-Marthal not returning her feelings (FORMER)

-Sharks

**Locke: **-Snakes

-Unstable tunnels

-Kaden's temper (sometimes)

-Falling in love again

-Knuckles hating him (FORMER)

-Being a bad caretaker for Sonic (FORMER)

-Kaden and Analia being angry with him for not taking better care of Sonic (FORMER)

-The Master Emerald being misused

-Dark Gaia

**Knuckles: **-Being separated from his father again

-Being trapped in a cave with no means of escape

**Rouge: **-People hating her for whatever reason

**Ivo: **-Going insane like his grandfather did

**Maria: **-Failing to help Shadow live a better life

**~ソニック~**

**Favorites:**

**Kaden: **Activities: Reading, writing, sparring, running, making/listening to music, drawing, traveling, sleeping, cooking, watching fireworks, playing video games

Foods: Chicken ramen, chicken dumplings, steak, dried seaweed

Places: Chun-nan, Dragon Road, Angel Island, His library

Colors: Black

Numbers: 1, 2, 6, 7

Animals: Housecats, horses, wolves, scorpions

Season: Spring

Band/Artist: Fall Out Boy

Movie(s): The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, Sherlock Holmes, The Hobbit (all), The Lord of The Rings (all)

**Analia: **Activities: Reading, traveling

Foods: White rice, vanilla pudding

Colors: White

Numbers: 1

Animals: Doves

Season: Winter

Band/Artist: Enya

Movie(s): Ke-san B

**Sen: **Activities: Running, drawing, reading, parkour

Foods: Fried chicken, chicken soup, udon

Colors: Grey

Numbers: 2

Animals: Housecats, chinchillas, dogs

Season: Winter

Band/Artist: Undecided

Movie(s): The Avengers: Civil War

**Sarai: **Activities: Running, training, making/listening to music, traveling

Foods: Hamburgers, chicken ramen, fried rice, carrots

Colors: Black, dark purple, dark blue

Numbers: 2, 7, 9, 12

Animals: Reticulated pythons, boa constrictors, titanoboa, mice

Season: Autumn

Band/Artist: Ito Kashitaro

Movie(s): The Avengers: Civil War, Alice: Through the Looking Glass, How to Train Your Dragon 2

**Shadow: **Activities: Shooting guns, training, running

Foods: Hamburgers, steak, broccoli

Colors: Black, red

Numbers: 5

Animals: Snakes

Season: Autumn

Band/Artist: Three Days Grace

Movie(s): The Last Samurai, Inuyasha the Movie 3: Swords of an Honorable Ruler

**Sonic: **Activities: Running, parkour, racing, piloting ships, traveling, building/working on tech, listening to music, playing video games

Foods: Ramen

Colors: Emerald green

Numbers: None

Animals: Dogs

Season: Summer

Band/Artist: Linkin Park

Movie(s): Ghostbusters (1), Identity Thief

**Silver: **Activities: Flying, pulling pranks

Foods: Jelly bread, fried chicken

Colors: Silver, white

Numbers: 1, 11

Animals: Dogs, birds

Season: Spring

Band/Artist: Aerosmith

Movie(s): Kevin Hart: Seriously Funny, Gabriel Iglesias: Fluffy Movie

**Blaze:** Activities: Reading, running

Foods: Dumplings

Colors: Purple, blue

Numbers: None

Animals: None

Season: Summer

Band/Artist: None

Movie(s): None

**Amy: **Activities: Swimming

Foods: Scrambled eggs, pancakes, cake

Colors: Pink, red

Numbers: 3

Animals: None

Season: Spring

Band/Artist: The Band Perry

Movie(s): Star Wars (all)

**Tails: **Activities: Swimming, building/working on tech, flying, piloting ships, pulling pranks, traveling

Foods: Scrambled eggs, vanilla ice cream

Colors: Yellow, white

Numbers: 4, 14, 44

Animals: Most birds

Season: Spring

Band/Artist: None

Movie(s): Bolt, Clash of Titans

**Jet:** Activities: Making/listening to music, flying, racing, drawing, building/working on tech, traveling, cooking, playing video games, stealing things, watching the sky (esp. at night)

Foods: Curry, fried rice

Colors: Heavenly blue

Numbers: None

Animals: Dogs, horses, wolves

Season: Spring

Band/Artist: Imagine Dragons

Movie(s): Star Trek: Into Darkness, Dead Poets Society, Beowulf

**Wave: **Activities: Racing, flying, building/working on tech, swimming/water sports

Foods: Oatmeal

Colors: Magenta, tan

Numbers: 3, 4

Animals: Lizards

Season: None

Band/Artist: None

Movie(s): Titanoboa, Hercules

**Storm:** Activities: Eating, sleeping, stealing things

Foods: Virtually any

Colors: None

Numbers: None

Animals: Sharks

Season: Autumn

Band/Artist: None

Movie(s): Thor

**Vanilla:** Activities: Cooking, gardening

Foods: Pumpkin pie, cake,

Colors: Orange, yellow

Numbers: None

Animals: Any

Season: Spring

Band/Artist: Undecided

Movie(s): Heidi

**Cream:** Activities: Traveling, cooking, painting, gardening, flying

Foods: Cherry pie, sunflower seeds,

Colors: Tan, yellow

Numbers: None

Animals: Any

Season: Spring

Band/Artist: Undecided

Movie(s): Robin Hood (Disney ver.), Finding Nemo

**Cheese:** Activities: Flying, spending time with Cheese

Foods: Chao fruits

Colors: Blue, yellow

Numbers: None

Animals: None

Season: Spring

Band/Artist: None

Movie(s): None

**Bokkun:** Activities: Flying, doodling

Foods: None

Colors: Black, yellow

Numbers: 6

Animals: None

Season: Summer

Band/Artist: None

Movie(s): Monsters Inc.

**Vector: **Activities: Making money, taking on and solving cases

Foods: Most meats

Colors: Green

Numbers: Any with a dollar sign in front of it

Animals: None

Season: Summer

Band/Artist: None

Movie(s): The Visit

**Espio: **Activities: Taking on and solving cases, meditating, studying, reading, practicing his ninja skills

Foods: None

Colors: Dark green, deep blue, platinum

Numbers: None

Animals: Birds, fish

Season: Autumn

Band/Artist: None

Movie(s): None

**Charmy: **Activities: Flying, playing tag, drawing/coloring, helping solver cases, traveling

Foods: Most berries and fruits

Colors: Yellow

Numbers: 1, 14, 44

Animals: Bugs of most kinds

Season: Spring

Band/Artist: None

Movie(s): Finding Nemo, The Secret Life of Pets

**Marthal: **Activities: Most things involving physical activity (i.e. running, training), playing video games, traveling

Foods: White rice, most fish

Colors: Red, orange

Numbers: 5, 15

Animals: None

Season: Summer

Band/Artist: None

Movie(s): Mulan, Naruto: The Last, Spirted Away, Hot and Fluffy (Gabriel Iglesias)

**Keiri: **Activities: Reading, taking photos, spending time on the beach, relaxing

Foods: Most seafood

Colors: White, platinum, silver, gold

Numbers: 1

Animals: Popeyed goldfish

Season: Autmn

Band/Artist: None

Movie(s): Jurassic Park, The Avengers: Civil War, Aren't You Embarrassed? (Sebastian Maniscalco)

**Locke:** Activities: Flying, treasure hunting, stealing things (sometimes), anything related to archaeology, traveling

Foods: Apples, fish, berries

Colors: Red

Numbers: None

Animals: Most fish, squirrels, birds (sometimes)

Season: Summer

Band/Artist: None

Movie(s): None

**Knuckles: **Activities: Flying, treasure hunting, anything related to archaeology

Foods: Apples, grapes (green or purple)

Colors: Red, purple

Numbers: 5

Animals: Most any

Season: Spring

Band/Artist: Undecided

Movie(s): None

**Rouge: **Activities: Flying, treasure hunting, stealing jewels, anything related to archaeology, traveling

Foods: Undecided

Colors: White, dark purple

Numbers: 1, 2, 12, 16

Animals: Wild bats, mice, some birds

Season: None

Band/Artist: Christina Aguilerra

Movie(s): The Dark Knight Rises

**~ソニック~**

**Living Places:**

**Kaden, Analia, Sen, and Sarai: **Miles to the east of Empire City (far to the northwest of Station Square; future residence), Eastern central Empire City (current residence)

**Shadow:** About six miles to the northwest of Empire City, Empire City apartment (former), White Jungle (off and on)

**Sonic, Silver, and Blaze: **Lester City (northeast of Apatos)

**Tails:** In Leaf Forest (in front of Shel Lake, west of Station Square)

**Vector, Espio, and Charmy:** Spagonia (far to the west of Empire City)

**Marthal and Keiri: **Southeastern Station Square

**Harold, Marie, and Amy:** Southern Apatos

**Ross:** Just outside the town Crestfor (north of Future City)

**Jet, Wave, and Storm:** Central Future City

**Vanilla, Cream, Cheese, and Bokkun: **Eschire Village (far to the southwest of Apatos)

**Locke: **Western Angel Island

**Knuckles:** Western Angel Island

**Rouge: **Empire City apartment (off and on), Western Angel Island (off and on)

**Omega:** Area 99 Military Base

**~ソニック~**

**Disorders, Disabilities, Special Conditions, Health Problems, etc.**

**Jet: **Anxiety (infrequent; mild), depression (rare; mild to mildly severe), claustrophobia (fear of tight spaces; always; mildly severe to severe), insomnia (almost always; severe), low self-esteem/self-confidence (somewhat frequent; mildly severe to severe), anger management issues (infrequent; mild), trust issues (frequent; mildly severe to severe), victim of child abuse and neglect (in past; severe), childhood runaway, teenage runaway, victim of childhood kidnapping, fear of angering others (particularly friends, esp. Sonic; mildly severe to severe), philophobia (fear of falling in love or having a deep emotional attachment; former; mildly severe to severe)

**Kaden: **Depression (rare, formerly very frequent; mildly severe to severe), PTSD (always; formerly severe, currently mild), PTSD-related grand mal seizures (extremely rare: severe), insomnia (almost always; mildly severe to severe), aquaphobia (fear of water; always; severe), arachnophobia (fear of spiders; always; severe), victim of child abuse and neglect (in past; severe), victim of kidnapping (in past), victim of torture (in past; severe), war veteran (more than six times), mute (completely; former), trust issues (always; mildly severe to severe), poor stress coping skills (sometimes; mild to mildly severe), long-term smoker of cigarettes (rare; no controlling habit), autistic (mildly severe to severe), childhood abandonment issues, childhood runaway, teenage runaway, philophobia (fear of falling in love or having a deep emotional attachment; former; severe)

**Locke:** War veteran (two or three times), anger management issues (former; mildly severe to severe), depression (formerly all the time and severe; currently infrequent and mild to mildly severe), orphan (parents deceased), acrophobia (fear of heights; former; mild), ophidiophobia/ophiophobia (fear of snakes; always; mild to mildly severe)

**Sonic:** Depression (former; mildly severe to severe), victim of childhood kidnapping (more than once), orphan (formerly; parents deceased), aquaphobia (fear of water; always; formerly severe, currently mildly severe), trust issues (former; severe), anger management issues (former; mildly severe to severe), acrophobia (fear of heights; former; mild), trypanophobia (fear of needles; always; severe), nosocomephobia (fear of hospitals; always; mild; formerly severe), philophobia (fear of falling in love or having a deep emotional attachment; formerly did not exist; currently mildly severe to severe), very young father (age seventeen)

**Wave: **Workaholic (frequent; mildly severe), teenage runaway

**Storm:** Orphan (abandoned as baby), anger management issues (almost always; mildly severe to severe)

**Knuckles:** Anger management issues (always; formerly severe, currently mild to mildly severe), orphan (formerly; parents deceased)

**Cream:** Separation anxiety (former; mild)

**Amy: **Prone to deep worry (frequent; mild to mildly severe), nearly victim of childhood kidnapping

**Tails: **Orphan (parents deceased), childhood bully victim, astraphobia/astrapophobia/brontophobia/keraunophobia/tonitrophobia/nicaduranaphobia (fear of lightning; former; mildly severe)

**Silver:** Orphan (former; parents deceased), arsonphobia (fear of fire; former; mild), separation anxiety (infrequent; mild), achluophobia/nyctophobia/scotophobia/lygophobia (fear of the dark; former; mild to mildly severe)

**Blaze:** Orphan (parents deceased), fear of Iblis (always; mildly severe to severe), separation anxiety (infrequent; mild), aquaphobia (fear of water; always; mildly severe to severe)

**Marthal: **Orphan (abandoned as small child), athazagoraphobia (fear of forgetting (esp. people); infrequent; mild to mildly severe), anger management issues (rare; severe), war veteran (at least three times)

**Keiri: **War veteran (at least once)

**Analia:** War veteran (at least once), teenage orphan (parents deceased)

**Shadow: **Anger management issues (infrequent; mildly severe), childhood separation anxiety and abandonment issues (mildly severe to severe)

**Rouge:** Childhood runaway, anxiety (infrequent; mild), low self-esteem/self-confidence (frequent; mildly severe to severe), philophobia (fear of falling in love or having a deep emotional attachment; severe)

**Espio:** Somewhat prone to stress (infrequent; mild to mildly severe), somewhat nervous around females of his age group (always; mild), philophobia (fear of falling in love or having a deep emotional attachment; mild)

**Charmy:** Somewhat over-trusting (fairly frequent; mild to mildly severe)

**Bokkun:** Victim of infantile kidnapping, anxiety (frequent; mild to mildly severe)

**~ソニック~**

**Miscellaneous:**

**Teleportation: **The reason why Sonic always travel by running, flying on/in ships, and so on is because of the simple reason that he doesn't want to leave his friends and family behind usually. That, and he can't teleport someplace he's never been to before (such as a the city Apatos at one time). However, he _can_ teleport to a place he's never been to before if someone or something he knows is there and he can sense (i.e. Tails or the Chaos Emeralds). This applies to anyone with the ability to teleport.

**Story Arc Names, Brief Descriptions, and Their Chapters:** -Birthrights _(South Island Arc)_ **_(Ch. 1-19)_**

-Darkness Falls _(Aftermath/Dark Days Arc)_ **_(Ch. 20-35)_**

-Encounters _(Meeting Amy and the Others Arc)_ **_(Ch. 36-67)_**

-Inferno _(Crisis City Arc)_ **_(Ch. 68-90)_**

-Restoration _(Dark Gaia Arc)** (Ch. 91-115.)**_

-Tragedies _(Ruined Future Arc)_ **_(Ch. 116-153)_**

-Awakenings _(Sa2/Riders/Save-the-Future Arc)_ **_(Ch. 154-200)_**

-Preparations _(Two-year Separation Mini Arc) **(Ch. 201-210)**_

-Evolution_ (Chaos and Tikal Arc)_ **_(Ch. 211-236)_**

-Recuperation _(Waiting for Babies Mini Arc)_ **(Ch. 237-241)**

-Culmination _(Sonic X Arc) **(Ch. 242-**_

-Tranquility _(Peace Arc; Ending) **(Ch.**_

**Other Races: **Currently, there are more that 3,887,923 known animal-based species in the universe. The number of plant-based species is innumerable.

**Aging: -**No species ages at the same rate as humans. Save for other humans, of course. _Every_ other sentient animal-based being (such as Mobians, the da Asani, and the Therians) lives longer than a human can.

-Purebred red ehidnas (such as Locke and Knuckles) age twice as quickly as purebred blue hedgehogs do. For example, Knuckles is two years older than Sonic (in Knuckles's years). With this knowledge, I believe that his age is approximately 1,188. Although, my math could very well be faulty.

**Cultures and Languages: **Cultures such as that of Japan, China, Germany, America, Britain, Ireland, and so on certainly do exist on Mobius. The same goes for languages from Earth as well, hence the reason why Kaden has a Japanese name, Silver has an English one, and so on.

**Children: **Having only one child is _very _common in the Hero-universe. Even I'm not sure why. When I drew out the family trees for the characters, this is just how it turned out. It probably doesn't help that most of the family trees stretch back into ancient times, where it was a much better idea to have only one kid (so that said child could get more food, get more protection, etc.) at a time.

**Markings: -**The flame markings on the arms of Babylonians marks them as Rogues. This we know. However, something that was never mentioned in the story is that size matters. The marks that Wave, Storm, and Jet have are full-length, indicating that they're purebred Rogue. All of their ancestors were Rogues. If a Babylonian is not a purebred Rogue, though, the marks will be shorter. For example, if they're only three-fourths Rogue, their mark will on be three-fourths of the full length of purebred's mark.

-I have no idea what the making Locke and Knuckles posses on their chests means, if anything. Knowing Hero, though, it probably will come to mean something someday.

**~ソニック~**

**Themes for New Characters:**

_**(As always a * symbol means that that is main theme and a # symbol means a shared theme.)**_

**Marthal: ***Gold-Brocaded Damask _(from Naruto Shippuden)_

**Keiri:** Guren _(from Naruto Shippuden)_

**Sen:** Hakanaku Tsuyoku _(by Younha; from the anime Kiba)_

*#Hey Brother _(by Avicii)_

**Sarai:** *#Hey Brother _(by Avicii)_

**Dark Oak:** NONE CURRENTLY

**Black Narcissus: NONE CURRENTLY**

**~ソニック~**

**Author Fun Facts!**

**Hero-Related Fun Facts: **-My personal favorite character has become Jet, with Kaden as a close second. Before that, however, I borderline hated Jet and just generally didn't care much about him. I also didn't quite care that much for Kaden, either, until I really started to get a feel for his character. Initially, however, Sonic used to be my favorite character (he's now my number three) with Locke as my second (he's maybe about the fourth now). However, as Jet's character developed, particularly during the entirety of the Ruined Future Arc, I grew to love him more than any of the other characters. In a way, my giving him that scarf is sort of a way of symbolizing just how much his character has grown and matured throughout the course of this story.

-I never write any stories with a plan set it for how long it will be. As I always tell readers who ask, there are no plans whatsoever for the length of any of the Hero-related stories. Why? Well, let me give you an example. Let's pretend that I had started writing Hero with the intention of it _never_ going over one hundred chapters for any reason. _So_ much character development and _so_ many scenes and _so_ many pivotal moments in the story and so on would have been lost, because I would have been forced to cut them out to fit everything within the one hundred chapter limit. That, or all of my chapters would have had to become horrifically long, which ruins the flow of the story. For this reason, I never make a definitive plan for how long any of my stories will be.

-Almost always when writing, I listen to my music. If I'm writing a sad scene, I listen to a sad song (i.e. "Sadness and Sorrow" from Naruto or "Utsukushi omoide" from Inuyasha: the Final Act). When I'm writing a really dark battle scene with a lot of strife and whatnot, or just writing an angry scene, I listen to songs that fit those things (i.e. "Blind Animal" from Naruto Shippuden or "Animal I Have Become" by Three Days Grace). When I'm writing a happy scene, I listen to happy music (i.e. "You're My Hero" from Sonic Generations or the second opening to the anime Soul Eater). When I'm writing a peaceful scene, I listen to peaceful songs (i.e. "Morning" from Naruto or "Toki wo koete, Kagome" from Inuyasha). The list goes on and on and on. Sometimes, my music even inspires scenes in this story. For example, as some of you may remember, I recommended in an author's note in Chapter 70 to listen to the song "Power from the Soul" from Inuyasha while reading the very first Super Sonic scene, which appeared in that chapter. I recommended it both because it fit perfectly and because the song inspired the scene.

-My idea to give Kaden autism was not a spontaneous decision, nor was it done without reason. I actually was researching autism one day for reasons unrelated to this story, and it began to occur to me that Kaden shared many of the symptoms I was reading about, such as avoiding eye-contact, struggling to read and understand people's emotions, not ever wanting to be touched normally, and so on. Other symptoms were merely ones that I gave him after I decided to diagnose him (so to speak). A few of those were his delay in learning how to speak and his fascination with spinning objects. The latter symptom also provides some explanation for why he, during his chapter-long sparring match with Shadow, threw his sword deliberately in such a way that it spun through the air.

-I often use the forum I created for readers of this story. However, I don't always just use it for random RP's and whatnot. I very often will use it to hash out ideas for Hero and its related stories. Through this, I've worked out a great many ideas for both Hero and EotS, as well as the story Guardian, which will end the main series much later on. Through those types of RP's, I've also worked out the personalities and backgrounds and so on of other characters from the Hero stories, ones that are very important but aren't necessarily main characters in Hero, specifically. An example of one of these characters is Queen Laralei herself. You guys can also thank the RP's for the birth of the story Time, which I nearly have completed already. As stated in an author's note before, this story will be posted at the same time as EotS. You'll all understand why later.

-I came up with the idea for the incredibly slow aging and long lifespans for many of the Hero characters from an unrelated anime/manga, Inuyasha. In Inuyasha, there is a race of beings known as Demons. They live for hundreds upon hundreds of years... and those are just the small fry. The more powerful and humanoid-like demons can live for many thousands. From this, I got my idea for the aging of a good portion of the Hero characters.

-I completely made up both the Babylonian and so-called "ancient" languages. In both of them, the pronunciations are based off of sounds from the Japanese language. For instance, anything with "ei" in it is pronounced "ae", i's are seldom _not_ pronounced as "ee", and so on. Also, I have completely written up an alphabet for three Hero languages: Babylonian, Onul (the ancient echidna language), and the ancient cat language (which I have yet to name). I've also worked out some symbols from the ancient language. It's _far_ from completely and has under thirty symbols, but I at least have enough to write Kaden, Analia, Sonic, and Silver's names out.

-Poor quality though they are, I have completed maps of the Hero version of the mainland of Mobius) Mobius (excluding much ocean) and the Hero version of Angel Island. Both contain canon locations (i.e. Chaos City on the mainland and the Mystic Ruins on Angel Island), and both also have many Hero-based locations (i.e. Eschire village on the mainland and the Master Forest on Angel island). Next, I very much plan on making a map of the Hero-version of South Island from the early days of the story. I also plan on doing a second map of the mainland which will be set in the Dark Days right after the fall of South Island. Places like Future City won't be there, but we'll get to see the small village-like settlements that were forming (including the one Sonic and Merry lived in) and so on on that map. ...Whenever I finish them, that is. Anyway, I'll be posting pics of these eventually on my DeviantArt account (along with pics of other Hero-related things, such as the alphabets). My username on that website is yasha77 for those of you who are interested.

-I've actually drawn floorplans of very homes in the Hero story, including Amy's home in Apatos, kid Sonic's house from South Island, and Locke's home from EotS. Pics of the first have been posted on my DA (DeviantArt, for future reference), and others will follow suit eventually.

**Normal Fun Facts: **-My eyes are blue (almost icily so) and my hair is naturally dark brown with golden blonde streaks. Sadly, though, I bleached it in the eighth grade and my hair is still recovering from that. Also, I am short, standing at five feet and three and three-fourths inches tall. I'm a full inch (or so) shorter than the average American female and haven't grown since eighth grade. At all.

-I'm from the United States. I was born in Maryland on an Airforce base. My family then moved to Cali., where I currently reside. We've moved about twelve times between this state and Utah since I was about five or six years old. "We" being my mother, father, and two sisters. I'm the middle child and have no brothers.

-Most of my free time is spent playing video games, doing art, listening to music or Netflix, and/or writing. No surprise there, right? Not all of my free time is so lax, however. I get swamped with household chores and whatnot sometimes or get randomly dragged along to go run errands. Plus I'm in college (lots of homework sometimes) and am actively looking for work. That eats up some of my freedom, needless to say.

-I am a _huge_ fan of anime/manga, Marvel and DC comics and related movies (thank my dad, uncles, and grandfather for this one), music of virtually all kinds (save for rap and any sort of modern pop music, such as the kind Katy Perry makes), and so on. From these things, I get much inspiration for writing. Writing is something that I've been doing somewhat professionally and very seriously since I was fourteen and in the eighth grade. That very same years, I became published for the first time. My first publication was a poem in the book "Great Poets Across America". The poem "Deep Forest" was mine.

-My last name can be found in many history text books, as an ancestor of mine was a very important judge in U.S. history. My family tree is also in at least one book, my family has a very old family crest from Ireland (I'm Irish from both sides of the family, with some other European nationalities mixed in here and there), there's a county named after us, and so on. I'm pretty proud to have this last name and hope to one day be able to fill in some of the great big shoes our ancestors have left my family.

-Since I sometimes get lazy with my writing when it takes too long, I sometimes feel like my own work falls short of my own expectations. Some chapters of Hero are included on that list. However, _because_ I'm lazy, I often stop caring fairly soon afterward and decide that what I wrote is good enough. For that reason, this is the end of the chapter.

**~ソニック~**

**4,685 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 2:00 a.m.) 07-08-16.**


	248. Light at the End

**Hello, Yes. Yes it was. YES! AND YOU ONLY HAD TO WAIT, LIKE, SIX MONTHS AFTER YOU ASKED, POSSIBLY LONGER! XD Seriously, though, you asked for them around the time of the first two fun fact chapters... and those were posted ages ago. XD Anyway, I agree with that fully. That's part of the reason why I love doing those. :P**

**Hello, Skye the Hedgehog101! Thank you! I'm glad you like it! :D Haha, well, sorry for making you jelly. I'll be sure to buy some peanut butter to keep you company. (Jokes. Haha. XD)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Thanks! Happy you enjoyed! Yes, I agree that Amy's fear strikes the heart pretty deep there. :( Oh, but that fear wasn't Tails-kun's. It was Jet-sama's. :P But yeah, we all know what happened with poor Tails and Cosmo in Sonic X. ;_; Cosmo is gonna be involved in this fic (I showed her epic tree form in a vision, after all), but not the romance part. This is strictly because I don't see Tails as the type to be interested in romance. They only got away with that in X because of that love potion thingy, after all. :P Anywho, yes! They will be posted very soon, as well as pictures of the languages I made and possibly pictures of the family trees and floorplans for the homes! :D Aw, thanks. Glad you enjoyed them. :) Haha, nice! You and Naruto-kun are close to the same height! Awesomeness! XD O-oh! I remember now! Sorry I forgot. I sear, I have the memory of a goldfish sometimes. ^-^" I will do my very best, Pyro-kun! Thank you!**

**Hello, Luna MoonSinger27! ME EITHER! COOL TO KNOW, THOUGH! :D Awesome! Cheese's birthday is shared! :D Anyway, glad you enjoyed 'em! :D**

**~ソニック~**

It was Cream who first turned away from the window and broke the thick, heavy, and almost suffocating silence that had settled in the air between everyone on board this positively humongous ship. "Where do we go now, Sonic?" she asked oh-so-quietly.

The leader of this motley crew forced a smile and an easy tone of voice. He stood about halfway between the main control center and the large window where Cream was. "That's easy," he replied, trying to sound casual. "We go wherever the emeralds go."

Tails was already busily typing on the keyboard of his computer, the main one that controlled the ship. "And where _is_ the first emerald, anyway?" he asked Sonic, not looking up from his computer's screen as he spoke. "Can you tell?"

Sonic took a long moment to consider this as he gazed out the nearest window to his left, approximating the distance separating him from his emerald and which direction said emerald was even in. Once he had those things all figured out, he translated the knowledge into coordinated as best as he could for Tails to input into the computer. The young fox was still working on that when Sonic then said, "I'm not sure, but I think this is the red one."

It might have been pointless information, but Tails (thankfully) went with it. "Okay," he nodded. "Now we know which color to keep an eye out for when we get to it."

"Possibly, anyway," Knuckles grumbled. He stood with his arms crossed near the doorway. Locke gave him a look to shut him up. Now wasn't the time for an argument.

"Everyone may as well go relax for a while," Tails continued, unconcerned by Knuckles's less-than-cheery remark. "It'll be a good six hours or better before we get anywhere near this emerald."

That was when Sonic spontaneously decided what he was going to do with some of his time. Looking to his left, he spotted his best friend standing (with similar posture to Knuckles) somewhat close to Kaden and Analia, who were near Locke and Knuckles. As His parents left, quite possibly to put their little ones to bed (as they were seeming sleepy already), Sonic caught Jet's eye. Jet, of course, swiftly broke eye-contact, but Sonic was well used to that by now and wasn't bothered. "Walk with me?" he offered. Shrugging his apparent acceptance of this invitation, Jet briefly turned his head and said something to Wave (who had been standing beside him this whole time). She smiled a little, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and walked away. Sonic headed out into the hall, and Jet followed him, scarf flowing behind him a bit as he walked (as it always did). They walked together to the end of this particular hall and, instead of going left, turned right. At about that moment, Sonic again broke the silence between them. "So... you okay?"

Jet frowned a little and looked at him. For once, he seemed genuinely confused. "Why the hell wouldn't I be?" he questioned.

Sonic glanced around them a bit. "I know you and hallways don't always exactly... get along," he responded, trying to bring up the topic of Jet's claustrophobia (an unfortunate fear brought on by trauma he would likely never fully overcome) as delicately as possible. "I wasn't sure if these were, you know, open enough."

For the second time in the last six or so minutes, Jet shrugged. "They're fine," he responded. _Fine_ didn't necessarily mean that they weren't slightly anxiety inducing for him, but it did as last mean that he felt like he could tolerate them. That was a good thing. "And even if they weren't," the young hawk continued, "I still would be, eventually."

Already, Sonic knew why. "Because of Wave," he recalled aloud. "She's been, for lack of a better way to put it, 'working with you' about your fear, huh?"

"Yeah." A small, almost bitter smile tainted Jet's face for just a moment. "I can actually walk all the way into my own closet without freaking out now. I guess that counts as an improvement."

"Yeah. It definitely does." They rounded another corner and found themselves in another hallway. This one had a huge floor-to-ceiling window on the left side. About a foot in front of said window was a metal rail. It was probably there for safety reasons, to keep people from leaning on the glass. Sonic approached the rail and put his hands on it, lightly clasping the cool metal in his palms. He was unsurprised when Jet joined him there, leaning on his arms on the rail as he looked out at the scene before them. He had always adored outer space and everything related to it. Astronomy was by far one of his favorite things to learn about. He was practically obsessed with it, but in a good way. The skills he had acquired regarding navigation based on positions of stars, as well as his vast knowledge of things in space (i.e. types of planets), would be extraordinarily helpful on this journey. _Besides that, it'll make this whole trip more enjoyable for him. He, like everyone else here besides Mom, Dad, and maybe Locke, hasn't ever actually seen outer space in person before._ Sonic smiled to himself. _I'm glad we got to change that. That makes this whole a little less horrible._

Not twenty seconds later, Jet broke into Sonic's thoughts. "So what's this all about?" he asked quietly, eyes still on the stars and the oh-so-distant planets that could be seen outside this massive window.

Now it was Sonic's turn to lift his shoulder's in a small shrug. "I don't know," he admitted with a small sigh. "I guess I just needed someone to talk to."

An emerald head and piercing blue eyes turned to the left to look at the tired hero. Jet contemplated Sonic's expression, but not the hedgehog's eyes, as he spoke. "About this trip," he deduced, still speaking quietly. "And the fiasco leading up to it." A small pause. "Right?"

Almost a tad reluctantly, Sonic nodded. "Yeah," he admitted. He moved so that he, too, was now leaning on his arms on the railing. His eyes remained trained on the universe outside this, by comparison, infinitely tiny ship. "I guess I've just been... I don't know, psyching myself out or whatever. This whole thing, it has me pretty worried, you know? I mean, we can barely even handle Ivo most of the time, and he's basically kept himself confined to one little world. But these guys... These guys are everywhere. Countless planets and solar systems have been wiped out by them. Even _with_ the emeralds, I have no idea how we're supposed to save the day this time around."

Jet, the prince without a throne, was never one to be untruthful about the things he deemed important. So, naturally, he opted to say the truth and voice what was also on his mind. "I don't have the answers," he murmured, turning his head to look back outside. "You know I don't. I don't have any good consolation to offer, either. That's more Amy's area than mine." Sonic managed to crack a smile, if only because that was actually true. "The fact of the matter is that you're right. We don't stand very much of a chance against even ten of these guys, let alone thousand of them, possibly more. We got our _asses_ kicked by just one of them. With that in mind, this whole endeavor almost feels... pointless."

Emeralds eyes closed and a blue head lowered. "As a child..." Sonic murmured suddenly, "I used to imagine dark tunnels a lot. You know, the kinds that are mentioned in all those metaphors or whatever they are. During Gerald's reign of terror, I could have sworn that the tunnels clouding my vision were as dark as they came. But now... Now, I'm not so sure." His eyes opened, but his head remained low. "I don't think I've ever seen a darker tunnel than the one I'm seeing now."

The whole time Sonic spoke, Jet didn't move, nor did he do so when Sonic fell silent. His gaze was distant, almost lost, as though he had drifted into some memories of his own even while his body remained in the present. "Mulari shika tu'lein," he suddenly said very quietly in Ancient Babylonian. "'Moon gives hope.' ...Ross used to tell me that when I was really little. He said the phrase basically means, in layman's terms, that hope exists as long as light does." He gave Sonic a small glance, which Sonic returned. "I think that that saying is applicable here, don't you?"

Somehow, someway, Sonic managed another small smile. "Yeah... I guess I do." Silence persisted between the two of them for a good thirty seconds or better following that reply, but then he shattered it again. "That was actually pretty good comfort," he admitted. "You're not as inept in this area as you claim, it would seem."

"I never claimed to be inept," Jet huffed, a dry look on his face that clearly said he wasn't as amused as Sonic now was. "I only ever implied that I'm less than skilled." A mere second later, he suddenly turned his head to give Sonic a small glare. "And don't you dare say that that's the same thing, because it's not and you dam well know it." Sonic's mouth closed, and Jet turned away again, shaking his head as he did so. "Asshole," he muttered.

"The one and only," Sonic was unable to resist joking. Thankfully, his comment earned a small smirk this time. He'd succeeded in lightening the mood, which had been his intended goal all along. After getting all his dark and hopeless thoughts off of his chest, he no longer wished to discuss something so depressing and borderline morbid. As such, he changed the subject. Granted, yes, this one was going to be somewhat serious, but serious was better than depressing. "I was thinking about something else, too," he told his best friend quietly.

"Oh?" Jet responded just as quietly. His eyes were half-lidded with sudden relaxation as he watched the stars. Since him relaxing this much was rare, Sonic didn't tease him about it. Jet, however, didn't bother to refrain from teasing _him_. "You? Thinking? What a shocker."

"Oh, hush up," Sonic replied, eyes rolling in mild amusement. "I was being serious."

"I know that."

"So let me talk, then." Jet didn't reply that time, so Sonic continued. "I was thinking... being out in space, we're going to see a _lot_ of worlds, and there's no telling how far from home we might get." Jet looked at him, no longer as relaxed as before. He was too curious about what Sonic was getting at to be relaxed anymore, it would seem. "And those thoughts, in turn, led me to wonder something." Now Sonic also turned his head to look at his friend. "How would you feel if we ended up stumbling across Planet Babylon? I know it's blown up and all that, but you've still always wanted to see it for yourself, right?"

Jet turned away again to contemplate the stars once more. It took him several long moments to reply. "...Yes and no," he finally admitted. He more than likely sensed Sonic's curiosity and, possibly solely for that reason, he continued. "It sounds silly to say, but the biggest reason I _don't_ want to see it is _because_ that world is dead. I've _known_ that for so many years by now, but a part of me still feels like that truth is _less_ so if I never see it for myself. Like, _not_ seeing it would somehow make it less real, you know?"

Sonic nodded readily. "I know what you mean," he agreed. "For that reason, I've never, not _once_, gone to see Mom and Dad's graves. A part of me had kind of wanted to for several years now, just so I can pay proper respects like I was never able to do before they were revived, but, at the same time... At the same time, I don't think I'll ever want to actually _see_ those graves, just because that will solidify in my mind that they really _were_ dead." He sighed a little without really meaning to. "I guess a part of me just wants to believe that, if I never see their graves, I can keep on pretending that they never died, and that I was never without them."

This time, it was Jet who sighed. The sound was so unexpected that it almost startled Sonic. But, thankfully, the hedgehog managed not to jump. "Sounds like we both have problems accepting reality as it is, at times," the young hawk remarked dryly. "Most people would call that a problem."

"But we're not 'most people'," Sonic countered. "And besides, I'm pretty sure we break the norms in far worse ways than that most of the time."

"Like when we run faster than the speed of sound," Jet smirked.

"Or when we somehow gain the abilities of an Ark," Sonic chuckled.

"Maybe us and our weirdness are a match for these enemies, after all, by that logic."

"Could be, Jet... Could be."

Both feeling significantly better than before, the two old friends drifted into another silence, this one far more comfortable and relaxed that those preceding it. For the first time in days, the two young heroes managed to feel a measure of peace within themselves as, together, they watched their universe fly by.

**~ソニック~**

**2,355 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed! I rather like this chapter. I was going to put other scenes in it, but I felt like they took away from the depth of this one. So they'll go in tomorrow's chapter instead. Posted (at 2:00 a.m.) 07-9-16.**


	249. Lost One

**Hello, Blazing Winds! Your review to Chapter 148: Thanks. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 149: Thanks again!**

**Your review to Chapter 150: Of course you do. How could you _not_? XD**

**Your review to Chapter 152: OMG! NUU! *Gets umbrella* I am ready.**

**Your review to Chapter 153: Haha, I know, right. I loved that one. XD**

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Thank you! Glad you did! :) She is. She really, really is. :3 Yep, they certainly did. And I'm glad, too.**

**Hello, masculineangel! Welp, I already replied to this in a PM to you, so... Not gonna post it again needlessly.**

**~ソニック~**

While Sonic and Jet continued to talk in the hall and everyone else did their own things elsewhere, Tails worked on his main computer in the control room. The room was dim due to the fact that few lights were on in there. He was alone in the room save for Cream, who was still standing in front of the same window as earlier. While she stood there and gazed out at the countless stars, he worked busily, fingertips flying across the keyboard. Eventually, the sound of it seemed to draw Cream away from her thoughts and this, in turn, prompted her to turn her head and look at him. After a small moment of nothing else in particular happening, she walked over to him. Somehow, she managed one of her usual sweet smiles. "What are you doing?" she asked him, peering over his shoulder and at the screen.

Tails turned his head to look back at her, returning her smile readily. "I'm working out the last of the kinks in my map system," he explained to her as simply as possible. "I've calibrated everything, so now all I have to do is make sure is that there's nothing wrong with it." He pointed at the screen. "This is a star map, which I can use to record all the things we see out here. You know, asteroid belts, planets, comets, and that sort of thing. I can also make detailed maps of any worlds we go on, provide the system with information on the planets' biomes, and so on."

Cream's smiled more brightly than before. "That's a wonderful idea, Tails. Now we can remember all the places we see." After a small moment, though, her smile turned said. "Will..." she started to ask slowly, trailing off. However, a second later, she continued. "Will you document Mobius?" she asked him oh-so-quietly.

The smile Tails tried to give her, while also smiled, managed to also be reassuring. "I already have," he assured her, also speaking quietly. "I did that before we even left."

A small tear threatened to fall from one of Cream's chocolate eyes, and she wiped it away with the back of one hand. "Good," she murmured. "I'm glad."

**~ソニック~**

Kaden gazed silently out the window to his left in a dark dark bedroom with no other people. He was back against the wall beside that window, arms crossed, head turned to the glass, and emerald eyes locked on the innumerable stars in the great beyond. The last time he'd been here, out in space, the circumstances had been so different. He had been alone. He had been injured. He had been... nearly broken. Now, however, his friends and family were all here with him. He wasn't injured now (thanks to Amy and Analia's efforts), nor was anyone else. The pains of his past remained constantly with him, a dull and permanent ache in his heart brought on by scars that would never heal, but he was more whole now than he had ever been before. No longer broken, he was stronger in both body and spirit than he had ever previously been.

And yet, all was still not well.

Things were _far_ from being to the point where they could be considered "well" at this point. Not all of it had to do with the current desperate plight his homeworld was in, however. There were numerous concerns, _darker_ concerns, that were continuing to weigh down on his mind and heart presently. One of the absolute biggest of those concerns were his children, his partner, and everyone else onboard this massive vessel. A tragedy though it was certainly be if Mobius were to wither away and die (such a horrible fate to befall _any_ world, really), his biggest priority was _not_ the protection of the world. It had been once, many, many years ago, but that was the case no longer. His responsibilities had changed, and so too had the things he cared the most about. The fate of the world was no longer his biggest concern, not by any means. He felt so _horrible_ for thinking that, but he could never deny that it was the truth. Yes, many, _many_ people would perish with the world if the Planet egg was not retrieved quickly enough. _So_ many lives would be lost. He knew that. He understood that. Of _course _he cared. However, as terrible as it likely sounded, _none _of those lives mattered to him when they were compared to the lives of his family. And _everyone_ on this ship was his family. Every last person, regardless of literal blood relations or lack thereof. If forced to choose between saving _them_ and saving his world, he would choose them in a less than a heartbeat. Every. Single. Time.

He just hoped that things would never come to that.

Of course he didn't. How could he? He cared so deeply for his family _and_ for the world they hailed from. Having to choose only one to save would be so destructive to his mind, spirit, and heart. No matter which option he chose, there would be consequences terrible beyond words, and some large part of himself would inevitably suffer and die as a result. It was all just horrible, horrible. Morbid, too. Borderline masochistic, even. Hell, not to _mention_ just plain _depressing_. Which, of course, eventually led him to wonder why in the hell he was even thinking about any of this in the first place.

_"You ponder these things because you care."_

Kaden instantly and soundlessly turned his head just enough to gaze at the dark, opaque form that was now standing just a few feet in front of him. The form was so vague as to be nothing more than a three-dimensional shadow, one with no face and, therefore, no readily recognizable identity. It was a spirit. Another lost soul. Another dead person who had never found rest. So many Kaden had seen in his life... not that he had ever wished to. The spirits of the dead, whether lost or not, were something that only he could see, hear, or otherwise interact with (unless the spirits in question were inside the Master Emerald) due to the potent energies of Darkness that had been coursing through his veins for the whole of his existence. It was an ability _so_ borderline impossible that most considered it to be just that: impossible, and a lie. He, however, simply found it irritating on the best of days. On the worst, it was a power he hated. "Who are you?" he demanded cautiously, tone laced with distrust and colored with something akin to minor venom. As he spoke, he kept his voice low so that no one outside of this lonely room would be able to hear him and, therefore, be able to question him about who he was speaking to and why. He cared not for speaking of these things, a fact which Locke, Analia, and Marthal at the very least knew. "Why have you come?"

_"I am here because you are far from the only one who cares about the fates of others." _Kaden didn't know what to say to that, truly, but not because the spirit's claim was outlandish or anything of the sort. It was, more accurately, because of the simple fact that social situations and therefore conversations were so far outside of his comfort zone and range of skills that he often found himself lost when confronted with them when not with Locke or Analia or others who were willing and able to help him. So, being lost as he currently was and not knowing why to say, he opted to say nothing at all and not even bother to try. He remained silent. The spirit, however, was apparently undeterred by his lack of response and merely continued talking like the annoyance it was already proving itself to be. _"You worry far too much for one so young."_

Oh, so now it was going to _criticize _him? _Really_? He had been doing his very best to remain polite to this spirit in spite of it's rather _rude_ intrusion into his life a few minutes ago, but now he wasn't so sure of how much he really wanted to. He never took kindly to strangers, especially _dead_ ones, daring to criticize him as though they had _ever_ had the right to do so. When he spoke, he noticed that he had once again slipped into a formal speech pattern, but he hardly cared at the moment. "I suggest you hold your tongue, spirit," he muttered, "lest I banish you to the Shadow Realm." That realm, also known as the Realm of Darkness was where evil or otherwise generally "bad" spirits went. The Meadows of Eternity, also known as the Realm of Light, was where pure or otherwise generally "good" spirits went. The Middle Realm, also known as the Realm of the Lost or the Lost Zone, was where this spirit was _supposed_ to be. He wished that it was there now but, of course, simply _wishing_ never did anyone any good.

_"You would not do so." _Oh, it _was_ a bold spirit, wasn't it? And from from being so in a good way, at that.

"I shall," he threatened. He was fully capable of carrying out this threat, too. Due to the nature of his powers, he and he alone could interact with the three Realms of Death and, thus, interact with all those within them. He could send spirits to whichever realm he so chose, though he had never this far sought to utilize that capability. Regardless, though, he _could_ do it. Being able to interact with the dead was such a pain, though, if only because of visits like _this_. The mere fact that he could interact with them meant that, as a result, _they_ could interact with _him_ as well (a rather unfortunate rule, as far as he was concerned). Hence this conversation. "Give me my space, spirit. I do not desire to waste words with the likes of you."

_"And yet, you have done it." _It was mouthy, too. Daring, even. Impudent.

The spirit seemed amused now, but he was far from it. "The Shadow Realm is calling your name."

_"You know not what my name even is," _the spirit countered, still seeming amused.

"I said _leave_, spirit. I tire of your games."

_"Is this another warning?"_

It was daring to taunt him now, and he was _far_ from appreciative. "You had better _hope_, for you own sake, that that is all it is," he muttered darkly. He was growing more and more irritated with this entity by the second. Every word is spoke spewed more nonsense into the air. He could have sworn he was about to start choking on it.

_"Your threats are empty," _the spirit returned. _"They were, right from the very start."_

"Continue trying your luck," he growled softly, "and you shall _see_ how truly '_empty_' they are."

_"I do not believe so."_

"It would be best, for your own sake, if you changed your views."

_"No matter what I say, I am safe here. You will not harm me, nor will you send me somewhere I have never belonged."_

"You lie to yourself."

_"I do not. I merely speak the truth."_

"You try the last and thinnest threads of my patience."

_"Perhaps I do."_

Now he was really and truly _done_ with this. He was _through_ playing this damn game. "It is within your best interest too _leave_ spirit. I will not warn you a fourth time."

_"This spirit has a name."_

Though this was undoubtedly true, it wasn't like he was going to ask this damn entity what they had been called in life. That was a matter personal to the spirit, and one he had no interest in delving into. Certainly not right now. He turned his head away to look back out the window again in the perhaps vain hope that looking away would somehow ease his present irritations. "I care not," was all he said.

_"Perhaps you should, Lost One." _Emerald eyes narrowed and slanted back toward the spirit, but he offered no reply. That title was one given to him more than three thousand years ago, due to the extremely unfortunate circumstances surrounding the day of his birth and his subsequent upbringing. Those were times he _hated_ to think about, because he was always reminded so heavily of how well things _could_ have gone... and how far those things were from what had actually occurred in the end. He hated this spirit just a little more for even bringing this topic up, but it continued to spite uninhibited, unconcerned by his ire. _"Bothering to learn the name of another is an indication that one cares about that other person." _The spirit finally, _finally_ began to leave him, body and voice slowly fading away as though they had never been. But, before it vanished completely, the mysterious spirit managed to relay to him the last of it's message, the very thing it had intended to tell him all along. _"Only hearts full of love and care can escape the wicked demons that lurk in the shadows, always hunting for some new form to claim." _With that, it vanished entirely, and he was left alone all over again.

Though he had no idea, really, what that spirit had been talking about just now, one thing was perfectly certain to him. That message had not been delivered without just reason. It was a warning, a warning of something that was likely going to occur very soon. And, whatever it was, it would most likely have horrible consequences... for everyone involved.

**~ソニック~**

**2,322 words this time. I was gonna add more, but meh... Hope you enjoyed. Posted (at about 2:00 a.m. once again) 07-11-16.**


	250. Connection

**Hello, StarryMoon33! So true... So very, very true... Poor Kaden, indeed... :(**

**Hello, Sun Demigod! Your review to Chapter 152: I KNOW! THAT KILLED ME TO WRITE! DX**

**Hello, Guest! Your review to Chapter 248: Haha, I know, right? Lol. XD Well, I'm glad you think so. That was one of the biggest goals in that chapter, after all. :)**

**~ソニック~**

_Beware the demons in the shadows. _

This was no collection of empty words. This was a genuine warning. It meant something, something sinister. But... what were the "demons" the spirit had been talking about? Kaden truly had no idea at this point. He supposed that the spirit could very well have been talking about it's more malevolent counterparts, but... that shouldn't have been possible. The dark spirits were forever banished to the Shadow Realm. Unless, of course, someone with dark magic summoned them back into the realm of the living. Which, of course, would present a huge problem if it happened. But... why would someone be doing such a thing now? _Unless... _Unless, somehow, this related to their enemy's plan with the Planet Eggs. Somehow. _How_ those two could be in any way related escaped him at the moment, but-

A flash. A dark flash from within the shadows and, suddenly, his mind was no longer in the present. Suddenly, he was remembering the past, the agonies he had suffered so many years ago. He remembered... but not willingly. Try though he might to end the flow of memories, he was helpless against them. In the end, all he could do was watch, relive everything as though experiencing it for the first time all over again. From childhood to adulthood, he remembered...

(-)

_A mother's pure blue eyes held a bundle of tiny and innocent new life. A smile was shared between them, from mother to child. So much love was given so freely. Then sleep came, claiming the young one and drawing the child into darkness. Peace was his. But then, terror. Dark hands grabbed him, whisked him away in the night, away from all those he had known in the few short hours of his life, never to see them again._

(-)

_A child's life was full of mistakes. Mistakes were needed to learn. Saran had spent many weeks convincing young Kaden that it was alright to be a person and not be perfect in everything he did. And yet, when the six-year-old reluctantly returned home to the enclosed courtyard in Chun-nan where he was raised, the elders told him a different tale. "Never make mistakes. Weapons are not people. They make no errors. Errors earn punishment." When he dared to refuse their words, when he dared to try to cling to the teachings of the only person who had ever truly cared for him in his living memory, he was reminded with harsh words and even harsher hands just how little control he had ever had over his own life. With every blow, with each fresh wave of pain, he was reminded that he could never have the freedoms he sought, the freedoms his sensei claimed he should have never had to try to earn._

(-)

_The water was cold. So cold. It surrounded him, enveloped him in a dark and horrible place with no air, no escape, no hope. And the hands holding him under... warm. Horribly so. But the chill of the water was far worse. Warmth meant life. Cold meant death. He didn't like to be cold. He didn't want to feel that horrid temperature. Already he could feel himself starting to shiver. He felt so, so cold... It was quite likely that the seven-year-old would drown... and all because he had "mouthed off" to one of the elders. All he had said was that he was still hungry. They had fed him so little today... Never again would he complain about such things. Not if it meant risking a much quicker death than simple starvation._

(-)

_The training was brutal. Painful. Real weapons were used, in spite of his young age, in spite of his inexperience, in spite of the fact that his sole defense was a pitiful dagger that had earlier been thrown at him. For every mistake he made, the eight-year-old was slashed with swords much too sharp to be used in training exercises. By the time the match reached the five minute mark, he was already woozy from blood loss. His vision burred multiple times. More cuts were given to him, though he did not want them. He could barely feel them anymore, anyway. A final slash, and he fell. Unable to stand, barely able to open his eyes, he could only watch as the elders with whom he had been fighting walked over, bloody blades in hand. A boot swung toward his face._

(-)

_Ten years old. So much closer to adulthood, to his freedom, and yet still so far away from it. The only real hopes he had left in his life were Locke and the natural lights of the sky. He hadn't seen either of those things in so long, locked in his room for the past four weeks as he had been. There were no windows, no toys, no light, no heat, nothing that a child would have wanted or needed. Even his books, objects he had been allowed to keep for the sake of studies (after all, weapons needed to be intelligent), and his bed had been taken from him. All he had left now were the cold stone walls, ceiling, and floor, the heavy and locked metal door, and the darkness both around and within him. His only company was his thoughts, thoughts that were always all too happy to remind him that every day a new beating would come, a fresh punishment for the foolish mistake he had made five long weeks ago. He had made a friend... but weapons were not people. People had friends. Not weapons. His choices, according to the elders, were simple. Either reject the only friend he had ever known... or sit in the dark and suffer. So he chose._

(-)

_Once, the thirteen-year-old dared to speak of the spirits he saw, particularly the ones that advised him of how improperly he was being raised. "They're damn right, and you bastards know it." He had been threatened, told to shut his mouth or else. He was not to speak of the dead. He was not to speak of his "evil" powers. If he did, he would be made to regret it, but those threats went ignored. He was standing up to them for once, because he was sick of living in this hell day in and day out. In the end, though, his bravery was rewarded with the harshest punishment he had ever received in his short life. It lasted throughout the day and, when it was over, he found himself drifting in some grey area of his mind between living and dead. He had never before been surer of his own death._

(-)

_Age fifteen and thrown into another war. This one was very different from the others. Rather than fighting on the front lines, he was thrown into enemy territory. Alone. Frightened. Sickened by what he had to do. The work of an assassin required a cold hand hand, cold eyes, and an even colder heart. He could conceal his expression, his tone, and his feelings from the rest of the world, but he knew he could never fool himself. For every life he unwillingly took, he felt his hatred of self grow. His darkness intensified. And, when he looked at his reflection in the mirror or in the rare pools of water he dared to venture toward... he found that he could barely recognize the face he saw. He no longer knew who he was becoming, nor what he could do to change it._

(-)

_Yet another war was over, and yet he was still trapped. The work of a weapon was never truly complete. The killer in the night, an unwilling assassin of only sixteen years of age, wanted so much more than the life he had now. He longed for an end to his suffering. He longed for his friends. He longed for the freedom he had been promised by a man of the light so many years ago. He was willing to risk death to gain those things, and that was often what it came down to, for every time he attempted to break free of the evil that had held him captive since the day of his birth... he found only more suffering in pain. Sometimes death seemed like the best and only option left to him. Sometimes... he yearned for it._

(-)

_He was broken and barely breathing. And yet, he was much too alive. Free though his now was, now that he had finally reached age seventeen and, thus, adulthood, he still continued to suffer. He still held onto his old hopes, but so much of him was ready to just give it all up already. This had gone on for far too long. It all hurt too much. And yet, the pain he felt was wasn't entirely physical in nature. Yes, he felt it when the swords of his enemies struck him and stabbed him again, but those pains were nothing when compared to the true pain he felt in his heart. He almost allowed his head to bow... he almost allowed death to simply come and claim him at last. Almost._

(-)

_How foolish he had been to assume that mere adulthood meant freedom. Even now, when he was nineteen years of age... even now he was treated as a mere weapon. The elders controlled the city and everything within it. It was a place he loved, truly, but... he had no rights. He was allowed no means of earning income. People the elders hired watched his every move when he was within their walls. The only reason he was allowed a house in the city was to avoid rousing suspicion in the minds of the many thousands of civilians who surrounded him. He was no freer now than he had ever been. He was merely trapped in a new way. And, when he tried once again to escape it all... the Lost Realm nearly gained another soul._

(-)

_The darkest part of life was the portion of it where friends became enemies. Blow after blow was traded. At age twenty-one, he experienced the one thing he had never thought he would live to see. His best friend had become his enemy, if only for this moment. The man he had always trusted to never harm him, and whom he had promised to never harm in return, was now his opponent. There was so much anger... How their relationship could ever survive this was beyond him. As again he and Locke clashed, the thought crossed his mind that perhaps the elders had been right all along. Perhaps he was simply one not meant to have friends. Bonds were a special thing all manner of people enjoyed. But maybe he was no better than a weapon in a person's form, after all._

(-)

_Age twenty-one was when he met a man whom he could never forget, no matter how desperately he desired to. The man was clad in a simple tan-colored monk's robe, though he was no peaceful religious being. His fur was white, the color of purity. And he was pure... pure, genuine evil. His bright yellow eyes had always smiled wickedly with pleasure at the horrific acts he committed. For seven months, he and two blue hedgehogs (Kochei and Ynche) from Chun-nan kept the young warrior trapped. They suffocated him, burnt him, nearly drowned him, beat him, and on and on every day. They would torture him until he lost consciousness, wait for him to awaken even if it took hours, then begin again. The whole of his existence during that time became focused on instinctive survival, even when all he found himself truly wanting was for it all to end through any means necessary. It was so hard to remember that anything had ever existed beyond this constant pain. Sometimes, he wondered if he had ever truly lived at all._

(-)

Even after the flow of memories ended, he remained totally focused (though unwillingly so) on the last memory in particular. The blades, the boots, the hammers, the racks, the electrified chairs, the branding irons, the iron maidens, those three sets of cold eyes... They all continued to haunt him to this very day. The memories were _so_ vivid, as though they weren't memories at all but, rather, what he was experiencing in the present. He fought to block them out, but it was a losing battle that he was fighting. And, when one of his most horrific and thus most horribly vivid memories from those seven months hit him out of the blue, he suddenly blacked out.

When he awoke next, it was to find himself suddenly on his side on the floor with Analia lightly patting his cheek to wake him. He blinked blearily a few times, eyes unfocused and his whole body shivering minutely. He wasn't cold, though, so the shivers confused him. Everything was just a whole mass of confusion right now. He couldn't quite get his thoughts and memories straight, nor did he seem quite capable of understanding whatever Analia was saying to him. And yet, he replied each time he heard her speak. Though he couldn't exactly tell for sure, he thought his words came out slurred, at least somewhat. But, gradually, the period of confusion passed and he was left feeling fatigued and shaky, though the shivering had mostly stopped. His head hurt like _hell_, too, but not in a way that indicated to him that he had hit it on anything with any great force. He just had a general headache. A bad as hell one, but just a headache nonetheless. Sitting up was a painful process due to that headache, and it came to his attention as he moved that his right arm hurt, too. _That_ pain felt like it had come from him hitting something hard, like the bedframe or nightstand he had been lying beside when he'd awoken. He suspected he might know what had just occurred, given all these signs and familiar symptoms but, as Analia pulled a thin blanket off the bed and draped it over his shoulders, he still found himself asking quietly, "What happened?"

Analia gave him a sad smile while she moved to take a seat in front of him on the, thankfully, carpeted floor. "You had a seizure," she responded just as quietly as he had spoken. "It was a grand mal, like all the others were in the past."

Though he had suspected that he'd had a seizure, the confirmation was still surprising and, honestly, a tad bit alarming. He hadn't had one of those in nearly three hundred years, not counting all the years he had been dead. To have another one, and so out of the blue... He didn't know what to think of it. He did, however, known the cause. _Those damn memories... _

His partner gracefully moved her legs so that they were bent at her side. As she did this, she continued to speak. "I do not know how bad it was," she informed him. "It was nearly over when I arrived." He nodded his understanding, then shifted his right arm out from underneath the blanket to look at it. Frowning with what was seemingly worry, Analia gently took his arm and examined it. "Did you hit it?"

Kaden shrugged a little. "Maybe." He had no idea, truly. He had, after all, been unconscious during that whole episode.

As she looked over his arm (and not to mention the rest of him) for any sign of injury, however minor those injuries may have been, Analia asked him very seriously with one of her rare frowns, "Kaden, what happened?" She knew as well as he did that something _had_ to have happened to cause this seizure. He wasn't epileptic. His seizures generally weren't random. They happened in response to post-traumatic stress. They both knew that. "And do not lie to me."

She was being firm with him, a sign that she wasn't going to take any bullshit from him about this. He didn't want to upset her at all, so her caved in to her will and complied. He explained about everything that had happened: his conversation with the spirit, the warning that it had given him, the strange flash that had _coincidentally_ come at him from the shadows, the sudden uncontrolled flow of bad memories, the vivid recollection he had of his time in Kathros's clutches and, finally, him blacking out in the middle of remembering everything he had gone through during those seven worst months of his long (and yet so painfully short) life. At the end of his explanation, she was still frowning, and one of his constant and deepest worries resurfaced within him. He found himself wondering for at least the hundredth time since he met her so long ago, _Is she upset with me...? _The very thought of such a thing ever occurring made his heart sink. A certain sort of anxiety filled him at the idea. His only hopes were that he was wrong... and that he was hiding his current emotions well enough that she couldn't sense them.

"Are you tired?" she suddenly asked him. Her frown remained, but her tone was one of concern as far as he could tell. ...Not that he was the best at reading tones of voice. He was fairly certain that he had never met a person who was _worse_ at it, actually. Yet another reason he found to hate his... "disability", but that was a matter to contemplate another time. Instead, he focused on answering her question and reluctantly conceded a nod. Returning his nod, she grabbed his left hand and helped him up, then helped him walk (albeit somewhat shakily) to their bed. Once he was laying down, she covered him up with the other blankets. His eyes closed a little of their own accord, but he managed to remain long enough to ask a question. "Please don't leave," he mumbled. It came out as more of a plea, really, though that hadn't been his intention. It was too late to fix it now, however.

Analia's whole expression softened, and she brought a hand up to lightly rub behind his right ear. That felt good, had always felt good, and it coaxed him into relaxing faster than he'd intended to. "Of course I will not leave you..." she murmured. "I would never leave you..."

**~ソニック~**

**3,118 words this time. IMPORTANT NEWS! As of some point today (probably after about 2:00 p.m. my time) I will be leaving for the same music festival I went to around this time last year, the one where I wrote chapters 114 and 115 (possibly also 113, can't remember for sure). I'll be back either the nineteenth or the twentieth. Until then, this is the last chapter. But don't fret! I'll still be writing new chapters on paper while I'm gone, same as before. :) ****One last quick note! I know this was probably full of typos. I got busy today, though, and therefore had no real time to proofread. So... yeah. ****Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Posted (once again, at about 2:00 a.m.) 07-13-15.**

**EDIT (07-19-16): I fixed all the typos I found!**


	251. Mirai

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Yeah... And yes, he has. He really does need something like that sometime.**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 249: Yes, very foreboding. XD Glad you enjoyed that! I thought it was awesome, too. Well, I'm not gonna say anything about any potential deaths in EotS, but whether someone dies or not, you guys will get to see at least one of the Realms of Death either here in Hero or in the sequel. ;) Duuude, I just finished binge watching the entire series with my little sister recently (she bought the complete collection). It's _such_ a good show. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 250: GASP! I HAVE FINALLY RENDERED THE GREAT PYRO-KUN SPEECHLESS! ACHIEVEMENT! XDD Anyway, in all seriousness, I'm so, so glad you enjoyed, and I thank you for your kind words. They mean a lot to me. :) Yes, he truly has gone through some horrible, horrible shiat in his life. :( Haha, yes. Yes, I suppose this is a serious one for once, huh? XD Thank you! I did have fun! It was great! :D I will do my very best, Pyro-kun, as always!**

**Hello, thatguy4643! Your first review to Chapter 250: Awesome! Thanks! I'll check it out! :D**

**Your second review to Chapter 250: Gasp! Duplicate! XD Haha, anyway, thanks again!**

**~ソニック~**

**Mirai ("Future")**

**~ソニック~**

It was now six o'clock in the evening, seven hours after the group had left Mobius on their desperate chase through the universe. Kaden had been asleep for about forty-five minutes to an hour by this point, which wasn't alarming. He'd had a seizure, after all. Some people recovered fully within minutes of having one, some took hours. He was in the latter group, hence him being so tired and headachey still. For this reason, he was still in bed asleep. Sonic had also been asleep, but he was through with his little nap now and was walking around. Once more fully awake, he could tell straight away that Tails's earlier guesstimation had, as expected, been absolutely correct. They were much closer to the first emerald now than they had been before. So much closer, in fact, that for the first time since they'd left on this crazy and potentially suicidal trip... Sonic began to hope that maybe the first victory in this war would be theirs. Smiling to himself at the thought, at the possibility, Sonic walked further down the hall he was currently in and turned a corner. There, he came across Cream's room. Deciding to check on the young bunny and make sure she was okay (as she had taken their earlier departure very hard for obvious reasons), he walked over to the door and knocked on it.

But, in spite of the time, both too early and too late for her to be asleep, there was no response. He could tell she was in there, too. Immediately concerned, he just opened the door. Inside, he found Cream sitting on her bed atop her covers, seemingly in a daze. Cheese wasn't with her. After a few moments of lightly shaking her, waving his hand in front of her, and snapping his fingers in front of her face, a thought suddenly occurred to him. _What if she's having visions again?_ All of a sudden, he wasn't so sure that attempting to wake her was such a good idea. And yet, his hand still found itself coming to rest on Cream's small shoulder as though to shake her once more. Through this contact, an accidental psychic connection was made. Now, for the first time ever, someone was actually seeing Cream's visions with her.

(-)

_In the first one, they saw Sonic himself and Jet._

_Jet landed lightly on his feet in the middle of some vast, lush, grassy meadow surrounded by forests on one side and mountains on the other. Slowly, he sank down onto his knees in the cool green grass. The afternoon spring sun beamed down at him. He was so tired and in so, so much pain. He was absolutely covered in wounds and was soaked in his own blood (more of which he was still losing). His scarf, backpack, and everything else that he normally carried with him was gone, save for his socks and boots, which he was still wearing. His vision blurred as he fought to catch his breath. He was so tired.._

_Barely a minute after he'd ended up here, someone appeared beside him and pulled him back up to his feet by the arm, possibly in an attempt to force him to stay awake. When the person spoke, he realized that it was Sonic. "Hang on." Sonic sounded so distant, so quiet. It was so hard to focus on him and his words. "Just hang on," he insisted. "Help is coming." But Jet didn't want help. He didn't even feel like he wanted food or water, in spite of how badly he needed those things. It was just so hard to want anything besides sleep right now... the kind that was supposed to last for an eternity. But, of course, Sonic could almost certainly sense this. The hedgehog shook him a little, jostling him him enough to startle him into opening his eyes again for a moment, though he saw only blurs. The pain he felt from the movement was so dull and distant that he barely took notice of it.  
_

_Sonic's worry only intensified. Jet had just proved that he was still responsive, which was a very good thing of course, but his friend was fading fast. This was so bad... "Don't go to sleep, Jet," he commanded, though he didn't know whether or not his words were heard. "Help is coming," he repeated. "I promise, it will be here soon." He was incredibly relieved that his friend seemed to be at least attempting to do as he was told, but... Jet swayed on his feet. At this point, Sonic was forced to begin to acknowledge the most horrible possibility of them all... and that was that help wouldn't arrive soon enough this time._

(-)

_In the second one, they saw a laptop that seemed to belong to Kaden._

_Saved onto the laptop were countless music files. All of them were titled. "Call Your Name", "Heroes", "Trust Me", "Can You Feel the Sunshine?", "Riot", and "On My Own" were just a few of the titles of the many, many songs Kaden had created over the years since his revival. "On My Own" in particular was a personal favorite of his. He'd poured so many of his genuine thoughts and and feelings into that song. It was one of the few songs he'd ever made that was so deeply... personal to him. His other songs had all been greatly enjoyable to make, fun even, but this one... This one was different. His only hope was that the people who might one day listen to it would somehow understand that._

(-)

_In the third one, they saw no faces, merely heard voices._

_One voice was male while the other was female. Both were distorted just enough to be rendered unrecognizable. In this vision, they were both just... talking. It was the male who spoke first. "Did you come up with a name yet?"_

_"No," the female replied. "I can't decide on anything."_

_There was a small pause. Then, after that pause, the male asked, "Would you like some help?"_

_"That would be nice." The female's voice was colored with amusement. "He is half yours, after all."_

_"I know that," the male responded, voice half-annoyed, half-also-amused. More silence followed this small exchange. It was brief again, however. "Boris," he finally suggested as some sort of joke._

_The female laughed. "No!" she exclaimed between her audible expressions of humor. "Not that!"_

_"Alright, if you insist," the male conceded. The smirk could actually be heard in his voice. Yet more silence ensued after he finished speaking. This time it was longer, more genuinely thoughtful. When the next suggestion came, it was serious. "How about Jason?"_

_"It's so strong," the woman murmured after a moment, audibly smiling, "just like he will be." _

_"So you like it?" the man asked, showing his first signs of uncertainty from this whole conversation._

_"I love it," was the woman's exceedingly warm reply. "That's our son's name now. Jason."_

(-)

_In the fourth one, they saw Amy and, again, Sonic himself. _

_The two hedgehogs were sitting together, side by side, in chairs in a rather good-sized hospital room. Someone was laying on their right side in the bed, facing the two of them. The person appeared to be unconscious, and their image was blurred out of focus. Due to this latter fact, the person was unrecognizable. Silence persisted in the room for what seemed to be a long time. Eventually, however, Sonic ended the silence. "If you hadn't helped when you did..." he started to say so, so very quietly. He trailed off without ever finishing his sentence, but they both knew how it __would__ have ended had he completed his thought aloud. 'He may have died.'_

_Amy nodded softly, though she didn't reply aloud. Her downcast green eyes were filled with such sorrow and lingering but now unnecessary fear and premature grief. Her thoughts, like Sonic's, were focused on the unfortunate subject of death. She looked back to their unconscious friend. 'He really could have died... Granted, he would have revived, but... It's like he once told us. Immortal or not, he still experiences death just like anyone else would. His soul even goes to one of the three Realms of Death briefly when he dies. The only existing difference between him and us in regards to death is that, for him, death is only temporary. Otherwise... no matter what happens... death is still death. _

(-)

Once the visions ended, Sonic blinked several times in an attempt to refocus his mind and was unsurprised to find that, by the time he'd come back to himself, Cream was already recovered. The two of them stared at each other in genuine surprise. _I don't think either of us expected that to happen... at all. _It was the first coherent thought he'd had in the last twenty or so seconds. But that wasn't exactly one of his biggest concerns at the moment. Far from it, really. "Cream... how far in the future are those visions?" he asked quickly.

Cream shrugged unhelpfully. "I don't know, exactly," she replied honestly. "That's never revealed to me in any visions. But, from what I can gather, they're all from the same general time-frame, more than twenty years from now."

_Twenty years. _He had more than twenty years to be prepared for however that first vision ended. More than twenty years to wait until he could meet this "Jason" person. More than twenty years to wait until he learned the identity of the Immortal from Mobius. _I have time... Thankfully. _"...Okay," he said finally, nodding slowly to indicate his general understanding of the situation. There was a pause, then he sighed. "Well... whatever. I just came in here to check on you. I didn't mean to intrude or anything."

The young bunny blinked innocently. "Check on me?" she asked.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. To make sure you were okay after everything that's happened today."

This time, Cream graced him with a sweet smile. "I'm alright, Mister Sonic," she assured her in that gentle and happy voice of hers.

Somehow, he managed to smiled back at her. "Okay. If you're sure."

"I am," she promised.

"Alright." Without another word, he turned and left the room. After shutting the door behind himself, he continued on his way down the hall, going the same direction as before. After passing a number of rooms (Vanilla's, Bokkun's, Harold and Marie's, Amy's, Tails's, Rouge's, and Shadow's), he came across the rooms that two of the Rogues were currently occupying. Storm's was closed. That alone was an indication that he was most likely sleeping, as he often did in his free time. The snores that could be heard from beyond the door only reaffirmed this conclusion. Wave's door was the next one down, and it was also shut. Being the minor workaholic that she was, there was no doubt that she was in that room tinkering away at some piece of tech or another. Smiling a little to himself at how predictable those two could be, he continued a little ways down the hall, turned right, then walked over to an open door about midway down that hall. In that room was Jet, the most unpredictable Babylonian of the trio. _Well, I guess that's not entirely true, _he thought. _He can be predictable, too, just like anyone else. But, at the same time, he can also be just like the wind he controls. Spontaneous, not adhering to any sort of norms... _As he thought this, he peered into the room.

True to his usual way, Jet was reclining on his bed, eyes closed, earbuds in, and music blasting out at nearly the highest volume possible. It was just like what most teenagers would do. _I guess it's hard to remember sometimes that he is still a teenager. _Sonic mused to himself as he resumed walking. _He and I age at the same rate and all, but, from what he's told me before, hawks of any breed aren't adults until they reach age eighteen or twenty, depending on various factors he left unspecified. _His friend generally _acted_ like an adult most of the time, so the memory that he technically _wasn't_ was a tad bit surprising. And, as these things tended to, one idle thought prompted another. _How many of us here actually are adults?_

With nothing better to do and a long walk ahead of him until he reached the ship's huge control room, he decided to count everyone (in a way) and find the answer to his own question. _Let's see, here... Mine and Amy's parents, Locke, Vanilla and I are all obviously adults. Due to the alien DNA in him, we can only assume that Shadow is as well. Knuckles is a purebred red echidna and is nineteen years old, meaning he's only just become an adult. Bats of any breed also become adults at nineteen, so Rouge is an adult as well. Chameleons become adults at age twenty-one and crocodiles at age twenty, which are Espio and Vector's ages. Purebred pink hedgehogs and swallows of any breed are considered adults at age sixteen, so Amy and Wave are also adults. Wave is seventeen, though, so she's not a "new" adult like Amy is. Albatrosses of any breed, from what I understand, can be considered adults as young as fourteen, though some aren't considered adults until age eighteen. Either way, Storm's eighteen and therefore an adult. Silver is fifteen and, due to his mixed heritage, he won't be an adult until sixteen or seventeen, depending on his maturity at those ages. Blaze is sixteen and won't be considered an adult until age nineteen, just like any other cat. Marthal and Keiri are somewhere in their late twenties or early thirties, I think, so they're both adults. Tails is only fourteen now and won't be an adult until he reaches age eighteen. Cheese, being a Chao, technically won't ever become an adult, though he will go through an adult-like phase at some point in his life. Cream and Charmy are seven and eight, respectively, and won't be adults until age sixteen, like any other bunnies and bees. With Bokkun, there's no real way of knowing how old he actually is or when he'll reach adulthood, given the fact that we aren't even remotely familiar with his species. The twins will obviously have to wait until age seventeen. And, lastly, Omega is obviously a robot and won't ever age, so he doesn't even count. _After working all this out in his mind, Sonic simply added everything together. _So... seventeen of us are adults, four of us are teenagers, four of us are children, two of us are babies, and one of us is a robot. ...Alright, then. _He just hoped that he hadn't counted wrong.

With his random and possibly pointless question now answered, Sonic allowed his mind to clear of these thoughts while he entered the control room at long last. Tails took notice of his entrance right away and turned his head toward the hedgehog. "Sonic!" he called, prompting the blue blur to hurry over. "We've got a problem," the young fox said quickly, his tone urgent and his intelligent blue eyes filled to the brim with concern.

Immediately, Sonic'a earlier relatively good mood bled away and his heart sank. He was left frowning and serious. "What?" he demanded.

"It's-" Tails started to say before a loud noise cut him off. A huge and brightly colored (possibly yellow) attack struck the ship's side. The blow came from somewhere in nearby space. The whole vessel shook violently for a long moment. When the shaking finally ceased, Tails's ears drooped. "...That," he finished weakly, voice significantly quieter now.

Sonic's own ears fell back out of something akin to fear while his eyes chose to widen in alarm without him telling them to. _They're here... The enemies are here... _Any further thoughts on his part were interrupted by Wave and Jet running into the room.

"What's going on?" Wave demanded Tails. She and Tails immediately began talking quickly together about something or other relating to the radars and defense systems and whatnot. Sonic hardly paid attention to the three of them, even after Jet starting talking, as he was much too lost in his own worries.

That is, he _was_ until Jet suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders and forcibly spun him around. "For god's sake, will you actually _listen_ to me for two goddamn seconds?!" the hawk snapped at him.

"The hell are you _talking_ about?!" Sonic snapped back. He hadn't _intended _to snap at his friend like that (he knew that, even when he didn't show it, Jet was made anxious and even fearful by other people's anger for obvious reasons), but the hawk's mood had a tendency to rub off on him and vice versa. When one was angry, so was the other, most oftentimes. It was too late to take back his words and tone, anyway. Alarms began to blare when the ship took another blow.

"It's not _us_ they're shooting at!" Jet responded sharply over the wail of the automatic alarms. Quite a good distance away, Sonic could hear the twins beginning to cry, and rather loudly.

"Well who the hell else could it be?!" Sonic asked his old friend almost harshly. His concerns and confusions were giving his words a much sharper edge than usual.

"I don't _fucking_ know!" Jet responded with just as much harshness in his tone, if not more so. "Ask whoever the _hell_ is in the rocket outside my goddamn window!"

Sonic froze for at least a few seconds upon receiving this response. When he spoke next, there was significantly less aggravation in his tone. "Run that by me again," he said simply.

Jet took in a slow and irritated breath, then just as slowly let it out. "There's a rocket," he repeated slowly with a sort of agonized patience, "outside my window. _That's_ what these guys are shooting at. Not us."

_Which means... we're just caught in the crossfire... for once. _As soon as this realization hit him, Sonic shouted over to Tails, "Don't return fire! Just keep flying toward the the emerald!"

Much to Sonic's relief, Tails didn't waste any of their precious and quite possibly limited time questioning him. Instead, the young fox just shouted back, "Okay!" and did what he'd been instructed to do.

With all due seriousness and then some, Sonic turned to Jet. "You're coming with me." Jet just nodded and, together, the two young heroes teleported outside and straight onto the top of the mysterious rocket. It didn't take long for either of them to realize that the rocket was _beyond_ totaled. It was far past the point where it could be considered even _remotely_ functional. And, conveniently, there were more than a few busted windows, which meant more than a few points of entry into the small vessel. That was their way in. They slipped inside quickly and soundlessly. Jet immediately and visibly shivered. This place was _small_, even smaller than it had appeared on the outside that this rocket would be. He made no move to return back outside, however, and Sonic had no time to try to comfort his friend, in spite of the fact that he _wanted_ to. Their only choice currently was to continued on their way. And, of course, on a rocket, there were only so many directions one could go. So they went forward.

There wasn't much to see in the rocket: some closed metal crates, some debris, some empty seats... beyond that, there didn't seem to be much else here. Sonic sensed an aura, though. Just one. It was in a closed compartment up front. But something about this whole thing made no sense at all. _Why go to so much trouble to kill one lonely pilot on a small, practically harmless rocket like this? _This person had to be someone special... or someone dangerous. Either way, though, they needed saving. He wasn't about to abandon them in such a dangerous situation. He just couldn't do that. Not to anyone. ...Except maybe Gerald. And Ivo. And definitely Kathros. And anyone else that was so evil that they took _pleasure_ in harming others (especially when those "others" were his own friends and family). Otherwise, no. Never would he leave someone in such a desperate situation as this one. Not wanting to waste any time, Sonic didn't hesitate to walk over to the thick metal door separating him and Jet from the pilot and co-pilots seats. One kick was all it took to bust that door in and knock it down with a thunderous and echoing _boom! _that all but killed Sonic's ears. The pain went ignored.

Immediately upon entering the small room, they could see that there was, in fact, only one person in here (as expected). The pilot was a young girl. She appeared to be unconscious. But, far more alarming than that and her injuries... was the shocking fact that she appeared for all the world to be made entirely of _plants_ instead of _flesh_. Sonic and Jet traded looks of mingling shock and confusion, then resumed looking at the young girl in the pilot's seat. Her hair, her body, her clothes... everything about her was plant. All of it. Beyond that, however, she looked just like any other girl around Tails's age would. A soft face, girlishly pretty but not quite womanly beautiful yet, nice clothes, and so on. She was so normal... but, at the same time, she was far, far from it. And, for some reason, their enemies wanted her dead. Why, he didn't know. All he knew was that they needed to get her out of here, get her onboard the Blue Typhoon, and get her healed. In this very moment, that was all that mattered.

Stooping briefly, Sonic unbuckled the girl and very carefully and gently picked her up, holding her in his arm's bridal style. Touching her felt like touching a cool leaf or flower petal. It was different from what he was used to, the warmth of fur or feathers or scales or so on. So, so odd. He looked to Jet again. "Let's go." Without waiting for any sort of a reply, he teleported away. Likely all too eager to escape the narrow confines of this place, Jet followed after him. Mere seconds later, the rocket finally exploded.

**~ソニック~**

"They made off with the girl. Out troopers failed to eliminate her before our new enemies could interfere."

Dark Oak sat atop his massive throne within the mothership, the largest and most powerful ship in his entire inexpressibly massive fleet. This ship was hidden away. Protected. There was no threat of attack here. That was why he was able to _almost_ relax like this. There was no threat of any kind here. There was, however, the occasional bit of bad news. News like this. Turning his head silently, he gazed down upon Black Narcissus, his most powerful, ruthless, and trusted general. Narcissus knelt before his supreme ruler with all due respect, and even then some. When said leader decided to speak, the general snapped even more to attention, if such a thing was even truly possible. "Her continued survival is of no current consequence," he said calmly. "If she again attempts to get in our way, end her. Until then, our focus must remain on other matters."

Narcissus inclined his head. "As you wish."

Dark Oak's knife-like fingers drummed against the highly polished metal of his right armrest. "What of the emerald the Mobians are currently after?" he inquired smoothly.

"I sent Yellow Zelkova to retrieve it."

This answer was mildly satisfying, but far from pleasing. "He has failed us numerous times in the past."

"He knows what the punishment will be if he fails us again," was Narcissus's dark reply. He, too, had been exceedingly displeased with Zelkova's work as of late.

In response to this, Dark Oak merely inclined his head, then changed the subject. His next question was simple and vague, but both knew of what he spoke. "And your plan for the so-called 'heroes' of Mobius?"

At this, Narcissus unsurprisingly smirked. "It is underway," he answered silkily. He was incredibly pleased with his work thus far, and his tone proved as much. "That hedgehog, Sonic, will have to keep a close eye on those he trusts most in his life. One is... shall we say... _infected_."

Finally, some truly pleasing news. _We will have a new ally in due time... possibly several... and the 'heroes' will be helpless to prevent it. _He had waited long hours for this. However, he was not one to give praise. He never had been. "Good," he murmured simply.

His servant nodded, entirely accepting of this news. He knew better than to try to dig for further approval. Such things had to be _earned_. "My one concern," he suddenly admitted, "is the Immortal. You know we cannot kill him, nor do we have the means to coerce the other Immortals into doing it for us. We possess no leverage of any kind against them." More than that, but they had no idea where the other three Immortals even _were_. But, no matter. That last detail was the least of their current concerns.

"Leave them be for now," Dark Oak responded. "When the time is right, we will _find_ our leverage. In our new universal order, these _'Immortals_' will cease to be along with everyone else."

Narcissus inclined his head again, now smiling quite wickedly. "It is in the universe's best interest that those beings, and all other animals, be eradicated entirely."

Dark Oak now also inclined his head. "Precisely," he agreed, still speaking in a murmur. Black Narcissus's words were, after all, the truth. For, if not for the good of the universe... what other purpose was there in life for doing anything?

**~ソニック~**

Sonic and Jet reappeared together in the medical ward onboard the Blue Typhoon. While Sonic laid the unconscious girl down on one of the twelve or so beds in the room, he gave a quick order to his teenage friend. "Jet, go get Mom." There was no verbal response. Since he was looking down at the girl still, he didn't see if Jet nodded or not. He did, however, hear as Jet turned and ran out of the room to do what he was told. Right about then, the blue blur suddenly remembered something. _With dad out of commission for now, Mom's probably busy with the twins, unless they're asleep... ...Damn! _Turning his head toward the door and raising his voice, he shouted, "Wait, come back!" To be honest, he didn't know if his friend had heard him. If he hadn't, the girl would have to be left alone for a moment, but that wasn't a good-

Jet was back by Sonic's side so fast that Sonic was tempted to believe that Jet had teleported there. He hadn't, though, and they both knew it. It was during times like these when Sonic was forced to recall that even _he_ didn't know how fast his friend was capable of traveling by use of his own power (whether by running, flying, swimming, or whatever). That was when Jet spoke, breaking into Sonic's thoughts. "What?" he demanded.

"Go get Amy, not Mom," Sonic responded in a clipped tone. To Jet's credit, he didn't waste any time asking stupid questions (not that he was prone to doing such things, anyway). He just turned and sped out of the room again. Sonic turned his focus back to the plant girl and brushed some dirt off of her forehead. It was a tender gesture, one he would show any child. "Don't worry," he murmured, though he doubted that she could hear a single thing he was saying. His words were lost on her for now. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was making sure that, somehow, someway, she _knew_. "You'll live to see tomorrow. The future isn't lost to you. I promise. We won't let any more harm come to you..." He would die before he allowed any further ill fates to befall this poor lonely girl. Because, no matter where in the universe he was, he would always, _always_ still be a hero... a savior. And heroes simply _didn't_ fail.

**~ソニック~**

**4,895 words this time. This as supposed to be up on the nineteenth, and then on the twentieth, but... meh... Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed! Now, about the songs: ****"Call Your Name" is from Attack on Titan. "Heroes" is by Måns Zelmerlöw, "Trust Me"is from Durarara! and is performed by Yuuya Matsushita. "Can You Feel the Sunshine?" is from Sonic R. "Riot" is by Three Days Grace. "On My Own" is by Ashes Remain.**

**This chapter was written during the 2016 California World Music Fest! **

**Posted (at about 2:00 a.m.) 07-21-16.**


	252. Hana

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Thanks! I thought it was really cool as well! :D YEEEEEESSSSSS. YEAH! TOLDJA SHE WAS GONNA BE IN THIS STORY XDD Yep. bad, bad guys. _Big_ uh-oh. And another one comes to join the party...**

**To reviewer #1,682: Welp, it's happening again. Remember that problem I've had in the past where my review count will go up but I can't see the new reviews and I don't get email alerts for them? Well, it happened again. With the review above, I was only able to see in an email notification. I still can't view it on this sight. Now yours... yours I can't see on this sight, nor have I gotten any sort of an email notification about it (and I've been looking for one all day). I am _so_ sorry about this and will make a proper reply to your review whenever this problem gets resolved.**

**~ソニック~**

**Hana ("Flower" or "Blossom")**

**~ソニック~**

"Doctor! Doctor!"

"What do you _want_ you miserable scrap of metal?!"

For once, neither Bocoe nor Decoe even just slightly shrunk away. Decoe, the one with the highest pitched voice of the two and the one who had begun shouting just a moment ago, continued yelling excitedly. "Doctor, the computer wasn't malfunctioning, after all!" he exclaimed.

Ivo frowned immediately upon receiving this news. He placed a hand upon his keyboard and, using that as leverage, turned himself around in his wheeled chair so that he could face the lanky yellow robot. "What are you on about?" he asked irritably.

"The computer!" Decoe exclaimed dramatically as he and Bocoe (rather dramatically) pointed to the computer in question. "When it's radar systems claimed to detect Sonic and his friends out in space," he continued loudly, "you determined that it _must_ have been a malfunction!"

"Of course I did," Ivo scoffed, turning back around to face his main and largest computer. "There's simply no way that that little rat could have created a space-worthy vessel in such little time. They can't possibly be in space."

"But they _are_, Doctor!" Bocoe dared to argue. "They really and truly _are_! The computer you built wasn't incorrect, after all!" That last comment was minor appeasement, but Ivo was still just pissed that he was being argued with and questioned. He was good and ready to spin back around and give the both of them a good walloping, but Bocoe's voice stopped him from doing so... this time. "Look!"

An image appeared on a previously blank screen to the so-called "doctor's" left side. He turned to look at the image onscreen. No, it wasn't an _image_, he realized straight away, but rather live video feed from a robot he had sent out into space nearly a full day ago on an unrelated research mission (he'd been hoping to locate a nearby asteroid or something similar from which to mine raw materials for his armies). It was very clearly showing him a massive spaceship comprised of what could only be Mobian technology. When the camera zoomed in on one of the windows, he saw Tails inside, piloting the ship by himself. Ivo's eyes narrowed. The fox had to have been the one who's built this... and he'd undoubtedly been working on it for ages. _Why, that little- _

"So what do we do, Doctor?"

Ivo chose not to reply to Decoe's stupid little question. The choices were so obvious, really, that they should have required absolutely no explanation to be understood. It was so simple. Either they could remain here and all too easily conquer the whole planet during the heroes' absence... or they could gather and prepare all their resources and robots and make a grand chase into the depths of the unknown, unexplored, dark, and infinitely vast universe. Already, he knew which option he was leaning more heavily toward. _There must be some reason why they've gone out there... _His eyebrows drew together in thought while he leaned forward on his elbows. _It must have something to do with that strange alien robot that attacked earlier... the one that dug a hole into the center of the planet and stole something from there... _In that moment, he made his decision. "Becoe, Decoe!" he barked, whirling around to face them tensely. "Gather all of our resources and bring them here! Power up my ships! I want _every_ robot back here, _now_!"

Both Bocoe and Decoe jumped with fright (and rightfully so, as far as he was concerned) and began to scramble to complete their new duties, shouting "Yes, Doctor!" and "Right away, Doctor!" as they went.

Without acknowledging them, Ivo turned back around to face his computer and again leaned forward on his elbows. Slowly, he began to grin. _Outer space, then... _He chuckled. _Perfect. My empire shall expand into the depths of the universe... and the little "heroes" will never see me coming. _He laughed, much more loudly this time. _Perfect...!_

**~ソニック~**

Amy had banished the boys from the medical ward while she worked on healing the mysterious young plant girl. The doors were shut and Sonic and Jet were sent on their way. So, while Jet entertained himself by exploring the ship and listening to loud music again, Sonic was left walking around aimlessly and feeling bored. The usual things he did to entertain himself were no good here. Normally, he played video games, ran, or listened to music, but he hadn't brought any of his games, game systems, or music players along with him on this crazy trip (it hadn't occurred to him to do so, unfortunately), and there was only so much distance and speed one could gain while running on a ship. _So those options are out, I guess. _With a sigh, he wandered aimlessly for a while longer in the perhaps vain hope that an idea would somehow just come to him eventually. And, of course, as he wandered, so did his mind. His thoughts drifted around just as aimlessly as his feet. Inevitably, memories from his childhoos resurfaced out of the blue. One in particular, one of the many he had involving Locke, stood out to him for whatever reason.

_"Locke, I'm bored," ten year old Sonic complained plaintively. The young hero was sitting cross-legged in the grass and leaning back on his palms. He and his adult companion (the only adult he would __ever__ consider to be a companion of his, he was sure) were sitting together on a grassy knoll under a large tree in Emerald Hill. Here, they were seeking refuge and shelter from the sun on this unusually warm spring day._

_Locke was laying on his back in the lush green grass by Sonic's left side. His arms were under his head acting as a pillow and his eyes were closed. His old brown cowboy hat was tipped down to shield his eyes from the occassional small sunbeam that filtered through the branches and leaves to hit his face. Slowly, he began to smirk at the child's imagined plight. "Boredom is good for the mind," he murmured, sounding a tad drowsy. "It promotes thought and creativity. This world sorely needs more creative minds."_

_When Sonic heard Locke's response, he frowned and even began to pout just a little. "I suck at being creative," he grumbled. Granted, he __had__ created his special shoes and his plane and his bombs, but he wasn't so sure that they counted. And, even if they did, they were beside the point. It wasn't like he could draw or anything, after all. Wasn't that was creative people did? Make pictures?_

_Of course, Locke had no sympathy for him. His smirk only grew. "This will be good for you, in that case," he responded._

_The young hedgehog groaned in annoyance, not at all liking the fact that Locke wasn't taking this awful situation more seriously. "But I'm bored!" he exclaimed again childishly. His voice was louder this time. "I don't want to be bored! I want to do something!"_

_"Well, what did you do with those books I gave you?" Locke asked him, sitting up somewhat on his elbow and pushing his hat up into its usual position with his free arm and hand as he did so. Thanks to Sonic's yelling, he was definitely no longer drowsy. Served him right that he didn't get any sleep, as far as Sonic was concerned. That was what he got for being so unhelpful._

_"I don't want to read any dumb old books, either," Sonic continued to pout, gaze now trained on the grass (though he could still see Locke in his peripheral vision). Books were so stupid, in his opinion. He'd left Locke's books in their box in the back of a closet in his isolated home for a reason. Maybe, if they were out of sight, they would be out of mind enough for Locke to usually not remember to pressure him to read them. Usually._

_Violet eyes rolled. "Books aren't dumb, kid." There was that freaking nickname again. It only soured Sonic's mood further. "Actually try reading one sometime and you mind find yourself changing your mind."_

_'As if.' "They're boring," Sonic insisted stubbornly. "That makes them stupid."_

_Locke chuckled quietly and shook his head in mild amusement. "Maybe one day you'll come to see things my way, kid," he murmured, laying back down in the grass and assuming the same position he'd been in before. His hat again moved to cover his eyes and shield them from the sun. _

Now, being older and perhaps just a bit wider, Sonic found himself wondering. Did Locke's idea have any merit. _So_ many people he knew loved to read. Amy, Tails, Cream, Vanilla, Espio, Keiri, possibly Marthal, Knuckles, Rouge, of course Locke himself, Jet, Wave, Shadow, Blaze, his parents, even his own son... _Maybe it's finally time for me to genuinely give this activity a try. _Mind now set, he began heading toward the one person he could count on to always have at least _one_ book on-hand. Namely, his father. He knew his father was still resting in an attempt to recover from his earlier seizure and probably didn't want to be bothered (hence Analia taking care of the twins by herself right now), but he really saw no other way to find himself some entertainment, however temporary. _I'll just have to make this a short visit,_ he decided silently as he knocked lightly on the door leading into his mother and father's room. He knew for a fact that even that slight sound would wake Kaden. Hopefully he wouldn't be _too_ bothered._ ...A really short one, _he quickly amended in his mind. After a few short moments, a quiet reply came, and he opened the door, pouring light into the darker than dark room. Inside, he saw his father underneath several blankets. He lay on his right side, rubbing at his eyes a bit in an attempt to wake himself further. His hair was down, for once, and the ring that normally kept it pulled back was resting atop his nightstand. He visibly stifled a small yawn, something he never would have normally done. Sonic was suddenly apologetic. "Sorry, Dad," he murmured. "I just wanted to know if you had any books I could borrow."

If his father was surprised by his son's sudden desire to actually read a book, he gave no sign of it. He seemed to sort of sigh out of a desire to go back to sleep, but didn't scold Sonic or anything of the sort for waking him. He wasn't really the _scolding_ type, anyway. Instead of commenting on the disturbance, he just pointed vaguely to the far corner of the room. "Over there," he mumbled, eyes still closed.

Looking over to the indicated location, Sonic spotted several cardboard boxes stacked in the corner. Some were only loosely filled with books, others were as tightly packed as they could be. He walked over to one on the top of the stack and picked it up by the handles. It was the kind with a removable lid, and the books the box contained caught his eye. _These look promising. _Turning back to his father, he asked, "Mind if I just swipe this whole box for now?"

Kaden didn't even _attempt_ to open his eyes or roll over to look over and see what box Sonic was talking about. It seemed like he'd started to doze back off (an uncharacteristic thing, really, him falling asleep so quickly), only to be roused again when Sonic spoke. Awake again though he was, he wasn't _entirely _so, and his eyes remained shut. "Take whatever you want," he murmured drowsily. After a moment, he found the presence of mind to remember and voice a precaution. "Just be careful with them."

Analia, Locke, and Marthal had already more or less explained to him who Saran had been and why the man had been _so_ immensely important to Kaden (and still was now). Armed with this knowledge and the knowledge that many, many of Kaden's books had once belonged to Saran, Sonic fully understood why his father would wish so strongly for said books to be treated with great care. "Of course," murmured back with a small smile. "I'll be very careful with them, Dad. I promise." Kaden just nodded faintly, clearly having drifted off for the most part again. Deciding to let the poor guy be already, Sonic turned and quietly left the room, shutting the door softly behind him.

After reaching his own room and closing himself in, he took a seat on his twin-sized bed, set the box in front of him on the bed, and began going through the books it contained. There were nine in here, all hardcovers, and only two had titles on them. One _seemingly_ had words on it. The rest bore covers that were nothing but solid colors. "A History of Esoterra" was the title of the first book he happened to grab, and it took him a good long moment to recall what the word "Esoterra" even meant, let alone what it was referring to. But, eventually, realization did hit him. _That's right... "Esoterra" was the ancient nam eof South Island. "Eso" means "Inner" and "Terra" means "Land". Thus, the name means "Inner Land". This name was in reference to the ancient belief that the island existed within a magical sphere, which was later determined to just be the atmosphere, that kept said island afloat. _As he idly flipped through some pages of the surprisingly pristine ancient book, he remembered something else related to this topic. _Oh, and the ancient name of the Land of Darkness was "The Void", due to another ancient belief the people of the time held, the belief that that the dark lands below the island were an endless sea of evil and suffering... __a place to be avoided at all costs. _If this books contained information of this sort within it's many pages, he supposed it would be an interesting read, if only somewhat. The only real problem he foresaw was the fact that Locke had already orally passed down this sort of knowledge to him many years ago, during his childhood. Considering this fact, he supposed that this book wasn't worth it right now and that he should choose a different one. As such, he set it aside.

Reaching back inside the box, he pulled out a book with a dark green cover. Upon opening it, he quickly discovered that this was far from the type of book that he had anticipated it would be. Inside, rather than pages filled with text, he found maps. _Hand drawn_ maps. They were ancient, extraordinary, incredibly detailed, and all the labels were in his father's distinct, dark, and elegant handwriting. _He made these...? _Now further intrigued, he resumed flipping through the pages, this time paying attention to what place each map detailed, Every one of them had a title. He saw maps of Kingdom Valley, Emerald and Green Hiils, Sky Sanctuary, the Mystic Caves, ANgel Island, Chun-nan (there were separate maps for Northern Chun-nan, North-eastern Chun-nan, Eastern Chun-nan, and so on due to the vast size of that isolated mountain city), some ancient forest Kaden had labelled as "Enchanted Woods (the "Cursed Forests" of legend?)", a place he's called "Forever Lake", and so on. _Not much to read in here, but definitely something worth looking at in more detail at a later time._

Once again, he reached into the box. This time, he pulled out a book with a sunny yellow cover. A quick glance inside showed that it was filled to the brim with his father's notes on many, _many_ different types of plants. He included sketches and details on each on. He listed which plants were edible, which were poisonous and how quickly they would kill you, were each could be found, what sorts of medicinal uses each had, what each tastes like if eaten, and on and on. _This is something Locke would like reading, _Sonic decided, knowing of Locke's high (but little know,n at least to others) interest in botanical studies. The next book was one with a sky blue cover. In it was a scant hundred pages or so of some ancient story meant to be read to a young child. _Wonder if Saran ever read this to Dad. _While thinking this, he pulled out another book, this one with a fiery red cover. it seeme dot go along with the previous book as the second part of the tale. _This one, too. Maybe, if Saran did read these at one point, that's why Dad kept them. Or maybe he just liked the stories. _Moving on, he grabbed the sixth book. This was another blue-colored one, only this possessed a darker shade of the color and actually bore a title. It read, "Na'chani Kelin'hi Dav", roughly translated into, "Children's Poetry Book". Once again, he found himself wondering the same question about the possibility of Saran ever having read this to Kaden when Kaden was a child (it would certainly explain where Kaden had gained his long-standing love for poetry from), but that was a question to ask the sleeping warrior another time. Instead of waking his poor father a second time, he chose to just move on and choose a new book from the box. This one and the next one were both thick and had purple covers, The first was darkly colored and covered in strange black markings the likes of which he had never before seen in the entirety of his long life. The second was more lightly colored, plain, and contained a simple novel inside (seemingly some sore of murder mystery, something he would never have guessed his father would be interested in reading). The second half of the book was a collection of smaller stories, an untidy collection of some of the book's author's smaller works. Undoubtedly, it was written in some year unknown to him by some author he'd never heard of and never _would_ hear of in this day and age. Boring, as far as he was concerned. He chose not to open the first book at _all_ (though he was hard-pressed to explain _why_ he felt so strongly that he should leave it be), and the second one held no interest for him. Both were simply set aside with the others.

Now all that was left was one lonely black book.

Reaching back into the box for the final time, he picked the book up. Looking it over, he very quickly discovered once crucial fact about it. It wasn't a _book_ at all. _It's... a journal...? _When he opened it, his eyes widened considerably. _Dad''s__ journal? _Now, he simply _had_ to read this. This ancient book provided an invaluable and unprecedented opportunity to see the world through his father's eyes for the first time ever, to get into the man's mind and heart and learn more about the past he'd kept such a deep and dark secret for so long. He had to read it. He just had to. So, naturally, he did.

_1\. Sal'a tei'an tokal ei'in sach no ro lan'in. Sari'so "Sein" no takl'ata nicho._

_2\. Rejoin. Remorse. Reprieve. Reprise. Rejoice. Revolution. Resolution._

_ Once, Saran told these things to me. As it stands now, I do not understand what he intended to teach me. Perhaps I will never truly understand. I pray that I am wrong, though. His lessons never cease to be important._

_3\. Sometimes, when I look back over my shoulder, I can almost believe that I see the people I left behind in the past. But it never lasts long. The vision will come and then the wind will blow, and they will be lost amidst the floating cherry blossoms._

_4\. Someone discovered my library. They attempted to set fire to it and burn all my knowledge to the ground. He perished in the ensuing fight, but not because I killed him. When he realized he would not win against me, he ate something poisonous. I watched him die. There was nothing I could have done to save him, even if I had so desired._

_ My library and the knowledge contained within it is safe for the time being. I am… glad. Many of these books are very important to me. I have owned many of them since childhood. They were given to me by Saran, as were many others I obtained in later years. He left me an inheritance of sorts after his death, a fact which I discovered after I turned seventeen a scant few months ago. There were so many books. And… he left me his staff and robe. All are safe in my library, and may they always remain so._

_5\. I once again have unwillingly seen spirits of the dead. I know not who they were, nor was I able to make sense of the message they carried. So little I understand. This is why I always seek to learn._

_6\. Once, as I child, I made the foolish wish to one day be able to buy myself the freedom I so desired in this world. But I, being poor, have only my dreams._

_7\. How much of life is lost to waiting, I wonder? Far too much of mine has passed me by for the simple fact that I have wasted time waiting for things to get better. How utterly foolish one must be to toss one's life away in such a careless manner._

_ Perhaps it is finally I who has become the fool._

_8\. "If you have knowledge, let others light their candles with it." This was another of Saran's many teachings from my childhood. Perhaps he intended for me to share the many tomes and other collections of intelligence that he bequeathed to me. However, regardless of what his intentions may have, perhaps, been, I do not trust others with his treasures. They are far too precious._

_9\. Every movement has a meaning. The swaying of the leaves in the trees, the drifting of the clouds in the sky, the shivering of the grass on the ground, the flow of bodies within the city… it all has its own unique meaning, something that goes beyond the literal ones most see. Sensei intended to teach me to look deeper, to see what others could not. His will was for his student to learn what the rest of the world refuses to know. My intention is to never fail him._

_10\. The elders attempted to call me into yet another of their wars. I informed them that they should go drink ice water with the devil. _

_ If they attempt to touch me, I will kill them. I have long since tired of their abuse._

_11\. I wish for sleep… the kind that lasts forever. The peace I have spent the entirety of my life longing for… it is as eternal as the snow outside my window._

_12\. The shadows have started to sing. The voices of those long since past can never truly be silenced, for power that takes away life awakens… voices of woe._

_13\. Another battle won… another moment in life lost._

_14\. There are days when I truly long for the days of my past. My childhood was far from enjoyable, or even simple, but… at least back then I was not so alone as I am now. Silence is truly the loneliest sound of them all._

_15\. The Sounds of Life Seek You to Set Them Free. _

_ I did not write that line above. Unfortunately, I believe that a spirit may be responsible. …I dislike them at times._

_16\. The stupidity I encounter in daily life has become… painful._

_17\. Mother moon watch over me  
__Your child I will always be  
__Father sun watch over me  
__Until we become free_

_Mother moon watch over me  
__Your child I will always be  
__Father sun watch over me  
__Until the day we again can see_

_18\. I wonder sometimes, when I'm feeling especially foolish, where all the love and peace and unity from the realm of stories has gone in this, the "real" world. I wish that it would not continued to be lost, but I know not where it can possibly be found in this day and age. Sensei, on the other hand, always seemed to know, He was always smiling, even when no one else was capable of it. He always seemed to posses a reason to find happiness, even when I simply never could. I wish I knew what he had always knows then. But… perhaps… that knowledge was simply never mine to possess._

_19\. I never want to fall in love. To bond oneself to another is to risk a death far more permanent and agonizing than the mere physical kind. I cannot stand more death, more grief. I simply cannot._

_20\. "Against the Dark,  
__Against the Light,  
__Shield me Sun,  
__From Winter's night."_

_ I read this in a truly ancient book today, one that was more than two hundred and sixty thousand years old. Incredibly, it seems to have belonged to my great-grandfather, Sen. How it ended up in my library, I am still unsure, but that is of no great importance at the moment. _

_ He wrote in the margins of the page that short ballad was on. In his writing, he detailed his interpretation of the meaning behind the ballad. I must say that I agree with everything that he wrote. Based on everything I have learned throughout the year, he is absolutely correct in every single word he wrote. These were his notes:_

_ "Light keeps the Darkness at bay when we alone cannot. It has always done so, ever since the beginning, when these two forces came to be. Light is happiness, love, friendship, hope, laughter, faith, honor… everything that Darkness. Likewise, Darkness is everything that Light can never be. It is grief, loneliness, fear, despair, hatred, fury, betrayal, broken bonds, hopelessness… It is everything that we cannot defeat without the aid of the Light. And yet… no amount of Light will do us any good if the Darkness within ourselves is allowed to continually grow. Uncontrolled… Uninhibited… Unstoppable. There must exist… a balance."_

Sonic was fully willing and prepared to read more (after all, he was seeing his _father's_ innermost thoughts and feelings for perhaps the first time ever), but a message from Amy stopped him from following through with his plan. Looking down at his communicator, he read the message, then abruptly dropped the still-open journal onto his bed and jumped to his feet. Without ever sending a reply of any kind (there was really no time or need for it, as far as he was concerned at the moment) and without a single thought, he ran over to his door, opened it, and sped out into the hall. His door was left wide open as he practically sprinted down the metal corridors, leaving a blue streak behind himself as he went and showing any others who may or may not have been watching perfectly what path he was taking. His destination was the medical ward where he had been with Jet an hour or so earlier.

The girl was awake.

**~ソニック~**

**4,665 words this time. I'm gonna be honest here. I was too eff'ing lazy to proofread. Reason being that I had this all nice and typed up, only for it to all get deleted. I had to scramble to type it all back up before the upload time, and I was just drained by the time it was done. Ugh. Anyway, for those of you who are interested in knowing, Kaden's handwriting is the Microsoft Word font "Brush Script MT", size 13. Also, in case y'all don't recall, that last entry coincides _heavily_ with the fourth scene in Chapter 181 of this story. Interesting, huh? ;)**

**This chapter was written during the 2016 California World Music Fest!**

**Posted (at about 2:00 a.m.) 07-22-16.**


	253. Eien

**Hello, thatguy4643! No worries, it's fine. :) And thanks! Sorry I couldn't see nor reply to your review for so long, though. **

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 251: YES! I HAVE! And I'm glad you did! Yeah, he _veeery_ nearly did. :( Oh, really? And who's do you think he is? :3 Yeah, she's finally here! :D Once again, I'm so glad you did! That makes me very happy to hear!**

**Your review to Chapter 252: Yes. Yes he was. XD I'm super glad you did! I personally do as well. I'm also really happy that you're liking this so much, and I'm excited, too! :D I will do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, StarryMoon33! I know! It's _such_ a miracle! And yes, he had to be nosy. Now we know where Silver (and later a certain EotS character we know) get it from. XD He really is, and I agree that it feels like that. He's amazing at writing like that. :)**

**Hello, Luna MoonSinger27! YAAAS! He did. Haha. XD And who knows! Maybe he'll care... maybe he won't. Maybe he'll never even find out. We'll see. XD And, as far as that last comment goes... I CAN AND I HAVE! **

**~ソニック~**

**Eien ("Everlasting")**

**~ソニック~**

_A singer stood in a smoky room. The music was good but the smoke was... annoying, to say the least. The numerous cigars and whatnot filling the space only made the cloud thicker and, the thicker the cloud, the worse one member of the was able to see. He supposed it didn't matter, anyway, so long as he could still hear the music. That was the whole reason why he was here; to indulge in something he loved, to enjoy himself for once. Surely there was nothing wrong with that. Even weapons had person needs to attend to once in a while. Though, of course, he was no weapon. That was beside the point, anyway. The point simply was that he wanted to enjoy the music, though he couldn't see the singer. His eyes were clouded by the smoke, but his ears... His ears could not be weakened in such a manner. In order to enjoy the music, he need only tune out the crowds filling this place and focus solely on the music. He had nearly succeeded, too, but a single female voice roused him from his thoughts and broke his concentration. "It's a lovely song, isn't it?"_

_Emerald eyes glanced over at the young waitress working at the table beside him in this isolated tavern. Drink flowed freely here, dirt floors soiled shoes, and wooden walls and furnishings creaked audibly from time to time. To be perfectly frank, she didn't look like she belonged in this sort of setting. She was clean, bathed and dressed in bright and stainless garbs, shimmering hair pulled back into a neat braid... She was pretty, there was no denying that. But, though wandering warriors (some dared to call them "rogues") were known for being dreadfully unfaithful to their partners, he refused to lump himself in with those others. He had someone he loved, though he knew not what her feelings were, and he had no intention of allowing his attention to stray elsewhere. So he didn't. He did, however, decide to be polite to this young girl and answer her question. "It is," he agreed, "though it would be more enjoyable if the air was clean enough to allow the performers to be seen."_

_"I agree," the woman smiled. "They're wonderful to watch. The flute-player certainly knows how to dance." She suddenly turned to face him fully, used plates filling the tray in her arm. Her deep blue eyes were the sort people often lost themselves in and became enamored with, but he barely paid them any notice. "But, I suppose that you, being a soldier, do not have much time for such things."_

_He blinked once. "I am no soldier," he corrected. "Once, yes, but I hold allegiance to specific kings and queens of this land no longer."_

_"You must be one of those wanderers, then," the woman murmured, turning away again. She used her free hand to brush loose crumbs off of the table to join the dirt on the floor. "One of those horrid rogues."_

_Tempted though he was, he refrained from scoffing. "'Horrid' is hardly a term that can be used to describe all of us," he responded. "However, you are correct in assuming that most of my kind are not to be trusted."_

_The woman again turned to face him. Her golden hair, white long-sleeves blouse, and long dark green skirt genuinely seemed to glow faintly even in this dim lighting, as though from the sheer purity of her heart. "You strike me as trustworthy," she told him quite suddenly. "Or, at least, you have thus far." She gave him no chance to respond, not that he had a response ready in the first place, and turned to look to her left in the general direction of the band that was still performing on the other side of the one-room building. "It truly is such a lovely song," she said again._

_"It is," he agreed once more, inclining his head a bit. _

_With another sudden smile, the woman walked over and picked up his plate, which had been emptied some time ago. An untouched drink rested by his left elbow as he leaned on that entire arm on the table. He wasn't one for such indulgences, though that hadn't stopped some worker from giving the drink to him. He never touched it, and she made no comment about it. Instead, she asked him an unrelated question. "Do you enjoy music?" she inquired lightly._

_Pondering the reasons as to why she might be asking him this got him nowhere, leaving him little choice but to simply answer the question and hope that, for once, he wasn't sent hurtling into trouble for not being more careful. "I do."_

_Yet again she smiled. It was strange, really, how beautiful it was. And yet, he knew another with a smile far more beautiful than any could express in words. His heart lay with her, even of she didn't feel the same. Even if she never returned his affections, he would never stray from her. He would never be disloyal to his own heart, and that heart wasn't stirred by this woman's soft face. And she, of course, no nothing of his inner thoughts and therefore held no reaction to them. "I have always adored the art of song," she admitted, a dreamy sort of look to her face, "but I cannot play. I work in this tavern because my father's work does not bring home enough bread. My mother, she is so ill. I am the only left to lend aid. We have no money for the sweet music I long for."_

_Truly, this was a sad tale. And he, being poor as well, understood her plight on a much more personal level than some. She had earned his sympathy... but not his attentions. In a way, she reminded him a temptress. Everything here did, really. Everything in this place was a temptation. The smoke reminded him of a bad habit he had one had, but broken. The drinks were a reminder of how wonderful so many people claimed it to be. The music reminded him how to relax and let his guard down. And this woman... she reminded him of one he loved but might never have. There were so many temptations... To reclaim an old habit, to begin a new one, to trust the untrustworthy, to betray his own heart... But he was not swayed. He would never be swayed. And yet... the sympathy remained. "I'm sorry."_

_The woman turned away. "As am I." She turned and began walking away, disappearing into the smoke that had, for the past few minutes, been gradually consuming everything. It expanded and thickened and darkened until their was nothing left of the tavern besides his chair and table, the untouched drink, the sword on his back, and he himself. Then even those things faded away, and the dream ended._

**~ソニック~**

Sonic joined Amy and Jet in the medical ward. Already, the plant girl was sitting up in bed and looking around, light blue eyes filled with a mixture of emotions. He saw curiosity, wonder, confusion, relief, wariness, lingering fear... But she was awake. She was awake, she was coherent, and she was no longer harmed. Wildly fluctuating though her emotions currently were (and understandably so), she was alright. That was the most important thing, truly. Walking over to the three of them, Sonic greeted the young girl with a friendly, "Hey, how are you feeling?"

The girl turned her head to look at him in surprise and, after a long moment, said in a soft voice, "I'm alright."

Amy smiled at her. "That's good. I wasn't sure if I'd actually managed to heal all of your internal injuries, so I'm glad to hear that you're feeling better."

For whatever reason, the girl ducked her head. It was almost as if she was suddenly feeling shy. "Thank you for helping me."

Jet, who was standing to the left of the bed with his arms casually crossed, turned his head away. "You don't need to thank us." It was no secret that, due to his past, he had long ago resolved to never abandon children in need. It was a task that he considered to be, in a way, its own reward. Given that knowledge, his response stuck Sonic as unsurprising.

"He's right," the hedgehog agreed. "You don't need to thank us at all. We're all just glad that you're alright. You were pretty banged up when we found you, so we were worried."

"I'm sorry for worrying you," the girl murmured still looking down. Her hands lightly clasped the blanket that still covered her legs. "And I'm thankful for what you did." Sonic nodded a little in response. Barely a moment later, the girl looked up at him. "If you don't mind my asking, what is this place?"

"A ship," Sonic answered. "Basically like what you were on before, only much bigger and more powerful."

Now the girl suddenly appeared thoughtful... and concerned. "A large ship means... more people than just you three."

"Yes," Amy confirmed. "There certainly are others here."

The girl looked Amy directly in the eye and suddenly and with great forwardness asked, "Was your world attacked by the Metarex?"

Sonic, Jet, and Amy all traded bewildered looks, but Jet's puzzlement was quick to vanish. He was, after all, a highly intelligent individual, and a very quick thinker. "The Metarex are the robots that steal Planet Eggs," he deduced aloud.

"Did they attack your world?" the girl pressed urgently.

Amy nodded slowly. "...Yes, I suppose they did. I can't guarantee completely that the enemies we saw are the ones you're thinking of, but our Planet Egg _was_ stolen."

Now the girl looked positively grim. She looked down again. "Only the Metarex steal Planet Eggs," she said stiffly. "Only they are willing to go to such horrible lengths to ensure the success of their plans."

"And how do you know this?" Jet asked her, tense voice betraying his calm posture.

"Because the Metarex aren't _robots_," the girl said with great suddenness. "They're _living__ beings_ that hail from a different world, _my_ world, and their plans were never a secret to my people." Seeing the looks on their faces, the girl conceded another incredible truth. "The Metarex, or at least their leaders, are members of my species. They are the males, specifically, and there were once many more of them than there are today. Today, there are only three. Centuries of war have resulted in the deaths of all the rest of them."

_Centuries..._ The dawning realization that this war they had joined was no new thing, Sonic was suddenly forced to understand fully just how in over their heads they all quite possibly were. Not that he hadn;t already suspected as to this, but even still... _Centuries__... Oh my god..._

"But why are they doing this?" Amy asked, her bright green eyes troubled and clouded. "Why are they wiping out worlds like this?"

"Revenge," the girl murmured. She was being remarkably honest with them, but Sonic chose not to question this for the moment. She was proving herself to be an unparalleled source of information, information they sorely _needed_. Now was not the time to question this girl. Now was the time to _listen_... and learn. "My people have long suffered at the hands of non-plant beings. Animals. Our planetary neighbors were always war-hungry, driven by power-lust. We were an easy target for them, and were almost always under siege for that reason. There were few days in my world's history that did not involve war.

Often, it was solely our men who went to battle, while our women stay behind to tend to the children and the Great Trees that protected our civilizations. Our Grand Leaders were capable of using those trees to fight and potentially end the wars all together, but they were killed before they could ever do so. As such, we fought our battles through traditional means: with weapons and with lesser powers such as nature energy. It was never enough, though... Our enemies came, and kept coming. We were pushed to the farthest and most isolated corners of our world, where we sought refuge with the last living Great Tree. The end of the war was near, and we could all feel it. We were certain that we had lost...

That was when our strongest and most intelligent warrior, Oak, discovered the Planet Egg buried within our world. It had been uncovered by a massive explosion from an instrument of war that had nearly ripped our planet in half. When he and his closest companions Narcissus, Zelkova, Bay Leaf, and Pine discovered how much power the egg had, they proposed a daring and risky plan to use the Egg's power to drive our enemies away from us once and for all. However, our last Grand Leader, Sakura, forbade it. She called the Egg a sacred and pure artifact, one that should never be used in war. Oak was furious with her. He had assumed that she, like everyone else, wanted to destroy our enemies and make them pay for what they had done. She was angry, yes, but not so much as he. He had come to believe that _all_ animals were to blame for our suffering. He wanted to destroy all of our enemies and, in doing so, destroy their worlds. His friends vowed to help him, as did every other living male on our world.

They succeeded in their task but, in doing so, had allowed their anger to consume them. Corrupted by that anger and the new power they had tasted, the men turned their attention to the stars. They sough out new worlds to destroy, new animals to wipe from existence. Their bloody crusade corrupted them further and further until they were virtually unrecognizable. When they at least returned home, their hearts had become so dark that we could no see a difference between them and the savage beings that had once laid waste to our lives. The men who had once been our friends and relatives had become the very monsters they had once pledged to defeat so as to defend our world.

When Oak and his companions learned of Sakura's unyielding disapproval, thy grew even angrier. In the span of six days, they destroyed our home and killed nearly everyone on it. Most of the few who survived later perished as well due to their injuries. Oak and his companions then fled into the depths of space and began building their armies. They had long since decided to wipe out all animal life in the universe, and they needed the power of Planet Eggs to see their dreams come to fruition. Using the one they already had, they created their robot armies, and the robot armor that now covers the five leaders. Oak became the supreme ruler of them all, now known as Dark Oak. Narcissus is now Black Narcissus and is Dark Oak's right hand man. The others, now known as Pale Bay Leaf, Yellow Zelkova, and Red Pine, were simply lesser generals. Together, the five of them wages war on the universe, a war that to this day has not seen an end. Their ruthlessness is so vast that they're even willing to kill their own to secure even the smallest victory. For this reason, Pale Bay Lead and Red Pine are already dead. Since their deaths, the army has claimed hundreds of thousands of worlds. And now..." The girl looked down. "Now it seems that they've claimed yet another world's life."

A horrified silence filled the room. Sonic's eyes had grown wide. _A plan to end all of sentient life, save for plants... _The horror of this revelation could never be expressed in words. At least, not adequately. He had no means to do it. His vocabulary simply wasn't vast enough for him to express the dark depths of his current emotions. Nothing he could or would ever say could every completely communicate to the rest of existence just how truly hopeless and terrified he felt. _If we fail... if Dark Oak wins... _Looking up from the floor and out the nearest window, his emerald gaze became focused on the innumerable stars outside. He stared, and he stares. So much life... so much memory. So much worth fighting for. So much that they risked losing. For, if they failed...

_Existence will end._

**~ソニック~**

**2,812 words this time. Sorry this is late, guys.**


	254. The Arcane Truths

**Hello, Luna MoonSinger27! Hahaha, I know, right? There's totally _no_ pressure and Cosmo was _totall_ reassuring. Haha. XD Well, you'll just have to find out! ;D**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! I agree it was... And I enjoyed the hell out of writing it. :( Well, I don't know that it was an _Old West_ tavern, but I kinda got that feel from it, too. Haha. XD As far as who the person in the dream was... well, I think you'll get a more definitive answer from this chapter. ;) I'm glad you think it's going to be so good! I have high hopes for it, too! :D I will do my very best, Pyrokun (though I'll leave the universe-saving to our heroes XD)!**

**~ソニック~**

**The Arcane Truths**

**~ソニック~**

Black Narcissus gazed down at the black pool of swirling energies he kept contained in a dry stone brazier located in his quarters aboard the Metarex mothership. Within those swirling energies, he saw the dreams of the one he sought after, the one their armies needed. His target had resisted all the minor dark influences in that first dream, as Narcissus had expected him to. It was alright. It had merely been a test, one designed to allow him to see how formidable his target's willpower truly was. _Quite formidable indeed... __But no matter. He will break with time. _Narcissus idly moved his hand in a slow motion over the brazier, palm facing the energies within. _The Dark Arcane magics are more powerful than you realize, Lost One. You may have freed yourself once, but how long can manage it? How many times will you be able to resist the Darkness within your own heart? How long until I corrupt you? _

A slow and wicked smirk formed on his face as he watched the warrior of old sleep. For now, his dreams were peaceful. They would not remain so for long. Again, the Metarex moved his hand over the brazier. In doing so, the image again changed. He was once more seeing his target's dreams. His smirk grew. _So you dream of your love, then? How trite. _He poured more of his Black Magic into the mind of the one his ruler sought control over, watching as the once peaceful expression the man wore turned into a frown. _Love is such an unfortunate emotion. How easily it sours and melts into hate. The more you learn not to love, Lost One, the safer your mind will be from your enemies, and your own heart. _

As he watched, the "Lost One's" frown deepened and the normally still sleeper shifted a bit. He was growing uneasy with his dreams, a good sign as far as Narcissus was concerned. _Now begins your next test. I believe you will break free again, but this dream will not be so easy to escape as the last one. Each dream will take more and more out of you to resist. Escape the Darkness if you can, Lost One... but know that you merely delay the inevitable in doing so. The universe craves power like yours... It needs it, in order to ever be saved. _He turned away from the brazier and began to walk to his closed door, intent on returning to his ruler to receive his next orders. _Good luck... Dark One._

**~ソニック~**

Espio was in bed sleeping. Though Amy had done a magnificent job of healing himself and Charmy of their shared illness the day Kaden had revealed to the group how their world had come to exist, she wasn't so powerful in her abilities yet that she had been able to heal them fully. As such, he still had lingering symptoms. Charmy, being the resilient child he was, was basically fine now, save for having a few small headaches here and there and being a bit lacking in his usual energy. Espio, however, had it worse. Having grown up in such an isolated place as the Northern Mountains, he had been exposed to very few illnesses in his life. As Vector often liked to joke, he had "basically no immune system to speak of." It wasn't true, of course. At least not entirely. He obviously _did_ have an immune system (else he'd be dead), but his wasn't as strong as _most _people's were. For this very reason, he wasn't recovering quite as fast as Charmy. The bee was fine, but he himself currently still felt a bit like crap.

The simple desire he possessed to never feel like this again was almost enough to make him want to return to his ancestral birthplace and never leave it again, but he had left his home for a reason. Isolation and training alone weren't _enough_. He'd wanted to actually _see_ the world and all the wonders it offered, not just learn about them. He could never leave that dream behind, and certainly not for something as silly as this. So, with little other choice, he remained in bed and rested as he'd been instructed to do, tolerated Amy, Analia, and Vector's occasional visits to check on him, and, above all else, just tried to sleep. His sleep wasn't peaceful, however. His dreams ranged from minor nightmares brought on by the equally minor fever he still had to what he _thought_ might be more visions of the past. The latter dreams he saw were all vague, dark, and distant, however, leaving him unable to make sense of them.

Save for one.

_Eight year old Kaden rubbed at his eyes sleepily as he sat in the grass, legs loosely crossed. It was rather early in the morning, probably around six, and a thick mist filled the area outside his sensei's isolated cave, the place where master and student had been staying for the past several weeks to allow Kaden to train somewhere where he could be safe. The young boy yawned a little, then finally opened his sleepy emerald eyes as Saran finally joined him outside and also took a seat in the dew-covered grass. The much older hedgehog laid his magic wooden staff in the grass beside himself, crossing his legs as he did so. That was when Kaden decided to speak. "Nato'ya, sensei?" he mumbled ("Why are we here, teacher?")_

_Saran offered the young boy one of his usual smiles. The pure power of Light the man possessed had given him a never-ending supply of love and joy to share with the world, and he never hesitated to do so. His magic, an expression of his Light. was so potent that it had also granted him physical differences from everyone else. Though he was a purebred blue hedgehog and should have had the customary blue fur, his fur was pure white. His eyes, too, were white save for his pupils (though though should have had some color to them)_,_ almost making him look blind even though he was not. These colorations, combined with his equally pure white mage's robes, gave him a sort of ethereal glow in the faint grayish light... a sign of his incomparable purity. "We are here for you to learn," he murmured. "We all exist to learn, Kaden, and there are better times than others to engage in this activity. At least when one is learning of certain things."_

_This piqued the child's curiosity. "What are we learning?" he asked eagerly. Since he had only truly begun to speak at age six and was still learning the universal language (he was far more fluent in the ancient language, the ancestral tongue of his people), his speech when voicing this question was stilted. Still, he had made no mistakes in pronunciation, and he allowed himself to feel proud of himself for just a moment because of it.  
_

_"We have studied magic before, though you are unable to use it," Saran replied, speaking somewhat quietly. Kaden refrained from reminding himself that, unless he'd been born with magic (and it really didn't seem like he had been), he could never fully master his sensei's teachings, the teachings he strove so hard to understand as completely as possible. "It is time to continue those studies." He raised his palm and summoned a ball of pure white Light Magic into it so that the sphere floated mere millimeters above his hand. "You have already learned about some of the "good" magics. Light or 'Heaven' Magic such as this," he glanced to the ball, "Fire Magic," the ball became pure white flames, "Water Magic," it shifted to a ball of white liquid, "Earth Magic," it became a ball of white stone, "Metal Magic," the ball shifted again and became a sphere of crackling electrical energies, "Life Magic", the sphere became a ball of glowing green energies at odds with the usual color of any magic he used was, "and Soul Magic." The ball shifted one last time and became a ball of wispy, almost heavenly energy. "There are,z" he continued, "however, still others for you to learn. There is a type of magic so basic that it has no unique name and is simply referred to as 'Magic'. There is Nature Magic, Sky Magic, Air Magic, Myth Magic, Azure Magic, and on and on. However," his tone shifted, became uncharacteristically grim as the ball disappeared from his hand and he lowered his arm again, "there are yet other kinds of magic that you know nothing about. These are very powerful magics, dark magics." _

_Kaden's ears lowered a bit and his heart sank just a little. 'Kokuraji...?' ("Dark Magic...?") Why it had never occurred to him before that these things would exist, he had no idea. Saran had already spent hours ingraining in his student's mind that everything in existence had an opposite. Love and hate, past and present, life and death, Light and Darkness... And yet, somehow, he'd forgotten. It hadn't ever occurred to him that all these 'good' magics would have more evil counterparts. He could only hope that his mentor wouldn't be disappointed in him for this mistake_

_"Among these darker magics," Saran continued gravely, "are Hell's Magic, Void Magic, Necromancy or "Death Magic", Voodoo, Shi-ra-ta or "Possession Magic", Blind Magic, Slave Magic, and Grief Magic. Voodoo, Shi-ra-ta, Blind Magic, Slave Magic, and Grief Magic are the lesser of the great magical evils, but the others are immensely dangerous, and you will need to know how to defend yourself against them, with or without your own magical abilities." Kaden opened his mouth to reply, but his sensei cut him off. "But," he said firmly and unexpectedly, "that is a lesson for another time." Now Kaden was confused. What was the point of being told about all of this if they weren't even going to- "Your lesson today," Saran said, his voice cutting into his student's thoughts, "is about a far a more complex form of magic than you have encountered thus far in your life. It is immensely powerful and, when used in the wrong ways, can be dangerous far beyond what most can imagine." He again raised his hand, palm toward the sky, and summoned another ball of magic into his hand. This one was... golden. The energy lightly crackled from time to time as the sphere rotated slowly where it floated above his palm. "This is the most basic form of Arcane Magic, the only so-called 'neutral' magic in existence. Virtually any of the 'good' magics can be used for evil, but only this one changes and reacts differently to how it is used. When being used by a good heart for a good cause, it will look as it does now. Other types of Arcane Magics will have their own color though, of course. However, the moment it is introduced to evil, any Arcane Magic will turn purple. The greater the evil, the greater the magic will be corrupted and the darker its color will turn until, eventually, it will turn black." _

_Though wary of the answer, Kaden had to ask. "Ashi'tera tin o' letal?" ("What happens then?")_

_Saran's pure gaze visibly saddened. "Once a person's Arcane Magic is fully corrupted, so, too, will they become. Before the magic reaches that fully corrupted state and comes to be known as Dark Arcane Magic, it is possible to cure it of the corruption, to purify it and its user. Though often a very difficult task, it can be done. However, once the magic turns black, the corruption has reached its pique levels. At that point, the damage cannot be undone." A certain sense of strange dread filled Kaden's young heart as he listened to this, but Saran had more to say. "That is why you are out here today, Kaden," he murmured. "To learn how to defend yourself should you ever encounter such a great evil in your life. I only pray that you never need to use this knowledge." The golden sphere vanished._

Suddenly, Espio's phone began to vibrate on the nightstand, shattering his dream and breaking into his thoughts. It took him a few moments to fully wake up for once (he blamed the fever, however minor though it was) and, when he finally did, it occurred to him that he was receiving a call. He didn't even need to check the Caller ID to know that it was Kanari calling him. With a soft sound of displeasure at having to move for any reason (he really did feel like crap, after all), he rolled over in bed, entangling himself in his blankets in the process. Reaching over to the nightstand beside his bed, he grabbed his phone and pulled it off the charger. It was amazing, really, that he was even getting a signal out here. He supposed that Wave hadn't been kidding when she'd said she'd made some "massive improvements" to the device a while back. That was far from his biggest concern at the moment, though. His biggest concern was, instead, Kanari herself. In the rush of things during their period of preparation for this voyage and in the haze of his illness, he hadn't even told her he was leaving. Dreading what he was going to have to do (namely, cancelling the in-person meeting they had planned for days and scheduled for tomorrow, thus potentially upsetting his newest friend), he opened the phone and hit "Talk".

**~ソニック~**

After sharing her dark and shocking tale, the girl fell silent. Sonic knew he needed to know more, so he tried to glean a bit more information on all of this. Specifically, he wanted to know more about what she had told them about the Metarex's generals... and the woman the girl had mentioned by name. "These two dead soldiers..." he started slowly. "Did Dark Oak kill them?"

The girl nodded once. "Yes," she answered readily, voice soft as always. "He deemed them to be no longer useful to him, so he killed them. In doing that, instead of simply abandoning them somewhere in the universe, he could ensure that there would be no betrayal later on as a result of their anger at being removed from the army."

Sonic inclined his head slowly, then asked a slightly more daring question. "How many of your people's women survived? Is Sakura still alive?"

The girl lifted her head and looked him dead in the eye. "My mother is dead." He stared at her in shock and guilt. After a moment, she looked away again. "Everyone else is, too. All my sisters, my cousins, my aunts, my friends, my grandmothers, my great-grandmothers... They're all gone. I don't know how or why, but I'm the only one left." He gaze drifted back down into her lap as she said in a very small voice, "I'm just 'lucky' I guess."

That was when Amy decided to offer the girl one of her bright smiles, though this one was small. "You are lucky," she assured the poor lost child. "Being alive is always, _always_ a good thing. And, think about it this way. Since you're still alive, you can help make a difference in the universe by helping deal with the Metarex if you so choose. Plus, you get to make all kinds of new friends, too." When the girl looked up at her, expression (for whatever reason) one of surprise, Amy's smile got just a little bit bigger. "My name is Amy, and I know _I'd_ like to be your friend."

Now Sonic was also smiling. "I'd like that as well." When still-surprised blue eyes looked to him, he winked. "My name's Sonic," he said, "and don't mind the fangs. I promise I don't bite." Amy giggled, and the girl almost seemed to smile.

Slowly, the girl's gaze drifted to the only other blue-eyed person in the room. Jet, who had been gazing out the window thoughtfully before, looked in her direction, then slowly offered her a small smirk. "The more the merrier, I suppose," he conceded, completely accepting this young girl as a friend in a single instance. That was a huge rarity. "I'm Jet."

Finally, the girl really and truly began to smile. It was a real, genuine smile, the first that they'd seen on her face since meeting her such a short time ago. "You're all so kind..." she murmured. Her eyes seemed to be getting teary. "I can't thank you all enough for being so friendly and accepting of me..." She began to smile so much that her eyes closed. Small tears showed under her closed eyelids. "My name is Cosmo... and I'd like to be friends with you all, too..."

**~ソニック~**

With Cosmo laying down at Amy's insistence and the boys once again banished from the medical ward (again, at Amy's insistence), Sonic returned to his room, to his father's journal, and resumed reading where he had left off.

_21\. "Weapons do not dream," they said. But what are dreams… and what is memory? And, for that matter… what is life… and what is death?_

_22\. Saran was by far one of the most extraordinary and amazing people I have ever met. I spent many seasons with him, traveling, training, learning, living… but then, in a single day, he was taken away from me and out of my life forever. That is the nature of war. That is the price we pay for such meaningless conflict._

_23\. Hope shines brightest in the dark when nothing is ever seen._

_24\. Pain. Grief. Anger. Hatred. Grudges. Stubbornness. Reckless ambition. Pride. Prejudice. Dishonor. Disloyalty. Betrayal. Unholy bias. Unchecked power. Impure thoughts. Corrupt hearts. Warped ideas. These things can all influence one's mind, heart, physical body, and even one's soul. They can change a person in ways far worse than many can even imagine. If this happens, all of existence can become corrupt. Once white magics can turn black… And, once they are black… there is nothing left to stop the Dark forces awakened within._

_25\. __I learned of a new and powerful spell today in a tome entitled "Arcane Truths". The incantation, when spoken in the ancient language, can be roughly translated to, "Shi ra'a un u'ta, nata dul un eist vit svet'lan tji'hi." The spell is called the "Soul Breaker". I know not what it does, but, when I read it, Saran's spirit appeared to me for the first time in many years. He told me I may one day need this spell. After instructing me to write it down, he had me burn the book it came from. The Arcane spells described in the tome were all Dark. All of them. According to sensei, the Soul Breaker was the darkest of them all. I do not understand why he had me save it. _

_26\. Shan'ra is a wild bronze colored dragon I encountered long ago. He is the only Sun Dragon left in existence. His scale glow with all the might and power of the sun when he is in the light. He is truly a magnificent and awe-worthy being, a treasure to behold. _

_Unlike the dragon peoples to which Pyros belongs, wild Dragons are purely animals, not people. And yet, they are among the wisest and most powerful beings to ever exist on our world. They know so much, but tell so little. Unless you are deemed worthy, they will share none of their secrets with you. Why I was ever deemed worthy, I may never know._

_ As a child, I was given the Gift of Insight by Shan'ra. When I unintentionally reunited with him today, he again blessed me and I was given another gift, the Gift of Foresight. I also saw several other dragons, all of whom were with Shan'ra. They, too, said that I was worthy. From the dragon Shan'tu I received the Gift of Wisdom. From the dragon Pi'li I was given the Gift of Passion. From the dragon Yui'tai I received the Goft of Patience. Then, finally, from High Dragoness Elune'netir, I received the Gift of Starlight. From each dragon, I also received a message._

_ When I encountered Shan'ra as a child, he told me this: "To see the future is to know one's True Destiny. Destiny, however, can be forged in the present by the paths we choose to take. Use this gift well to guide you on your way. Create for yourself a grand destiny that none can deny."_

_ Today, this was the message Shan'ra gave me. "Foresight involves the knowing of all things and people of the future, however near or distant they may be. To possess true insight, however, is to truly know ones own self. Knowledge of the self is the most invaluable knowledge we can possess. Without understanding ourselves, we can never hope to understand anyone or anything else. Pay close attention to your heart, Kaden, and learn what others cannot. Know yourself, and you will go farther and life than any could ever anticipate."_

_ Shan'tu is a dark blue Ocean Dragon. His message for me was, "In gaining wisdom, we gain an understanding of our lives and everything within them. Without understanding, we are left frozen, unable to move forward or back on our paths. The more wisdom we obtain, the more we can begin to understand why things happen the way we do, and how we can deal with these things. Use this gift well. Bring understanding to your life and to the lives of others. Rid the world of ignorance, Create a better place for all."_

_ Pi'li is a dark red Volcano Dragon. From her, I received this message. "To be passionate means to be driven I your life. It means to be ambitious, to have hopes and dreams and loves and aspirations. Without these things, without passion in any of its forms, life becomes a bleak and meaningless place. Do not allow your heart to feel content with the grey bleankness of ordinary life. Allow the fire of passion to spread within. Find meaning and love and life even when there is none."_

_ Yui'tai is a white Moon Dragon, the last of her kind. This is the message I was given by her. "Patience can be as vast as the skies or as tiny as an acorn. Both are great and unnecessary extremes. One must find a balance to live a good and fulfilling life. Patience is necessary to weather some of life's most trying days, but too much of it can result in one becoming frozen. Find patience and balance, and your life will be prosperous."_

_ High Dragoness Elune'netire is a silvery-blue Celestial Dragon, the only one to ever exist. This was her message. "Some think starlight to be a cold and distant light, but they know not the truth. Starlight is memory. Just as the sun embodies life, so, too, do the stars, The stars symbolize Destiny, Wisdom, Truth, and Eternity. These are the Four Great Pillars of Existence. One cannot exist without the rest, for the loss of a single pillar means the loss of all Love, Joy, and Hope. Without those three things, there is no Harmony and Light. Without Harmony and Light, there is no Life. This is the Grand Order of our universe. However, it is also true for within our own minds, hearts, and spirits. Do not let your internal pillars be toppled by negativities. Do not allow them to crumble and fall. Strengthen them, give them power, and remember just how much the stars mean. Take this message and do all you can to uphold the Order. Find the elusive Tranquility we were all meant to have."_

**~ソニック~**

**4,057 words this time. And, for the record, all of this really _does_ have to do with the plot to steal Planet Eggs and eradicate animal life from the universe. How, you ask? _How_ do magic and dragons and ghosts tie into all of this? Well, you're see. ;) Oh, and as for that last line... Well, let's just say that it's hugely important. Don't know how? Reread this arc from start to finish and see which word in that last sentence is the most important one. I think you'll figure it out even without doing that, though. ;)**

**NOW, FOR SOME PRONUNCIATION HELP! This chapter had lots of words in it you may not understand how to say. This list in intended to help you with that. **

**Nato'ya, sensei: "Nah-toe-yah, sen'say"  
**

**Saran: "Sah-rahn"**

**Kokuraji: "Koe-koo-rah-jee" (the "j" sound is soft in this word, not hard like in the word "just".)**

**Ashi'tera tin o' letal: "Ah-shee-tehr-uh tihn oh leh-tal"**

**Kanari: "Kah-nah-ree"**

**Sakura: "Sah-koo-ruh"**

**Metarex: "Met-uh-rex"**

**Shi ra'a un u'ta, nata dul un eist vit svet'lan tji'hi: "Shee rah-ah oon oo'tah, nah-tah dool oon eye-st viht sveht-lahn tji-hee" ****(the "j" sound is soft in the word "tji'hi", not hard like in the word "just".)**

**Shan'ra: "Shahn-rah"**

**Shan'tu: "Shahn-too"**

**Pi'li: "Pee-lee"**

**Yui'tai: "You-ee-tie"**

**Elune'netire: "El-oon-neh-teer"**

**Anyway, that's the list. I have one last thing to say before I go, though. Something came up with my family. My Auntie is going to have her second baby, but is bedridden for the next few weeks (or until she has the baby) due to some complications. She lives with my dad, uncle, three-year-old cousin, and grandmother in Sacramento. I'm going down there for the aforementioned period of time to help take care of my cousin while she's gone. My help is needed because my uncle has to balance childcare with wifecare (not a real word, I know), my aunt is in the hospital, and everyone else is working nearly every day. I'll still have my computer and whatnot and, with any luck, will still be able to get chapters up every day. However, in the event that I can't, this is the reason why. I'll let you all know when I'm back home and all that good stuff. Hopefully it won't be _too_ long. :) Posted (at about 7:24 a.m.) 07-26-16.**


	255. Atonement

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Thanks, glad you liked it! Yes, he and his life are very, very complicated. And yet, there is still _so_ much left be revealed... ;)**

**~ソニック~**

**Atonement**

**~ソニック~**

Three sets of feet entered the dense forests covering the strange new world at the very edge of their large solar system. The red glow called to one of them, a blue-furred warrior with emerald eyes. His two companions walked on either side of him. One claimed two tails as his own and carried a strange new device in hand. The other was clothed in bright red and wore a hopeful smile in spite of all the danger, all the odds mounting against them. Enemies prowled the wilderness. Shots were constantly being fired. Much haste was needed on the heroes' part to make it to the end of their journey and reach their treasure, but stealth would help ensure that, potentially, the young hero and his friends would remain uninjured. So they pressed on, slow and quiet, and attempted to find their lost treasure.

But the enemies were aware. They were attentive, watching, and focused. Their leader: a massive and brash fighter of bright yellow metal who was wielding an equally massive metal sword. He had a mission, was sent here for a reason. His was a grand purpose. To rid the universe of the great animal evil... that was his divine calling. With Dark Oak as good as god of the universe, all of his loyal followers would become just as grand and revered. Not even the legendary Pathfinders could have foreseen this perfect destiny. So perfect was this destiny that he held no concerns of failure. He wouldn't and couldn't _not_ succeed. Not this time. The hunt was on, and none were safe from his wrath.

The heroes trekked on toward the heart of the wilderness, the center of all life on this world. The red glow called to them, the color at odds with all the green and blue surrounding it. Metarex hindered their progress with every step, but still the trio pressed on. Through great pathways in the brush carved out by incredible aliens they walked. With great valor they fought, and with great determination they forged on ahead. Their treasure was near, they knew... but so was their enemy. Just as the blue hero picked up the ancient jewel, the yellow general struck.

There was a series of explosions as the two opposing forces, good and evil, clashed. Trees were uprooted and launched high into the sky. Countless other plants were set ablaze. Shots were fired. Waves of electricity and fire and psychic energies illuminated the dark woods and dimming skies. Numerous metal bodies were ripped to shreds. Minor amounts of blood were spilled. Dirt flew up into the air as a thick and suffocating cloud. The emerald was nearly lost... but the hero in a red dress reclaimed the stolen treasure. Together, the three heroes unleashed one final attack that obliterated all but the largest of their current foes. With the yellow villain hopelessly damaged and now without his troops, the heroes made their grand escape, taking the emerald with them.

Dark Oak tolerated no weakness. Failure was never acceptable. Being weak, failing in doing any task one was assigned, meant death. The biggest failures one could commit were failures to retrieve items or people essential to the saving of the universe and the failure to kill those who were not plants (especially when those animals dared to interfere with the reshaping of existence). Those were by far the worst crimes of all... and that was putting the matter so horribly lightly. He had committed both of those practically heinous crimes, and he knew what that meant. The penalty was _death_... Nothing else would ever be proper atonement. Atonement was something he desperately needed, and for one simple reason. The heroes had escaped, and they had the emerald, the priceless treasure that Dark Oak both needed and desired. The heroes were free, they had the treasure, and they were relatively unharmed.

Yellow Zelkova had failed.

**~ソニック~**

**658 words this time. Not my longest chapter ever by any means, but I feel I accomplished what I wanted to in this chapter. I liked it, in the end. :) Posted (at 7:53 p.m.) 07-28-16.**


	256. Gateway to Understanding

**Hello, thatguy4643! Yep, six more emeralds left. Gonna be hard, that's for sure. :l That's a a really interesting way to describe that chapter, truly. :) Glad you enjoyed it!**

**Hello, Luna MoonSinger27! THANKS! And yes, she did! Hahahahaha! That would be so hilarious! XDD**

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the "feelings this chapter had". XD **

**~ソニック~**

Tails this time speculated that it would take more than four entire days to reach the next emerald. With so much time left to kill between now and then, Sonic again returned to his room and to his father's journal. Once seated on his bed, he picked up the ancient book and resumed reading where he had left off.

_27\. Growing up, the elders attempted to teach me a harsh lesson: fear of any kind, especially fear of dying, makes a person weak. Weakness is never tolerated. All those who are weak must be… eliminated. Sensei, however, had never seen it that way. He taught me a very different truth. It is the fear of death that keeps us alive…_

_28\. I visited the Sky Kingdom. Being within and above the clouds has reminded me just how much I once longed for flight… how much freedom one can gain with such a power… and just how impossible it has always been for me to attain such things._

_29\. Stars can never shine without darkness…_

_30\. How beautiful it is to remain silent when someone expects you to be enraged. How much it must mess with the minds of others… I must say that it is rather humorous._

_31 Saran once told me, "When writing the story of your life, let no one else hold your pen." I strive to be indomitable, unchangeable, insurmountable… but it is so difficult at times. It is difficult to win a war against thousands when one is alone, and I am so very, very alone._

_32\. There are many realms that exist, realms that few know about. In the interest of preserving my knowledge should I die anytime soon (as these truths are none ever written down before), I am writing it here._

_The first realm is the realm that we all know, the one we all live in. It is the Realm of the Living, though it is far simpler to call it the Realm of Life. This realm is where anything alive exists. The realm has our villages, our cities, our worlds, our stars, our universe… It is everything we know in our lives,_

_The second realm is the Realm of Dreams or the Dream Realm. As the name implies, all of our dreams (or at least our good ones) come from this realm. This is also the realm where most "good" magics (including the elemental magics, Light Magic, and Soul Magic) were born,_

_The third realm is the first Realm of Death. This realm is the Realm of the Lost or Lost Realm. This is the realm where generally "good" souls who cannot find rest after death, souls who are unable to find peace, are sent. Many linger for an eternity, as it is virtually impossible for some to ever find peace after death, but others are eventually able to move on. Regardless of this latter fact, this is a very dreary, dull, and sorrow-filled realm._

_The fourth realm is the second Realm of Death. It is known to many as the Endless Meadows, the bright, warm, and joyful "heaven-like" realm where only the generally "good" souls can go. There is no strife there, no pain, no darkness, no more sorrow. It is a place most hope to go when their time amongst the living is over._

_The fifth realm is the third and final Realm of Death. This is the Realm of Darkness, more commonly known as the Shadow Realm. If the Endless Meadows are essentially "Heaven", then this realm is essentially "Hell". This is the realm where every "bad" spirit is sent for all eternity. It is dark, isolated, filled with grief and pain and suffering. Half of it is bitterly cold, hopelessly dark, and filled with a sound of dripping water that can drive nearly anyone to pure insanity. The other half is endless bright, impossibly hot, and fueled by a furious inferno that will never be stopped. Everywhere one can think to look in either half, there are chains, cages, wandering souls, hate-filled eyes… It is a truly horrible place that I never wish to see again. I do not wish this realm upon even my most hated enemies._

_The sixth realm is the Celestial Realm, the birthplace of Celestial Magic (a magic destined to one day be wielded by the Guardian, whenever he or she may awaken). This realm is also the realm that birthed the first four Immortals, and continues to share the gift of Immortality with each succeeding Immortal as the years go by. This is also the realm where the so-called "Gods" of the universe were first born (though they are not "gods" in the sense that people want to believe)._

_The seventh realm is the Arcane Realm, the birthplace of all Arcane Magic. The Grand Arcana, the high Arcana, and the Basic Arcana all originated here._

_The eighth realm is the Holy Realm. This is the birthplace of what my world knows of as "King's Magic" (due to it being the magic wielded by the king of the world and all of his forefathers back all the way to the beginning of time). Its real name, however, is Holy Magic._

_The ninth realm is deeply intertwined with the tenth. The ninth realm is the true Realm of Darkness. It has nothing to do with the realm of death by the same name, however. This is a realm of pure, volatile, swirling energies. This is the realm that the very first member of my family line was born from. My family remains deeply tied to this realm, hence our powers. It is a realm of permanent negativities, anger and grief and hatred and the like. And yet, as terrible as it sounds, this realm is necessary for the existence of anything… and everything._

_The tenth realm is the Realm of Light. It is precisely the opposite of the ninth realm, though it is also a realm of pure swirling energies. This world birthed Saran's family line, hence his Light powers. The blending of these two eternal forces is what birthed each of the realms within them._

_The eleventh and final realm is the Realm of Chaos. Through Chaos, we find everything and its opposite. Light and Darkness were born within the violent energies of this, the highest and most powerful of all the realms. Only in perfectly combining Light and Darkness can one tap into the immense forces of this realm… though that is so impossible that it is almost laughable. Nonetheless, this realm exists. Without it, nothing would ever exist. This realm, as with every other, I was able to view by utilizing skills Saran taught me and by tapping into powers I never knew I had._

_As it turns out… I am apparently a Pathfinder._

_39\. I was, for lack of a better way to put it "playing around" with my Pathfinder abilities today. Unless I find a proper teacher, this is the only way I will ever be able to figure out what I can do and how. I acknowledge that it is dangerous, but a have little other choice. Besides… the knowledge I can gain through this power is very, very tantalizing. Some of it, however, I wish to remain without._

_What I saw today will likely haunt me for the rest of my existence. I saw into some other timeline. Mine is the twelfth timeline of the Realm of Life, and the one I saw into I believe was the twenty-sixth. In it, I witnessed the brutal and violent murders of my other self and five others. I just… can't get the images and the sounds out of my head… I can't sleep…_

Immediately after reading that last entry, Sonic was startled by a light knock on his door. Setting aside the journal, he got up and answered the door. He found his mother there. Her arms were unburdened, likely meaning that the twins had finally gone back to sleep. "Yeah, mom?" he asked her.

Analia offered him one of her usual smiles. "I am going to make dinner," she began, "and I was wondering if there was anything in particular you wanted to eat."

Sonic shook his head. "Nah, whatever you were planning to make already is fine." Analia nodded and started to turn to leave, but Sonic stopped her by asking, "I'm guessing Dad's still asleep?" Given his father's love of cooking, he knew Kaden would be the one cooking if he wasn't still in bed.

His mother nodded once. "Yes, he is, but that is alright. He will be better tomorrow."

"Okay," Sonic agreed readily, trusting his mother's judgement. When she began walking to the kitchen, he went with her. "Hey, Mom? Can I ask you a few things?"

"Of course," Analia smiled. "You do not need permission to ask me a question, my son."

This evoked a small smile from Sonic as well, though it lasted but a moment. It faded away the moment he again began to speak. "Mom, what's a Pathfinder?

For whatever reason, Analia hummed thoughtfully and gazed up at the ceiling for a long moment before actually giving a reply. "A Pathfinder is a powerful sorcerer... of sorts," she finally said. "They are not the magic users you might think of when your mind turns to magic, however. They unravel the Threads of Destiny with their magic. In doing so, they can literally see the fates of others, though fates can always change. However, no one can alter the threads simply by looking at them. Supposedly, the most powerful of the Pathfinders can also see into other timelines without ever going there. I have heard of one before that could even see into other realms." Slowly, Sonic inclined his head to indicate that he understood his mother's words. Analia turned her head to look at him. "Why do you ask?"

Deciding immediately that he didn't want to admit to reading his father's journal, Sonic simply shrugged. "No reason. I just learned the word and got curious." It wasn't _entirely_ a lie, but he could tell his mother was still suspicious. Nonetheless, she let the matter go and allowed him to jump into his next question. "Can you explain, even if only briefly, about the three types of Arcane Magics?"

Being that she was very powerful sorceress, Analia had been _very_ well educated about magic. She could answer the question _easily_, something Sonic had been counting on. "The Grand Arcana are the most powerful Arcane Magics in existence. Among them are the magics of the Pathfinders and a very ancient form of Babylonian magic that Queen Laralei once told me about. The High Arcana are the second most powerful Arcane Magics. Among them are Seiko, Kaden's mother's "Mystifying Arcane", which was sometimes referred to as "Misty Arcane". The so-called "Basic" Arcana are much simpler Arcane Magics that aren't too much more powerful than other "regular" magics."

_Wow, _was all Sonic managed to think in response to this. It was all very interesting in his opinion, but he was given no time to wonder about what he'd just been told.

"Was their anything else you wanted to ask me about?" Analia questioned.

Sonic nodded a little. "Yeah, there was one more thing," he admitted. "I wanted to know if you knew anything about the supposed 'Gods of the Universe'."

At this, Analia smiled a little once more. "That is a question your father would do a much better job of answering than I," she responded.

"Why?" Sonic asked curiously.

"Because your father has actually _met_ them," Analia responded, a twinkling light in her eyes.

The younger hedgehog was stunned speechless. _M... Met them...?_

Analia only continued to smile. "Do return your father's journal to him in one piece, will you?" she asked him, further surprising Sonic. She suddenly winked at him and, though he stopped walking, she continued on ahead and entered the kitchen. Within seconds, she was out of sight.

**~ソニック~**

**2,028 words this time. Sorry this is late, but things have been a tad hectic lately. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed. A few things I must make mention of: Entry 29 is directly tied to advice Sonic was once given by the Voice (though I can't remember in which chapter this occurred). The mention of a mysterious "Guardian" is _immensely _important to the Hero series. After all, the last story in the series is entitled "Guardian" for a very good reason. Lastly, the mention of supposed "Gods" will become important in Eye of the Storm, though the "Gods" are much more involved in the two Hero series stories "Breathe In, Breathe Out" and "On and On". They may also end up being important in "The Path of Vision" and "Hero Chronicles: Time of War".**

**Just in case ya'll forgot, here's the order that I plan to write the Hero series in. This is only listing stories related to the main story and does not include side stories like "On My Own" (a story of an alternate timeline with Kaden as the main character) and "Every Hero Has a Story" (the Hero series oneshot collection).**

**1\. "Hero"**

**2\. "Eye of the Storm" and "Time" (The reason why these are going to be written and posted together will be revealed in EotS. All I'll say here is that "Time" is not a true story in the same sense as the rest of these.)**

**3\. True Storm**

**4\. ****"The Path of Vision"**

**5\. ****"Hero Chronicles: Time of War"**

**6\. "A Father's Wish" (I was gonna remove this from the list, but it's necessary to the main story. Besides, I don't speculate that it will get very long.)**

**7\. "Riders" ****(As with the above story, I was gonna remove this from the list, but it's necessary to the main story. And, again, I don't speculate that it will get very long.)**

**8\. ****"Breathe In, Breathe Out"**

**9\. ****"On and On"**

**10\. "Guardian"**

**Well, anyway, that's all I have to say here. Hope you enjoyed! Posted (at about 9:55 p.m.) 07-30-16.**


	257. O, Lonely Nights

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Yes, he is very snoopy. Hahaha, so true! It isn't Silver's fault, after all! XD I thought so, too. :) Yes, he is! I though it was cool, too. XD Haha, yes, she did. XD**

**~ソニック~**

As Cream sat in her room, trying to sleep (it was getting rather late in the evening, after all), more visions came to her, almost in the form of dreams.

(-)

_In the first one, she heard Jet's voice, but saw nothing of what was going on. __The sentence that was shared in this vision was a simple thought. It almost sounded like he was... chastising himself. 'When will you learn that wishes never come true?'_

(-)

_In the second one, she saw Kaden on a stage. As he played his electric guitar and sang like the god of rock millions considered him to be, fan girls screamed and all manner of guys hollered. The fans were driven wild by this performance, one of the incredibly rare live ones, and the music continued on._

(-)

_In the third one, she saw Marthal, who was walking back to a camp in the woods with Kaden. He put his arm over Kaden's shoulders in a friendly way as he said, "Dude, that was hella badass. You're epic. Well done."_

_Kaden rolled his eyes._

(-)

_In the fourth one, she saw more entries from Jet's journal._

_**2.** -Time is a thing that kills me,_

_Always dragging me down and pushing me under._

_It's a never-ending cycle of love and hate,_

_Ending in chaos and destruction._

_**11.** -I'm tired of this life. I'm tired of the way things are. I'm tired of feeling lost. But mostly, I'm tired of the pain. I'm tired of the sadness. I'm tired of being afraid. I just want to escape… to never return._

_**12.** -I'm told that I have to try. "Try to believe in the possibilities. Try to believe that things will get better." But the truth is, I've been trying for years and it never gets me anywhere. My hopes rise, and then they fall. They always fall. Hope plays a wicked game with the heart, and I'm tired of losing._

_**29.** -I'm writing to… shut the voices up. It's a hallucination from the heat, I think, but I'm hardly sure anymore. I might be hearing some of the soldiers talking. I don't really know. Either way, it bothers me. I think I'm getting sick. I just want to get out of here. Why is that so much to ask?_

_**48.** -It's frightening, in a way, to think that I might die out here and be forgotten about. I don't want to die. I don't want to become lost in the sand and forgotten about. No matter what happens, I want to live and just know that someone cared enough to remember me. But, even if I do die out here… Maybe I'd still be remembered, anyway._

_No matter what, I swear I lived._

_**75.** -True power is in the heart of the user. These people we're fighting… they clearly don't understand that. In that sense, they're not strong at all._

_**87.** -Everything hurts. And I don't just mean physically._

_**102.** -The relative downtime we've been experiencing is over. Things are getting really hard again. I'm exhausted all the time. I haven't had a decent meal in days. The fights that we've been getting into always result in some sort of injury, usually a fairly severe one._

_All I know is this. You may see me struggle, but you will never, never see me quit._

_**104.** -One of the hardest lessons in life is letting go. Whether it's guilt that we're clinging to, or anger, love, loss, sadness, betrayal… Change is never easy. We fight to hold on… and we fight to let go._

_**108.** -I only have one thing to say to people right now, but it's a message I doubt I'll ever share aloud. Do not underestimate me. I know more than I say, think more than I speak, and notice more than you realize. Underestimate me, and I will make certain that you regret it._

_**109.** -Things are so hard. Screw my pains, the world is suffering. My efforts are never enough, but I'll find a way to make things better someday. Just give me time._

_**121.** -I learned a long time ago that racing is about more than competition and winning. Sonic even told me so when we were kids. But out here… everything's different. This is a race against time. A race that we have to win. If we don't reach the enemy army in time, half the world could very well wind up being obliterated. We have to win. There's no room for error. Not this time. Everything I do has to be perfect. If it's not… I don't even want to think about the consequences. The stress is eating me alive._

(-)

_In the fifth one, she saw Keiri and Analia. They were sitting together in a tea shop, drinking their hot beverages and talking about their guys. The topics ranged from how serious and protective Marthal and kaden could be to how downright silly they sometimes were together. The girls' genuine laughs drew smiles from other patrons in the shop, strangers though the people all were. _

(-)

_In the sixth one, she observed Locke and Knuckles flying together. As they flew, they fought their "enemies", robots specially built by Tails to be used for training. Each time the robots were destroyed, they simple put themselves back together again, allowing one to train for hours without end if they so desired. Rouge then joined the "fight", deliberately teasing and poking fun at Knuckles to draw his attention away from the robots. For once, the younger of the two echidnas managed not to fall for it. He remained fully focused on the training, and Locke smirked. "'Bought time, son."_

_Knuckles glowered. "Shush." Rouge just laughed._

(-)

_In the seventh one, she saw herself, Bokkun, Cream, Cheese, and Charmy were running through a very dark and evil-looking forest, desperately searching for a way out. As they ran, enemies all around chased them and tried to kill them. The kids ran even faster, to the point where they felt like they would trip and fall with every step. But they couldn't do that. To trip and fall would be to invite... death._

(-)

_In the eighth one, she saw Silver and Shadow. Silver was teasing Shadow about something. "She seriously has a very 'Shadow-like' personality, if you ask me," he laughed._

_Shadow simply rolled his eyes and kept walking down the hallway in the Blue Typhoon. "Shut up."_

(-)

_In the ninth one, she saw Omega, who was so severely damaged that he had powered down uselessly in the middle of the battlefield he was on. While the others fought and Blaze did whatever she could to keep the swallow safe, Wave struggled to repair the robot enough to get him turned on again. Lasers shot by her shoulders, her arms, her legs, her cheeks, over her head... But she never paid them any mind. She had to focus. She had to succeed. They could, wouldn't retreat if it meant leaving one of their friends behind. They simply wouldn't do it. Omega was going to come with them. One way or another, he was coming with them._

(-)

_In the tenth one, she saw entries in a new journal Kaden was writing in. It was only the second journal he had ever used._

**_1._**_ The time may have finally come for me to reclaim my lost past, the heritage I deliberately left behind once I learned of it. The only problem is... I do not want to. I never wanted to._

**_2._**_ He has returned. Ages of separation has changed him, and changed him greatly. And yet, he is still the same young man we once knew. We need only give him time to grow comfortable around us again._

**_3._**_ My ship is in full working order. I wish it didn't need to be, but the time his come to load its weapons once more. The time has come for the beginning of another period of darkness in my life, and the lives of all those around me. The time has come for war._

(-)

_In the eleventh one, she saw Tails. He was hard at work trying to repair the X-Tornado, which had been absolutely trashed in a fight. Sonic was doing whatever he could to help, while simultaneously helping Amy keep an eye on Sen and Sarai. The twins were running around within this small, temporary camp in an attempt to burn off some energy. Amy, meanwhile, was attempting to heal a few small wounds she'd received during the fight. They'd all gotten their asses kicked in that fight... but at least they were alive._

(-)

_In the twelfth one, she saw Vector. He was looking at Charmy and Cream as the two children played. As he watched them, arms crossed and grin on his face, only one important thought crossed his mind. 'They are so meant to be."_

(-)

Then, seamlessly, the visions gave way to real dreams and peaceful rest was hers.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic was once again reading entries from his father's journal.

_**40.** Fe'shir an tu'li._

_Supposedly, this is a spell that queen of the world once used to rid her infant son of an illness he was born with, an illness that would have killed him within hours. Whether or not this little story is true, one thing about it in undeniable. She is a powerful magic user, and she is incredibly highly educated in the ways of magic. She is not a Pathfinder, but sometimes I wonder if someone like her could one day aid me in learning how to properly wield my abilities._

_**41.** Yet another mysterious book I have never seen before ended up in my library. When I opened it up, I discovered that it contains pages upon pages of names and dates, stretching back to the very beginning of everything. My name is on the most recent page. My true name._

_Thanks to this book… I finally know who my parents are. Or, at the very least, I know their names. I don't know whether to feel elated or hopeful or angry… or to just not feel anything at all._

_**42.** I have little to write about today so I was initially not going to bother, but then I reread the last entry and realized that I neglected to explain something important. It is the matter of a person's true name. A person's true name is simply how their name is written and said in their ancestral language. The name that I go by, Kaden, is not my true name. This name is Japanese, but my true name is Tokarian. Tokarian is the lost name of the so-called "ancient language". The reason for this name is simple: hedgehogs were once known as the "Tokari" or "Tokarian" race. But, anyway, the point of this entry was merely to explain what a true name is. I refuse to write mine here. How it ended up in that book is beyond me. My true name has not been spoken since the day of my birth. It is my hope that none will ever know what it is._

_Several hours have passed since I wrote the above paragraph, and I am beyond bored at the moment. So, pointless though it likely is, I decided to write in here one more time today and (again, pointlessly), provide some more useless information. First of all, contrary to how my name should be said in Japanese, I prefer people to pronounce my name "Kae-den" not "Kah-den". I personally prefer the way it sounds with the first pronunciation, and always have. Next, the word Tokarian is pronounced "Toe-kar-ee-en". Lastly, Tokari is (as one could probably guess) pronounced "Toe-kar-ee"._

_…And now I find myself bored once again. Ugh._

_**43.** I swear to Kami that I'm going to go insane if I have to spend even just one more day as bored as I have been. To be perfectly honest, it is days like these where I truly miss Marthal's endless pranks and Locke's constant talking._

_**44.** Fire is so much more than just pain and destruction. Fire is also energy and life and beauty and color… It is an integral part of who I am. I do not know what I would do if I ever lose that ability._

_**45.** I met a man today who was rather debonair, for lack of a better way to put it. He was also very prudent, formal, sophisticated, and wealthy. However, he was also very narcissistic, rude, and looked down at all who were not of his supposed "grand pedigree". This man attempted to walk all over me and treat the dirt in higher regard than myself. When I showed him that I would not put up with it, he attempted to smack me. I tripped him and, by pure coincidence, he fell into some mud. For the first time in ages, I found it in myself to laugh. How could I not?_

_The best part was when the mud soiled the hair he was so proud of._

_**46.** Sometimes I wonder why I am here. Not here as in literally here in my room, however. Sometimes, I wonder why I was even born. What was the point? My life is contributing nothing to the world. Sensei once told me that no one is brought into this world for no reason, but I think he may be wrong. No one can be right all the time._

_**47.** Someone broke into my house last night. It woke me from a fairly deep sleep. The person managed to stab my arm before I was able to drive them away. I bandaged the wound, but there was not much else I could do. I know I should seek the aid of a healer, but I have never trusted the authority figures of this city. The authority figures of other places, however, can sometimes be trustworthy. Yan-shu, the healer of Locke's tribe, is one of them, as is their tribe leader, Linan. I have not seen either of them, or Locke, since Locke and I were fourteen. I miss them._

_**48.** Everyone has a dream. But are they always meant to come true? Somehow, I doubt it. Some dreams are better off forgotten. And… some dreams are best never being dreamt to begin with._

Before he had the chance to read the next entry, he received a message on his communicator. Looking down at it, he saw that it was a message from Wave in the group chat.

**_Wave:_**

_Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think we may have a problem._

Sonic frowned and typed a quick reply.

_**Senzan:**_

_What's going on?_

Jet was quick to reply before Wave could.

_**Jet:**_

_Don't tell me. Old Egghead is after our asses again._

For whatever reason, Sonic could vividly picture Wave blinking in surprise before replying.

**_Wave:_**

_...That's... actually correct. How did you guess?_

This time, Jet's reply came before Sonic could reply, not Wave.

**_Jet:_**

_It wasn't a guess._

This cryptic statement aside, Sonic had something more important to ask about.

**_Senzan:_**

_Anyway, point is, Ivo is after us again. Do we know how long he's been in space?_

That was when Tails decided to jump into the conversation.

**_Tails:_**

_I can answer that. My radars picked up on his ships about an hour ago. I would have told you sooner, but I couldn't. My auto-pilot isn't working very well, so I can't leave the controls unattended. It's kinda hard just typing this._

This was troubling news, but at least they had a definitive answer. Sonic supposed that that was better than nothing.

**_Senzan:_**

_That's alright. I'll help you fix that soon. Thanks for the information._

Amy then also jumped into the conversation with a genuine concern to voice.

**_Amy:_**

_What are we going to do now? We can barely handle Ivo by himself, let alone when we've got other enemies to fight._

Knuckles, it seemed, also had a concern he wanted to share and try to get an answer to.

**_Knuckles:_**

_Yeah, and what if he decided to tag along with the guys who stole our Planet Egg?_

Of course, Sonic had a ready to answer to those questions. He had to. He was, after all, the leader of this little group of heroes. He had to have the answers.

**_Senzan:_**

_Then we deal with them together. We can't give up just because they join forces. There's no guarantee that it'll happen, anyway._

It was no surprise to anyone when Locke jumped in as the voice of reason.

**_Locke:_**

_But we still need to be prepared for it, just in case._

Now, everyone else was beginning to join in on the conversation. Rouge joined in next, and it wasn't very surprising that she readily agreed with Locke's statement.

**_Rouge:_**

_I agree. We can't afford to be unprepared should such a situation come to be._

As with Rouge, Analia was quick to agree with Locke. She rarely _didn't_ agree with her old friend.

**_Analia:_**

_Yes. Being unprepared could very well mean the end of all of us. If we die, this war is lost._

Once again, a sensible question was put on the table to be answered. This time, the question came from Blaze.

**_Blaze:_**

_How do we prepare, then?_

Sadly, Sonic didn't have a good and ready answer to this question. _So much for me being the "grand leader" or whatever, _he thought with a sigh as he typed and sent his reply.

**_Senzan:_**

_I don't know. We'll figure it out._

Silver decided that that was a good time to throw in a comment of his own.

**_Silver:_**

_Not very helpful, Dad..._

And, to make things even better, Shadow had to throw his two cents in. Needless to say, his words weren't helping _anything_. At all.

**_Shadow:_**

_"I don't know" isn't good enough, Sonic. We need a real answer._

For once, Jet actually jumped to his friend's defense, rather than leaving Sonic to fend off comments like this on his own.

**_Jet:_**

_Give him a break, Shadow. He's got enough to worry about._

Rouge apparently also decided to give Sonic a hand.

**_Rouge:_**

_On that note, maybe a sort of division of labor is in order here._

This time, it was Locke's turn to do the agreeing.

**_Locke:_**

_That might be a good idea. Some of us can focus on dealing with Ivo, while some of us focus on our friends from space.  
_

It had only been a matter of time before _someone_ would throw in a sarcastic comment, but Sonic had expected it to come from Jet, not Jet's girlfriend. But, then again, Wave definitely had an attitude of her own as well.

**_Wave:_**

_Ha. "Friends". Good one._

Jet again posted a new reply in the chat. This time, he posted it in direct response to Wave.

_**Jet:**_

_Chill out, Wave. It was just a little joke._

Sonic had initially worried that this comment would cause the couple to start arguing at least a little bit (as most couples did), but, instead, Wave conceded defeat. Surprisingly.

**_Wave:_**

_Yeah, alright. Whatever. Sorry._

Amy changed the subject right after Wave posted that.

**_Amy:_**

_Anyway, Sonic, what do you want to do? We'll need you to oversee one of the groups._

That second sentence made perfect, logical sense. As for the first sentence... Well, Sonic was already thinking about that.

**_Senzan:_**

_As much as I have a bone to pick with Ivo... I need to focus on dealing with the Metarex. I'll probably need Dad's help with that, so I guess he's on my "team"._

The confusion of other members of the group could practically be _felt_ as far as Sonic was concerned, but only Tails voiced it.

**_Tails:_**

_"Metarex"?_

Tails's sensei was quick to respond.

**_Jet:_**

_The robot-things we fought. That's what they're called, apparently._

As with Wave earlier, Sonic thought for sure that he could feel Tails blink.

**_Tails:_**

_Really?_

Rather pointlessly, Sonic began to nod, caught himself, stopped, and typed his reply.

**_Senzan:_**

_The girl Jet and I rescued told us that. I'll tell you guys the full story later._

Word had spread by now of the girl, Cosmo, so no one raised any questions as to what Sonic was talking about here.

**_Tails:_**

_...Okay... Anyway, I think I'll focus on helping stop Ivo for now._

Amy popped back into the chat then.

**_Amy:_**

_Okay. What about the rest of us?_

Sonic thought for Several long moments about that, carefully deciding the groups. _I'm focusing on the Metarex, and Dad's with me. Dad and Mom are practically Yin and Yang. They need each other, so Mom's with me, too. Silver and Blaze will do well against Ivo and his robots, and they need to stay together like Mom and Dad do. Marthal and Keiri are an amazing team, but they can do well apart. I can put one on each team. Shadow sometimes has a hard time dealing with Ivo, a shadow, no pun intended, of his former life with Gerald and Maria. He'll do better on my team. As much as they fight amongst themselves, Knuckles and Rouge do better together. I'll keep them on the same team... probably the one dealing with Ivo. Omega has every reason to want to help that team, so he'll be there, too. Wave and Espio's abilities are sorely needed to help combat the Metarex, so they'll be on my team. Same with Cream and Cheese. And, since Bokkun was traumatized by Ivo, I'll keep him by me and not near that monster. Vector and Storm will be instrumental and fighting Ivo, given their brute strength, so they'll be on the other team. I'll put Charmy there, too, since he'll have an easier time dealing with things if he's able to stay near Vector. As far as Jet goes... I'll need his help with both teams. Come to think of it, Mom will almost certainly be needed to aid in Ivo's defeat, too. So... Jet will be the leader of the team dealing with Ivo, but both he and Mom will aid both teams whenever they can. _With this now worked out, Sonic finally sent a reply to Amy's question.

In one large message, Sonic laid out his plans for the teams. No one argued with the arrangements. Surprisingly, not even Jet said anything negative. Sonic had expected something from him, though, because his friend struggled with self-doubt and questioned his ability to lead and on and on and on. But what Sonic had been trying to teach the young hawk for years was that it was precisely these things about Jet that _made_ him a good leader. He only hoped that Jet was finally starting to accept that. _Even if he'd not, maybe this will help him. _Either way, Jet didn't question the decision for him to be leader of the second team. No one else did, either. Jet had basically become the "second-in-command" of the group as a whole some time ago, anyway, so the group was used to listening to him. In that sense, these arrangements worked out well. With all of this worked out and the group finally, _finally_ having the direction they needed to begin truly fighting this war, Sonic exited the chat and returned to the journal to resume reading. Until either his father or Cosmo woke up, there was nothing left to do. They were directionless currently, with no clue where the next emerald might be. It was so far out of Sonic's range of senses that they had no idea where to go. His hope was that, once Cosmo was awake, she could direct them to any sort of nearby place where Metarex were congregating. If "bases" such as that could be wiped out, even if they were small, it would aid the resistance _so_ much... And, once Kaden was awake, he could answer questions that sorely needed answering. But, for now, all that was left for Sonic to do was read on. So he did.

_**49.** I will never stop… trying. Never._

_**50.** Dreams make reality. Yes, it is easy to be pessimistic and think that dreams never come true and wishes are never granted, but… The placebo effect exists for a reason. If we believe hard enough and dream big enough, we can forge deep paths through the hardest of rocks, travel to places in our lives where others would never dare peer into. With our dreams as our guides, we can succeed in anything._

_ Or, at least… that's what Sensei used to tell me._

_**51.** I met a singer today who possessed no talent… This singer sounded like a screeching cat… An impressive feet, considering the fact that his voice is actually very deep and… "rumbly". For the sake of being "polite" as Sensei always insisted I do, I refrained from laughing. At least, I did so until I got home. Then I laughed._

_**52.** I tapped into my Dark powers this morning, mostly for the sake of seeing if there was a safe way for me to utilize them in situations that don't involve desperate combat. As it turns out, there is a way. It is a dangerous thing to attempt, but it can be done. I don't plan on doing it again anytime soon, however._

_**53.** There was a goddamn spider in my bedroom last night. And, of course, it was a large one. Not a small one, a very fucking large one. Why couldn't it have at least been a small one? Any spider of any size is absolutely horrible, but the large ones… God, they're terrifying._

_**54.** The elders are again trying to drag me into their petty war. When I again refused, they attempted to use the same fear tactics they used to control me when I was a child. I was so angry with them that I very nearly tapped into my Dark powers without intending to. They felt the pulse of power and attempted to scold me, as though they thought they ever had the right to. I kicked them out of my house and told them to never come back. Somehow, I doubt that they will listen to me. I wonder why that could be. _

_**55.** My blatant sarcasm in the last entry apparently opened the floodgates for all of my thoughts today. I was being sarcastic about everything without really meaning to but, whatever. It made my day a tad more interesting than normal._

_**56.** I turned eighteen today. Most people would be celebrating, but I don't see why. Birthdays are meaningless, beyond telling you that you've survived one more year of your life, for better or for worse. And, even pretending that I wanted to celebrate this, it's very hard to celebrate anything (or at least do so well) when one is alone. Besides, it's far too cold both inside and outside to do anything even remotely enjoyable._

_ Why couldn't I have been born in a warmer month?_

_**57.** Satari is by far one of the coldest months of the year. It's horrid. Snow and ice are everywhere. I hate it when it's cold. I wish that this month would go by quickly. But it probably won't._

_**59.** I somehow lost track of my journal for years. Considering the fact that I have been traveling as of late, I suppose that this is not surprising. At least I found it, I suppose. _

_ I have next to nothing notable to write in here right now, save for the fact that my birthday was three months ago. I am nineteen now, but it hardly matters. My life is still empty, virtually meaningless, and going nowhere. I don't know what I want to do with my life. I never did. Well, no. I suppose that that's not entirely true. I once had dreams of continuing to study under Saran after reaching adulthood, but then he died and my dreams, the few I ever had, went with him. _

_**60.**"Sometimes, when I go rushing into battle… I find myself believing that I am invincible. But then, when I win, I realize that I have left the battlefield wounded."_

_ -Rocky Hilton_

_ Rocky is a singer who performed in Chun-nan today. He comes from a small clan of white hedgehogs, Met'suna. He actually possesses a great talent. His voice is amazing, he plays instruments very well, and his skill for writing lyrics such as what I wrote above is practically unparalleled in this day and age. It is rare that I can actually find someone in this world worth admiring._

Suddenly, in the next entry, Sonic saw... poetry. In entry upon entry, his saw beautiful haikus, all of which seemed to in someway reflect his father;s thoughts, feelings, and/or experiences on the days that they were written. He didn't read all of them, but he did read a good few.

_**63.** Facing the candle  
__The peony also  
__Burning…  
__Motionless as Death_

_**64.** The first firefly…  
__But he got away  
__And I… air in my fingers_

_**65.** But if I held it…  
__Could I touch the  
__Lightness of this  
__Flutter-butterfly?_

_**66.** Hanging sadly down  
__Amid the merry-  
__Makers…  
__Green weeping willow._

_**67.** For that brief moment  
__When the firefly  
__Went out… O  
__The lonely darkness_

_**69.** As I picked it up  
__To cage it…  
__The firefly  
__Lit my finger-tips_

_**71.** On the low-tide beach  
__Everything we stoop  
__To pick…  
__Moves in our fingers_

_**73.** Even fly-swatting  
__By these border  
__Guards… O how  
__Vicious and correct_

_**79.** With the new clothes  
__Remember… the crow  
__Stays black  
__And the heron white_

_**80.** I scooped up the moon  
__In my water  
__Bucket… and  
__Spilled it on the grass._

_**81.** Coolness on the bridge…  
__Moon, you and I  
__Alone  
__Unresigned to sleep._

_**82.** Rainfall and thunder  
__Beating on boards  
__And blossoms…  
__Indiscriminate_

_**84.** An old tree was felled…  
__Echoing, dark echoing  
__Thunder in the hills_

_**86.** Sad twilight cricket…  
__Yes, I have wasted  
__Once again  
__Those daylight hours_

_**88.** Do I dare depend  
__Upon you for  
__Firm friendship  
__Dear morning-glory?_

_**89.** Here is the dark tree  
__Denuded now  
__Of leafage…  
__But a million stars_

_**92.** In my own village  
__I think there are  
__More scarecrows left  
__Than other people_

_**93.** After moon-viewing  
__My companionable  
__Shadow  
__Walked along with me_

_**94.** All the world is cold…  
__My fishing-line  
__Is trembling  
__In the autumn wind_

_**95.** Suddenly you light  
__And as suddenly  
__Go dark…  
__Fellow-firefly_

_**96.** Full-moon and flowers  
__Solacing my forty-nine  
__Foolish years of song_

_**97.** If they ask for me  
__Say: He had some  
__Business…  
__In another world_

In that moment, a voice quite suddenly broke into the silence that had once been filling Sonic's room, infiltrating his thoughts. "Enjoying my journal?"

With a start, Sonic jumped and whipped around. Kaden, who was leaning casually sideways against the doorframe with arms crossed, raised a silent eyebrow at his son. Knowing he was caught and that he had no escape, Sonic could only offer the older (but still young) man a sheepish grin. "Um... sorry?"

Kaden's eyes betrayed a flicker of amusement. "I do not believe you."

Now also amused, Sonic allowed himself a more genuine smile. Closing the ancient journal, he abruptly changed the subject. "Hey, since you're awake... we need to talk."

Slowly, Kaden nodded. For once, he was agreeing to being questioned. So, of course, his son had to take him up on the offer. With this in mind, he stood up.

**~ソニック~**

**5,418 words this time. Sorry this is late, guys. Obviously, those haikus are all real Japanese haikus that I did not write. In order, here are the authors of these poems and which entry they were in. ****63: Kyoroku, ****64: Issa, ****65: Buson, ****66: Roka Shonin, ****67: Hokushi, ****69: Taigi, ****71: Chiyo-ni, ****73: Taigi, ****79: Chora, ****80: Ryuho, ****81: Kikusha-ni, ****82: Sampu, ****84: Meisetsu, ****86: Rikei, ****88: Basho, ****89: Shiki, ****92: Chasei, ****93: Sodo, ****94: Buson, ****95: Chine-jo, ****96: Issa, and, lastly, ****97: Sokan. Anyway, hope ya'all enjoyed! Sorry this was late and all that. Posted (at about 9:09 p.m.) 08-03-16.**


	258. Celestial Destiny

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Yes, he is! *Also plays dramatic music* Same. :3 YES, HE WAS! HAHAHA! XDD**

**~ソニック~**

Kaden sat in the padded chair at the desk in his son's bedroom onboard the Blue Typhoon. His arms were crossed casually and his right leg was propped up on the opposite knee. As he sat there, idly watching as Sonic packed up the box of books, he noted that he just felt... off. Maybe it was as a result of the seizure he'd had earlier today, but that had happened long enough ago that it shouldn't have still be affecting him so much. The answer failed to satisfy him. He was feeling so odd in a way he just couldn't explain, and it simply didn't make any sense to him. _Those dreams have something to do with it. _That was the only thing he knew for certain. He had no hard proof of any kind, but he did have instincts that he had been honed to a lethal edge and that he trusted immensely. And they were _screaming_ at him that something was deeply wrong here and that those dreams were involved. Somehow, anyway.

That was when Sonic chose to speak. After explaining thoroughly what all had happened while Kaden had been asleep, everything ranging from Cosmo's rescue to the decision that had just been made not long ago regarding the "teams" that would be fighting their two enemies. Kaden assumed that that was all Sonic wanted to talk about, but then Sonic kept talking. "And... obviously I've been reading your journal..." Kaden blinked once, and Sonic glanced at the aforementioned journal. It was the only book not in the box now. "...and I came across a few things that I wanted to ask you about."

Slowly, Kaden inclined his head and, after a long moment, verbally expressed his agreement. "Alright."

Sonic picked up the journal then and unexpectedly began flipping through his father's old journal. Once on a specific page, he got up and handed the book to his father. "This entry brought up one of my questions," he said, pointing to the thirty-second entry Kaden had written so long ago. Looking down at the page, Kaden quickly read the entry. It was the one he'd written ages ago about the eleven Realms of Existence. Blinking again, he looked back up at Sonic, a silent question in his eyes. "I was just thinking," Sonic began, "You wrote about the Realms of Death, but that was _ages_ before the Master Emerald was what it is now."

For the second time in the last six or seven minutes, Kaden slowly inclined his head. "Yes," he agreed. Already, he could see where Sonic was going with this.

"Considering what the Master Emerald does, transporting souls of those close to us into it," Sonic continued, "does that make it a fourth Realm of Death? A twelfth Realm of Existence?"

This question required serious pondering for several minutes, but Kaden ultimately came to the obvious conclusion. "Yes," he said again. "It does."

Sonic's aura filled with wonder, but whatever amount of it was expressed in his eyes and face and posture was absolutely lost on Kaden. There was no time to think about it, anyway, since Sonic was again taking the journal and looking through it. He pointed to one particular paragraph in the same entry he had directed Kaden's attention to before. "Here," he said, showing his father the entry. Kaden reread the entry briefly.

_The sixth realm is the Celestial Realm, the birthplace of Celestial Magic (a magic destined to one day be wielded by the Guardian, whenever he or she may awaken). This realm is also the realm that birthed the first four Immortals, and continues to share the gift of Immortality with each succeeding Immortal as the years go by. This is also the realm where the so-called "Gods" of the universe were first born (though they are not "gods" in the sense that people want to believe) were created._

The younger hedgehog looked up at him. "Aren't 'Gods' fake?"

Suddenly, Kaden felt a random pang of irritation, though he strove to keep it buried. "Gods do not exist," he said simply.

Again, Sonic's aura revealed his mood. He was now puzzled. "So... you don't believe in them?" he ventured to ask.

Kaden huffed. "It is not that simple," he responded. "This matter has nothing to do with believing or not believing. The simple fact of the matter is that 'Gods' of the sort that people think of do not exist. They never have, and they never will. There have never been heavenly beings with the power to create the universe and all of life on a whim. It isn't possible." Sonic was now frowning. "True Gods are the beings of the universe with powers and minds like no other. They are the most powerful and intelligent beings in existence. They are not immortal, all-knowing, unbeatable beings imbued with divine gifts, but they are beings like no other. _They_ are real gods, not the creatures people have made up for their stories and religions."

"But how do you know that?" Sonic asked him, still frowning. His aura was positively flooded with confusion.

Almost idly, Kaden gestured to the page. "You read this," he told his son. "You know." When Sonic's confusion didn't at all lesson, Kaden elaborated. "I saw all the realms and the things within them."

"Which means you also personally witnessed the gods," Sonic breathed, aura now once again brimming with awe and wonder. Kaden merely nodded. Then, without waiting for Sonic to ask another question, he passed the journal back and stood. "Where are you going?"

"I just slept for hours on end," Kaden replied in amusement. "I need food."

Sonic chuckled. "I should have guessed." Kaden turned to leave, but Sonic stopped him. "Wait, do you want me to take this back to your room or something?"

Glancing back, Kaden shook his head. "No. You can keep it for now if you want."

After blinking once, then twice, Sonic smiled a little again, set the book on the bed, and hurried after his father's retreating form. "Hey, you gonna make me anything?" he asked as they stepped out into the hall.

"That depends," Kaden replied lightly. "What do I get out of it?"

"The satisfaction of knowing that you didn't let your poor eldest child starve to death?" Sonic offered.

Kaden uncharacteristically rolled his eyes, feeling amused. "I do not think that you would starve to death just because I did not make you dinner."

"So?" Sonic challenged with a grin.

Now smirking due to his amusement, Kaden reached a hand up and ruffled his son's hair. As Sonic fixed his ruined hair, Kaden walked into the kitchen.

**~ソニック~**

_The pure white Celestial Wolf, the kind of wolf that was not anthropomorphic but instead an animal, walked down the side of the steep northern mountain where he and his large pack lived. Fog swirled around his paws as he traveled. This wolf, who was essentially the king of his clan, had not left the region of the mountain's peak in several centuries, walked until he was where he'd heard all the commotion beginning nearly ten minutes ago. His arrival drew the attention of all. Whispers echoed throughout the forested clearing, but he paid them little mind. What he did pay attention to, however, was the grey hawk standing in the center of the aforementioned clearing. This man had first stumbled upon this clan of wolves as a child, and this wolf had made him a member of the pack on that day. The man was always welcome here, but his arrival was unexpected. "T'alo," the wolf greeted._

_"Shan-yin," T'alo murmured in reply with a respectful inclination of his head._

_Shan-yin sat on his haunches and looked over his old friend. Members of the Babylonian race had, for innumerable eons, been closely tied to this species of wolf. This pack was the only kind in existence anywhere in the universe. One of the most unique powers they possessed was permanently bonding themselves mentally and emotionally to one individual outside their own race through the use of their special Arcane Magic. T'alo and Shan-yin had no such bond together, nor with others, but T'alo's family was no stranger to this pack. The man's great-grandmother had been bonded to a member of this tribe once. But that had been ages ago. This was now. "Was there something you needed?" he inquired._

_Surprisingly, T'alo shook his head. "No," the notoriously calm and quiet man responded. "I came because there was someone I wanted you to meet."_

_Now, Shan-yin turned his attention to the small bundle of white cloth that his friend was carrying. Within that bundle, the wolf could smell new life. A baby. T'alo's baby. "You have a son..." he murmured. Looking up, he saw that blue eyes so much like his own were looking at him. Standing, the wolf walked over and the hawk sat down in the dew-covered grass. The cloth of the bundles was moved just enough to reveal a infant's face. Grey feathers were easily noticeable. This was a purebred child, a grey hawk through and through. He looked so peaceful, so pure, so utterly innocent. The moment Shan-yin thought this, the baby did something babies of his age simply never did on this world: he opened his eyes, and he saw. His perfectly, heavenly blue eyes, so vastly different from any other eyes Shan-yin had ever seen, focused on the wolf and looked at him with the kind of understanding that even the wisest of scholars simply did not posses. In the child's eyes, the wolf swore he could see the heavens. 'This child is special.' There was never any denying that. "His name?" he inquired._

_"Kath."_

_"'Wise one'. Fitting." Shan-yin could feel T'alo watching him, and he glanced at the hawk before returning his attention to Kath. "Your son has my blessing," he said very quietly. "He will do wonderful things in his life, things that will ensure the continued survival of the universe as a whole. His grandson, too, will one day receive my blessing, though I will not be alive then to give it." Shan-yin looked up at his old friend once again. Blue met blue as two pairs of eyes gazed into each other. "Without your family, the universe will be destroyed, T'alo. Never forget that." With his prophecy given, the king of the wolves stood and turned to leave._

**~ソニック~**

**1,796 words this time. I know it may not seem like it now, but this chapter is hugely important both to this arc of Hero and to future stories in this series. Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed! :) Posted (at about 9:40 p.m.) 08-04-16.**


	259. Descent Into the Void

**Hello, StarryMoon33! YES. KATH AND THE WOLVES HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN SO DEEPLY INVOLVED WITH. DON'T WORRY, AZEREL WAS AROUND. HE JUST WASN'T DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THAT SCENE. Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed! And I'm excited, too!**

**~ソニック~**

Dark Oak sat in his chair onboard the mothership, amidst many of his most loyal servants. Among them was his second-in-command, Black Narcissus. Narcissus finally had good news to give. By using his High Arcane magic, which was appropriately known as Shattering Arcane, Narcissus was beginning to take control of one of the weapons their forces so desperately needed. A weapon that, in its purest form, could never be truly defeated. "The ways in which this magic takes control," he was explaining to his ruler, "are through five potent negativities: Temptations, Loneliness, Grief, Anger, and finally Hatred. If the subject gives in to at least four of those five, then control will be gained."

Slowly, the leader of the Metarex inclined his head. "Good," he responded. "And have you been met with success thus far?"

Narcissus nodded. "Yes. He resisted the first of the negativities, but Loneliness was not something he managed to conquer, and the rest will be much more difficult for him fight."

"And you strike every time he sleeps?"

"Yes."

Satisfied with the answers he was receiving, Dark Oak again inclined his head. With the calmness of one who believed they were destined to succeed, he again simply said, "Good."

**~ソニック~**

_He awoke in the midst of a battle. A monster roared and sent a beam at him, which he barely managed to dodge. It hit the ground so hard that it made said ground shake violently and explode. When heard the second roar and immediately froze. Suddenly, he realized that he recognized that roar. It was Dark Gaia's._

_Looking down, he realized that he was holding his infant son, who was only two weeks old, in his arms along with one brightly shining emerald. Looking back up quickly, he saw that Dark Gaia was still very far away. That attack had made it here by chance. For the most part, this area was safe, but it wasn't safe where the creature was, where Locke and Analia were. He knew he had to go help._

_Biting his lower lip hard enough to taste blood, he teleported straight to Angel Island and gently laid Sonic down in the grass in a safe location. Sonic began to cry even louder than he had been already, as if knowing he was about to be left alone. His own eyes teared up as he gently shushed his son and laid the green emerald in the grass next to him. He doubted he would ever see the baby again... but held onto every hope that Analia would be able to come back from the fight alive. Giving Sonic a small kiss on the forehead, he stood up, turned with a heavy and breaking heart, and ran away._

_Then time seemed to fast-forward. After attack was traded and countless areas were destroyed in a matter of seconds. Then time returned to normal. Locke was sent flying by another huge explosion. The emerald-eyes hero turned to help him, only to freeze when Analia was directly hit by a massive explosion. She hit her knees, and he could only sit and stare in shock as she slowly gave him one last unexplainably beautiful and perfect smile. The last words she ever spoke were lost to him until more than three minutes after she collapsed and never got up. "I love you…" Tears filled his eyes. He wanted so badly to cry, though he knew he couldn't. He fought back the tears as he forced himself to stand. Though on the outside he appeared to be strong..._

_Grief pierced his heart._

Kaden's eyes opened. Turning over quickly, he saw that Analia was still in the bed beside him, safe and sound. She slept peacefully, her dreams untroubled and a very small smile on her face. Sighing heavily with relief, he slowly laid back down. Trying to ignore the lingering dark fog in his mind, he gradually closed his eyes again and tried to go back to sleep.

**~ソニック~**

The Immortal suddenly awoke from his sleep when he sensed a calling. Sitting up in bed, he grabbed his communicator and checked the date. Sure enough… it was time. Every decade, the Immortals met to discuss the happenings of the universe, the struggles, the triumphs, the knowledge… The list went on and on. Such things were important and needed to be discussed. He just hadn't realized that the next meeting would be so soon into the new decade. With a small sigh, he threw the blankets aside and stood. As much as he didn't want to, he needed to go to this meeting. If nothing else… maybe he could convince the other Immortals to help them fight this war.

**~ソニック~**

As Sonic lay in bed, too many thoughts racing through his mind for him to even _think_ about sleeping, he kept his senses open. He had located the next Chaos Emerald, the green one, just a couple of hours ago. They were headed toward it, and it was due to be another very long flight. Tails expected it to take at least a few days. Maybe longer. The young fox's advice for what they should do in the meantime? Just relax. _So helpful._ But, of course, he knew that Tails was right. Relaxing was all they _could_ do, and it was what they all _needed_ to do. So, with great reluctance, he slowly closed his eyes.

**~ソニック~**

While Cosmo slept, she dreamt of the life she had once had. She experienced memories in the form of dreams. She remembered planting her first seed in her mother's garden, learning from her sisters how to restore dying lives in the ground, being taught by her grandmother how to protect those who couldn't defend themselves, running around in the sun, sleeping in the cool grass, playing in the pond, eating the most delicious acorns in the universe… But then her dreams changed. She remembered screams, fires that wiped out everything, explosions that destroyed her home, the gleaming evil eyes and shining metal bodies that killed her sisters, her friends, her mother and, in a way, her father. As she slept, a single tear slid down her soft cheek.

**~ソニック~**

**1,056 words this time. Not my best chapter ever, but I consider it to be satisfactory. And don't worry, I haven't forgotten Ivo. He'll show up in another chapter soon. ;) Posted (at about 12:50 p.m.) 08-06-16.**


	260. Help from Beyond

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Yes, they are! And I am, too! I knooow. It was so sad. ;_; AHHH YOU USED THAT DEVIANTART POST IN THIS REVIEW XD I do, too... :(**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 254: I'M GLAD YOU ENJOYED! :D I AGREE. NARCISSUS IS A BAD DUDE. Yep! We get to learn about Saran a lot in this arc. :) Oh, I like that color, too! THEY ARE! THEY'RE SO COOL! Haha, yep! That's correct! Nice detective work, there! XD**

**Your review to Chapter 255: That's more-or-less the same term I would use, so I won't judge. No worries. XD Anyway, glad you enjoyed. :) Nope, Pathfinders have never been mentioned in Hero before. They are in other games and whatnot, though, except they do different things from in those than in hero. :P**

**Your review to Chapter 256: Yep, there are! Yes, "King's Magic". ;) Was that word that was kinda blotted out supposed to be "Lineage", by the way? If so, well... I won't tell ya whether or not you're right. ;)**

**Hello, ****Your review to Chapter 257: It does! XD Well, I'm glad you enjoyed those. Though they aren't mine, I had fun sharing them. :) Well, he might have, he might not have. You'll have to wait and see. ;) That was cool, what you wrote. I enjoyed it. :) GASP! SPARKY HATH RETURNED!**

**Your review to Chapter 258: YAAAS! MYSTERYYY! XDD I'm glad you think so. I enjoyed that banter. :) Yes, they're very "chill". Dude, saaame. I'll never watch one of those if I can help it. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 259: Yes, Kaden! Listen to Pyro-kun! Resist! Resiiist! I knooooooooooooooooooooow! Sooooooooo sad! DX I will do my very best, Pyro-kun! :D**

**~ソニック~**

Fear was such an unpleasant notion.

The ship rumbled and shook and trembled and buckled under the force of the attacks it was being hit with. Brightly colored lights flashed through the darkness of space as blasts and lasers and rockets and missiles and on and on were fired from ship after ship after ship. The heroes tried desperately to return fire, but the first attacks had crippled their offensive and defensive capabilities. All they could do now was run, but they weren't fast enough. Their ship was wounded. Half of it was on fire. Smoke billowed through the corridors. It was chaos.

But then, without any warning, a miracle occurred.

A triad of colors, purple, red, and yellow, suddenly engulfed the ship. The passengers onboard the Blue Typhoon could _feel_ the pull as they were dragged along through space at higher speeds than even their warp drive could take them. Where they were dropped off was an empty section of space scarcely two hours away from the emerald they had been chasing. The fires were wiped out. The damage to the vessel was repaired. The enemies that had been attacking them had been wiped out. Help had come when they had least expected it, when they had needed it the very most. But Sonic had no idea who had helped them or why. When he asked, his father turned to him calmly and gave a very simple answer, one that said everything necessary.

"The Immortals."

**~ソニック~**

**251 words this time. Sorry this was late, everyone. I was busy yesterday, plus I'm sick so it was a little hard to find the willpower to write. Hence the short chapter. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 2:20 p.m.) 08-08-16.**


	261. Our Legacy

**Hello, Luna MoonSinger27! YAAAS! Epicness! XDD Well, no. That doesn't happen here. XD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! They did. They really did. XD Thanks. I hope so, too. :( I will do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, StarryMoon33! *Dances to it***

**~ソニック~**

When it became apparent that the three of the four Immortals who had aided them simply were _not_ planning on showing themselves, Sonic and the others stopped looking for them. The whole group was located in the control room and, though they were no longer looking for the Immortals, Silver still had a question about them. Several, in fact. "Why did the bother helping us?" he asked no one in particular. "And how did they do... whatever the heck they did?"

"Only three of the Immortals were involved in that little rescue," Kaden replied as he gently took one of the twins from Analia. He ended up with Sen in his arms while he leaned back against the same wall that Analia was sitting against. "That means that, more than likely, the fourth Immortal called them for help." He glanced to one particular person in the room, and that person tensed visibly like a deer caught in the headlights. Doubtless the Immortal hadn't realized that someone on this ship knew his identity. Thankfully, though, no one else in the room noticed the silent exchange.

"Why would they have done that?" Silver frowned in confusion. When Kaden merely shrugged, not willing to say anything that would give away the Immortal's identity (as every Immortal was entitled to the right to keep their Immortality a secret), Silver again asked one of his original questions. "Okay, so can you at least explain how the other three moved out ship like that and repaired everything and defeated all the Metarex back there?"

"Every Immortal is a being special beyond words," Kaden explained quietly. "As such, they all have equally special abilities. Some are abilities they all share, such as the ability to sense each other at all times. Other abilities are ones that they all possess but do not _share_, such as their obvious ability to not die like the rest of us can. The rest of their special abilities are abilities that are unique to each individual. The three Immortals who aided us today likely used abilities in the first category, judging by the appearance of the light they used to accomplished their goals." Locke, who knew a good deal about Immortals from his many readings, nodded his agreement.

Silver slowly sat down in a chair beside a window about four feet from where Kaden was. Blaze was standing beside that chair, back facing the window. "Okay... So... what do we do now?"

Cream, who was sitting on the floor by Tails's feet, spoke next. She was hugging Cheese lightly in her arms. "We could play a game."

"That might be a good idea," Tails smiled. He was still in his chair at the main controls. "We still have a couple hours left to go until we reach whatever planet or asteroid or whatever the emerald is on, and playing a game will help the time go by faster."

"Plus, it will help us all relax, which we need," Amy added. She was standing beside Vanilla and Bokkun who were, of course, right beside Cream and Cheese. Charmy and the Chaotix were nearby. Charmy was sitting a couple feet away from Cream, Vector was standing beside him, and Espio was leaning backward against something off to Vector's left side. Not too far away stood Shadow, who was (like his father) leaning back against the wall. Sonic was standing about midway between Shadow and their parents and twin siblings. Jet was leaning against the wall near Sonic, and Wave was standing beside him. Omega was standing in the middle of the floor about three to five feet away, and Rouge was sitting with her back against him. Locke and Knuckles were both standing near the door close by. Cosmo was sitting in a chair close to them. Storm was standing by himself next to a window a few feet to her right. Marthal and Keiri were nearby, sitting on the floor together under a window. Harold and Marie were somewhat near them, both sitting in chairs against the wall. Everyone was here and, true to Amy's word, they all needed to relax. As such, no one argued.

"I vote for a verbal game, then," Marthal smiled. "Those are fun."

"So long as it's not Truth again," Knuckles sighed. "Sometimes it feels like that's _all_ we play."

"Oh, come on," Locke chuckled. "We don't play it _that_ often."

"Close enough," Knuckles grumbled.

"Okay, okay, so we won't play truth," Sonic agreed, also chuckling. "But that means we need a new idea."

"We could always play a Babylonian game, instead of trying to think of another stupid Mobian one," Storm unexpectedly cut in.

Rouge looked at him in surprise. "_You_ know a game?" she asked with exaggerated emphasis on the first one. Then she added sarcastically, "Shocking."

Storm rolled his eyes, clearly not amused. "Obviously I do," he muttered.

"There are a lot of them," Wave added helpfully. "Verbal games were very popular on Planet Babylon before it was destroyed. A lot of them were played for the sake of learning, but they're still fun."

"Sounds good to me," Tails said cheerily. "I'm always open to the idea of a learning game."

"But how can a learning game be fun?" Charmy asked. Bokkun didn't say anything, but he seemed to be sharing Charmy's thoughts on the matter.

Cream, however, didn't. "Just give it a try," she smiled. "You might like it."

"Cream is right, dears," Vanilla added with a gentle smile of her own. "At least give it a chance."

Charmy sighed heavily. "O-_kaaay_..." Vanilla giggled.

"Alright, so what Babylonian game are we going to play?" Harold asked Wave.

Wave glanced to Jet, who shrugged unhelpfully and said nothing (though he knew of a great many more games than she did, due to her general lack of interest in said games). After a moment, though, Wave thought of a game she sort of liked. "Well, there's one called "Lineage". Basically, every player in this game shares one detail about their ancestors, family history, or whatever else related to that topic. The catch, though, as that the fact you share has to be something you don't think anyone else knows. In that sense, this is a learning game."

"Sounds fun to me," Marthal grinned. "I'm in." Needless to say, no one was really able to try to go against the cat's happy attitude, so everyone ended up agreeing to play the game.

Since Wave had chosen the game, she was chosen to go first. "My family has been full of inventors for nearly as long as it's been around. Even before we were inventors, we were still creative people."

After that, anyone who wanted to go could go. Blaze, surprisingly enough, opted to go next. "My mother held the title of "Queen of the Flames" before she died. I gained a similar title, "Princess of the Flames". from her."

Silver went next. "From what I understand, I get my powers from my mom, who got them from _her_ mom, who got them from _her_ mom, and on and on. Unless I'm mistaken, I'm the first guy to get these psychokinetic powers in more than twenty generations."

After a long moment of no one speaking, Vector spoke up. "A _real_ long time ago, my family lived in aggressive tribes that very much enjoyed hunting and fighting. I'm not sure how they went from that to living peacefully in cities."

Marthal decided to go next. "My family had an ancestral dojo. Up until our clans were mostly wiped out during the war against the Babylonians in South Island, my family ran that dojo for three hours every single day."

Harold spoke next when no one else did. "A lot of my ancestors were popular chefs where they lived, though none of them gained any sort of worldwide notoriety."

"My grandmother built the house Cream and I currently live in," Vanilla said after Harold finished. "Her husband Eli helped, of course, but she was responsible for most of the work due to her higher physical strength and endurance."

"My momma comes from a long line of trackers," Charmy piped up. "Or, at least, so I've heard."

"My ancestors come from a planet called Kuroxx," Bokkun said, looking down. "Save for my parents and myself, none of my race has ever left that planet."

When Cheese spoke up, Cream translated for him. "Cheese says, 'My great-grandparents were great Chao Karate participants. They won all the tournaments at the time.'"

Next, Omega decided for whatever reason to remind everyone, **_"I have no family and therefore cannot participate in this game."_**

Rouge rolled her eyes, then said, "My great-grandfather, Tchen, was a notorious thief on the western side of South island. He was infamous. Even now, he's managed to maintain a great name for himself."

It was Locke who chose to speak next. "A _lot_ of my ancestors died in tribal wars. My tribe was peaceful, but we had enemies. My parents were two of those casualties, as was my most famous ancestor, Terra."

"From what I've learned, some of my earliest ancestors were skilled at crafting and painting pottery," Knuckles said when his father finished speaking.

Keiri went next. "One of my mother's ancestors was a powerful magic-user. A "basic" magic known as Cloud Magic has been passed down from her family line for eons, though it was badly diluted by the time I was born."

Surprisingly, Shadow was the next to speak. "My other "parent", the alien Gerald named "Black Doom", is a shape-shifter. It can take on the appearance of anything living, though it will retain it's usual coloration and skin no matter what it shape-shifts into. This is an ability every one of it's known ancestors possessed, meaning it's been being passed down for eons."

"One of my very distant ancestors was some sort of a priest," Tails said. "He had very strong religious ties and beliefs and _supposedly_ gained special abilities as a result. No one today knows what those abilities could have been, though."

Finally, the one who's suggested playing a Babylonian game in the first place spoke up. "My ancestors come from a tribe of Babylonian's known for being very war-like and violent," Storm admitted. "Even today, most of my people display the temperament and whatnot our ancestors were known and even feared for."

Cosmo was actually the one who went next. "My mother possessed a very special form of magic related to plants. It's a magic that has been passed down through my family for countless generations, though it only ever went to the females. Only some wake it up, however, and no one who uses it is allowed to tell anyone else what it does."

Vector nudged Espio who, after letting out a small sigh, participated in the game. "A special form of clairvoyance has been passed down through my mother's side of the family for over twenty thousand years. It wasn't always an ability we possessed, just something that appeared in my family at some point."

"An ancestor of mine from the olden days aspired to be the greatest actor in the world," Marie said, "but he was ridiculed for it for many years, as acting was seen, at the time, to be a woman's profession. Eventually, however, he achieved his dream and become the first male actor in existence. It is thanks to him that my family his been so well-off financially since then."

Amy went right after her mother. "Few people in my family were healers in the past, but they were all popular people who made good names for themselves in their time."

The person who opted to go next was Cream. "One of my ancient ancestors was very religious, like Tails's ancestor. She wasn't a priestess or anything, but she was still notable in the religious community. She created a thriving village built off of her strong beliefs. She still has followers to this day."

Sonic nudged Jet to get him to go next. They shared a silent argument, then Jet sighed heavily in annoyance and said, "Since the Babylonian throne always stays within the same family, my family has been the one leading our people since the very beginning of our race. My grandmother was one of the most famous of those rulers."

Smiling at his little victory, even as his best friend gave him a dry look, Sonic spoke up. "I read in a book as a kid that one of my ancestors was a famous painter. She created a huge mural for a hedgehog king, once."

After trading a brief look, as even they had never known that little fact, Kaden and Analia decided to speak while their babies slept in their arms. Kaden went first. "My first ancestor was born from the true Realm of Darkness," he said. By now, Sonic had told everyone what he'd learned about the realms (as it created the necessary context for him to explain about the Master Emerald's interior being its own realm). As such, no one asked what Kaden was talking about. "His name was Zenith, though those closest to him called him Zen. His name was given in direct reference to one specific definition of the word: "The time at which something is most powerful or successful". This is referring to the fact that he is the most powerful of my family line that will ever exist as far as our power of Darkness goes. Since each other member of our family has Darkness diluted by their "non-Dark" parents, none of them will ever have Darkness as potent and powerful as his."

Analia was the last to participate in the game. "My earliest ancestor was, like Zenith, created from a realm, the Realm of Light, and therefore had no parents. Her name is Eona, a name taken from the word "eon". Her name was given to her in reference to a specific definition, much like with Zenith's name. The definition her name points to is, "A power existing from eternity". This definition is referencing the fact that Light, like Darkness, has always existed and will always continue to do so. However, much like with Zenith and his Darkness, Eona's power has become diluted from being passed down for so many ages."

Silence. Then slowly, ever so slowly, Silver began to smile. "Wow."

**~ソニック~**

The meeting place of the Immortals was a place sacred beyond words. It had existed since the start of time, and was so powerful that it, unlike anything else in the universe, was capable of existing in two separate realms at the exact same time. The building, while made of simple stone, had survived through the ages most unharmed. Yes, time had caused it to crumble in some areas but, for the most part, the huge Greek-temple-styled building was still standing tall and proud as it had always done and likely always would do. On that building were no windows and only one open doorway. When exiting the building, one merely had to think of which realm they wanted to exit into (the Realm of the Living, where it floated freely in Deep Space, or the Celestial Realm, where it resting alone in a vast grassy field) and they would appear there. No person who wasn't an Immortal had ever set foot inside the building, though two had _seen_ the building. Kaden was one of those two. Save for him and the other mysterious person, however, only Immortals had ever laid eyes upon this ancient meeting place. For these reasons, and many others, it was a sacred place.

The fourth of the Immortals, who had managed to slip away from his friends minutes ago (he was aided by the fact that his aura was usual hidden, so they never knew when he left), entered the building alone. The other three Immortals were at the square stone table in the center of the building, sitting quietly and waiting. Being an Immortal meant that they had to stop aging at some point. Some did so very young, some did so very old, some did so in the middle. Only two of these three had ceased to age so far. The youngest of the current Immortals was six, and very wise for his age thanks to how long he'd lived. He'd been alive for nearly eight thousand years. The oldest of the Immortals was, in his years, the equivalent of being nearly ninety-two in human years. These two, like the fourth Immortal, had stopped aging. The third Immortal, however, had yet to stop aging. Currently, she was twenty-seven. It was she who was the first to speak when the fourth Immortal entered the room. She addressed him by his true name. "Sein, you're late," she accused dryly in a bored tone.

Being as used to her attitude as he was by now, Sein wasn't at all bothered by her. "I'm here now," he pointed out evenly as he took his seat. "That's what's important, don't you think, Teila?" He addressed her by her true name, too. Everyone here used their true names when speaking of and with one another. It was their custom.

Teila huffed. "Whatever."

"Calm yourself," Sheirin, the first and oldest Immortal of these four, admonished Teili calmly. "Now is not the time for arguments."

"We have a lot of other important things to discuss," the youngest Immortal, Kaelix, agreed. "That's why we're having a second meeting this decade." This was something they normally never did.

"The Metarex are a threat to the entire universe," Sein said seriously. "We're supposed to protect the universe. We can't sit idly by and let them continue with their plans."

"One of those plans is to find a way to permanently kill us," Teila scoffed. "The dream of doing the impossible."

"Not all of their dreams are so impossible," Sheirin pointed out. "Their plans for the eradication of all other sentient life is too possible for us to ignore."

"We need to find a way to stop them," Kaelix added, "especially if Sonic and his other friends aren't able to make a difference in this war."

"They _will_ make a difference," Sein said firmly. "They may even win the war, but we can't just leave everything on their shoulders."

"I agree," Kaelix responded. "So what should we do?"

It was Teila who spoke next as she leaned forward on her elbows on the smooth surface of the ancient table. "We'll figure something out," she said decisively. "We _have_ to."

**~ソニック~**

**3,167 words this time. A super important chap, of course. Once again, for the aid of all you fine people, here are some name pronunciations: T'alo: "Tah-loe"**

**Shan-yin: "Shahn-yihn"**

**Kath: Beyond the middle part, this should be self-explanatory. The only special thing you need to know is that the a is short like in the word "cat".**

**Kuroxx: "Koo-rocks"**

**Sein: "Saen"**

**Teila: "Tae-luh"**

**Sheirin: "Shae-rihn"**

**Kaelix: "Kae-licks"**

**Hope you enjoyed! Posted (at about 1:30 a.m.) 08-09-16.**


	262. Bonus Chapter 13: Fun Facts

****Hello, Skye the Hedgehog101! Glad to hear that you're so interested! And I agree that the game they played was good for relaxing them. :) And I'm so happy you are! :D****

****Hello, Mutt7! I just realized that I think I failed to reply to your last review! I'm so sorry! D: Anyway, don't worry about missing things. If you feel like you did, you can always ask me to explain. I'm more than happy to. :)****

****Hello, StarryMoon33! It certainly was! Hahaha, that one was great! XD YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS XDD ****

****-ソニック~****

**Handwriting (ALL ARE FONTS ON MICROSOFT WORD):**

_(Any listed as "N/A" do not write, and any with a * symbol simply don't write yet.)_

**Kaden: **Brush Script M7, size 13

**Analia: **Gabriola, size 14

**Sen: ***

**Sarai: ***

**Shadow: **Yu Gothic, size 10

**Sonic: **Comic Sans MS, size 10

**Elsa:** Vladmir Script, size 16

**Silver: **Segoe Print, size 10

**Blaze: **Segoe Script, size 9

**Harold: **Eras Light ITC, size 12

**Marie: **Informal Roman, size 12

**Amy: **Lucida Calligraphy, size 9

**Tails:** Kristen ITC, size 10

**Laralei: **Edwardian Script ITC, size 18

**Ross: **Mistral, size 14

**Jet: **Pristina, size 14

**Wave: **French Script IT, size 15

**Storm: **Harlow Solid Italic, size 12

**Merry: **Curlz MT, size 12

**Vanilla: **Monotype Corsiva, size 14

**Cream: **Harrington, size 12

**Cheese:** *

**Bokkun: **Tw Cen MT Condensed, size 12

**Vector: **Tempus Sans ITC, size 12

**Espio: **MV Boli, size 10

**Kanari: **High Tower Text, size 12

**Charmy: **Bradley Hand ITC, size 12

**Marthal: **Rage Italic, size 14

**Keiri: **Parchment, size 22

**Locke: **Freestyle Script, size 18

**Laura: **Vivaldi, size 14

**Knuckles: **Papyrus, size 11

**Rouge: **Kunstler Script, size 14

**Chip: **Juice ITC, size 12

**T'alo: **Unknown

**Kath: **Palace Script MT, size 22

**Shan-yin: **N/A

**Kathros: **Script MT Bold, size 12

**Gerald Robotnik: **Maiandra GD, size 12

**Ivo Robotnik: **Matura MT Script Capitals, size 12

**Maria Robotnik: **Lucida Handwriting, size 10

**Omega: **N/A

**Dark Oak: **Unknown

**Black Narcissus:** Unknown

**~ソニック~**

**Ages of Living Hero Characters:**

**Kaden: **23

**Analia: **22

**Sen: **6 months

**Sarai: **6 months

**Shadow: **17

**Sonic: **17

**Silver: **15

**Blaze: **16

**Harold: **38

**Marie: **38

**Amy: **16

**Tails:** 14

**Ross: **41

**Jet: **17

**Wave: **17

**Storm: **18

**Merry: **82

**Vanilla: **34

**Cream: **7

**Cheese:** Unknown (would be about four if a normal child)

**Bokkun: **Unknown (seemingly about seven)

**Vector: **20

**Espio: **21

**Kanari: **21

**Charmy: **8

**Marthal: **Unknown (somewhere in late twenties or early thirties)

**Keiri: **Unknown (somewhere in late twenties or early thirties)

**Locke:** Unknown (somewhere in thirties)

**Knuckles: **19

**Rouge: **19

**Chip: **Unknown

**Kath: **Unknown (Somewhere over 190 in his years. Purebred Babylonian hawks can live until 207 in their years.)

**Ivo Robotnik: **Unknown (somewhere in thirties)

**Omega: **N/A (does not age, but was created about eight years ago)

**~ソニック~**

**Ages of Dead Hero Characters:**

**Elsa:** 16

**Laralei: **Unknown (somewhere between mid-twenties and mid-thirties)

**Laura: **24

**Kathros: **Unknown (somewhere in forties)

**Gerald Robotnik: **Unknown (somewhere in thirties or forties)

**Maria Robotnik: **14

**~ソニック~**

**Kaden's Seizure Symptoms:**

**Before a Seizure (Warning Signs):**

-Typically none whatsoever

-On rare occasions, experiences blurred vision, "strange" and unexplained feelings, dizziness and/or lightheadedness, headaches, nausea, numbness and/or tingling in parts of the body (does not experience all of these all the time; might have some symptoms but not others, but typically has none at all)

**During a Seizure:**

-Blacks out and falls (almost always experiences this)

-Feels "spacey" and confused (only with the seizures he doesn't black out during)

-Experiences periods of forgetfulness/memory lapses

-Feels distracted or "daydreamy" (only with the seizures he doesn't black out during)

-Sounds seem strange or unfamiliar to him (only with the seizures he doesn't black out during)

-Temporary loss of or blurred vision (only with the seizures he doesn't black out during)

-Visual hallucinations (seeing things or people that aren't really there) (only with the seizures he doesn't black out during)

-Numbness, tingling, or feelings of internal electric shocks in body, legs, or arms (only with the seizures he doesn't black out during)

-Out-of-body sensations (only with the seizures he doesn't black out during)

-Experiences intense feelings of impending doom, that something is happening that should be feared or is panic-inducing, and so on (only with the seizures he doesn't black out during)

-Difficulty speaking (only with the seizures he doesn't black out during)

-Repeating blinking of eyes, eyes moving randomly or staring (only with the seizures he doesn't black out during)

-Tremors, twitching, or jerking movements (convulsions) (always experiences this)

-Grows pale or flushes (sometimes experiences this)

-Pupils dilate (sometimes experiences this)

-Bites tongue or inner cheek (due to teeth clenching when muscles tighten during convulsions) (often experiences this)

-Difficulty breathing (even when turned on side to aid in breathing, can sometimes choke and not got enough air until after the seizure) (often experiences this)

-Heart racing (always experiences this)

**After a Seizure:**

_(Some people recover right away, some take hours. He generally takes at least a couple of hours to recover fully. He typically always experiences all of these symptoms.)_

-Slow to respond to anything

-Feeling sleepy and/or confused

-Difficulty talking or writing

-Difficulty understanding others

-Minor memory loss

-Feeling fuzzy, lightheaded, or dizzy

-May have minor injuries such as cuts or bruises

-May sleep for minutes or hours following the seizure (usually the latter)

-Headache or other aches

-Nausea

-Feeling generally weak either in one part of the body or all over

**~ソニック~**

**Jet's Symptoms As a Result of his Child Abuse/Neglect:**

_(In the categories where I put "Symptoms and Signs", I am listing symptoms he displayed at the time of the abuse/neglect or after, as well as the signs he showed (at the time of the abuse/neglect) that they were occurring.)_

**Signs and Symptoms of the Physical Abuse:**

-Unusual interaction with his father. He was afraid of and constantly trying not to upset Ross in any way. He often felt that, when Ross wasn't angry, the man held no interest in him (though he learned to prefer that over anger).

-He developed low self-esteem/self-confidence and, later, anxiety and depression. He had thoughts of suicide on more than one occasion.

-He was often seen behaving in a way that wasn't appropriate or that caused problems. He acted afraid and angry all the time, wasn't interested in normal childhood activities (such as play), ran away numerous times, stole things from others frequently, and acted out violently toward others by getting into street fights constantly.

-He was often covered in injuries, even on areas of the body that are generally protected (such as under the arms). Sometimes, these injuries had patterns such as straight lines or perfect circles, indicating injuries caused by objects. His father never took him to the hospital, meaning he never received medical care for his injuries (save for the few times Sonic took him). He refused care from people who approached him with offers to provide help and lied to doctors about how he received his injuries.

-He tended to "blank out"/"disassociate"/become vacant. When being yelled at or beaten, his mind would drift away from the situation to that he was no longer aware of what was happening around him.

**Signs and Symptoms of the Emotional Abuse:**

-He tended to "blank out"/"disassociate"/become vacant. When being yelled at or beaten, his mind would drift away from the situation to that he was no longer aware of what was happening around him. Even when he wasn't "blanking out", he didn't often show any signs of caring about what was going on around him, nor did he show normal reactions to other peoples' pains or to changes in his life (he showed no signs of caring about these things).

-More often than not, he actively avoided his father and acted much more angry and afraid than would be considered normal.

-He harmed himself deliberately and engaged in other harmful and dangerous activities such as fighting and thrill-seeking.

-Often after a beating, he was locked away in small, dark spaces (usually closets or the attic).

-Out of fear, he lost a lot of sleep and was always very tired.

**Symptoms of the Mental Abuse:**

-Due to the consequences (such as beatings and confinement) he had learned to expect, he never sought help to get out of the abusive household he was living in.

-He learned to blame himself for everything that was happening to him. He was taught that all the abuse and neglect in his life was somehow his fault.

**Signs and Symptoms of the Neglect:**

-He was very underweight (so much so that his ribs could be seen) and could often be seen rooting through dumpsters or stealing from stores or people to get food. Even when he did have food, he was so used to not eating that is appetite was ruined and he would never eat an adequate amount (something he does to this day).

**Symptoms of the Abuse/Neglect in General:**

-Being an abuse victim in the past puts him at a much higher risk of being abused in the future.

-Struggles with self-hatred and has self-harmed before (last did so at age fourteen, before he met Sonic).

-Has many lingering anxieties and fears, as well as depression and anger. He grew up with a poor self-image and retains that to this day.

-Constantly questions his own self-worth.

-Still struggles with blaming himself for his abuse to this day.

-Can sometimes struggle to maintain control of his anger. He still has a tendency to lash out (often violently) at others, usually enemies, and can be very hostile.

-To this day, he still feels emotionally abandoned by his father (who once used to show him a great deal of love and care) and, as a result, has fears to this day of other people abandoning him (this affects his relationships with others nearly all the time).

-He is often emotionally detached, due to the fact that he fears growing attached to people as much as he was once attached to his father. This leads to great difficulties for him in making and maintaining relationships of any kind with anyone, and feeling isolated and alone.

-He is still very often impulsive, acts recklessly and dangerously (such as by thrill-seeking and rushing into fights) and without thinking of the consequences or risks.

**~ソニック~**

**Vehicles:**

_(Some characters not listed here have vehicles as well. They just aren't listed because either, a.) They'll be revealed in EotS or, b.) I just don't know what vehicle they have.)_

**Jet:**

-Type-J Extreme Gear (A lightweight green and white flying board. Runs on air.)

**Kaden:**

-Motorcycle (A pure black motorcycle that he tinkered with. It can now travel nearly as fast as he can run.)

**Tails:**

-The Tornado-1 (A small orange bi-plane with only a pilot's seat. Can hold one passenger, who can stand on the back of the plane and hold a handlebar.)

-The Blue Typhoon (A huge blue spaceship. Complete with bedrooms, a swimming pool, roof access, and full defensive and offensive capabilities. It also has a fully-functioning warp drive.)

**Sonic:**

-The X-Tornado (A four-seater marvel of Mobian technology. The fastest ship Mobius has ever seen, and one of the most powerful. It has a decent warp drive.)

-Type-S Extreme Gear (His original Extreme Gear. Lightweight blue and white flying board. Runs on air.)

-Type-T Extreme Gear (His new board. Much faster and more durable than the original. Also bears a few changes in physical appearance. Lightweight blue and white flying board.)

**Shadow:**

-Unnamed ship (This poor four-seater, sleek black Mobian ship has no name. Such a shame. Very powerful and fast, however. It has a small warp drive, one so small that the ship can't go far using it.)

**Espio:**

-Unnamed ship (This four-seater ship is no different from other Mobian ships, save for the fact that it is capable of flying fast enough to keep up with the X-Tornado. It's offensive and defensive capabilities are far from being adequate, however. Though this ship, in all technicality, belongs to the Chaotix Detective Agency as a whole, Espio is the group's only pilot (and a self-taught one at that). As such, the ship is considered to be his.)

**Wave:**

-Type-W Extreme Gear (A lightweight pink and magenta flying board. Runs on air.)

**Storm:**

-Type-K Extreme Gear (A lightweight grey and yellow flying board. Runs on air.)

**~ソニック~**

**Weapons:**

_(__Special weapons characters possess in Hero. S__ome characters not listed here have weapons as well. They just aren't listed because either, a.) They'll be revealed in EotS or, b.) I just don't know what weapon they have.__)_

**Jet:**

-Babylonian Rogue's traditional dagger (A piece of nearly lost heritage from Planet Babylon.)

-Retractable steel staff (Virtually unbreakable and can have any power channeled through it.)

-Simple katana (An ordinary katana with a blue handle. Has only ever used once.)

**Kaden:**

-Saika (An incomplete sword. When properly finished, it will be indestructible and capable of channeling any power through it. Currently, it is only nearly indestructible and channeling certain potent energies such as Darkness through it will snap the blade. His most commonly used weapon.)

-Kunai knife (An ancient kunai knife with a red tassel dangling from the handle. A weapon he took from a battlefield that was the scene of the end of a war. The tassel symbolizes all the lives lost in that bloody fight. He never uses it in battle.)

-Ordinary katana (A true warrior's weapon from ancient times. Though this sword possesses much history, there is nothing otherwise special about it. _Very_ rarely is it used in battle.)

-Pulsar V-33 (A simple pulse rifle he tinkered with. It's now enhanced to the point where he can channel his Darkness into the bullets to make them more lethal.)

**Tails:**

-Radiation Gun (Channels the potent microwave radiation in Tails's body and fires it as short laserbeams. Very powerful, but highly dangerous. Anyone who touches it, save for Tails himself, risks being contaminated and getting radiation poisoning. For this reason, he seldom uses the weapon. His own creation.)

-Dual katanas (They seem ordinary, but are powerful enough to channel pure electricity or even lightning through them. Are also difficult to break.)

**Sonic:**

-Caliburn (The perfect sword. Capable of channeling any power through it and completely indestructible. Also very large and heavy. Can store it's owner's memories.)

**Shadow:**

-Tahk T-33 Machine Gun (Capable of channeling small amounts of Darkness or Darkfire into the gun to make the bullets more lethal and powerful. Shadow's own creation.)

**Espio:**

-Shuriken ("Ninja stars". Small but lethal spinning blades that are thrown at one's enemies. A traditional ninja weapon. Various powers, such as fire, can be channeled through them.)

-Kunai knives (Traditional ninja throwing knives. Various powers, such as fire, can be channeled through them. These, along with shuriken, are his most commonly used weapons.)

-Ordinary katana (Beyond the fact that there is a good amount of history tied to this blade, there is nothing special about it. Seldom used.)

****~ソニック~****

****Aura Colors:****

_(Every living being has an aura, and each aura has a color. Every color is either common, uncommon, rare, legendary, or Arcane. _

_The legendary colors are the most rare of the "normal" colors, and there is only one of each with the exception of a few. The first is purple, of which there are three for an unknown reason. The next are colors linked to transformations (i.e. Black with a Dark Form)._

_The Arcane colors are the colors people only possess in their auras due to magic. There is no other way to gain an Arcane-colored aura.)_

**Saran: **Pure White (Arcane)

**Kaden: **Bright Blue (Rare) (Sometimes incorrectly described as being "heavenly blue".) (Turns Black when in Dark Form.)

**Analia:** Pure White (Arcane)

**Sonic:** Emerald Green (Legendary) (Turns golden (Legendary) when in Super Form, rainbow-colored (Legendary) when in Hyper Form, white (Arcane) when in Pure Hyper Form, or black (Legendary) when in Dark Form.)

**Shadow:** Red (Rare)

**Silver:** Cyan (Rare)

**Blaze:** Orange (Uncommon) (Gains black streaks when using Shadow powers.)

**Harold: **Green (Common)

**Marie:** Pink (Common)

**Amy:** Pink (Common)

**Vanilla: **Yellow-orange (Uncommon)

**Cream:** Bright Pink (Common)

**Cheese:** Blue-green (Uncommon) (Sometimes incorrectly described as being just blue or green.)

**Bokkun:** Yellow (Uncommon)

**Charmy:** Creamy Yellow (Rare)

**Espio:** Purple (Legendary)

**Kanari:** Dark Magenta (Rare)

**Vector:** Green (Common)

**Tails:** Blue-green (Uncommon) (Sometimes incorrectly described as being just blue or green.)

**Jet:** Heavenly Blue (Legendary)

**Wave:** Magenta (Uncommon) (Sometimes incorrectly described as being pink.)

**Storm:** Grey-ish Blue (Rare)

**Locke:** Dark-ish Orange (Rare)

**Knuckles:** Red (Rare)

**Rouge:** Grey (Rare)

**Omega: **N/A

**Marthal:** Orange (Uncommon)

**Keiri:** Platinum (Legendary)

**Cosmo:** Green (Common)

**Sakura:** Lavender (Arcane)

**T'alo:** Silver (Legendary)

**Kath:** Bright Yellow (Uncommon)

**Shan-yin:** Silvery-white (Arcane)

**Chip:** Bright Green (Common)

**Gerald:** Brownish-yellow (Uncommon)

**Maria:** Sky Blue (Uncommon)

**Ivo:** Red (Rare)

**Dark Oak:** Black (Legendary)

**Black Narcissus:** Dark Purple (Legendary)

****~ソニック~****

**Miscellaneous:**

**Immortals:**

-The identities of the Immortals differs occasionally from timeline to timeline. For example, pretending that Sonic was our mysterious Mobian Immortal (though he isn't), he would also be an Immortal in _most_ other timelines. In some, however, he wouldn't be.

-The original four Immortals were Alatin (male), Sharisa (female), Klartirina (female), and Tarix (male). None were born on any planet, but instead in deep, deep space.

-No matter how far apart they are, all four Immortals are always aware of each other. They can sense if one of them dies (whether temporarily or permanently), can sense whenever and wherever a new Immortal is born, and so on. Every decade or so, they come together for a meeting. These meetings occur for one simple reason: the Immortals are the guardians of the universe.

-From the beginning of time to now, the Immortals have crafted twelve legendary blades. Four are in the hands of an individual we'll meet in the sequel, and one currently belongs to a Hero character.

**Kaden and Saran:**

-Kaden first met Saran as a baby (he was old enough to be learning how to walk by this point). Of course, he has no memory of this due to his young age, but he does know _of_ the meeting from Saran himself. When Saran first met Kaden (who had somehow toddled out of the place where the elders had left him), he fed the poor hungry child and even taught the intelligent baby how to share the bread with an equally hungry housecat that was wandering on the street. Two friendships were born on this day: Kaden's lifelong friendship with his sensei, and his friendship with a lonely little cat.

-In total, Kaden and Saran trained together for approximately 1,512.941 years. They didn't live together for all of this time, however, in part because of the many immensely dangerous travels Saran had to embark on during young Kaden's life. Had Kaden accompanied him on any of these, he likely would have died. The war Saran was fighting (alone) was simply _that_ dangerous, to the point where he would have been nearly incapable of adequately protecting his student (even with his unparalleled magical powers) all the time.

-Saran trained and educated Kaden in far more areas than just magic. They worked on alchemy, swordplay, archery, botany, geology, cartography, traditional music, history, zoology, crypto-zoology, proper etiquette (for use in all manner of situations), and more. Kaden learned still more from the elders (however unwillingly) such as reading, writing, hunting/tracking, the use of various weapons, the art of assassination, and more. Needless to say, Saran _greatly_ disapproved of some of the things Kaden was being taught (such as the latter that was listed). He strove to undo at least _some_ of the damage he saw being done to Kaden's young mind. For this reason, he introduced his pupil to art, a form of often unspoken expression he believed his student could excel in. His happiness was great when Kaden proved him right.

**Analia and Saran:**

-As explained before, Light is a power that will never exist in anyone outside of Analia's family line (the same is true with Darkness). As such, because Saran has the Light (something revealed not too long ago), he _must_ be related to Analia in some way. How he is related to her and whether or not she knows of him will be revealed later on.

**Memories:**

_(This list is where I will share one special/important memory that each character has but has never shared with anyone. Any character not listed her has no memory that I could think of to share.)_

**Saran: **His wife, Neferti, was a very "hard" woman. She was tough, serious, and always frowning. However, when she slept, she had the most peaceful face...

**Kaden: **Sometimes, when his incredibly vague memories of the day of his birth resurface in his mind, he sees soft blue eyes.

**Analia:** As a child, she didn't understand grief until her "Uncle" Chuck died. Seeing her father, Chuck's closest friend, grieving stuck with her forever-after.

**Sonic: **Sometimes, he vaguely remembers seeing Dark Gaia in the distance when he was a baby.

**Shadow: **When he first learned how to fire a gun properly, Gerald was proud of him for the first time ever. For a short while, this actually mattered to him.

**Silver: **The very first day he met Blaze, she actually smiled at him a little.

**Blaze: **She was twelve years old when she realized that Silver was her friend for life. He had just told her so himself.

**Amy: **Once, as a child, she made a birthday cake for her ill mother. The sight of her mother smiling so much when feeling so ill warmed her heart so much that, in that moment, she just knew she wanted to be a doctor.

**Vanilla: **When Cream was born, the baby was already smiling. The sight warmed the young mother's heart.

**Cream: **When she first met Amy, she offered the older girl a crown of flowers. A friendship and sisterhood was born almost instantly in that day.

**Cheese: **When he hatched from his egg, the other Chao surrounding the egg were dancing and singing and celebrating. He felt so welcome...

**Bokkun:** Sometimes, he remembers the voice of his mother.

**Charmy: **The day he met Espio and Vector, he just knew he'd made friends for life. They took care of him on that day, something no one had ever done in his living memory.

**Espio: **The day he left home and embarked on his journey to see the world, his father genuinely smiled at him.

**Tails: **To this day, he has some memory of his parents leaving him at the orphanage he later ran away from. On the night in question, it was raining.

**Jet: **Sometimes, while asleep, he vaguely recalls the face of a woman that may have been his mother.

**Wave: **The first thing she ever invented was a clock of some sort that told the time on a world she'd read about. She built the device all by herself at eight years old.

**Storm: **The first time he ever ate food that he hadn't gotten for himself in the woods, it was a bag of potato chips he'd stolen from a store. In that moment, he knew he was in love.

**Locke: **When he first saw Laura, she was standing under a light on a wooden dancefloor. She was smiling the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen.

**Knuckles: **Sometimes, when asleep or even just dozing, he remembers his mother's hazel eyes. Sometimes, he even vaguely recalls a smiling face.

**Rouge: **Her grandfather doted on her. Sometimes, even when the world seemed to be against her, he could make her feel brighter than the sun. They were very close.

**Marthal: **His parents carried him to a crowded city street in a clan he didn't live him, set him down, then walked away. They never returned.

**Keiri: **When she found Marthal nearly dead all those years ago, he actually looked up at her for a small moment and made eye-contact before losing consciousness completely. His eyes struck her as beautiful and soulful.

**Cosmo: **Once, her mother told her that she would "save everything one day".

**Kath: **The first thing he ever saw was his father's face.

**Chip: **When he left his homeworld to pursue Dark Gaia to Mobius, his parents and sisters were all so proud of him that they cried.

**Ivo: **Once, he saw for himself just how deeply his grandfather had descended into madness. He resolved then to forge his own path and never lose his own sanity.

**Dark Oak: **When his daughter was born, he was happier than he'd ever thought a living being could feel.

**Black Narcissus: **His first and only love died in front of him during the many wars that ravaged the world. On that day, his magic turned black.

****~ソニック~****

****4,164 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 12:30 a.m.) 08-10-16.****


	263. Dark Commander

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Super glad you enjoyed! :D And yeah, those really were sad...**

**~ソニック~**

Black Narcissus's magic was hard at work once again. A dark pillar of equally dark purple light and energy shot straight up from the mothership as he again infiltrated the mind of his target, penetrating deeper than ever before in his evil attempt to lay claim to that which had never been his. He wished to lay claim to the tortured soul within that mind. To control it would be to gain a nearly invincible weapon that would win them the war with no difficulty whatsoever. Their enemies would be left crippled and destroyed. They would be unable to fight the Darkness that had once been their ally. That Darkness would consume them just as it would consume the living vessel within which it had been born. Gaining control of this power was tantamount to instant victory. And, to make matters even better for Narcissus and all those he fought with, this clandestine plan had so far been at work right under the heroes' noses... and they still had no idea. Perhaps, if fortune prevailed, they would remain blissfully ignorant of the danger ahead until it was too late. Even if the heroes did manage to find out what their enemies were up to, it would do them little good.

The third wall had been breached.

Temptations, Loneliness, Grief, Anger, Hatred... These were the five potent negativities in Black Narcissus's dark magic, the Shattering Arcane. Four were needed to gain control of a person's mind, body, and soul. Temptations had failed, but Loneliness, Grief, and Anger... They had succeeded. The last one had been so easy to create in his subject's mind, too. There was so much potent anger already present within the ancient warrior. That anger was directed at so many people and things... The elders of Chun-nan, Kochei, Ynche, Kathros, Marthal's parents, Dark Gaia, Dark Gaia's creatures, Gerald, Ivo, Ross, Kathros's dungeon, Kochei's blades, almost everything about himself... There were so many things that it would take ages to list them all, but that was a good thing. The reason why was incredibly simple: anger often translated into hatred, the final wall that Narcissus needed to break down and through to leave his enemy vulnerable to control. He hadn't even begun to attempt to damage that wall, and yet, there was already fuel added to those flames. It pleased him. He was so sure, so certain of his victory that he felt no fear.

Magic, however, was often an unpredictable thing.

The pillar of magic that Narcissus had been using suddenly intensified of its own accord, the very top of that pillar ripping a hole through space and time. The shockwaves knocked the entirety of the mothership off-course, moving it with a loud but dull groan of numerous tons of sleek metal. The impact caused the tall Metarex to stumble uncharacteristically. By the time the ship stabilized, it had crashed into somewhere between three and six smaller ships and blown them up. The mothership, of course, barely took any damage from this, but it was still unacceptable for it to take _any_ damage when not in a fight. He would be punished for this, he knew. Doubtless Dark Oak was already angry with him. But, for the moment, Black Narcissus's main concern was, for once, not his master's ire. It was his own magic, the pillar _he_ had created. As he stared at it, the hole it had torn open grew in size at a continuous rate. The hole was black and rimmed with the dark purple energy of the beam. Within it, nothing could be seen. And yet, he knew that something was there. He could _feel_ it...

There was a flash of pure purple light, closely followed by yet more shockwaves. The mothership was again knocked off course, this time colliding with an asteroid before smashing into at _least_ twelve smaller ships. These collisions jarred the mothership harshly. One of its great windows actually cracked. Things scarcely had a chance to settle down before the next shockwave hit. This shockwave was powerful enough to spontaneously explode numerous small Metarex ships and various chunks of space rock alike. Debris was beginning to little the space around the mothership as said ship again shook violently. The next shockwave hit the ship in _just_ the right way, spinning it around in nearly a full circle. One of the ship's weakest engines blew from the sheer force of the hit. Narcissus clenched his fists. He would be lucky if this all didn't cost him his life. He hoped that his centuries-old friendship with the _old_ Dark Oak, the man who had once just been called Oak, would grant him some forgiveness in this situation. After all, they _had_ been very close back then... Besides, it wasn't as though he'd made very many mistakes in the past. Certainly none this severe in nature. Maybe he would live to see another day, after all.

The beam suddenly penetrated straight through the blackness of the hole it had created. Through the cracked window in his private quarters, the Metarex general watched as the beam struck something on the other side of the hole (which seemed to have become some sort of portal) and began dragging it through with great force. Within mere seconds, a ship large in size but meant to carry only one came into view and was roughly swung out into the open. Scarcely more than twelve new seconds had passed before the beam and hole together entirely collapsed. The ensuing shockwaves that were again sent out from that vicinity sent this new ship hurtling into the mothership. Narcissus couldn't help but wince as this ship crashed completely through a western wing of the mothership. The collision could be heard from here. Gritting his teeth together, he marched out of his quarters and began walking with great purpose toward the newcomer's wrecked vessel. Without him having to say anything, Metarex Strikers ("small-fry" Metarex good only for shooting things that needed to be destroyed) began to follow him, intent on both protecting and serving him in this potentially dire situation. Truly, he had no desire to die. He let them come.

The western wing where the ship had crashed was full of fire and smoke. The strikers held their guns at the ready as Narcissus approached, his dark cape flowing behind him as he walked. He stopped less than ten feet away from the nearly smoldering wreckage. Someone was in there. He knew it. "Show yourself."

Someone tutted at him from within the smoke and fires, apparently unaffected by those two elements. "Come, now. My ship just crashed, and rather violently. Considering that it was _your_ fault, I should think that you would be offering me help, rather than making demands of me."

Narcissus's dark eyes narrowed. _My__ fault? He knows nothing. _"I will not repeat myself. Come out, now."

"I'm afraid to say that you _did_ just repeat yourself, in a way," the male voice said smoothly, tone one of mock apology. "You merely reworded your earlier command." As this second sentence was spoken, a figure slowly began to emerge from the smoke. The silhouette revealed long and wind-swept hair, crossed arms, and a height typical of planets Mobius, Babylon, Therius, Syx, Asius. and Klemestine. Instantly suspicious, as _none_ of those worlds had ever been allies of the Metarex, Narcissus prepared to command his strikers to fire. That was when the figure fully emerged from the smoke. The man was a hedgehog with dark blue fur, silver armor that covered everything but his hands and head, a flowing red cape clasped to his shoulders with gold circles, and emerald eyes. The man was smirking. "You seem surprised, Metarex."

The fact that this fool knew what race Narcissus was was indeed surprising and he, of course, hadn't been expecting to see a hedgehog who bore such a likeness to the one he was currently targeting, but Narcissus refused to admit to such things. "Hardly."

"Hm, you're rather testy today, Narcissus." For this man to refer to him so casually was nearly enough to warrant instant death by gun, but what he said next caught Narcissus attention and prevented him from giving the order to the strikers to fire. "The Dark Sun rises in the North, general."

Narcissus's eyes slowly widened. "How... How do you..." he breathed in his shock.

The man continued to smirk. "I come from another timeline, Narcissus," he said rather simply. "In my timeline, I have gained the trust of your king. I am his ally. Only your allies can say that phrase and not be cursed, is that not correct?" Numb, Narcissus could only nod. The man continued to speak. "Considering the fact that I am now marooned here, I require a council with the High King himself." His head tilted mockingly. "Are you going to do the polite thing and walk with me, or am I taking myself there?"

Saying nothing for the moment, the tall general pivoted on his heel and simply began walking. The stranger and the strikers all followed. The strikers attempted to form a protective ring around the newcomer, someone who, in his own timeline, was such a high-ranking member of the Metarex army that only Dark Oak was above him, shot them a glare that was at odds with the smirks he had been delivering to all since his arrival here. That made the robots back off straight away. Not even a full five minutes later, the control room came into view. Dark Oak was there on his throne as usual, no doubt waiting for Narcissus to come in and explain himself, attempt to talk himself out of an execution. Instead of being told to explain himself, however, Narcissus was merely commanded to bring the newcomer forth. He obeyed straight away. But, before he could attempt to explain anything, the newcomer stepped forth and bowed. Dark Oak watched this coolly, then said, "Kalin. High Commander of the Metarex Army in the sixteen timeline and sole conqueror of over two hundred and sixty worlds... You are welcome here."

Kalin's smirk turned wicked and his emerald eyes flashed with an evil that truly belonged onboard this ship, within this army. "So you know of me? How flattering." He glanced around the room very briefly, then switched the subject. "Tell me, at what point in the war are you here?"

"I should like to hear of your timeline's progress first." This was the most casual Dark Oak ever sounded when speaking to anyone, and it helped Narcissus to relax. If Dark Oak could trust this man... than so could he.

"We have nearly won our war," Kalin reported confidently. "In my timeline, you destroyed one of the Chaos Emeralds in an early battle, thus crippling Sonic's abilities and preventing him from ever transforming. It was a decisive victory that has won us battle after battle since then. The Immortals and a few others remain problems for us, but such problems are minor at worst. Our ultimate victory is certain."

"And, when that victory is achieved, are you prepared to give your own life for the sake of Tranquility?" Dark Oak inquired smoothly.

This earned a ready nod. "Of course."

Apparently satisfied, Dark Oak inclined his head. "Good."

Without further delay, Dark Oak explained where they were in the war here, including the part about what Narcissus was doing. Kalin actually had the audacity to laugh at this. "Well, that certainly would explain why I was dragged here. You should learn not to play with magic, Narcissus. One of these days, you may very well wipe yourself from existence." Narcissus glared, but his look was clearly ignored. Kalin suddenly stopped laughing and became more serious as he asked, "Where are the 'heroes' now?" Dark Oak vaguely gestured to a radar system behind the hedgehog, and said hedgehog turned to look at it. On the radar, the poorly-named "Blue Typhoon" was shown, along with the precious emerald they were headed toward. The pathetic "_heroes_" would reach the jewel within the hour. Slowly, ever so slowly, his smirk returned. "Perfect," he murmured.

Narcissus was beginning to suspect that Kalin was planning something. "What's so perfect about it?" he questioned tightly. His suspicion of ulterior motives had made him tense, much more so than he ever normally was. He was normally much more laid back than this. But that didn't matter right now. All that mattered in this moment was figuring out what in the hell Kalin was planning.

The hedgehog's toothy grin was turned on the general. "I have been looking for someone..." he explained. "Someone who, in my timeline, has managed to elude us for years. Here, however, he is yet unaware that there is anyone he needs to be eluding... He's right there," Kalin pointed at the radar, "vulnerable and open to attack. Or something worse."

"And what, exactly, are you planning on doing?" Black Narcissus questioned with still-narrowed eyes.

Kalin grinned and turned fully to face the general and their king. "I'm going to pay my dear _brother_ a visit."

**~ソニック~**

**2,227 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed this _very_ special and important chapter! ;D Real quick: Kalin's name is pronounced "Kah-lihn". Posted (at about six a.m.) 08-11-16.**

**QUICK NOTICE! I'm starting my first job today! Hooray! My posting times my be kind wonky for a while because of this, though. Sorry, guys.**


	264. The Assault Begins

**Hello, StarryMoon33! MWAHAHAHA! NOT TELLING YOU ANYTHING UP HERE! XDD I"M GLAD YOU ARE!**

**Hello, thatguy4643! Well, you'll see! :D**

**~ソニック~**

Though the hour was very late, Sonic and his father had been up talking. Sonic hadn't been able to sleep just due to his usual restlessness and borderline-insomnia, and he suspected that Kaden had had some sort of nightmare earlier (as he was very prone to those). As a result, they had both ended up in a sitting room together, and in there they stayed while they talked about things. Sometimes meaningless things, sometimes not. Either way, the conversation had been enjoyable, but now it was over. The reason for this was very simple: they had both fallen asleep. The room was quiet, peaceful, and both hedgehog men remained fast asleep on their separate couches. But it wasn't meant to last.

A very minor vibration was coursing through the ship, and it had been persisting for nearly ten minutes by now. Though this barely disturbed Sonic, it was causing Kaden to stir. Shortly after he shifted and rolled over in his sleep, the vibrations began to grow into something much more easily noticeable. They grew so rapidly that they startled both hedgehogs into full wakefulness. Of course, being the lightest sleeper of the two of them, Kaden was awake first, though not by very long. A few seconds at most. Sonic, meanwhile, took the time to yawn, rub at his eyes sleepily, sit up, stretch, and yawn again before again rubbing at his eyes. Only _then_ did he finally bother to ask, "What's going on...?"

In that rather mysterious way of his, Kaden didn't even have to look out the window behind him to somehow magically have the answer his son sought. "We just entered the planet's atmosphere," he said calmly as he pulled his long hair back into its usual ponytail using his shiny golden ring.

"Planet?" Sonic mumbled drowsily through another yawn.

"The one with the emerald," Kaden replied simply in explanation.

That woke Sonic up. "Already?" he asked in surprise. When Kaden merely nodded and didn't bother to speak, Sonic took the opportunity to briefly glance out the window. "Wow, we must've been asleep a while." Suppressing yet another yawn, the younger of the two young hedgehogs stood up and led the way out of the room. Kaden wasn't far behind him.

After that, things happened very quickly. The others all woke up and everyone converged in the controll room. Jet and Shadow both looked like they hadn't slept a wink, but everyone else was well-rested and prepared for the potential dangers that lay ahead of them. Tails took the controls, and the ship was expertly steered further into the planet's atmosphere. A seemingly endless jungle slowly began to appear through the clouds, broken only by rivers and lakes and sections of deep ocean. A few massive canyons created scars in the surface i varying locations. Waterfalls cascaded beautifully down from the high mountains whose peaks touched the heavens. This world appeared to be uninhabited by native sentient life... but they were by no means alone. The Metarex were here. They had been waiting. And, to make matters even worse, Ivo made his grand entrance by appearing suddenly behind the Typhoon and firing upon it. The Metarex took that as their cue to also begin attacking.

A very quick division of labor was decided upon. Tails would remain onboard the Typhoon to pilot it while Jet, Wave, Amy, Analia, Shadow, and Omega protected it. The twins, Vanilla, Harold, Marie, Cream, Cheese, Bokkun, Charmy, and Cosmo would stay inside where they would be safest. Everyone else was going with Sonic. Marthal, Keiri, Locke, Rouge Knuckles, Vector, Espio, Storm, Kaden, Sonic, Silver, and Blaze set off together into the unknown, into the untold dangers that were sprawled out before them. The emerald was waiting.

As they ventured out into the dense wilderness, numerous attacks split the group apart and separated people from all the others. Marthal, Locke, Espio, and Storm all ended up alone in various areas. Keiri and Rouge ended up trapped together in a cave. Knuckles and Vector somehow found themselves outside that cave, fighting both to free the women and to protect them from further harm. With no other choice, Kadne, Sonic, Silver, and Blaze set off together to retrieve the emerald. But then a new series of assaults came, and Kaden was driven away from the group to fight while they continued on ahead. The older of the three hedgehogs sprinted through the wilderness, deliberately weaving a wild path through the underbrush in an attempt to both lose his pursuers and lead them away from his family. That was when a dark blue blur slammed into him from the left side and knocked him into a ship as thick as the X-Tornado was long. He hit the tree with so much force that it doubled over with a groan and hit the ground with a thundering _boom_! Echoing, dark echoing, filled the now otherwise silent jungle as he struggled to snap out of his sudden daze and pick himself fully up off the ground. His head hurt. That was when a voice he _knew_ he'd never heard before met his ears.

"Hello, brother."

**~ソニック~**

**876 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed this short but sweet chapter! Posted (at about six a.m.) 08-12-16.**


	265. Clash! Alkarus Returns to War!

**Hello, StarryMoon33! YES! YOU WERE! SO PROUD OF YOU DETECTIVE STARRY,**

**~ソニック~**

In the wake of Kalin's statement, there was silence. Absolute silence. Then Kaden stood up. "The hell are you talking about?" Kaden demanded, anger and confusion revealing itself subtly in his aura.

Kalin fully smirked. "Come, now. Use that big brain of yours. I'm sure you can figure it out, _brother_. You always do." Kaden frowned more than usual and his eyes narrowed slightly. Kalin remained smug. "See? I was right. You should learn to trust me more. The other you is, sadly, no better. Such a shame."

Kaden had no time for these games, and they both knew it. "What do you want?" he asked rather harshly.

"What do I want?" Kalin repeated, pretending to be surprised. "Why, I thought you knew, brother."

"Stop calling me that."

"I do what I want. You would do well to learn that quickly, and _remember_ it." Kaden's mood soured further, a fact which Kalin took pleasure in. "As for what I want," Kalin continued casually, "well... I came here to talk."

"Liar," Kaden growled. "If you had only wanted to _talk_-"

"Then I wouldn't have attacked you? Wrong." Again, Kalin took pleasure in his brother's obvious irritation. "It's more fun that way, you see. Besides, you would not be uninjured right now if I had _truly_ attacked you. That hit was merely a 'hello'."

"You're wasting my time." Kaden turned to leave.

"In my timeline, Mother and Father are alive." Seeing Kaden freeze, Kalin slowly smirked again. "I know everything you could wish to learn," he said. "How Mother smiles, how brave Father is, how much they _love _you..." Kaden's hands balled into tight fists, and Kalin knew he'd struck a nerve. _How dare I speak of the love you never experienced... isn't that right, brother? _he thought with dark amusement.

"Crawl back into your little hole in hell and leave me alone." After sharing that bitter statement, Kaden resumed walking.

"I know a great deal about you and your friends as well," Kalin revealed. "I know all of your weaknesses. For example... your weaknesses are you friends and family... Especially your family. And I know how _terrified_ you are of three certain people who shall not be named, as well as spiders and water and, lets not forget, being alone." Those clenched fists tightened. "I can _easily_ share such information with your enemies, Kaden... whenever I so desire."

Kaden turned tensely toward his brother. "I'll end you before you can," he threatened darkly.

Kalin's stance shifted into one meant for battle. "Try and stop me, then." When Kaden rushed forward to strike, Kalin drew his sword.

**~ソニック~**

As the assault continued and Ivo's robots continued to aid the Metarex in ruthlessly attacking the Blue Typhoon, Jet, Wave, Amy, Shadow, Analia, and Omega struggled to fight back the tides of enemies and keep the ship and its occupants safe. Tails was trying to steer them to safety, but piloting at even slow speeds with difficult when one's ship was being constantly blasted by lasers and missiles and bullets and so on. Which, of course, meant that the fight was being dragged on and on and on, against their best interest. It _sucked_ to say the least.

That was when Wave chose to break into Jet's thoughts. "You know those teams that Sonic chose?" she asked quickly over the noise of the fight as she ducked avoid being shot in the head by a laser and thus instantly killed. "Now would be a good time to implement them, don't you think?"

"No," Jet responded just as quickly as he kicked a robot away from his girlfriend, the only woman he had ever loved. "There's too few of us here. We can't risk splitting up right now. We'd be too vulnerable." No sooner than he'd finished speaking, an explosion rattled the ship and he observed a new ship entering the atmosphere. This one looked different from the others. Rather than being sleek and black like the Metarex ships or being garishly bright like Ivo's ships, this ship was dark purple. It was clearly a sophisticated and powerful vessel, and he had no doubts that it had come to aid his enemies. _Just great... _The ship suddenly and unexpectedly landed atop a Metarex ship, and the cruel robot-like aliens actually _let_ it. A single person emerged from the ship. jumped into the air and began flying rapidly toward the Typhoon. An unexplained feeling of dread hit Jet out of nowhere. _Oh... crap. _

He had little time to think anything else before an attack he hadn't seen or sensed at _all_ hit him and sent him flying. Before he could hit anything or anyone, though, the newest of his enemies teleported him away, far away, from the ship and his friends, those he was supposed to be protecting. He hit the ground hard on his back, a blow which knocked the wind out of him, but he quickly pushed himself up nonetheless. A new voice spoke before he could even open his eyes, let alone stand. "Such a petty concept... Friends defending friends... So many have pointlessly died for such a thing."

Jet's eyes snapped open, and he glared at the strange dark being before him. Whatever it was, it was around his height, had eyes composed of nothing but dark glowing purple energy, had skin and armor of varying shades of dark purple and black, and was wielding an especially wicked-looking enemy's aura was so violently dark and Jet was so sensitive to auras that it made the young warrior feel sick to his stomach. _Definitely not the sort of enemy I want to fuck around with... _ "What the hell are you going on about?" he demanded.

"Do you have something to... _protect_?" the enemy inquired silkily.

Something about the question and how it was asked, he couldn't explain _what_ or _why_, rubbed Jet the wrong way and grated on his every nerve. "Of course I do," he snapped without thinking. As far as he was concerned, only those with wicked hearts had no one and no thing that they considered to be worth saving. He would never stoop so low as to be one of those people. Never.

The enemy chuckled lowly with a smirk, revealing dark (possibly black) knife-like teeth. "How quaint," he responded. "How _coincidental _that you would say the very same thing as her, all these years later."

Confusion now began to blend with anger, and Jet once again found himself talking without thinking about the consequences first. "What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded again.

"Your mother," the man said silkily, "was _just_ like you. Or, rather, it is the other way around."

Anger overtook every other feeling he had. How _dare_ this bastard talk about his mother! How dare _anyone_ talk about her as though they knew her! No one knew her! Not even Jet himself... "Shut up!" he snapped harshly. "You don't know _anything_ about her!"

"Don't I?" the enemy challenged smoothly, still smirking. "I should think that I do... Especially since _I'm_ the one who killed her."

Jet almost felt like he'd been ruthlessly stabbed through the heart with the sharpest and wickedest knife in existence. In his shock, he stumbled backward several steps. His back came to rest against the trunk of a tree, which was the only thing keeping him standing at the moment. _H... He... _

The enemy (who sounded like a male but might not have even technically had a gender for all he knew), laughed darkly. "I'm sure you'll want to learn more about the woman you lost..." he murmured, earning another dark glare, "so let's make a bet, then. Defeat me, and you can take what you want. But lose... and I'll kill you and send your soul to hell with her."

Gritting his teeth tightly with some form of fury, Jet drew his staff and extended. He was _done_ playing around. This monster had killed his mother... and now he would pay for it. "Make no mistake," he said darkly. "I won't lose."

A grin replaced the smirk on the enemy's smirk. "We'll see." Then the two clashed. Purple and blue light up the sky.

**~ソニック~**

"Kath?"

Kath's heavenly blue eyes blinked once, and he looked up from what he was writing on the table in his observatory. The pure white wolf laying by his feet lifted his head. "Yes?" the old grey hawk inquired after a small moment of pause.

The young female hawk standing in the doorway had softly-colored blue feathers and eyes as blue as a summer sky. She was a warrior, an intellectual, and a person so caring that she would never let anyone die even if it meant sacrificing her own life. And yet, she was also so serious... Perhaps too serious. It showed in her face and tone as she replied to her long-time mentor and friend. "The Metarex are active on another world," she reported tensely. "They have a Therian there as well. He is aiding them."

The Therians had for so, _so_ many years been making existence utterly _horrible_ for Kath and his family, so hearing that one of them was causing more grief to yet more people caused Kath to tense. He stood immediately. "What world?" he demanded.

"Crystis, the world of endless trees," the woman responded. That was a world _very_ far away from where they currently were. Very, very far. Unless one had the remarkable ability to teleport through space or possessed a ship with incredible speed, it would take weeks or even months to get there. "There are Mobians there as well."

Now Kath's frown deepened. Why would Mobians have ventured to such a remote world so far from their own planet? There world was not yet entirely ready for such extensive space voyages. "Do you know why?"

"I don't know if it's true or not," the woman sighed, eyes closing and head lowering slightly, "but I heard a few minutes ago that the Mobian Planet Egg was stolen recently."

The wolf began to growl, and Kath gritted his teeth. "Quiet, Azerel," he muttered irritably, his rarely-seen temper giving his normally calm and beautiful eyes a dangerous spark. The wolf reluctantly silenced himself. Kath returned his attention to the other Babylonian standing before him. "Stay here and take care of things while I'm gone," he told her.

Of course, the woman immediately knew what he was planning. "You're going to aid in the war?"

"No," Kath corrected tersely as he grabbed his sheathed sword and strapped it to his waist. "I'm going to _end_ it." This war had gone on _long_ enough. It was no longer enough for him to try to deal with it from afar. Regardless of his responsibilities here, he simply couldn't sit idly by and let this continue any longer. No matter what anyone else said, he was getting directly involved, _now_. He wouldn't stand for this anymore. He just wouldn't. So, with this in mind and anger in his heart, he teleported away with a flash of yellow aura, taking the legendary sword Alkarus with him.

Unable to do anything else besides what she'd been told, the woman sighed softly and sat down on the floor. Azerel walked over to her and sat down by her side, so she lightly scratched behind one of his soft ears. "He'll be alright, Azerel..." she murmured. "He'll come back to us."

Azerel looked up at the transparent roof and out into the stars. _He had better... T'alo would never forgive me if I let his son join him in Heaven... and I wouldn't, either. _Shaking his pure white head softly, he laid back down on the floor and tried to hold onto his hope.

**~ソニック~**

**2,026 words this time. So sorry this is later, guys, but at least I got it up on the right day. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 1:56 p.m.) 08-13-16.**


	266. Last Chance

**Hello, thatguy4643! Nope... not fun at all...**

**~ソニック~**

Amidst all the chaos of violent struggle and just as violent battle, a blue blue shot across the landscape, closely followed by his two companions. Explosions tore apart the landscape in their wake, each trying to stop the heroes in their tracks but none succeeding. Lasers helped light up the dark wilderness. Bullets and missiles lent themselves to the struggle, to the noise that had reached painful levels to the ears of even those with only average hearing capabilities. Robots and Metarex alike attempted to end the lives of their enemies, but they were instead the ones who were defeated. The three young heroes waged a private war against the evils in the dark, fought all those who would seek to steal away that which had never belonged to them. The emerald called to only one, but many sought to answer the call. Too many with wicked hearts wished to claim that power as their own. Too many of them came to close to succeeding.

More and more explosions tore apart the landscape, creating a thick layer of smoke in the sky and decimating the once perfect wilderness of this formerly undisturbed world. The plants, the only life normally here, could do nothing to defend themselves from the fires, the shockwaves, the tremors, the carnage of war. They fell in the thousands, burning away to nothing, their once peaceful lives over. But one tree almost seemed to dare to stand against the attackers, its roots naturally curled in such a way that they looked to be determinedly protecting the emerald hidden within them. A robot emerged from the smoke, taller than the tree itself and so heavy that the hard-packed dirt sank uselessly beneath its feet. With a single massive missile, it blew the defender up and away, leaving an inferno in its wake. Stooping, it scooped up the now defenseless green emerald, taking up a chunk of ground with it. Dirt and grass and other small plants cascaded from the robot's fingertips like dry, dead waterfalls. When the heroes arrived and attempted to interfere, they were simply batted away like flies, blasted, then promptly ignored. A small device appeared from within the robot's palm, encased the emerald, and teleported it away, straight into Ivo's waiting hands. For the first time since the loss of their Planet Egg, the heroes had lost.

**~ソニック~**

Blow after blow was traded between two brothers separated by more than just dimensions. Their very hearts put them apart, created an unbridgeable gap between them. They both possessed Darkness within them, but only one had true evil in his heart. That alone was enough to put them at violent odds from one another. Swords drawn, they clashed and clashed and clashed and clashed. Neither was going easy on the other. Each was trying with everything he had to truly defeat the other. And yet, at the same time, they weren't. They were testing the waters, observing each other, analyzing, learning whatever they could and storing that knowledge away for later use. Neither was willing to give in and just _let_ the other do this, however, which only caused them to clash further. But then Kalin spontaneously decided that he was done... for now. With a blast of genuinely evil energy from his palm, he sent Kaden flying backward into a tree. "Farewell for now, brother. I look forward to continuing this another time." Smirking at the older hedgehog's glare, he teleported away, back to his own allies and ship. Though he had left, this battle was far from over. It would never be over. So long as he was still alive, it would _never_ be over... And he was _glad_.

**~ソニック~**

The fight was brutal, violent, and as Jet quickly learned, utterly useless. For all that he had learned throughout his life, for all the strength he had gained during his many years of existence, he simply stood no chance again this enemy. Not alone. Not when he was already hurt and tired. He wanted to call for help, but there was no time and doing so would create unnecessary problems for him. And, besides that, he would never feel satisfied if he didn't do this alone. And yet, he just _couldn't_. He knew there might never be a "next time", but it was his only hope. Just as he prepared to teleport away, back to his friends and back to temporary sanctuary and safety, a bright yellow flash tore through the makeshift battlefield. His enemy was hit and, in an instant, utterly vaporized, leaving nothing behind but his wicked sword. Looking up quickly in shock, he caught the briefest glimpse of heavenly blue eyes that had been watching him. Then they were gone, leaving nothing but wonder and confusion in their wake. Suddenly feeling numb, the young warrior, turned away and slowly walked to the sword that had ended his mother's young life. Face devoid of expression, he bent down and picked up the blade... and stabbed it harshly into the ground. In doing so, he symbolically ending his struggle to learn what had really happened to his mother so many years ago. Then, without a word or sound, he turned and began walking away.

**~ソニック~**

The Metarex onboard the mothership receieved a very troubling message from their scouts in the deep recesses of space. An old enemy of theirs was suddenly on the move, and headed straight for them. He had already interfered in a battle on the world where the Mobians were currently fighting, and now he was headed here. Dark Oak was, for once in his dark life, mildly troubled. He was also surprised. _So you finally decide to show yourself..._ Apparently sharing in his leader's concern, Black Narcissus asked what they should do. Kalin, for once, remained tensely quiet. They all knew what a direct attack from this lone warrior would mean for them. Utter _defeat_. Such a thing was unacceptable. They simply couldn't afford to let it happen. Not when there was _so_ much at stake. The fate of the entire universe was at risk now... and Dark Oak refused to let his plans fail. Now, more than ever, they needed the Chaos Emeralds. With them, he could _easily_ end the old warrior's life. But, until then, he remained by far the largest threat to the Metarex armies and their plans. Their only consolation was that, because of where their mothership was stationed, said warrior would be unable to teleport to them. This was one of the aptly named "no-teleport zones", many of which were scattered around the universe and on the surfaces of many various worlds. He would have to fly to them. Which meant that, considering his speed, they had one week. One week to gather all the emeralds and enact their plans. If they failed to do so... then the Tranquility they all sought would be forever lost.

**~ソニック~**

**1,177 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 12:30 a.m.) 08-14-16.**


	267. Secrets of the Past

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Your review to Chapter 265: I agree! He has to be cool. He's related to Kaden and Satsuno, after all. XD Anyway, YES! IT'S THEM! I'm excited for that, too!**

**Your review to Chapter 266: SAAAME! Aww, thanks! XD**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! ****Your review to Chapter 261: I'm glad you found it interesting! I did, too. Yes, they did! And no, no cause for alarm. Why would it be? XD**

**Your review to Chapter 262: YES, UNCLE CHUCK WAS MENTIONED! Well, I'm glad that elicited some positive emotions in you. XD I'm glad you did. I enjoyed all the facts as well, and the aura ones were fun to figure out. And yes, I agree that it was. It really did give his character more depth and make him more relatable and all that, hence my putting it in there. :P**

**Your review to Chapter 263: ...Sorry. XD I WOULD BET ALL THE MONEY I HAVE, WHICH IS CURRENTLY... ELEVEN CENTS. XD I'm so super glad that you enjoyed! I loved writing this one, so hearing that people enjoye reading it makes me happy! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 264: Well, he's actually the slightly younger of the two. XD But yes, he has come looking for a fight. As for how this will all play out... you'll just have to wait and see. :P I'm looking forward to it, too! And yes, agreed. Fuck Ivo. **

**Your review to Chapter 265: Hahaha, nice checklist! XD Yes, Kalin is an ass, that creature is certainly nightmarish, and Kath is _definitely_ prepared to kick some massive ass. He is _pissed_! XD I am, too! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 266: Yes, he did! Nuu! D: I. AGREE! Dude, that guy got absolutely _destroyed_! He deserved it! But, anyway, yes, it was heavily implied to be Kath. I've been stating right from the beginning (back at some point toward the very end of the SA2 Arc) that Kath has heavenly blue eyes. I've been mentioning this so as to help you guys know who I'm referring to in situations by this. :P YES, HE IS IMMENSELY DANGEROUS TO THE METAREX, AND THEY'RE SUPER CONCERNED ABOUT HIS SUDDEN INCREASED INVOLVEMENT IN THIS WAR. XDD Anyway, I will do my bery best, Pyro-kun! Thanks for all the reviews and support! :D**

**~ソニック~**

In the wake of their horrible defeat, Sonic called for a retreat. Kaden stubbornly refused to go back, however, until he could confirm that his alternate-timeline brother (whom Sonic had only just learned about) was actually gone. Only then did he obey the command and return to the ship. After his return, Sonic too went back to the Typhoon. After doing a very quick headcount and determining that everyone was indeed onboard the ship again, Sonic ordered for an immediate evacuation of the planet. Tails obeyed and the ship's hyperdrive kicked on. They shot off into space, figurative tails between their legs, putting as much space between themselves and their numerous enemies as possible. That was when Sonic finally turned to his father and demanded to know, "Kalin, what does he want?" But Kaden only shook his head. For once, he didn't know, had no answers to give. He was just as lost and confused about this matter as anyone else. Sonic was left to try to figure this out on his own. The young hero drifted into his thoughts.

Twenty minutes passed, then forty. People slowly filtered out of the control room. They headed to their bedrooms, to the pool, to the ship's library, to the storage room, to the kitchen... With the ship's auto-pilot still on and functional, Tails also vacated the room. He ventured out in search of a snack. Only then did Sonic finally notice how truly alone he had become in this room. So, as most people did when lonely and upset, he got up and set out in search of his best friend. Jet wasn't hard to find; as with most days, the hawk had simply gone to his room to hang out or do whatever he and other Babylonian teenagers tended to do. Which meant he was probably listening to music. Or making some new gadget out of ancient Babylonian technology. Or both.

Sonic knocked on the door. The fact that a response, however quiet it was, came almost right away told the young hedgehog that his friend hadn't been listening to music after all, for once. _He wouldn't have heard me so easily if he had been... It's a miracle that he doesn't have hearing problems, what with how loud the music he listens to is. _Pushing the wall button to the side of the door, Sonic watched as the door slid open by going seamlessly into the wall to the side with a soft _hiss_. When he stepped in, he immediately saw Jet sitting on his bed with a strange metallic crate-like thing resting on the mattress before him. The fingers of his right hand were drumming idly on his thigh, creating a rhythm that made it seem for all the world that he was playing the piano. He didn't even seem to notice he was doing it, just as he hadn't the last time Sonic had seen him doing this, when he'd been prying into Jet's feelings regarding Wave during the whole mess with the beast Chaos. But that was irrelevant right now. "What is that?" Sonic asked him, stepping farther into the room and causing the door to slide shut automatically.

Jet's initial response was just a small shrug, but then he apparently decided to properly answer the question. "A Loot Crate. Various alien societies use them to transport goods from planet to planet, especially when those goods are valuable. ...Or stolen." The fact that he knew about such things was unsurprising, given his rather vast knowledge of space and pretty much everything in it. The finger-tapping continued. He seemed... upset. Anxious, even, like he was on the verge of being _scared_ about something. This warranted concern, as Jet was not like most people. He was by no means prone to fear, and he never felt fear without reason. If he was afraid, or even just nearly so, then there was a good explanation as to why. Something had to be wrong in some way. So Sonic decided to pry.

"Do you know what's in it?" the young blue hero asked.

"I haven't opened it yet," Jet hedged vaguely.

"But?" Sonic pressed.

"But..." Jet hesitated, then sighed and admitted, "Supposedly... the things in here... belonged to my..." He trailed off, audibly swallowed, then finished weakly, "My mother."

Sonic stiffened instantly. He, like everyone else who knew Jet well, knew that his mother Selena hadn't been in his life since he was very young. So young, in fact, that he really had no memory of her that he could be certain was real and not simply dreamt up. Sonic was stunned speechless. But, inevitably, he came to the conclusion that he _needed_ to speak. "So open it up, then. See what's inside." Jet's normally bright and clear eyes clouded, and he once again experienced a wave of anxiety that was detectable in his aura. Sonic understood his friend's reticence, his desire not to speak and admit to what he was feeling in this situation. He also understood why his friend was so anxious in the first place. He himself had reacted in the same way when first given the chance to meet his mother and father. There was no way he could _not_ understand Jet's feelings here. He sat beside his old friend on the bed. The proximity made Jet tense a little, as he was adverse to being close to people most of the time (with one or two obvious exceptions, such as Wave), but the hawk didn't verbally object. "Come on, Jet. Just open it. You'll never stop wondering if you don't."

To be perfectly honest, Sonic was more than ninety-eight percent expecting one of those stereotypical conversations from the movies to begin. One of those conversations where the two friends would have an overly-deep conversation about feelings and hopes and thoughts an crap like that. But this was reality, and this was Jet. Such a conversation was not meant to be. It never had been. As such, Jet simply reached forward, pulled the chest closer, and opened it up. Inside were strange cylindrical capsule-like objects made of dark grey metal that could easily fit into a person'a hand. With no further hesitation, his true Babylonian curiosity coming to the forefront of his being, Jet picked one up off the top and carefully examined it. He and Sonic both came to the same conclusion at the very same time (since they really were just in sync like that). The top of each cylinder was a some sort of button. After exchanging brief looks, the two friends looked back to the capsule and Jet pressed the button. Immediately, a blue hologram the same size and shape as a HD flatscreen television screen shot up from the top of the capsule. Perhaps on some sort of instant, or maybe just on reflex, Jet pointed the device forward, allowing them to see the projection without having to crane their necks to look up. Then, suddenly, a video began to play.

_In the video, Jet was two months old. His hair at the time was not windswept in style as it was later in his life, but was instead naturally styled so that it was flat, longish, and his bangs covered his eyes a lot without hiding them from view completely. He sat on the floor, yellow pacifier in his mouth as he idly played with some little Babylonian toy just a few feet from his mother. Selena was sitting in a chair, a small table to her right where she was busily writing something in pen on various sheets of paper. Though her body was facing her son, she was simultaneously twisted around to face the table. She appeared to be around twenty or so and had waist-length hair. Her feathers were sky blue, as were her eyes. Her clothes couldn't clearly be seen, due to how dark the video feed was, but it was still perfectly evident that she had a sword strapped to her waist. This woman was no housewife. She was a warrior. That was when Sonic and Jet of the present realized that this video (which seemed to be a segment of some security feed) was shot on a ship, The stars could be seen passing by the windows shown in the frame. Little Jet and his mother were in space._

_As Sonic and Jet of the present watched, little Jet looked up at his mother when she spoke and pulled his attention from his toy. From what they could gather, she had been asking him various questions for the past twenty minutes or so, testing his intelligence for some reason or another. "Do you know which of these formulas proves the Thread Theory of Timelines?" she asked, pointing to four intensely complex formulas written on her papers. Without hesitation, he stood (even though, at this age, he shouldn't have even been crawling or able to hold his head up yet) and walked over to the papers. Still sucking on his little pacifier, he pointed directly and with no hesitation at the correct formula. Selena stared in shock for a long moment, then slowly began to smile. "That's correct, sweetie. Wonderful job."_

The video ended. Sonic and Jet together stared in shock at the now dormant-again capsule, then traded stunned looks. Sonic soon afterward ventured to ask several questions. "How were you able to _do_ that...?" he breathed. "I mean, walking and understanding math and psychics and shit like that... at _that_ age... And _why_ were you in _space_?"

Of course, having been so _young_ at the time, Jet had no memory of that event. He had no answers. Not this time. "I... don't know..."

The blue blur made one of his famous split-second decisions right then and there and grabbed a capsule. "Okay, we're watching the rest of these." He hand Jet the new capsule, and Jet set the old one on the bed. This process was repeated over and over again, and video after video was watched. All in all, they were only able to watch a few videos.. But that did't matter. In doing so, they learned so much about Jet's surprisingly mysterious past... and about the mother he'd barely had a chance to know.

(-)

_Selena was holding her infant son in her arms and lightly rocking him while he slept. While she and her husband tried to determine a name for the newest edition to their already new family, the baby shifted around. His eyes cracked open, looking for a moment as though they contained the very heavens within them. In that moment, one single world came to his mother's mind, and she said it aloud, the truly ancient word for "Heavens", a world from a language born at the very beginning of time. It was the language of the Immortals. "Sula'ruein." The word could be translated into Babylonian, though it was different. That word was never spoken, nearly mentioned, then translated further into the Universal Language that all sentient beings spoke. In that moment, his name was given to him. "Jet... That will be your name." She smiled, such a bright and happy smile. Her eyes were overflowing with love. "Hello, sweetheart. I love you so much, already..."_

(-)

_Jet, who was now four months old, ran up to his mother as well as any ten-year-old could. He was all smiles and bright happiness as he tugged on her hand, excitedly telling her that he had something he wanted to show her. Selena, who had been recording some Esterian animals just seconds before, turned to him. Her Babylonian camera floated effortlessly along with her, showing her as much as her son in the video. She smiled at him and followed the energetic child. "Where are we going?" she inquired lightly._

_"I found something, Kacha!" Jet said happily. _("Kacha" is pronounced "Kah-chah" and means "Mother" or "Mom", depending on how you want to take it, in Ancient Babylonian. It's _the_ most respectful word one can use to refer to their mother in this language.)

_"Oh?" Selena smiled. "What did you find?"_

_"A monolith!" Jet exclaimed excitedly. "A real-live monolith! I think it crashed there from space! It's got all kinds of cool technology on it!" No sooner than he'd finished speaking, they reached the spot where he'd apparently dropped his high-tech binoculars before running to get his mother. She picked the binoculars up and put them on. They audibly and visibly zoomed in a great distance, so the video camera did the same. In the distance, the very monolith that Jet had been talking about could clearly be seen. It was partially hidden within the dense woodlands, but still sticking out distinctly. It could be seen even without the binoculars because it was so huge, but only with the binoculars could a person determine what it was. And, just like Jet had said, it was absolutely covered with technology, may have even been totally comprised of it. _

_This was truly a legendary find... and Selena knew straight away what she was looking at. "Sweetheart... do you know what you found?" she asked her very young son slowly, lowering the binoculars and looking down and to the side at her small child._

_Jet shook his head, eyes full of innocent and childish curiosity. "Uh-uh."_

_Selena couldn't help but smile. "You discovered an artifact from our homeworld, sweety... A relic of our heritage, our pasts." She turned her head back to the direction the monolith was in. "If only I had a way to get this back to Kath..."_

_Her young child looked up at her in confusion, seemingly having not heard that little murmur clearly. "What, Mommy?"_

_The young warrior shook her head. "Nothing, sweety." She took his hand into her own. "Come on. I need to get my teleporter from the ship."_

_"Okay!" Jet agreed happily. They began walking._

(-)

_This video was clearly another segment of security footage from onboard Selena's multi-room ship. As she was tucking six-month-old Jet into bed one night, he sleepily asked her, "Why are we out in space, Mommy?" He yawned, and his eyes closed. "I wanna go home to Daddy," he added in a mumble._

_Selena's smile was both sad and comforting at the same time. "We will, Jet. I promise. We just have to travel a little farther, then we'll reach what we came out here for."_

_"If that meany hadn't broken your hyperdrive, we'd be there already," Jet complained, a little pout making itself known on his face._

_"The Therians are certainly mean," Selena sighed. But then her smile returned. "But you're right. We would have made it there months ago with the hyperdrive."_

_"How come you can't fix it?" Jet asked, opening his young but intelligent eyes._

_Knowing her son would understand, Selena opted to explain. "I don't have the Tessimine Ore I need to make it, let alone the proper amount of power crystals to fuel it. Those were all destroyed with the hyperdrive itself. But, when we get there, I can replace those supplies. It won't take us anywhere near this long to get home then."_

_"Where are we going?" Jet then asked her, switching the subject slightly._

_"To see a very old friend of mine," Selena responded, her smile growing. More genuine happiness began to shine in her eyes. "He's not my father, but he helped to raise me as though I were his own child. He's very special to me, and I would very much like you two to meet."_

_Now visibly even more curious, Jet asked her, "Who is he?"_

_His mother didn't hesitate to answer him. "His name is Kath."_

(-)

No sooner than they had finished that video, Tails's voice sounded over the intercom. With the added help of the power crystals Jet had decided to share with Tails (in spite of how immensely rare those had become with the loss of Planet Babylon), they were now less than an hour from the planet that was supposed to contain the next Chaos Emerald. He told the gang as much, then also relayed to them that Kaden had just finished making dinner for everyone. The two friends realized immediately just how starved they were so, although they were reluctant to stop watching these old videos, they stood and left the bedroom, headed for the kitchen. Neither spoke on the way there. They had far too much to think about... The biggest question on their minds, of course, was simple.

_Who is Kath?_

**~ソニック~**

**2,828 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed! Now, I have an unrelated question I must ask... DOES ANYONE PLAYING THIS GAME PLAY NO MAN'S SKY?! XDD Anyway, here are afew quick name pronuncuations for you all. 1.) Sula'ruein: "Shoo-luh-ray-oon"**

**2.) Esterian: "Ess-taer-ee-ehn"**

**3.) Tessimine: "Tess-ih-meen"**

**Posted (at about 6:00 a.m.) 08-14-16.**


	268. Old Promise

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Glad you enjoyed! It was super cute, huh? X3 I'm so glad you did. I enjoyed writing it, so I'm happy to know that you enjoyed reading it. Aww, thanks! That makes me so happy to hear! :D AHHH YOU MUST GET IT, IT'S AWESOME. I PRE-ORDERED IT AND DON'T REGRET IT. ALSO, DO YOU PLAY DESTINY FOR THE PS4? I understand that so well... I just got my first job recently, and even _with_ that I'm still poor. I only got No Man's Sky thanks to birthday money. :( Anyway, I will do my very best, Pyro-kun! Thanks again!**

**~ソニック~**

About halfway through dinner, Metarex assailed the ship. Explosions rattled the vessel as violent impacts struck the exterior of it just outside of the kitchen. Then the enemies broke through. There was gunfire, laser fire, regular fire, minor explosions as various appliances and devices were struck, screams from the kids and two babies, growls and snarls from those Mobians who could make such noises, and then there was Locke. The ancient echidna just so happened to have been the person sitting closest the unexpected point of entry. Though he would have seemed to some people to be the _least_ likely person to attack anyone or anything, Sonic knew that there was a side of him very different from the mellow, laid-back, easygoing man most people knew. There was a side of him that was angry, powerful, and even a tad violent. That side of himself showed itself through fire, always. Less than five seconds after the Metarex broke into the ship, the tribal warrior whipped around (literally dropping all the food he'd been holding prior to this), and launched a massive fireball back out the hole at their enemies. Those enemies were utterly obliterated with ease, as was their entire smallish-sized ship. Violet eyes sparked with hints of true but incredibly rare temper, then that spark dulled and faded away. Afterward, he (quite dramatically) flopped over on the floor. "Ugh..." he muttered, eyes closed and his arms spread out from his sides. "No one ever make me do something like that again."

Kaden calmly walked over to his best friend, knelt down beside him, then flicked his forehead (and none too gently, either). "No one made you do anything, you twit." Locke just groaned. Analia giggled as she worked on calming her babies down, and Kaden soon returned to her side to help.

Stunned though he looked over Locke's rare true display of power, Silver quickly asked, "So... who's going to fix our ship this time?"

"Maybe our 'friends' the Immortals," Shadow muttered sullenly. "Because they've so _clearly_ shown that they're willing to help us more than just a little bit in this war."

For whatever reason, Jet's own temper suddenly sparked, and he glared at Shadow. "For all you know, they're doing whatever they can to help," he pointed out a tad harshly.

Shadow scoffed. "It hardly seems like it."

Unsurprisingly, Wave took Jet's side. "Look, they're the _Immortals_. They probably have a lot of other crap to deal with besides just us and the Metarex, but they _have_ already helped us in a big way very recently. They've shown that they're on our side. We need to just trust that they'll help us again if and when the time comes where we really need it."

Crimson eyes uncharacteristically rolled. "And how do you know that you're even _right_?" he questioned irritably.

"Alright, alright, that's enough!" Knuckles cut in quickly, wanting to stop the argument before it could continue. "_Regardless_ of what the Immortals may or may not be doing to help us, we need to repair the ship and we also _clearly_ need to get some decent rest. So everyone else who can't or won't help with the repairs should go to bed after dinner."

"Sounds fair enough to me," Marthal pitched in. "We've run ourselves ragged today, so rest will be good for us. Besides, we'll need our energy for when we get to the next emerald."

"...Which won't be for a good long while, so long as the Typhoon is ripped open like this," Tails added, ears drooping and eyes downcast.

"Which just means we have time to spar for sleep," Sonic said decisively. "I agree with Knuckles and Marthal. Everyone who isn't going to help fix the ship is going to bed after dinner." Seeing the looks he was getting from a few people (including Jet, Storm, amd Shadow), he added firmly, "This is _not_ a suggestion. It's an order. No arguments." Then, without waiting to give anyone the chance to attempt to go against his final command, he picked his chair up, moved it back to the table, sat down, and took a bite of his now slightly scattered dinner. Eventually, everyone else joined him.

**~ソニック~**

As he flew alone through the dark recesses of space toward the enemies who had been threatening the universe for so many years now, Kath's mind continually and stubbornly refused to stop remembering the creature he had just killed not too long ago, the creature that had gone to a world far from its own to aid the Metarex. _That was a Therian. _Just that simple thought revived old memories that he always strove to keep buried. Seeing his father kidnapped when he was six years old, being kidnapped himself when he was eight, being sold into slavery, being tortured and experimented on, very nearly dying on many days, being overworked nearly every day and night, seeing those who had become his friends suffer and eventually die, escaping to freedom at age fourteen but nearly dying in the process, becoming lost in space for months on end, his mother being murdered right in front of him when he was twenty-one, the destruction of his homeworld, the loss of his wife and child with that world, the many wars he fought in from then until now... The Therians were to blame for all of those horrible events, for all of the things he had suffered in his past. And today... yet another Therian had brought a person great pain. And, of course, that person had been another Babylonian. _Why_ did the Therians always have to go to such great lengths to make his race suffer so? Queen Laralei had asked him this once. But even he could never know everything.

_But that boy... _He reminded Kath of Laralei, his oldest and closest friend. He also reminded the old warrior of the very young child he had met once, many years ago. There were a few things he knew for certain about that boy. One, the boy was _definitely_ related to Laralei, but there was no telling how. After all, she had cousins with the very same colorations as her. The boy could be one of their decedents, for all he knew. Two, the boy was Selena's son. He and the baby Kath had once met had the exact same aura. There was no way they could have been two different people. Three, the boy was involved deeply in this war. That gave Kath all the more reason to assist, to draw his blade and fight. He had promised Selena, the daughter he'd never had, that he would always do whatever he could to defend her family in the event that she could not. He hadn't known until now that her son was alive, only that she herself was dead. But, now that he knew...

He intended to uphold his promise.

**~ソニック~**

**1,186 words this time. Not super eventful, but still an important chapter nonetheless. Hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 1:26 a.m.) 08-16-16.**


	269. Dangerous

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Hahaha, yes, he did! And I loved Kaden's response to it, personally. That one line inspired that whole scene. XD So do I! Dunno that it will, though... ^-^" I love Destiny, personally, and I highly recommend it. ...If only because certain elements of that game have, in turn, inspired certain elements of a certain Hero character of mine. XD I will do my very best as always, Pyro-kun! Thank you!**

**~ソニック~**

The meeting was one of dread, of tension, of demand, and of something bordering on fear. And yet... it was also a meeting of promise. There so much to lose, a life, an army, a dream, but also so much to _gain_... Power, victory, leadership, wealth beyond imagination... And yet, those with whom the red-clad villain discussed such things drove a hard bargain. To gain these things, he had to give up his treasure, relinquish the immense power he held within the palm of his gloved hand. He could easily refuse, but doing so would almost certainly cost him his life. If he agreed, or even just pretended to agree, his life would be spared and he would then have the chance to gain everything these beings had and more. He would be granted access to knowledge and technology he had never before possessed, power he had previously only ever dreamed of. All he needed to do was agree to the demands that had been placed upon the figurative table between himself and them. His choices were few. His answer should have been obvious.

Grinning, Ivo extended the emerald forward. "Take it, then... _ally_."

Darkly pleased, Dark Oak extended his own lethal hand and took the gem. The pact was now made.

**~ソニック~**

As he flew, the Lone Wolf of the universe kept his blade clenched tightly in his hand. He couldn't bring himself to sheath his blade at any point out here, even when he wasn't in any immediate danger. Kath was a warrior, and he had been through much. He refused to put himself at unnecessary risk before he even reached those he had come out here to find. It came as no surprise to him that he would need all of his strength to defeat these enemies, the scourge of the universe and all the life within it. To save life in its entirety, they had to be stopped. There was no other way.

His eyes, which had previously been closed, opened. The instant they did, he switched on his power of Vision, the remarkable ability that allowed him to see anywhere in space he so desired, no matter where he was. His "real" vision, the vision that allowed him to actually see what was directly around him, was replaced by the sight of a certain place in this infinite space that he was choosing to see. There, beside a sinister green sun, he saw the Metarex mothership and the many, _many_ smaller ships surrounding them. He could defeat all of them, easily. _However... It is not place to do so. Not with all of them. _Peering closer, he saw into the windows of the mothership that revealed to him the control room. In there stood Black Narcissus and Kalin. Near them, atop his dark throne, sat Dark Oak himself. Those three were meant to be defeated by others. Not him. So he would leave them be. But their armies... their allies...

They would _fall_.

**~ソニック~**

The fight Kalin had started with his brother had not been without purpose. He had had a reason all along. Kaden had suspected this, he knew, but the somewhat older hedgehog had no true idea of what that purpose had been. He knew not what was in store for him. For his brother had planted a seed... a seed of hatred that took root deep within Kaden's heart. It was the final negativity Narcissus needed to utilize before he could truly begin to try and take control of the weapon that was Kalin's brother. With that weapon on their side, they would have near unlimited access to the Realm of Darkness, the realm of infinite Dark energy and power. In having this weapon, they would absolutely ensure their victory in this war. Not even Kath would be able to survive such a severely violent attack of pure Darkness. Their greatest and most powerful enemy would be vanquished, and the rest of the heroes would fall soon afterward. But, in order for any of this to ever happen, they _needed_ that weapon. For this very reason, the moment their target was asleep, Narcissus struck.

**~ソニック~**

Side by side the pair worked, diligently repairing the wiring in various ruined appliances in the kitchen. The hole now repaired, they were the only ones up. Everyone else had gone to bed. As they worked, the young fox spoke first. "You got awfully worked up when Shadow made that comment about the Immortals." The only response his sensei deigned to give was a small snort, as if to say, _Hardly_. Tails looked at him. "Any reason why?" he inquired rather casually.

Jet, too, paused in his work and returned Tails's look. "What are you getting at, kid?" There was a note of suspicion in his tone that could also subtly be seen in his perfect, piercing blue eyes.

Shrugging, Tails looked away and resumed working to finish the coffee machine on the counter before them. "Nothing," he responded simply and easily.

Still looking suspicious, Jet slowly returned his attention to the toaster and began working again as well.

**~ソニック~**

Azerel sat alone on the balcony just outside of Kath's observatory, looking out over the sprawling, lush courtyards far below. The afternoon was turning later and in the sky could be seen the world's two moons. His pure white fur was shifted just as softly as the grasses and other various plants below as the breeze whispered through the area. His deep blue eyes tracked the slow progression of the clouds across the open blue skies. Nothing but serious emotions revealed themselves within those blue orbs. His concerns were very real, and not for no reason did they exist. _He's so reckless._ Kath had been his friend since they were both very small, but he never would understand how one person could manage to be so cautious and careful while also being incredibly reckless at the same time. Rushing off into war was such a stupid move, and yet, Kath was no idiot. He was the most intelligent living thing that had ever existed. So _why_ did the man insist on ignoring his own logic and rushing ahead blindly like this? _Honestly... he and Laralei are too much alike for his own good. _He was fairly certain that his friend had learned a lot of his reckless habits from that woman. Granted, his harsh past almost certainly played a role as well, but regardless...

Sighing, the wolf closed his eyes and lightly shook himself, savoring the cool breeze as it sifted through his thick soft fur. He shook himself, as though doing so would help him shake his worries, his endless concerns. Though he could never fathom the ways his friend's mind worked, there was one thing he understood perfectly and simply needed to learn to finally accept after all these years. Kath was no fool, and never did things without reason. If he was joining this war directly all of a sudden, there was a purpose behind the action, no matter how reckless it might seem to others. All Azerel could do was trust his friend's judgement, and trust that the old hawk would, indeed, return to them one day. He held onto his hope, the hope that this war would end soon and that Kath would survive. If they were all lucky, no great harm would befall him. Luck was rarely on their side, however...

For the second time, he shook himself. While doing so, he ruthlessly shoved that thought aside. He couldn't think like that. He had to hope. Blue eyes once again drifted to the sky, picking out the twin moons within seconds. Frowning as much as a wolf could, he focused his gaze on the blue moon, the smaller and more distant of the two. _You had better come back to us, Kath... I'll personally make you regret it if you don't. _With that thought, he stood, turned, and walked back inside.

**~ソニック~**

Upon reaching the planet where the next emerald was, the group agreed that only those who were the best rested would go along to try to retrieve the emerald. That group was, unfortunately, rather small and consisted of Rouge, Analia, Blaze, Silver, Amy, and Knuckles. Sonic alone was up to watch the group leave. As they traveled through the very nearly toxic landscape of this unfortunate world (which was plagued with a borderline inhospitable atmosphere), the group quickly spotted the emerald in the distance. This one was the purple emerald. It was sitting atop one of the many putrid hills that dotted this barren landscap, hence the reason that it could be seen from so far away.

This green and black world was desolate. There were few plants. The ones that were here were small and probably just as dangerous as the world upon which they somehow miraculously survived. For Tails's sake (as the young fox constantly wanted to learn about the worlds they visited), the group stopped very briefly at one point or another to scan these plants with their communicators, then resumed their fast travel toward the emerald. Over countless hills they ran, through thick clouds of vapor they didn't dare breathe it, across flat stretches of land, then back over yet more hills. They had so far left to go. The emerald that had once seemed so close now proved itself to be farther away than any of them had imagined. They hadn't anticipated such a long travel. They had thought that the ship gotten them close to their goal, but they were now proven wrong.

That was when a ship as black as the night and as sharp as a knife broke through the bright green clouds and hurtled into their field of vision. Their enemies were here, and there was no doubt in anyone's mind that they were after the emerald, too. There was no other reason for them to be here, on a world with no animal life and likely no Planet Egg to steal. The ship entered the atmosphere fully, casting a deep shadow over the landscape. It was very large, the size of the entire Typhoon and then some. Though it started off facing the emerald they were all after, it soon swung around with surprising agility and speed. As soon as it was facing them, some energy beam of some kind began to charge up with visible and deadly red intent. Just as the heroes started to backpedal, more than ready to retreat and find a safe way around this massive threat, the beam fired with what seemed impossible accuracy.

Silver was hit.

**~ソニック~**

**1,814 words this time. The landscape on the world in the last scene was inspired by No Man's Sky, PS4! Hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about two a.m.) 08-17-16.**


	270. Stolen Heritage

**Hello, Mutt7! Good job noticing somethin'! XD Well, I won't spoil that here. If you really wanna know, I can just PM you the answer. :)**

**Hello, thatguy4643! NUUUUUU! D:**

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Your review to Chapter 267: He was. :3 And yeah... that really is very sad.**

**Your review to Chapter 268: I AM, TOO. HE REALLY IS. I am as well! :D**

**Your review to Chapter 269: Well, not "another". They only have the one, if I remember correctly. But still, nooo! And they teamed up with Ivo! Nooo! D: He really doesn't. ...Or **_**does**_** he? XD I KNOOOW! D:**

**Hello, Cyan Quarts! Your review to Chapter 160: No worries. I understand. :)**

**~ソニック~**

Time nearly seemed to stop when the laser hit its mark. It struck hard, knocking Silver over on his rear. And yet, there was seemingly no damage done whatsoever to him. He wasn't hurt. That did not, however, mean that damage _couldn't_ still be done at some point or another. On that though, Silver scrambled back to his feet, golden eyes locked on the ship that had just attacked him. Desperate not to lose this emerald, Amy began running for it across the toxic landscape. Rouge, Blaze, and Knuckles took off after her. Silver made to follow them as Analia blasted the ship with her light, but nothing happened. He tried to fly, but his boot-covered feet never left the ground. Equal parts concerned and confused, he attempted to throw a sickle of psychokinetic energy to at the very least aid his grandmother in this fight, but again nothing happened.

Looking to his left, he saw his friends grab the emerald and began running back to him and Analia, victorious. Looking away again, he tried once more to fly or attack or _something_, but to no avail. His confusion grew. Said confusion remained for a rather long moment. Then, ever so slowly, understanding began to dawn on him, replacing his confusion. As soon as full understanding came to be within his mind, ruthlessly slapping him across his young face in the process, his eyes widened with alarm. In a panic, he called out to his grandmother. She spun around to face him, and he very quickly explained his horrible predicament. His powers were gone...

They had been stolen.

**~ソニック~**

**275 words this time. A short but important chapter. There was another scene, but that scene felt rushed to me, so I took it out so that I can fix it up for tomorrow's post instead. But, at the same time, I still wanted to post _something_. Hence this. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 6:00 a.m.) 08-19-16.**


	271. Sneaking Suspicion

**Hello, StarryMoon33! I KNOOOW! It's so, so, so, so saaad. And it only gets worse here. I feel super sorry for him, too. ;_; **

**~ソニック~**

It was both very late and much too early at the same time when Silver and the others returned, carrying with them news of both excellent and terrible. The emerald was secure and safe, but Silver's powers were gone. And Sonic had a feelig that he knew precisely _why_ this was so. Elsa had always said that her powers were, in a way, a bloodline trait. It was a power that stayed within her family, a power that far too many would all-too-willingly kill even people to obtain. For this reason, her life had been in grave peril from the moment of her birth, and remained so until she finally perished. The one upside to where and when this version of Silver had been born and raised was that he had never personally had to experience this danger. _Until now. _Nevertheless, they had to hold onto hope, Sonic knew. He wouldn't be powerless forever. Sonic wouldn't allow it. Even if they couldn't get Silver's own powers back, then _dammit_ Sonic would give Silver his own, then. He wasn't going to leave his son helpless. But he highly doubted things would come to that. He firmly believed that, as with all the other things the Metarex had stolen, Silver's powers would eventually be returned in the end. Sonic just knew it.

**~ソニック~**

As soon as he entered his bedroom and the door was closed, Silver roughly kicked his boots off, walked over to his bed, and plopped down on it. He lay sprawled on his back, arms out at his sides, legs spread, and eyes staring at the ceiling. The normally goofy, happy, fun-loving, and perhaps even childish hedgehog was honestly just trying not to cry right now. He certainly had the strength of his parents and all their ancestors and therefore seldom cried, but he also had their emotional depth, their exceptional hearts.

Tears were a very real possibility.

He could resist them if he tried hard enough, he knew. And yet, as he mourned the loss of his powers, he found it difficult to find the willpower to even attempt to give this that much effort. After all, excluding his physical appearance (golden eyes, silver-colored fur, and head hair that tended to stand up), those powers were the only things he'd ever gotten from his mother. It was all he had left of her, the woman he had never had a chance to meet or know in any way. But now they, just like her, were utterly gone. And, as pessimistic as it was, he couldn't help but remember that things he lost tended to never come back. One of his arms came up to cover his eyes.

Maybe he _needed_ to cry.

**~ソニック~**

More than three hours had no passed since Silver and the others had returned, and it had been more than two since Sonic had last spoken with Marthal. He'd found the cat, sun-orange fur shining faintly in the artificial light and ocean-blue eyes as deep as ever, alone on a couch in a sitting room while he read some book with a sky blue cover. It had struck Sonic in that moment that he'd never pegged the cat to be much of a reader, but that thought had been brushed aside as he had then reflected on the fact that _both_ of them should have been in bed at least _attempting _to sleep. But neither of them could or wanted to, it seemed. Why Marthal couldn't or perhaps simply didn't want to was unknown to Sonic even still, but that wasn't the case with Sonic. He knew why he couldn't sleep. He simply had far too much on his mind for said mind to quiet down enough for him to even just close his eyes for very long. Most of what was on his mind were genuine problems related to this war, but one of the things he'd been thinking about tonight was neither a true _problem_ nor really related to the war in and of itself. It was that thing that had prompted Sonic to seek the cat out and speak to him. Upon finding the cat, he had taken a seat in an armchair and a small conversation had ensued. Then, soon enough, he had asked, _"You're really good at psychology, right? Like, really good?"_

Marthal had blinked. Though he had been quiet at first, he'd inevitably responded. _"Yeah, I suppose so," _he'd said humbly. _"I've been studying it since I was a teenager, so I guess that counts for something." _Then his head had canted slightly and he'd ventured to ask him, _"Why?" _Sonic had hedged around the question for a good four minutes or so, though he hadn't know exactly why he'd done this, wanting to provide the answer but at the same time not. Then, finally, he'd spoken what was on his mind. After a small moment of pause, Marthal had closed his book and actually smiled. _"Yeah, I can find out for you, easy," _he's replied. Then he'd winked. _"Be back in a bit." _He'd then stood up and left the room, headed to the bedroom of one of the only other people who was awake on this ship right now. Thus had begun Sonic's long wait.

Scarcely twenty minutes later, Sonic (who had been reading his father's journal again for entertainment) happened to glance up just in time to see Marthal walk back into the room with a couple sheets of paper in his left hand. Sonic closed the journal he still held in his hands, laying it down to rest in his lap. "That took a lot less time than I expected it to," he commented.

Marthal just smiled. "I don't like long work sessions," he responded, "so I work as quickly as I can the few times I actually have a patient. Took a while to get this one talking, too, let me tell you." He said this last bit with a small _mrrow_ of amusement in his voice.

The mention of Marthal's "patient" being stubborn as all hell didn't surprise Sonic at all. _That sounds like him, alright._

Without further ado, Marthal handed the hedgehog the papers he had been carrying. "Anyway, I wrote down my findings so that you can just read it for yourself. I'm pretty tired now, so I want to go to bed. Ask me any questions you have in the morning." He paused, gave that some thought, then amended, "...Well, later in the morning."

Sonic accepted the sheets of perfect white paper and gave his father's friend a grateful nod. "Thanks. Sleep well." With a wave and not another word, Marthal left the room, leaving his book behind on the couch. Sonic settled back into his chair, getting comfy, then looked at the papers and began to read.

_**A quick definition:** Stimming: a behavior that many autistic people display to self-soothe and/or self-stimulate (hence the term "stimming"). Stimming can stave off meltdowns and whatnot and is often comes in the form of a harmless behavior (i.e. spinning in circles). Stimming is often compulsive, but not necessarily always._

**_(Diagnosis: mildly severe to severe autism)_**

_-Doesn't often make eye contact. It makes him uncomfortable, and he sees no point in doing it._

_-Failed to make friends as a child. With the exception of one person named "Arthr", this is true. He didn't befriend Sonic until he was a teen._

_-Shows little to no interest in sharing interests, achievements, and the things he enjoys with others. He sees no point in it._

_-Displays a vast vocabulary (in multiple languages), but tends to display difficulties in starting and maintaining conversations. However, this tends to be less true around certain people (such as Wave and Sonic)._

_-Shows a preoccupation in certain topics/subjects. His main preoccupations are drawing, writing, music, and astronomy (especially music and astronomy). He also has a more mild preoccupation with video games and racing._

_-Didn't often like being held as a baby and young child. It stressed him out greatly._

_-Didn't seem interested in certain games, such as peek-a-boo, as a baby and young child._

_-Has shown an aversion to touch all throughout his life. He will tolerate it for certain people, but being touched is something that will normally make him anxious and upset._

_-Tended to wander off with little to no warning from parents and/or other caregivers as a child. Also had/has a tendency to wander off as a teen and adult._

_-Often has shown a reduced interest in people. This isn't always true for him, however._

_-Often fails to seek comfort. This is yet another thing he sees no point in doing._

_-Often failed/fails to respond to their parents' displays of affection toward him, and to displays of affection in general. This wasn't/isn't always true for him, but often was/is._

_-Spoke with superior language ("like a little professor") oftentimes as a child, rather than with normal "kid speak".  
_

_-Has one or more repetitive and compulsive behaviors (examples of this include frequent jumping, random spinning, and waving a hand up and down continuously). His compulsive behavior is tapping the fingers of his right hand on surfaces like his leg or a table. The way he taps his fingers creates a rhythm that makes it seem like he's playing piano._

_-Has shown extreme interests and astonishingly vast depths of knowledge in certain topics/subjects. For him, those are arts and sciences._

_-Had "petit mal" seizures (where the subject temporarily seems "absent") as a child._

_-Has had sleep difficulties all throughout his life. This was true for him even before he developed insomnia for unrelated reasons. His father often had to put on quiet music to help put him to sleep, though he often was just allowed to play or whatever until he crashed. Sometimes, howeverm, he wouldn't crash and would just keep on going for days on end._

_-Shows unusually high intelligence (though most of this doesn't come from his autism)._

_-Struggles to express his thoughts and feelings verbally and to voice what he wants and/or needs. He often just doesn't know how to._

_-He is known to stim a lot. His compulsive finger-tapping behavior is also a form of stimming for him. He can sometimes be hyposensitive (he doesn't always register light touches or pain below a certain level of severity), so he stims to stimulate himself and create some sensation of touch that he would otherwise be deprived of at the time. He also stims to soothe himself when he's stressed or otherwise upset in some way. When he wants/needs to stim but can't (i.e. because people aren't letting him), it is so stressful for him that it can bring him to the point of near-tears (though he often won't show this reaction). He's self-conscious about his compulsive/stimming behavior and will stop himself whenever he notices that he's doing it. However, because his stimming is beneficial to him and not harmful in any way, it should be encouraged._

_-As a baby and young child, he stimmed by staring at lights. He also stimmed by sucking on a pacifier frequently up until nearly age four. Another form of stimming for him as a young child was that he liked to open and close doors repeatedly (he no longer does this). Hand-flapping (in his case, rapidly waving his right hand up and down) is yet another compulsive behavior that he had as a young child. He outgrew this behavior by age four._

_-Another compulsive behavior he has is flicking his bedroom lights on and off repeatedly for seemingly no reason at all. He did this a lot as a young child, but has since mostly grown out of it. However, he does still do it from time to time (usually when he's sure he's alone)._

_-He can get fidgety and restless and can sometimes have a hard time sitting still (this isn't quite the same as being hyperactive). In correlation with this, he is very prone to boredom and always likes to be doing something._

_-He is very hands-on and likes to touch things. He also finds deep pressure comforting. For him, this deep pressure can come from sleeping under heavy blankets (which he seldom does because he can't stand being too warm) or receiving tight hugs (he'll only tolerate such hugs, or any hugs, from people he really trusts, however)._

_-He can be hyposenstive, but, at the same time, he can also be hypersensitive. Particularly, he's hypersensitive to physical contact with animals and other people. This is why he cringes when dogs like him, flinches when people bump into him, and so on. He's also hypersensitive to temperature and simply cannot stand being more than just a little warm._

_-He has to be reminded to ask for help when he needs it, but even then he often won't do it._

_-He really likes objects (i.e. toys) that are fuzzy/furry and/or soft and/or smooth in some way, shape, or form. These textures are ones he loves, and touching them is comforting for him. He has a very strong sense of "good touch" and "bad touch". This is why he's adverse to physical contact, why he likes certain textures, why he can't stand to be licked by dogs, and so on. Kaden is the exact same way._

_-As with many autistics, he can spike random fevers. These fevers, in his case as with many others, are brought on by stress. As with many other autistics, when he's highly stressed, he can start to act out (i.e. by being needlessly irritable with people). However, for an unknown reason, spiking these fevers helps autistic people like him calm down. Upon spiking them, these people's stress-levels will often lower and their behavior will dramatically improve (or even return to normal)._

After reading all of this, Sonic sat back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. He was having a hard time wrapping his mind around all of this. Everything he had just learned about his best friend was just... hard to accept, in spite of the fact that he had (apparently) been witnessing many these symptoms in his friend for many years. Still hard to accept, though, certainly. _Jet is autistic... _The young hedgehig thought about this for a good long while, silently reflecting on how many signs he'd missed for so long, the similarities in symptoms between Jet and Kaden that had tipped Sonic off and prompted him to seek Marthal out. He also deeply pondered the different ways his Wave might react once she found out about this... But he was tirred again now, and more than ready for sleep. He stood with the papers andjournal in his hands and began walking in his room so that he could go to bed. This had been a long day.

**~ソニック~**

**2,574 words this time. Initially, the reveal from that last scene was going to be something for EotS (and someone else was going to find out first, not Marthal and Sonic), but I decided not to wait on it, after all. Thanks to StarryMoon33 for helping me to make that decision. Also, thanks to Blazing Winds for roleplaying with me, as that's where I got some of the lines for the middle scene, as well as the idea for Silver losing his powers (both occurred in the roleplay, where I happen to be playing Silver). Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about twelve a.m.) 08-20-16.**


	272. Thanks for the Memories

**Hello, StarryMoon33! I do, too... ;_; But, yes, that was pretty cool of Sonic. YAS! It has! And I'm really not sure, yet. XD**

**~ソニック~**

Jet woke early the next morning to Wave shifting around in his arms, taking the blankets with her. Squeezing his eyes shut a little tighter, he resisted the urge to yawn. "You're mean," he mumbled sleepily.

A finger prodded his arm. "How?" was the less sleepy reply.

"You stole my blankets."

"So? Next time you offer to let your girlfriend share the bed with you after she has a nightmare, you should be more prepared to share."

"'Sharing' doesn't mean you get _all_ the blankets."

"Sure it does."

"Maybe on Planet Wave, but not anywhere else."

"Aw, that's not cool." There was a small pause. "Guess I'll just have to conquer all the other worlds and change their rules, then."

Jet finally cracked his eyes open to see Wave smirking at him, no doubt very amused by this little morning banter. Sighing a little, he leaned forward and gave her forehead a small kiss. "You're impossible," he murmured.

"No," Wave quipped. "I'm implausible."

"That hardly makes any sense," Jet retorted lightly as he nabbed a thin blanket back from her.

Wave snuggled closer to her boyfriend, as it really was much too early for either of them to have any sort of desire to get out of bed. "It makes perfect sense," she responded, eyes closing. "You're just not thinking about it properly."

Piercing blue eyes slowly closed as he gave a small reply. "Says you."

"I just did, so there."

"You seriously woke me up for this?"

"It wasn't intentional, sleepy-head."

"Don't call me that, Wave."

"What would you prefer, then?"

"If you start trying to come up with a nickname for me, I'm going to kick you out of this bed."

"No, you wouldn't."

Again, Jet cracked open his eyes. "What makes you so sure?" he asked dryly.

Blue eyes much deeper in color than his own also opened, and Wave smiled a genuine smile at him that made his heart skip. "The fact that you love me so much and wouldn't want to see me suffer."

The prince of a dead world found himself resisting another sigh as he very lightly tightened his hold on her. And yet, in spite of this silent display of affection, he ended up saying, "Making you sleep on the floor wouldn't be making you suffer."

"But I'd be cold."

"I'd give you a blanket."

"My head wouldn't be very comfortable on the floor. I'd need a pillow."

"You could take mine. I don't need it."

"I wouldn't have anything to cuddle with while I slept."

"Buy a teddy bear, then."

"You _are _my teddy bear."

"Don't ever say that again, alright? _Especially _around Sonic. He'd never let it go."

Wave just laughed quietly, making no promises as she closed her eyes again and got comfy once more with her head under his chin. Feeling utterly relaxed all over again, Jet allowed his own eyes to gradually drift shut once more.

**~ソニック~**

It was nearing noon by the time someone finally convinced Kaden to get out of bed and get some food. He was _not_ a morning person. The ancient warrior, as much as he fought going to sleep, actually _liked_ to sleep. A lot. He also liked to stay up late. Very late. Stay up late and sleep even later. That was how he liked to do things. Most people onboard this ship, however, were the opposite. They went to bed at decent hours and, as such, got up at decent hours. Really, he was surprised that he hadn't heard and thus been woken up by anyone until now. He chalked it up to some kind of miracle. Not that he'd ever really believed in miracles. Or luck. Coincidence, however, he did believe in. And it was _such _a coincidence that his daughter had, for nearly her entire life, followed nearly his exact sleep schedule. From the sounds of it, she was only just now waking up, too. He'd mentioned something about this to Locke before, and the echidna had had an... _interesting_ response to it.

_"I already grew up with actual Kaden, having to deal with him and his antics and troublemaking and whatnot day in and day out. Then I had to deal with Sonic for months, and he was basically You Jr. And now there's Sarai, whom I'm going to have to deal with because, as you pointed out, I may as well be her actual uncle. She's like... You Jr. Jr., I think." Locke suddenly laughed. "Man, life sure gets interesting when you're involved, Kaden. You and your kids. I swear, I'm never gonna escape from your personality for as long as I live."_

Kaden had hit him on the head for that.

Suppressing a yawn, Kaden walked silently down the metal halls. It was much too bright in here for his liking (he very much preferred the dark), and the AC didn't feel good to him at all. Too cold, too bright. It didn't help that he hadn't bothered to put his shoes on. The ground felt cool through his black socks. Not a pleasant sensation, so far as he was concerned. From now on, he resolved to always wear his shoes when onboard this ship. Unless he was sleeping. But, then again, he'd slept with his shoes on plenty of times before, so... He supposed it didn't really matter that much. Or at least it shouldn't. Which, of course, led him to wonder why he was even still thinking about it. He blamed it on the fact that he was awake before noon. Yes, that was the problem. Totally. _...Not really._

Really, he was just tired. His dreams every night continued to bother him. The last few dreams he'd had had been filled to the brim with hatred, dripping with animosity, drowning in dark forces and emotions. He didn't understand it completely, but he knew attempted corruption when he sensed it. Someone was trying to use his own memories and feelings against him, trying to do... _something_. What, exactly, that was, though, he didn't yet know. Mind control? Maybe. Control of his powers? Likely. Something unrelated to those two things? Less likely. But, if he was lucky, he wouldn't have to think about these things anymore for now, not until after he'd had something to eat. He hadn't eaten in over four hours. So, naturally, he was sick with hunger. Really, he needed to be eating every _couple_ of hours at least. Not that he ever did that. He was too busy ,ost of the time and couldn't be bothered otherwise. Although... he had to admit. Food was something he had a distinct love for, as was cooking. And certain drinks... like wine. Red wine. Now _that_ was a rare treat that he loved. Maybe after this war he could indulge in a little. Never very much, just enough to relax. That sounded nice. It gave him something small but pleasant to look forward to. He needed more things to look forward to.

Running his fingers idly through his hair (which he hadn't bothered to pull back yet), Kaden entered the large kitchen. Through the open doorway to his right, he could hear people in the dining room, presumably eating their lunches. He could still smell the remnants of a large amount of grilled cheese and tomato soup in the kitchen. Apparently everyone was eating the same thing for lunch today. Well, he wasn't going to jump on the bandwagon. Today, he would be unique. There was no particular reason for it, just that he didn't want grilled cheese or tomato soup. He wanted an omelet. A very cheesy omelet, at that. It was funny, because he normally wasn't that huge of a fan of cheese. Unless it was on nachos. Nachos were delicious.

Being the master chef he was (at least according to Analia and the others), he had a perfect omelet cooked in no time flat. The delicious smell of it drew his grandson into the room, desperately wanting more food, but he was quick to shoo the younger hedgehog away. Once Silver had sulked (but not really) out of the room, Kaden picked up his plate and leaned backward against the hard counter, more than ready to begin eating. A half-full glass of milk rested on the counter by his right elbow. He picked up his fork and cut a piece of his breakfast off from the rest, skewered it, picked it up, went to take a bite and... felt the ship rumble. Quite violently. Then it shook again, so badly that his plate ended up being knocked hard from him hand along with his fork and all his food. The milk went with it, though people were never supposed to cry over those things. Alarms began to blare but, for once, he paid them little immediate mind. He looked at his ruined breakfast. A long moment passed, then he sighed and left the room, prepared to clean the mess after the_outside _mess was cleaned up first. Still... he was hungry, and he'd wanted to eat. And the food had smelled so good...

_Maybe next time._

**~ソニック~**

As he flew, Kath's mind remained greatly occupied even while he physically didn't do much. And yet, considering where he _was_, there wasn't much for his mind to remain occupied with. He knew the worlds he was passing, knew who and what was on each of them, he was familiar with the nebula he was passing through, he already knew about the asteroid belt he'd encounter within the next hour or so, he knew that he'd eventually see Grklarkin ships on patrol once beyond that belt... There was nothing new here, so he lost interest. He'd studied this place so thoroughly that it no longer required conscious thought on his part to understand the area. So his mind searched for other means of entertainment and occupation. Which, of course, meant that he started to remember things. Random things. Some were important in their own ways, others were basically inconsequential. But, regardless of all that, he remembered each things as vividly as the rest. And... as always... he treasured his memories. At least, the ones that weren't in some way dark and/or painful.

(-)

_Fourteen-year-old Kath rolled over in bed, eyes closed, and was immediately confronted with a wall of soft fur. Azerel was apparently sharing the bed with him again, though he hadn't been there when Kath had fallen asleep. Drowsily, Kath opened his eyes to look at the wolf whom he had grown up with, the creature with whom he had been deeply bonded since they were both mere weeks old. "Azerel, scoot over," he muttered, pushing at that wall of fluff in front of his face._

_Azerel's voice spoke in Kath's mind, a voice that only he could hear. 'No. I'm comfortable.'_

_"You're hogging."_

_'Don't care.'_

_"I care."_

_'Oh, well.'_

_"I'm not above getting petty revenge, you know."_

_'Liar.'_

_"Not this time."_

_'Still not moving.'_

_"Yes, you are." Without giving his canine companion any time to react, the teenage hawk shoved the whole off the bed. Azerel hit the thinly carpeted bedroom floor with a thud and a small yip of surprise. Satisfied with his admittedly very petty victory, Kath pulled his blankets up and got comfortable again, ignoring the pointed glare he was receiving from his friend._

(-)

_Kath, who was six years old now, rushed out of his house one morning. He had slept in late on accident (he normally never needed to eat or sleep, and it was for reasons like this that he hated sleeping), and now he was having to run to school. Times like these where when he hated living so far from the school. Being in the center of the city, he was rather far from the school. It sucked, to say the least. But he really had no time to grip about it, even just internally. He needed to move. If he was late, his grandfather would beat him again. Of this, he was sure._

_Barely five minutes later, he skidded to a halt in one of the school's large outdoor courtyards. It was there that he found his best friend, a girl he had known since they were both babies. "Lari!" he called out as he jogged over to her._

_Six-year-old Princess Laralei turned to face him and immediately smiled. "Hi, Kath!" she called happily, waving as she did so._

_Kath came to a stop before her, wearing one of his rare small smiles. "Where's Kani?" he asked her once there, eyes scanning the crowds of schoolkids for any sign of their other friend._

_"Not here yet," Laralei responded with an almost solemn shake of her small head. "She might end up being late, at this rate." But, the Babylonian princess was quickly over that matter. "Come on!" she suddenly exclaimed, grabbing him by the hand. She began dragging him quickly away, earning a small sound of surprise from him. "They're selling cookies at the cafeteria, and I want one!" Without letting him argue at all, she dragged him inside._

(-)

_Kath was only two when he was given his first telescope. Already by that age his impossible intelligence was beginning to show itself in him, and his parents had every intention of helping that bud fully mature into a gorgeous flower the likes of which the universe had never before seen. They wouldn't let his mind go to waste. They would nourish it however and whenever they could. Kath loved to learn too much for them to ignore it, anyway. It was no different in this situation, on this particular birthday. He was in love with the telescope the moment he saw it, the instant he understood what it could do. On that day, his true and genuine love for outer space and everything in it was born... and his parents were overjoyed to see their only son so purely happy._

(-)

_When Kath was two, his little brother Elso was born. Bright young mind though he was, Kath was full of childish and innocent curiosity at that age. As such, as he sat on his mother's lap in the hospital room, he found himself dying to ask one certain question more than anything else. But, for the time being, he listened to her speak. "This is your new baby brother, Kath," she murmured._

_Young Kath looked up at her innocently. "What's a baby, Mommy?"_

_K'aria giggle softly. "A baby is what he is."_

_Kath blinked once and looked down at Elso. "Oh." T'alo gently smoothed his eldest son's hair down while said son looked at Elso. A small moment passed, then Kath smiled. "Babies are cute," he decided aloud, all innocence and bright happiness._

_K'aria giggled softly again. "Yes," she murmured in agreement. "They are."_

(-)

_When Kath was nearly seven (but not quite), he was visiting his father in the city of Tei'ari. His parents had been separated (though neither of his parents wanted to divorce, as they both loved each other still), so Kath spent the weekends with his father in a separate city. It was hard, but it was bearable. But this day... This day quickly proved itself to be as far from bearable as possible. The city's alarms began to blare, warning of yet another Therian attack. The Therians had been a menace to their world for countless eons. They caused Babylonians so much strife, taking them as slaves, destroying their cities, murdering them, experimenting on them, brainwashing them, torturing them, pitting them against each other to cause petty wars, stealing their resources, blocking them off from their allies on other worlds... The list just went on and on and on. And now they were back, they were where Kath was, and he had never been more scared in his life._

_His father ran outside to see where the Therians were currently, seemingly in the hopes that maybe he and Kath would have time to escape, but that proved to be a mistake. As Kath watched, helpless, from the doorway, a Therian leapt out of the shadows, cutting T'alo down and incapacitating him in a single blow. The slash ran from T'alo's right shoulder to his left hip, shattering his collarbone and making him very quickly lose more blood than Kath had ever before seen in his young life. Then the Therian used a teleporter, and T'alo was gone, presumable sent to a Therian "Slave-Driver", the Babylonian name for the ships this ruthless race used to carry their kidnapped slaves. Kath so desperately wanted to get his father back... but he knew he couldn't. So, with grief and terror together piercing his heart, he sprinted forward and grabbed his father's fully sheathed sword (which T'alo had dropped when he'd been attacked), then turned and fled for his life. His tears hit Alkarus's hilt as he flew._

(-)

_Twenty-year-old Kath stopped in the hallway of his large home when he heard a small voice calling out for him. Turning around, he smiled a small smile as his young son ran up to him and latched on his legs. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" Raul exclaimed happily. "Guess what!"_

_Feeling amused by Raul's undeniable excitement, Kath allowed his smile to grow. "What?" he inquired._

_"Mommy let me cook my lunch all by myself!" Raul told him proudly, positively beaming over his accomplishment. "And I didn't burn it or make a big mess or anything!"_

_"Well done," Kath lightly praised, gently smoothing a hand over his son's hair to make it lie flat again. "And what did you cook?"_

_"I made curry!" Raul replied, jumping up a little as he spoke. Kath took that as his cue, bent down briefly, and picked the child up. Raul then crinkled his little nose. "Not the super spicy kind, though. Spicy stuff hurtess."_

_"Hurts," Kath gently corrected just as his wife entered the hall, looking both happy and exasperated at the same time. He looked at her._

_His wife put her hands on her hips, though her small smile never faltered. "There you are, my little runaway. I told you that you could tell your father about you cooking after you ate, not before."_

_Pouting, Raul laid his head on his father's shoulder, clearly trying to be cute so as to avoid a lecture. "But I wanted to tell him, Mommy."_

_"And you could have, after you ate."_

_"But Mommy-"_

_"Don't argue with your mother, Raul," Kath gently admonished. That ended the argument straight away. When it came to things like this, Raul had long since learned that onceDaddy got involved, that was it. Whatever he said was law in these situations where the child wouldn't listen to his mother. So Raul gave in. Giving his wife an amused look and sharing in her mild exasperation, Kath leaned down and gently set their son on his small feet. He then watched said child scamper off, his mother trailing after him to make sure he got to where he was supposed to be going. Still wearing his small smile, Kath turned away to get back to his observatory and the work he was supposed to be doing. Azerel followed him, a silent witness to it all. For once, the comments the wolf made were positive._

_'Your pup is cute.'_

_Smile growing, Kath gave one small response. "He is." Just this once, he chose not to remind Azerel that Raul was no pup. The happiness of this moment was too good to ruin with petty arguments._

(-)

_Kath was only around eighty-seven (about a decade from being middle-aged for a Babylonian hawk, but still rather young) when his life, which had truly on just started to become good again, came screeching to a halt. Therians swarmed his homeworld. Babylonians fled for any and every ship they could find, desperate to escape the carnage, the impending doom that the Therians had brought on today. They had messed with Astral Babylon, with the untamed power source contained within it. Every guard tasked with protecting the ship had been slaughtered. The Cosmic Sphere of Knowledge was melting down, and nothing could stop it now. Astral Babylon itself would survive, no doubt, but the planet would not. And Kath couldn't find his family anywhere._

_He had been halfway across the world from them, dealing with some diplomatic matter, when the initial attacks had begun. No one near him had realized at the time that the attacks had been occurring planet-wide, not just in the area where he was. He had spent a lot of his time helping to evacuate the people around him. It wasn't until Astral Babylon was infiltrated and the countdown to doom began that they had realized that the danger was not just close to this city, but in every_ _existing corner of their world. In desperation, he had teleported home, only to find that his wife and son were nowhere to be found. His mother was there, though, and so was Azerel. They had mere minutes left to escape. He ushered them both out of the house and toward a ship... but K'aria never made it. A single ruthless sword and a fierce explosion ended her life before she ever made it more than ten steps from the house. She fell dead at his feet._

_In a rage, Azerel had killed her murderer, but Kath had remained frozen in shock for too long. Flashbacks hit him of ever other time he'd seen someone die horribly in his horrible past, but then he was ripped back into the present. It was no better. Azerel had been forced to actually bite Kath's right wrist to snap him out of his traumatic memories and get him to focus again. The physical pain acted as an anchor, prevented the hawk from slipping away again, so he was actually grateful for it. But, anchored or not, he was still panicking. His wife and son were nowhere to be found, and they were out of time. Precious seconds remained until the end. In desperation, Kath tried to turn to search for them yet more, but two hands roughly grabbed him and forced him to stop. A familiar voice, Kani's, reached his ears, though he truly didn't know what she was saying right now. All he could hear clearly was the dull roaring of pain and grief and terror that was filling his mind and ears. Together, Kani and Azerel forced him onto the ship._

_By the time it took off, the ground was already splitting apart with great fissures of pure heavenly blue light. Explosions launched the poor small vessel into the air before the pilot could even properly lift it off the ground himself. The next few explosions only accelerated their violent ascent toward space, hurtling them up further and further until, suddenly, there was no longer any gravity to impede them. The ship tore off away from the planet as quickly as it could, followed by hundreds upon hundreds of others of varying sizes and shapes. Kath again felt like the six-year-old he had once been, helpless to do anything but watch as the unthinkable happened right before his very eyes. The planet exploded all at once with no warning, the shockwaves of brilliant light knocked the many escaping ships ruthlessly away. Some ships weren't so fortunate and were utterly vaporized along with everything and everyone in them. No one and no thing on Babylon besides Astral Babylon itself could have survived. Not even those he loved the most. He had failed to save the only family he had left... and he cried._

_For several years after that, part of his grief-filled heart hated Kani for preventing him from remaining on the planet on that day. But, in the end, he always knew that she and Azerel had prevented him from stupidly killing himself. And, more than that... he knew all along that Kani was never truly the one he hated. She hadn't failed three separate timesto keep her own family safe. She hadn't been failing her family since she was a small child. That had all been him. At the end of the day, he always knew that that was all him. Kani truly wasn't the one he hated. Not at all._

(-)

Frowning slowly, Kath pulled out of his memories and shoved them all aside. Time was no wave, constantly flowing forward and then receding to start anew. Time was a force that was and would forever more be pushing on ahead heedless of the tragedies that had come before. The past was unchangeable, indefinite, and long gone. He had no time to dwell on what had happened so long ago, to get lost in the sufferings of years long since finished. Though the dull ache of grief and anger would always linger in his heart until the end of his days, he simply couldn't allow that burden to again become the very central focus of his life. He had grieved so much in the immediate aftermath of that great tragedy, but he couldn't do so now. He had another war to fight. So many lives were once again at risk. He refused to allow such a great tragedy to befall other worlds as it had once befallen his. The Metarex would never get away with this, no more than he would ever again allow the Therians to. They would never again win.

Never.

**~ソニック~**

**4,366 words this time. Really hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 12:18 a.m.) 08-21-16.**


	273. In the Distance

**Hello, StarryMoon33! They aaare! X3 Haha, I thought it was pretty fun, too. Turns out, his mind tends to wander a lot when he's sleepy. XD I can't imagine it, either, but I do also feel so bad for him. Life is never an easy thing for him, though he does get periods of respite here and there. Poor guy. :(**

**~ソニック~**

Both Sonic and Kaden were in surprisingly good moods as they, together, rushed out to confront their latest attacker and drive said attacker away. This time, the attacker just so happened to be none other than Ivo Robotnik himself. For once, though, father and son decided to have a little bit of fun rather than take on their enemy and fight him seriously. Kaden and Sonic taunted the absolute living hell out of Ivo to the point where the man, for once, was openly furious. Ivo was so furious, in fact, that he turned rather purple in the face. Kaden and Sonic couldn't have cared less about the man's anger, and they continued to be absolute goofballs, simultaneously taking out robots all the while. Ivo, of course, tried to make them regret their antics by (what else) trying to kill them, and make them suffer in the process. But, in the end, he failed to do them any real harm. The two heroes drove him away, and had a good laugh about it for a long while afterward.

**~ソニック~**

In the middle of her afternoon playtime in the pool onboard the Blue Typhoon, Cream suddenly found herself having another series of visions yet again.

(-)

_In the first one, she saw Jet laying in his bed onboard the Blue Typhoon. His eyes were closed, but he wasn't sleeping. As he lay there, he heard an argument suddenly spark not far from the outside of his door. Frowning, he called out, "Lei, H'alia! Kokeita!" Though she couldn't be sure, Cream though he was telling someone to "Knock it off"._

(-)

_In the second one, she saw Kaden, just laying on a couch and watching a ceiling fan go and go and go. Though he was, as usual, perfectly content watching something spin in endless circles, he still had a lot on his mind that he just could ignore. The war of his forefathers was beginning anew, in a new age and on new worlds... And he didn't know if he would ever be able to stop it._

(-)

_In the third one, a baby cried and wailed, desperately trying to make it known how scared she truly was. Her father held her close, did his very best to comfort her even as the war raged around them. He was unable to stand, and she was unable to be calmed. Both were in sorry states, and their day could only get worse from here._

(-)

_In the fourth one, she saw the old grey hawk with heavenly blue eyes drawing a pure white sword with a equally pure black handle and sheath. The air grew noticeably colder around him as he did this, as did his own eyes. "You wish to see 'true power'?" he questioned his enemy coldly. "True power comes from the heart of the user. Not from their bodies." With that, he slashed through empty air and released an attack so devastating that the mountain in its path crumbled like sand._

(-)

_In the fifth one, Shadow watched in disbelief as his half-brother recklessly ran out onto the battlefield to grab one little stray dog that had wandered into the danger-zone before booking it back onto the ship. The doors closed for the second time behind Sonic, and the Typhoon rocketed up into the lime-green sky, leaving ill-looking purple landscape behind. Clouds soon overtook anything else he could see outside. Turning back to Sonic, Shadow silently reflected on how foolish the other hedgehog was... and just how happy and relieved that poor dog looked._

(-)

_In the sixth one, the desolate land upon which Analia stood roared with dark power. The ground quaked. The sky shattered. Stars seemed to rain down from the heavens to punish this dead world. There was no life remaining. Not anymore. The corruption was so great that none other than she could ever stand here without succumbing to its influence and perishing. But that would be the case no longer. She intended to purify this world and rid it of the dark forces their enemies had dragged here so many ages ago. She would put this poor lost soul of a planet to rest._

(-)

_In the seventh one, she saw a single line written in Jet's journal. Though the sentence was almost absurdly simple and direct, the statement truly seemed to have meaning deeper than the literal words she could see. "There is no honor in blood... no courage in sacrifice."_

(-)

_In the eighth one, she saw Tails picking up the device containing the starmap he had begun working on during the mess with the Metarex so long ago. "Funny..." he murmured to himself. "I never thought I'd get the chance to work on this thing again..." He turned to the Blue Typhoon and began walking, preparing for the somewhat difficult task of re-installing the device back into the ship. "If only the circumstances could have been better this time around..."_

(-)

_In the ninth vision, she saw the faces of people she didn't know, though the old grey one was familiar to her by now thanks to past visions. Attached to each image in her mind was a name. Selene, Luko, Tammy, Kath, and Jade._

(-)

_In the tenth one, she saw an open black flip phone with a single text message displayed on the screen. She didn't know who the message was from, nor whose phone this was and, therefore, who it was that had received the message. The message simply read, "Be there soon, Okeisha." It was then revealed to her that this word meant "Dad" and, while not quite disrespectful, was very borderline so. Someone then closed the phone._

(-)

_In the eleventh one, she saw a sword revealed to her to be known as "Alkarus". It was a blade crafted by the Immortals, the most powerful weapon they had ever made, and it was clashing brutally with a sword much darker than itself. Somehow, she got the feeling that the sword's usual owner was not the one currently wielding it. That was when it was revealed to her that the one clutching Alkarus's hilt with both hands was none other than Sonic._

(-)

_In the twelfth and final one, she saw Rouge. As Rouge flew up to Locke, the two of them were besieged by enemy forces. Shots rained down at them as plentiful as the innumerable droplets of rain that had long since soaked through their fur. The bitter cold was painful enough, but the searing lasers were worse. Desperate for shelter, the two lost treasure hunters sought out a cave and dove inside. Out of sight, out of mind, and out of range their friends' trackers. They were alone. For better or for worse... they were alone._

(-)

**~ソニック~**

The fight for the next Chaos Emerald was as sudden and unexpected as it was brief and violent. The clash ended brutally with yet another struggle between the heroes and the Metarex. Only this time, as with the time before, the Metarex were simply not alone, and the heroes were greatly outnumbered. The Metarex's allies, Kalin included, swarmed the heroes and hindered their progress every step of the way. Then, inevitably, Kaden and Kalin began to violently fight one another, going farther and father away from the group in the processes. There was no time to make chase or lend aid, however, so Sonic and the others forged on ahead through the tall, thick grasses on this vast, open world. There was no real cover, only grass and sparse, often lonely trees as far as the eye could see. The grasses were all some off combination of lime green colors and varying shades of yellow. The emerald fit in well, here. Too well. But Sonic knew where they were going.

Direction alone, however, quickly proved to not be enough. The enemy forces were still present everywhere the heroes turned, and the threats never seemed to diminish no matter how many enemies were destroyed. One particular enemy was so powerful that it utterly destroyed one of the only mountains that could be seen in the distance. Analia, thankfully, was more than a match for it, however. She vanquished the foe with great ease, and the group hurried along. The sooner they grabbed the emerald and got out of here, the better. Why Sonic felt such a sense of impending doom, however, was beyond him. He didn't know what to make of it. Even pretending they lost this emerald, that would only mean that both good and evil sides had two emeralds. That would mean the end... yet. So why the dread burrowing down deeper into the pit of his stomach? He honestly didn't know.

Fire snapped him out of his thoughts just as he saw sent sailing back by a blow he hadn't seen coming. All around him, his friends and family were scattered by attacks more numerous than the heroes themselves were. A small crater could be seen just feet away from where Sonic _had_ been. A robot, not a Metarex, snatched a distinct yellow glow out of it and began to make off with the treasure. The Metarex didn't shoot it down, didn't try to stop it. Instead, they simply followed, as though they believed those robots to be working on their side. With great and sudden clarity, Sonic realized that his two biggest enemies were almost certainly allies now.

Shadow lunged for the emerald, but a shot through the stomach knocked him on his back and prevented him from moving much again. Wave was shot next when she, too, attempted to save the precious emerald. Her right arm was rendered useless for the time being. Marthal and Sonic together were the last two to make an attempt to save the jewel, but vicious swords and deadly guns assailed them and prevented them from getting any nearer to their goal. The emerald had been mere inches from Sonic's fingertips. But then it was gone.

An emergency signal was suddenly broadcast from one communicator to all the others in that instant. It was a warning dire in its own way, one communicator telling all the rest that it was critically damaged and would no longer be able to function beyond sending out this one signal. There was absolutely no way that this could have been an accident. The owner of that communicator was in far more grave danger than anyone had previously guessed. With nothing left to do and their only hope now being to get everyone off this planet safely, the heroes who could began to head toward the signal as fast as possible while Analia took the rest back to the ship, to safety. That ship was everyone's only real hope to make it out of this mess alive.

By the time Sonic and the others reached the place where the signal was being broadcast from, it was too late. Blood stained the grass and dirt. Some of it was splashed up on a lonely tree with a thick canopy of dark green leaves. Small parts of the wrecked communicator lay scattered about on the dirt and barely visible in the tall grass. What was left of the main device sparked dangerously, but Sonic picked it up regardless. His heart sunk so low that it seemed to increase his own personal gravity, forcing him down onto his knees. He stared at the shattered device in shock, in horror, in disbelief. Pangs of genuine fear, the kind which he only rarely truly felt, shot through him with cold and cruel force. He tried not to panic as the reality of all this finally set in.

His father was gone.

**~ソニック~**

As he so often was when alone (or even when around people, a lot of the time), Kath was deeply lost in his own thoughts while he flew through the dark recesses of space toward his enemies. He had a little less than six days of travel left ahead of him at this rate of speed, unless he managed to work up the immense amount of energy he would need to teleport millions of miles through space to the Metarex mothership, the so-called "Scarship". But he doubted that would happen anytime soon, let alone soon _enough_, so he simply continued to fly, and to think. But then something brought him out of his thoughts. A beacon, of sorts, that he could more _feel_ than see. Turning his head a bit to the right, he caught sight of a pure white light alone in the distance, seemingly resting atop a large asteroid he would have to pass by to get to where he was going. Its presence _on top _of something lent itself to his instantaneous belief that this was no distant star he was seeing. It was much too close by, besides. But what was it? Of that, he was for once unsure. Intent on finding out, however, he changed direction just slightly and began making his detour to the lonely asteroid.

**~ソニック~**

**2,203 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed! I could be wrong, but this arc may be more than halfway through now... ;) Posted (at about five a.m.) 08-22-16.**


	274. The Fear

**Hello, Skye the Hedgehog101! But he iiis! DX And I cannot say... Spoilers and all. But you'll find out! ;D**

**Hello, StarryMoon33! I KNOOOW! D: Poor Sonikku... ;_; Heck, poor Kaden, too. _He's_ the one that got kidnapped, after all. And, yeah! Go Kath!**

**Hello, thatguy4643! Well, white, not silver. There isn't a silver emerald. But yes, maybe! You'll find out here. XD Oh, I know! It's sooo sad. :(**

**~ソニック~**

Life was so precious. It was so precious and so infinitely fragile. A single gust of wind could snuff at that flame in an instant. This was especially so when the fire of life was so young, so new, so preciously small. Her babies' lives were so deeply invaluable to her, and they always, _always_ would be. But... they were far from being the _only_ lives that in some way muttered to her. The lives of all her friends and family of course also mattered to her. She couldn't think of a single person whose life _didn't_ matter to her in some way. It wasn't in her nature to put out life over another. It wasn't in her nature to consider some lives worthless and others of worth. But it _was_ in her nature to care.

And she cared _so _much about Kaden.

Her care for Kaden ran so deep that, sometimes, it genuinely hurt her. She loved him so, so dearly, and she knew that her feelings didn't go unrequited. A hard time though he could often have with expressing his feelings, any of them, she knew that he he was as attached to her as she was to him. And he worried for her, just as she did for him. Only this time... it was merely her who was in any sort of position to be worrying. After all, she was safe, as were their children, and she didn't doubt that he knew that. But he himself was in some sort of danger. This time, she feared that she would be unable to to lend him aid as she had done so many times in the past. She feared that he was on his own.

Holding her precious sleeping babies closer to herself as she sat in the dark in the nursery onboard the Blue Typhoon, Analia squeezed her eyes shut. For the first time in a long time, she found herself fighting back true tears, and not the happy kind. The tears soon began to slide down her cheeks, silent expressions of fear. _Oh, Kaden... be safe... please..._

**~ソニック~**

Pain blossomed briefly in Kath's right fingertips as he lightly touched the foreign, brightly glowing gem. He then retracted his fingers hesitantly, compulsively, before finally working up the nerve to fully grabbed the object. He hated touching new things. This one _burned_. The glow was incredibly harmful, just as he'd expected it to be just based off of the intensity of the light the object was emitting. The jewel genuinely seemed to be rejecting his touch for just a moment, but then the light finally calmed and the glow began to ease away. The intense pain in his hand remained (though it barely registered unless he stopped ignoring it), but the power that was responsible for that pain suddenly and quickly subsided. All that remained was a pure yet harmless white light that had finally settled into tolerable levels of brightness. And yet, buried within that light and the gem that housed it was so much _more_... He knew that much. There was no question in his mind that what he held now in the palm of his hand was none other than a Chaos Emerald. This was a treasure like none other in the entire universe. It was an invaluable artifact born on Mobius, the very world whose assault had sparked his latest flash of anger, thus prompting him to draw his sword and come out here again. But that was no matter now.

_This_... This was an invaluable find. The fact that it was out here of all places (and resting on a lonely asteroid, no less) told him that its owner was somewhere in space as well, no doubt fighting the Metarex (or at least intending to) just as he himself would soon be doing once again. There was no real telling where, exactly, said owner currently was just based off of this information, of course, but he held no doubts in his mind that he would be meeting this mysterious person before this war was finally through. Of this, he was truly certain. But, until this, he had other problems to worry about, other battles he needed to be fighting. For now, he needed to ensure that he got to the mothership safely, and without incident. The more strength and energy he had in him when he reached the Metarex, the better. That meant that he simply couldn't risk keeping this jewel on his person. Not now, not out here, and certainly not when he was so utterly alone. So, with that in mind, he teleported the jewel away to a place where he could always reclaim it (but where it would also be safe until that time when it would be needed). Then, with this task complete, he turned and continued silently on his way.

**~ソニック~**

Dark Oak sat utterly alone in the dark in his throne room onboard the mothership. He sat there, alone, for truly no other reason than the simple fact that he desired to. And as he sat there, the holographic screen before him showed the face of his most powerful and intelligent foe yet, Kath Salone Inara. Leader of the Watchers. Creator of the Galactic Armada. Wielder of not just one but _four_ Immortal swords, as well as the Sword of Winter. Son of T'alo Keitra and and K'aria Inara. Most intelligent living thing to have ever existed. Greatest threat the Metarex had ever seen in their many years of life.

This _one_ man knew immeasurably more than the entire Metarex army as a whole could ever _hope _to know, and Dark Oak utterly _hated_ him for that simple fact. He could never measure up to this one bird's mind... and that was simply unacceptable. But this disparity did not in any way mean that the Metarex were incapable of learning. That was why he was here now, alone and in the dark, staring at this one simple screen. To learn. In order to defeat this ancient foe, he _needed_ to know more about said foe. So, below that single damn photo, he read all the information his armies had managed to gather on the old hawk... though there wasn't much.

**Name:**

_(first) _Kath _(middle) _Salone _(last)_ Inara

**Age:**

190 of 207

**Weapons:**

-Babylonian Rogue's traditional dagger _(A piece of nearly lost heritage from the original Planet Babylon)_

-Trest L-ET Pulse Rifle _(One of the most powerful pulse rifles to ever exist. Fires pure energy, but can also shoot real bullets. Kath's own invention. His most commonly used weapon from ages fourteen to sixteen. Rarely uses nowadays.)_

-Aura Gun _(Seldom uses. Nothing is known about it.)_

-Cleyferus _(Second Blade of the Immortals and second most powerful Immortal Sword. Seldom uses)_

-Teri'senin _(Third Blade of the Immortals and ninth most powerful Immortal Sword. Seldom uses.)_

-Ashi'teri _(Tenth Blade of the Immortals and eleventh most powerful Immortal sword. Seldom uses)_

-Blade of Winter/Winter's Blade _(A weapon that channels all the coldness in one's heart to make itself grow even more powerful. This chill can be brought on by old hatred, pain, grief, anger, loneliness, and so on. The weapon's name is derived in part from it's colorations. It is a pure white blade with a pure black handle and sheath. This is his most commonly used weapon besides Alkarus.)_

-Alkarus _(Eleventh Blade of the Immortals. It's the most powerful Immortal sword, of which there are twelve. His other most commonly used weapon. As with the other Immortal blades, nothing of great importance is known about it.)_

**Vehicles:**

_(All were constructed by Kath himself and are still fully functional.)_

-Vanguard Sparrow _(A hoverbike created from lost technology in a world that died billions of years ago. It is white with black designs. Capable of traveling as fast as Kath himself.)_

-Zeklan _(A Babylonian solar surfer. It has a black board and dark blue sail with lighter blue highlights in direct sunlight.)_

-The Sea Raven/The Raven of the Sea _(Name has been translated. In Babylonian, it's called "A'trial Ninho" or "A'trial Saliar", depending on which word for "raven" is being used. This is a large ship that has sailed the vast oceans many a time.)_

-Nalei/Sashi'nalei _(A large Babylonian ship that, in spite of it's size, is capable of seating only one. Perfect for those who don't seek to have company on their journeys. A very fast and powerful dark grey/black ship with a fully-functioning warp-drive. Has ventured through space many times.)_

**Powers:**

"Vision", Flight, Teleportation, Speed

_(Other powers unknown)_

**Allies:**

Babylonians, Celestial Wolves, 3 of 4 Immortals, 2 of 26 "Gods", 3 of 3,328, 927 Pathfinders, the da Asani

**Enemies:**

The Therians, The Klarix, the Metarex, the Arxolza, the Shan-tin, the Klarroxon, the Tchutah, the Sokax, Reshin (a Babylonian banished from the homeworld before its destruction), the Rashani, etc

_(Too many enemies to list all)_

**Living Family:**

Unknown, assumed none

**Friends:**

Selena _(Babylonian hawk, deceased)_, Selene _(Babylonian Hawk)_, Azerel _(Celestial Wolf)_, Aphearus _(Babylonian Falcon)_, T'aris _(Babylonian Falcon)_, Kani _(Babylonian Finch)_, Queen Laralei _(Babylonian hawk, deceased)_, Luko, Tammy, Marita _(Daughter of former leader of da Asani, current leader, responsible for Mobius's name)_

_(Others potentially exist but are unknown)_

**Health Problems (Physical, Mental, Emotional):**

Prone to seizures, prone to high fevers, very slightly near-sighted _(does not need glasses)_, prone to stress so severe it creates risk of heartattack, severe autism _(many symptoms)_, abnormally strong social anxiety, at risk of panic/anxiety attacks _(had a notable amount of them in the past)_, PTSD, depression _(comes and goes, currently seems unaffected by it)_, very prone to anger _(can have trouble controlling it, but usually takes it out on enemies instead of others)_

**Weaknesses:**

Old age _(slower and weaker than he once was)_, more enemies than allies, difficult to wake when sleeping _(typically won't sleep and rarely needs to, but crashes hard and needs to sleep at least ten hours when he does)_, may possess a certain weakness to electricity _(being struck by electricity may cause him to have one of the seizures he is already prone to)_, will stop at nothing to protect those he cares about and those he has deemed to be "innocents" in a war/fight

_(Other weaknesses may exist but are unknown)_

Suddenly furious, Dark Oak clenched his right fist and slammed it _hard _into the armrest on the same side, creating a harsh echoing _boom_! _None_ of this helped him at all. The only things that even could _potentially_ help him were useless as well. He couldn't strike at Kath's allies because the hawk had made _damn _sure that they were all protected and safe (so much so that even Dark Oak himself simply couldn't get to them). Kath was still too powerful and fast to be caught, even in spite of his old age. Using electricity on him would likely do no good, too. Kath could simply dodge, what with his speed and all. And, besides that, if he ended up allying or even becoming _friends_ with Sonic's pathetic little group as Dark Oak believed he would, then the fox-child and green hawk could merely deal with the electricity for Kath, thus eliminating the threat. And, to make matters worse, nearly all of Kath's latent abilities and powers were _complete_ mysteries to all but those closest to him. That alone was a huge problem.

_None_ of this helped. None of it! Their last true hopes were the Planet Eggs (of which today they had only acquired a measly _three)_, Chaos Emeralds (of which they now had two), and the dark weapon they had only just acquired (or stolen, depending on how one wanted to look at it). Said weapon was their most immediate hope, disobedient though that weapon would likely be in the beginning. But not matter. Everything in existence had a breaking point. Theoretically. He hardly believed this weapon to be invincible. His newest property would learn soon enough to obey. _It_ would be a nothing more than a weapon, no longer a pathetic _person_. So he had decided, so it would be.

Determined to see at least _this_ part of his grand plans succeed, he changed the image on his screen to a security video feed, sat back, and watched.

**~ソニック~**

Sonic was, for the third time, looking over and reading the list of symptoms Marthal had given him the night before. While he laid back on his bed, his eyes skimmed the first page. There was so much he felt like he needed to learn and memorize to help his friend, maybe even take care of said friend if and when he needed it. But, if that was true, then that reinforced in his mind the idea that Jet and Wave also needed to be made aware of Jet's apparent autism (as even Jet himself didn't seem to have any idea that he was... _different_). The problem of how to broach the subject continued to bother Sonic, though, and the only times when it _didn't_ bother him was when he was being distracted by some battle or whatever. Now, however, there was downtime and his worries plagued his mind. How would Wave take this news? What would she think about it How would she feel? What would she say? For that matter, how would _Jet_ react?

Sighing softly, Sonic set the papers aside and rolled over, putting the pages at his back. Maybe he could worry about it later.

**~ソニック~**

Cosmo abruptly awoke and realized several things with a great start. One, she could move without bringing herself undue amounts of pain. Two, the lights were flickering badly in the room (which was what had woken her, she supposed). Three, grave _danger_ was near. Heart thudding in her chest with so much force she thought it might cripple her, she tossed the blankets aside and practically jumped out of the bed. With scarcely another sound beyond her own fast-pumping heart and harsh breathing, she ran to the door, slammed the button to open it, and sprinted down the hall.

She _had_ to warn them. She _had_ to.

**~ソニック~**

**2,422 words this time. This chapter proves that no, I haven't forgotten about Cosmo. ...Although I almost did. XD Anyway, time for yet more pronunciation helpers! 1.) Salone: "Suh-lone" **

**2.) Inara: "Ee-nah-ruh"**

**3.) Keitra: "Kae-truh"**

**4.) K'aria: "Kah-ree-uh"**

**5.) Trest: Pronounced the same as the word "crest", just with a "t" at the beginning.**

**6.) ****Zeklan: "Zehk-lahn"**

**7.) ****A'trial Ninho: "Ah-tree-all nihn-hoe"  
**

**8.) ****A'trial Saliar: "Ah-tree-all sahl-ee-ahr"**

**9.) Nalei: "Nah-lae"**

**10.) ****Sashi'nalei: "Sah-shee-nah-lei"**

**11.) Cleyferus: "Clay-fair-us"**

**12.) Teri'senin: "Tehr-ee-sehn-een"**

**13.) ****Ashi'teri: "Ah-shih-tehr-ee"**

**14.) Therians: "There-ee-ihns"**

**15.) Klarix: "Klah-ricks"**

**16.) Metarex: "Meht-uh-recks"**

**17.) Arxolza: "Arcs-ole-zuh"**

**18.) ****Shan-tin: "Shahn-tihn"**

**19.) Klarroxon: "Klah-rocks-on"**

**20.) Tchutah: "Chu-tah"**

**21.) ****Sokax: "Soe-kax" (short "a" like in "cat")**

**22.) Reshin: "Reh-shin"**

**23.) ****Rashani: "Rah-shah-nee"**

**24.) ****Selena: "Suh-lee-nuh"**

**25.) ****Selene: "Suh-leen"**

**26.) ****Azerel: "A-zeh-rehl" (short "a" like in "cat")**

**27.) ****Aphearus: "Uh-feer-iss"**

**28.) ****T'aris: "Tah-riss"**

**29.) ****Kani: "Kah-nee"**

**30.) ****Laralei: "Lah-ruh-lae"**

**31.) Luko: "Loo-koe"**

**32.) Tammy: "Tam-mee"**

**33.) Marita: "Mah-ree-tah"**

**34.) da Asani: "Dah ah-sah-nee"**

**Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about five a.m.) 08-23-16.**


	275. Retribution

**Hello, StarryMoon33! I do, too... She really does. :( I know! Go Kath! :D Das not gud at all, huh? Very worrisome, actually. SHE SHALL REVEAL SOON. XD**

****-ソニック~****

Pain was one of the many things in his generally awful life that he wished he knew how to forget. It was also one of the few things he could never truly escape, no matter how damn fast he could run. It was always there, always looming over him, a dark reminder of the things he had gone through in the past… and the horrors he had yet to experience. A part of him feared it would never stop. A part of him feared that if it did he would be left feeling nothing at all. He didn't want to be numb. Not again. He had gone through that sort of bleak existence too many times before as it was. If he could help it, it would never happen again. Not that he was truly conscious enough to being consciously going over these things in his mind. Nor was he seconds or minutes or maybe even years later, when a voice vaguely reached his ears, faintly saying about "brother" this and "brother" that. He hardly cared for it. The infinite darkness soon swallowed him away again, anyway.

When next he regained consciousness, his blurry vision swam. With each beat of his heart, his head pounded with a headache so bad his ears rang. He couldn't move, though he could remember his head slamming into something sometime earlier. He prayed he hadn't been paralyzed. That was the absolute _last_ thing he needed to add to his list of things to worry about, especially when he had people to protect and kids to raise and-

Oh, god. Analia. The kids. There weren't here too, were they? …Wherever this place actually was. God, he needed to snap out of this. He needed to snap out of this, wake up fully, actually _open his damn eyes_ again, and figure out where in the hell he actually was. From there… Well, he'd figure it out once he got that far. Winging it was probably his only viable option here, not that he usually followed any other sort of strategies in this situation, anyway. The fact that he even had similar past experiences like this one to reference for that thought was just _sad_, so far as he was concerned. What a sorry "weapon" he was. Not that he had ever wanted to be seen as less than a person, but even still. He'd trained nearly his entire early life to be that _one_ thing. Had all those years truly gone to waste? Had he truly learned _nothing_ back then?

No. No, he wasn't going to do that to himself. Doubt was a dark seed planted by those who would seek to use him, abuse him, and he refused to give them yet more leverage. Instead, he buried his doubts and opened his eyes. As he'd expected, things remained blurry for several long moments. However, his vision soon cleared and he found that he was restrained from the shoulders down by some sort of large mechanical device, hence the reason he couldn't move earlier (apparently). It appeared to be titanium or… _something_ similar that he couldn't exactly name at the moment (he blamed his head wound), but that was irrelevant. All that mattered was that he _normally_ would have managed to break it, and easily. Assuming he was uninjured, of course. It just figured that today would be one of the few days when he got so badly wounded he was actually basically incapacited. It just _figured_. After all, the universe had to hate _someone_, didn't it? Ludicrous though that thought was, a tinge of bitterness still remained on his tongue as he silently cursed. _Damn my luck… _

That was when a now all-too-familiar voice suddenly decided to speak. "Huh. So you're actually coherent already. That took a lot less time than I'd expected. Only an hour to recover to severe blunt force trauma to the head… I'll have to remember that."

Turning his head to the left as much as he could in this awkward forever-standing-against-his-will position, Kaden glared out of the corner of his eye at Kalin, his brother from another timeline. He was so tempted to use language he normally never even considered to be part of his vocabulary (save for when he was in his Dark Form or nearly so), but he decided in the end to just be cool and formal. He wouldn't let on to his emotional state. There. There was one thing he managed to learn as a child, he supposed. He could do this. He did it every day. How could he fail here? "It will do you no good."

Kalin, who was leaning back against a metal wall with his arms loosely and almost casually crossed, shrugged unconcernedly. For once, he wasn't smirking. He didn't even appear to be _remotely_ interested in taunting Kaden and pressing his buttons. It was _beyond_ strange. "Perhaps, perhaps not. I suppose we'll see someday, won't we?"

Kaden's eyes narrowed. "Not if you're dead by the end of this day."

"Threatening your own brother? How shameful." And yet, the comment lacked any real fluctuation of tone. It was missing that key element of laughter at another's expense. So, so odd. And actually a little unnerving.

"You know nothing of shame," Kaden responded coldly. "I highly doubt that you have ever felt _shame_ in the entirety of your misbegotten life."

"And if I had I am sure you would laugh."

"I do not laugh."

"Such a shame. Laughter is rather enjoyable. I know from experience, you see. I laugh quite often." Kalin finally smiled, but it seemed… forced, somehow. "For example, it's _laughable_ that you think you can escape your current bonds in your state, let alone do so within the few precious hours left of this day."

_And yet… he is not actually laughing. _Greatly suspicious, more so now than he had been before, Kaden felt his eyes narrow further down to dangerous slits. "Something is wrong with you," he accused coldly, though not out of any form of concern. And something _was_ wrong with the other hedgehog… Something beyond the fact that Kalin was straight evil and perhaps slightly crazy in some areas. Or maybe more than slightly.

In response to Kaden's words, Kalin's gaze (which had never once moved Kaden's way for the duration of this conversation) slowly drifted up toward the ceiling. He appeared… thoughtful, in a way that suggested he may have actually been contemplating the meaning of his life or something akin to that. Long moments passed before Kalin actually spoke. And when he did, his words were slow, deliberate. "During our fight earlier… you demanded to know what it is that I fear."

_Everyone fears something. _Kaden did remember saying that to Kalin as their swords clashed (he winced secretly at the memory of just how badly that clash had cracked Saika), though he didn't exactly remember asking the question now. However, it did ring a vague bell, lending minor credence to Kalin's equally minor claim. "What about it?" he muttered, doing his best not to let on that he still didn't remember for himself that he had ever asked such a thing.

For the second time, deep silence answered Kaden. Kalin continued to gaze at the ceiling, expression thoughtful but otherwise surprisingly unreadable as a whole. Then, finally, he decided to share what was on his mind. "I fear…" he pushed off the wall and began walking to the door, the only one leading into or out of this room, "…retribution."

With that, he was gone.

****-ソニック~****

****1,300 words this time around. Hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 5:00 a.m.) 08-24-26.****


	276. Trust, Hope, and Understanding

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Welp, I'm glad you like him. I like him as well. :)**

****-ソニック~****

Agony raced up and down his spine like an endless current of lightning. The contraption that held him in place (some sort of magically powered machine), continued to prevent him from escaping in spite of how hard he was struggling. He hadn't experienced true _pain_ like this since he'd been tortured so many years ago by Kathros, Kochei, and Ynche. The memories were _dripping_ with dark emotions, and he knew that they most certainly were _not_ helping him resist what Black Narcissus was trying to do. But he _had_ to resist. The impressions he gleaned from the Metarex's magic were far from peaceful and friendly. This creature, like so many other beings he had encountered in his life, knew of his ties to the Realm of Darkness and wanted nothing more than to turn him into a weapon to channel that Darkness whenever and however they pleased. The story of his entire goddamn life, more or less. And he _hated_ it. But he had to resist.

Cracking his eyes open tensely, he called up his Pathfinder abilities. Instantly, innumerable wisp-like threads of pure white energy appeared all around him, threads only those who shared in his abilities could see. The particular thread he focused on showed one Fate that he was interested in. _His_ fate. If he fell now... the universe was doomed. Everyone and everything he had ever, _ever_ cared about would be killed, eradicated, wiped from existence. There was no _way_ he was going to go down willingly. He wouldn't just sit back passively and _let_ this happen. _I'm stronger than you seem to think, you bastard... _he thought darkly, shooting a positively murderous glance at his enemy, the being who had been ruining his sleep constantly for more than a couple of days by now. He then reflexively squeezed his eyes shut when he again felt a fresh wave of agony shoot violently up his spine and back down again. He choked back a sound of utter pain. In spite of his determination, it was immensely difficult to focus on things _other_ than pain when said pain was this intense. That was something he knew from dark experience. He was still trying, of course, but...

That was when an entirely unfamiliar voice reached his ears. _"My kin have always been strong. You are right to believe in your own abilities, to trust yourself enough to know you will survive this and walk away in the end."_

For the second time in as many minutes, Kaden forced his eyes open. This time, his eyes settled upon a figure he could barely make out, due to how badly his vision was fading in and out of focus. Given Black Narcissus's lack of reaction to the figure, he immediately assumed this figure was a ghost. This one genuinely seemed to be here with the intent to help (rather than just irritate for the most part as the other spirit he'd seen recent had done), but he dared not speak back. Narcissus may not have been able to hear the spirit, but he _would_ hear his own prisoner. Kaden remained trapped in more ways than one, barred from communicating with quite possibly his only escape. He cursed on the inside. _Dammit... Dammit... _

The spirit spoke again. _"Ashal," _the smooth male voice said calmly, speaking a word so immensely ancient that even Kaden had no idea what language it was from or what it may have meant. _"Calm yourself, Kaden." _Somehow, he was unsurprised that this spirit knew his name. They all seemed to, somehow. _"To break free, you must go Dark," _Kaden felt himself freeze up involuntarily, _"but you must remain calm while doing so. I know you have heard of a 'calm fury' before. As impossible as it may seem, it is the key to the control you now need." _

_Is he fucking insane? _Kaden thought in disbelief, using a word he normally frowned upon (in spite of his own quite colorful vocabulary). His disbelief was so great that, for a blissful moment, he was actually very well distracted from the pain he was still in. But then the emotion ebbed, and the agony returned to the forefront of his mind. Once again, he found himself struggling not to focus solely on what he was physically feeling. He also continued to try to bury his negative emotions.

_"Listen to me, Kaden," _the voice said. _"I have already told you what to do. Take hold of your emotions. Admit that they and this power are a part of yourself. Cease your endless denials of them and let them flow freely through you without allowing them to consume you. Utilize the power you were gifted with from birth."_

So this ghost thought that the Darkness was a _gift_. Of course it did. So many people seemed to think it was, but he never had. He _couldn't_. Just the last time he'd gone Dark _alone_ was enough to convince him that this damn power was a _curse_. It was no gift. The last time he had gone Dark, he could very well have ended up harming or perhaps even killing Analia, the only woman he had ever loved. And in that state, he wouldn't have _cared_. No _gift_ would turn him into a violent force of death and mass destruction, capable of all-too-happily wiping out even those who truly mattered to him when he was in his right mind. Just the idea of what he could have done, all the horrors _he_ could have made a reality ever time he transformed... it was enough to make him want to cry, even now. He hid this, of course, but he could still feel his heart clenching. _I hate this..._ Truly, even that bitter thought would never be enough to allow him to accurately express just how _much_ he really did hate it.

Somehow, someway, the ghost actually seemed to be aware of his thoughts, and every other little thing running through his mind and heart. The spirit's words were proof of that. _"It is true that the Darkness is dangerous far beyond any one person's capacity for understanding," _he conceded, _"but it is not the only power in existence capable of life-shattering devastation. The Light, too, can bring about just as much harm when used carelessly, as can Arcane Magic of nearly any kind. And yet, you do not think of Light or Magic as being some horrible curse upon existence. Darkness can bring about as much good and healing as the Light can, Kaden, and you yourself have witnessed this before. You have yourself brought about much of this good. How, then, can this power truly be nothing but terrible?" _

This question gave Kaden genuine pause as his pain-fogged mind slowly began to remember various incidents where he _had_ actually controlled his Darkness to do some good. _Saving Laralei's ships, shielding Pyros, battling Dark Gaia, fighting Ivo, stopping Chaos's rampage... _All of these memories came rushing back to him in a blur, but he still successfully made sense of them. And, no sooner than he did, the spirit spoke again.

The spirit seemed intent on banishing any last shadows of doubt from Kaden's mind. _"Think back to your many years of study," _he murmured. _"You know my name. You know what I have done for the sake of existence. I never stopped using my Darkness, not until the very day I finally perished. My Darkness is far more potent than yours will ever be... and even I managed to do some good." _Slowly, ever so slowly, Kaden felt himself freeze up again as he realized the full implications of what he had just been told. This... This was no random spirit. This was none other than Zenith himself, the first member of his family to ever exist. Shocked into stillness, Kaden barely noticed it when the spirit imparted him some last words. _"Control your Darkness, Kaden. It is everyone's final hope." _Then he was gone.

****-ソニック~****

Cosmo was bent over at the waist, bracing herself on her knees as she fought to catch her breath. Sonic and Tails, the only other two people in the control room at the moment, traded equal looks of worry as they waited for her to recover enough that she could tell them why in the world she had gotten out of bed, let alone come sprinting down here so quickly. It didn't take too long for her to catch her breath, a relief in its own way, and the moment she did she forced herself to stand up straight and speak. "Something is coming," she said quickly. "We have to move the ship out of this area as fast as we possible can."

Tails's ears dropped. "Cosmo... _what's_ coming?" he dared to ask. Sonic waited very tensely for an answer.

"A Metarex beast that resembles a dragon," Cosmo answered, voice quiet but serious and steady. "My people knew it as Naga. Naga possessed power beyond what you all may be able to handle right now, especially with one of you missing. It would be one thing if the sixth Guardian were awake and here, but..." She trailed off and shook her head.

Puzzled, Sonic frowned. _Didn't Dad's journal mention something about a "Guardian"? _

"It can destroy this entire ship and everyone on it, probably easily," Cosmo continued urgently. "We must escape before it arrives."

"Won't it just keep following us?" Tails asked, tone anxious and desperate.

Cosmo's eyes suddenly flashed with a determination at odds with the gentility she normally seemed to display. "No," she said firmly, "because we're going to take shelter in the one place it _can't_ go." Both Sonic and Tails looked at her silently, waiting to hear what this mysterious place was. Cosmo remained as firm and determined as before. "If we are to survive, we must venture into the 'Devil's Nebula'." She looked away. "It's our only hope."

Sonic wasted _no_ time. He spun around to face Tails. "Chart a course, now," he ordered. "We are _not_ going to die out here if we can help it." Tails nodded and immediately began doing what he was told. Sonic gritted his teeth. He knew they were leaving his father further and further behind, but... it was as Cosmo had said just seconds before. This was their only hope.

****-ソニック~****

****1,736 words this time. Last part feels kinda rushed to me, but whatever. Hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at around midnight) 08-26-16.****


	277. Nearing Conclusion

**Hello, StarryMoon33! YAAAS, GO KADEN! He must do it! :D YEP. Yes, guys, run! Run for it! D:**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Hey! Sorry I don't have proper review replies for you here... See, I'm on my phone right now, and it's pretty hard to type something long on here. Plus I'm on my way off to work, so I don't exactly have the time to try. However, I promise I'll have review replies for you in the next chapter that I'll be typing up tonight and posting tomorrow! :D**

****-ソニック~****

The moment the Blue Typhoon entered the severely dangerous-sounding nebula Cosmo had told them about, a huge roar shattered the stillness of space. The ship rumbled. Through the dust clouds, they could see the silhouette of a truly massive robotic dragon on the distance. Everyone was now gathered in the control room, and the sound of the beast made the twins start crying fearfully. Charmy whimpered a little in fear when he saw the silhouette. Cream's eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hands. Cheese hid behind her. Tails audibly gulped, and Cosmo just looked... frozen. The kids were far from the only ones who were frightened, of course, but the adults were far too serious to show their own fear. Sonic desperately wracked his mind for a solution, tried to come up with some sort of plan of action to deal with this new huge threat. He was coming up completely, horribly empty.

A bright yellow flash caught _everyone's_ attention, and every head (save for the heads of the twins) whipped around to look back out the windows. Outside, a huge ball of some kind of yellow energy hit the silhouette of the dragon, eliciting a roar of something akin to agony from the dragon, Naga. Whoever or whatever had created the attack that had struck Naga was invisible to them from here, but it soon became very clear that Naga was fighting its attacker and was, for now at least, ignoring Sonic and the others. The only problem was, though, that they needed to go right past the fight in order to get to where they were going. Gulping again, Tails resumed piloting the ship, bringing then ever closer to the struggle.

As suddenly as it began, the fight was over. No sooner than it was, Sonic (who was still peering through one of the windows) caught sight of a grey Babylonian-looking figure wielding a powerful sword. The person (an old man, it looked like) floated effortlessly in space, facing the ruins of Naga's now lifeless mechanical body. Then the man turned, and heavenly blue eyes flashed Sonic's way. Faster than Sonic could blink, the man disappeared. There was a sudden rush of energy that Sonic could _feel_, and then the man was gone. He had teleported. And, left floating in space within the black rubble... the dark blue Chaos Emerald. No sooner than they had acquired that precious jewel, a yellow glow encased their entire ship, and they were dragged through space.

****-ソニック~****

Though he now knew what he apparently needed to do, Kaden found himself still in a position where he simply _couldn't_ do it. He remained trapped and in so much pain that he very nearly felt numb. And yet, he wasn't anywhere near numb _enough_. Agony was now his constant companion, and he felt everything about him narrowing to this pinpoint of existence. There was _so_ much pain. His vision, when he could get his uncooperative eyes to open (though he didn't know why he bothered trying), swam. His head pounded and spun. He couldn't seem to get enough air into his lungs no matter how fast or deeply he breathed. None of his muscles would relax even just a little. His heart was pounding much too fast for his own good. But, before he had a chance to try to focus his thoughts enough to make an attempt at recalling what all of these symptoms together meant, an explosion of fresh agony at new high levels suddenly hit him and, for the first time since escaping Kathros's wicked clutches, he really and truly fainted.

****-ソニック~****

Kalin sat alone in his quarters, arms crossed and eyes closed. His back was against the headboard of his bed, his pillow between them, and his legs were stretched out before him. On his face, he wore a frown. As he sat there, he recalled his little encounter with his brother not too long ago. More specifically, he recalled his own words. _"During our fight earlier... you demanded to know what it is I fear." _Slowly, ever so slowly, Kalin's silent frown deepened. _"I fear... ...retribution." _Though he could never honestly claim that he regretted his life decisions and his actions, he hadn't been lying when he had said that. He couldn't deny even just too himself that he feared the wrath of those he had wronged in years past. Or, at least, those who had been lucky to escape from him alive. In particular, three faces came into view. His older brother, the Kaden from his own time... and his parents.

_Kaden. _In his own timeline, Kalin had ruthlessly hunted his brother and those he cared for down. His first true great acts of evil had been slaughtering each and every single person he came across who was in some way important to his brother. Kaden's partner and their four children (aged fourteen, thirteen and a half, and, god forbid, two and two) had been the first ones to die. Kaden hadn't been home then... doubtless he had seen them later, though. Before he could ever hope to raise the alarm and potentially spare his other loves ones, however, Kalin struck again and again and again and again. Locke had been the next to die, then Marthal, then some bunny named Merry, Queen Laralei and her son Ross, Kane and Kari, Jacob and Molly, their son Tails, Marie, Han and Mara, some child named Storm, Locke's partner Laura, Han and Mara's child Wave, Keiri, Ross's wife Selena... Then, finally, he struck down Merry's infant child, along with the child's babysitter. All in a matter of a week.

In the wake of this monstrous crime spree, he left nothing but damage. Laralei's grandson was now an orphan, and was Locke and Laura's son Knuckles. Marie's husband Harold was now the only one left to raise their daughter Amy. Storm's parents (however neglectful they were) were now left childless. Kane, Kari, Marthal, Keiri, Jacob, Molly, Tails, Han, Mara, and Wave's family lines had ended. Kaden's family was now entirely gone, save for himself, his parents, and his murderous brother. But then... somehow... Sonic ended up revived, and Kalin just knew those damn Chaos Emeralds were at the root of it. But Kaden took those gems, his oldest son, the two orphaned boys, Harold, and Amy, and the group went into hiding. Only Kaden ever dared venture out to fight Kalin until, eventually, the Metarex. By that time, the children had grown up and were worthy fighters in their own rights. They led the war against the Metarex... but their chances had been slim from the start. And yet, there were still somehow alive, and the Metarex could never seem to capture them. Their retribution, along with Kaden's, would be great if ever they managed to carry it out.

_Satsuno. _His father was, as odd and unfitting as it sounded, a family man. Highly absorbed in his work and duties though he was, he always made time for those he loved and he held those people in the highest possible regard. He loved deeply, more deeply than most people were capable of understanding. Even though raising an autistic child and a forever-troublemaking child at more or less the same time had been undeniably difficult (even ignoring how many other duties he'd had to attend to), no one had ever been able to deny that he had loved every second of it... though he hadn't always been the best at showing it. The brutal murders of his daughter-in-law and grandchildren had been terrible enough for him, but then he inevitably got word that it was his _own son_ who had committed this atrocity. And then... that same son had made an attempt on his life as well. The fury and grief in Satsuno's eyes had been nothing like the calmness and warmth Kalin had known prior to that moment. His father's eyes had blazed. In that moment, Kalin knew that nothing would save him. Even if he survived that battle (which of course he had), nothing would ever spare him from his father's heart... from the pain he had caused. That was, perhaps, a far worse retribution than that of Kaden's.

_Seiko. _His mother had always, always been such a beautiful woman both inside and out. She loved both because of and in spite of flaws, never once trying to claim that someone had to fit some perfect image to gain her heart. She had been such a pure spirit, loving both of her sons equally in spite of their differences, their difficulties, their _flaws_. And yet, there had been a flaw that even she had apparently missed, a great evil in her youngest child that ended up consuming him easily. He _allowed_ it to happen, and he kept it hidden from her, fearing the loss of her love. Then, in the end, he stopped caring, and he turned his blade on perhaps the only person left in existence (save for his father, furious though Satsuno had proven he was) who still loved him anymore. Her clothes had once been so white... And when she had died, her eyes had still been so open and loving. She had died with those three sacred words on her lips, words he had told himself he had never wanted to hear from her or anyone else again. And now... now he feared being confronted with her love, that agonizing emotion, when he too eventually perished. Out of all the retributions he feared... this was the one he feared the most by far. He feared again being given the love he had perhaps never deserved. But once in the afterlife...

There would be no escaping it.

****-ソニック~****

When it became clear to all that they were helpless in this situation, unable to make their ship resist the mysterious yellow pull, Sonic seemed to decide to trust whoever or whatever was taking them along for this ride and everyone gradually dispersed to their rooms. Silver, however, ended up in Blaze's one way or another. He just needed to talk, and she was always the first person who came to his mind to do that with. She was, as always, the very first person he went to when upset. And he was so, _so_ upset right now... The loss of his powers was hitting him harder than he had anticipated it would, and she seemed to understand how he was feeling, if her words were anything to go by.

"I would feel the same way, if I ever lost my powers... Save for my Shadows, I get my abilities from my parents much as you do. My powers are all I have left of them."

Sympathy was appreciated, truly, but the fact of the matter was that she _hadn't_ ever lost her powers. She could never understand firsthand just how hard it was, how much it _hurt_ to know that his one connection to the mother he'd never met was now utterly gone. But it wasn't like that was her fault, and he knew it. It wasn't like he _wanted_ her to lose her powers too, anyway. He would never wish that upon her, or anyone else he cared about. He was just so _frustrated_...!

When he finally began to cry, half angry and half just plain upset in general, Blaze did the most unexpected thing in the world and actually pulled him into her arms, holding him close as he cried. For once, just this once, he chose not to be like he father and grandfather and instead just let himself cry. For what felt like it might have been honestly the thousandth time in his life, he cried... but only because only _she_ was there to witness it. He took comfort in her and her presence. Later, he could be strong. But, for now... For now, he chose to find sanctuary in her arms.

****-ソニック~****

Cosmo sat alone on the roof of the Blue Typhoon, enjoying how peaceful and quiet it was up there. And yet, as she sat there, her mind was on other things than that. Her eyes were focused on a very faint grey-colored spec in the distance, their savior from earlier. She knew precisely who she was looking at, someone she had personally met several times before. The first time she had met him, he had saved her life from Dark Oak, crippling the Metarex monster before whisking her off to some beautiful place where she had been given all the time in existence to recover. He had seldom been there, due to having been out fulfilling other duties, but she had come to know him well enough to know just how _special_ of a person he was (in more ways than one) and how instrumental he would most likely be in the fighting of the war she had nearly died joining.

She had also learned his name.

It was one of the few things he would openly tell her about himself. Just one word. _Kath... _The name stuck with her to this day. She had never allowed herself to forget it. And now, she was saying it in her mind as she stretched said mind out, trying to establish a mental connection with the distant grey hawk. She so desperately wanted to speak with him... There were no doubts in her mind that he knew that somehow in that mysterious way of his, but for the longest time he was steadfast in his refusal to allow the connection. Each attempt she made for over an hour was gently yet firmly rebuffed. This was something she had attempted a few times in the past, too, and the results had been the same. Why she thought now would be any different was beyond her but-

Without true warning, her continued attempts at establishing a mental connection was suddenly... _allowed_. Deeply surprised though she was, she wasted no time whatsoever and again asked in her mind, _"Kath?"_

Kath almost seemed to sigh as he responded, _"Yes?" _

For some unknown reason, Cosmo found herself smiling just a little. _"You finally answered me... I was beginning to worry that you might be ignoring me."_

Undoubtedly, he caught onto her very light teasing. Through the connection, she could feel him very slightly smirk for the briefest of seconds. Then he replied, _"I was not ignoring you."_

_"Then why-" _Cosmo ventured to start to ask before she was cut off.

_"My thoughts are my own and I prefer not to let others be privy to them if they do not need to be,"_

She supposed that that made sense. A lot of sense, really, so she chose not to press him further about it. Instead she said, _"I didn't want to invade your thoughts at all... I just wanted to talk. I also wanted to thank you for saving me again. For saving all of us, really." _She could feel him slowly blink, but no other response came. That blink probably _was_ a response in its own way, but she had no idea what it meant. Left with little other choice, she forged on ahead. _"I also wanted to ask you something..." _She hesitated, then added uncertainly, _"If you don't mind?"_

A long period of silence followed her question, but in the end she was given the permission she sought in the form of a very simple and straightforward sentence (if it could be called that). _"Ask, then." _

Swallowing hard, trying to ignore her nerves over the potential answer to this question, Cosmo looked down. _"This war..." _she all but whispered in her mind, _"...when will it finally be over...?" _

_"Soon, Cosmo." _Kath stared straight ahead at the sickly-looking green star in the distance, the star he had been flying to before his very brief fight with Naga earlier. He had finally managed to teleport, bringing him days closer to that star and the mothership than he had been before. He had then used one of his powers to, in a sense, "grab" the Mobian ship and bring it along with him. Now, they were all less than six hours away from Dark Oak and the mothership... from the end of the war. His heavenly blue eyes blazed with cold fury and fierce determination. This war would end within the day. He gritted his teeth, grip tightening on his sword. _"Very soon."_

****-ソニック~****

****2,799 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed! This arc will be over _reeeaaalll _soon! ****

****Happy Birthday to Blazing Winds, a reader of this story and my friend from the forum!****

****Posted (at about five a.m.) 08-26-16.****


	278. Looking Ahead

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 269: I am _so_ sorry these are late, Pyro-kun! I'll do my best to keep this from happening again in the future. ^-^" I KNOW! POOR SILVER! D: Nice nickname. Haha. XD YES, GO KATH! DESTROY DEM! YOU MUST! AND YOU GO, TOO, KADEN! GOGOGO!**

**Your review to Chapter 270: YES, THEY WERE! AND I WON'T SAY WHY YET! XD**

**Your review to Chapter 271: I know... Silver being sad is infectious. :( I'm proud of you for noticing that! I feel like not a lot of people did, but you're absolutely right. Jet and Kaden are _very_ similar, and not just with their personalities and whatnot. Their lives also run along all _kinds_ of crazy parallels, plenty of which will be touched upon in EotS. ;) Anyway, I don't think she will either, but she has to be _told_ before she can react... When will she be told? Well, you'll just have to wait and see! XD**

**Your review to Chapter 272: Same, same. Kaden with his hair down is awesome and just looks better. XD Dude, I recently have found myself unable to have milk or cheese, so I wouldn't have been that upset by losing an omelette with cheese. XD Eggs, however, I love! Sucks that you're allergic to them... Anyway, back on subject, you're absolutely right about that. It's _sooo_ sad, and I feel so bad for him. ;_;**

**Your review to Chapter 273: I ain't tellin' ya here! XD Yeah, almost certainly the latter one. Why would he of all people go AWOL? I mean, really! XD Oh, I'm sure he will. He just tends to show such things very subtly and in his own way. :P**

**Your review to Chapter 274: ...Must avoid spoilers, will not speak. XD Once again, nice nickname. Haha. But, yes, he really could! As it stands now, he is by _far_ the strongest character in the Hero universe. Things can and will certainly change throughout the other stories, but for now... not even Sonic can beat him. Amazing, isn't it? :D Also, I do, too! Don't worry, it's coming soon... ;D I'm glad! He's one of my three favorites, so I like having others also love him! XD**

**Your review to Chapter 275: Yes, Kalin was being very... _odd_ for him in that chapter. And I kinda think that as far as _villains _go he's pretty likable. :) And dude, that _was_ dark! Haha! XD *Watches you and Sparky fly of epically***

**Your review to Chapter 276: I do, too. And yes, he very well may have! Thanks to Zenith! :D Precisely! Hence the reason Cosmo came running out of the medical ward. XD No worries. I understand. You're lucky you get to travel so much. XD I will do my very best as always, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, StarryMoon33! YEAH! GO, KATH! Thanks, glad you enjoyed! Yes, it did go rather fast, but that was deliberate. I was trying to use that scene to showcase the fact that, in Hero at least, Kath is so much stronger than everyone else that he can easily destroy a thing that could probably have killed Sonic's whole team. This will kinda serve as a basis of comparison for how much stronger everyone gets in EotS. :) I knooow! Be free, Kaden! be freeeee! D: I'm glad you feel that way! I really like him, too. :) They are... But, yes, Silver is so sad right now. So, so sad. :( Me, too! And I sure hope it will be! :D**

**Hello, Blazing Winds! ****Your review to Chapter 155: Thanks!**

**Your review to Chapter 156: Wait, why no? D:**

**Your review to Chapter 157: Haha, yeah. XD**

**-ソニック~**

For the first time in what very much felt like _too_ long to Sonic, he and Jet were having a genuinely casual conversation. They made no mentions of the war or the Metarex or their worries about why Ivo had been so quiet thus far. Jet didn't mention the videos about his mother, which Sonic suspected his friend had been watching again. Sonic didn't mention his son's missing powers or his missing father or his stolen emeralds or Jet's autism. They talked about things that weren't serious, some of them important and many of them not. They discussed dinner plans, Jet's dog (who had again been left with an older woman who Jet knew and who always cared for the terrier when Jet was gone), the fact that Sonic had made the mistake of leaving his I-pod on Mobius, the fact that Storm had been asleep for nearly two days straight, and so on and so forth. Then, somehow, a more serious topic came up.

"You know, I've been thinking about something," Sonic murmured slowly, eyes on a window.

"That's dangerous."

Sonic gave his friend a small glare, realized Jet was only joking, then relaxed. "Yeah, whatever," he responded, casual tone returning somewhat. "I'm serious though, I've kinda had something on my mind."

Jet looked away from the window to instead look at his friend. Sonic noticed that, while Jet _did_ look at Sonic's face, the hawk made no eye-contact. He thought it a tad funny (though not really) how he only noticed this on a more conscious level after reading the list Marthal had compiled. "Which is?" Jet asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

"The future," Sonic answered honestly with a small shrug. "I mean, if all goes well out here... Our problems with Ivo may finally be over, and the universe will be safe. At least for now."

"And?" Jet responded, as calm as ever.

"And," Sonic continued, "we all have a _lot_ more to live for than just saving lives, you know? We have our own lives to live, too. Like, look at yourself for example. You have a _bright_future ahead of you in your career as a racer or, hell, even a musician, you've got a great girlfriend, an awesome home... There's no telling how good things will continue to get in the future, whenever we finally find peace again." Sonic's words appeared to make Jet thoughtful, so Sonic figured he was getting his point across pretty damn well. That was part of the reason why he so readily forged on ahead. "Who knows?" he asked with a small smile. "We may even see little Jets and Waves running around someday."

That was where Jet cut in. "No," he said firmly. "Hell no. I don't do kids."

"Sure you do," Sonic countered. "Cream is a prime example. She adores you."

"The same can be said for most everyone else she knows," Jet pointed out. "She even loves _Shadow_, and he's more unapproachable than people like to claim _I_ am. That's not exactly a small feat."

Sonic supposed that was true enough, but he didn't falter or let up. "Okay, fine," he conceded. "You got me there. But how can you dismiss Tails and Silver? They're technically still kids, too, and they both really like you. Granted, yes, part of the reasoning for Silver is the whole 'family' thing, but still."

"There's a huge difference between just being likable to kids and actually being a person who is capable of _raising _them and properly taking care of them," Jet responded simply.

"You're just being pessimistic."

"No. I'm being _real_istic. There's a difference."

"Says you."

"I just did."

"I seriously think you're not giving yourself enough credit here."

"Think that all you want. It's not going to change the truth."

"Jet, seriously-"

"And what about you and _Amy_, huh?"

This sudden turning of the tables momentarily threw Sonic for a loop, and the only truly coherent thought he managed to voice was, "What?"

Suddenly, Jet was smirking. "You and Amy," he repeated. "How much longer is it going to take you two to finally get your heads out of the clouds and admit you like each other?"

Much like Silver would have in this situation, Sonic sputtered. "We- I don't- I-It's- Augh! It's not like _that_, alright!"

Jet, _damn _him, gave Sonic a knowing look and kept smirking. "I seem to recall you saying basically the same thing with another hedgehog girl in the past, and look just how much you were lying to yourself _then_. Do you _really_ think this situation is that different?"

Sonic was about to make a retort, thought better of it, and instead just settled on lightly punching his friend's right arm. While Jet rubbed said arm, smirk gone, Sonic changed the subject back to more or less what it had originally been. "On another related note, I have a question for you." Jet glanced at him. "I was just wondering where _you_ see yourself after this war, pretending that said end results in a genuine period of peace."

This question resulted in a fairly long period of silence, which didn't surprise Sonic at all. Jet was a very deep thinker, and this was one of those things that he wasn't going to _not_consider seriously. This was about his future, after all, something that had always mattered to him. But, after a while, he did finally speak. "Besides taking care of business as usual," he replied cryptically (and without bothering to explain what "business" he was talking about), "I don't really know. A part of me sees myself just going back to racing and shit like that like I've been doing for years, but the rest of me just doesn't know."

"Especially since things between you and Wave are so different now," Sonic deduced quickly, "which will change your team dynamics forever."

"Yeah," Jet agreed. "It's not a _bad_ thing at all," he was then quick to add, "but it does create the possibility that the whole racing thing may need to change. Maybe even a lot."

This was a perfectly logical response, something Sonic had expected for the most part. "That's true enough," he agreed. Then he pointed out with a smile, "You could always do something with your music." Jet gave him some sort of look. "Seriously, Jet," Sonic insisted. "You're an _amazing_ musician. You can make an absolute _shit-ton_ of money with that talent of yours."

It was pretty obvious that Jet disagreed with Sonic on the matter of his "talent" (which likely had a lot to do with his struggles regarding his sense of self-worth), but he didn't bother arguing the point further. Instead, he just switched things on Sonic. "What about you?" he inquired. "Where do you see _your_self at the end of this war?"

Emerald eyes slowly drifted up to the ceiling as Sonic thought that through, but soon found himself at even more of a loss than Jet was. "I have really no idea," he admitted truthfully. "To be honest, I don't think I _ever_ did. Beyond the time when we were younger and, as far as we were concerned, racing was everything to our presents and futures... Beyond that, I never really had a plan or some sort of big life goal to reach toward. I mean, I guess at one point my _hope_ was to live with Locke and grow up happily with him, but everything else has always just been about 'try to survive today, then do the same tomorrow', and 'defeat this bad-guy so you're ready for the next one', and crap like that, you know? I never I thought I would get to... to _this_, this point where living peacefully with friends and family is actually a legitimate option. Because, lets face it, even when I was living with you, Wave, and Storm, things weren't peaceful for us. The threat of Ross was constantly looming over our heads, there were days you and I could barely restrain ourselves from killing each other... The idea of a genuinely _peaceful_ future never really occurred to me, I guess."

"The _possibility_ occurred to me," Jet revealed quietly, "a lot over the years, but it wasn't ever a dream I dared to cling to. I didn't like to try to hope for it, because nothing ever seems to just _stay_ peaceful in my life. Not as badly as yours, I guess, but even still. Peace has always been _so_ hard to come by and it always seems to be such a fleeting notion, just a breath of joy that's gone before you know it. And, the very few times it managed to last more than a short time overall in the past, it was still broken up by struggles and pain and god knows what else."

"It was always interrupted," Sonic agreed solemnly. Silence answered him, and that silence lingered for a good few minutes until he finally decided to break it and try to lighten the mood. "Kinda like our serious conversations almost always are, right?"

This little comment earned a brief, small smirk, which Sonic counted as a victory. "Yeah," Jet agreed. "It's amazing this one has survived so long."

"Well," Sonic started to say in good humor, "it's probably only a matter of ti-"

That word never had a chance to finish before the yellow glow surrounding the ship (which was visible outside every one of the ship's windows) suddenly vanished and the ship settled gently onto the ground of some foreign world, creating some sound and subtle vibrations. The sound of innumerable crashing waves reached Sonic's ears, but he chose to ignore that little anxiety-inducing detail for the moment. He and Jet traded a small look, then both of them quickly got out of the chairs that they had been sitting in. Wasting no time, they ran to the ship's exit. There was an emerald here... and they refused to lose it.

**-ソニック~**

**1,724 words this time. Sorry this is up later in the day (though it's at least on the _proper_ day). I lost motivation to write this last night and... yeah. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed!**

**EDIT: Credit for the main plot idea of this chapter goes to Blaze Writers. The main plot idea was: Sonic and Jet have a serious conversation that leaves unanswered questions and also gets interrupted at the end. Thanks for the help, man!**


	279. On the Eve of Battle

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Yeah, it was, and they certainly are. Haha, yeah, the teasing parts were the best. Lol. XD**

**Hello, Samantha! HAHAHA, YES! DO IT, SONIC! YOU MUST! DO EEET! XD**

****-ソニック~****

As their mysterious savior and helper flew back off into space for an unknown reason, Sonic and Jet together ran outside (everyone else had been ordered to remain on the ship) to do whatever they could to lay claim to the next emerald. Although... Sonic already knew that he was at a severe disadvantage here for multiple reasons. One, there was water _everywhere_ here, as this world was mostly rain and ocean, meaning his fire couldn't do much of anything. Two, he was scared as all hell to be near this much water, which was hindering his actions already. Three, he was so hungry and tired right now that he wasn't sure how much strength and energy he could honestly call upon to help him. Four, water. Just... water.

But Jet... Jet was entirely in his element here. He was a creature of the storm. These winds and waves and whatever else here didn't bother him at all. He thrived in stormy weather, and he, unlike his best friend, loved water. He could stand to be near it and he, also unlike Sonic, had the ability to make use of the water and work it to their ultimate advantage. As the young prince walked forward, scarf flowing gently behind him as he went, Sonic decided to put all of his trust in his friend and let him go while he himself stayed behind and guarded their ship and everyone inside of it. Jet walked to the edge of the rocky outcropping that they had landed on, waves crashing up and hitting his legs as soon as they could reach, growing bigger and bigger all the time. Lightning cracked in the sky and thunder boomed. The wind howled. The rain began to intensify, growing colder and sharper all the while. And, somehow, Sonic doubted that this was all natural. Not anymore.

Jet suddenly closed his eyes and, with a frown of concentration, he raised his hands. The ocean roared and water struck the land violently as the sea itself was pushed apart in a perfect circle, very quickly revealing the Chaos Emerald and the small crater it had made on the seafloor. In the sky, numerous Metarex ships entered the atmosphere to try to retrieve the precious jewel, but none of them survived the attempt. Every last ship was either torn apart by fierce and shredding winds, blown up by deadly lightning strikes, or dragged down forevermore by the sea itself. It was all too clear that the one controlling all of this would tolerate no interference and simply would _not_ allow this emerald to be stolen. And, as soon as he'd eliminated all the threats, he used the wind to pick up the dripping emerald and toss it to Sonic. Sonic caught it in one hand just as the ocean surged back into place, covering the crater once again and quite possibly for the rest of eternity. The winds and rains calmed down once again and the lightning and thunder once again vanished altogether, leaving no trace of themselves in the sky. The waves resumed their normal size. Then, without a word, Jet turned on his heel and simply, calmly, walked back inside with an awestruck Sonic on his heels.

****-ソニック~****

_A swirling vortex of dark clouds surrounded him. Cold metal restraints around his ankles and wrists prevented him from getting up, leaving him trapped either sitting or laying down. Horrible, taunting voices surrounded him. Words sharper than even Caliburn tore through him. Physical blows constantly befell him, and he was helpless to fight back against then. Then one voice suddenly rose up over the rest, shouting one particular phrase that seemed so innocent... but really wasn't. They were four words he never, never wished to hear. "Long live the king!"_

Suddenly, Kaden jolted away and sat straight up, his loose hair brushing against his back as he moved. It occurred to him vaguely that he still hadn't pulled it back into a ponytail before he'd been capture, but then his mind was distracted by other things. Namely, the fact that _part_ of his dream had actually been real. He actually was trapped, of _course_. Twisting around, he examined the cuffs shackling his wrists behind his back, then turned back around to look at the bars of the cell he had at some point been locked up in. These metals were nothing he couldn't break through easily enough, but he didn't want to draw attention to himself just yet. Until he could do what he needed to, he needed to be left alone to focus.

So, with that in mind, he made no attempts to break free of the cell, though he did bust out of his cuffs as silently as he could. Then, shifting, he crossed his legs and got into a meditative position. In doing so, he finally noticed just how thoroughly _trashed_ his shoes were. Irreparably so. The machine with all of its crazy and uncontrolled energy had ruined his favorite footwear. _Of course it did. _For once, he didn't banish his irritation. Instead, he let it be and closed his eyes. Taking in a deep breath, he slowly let it out an almost immediately slipped into a full meditative state as he had done for many, many years. Normally, he would be doing this to _let go of_ or otherwise rid himself of his anger and other negative emotions, but not this time. This time, for the first time ever, he was actually _calling_ upon those feelings.

For the first time ever in his life, he truly needed to feel _Dark_.

****-ソニック~****

Sonic remained calm even as the yellow glow dragged them father and father through space, ever closer and closer to their enemies... the biggest threats that their group had ever faced. He remained as calm as he could make himself, for he had no real plan to further upset anyone else who was already worried. Such as Cosmo. Really, her concerns made sense, but they also didn't at the same time. She seemed like she might know more about this than anyone else. But, then again, so did the mysterious grey hawk who was still pulling the ship along with him as he flew through space. But, when he brought this up to Cosmo, the young girl seemed reluctant to give any straight answers right away. So Sonic tried to offer an alternative. "Well, maybe I could ask that guy out there," he said, glancing out the window at the old Babylonian. "He seems to know as much as you do about all of this, doesn't he?"

"No," Cosmo murmured, shaking her head. "He knows _far_ more about everything than any of us can ever hope to comprehend." This bold statement momentarily floored Sonic, but she pressed on without waiting for him to finish processing what she'd already said. "And, not to make it seem like he's rude, because he isn't, but... He's unlikely to talk to you." She paused very briefly, then explained vaguely, "He... isn't exactly _fond_ of social interactions, I guess you could say, with new people. It makes him, um... 'nervous', though he won't outright show or tell anyone that."

"But you act like he knows _you_... meaning he talks to you," Sonic deduced slowly. "Right?" Cosmo nodded her confirmation of this statement. "And does that mean that, as far as this situation goes, you've managed to learn about as much as him?" Another nod. Sonic sighed. "Explain, then. Please."

Reluctantly, Cosmo opened up. She explained everything, in full. There were some things Sonic already knew, and some things he never had. She explained about how the Metarex planned to wipe out all sentient life, which Sonic already knew, and how they needed the Chaos Emeralds and Planet Eggs to give them enough power to do so. She explained about how one of their biggest plans to achieve their goals was to somehow gain a great and powerful weapon (Sonic suspected that his father was supposed to be that weapon, as horrible as that thought was) to wipe out their enemies for them. She then explained about how they had hoped to gain this weapon _years_ ago in order to prevent the old grey hawk (Sonic learned his name was Kath) from ever joining the war, as he was by _far _the biggest threat to the Metarex. She also explained that the reason why Silver's powers were stolen was simply because the Metarex liked to steal enemy abilities to use against said , last but not least, she explained that their ultimate goal, once all animal life was wiped out, was to make every single hospitable world in existence a plant-only world... and then use the Chaos Emeralds and Planet Eggs to somehow prevent animal life from ever returning to existence.

In light of all of this, Sonic had only one reply to give. It was immensely casual-sounding and perhaps therefore entirely unbefitting of this situation, but he cared little for that. All that mattered was how true his words were... and how determined he was to make them a reality. "Guess we'd better stop them, huh?" Firm and focused emerald eyes zeroed in on his own reflection in the huge windows of the control room of the Blue Typoon. Just to the right of that reflect, the edges of the Metarex army were coming into view. The mothership could be seen in this distance. He clenched his fists. This was it...

Their time was now.

****-ソニック~****

****1,618 words now! I really hope you all enjoyed! This arc is drawing to close now... Hopefully the end'll be epic! Posted (at about 1:00 a.m.) 08-28-16.****


	280. Violent Struggle

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 277: Yep, it is! And yeah, kinda. Haha, same. I had faith in him. XD Nope, I did not know, in fact. I actually had no idea the series was ongoing. XD**

**Your review to Chapter 278: Well, I'm glad you do! I really liked this one as well, personally, and I also really like the idea of them thinking/talking about the future. :) Dude, that scene rocked! :D I may use it one day, and I'm not guaranteeing that I will, but just in case I do, I'mma ask now: may I _preeetty _please have your permission to maybe-possibly use this scene in the future? :D Oh, I remember that one! That scene is definitely one I'm pretending occurred in an alternate timeline. It's too perfect to say that it never happened at all. :)**

**Your review to Chapter 279: Hahaha, Jet the Avatar. Okay. Sure. XD Well, it was a dream, but yeah. And only like four know, let's not exaggerate here (jk). XD AND YOU KNOW, I PUT UP THAT SPOILER WARNING ON THE THREAD FOR A REASON! XDD Yeah, I knooow! :D Haha, I know. That was so badass, in a way. Lol, I love him, too. XD I will do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

**Hello, Guest/Luna MoonSinger27! I DID SLEEP. I SLEPT FROM THEN UNTIL AROUND NINE IN THE MORNING. XD Hahaha, yes! That song is amazing! XD And, um, as far as your BLT question... Um... Well, read this chapter. You'll get an answer here. ^-^"**

**Hello, StarryMoon33! I. Am. Glad! I. Am. As. Well! :D**

****-ソニック~****

****Want epic music to listen to while reading this? I recommend "Ancient Evil" by C21FX and "A Game of Chance" by C21FX, both of which I was listening to while writing this chapter. Anyway, hope you all enjoy! The end is near... ;)****

******-ソニック~******

As the Blue Typhoon neared the area of space that would inevitably become their battlefield, Sonic watched through the windows of the control room as the grey hawk who had been their main method of transport recently suddenly dropped back much closer to the ship. As soon as he did this, a bright yellow barrier appeared around both himself and the ship he was still pulling along somehow. Though his motives _seemed_ clear, Sonic had to be _sure_. For no other reason than this, he teleported out onto the roof of the ship very near the old hawk. Kath's perfect, heavenly blue eyes turned to look at Sonic. They seemed to read the questions in Sonic's own emerald eyes. _Are you really planning on helping us? Why have you helped us? Why are you protecting us? Will you help us end this? _But, in the end, all that Sonic said aloud was a quiet but no less genuine, "Thank you... for what you've done."

Turning away again, Kath refocused his attention on the Metarex armies which were growing closer and closer all the time. Silence reigned for what seemed like an eternity, but then a new voice spoke, one that Sonic had never himself heard before. The voice was smooth and quiet like his father's, though still different. This voice certainly wasn't Kaden's. It was Kath's. True to what Cosmo had said, he seemed uncomfortable about talking to someone he didn't know for some reason, but he did it, anyway. "Do not thank me yet," he murmured. His grip on his sword visibly tightened. "This is far from over."

"But you'll see this through with us... right?" Sonic asked. He waited, tensely, for an answer.

That answer came almost immediately. "Yes." Then, without giving Sonic any other chance to speak again, Kath suddenly teleported back up ahead. Knowing that the fight was really and truly about to begin, Sonic rushed back inside. Those who could fight in space needed to get out here. Those who would be responsible for defending the ship needed to be ready to do so. They had no more time to spare.

****-ソニック~****

Narcissus turned to Dark Oak, blood still dripping from his claw-like fingers. A figure clad in bright red still lay on the floor at his feet. "That was rather sudden," he commented. "I had thought that it was your intention to keep him alive."

"I do not honor deals with fools," Dark Oak murmured, "nor do I make pacts with the weak. He was both, and his kind were destined to perish on this day regardless." As he watched through the windows of his ship, a massive yellow flash suddenly tore through the ranks of small ships forming the bulk of his army. His tension increased. Kath was here, and so were Sonic and his pathetic friends. How they had found this place, let alone gotten here so quickly, was something of a mystery, though he didn't doubt that Kath was in some way deeply involved. He thought back to a minor scuffle the two had had years ago, when he had come to kill the little plat-girl Kath had been so fiercely protecting, and soon found himself smirking. _He has likely come for my head. _However, he had no intentions of letting his happen. He turned to his second-in-command. "Narcissus, take Kalin and get the weapon ready," he commanded. "Do whatever it takes to make it obey." He turned away again. "I will not tolerate failure from either of you." His threat, his _promise_, was clear, and Narcissus wasted no time questioning his leader. Instead, he merely headed out of the room at a brisk pace. With that matter taken care of, Dark Oak gave his soldiers a simple command. "Kill them all."

****-ソニック~****

Analia, Jet, Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, Marthal, and Amy all left the Blue Typhoon to go fight the Metarex armies stretched out before them. Tails stayed on the ship as both the pilot and the ship's main defense besides Kath. Cream, being as powerful as she was, was able to lend plenty of aid to the young fox as well, so she stayed with him. Cosmo refused to leave the room, so she stayed there as well. Vanilla took the twins and she, Charmy, Bokkun, Cheese, Harold, and Marie took refuge in the storage room onboard the ship (as it was the most heavily protected room on the Typhoon). Espio, Vector, Storm, Keiri, Omega, Wave, Rouge, and Locke stood on the roof of the ship, ready to defend it. Though all but Espio, Vector, and Storm were capable of helping to fight in the main battle, they needed to remain there to help protect the ship, _especially_ should Kath, Cream, and Tails's barriers (technologically produced though Tails's were) fall. Everyone else rushed into battle.

Everything was a blur of motion and action to Sonic as he and his friends and family fought together, side by side as they had always done. Lightning cracked across the emptiness of space with deadly accuracy. Fire consumed all it touched with scorching heat. Psychic energy crippled anything it happened to hit, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. Pure Light surged forth through the battlefield, wiping out all who dared to try to end the lives of those its user cared for. Bright yellow energy of some kind continually exploded all around them, utterly decimating untold numbers of vile, malevolent beings and their ships. It was pure and utter chaos, and yet... _he_ was technically the chaotic one, right? Such an odd thought, he knew, but it kept him from being entirely overwhelmed by all that was happening around him. He supposed he needed that.

Drawing his sword for the first time in what felt like too long, he slashed clean through a Metarex and kicked the debris away. Then, spinning around, he unleashed a hellish torrent of blue flames from his free hand. As his fireball struck a very large ship and blew up a portion of it, he called upon the power of the four Chaos Emeralds he had. Doing so would gain him a _lot_ of attention from enemies, he knew, but that was the whole point. No matter how many small-fry he wiped out, he could never end this war unless he ended Dark Oak _first_. To do that, he needed to draw that dark being out. So, without any hesitation, he used the emeralds he had and unleashed a Chaos Blast, wiping out all the enemies that were in the immediate area around him. As he did so, another bolt of lightning shot past him, closely followed by a wave of psychic-energy-charged fire. He threw a Chaos Spear just as his mother's light tore through a ship to his right, leaving little of it left.

Mere seconds later, Marthal and Knuckles together unleashed a huge wave of fire, which Jet quickly gave new strength to using his wind. Shadow, seeing what they were doing, added his own unique brand of fire to the mix, and Amy soon did the same with her psychic energy once again. Trading the briefest of looks, Analia and Sonic also jumped in. She added Light to the deadly mixture, and Sonic dared to add a dash of Chaos to it, along with his own fire. The brightly-colored and rather fearsome looking attack raged toward the mothership, but he knew it wasn't enough. Not yet. Whirling around, Sonic dared to shout out, "Kath!"

Kath, who was on nearly the other side of the battlefield, whipped around at the sound of his name and, upon seeing what they were doing, immediately threw a ball of yellow energy at it. The energy, along with some sudden lightning from Jet, crackled around the attack, feeding it with all new power just as it struck its target. The resulting explosion was so fierce that even the Blue Typhoon was moved by it, in spite of the distance separating the two huge vessels. A huge, burning hole was left in the side of the dark Metarex ship. The massive green sun gave the half-wreckage a very eerie look that was further completed when Metarex began to swarm out of that hole and out into space. However, Sonic's attention was ripped away from that rather quickly when Kath suddenly decided to call out to him. "All the Metarex save for the commanders are tied to that ship," he exclaimed quickly, pointing at the mothership. "Destroy it, and you destroy this army."

Sonic's eyes widened. Tails had been suggesting for some time that all of these small-fry Metarex seemed to have some sort of almost "hive mentality" thing, meaning that they had to all be in some way connected to the same thing. That same thing, Tails had been saying, likely acted as their mind, controlling all of them. If Tails and Kath were both right, and Sonic didn't doubt that they _were_, then it was now even more imperative that they destroy the hell out of that goddamn ship. _Besides, _Sonic thought as he prepared another Chaos Attack, _if we destroy Dark Oak's armies, he'll have no choice but to come fight me himself to try to get my emeralds. _Smirking to himself, Sonic let out a beam of Chaos energy from his palm. It struck an undamaged portion of the ship, blowing a hole through it in seconds.

That exact instance was when they all suddenly felt a massive shift of energy. _Dark _energy. Eyes widening again, Sonic could only watch as a _huge_ explosion of strangely controlled Darkness blasted through the ship from somewhere very near to its center. Seconds later, his father emerged into view. If not for his eyes, which always became pure white glowing energy when he was in his Dark Form (as did Sonic's), then Kaden would have been invisible against the black backdrop of space. Only when he jumped up so that the sun was at his back did his full body become visible. A second fairly dark shape jumped after him, this one wielding a sword. It was Kalin, and he and Kaden clashed fiercely for mere seconds before Black Narcissus suddenly flew out of the ship and joined the fight. Kaden was outnumbered, truly... but far from outmatched. Still, in spite of this, everyone wanted to help him. They all knew they couldn't, however. That was his fight for now, and this was theirs. Sonic, especially, had to focus on his own task. He had to find Dark Oak. _And, _he added as an afterthought, _Ivo. _Ivo was the lesser of two great evils, though, so Sonic didn't waste energy worrying about the man very much for the time being.

Attack after attack struck the mothership, the other ships, and the countless Metarex flying out in the open as Sonic and the others fought on and on and on. Everyone was really and truly giving this fight their all, in spite of harships both minor and not. People got hurt. They got separated from the others. A few of them (namely, Shadow, Knuckles, and Kath) got... slimed. While Knuckles gagged at the disgusting slime that had hit and covered them as a result of some disgusting bomb, Sonic focused on determining exactly where everyone was. Those who were supposed to be with the ship were still there, but those on the battlefield were harder to locate. Still, he managed it. One by one, he picked out everyone in the crowd of metal bodies. _Shadow, Knuckles, Kath... Mom... There's Jet... Where's- Oh... there she is. Amy's okay. And Marthal's over there... _Sighing heavily with relief once he'd found everyone and determined that no one was seriously hurt (or hurt at all, in Kath's case somehow), Sonic briefly glanced over to check on his father. He looked over just in time to see Kaden kick Narcissus away sword and all, then unleash a blast on his brother from another timeline. The fight had moved dangerously close to that sickly-looking green sun, but Sonic had no time to focus on or worry about that.

A stray attack from either Shadow or Kaden (the attack was black and Sonic only saw it out of the corner of his eye, so he had no idea which of them had done it) struck the mothership, very nearly wiping it out entirely. Enough of it remained that the armies both here and elsewhere in the universe didn't drop dead by any stretch of the imagination, but the goal Sonic had been trying to accomplish all along was finally seen through. Dark Oak emerged from his wicked vessel, sword drawn and raised to strike. Sonic prepared himself for the worst fight of his life, though he had no real time to. Before he could even exactly comprehend it, his sword was clashing with his enemy's, and the true main battle of this war had begun.

Metal rang as sword struck sword. Blow after blow was traded, though neither opponent managed to hit the other. Dark Oak struck Caliburn again as he commented with a sort of sneer, "You are slightly less weak than I remember you being."

"That's because last time I was _exhausted_, you asshole," Sonic retorted as he swung his blade around to return Dark Oak's strike. "That's what happens when your enemies decide to be insensitive bastards and wake you up in the dead of night for an all out battle you had no idea was coming." He blasted Dark Oak back with a bit of Chaos, suddenly smirking. "Luckily for me, though, that's not how things happened this time." His smirk dared to grow a little. "Not so lucky for you."

"Your odds of victory are even less than before," Dark Oak responded simply. He grabbed a gun floating by and fired it at Sonic, forcing the hedgehog to use the flat of his blade to deflect the bullets. "You may have more emeralds than I, but you do not have all of them, nor do you have the power of any Planet Eggs."

"No," Sonic admitted, "but, unlike you, I have full control over the emeralds, and I have actual allies to help me." The gun ran out of bullets, and he dodged when Dark Oak threw said gun at him. "And," he added with another smirk, "we also happen to have Kath, and it seems to _me_ that he can _probably_ kick all your asses should I fail to do so." This seemed to tick Dark Oak off, for he suddenly lunged forth and struck at Sonic again, though Sonic effectively parried the blow. "And, you wanna know what _else_ I have that you don't have?" he challenged. No response came, not that he had expected one. It didn't faze him at all. "See, I have this special little thing called _hope_. Ever heard of it? Turns out, it's a pretty powerful weapon, one people like you should _probably_ be a little more afraid of."

Dark Oak seemed irritated by Sonic's words. He used the connection between their swords to throw the young hero backward through space. "I have no need for _hope_, or for _allies_," he bit out. "Those are for the weak, and the weak cannot save the universe and bring it the peace it longs for."

"You're right about that last part, but only sort of," Sonic replied. He threw a fireball at Dark Oak that was promptly dodged. But, in dodging that attack, Dark Oak was hit by a Chaos attack of some kind. "But, you know what? I'll let you think what you want. Just answer me one thing, will ya? If you have no need for allies-" he dodged a sword stroke from his enemy and kicked said enemy under the arm before moving away, "if you have no need for them, then why partner up with Ivo? Seems rather stupid to me."

"We were never allies," Dark Oak responded simply, "and the weak are doomed to perish."

Catching onto the implications almost instantly, Sonic suddenly frowned and his ears dropped. _He was never weak. _Brushing this odd, random thought aside, he refocused on the battle. He chose not to say anything more as he lunged for his opponent, sword raised and poised to strike the Metarex down. Their swords clashed again, and Dark Oak suddenly swiped at Sonic's currently unprotected belly with his claw-like fingers. The pain made Sonic hiss, but he didn't relent. Hiss morphing into a growl, he kicked Dark Oak hard in the face and, using that as leverage, pushed himself back and away from his enemy. He then unleashed a Chaos Blast that struck Dark Oak dead-on. Though the attack definitely did visible damage, however, it far from destroyed Dark Oak. And, as luck would have it, Dark Oak had prepared an attack of his own.

Stolen psychokinetic energy suddenly hit Sonic full-force and sent him hurtling back. Momentarily dazed by the blow, he was unable to react in time to protect himself from a slash of Dark Oak's sword. The wound cut deep down the right side of his chest to the hip bone on the same side. Kath suddenly intervened then and a bright yellow explosion sent Dark Oak hurtling backward into a nearby ship. Black fire, heavenly blue lightning, and bright pink psychic energy soon also struck Dark Oak, battering him while he was down and buying Sonic time to recover. _Damn... _he though tensely, free hand on part of his wound. _That hurt... _

"Don't get cocky!" Marthal snapped at Sonic from afar, earning a slightly startled glance. "We can't afford to have you die, and I can name a _shit-ton _of people who won't forgive you if you do!"

Though he wanted to make a retort about not being cocky, all Sonic ended up saying was, "I'm not going to die! I'm going home after this, same as the rest of you!" Then the fight resumed, almost as though it had never stopped. Sonic gritted his teeth and ignored the pain as best as he could as he fought. He refused to let the wound cripple him and send him to his death. He's said he would live on, and he meant it. _I won't die here. _Against all the odds, against all the pain and struggles ahead, he would survive. They would _all_ survive. And after the war was over... They would all go _home_. He would never allow anything else.

****-ソニック~****

****3,161 words this time. Whew! I wrote this all in one sitting! Super proud of myself! XD Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about two a.m. because I just happened to wake up then) 08-29-16.****


	281. Golden Glow

**Hello, StarryMoon33! AHHHHHHH THANKS! I'M REALLY, REALLY HAPPY YOU ENJOYED! I'M EXCITED, TOO! AND LEMME JUST SAY THAT THIS IS NOT GONNA END HOW YOU THINK IT WILL! ;D **

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yes, yes they are! XD I'm super glad you did! I personally liked that epic combo attack, too. Thanks! Glad you think so! :D Awesome, thanks much! 'Course I liked 'em! :D I will do my very best Pyro-kun! (And I don't care that they didn't. XD)**

**Hello, Guest/Luna MoonSinger27! Sure, why not. XD**

****-ソニック~****

Blue clashed with black as good and evil valiantly warred in the dark, green-tinted recesses of space. The smoldering ruins of the mothership floated aimlessly by the pair as fire, wind and lightning, bullets, and yellow energy ravaged the battlefield nearby. Farther away, Light and Darkness dealt unspeakable damage to their foes, leaving incredible destruction in their wake. Somewhere in between the two, pyschic energy ripped apart foes as though they were nothing. At the edge of the battlefield, the Blue Typhoon remained where it had been left, protected but unable to do anything but watch. Amidst it all, the dramatic struggle between between Dark Oak and Sonic raged on.

Sonic released a small but powerful blast of fire from the palm of his hand. It hit Dark Oak's left shoulder, and the Metarex leader retaliated by utilizing stolen Planet Egg energy to try to blast Sonic back. The attack was deliberately aimed at the blue blur's heart of gold. Sonic was able to swiftly dodge it, though, and the attack exploded in empty space. Gritting his teeth, he threw multiple Chaos Spears at his foe, but none of them hit their mark. This had been happening all-too-often during their brief fight, and the sight of it happening again made the hedgehog curse. _Damn...! How am I supposed to beat a guy I can barely ever hit?! _It didn't help, he knew, that every time he _did_ actually manage to hit his enemy, his attacks barely did any real damage, if any at all. Again, he cursed. He cursed himself, he cursed his foe, and above all he cursed the universe for even putting him into this situation.

Clear on the other side of the battlefield, numerous ships spontaneously exploded as a result of something Shadow had done. Turning, Sonic couldn't help but smirk when he saw that the black and red hedgehog had somehow acquired a rocket launcher and was still holding the smoking weapon in his hands. _He looks way too pleased with himself right now. _In spite of himself, Sonic almost wanted to laugh. He very well might have, too, had this situation been more appropriate. Still, that didn't stop him from making another comment, albeit an internal one, about the scene. _Way to go, bro. _Looking back to Dark Oak, he quickly saw that the large Metarex had also become distracted by the explosions from scant seconds ago. Using this to his advantage as best as he could, Sonic threw more Chaos Spears at his (for once) unsuspecting opponent. These ones actually hit. One in particular stabbed clean through a robotic shoulder. Dark Oak let out an exclamation, a sound of true furious surprise, and swung his sword at Sonic. Sonic barely managed to parry the blow. He gritted his teeth as they struggled.

Everything afterward became a blur of noise and action. Swords clashed violently with loud clangs of metal. A bright red show struck a hard metal body and dented it, briefly making both the victim and the wearer of the shoe. Both parties then swung their blades again. Elsewhere, blasts of varying sizes and colors and intensity lit up the area at near-regular intervals. Surrounding that part of the battle, missiles and bullets and so on fired relentlessly both from ships and from guns. Several more rockets were launched from Shadow's "borrowed" weapon, creating yet more explosions and noise in the area. Not far away, wing and lightning, two fierce and violent forces both controlled and not, ravaged the battlefield. White and yellow energy ruined ship after ship, Metarex after Metarex, leaving far too little behind for anything to be considered salvageable. Psychic energy decimated countless Metarex soldiers while simultaneously shielding those allies closest to it (namely, Shadow, Analia, and Marthal). Bright orange fire fell upon ships and Metarex alike in a terrifying wave, melting them into nearly nothing. Much closer to this dead (or dying) solar system's sickly green sun, Kaden continued to fight each other at a very past pace. Darkness, magic, and swords would decide their fates.

Of course, Sonic knew that he had to focus on his own fight, but his mind drifted back to his earlier problem. _I'll never win at this rate... __Not unless I can- _Before he could even finish that though, something suddenly occurred to him so harshly that it was like getting punched in the face. His eyes widened as he parried another sword stroke Dark Oak aimed at him, though Sonic was barely paying attention to that. Most of his attention was currently focused inward. _I'm not the only one with Chaos Emeralds here... Freaking duh... _True, Dark Oak couldn't ever make _proper_ use of the emeralds he'd stolen, but that didn't mean he couldn't make _any_ use of them. It would certain help explain how fast and powerful Dark Oak was. Of course, the Metarex was most certainly already strong and powerful in general, but still. _Things will be better for me if I can get those emeralds away from him. But... without the seventh emerald... I can't go Super. Which, of course, means I could end up still being screwed... _Swallowing hard, Sonic thought quickly, mind racing. While he thought, he dodged more attacks and tried his best to land his own. He seldom succeeded. Then, all at once, he made a rash decision and took a massive risk by closing his eyes, drowning out the sounds of battle around him, and concentrating on his one, unimaginably important goal. He _needed _those emeralds.

Explosions rattled the empty space around him and attacks of varying types created noises of their own, threatening to shatter his concentration, but he persevered. He had to. He refused to let his concentration be broken, even as a horribly cold hand grabbed him by the throat (though not quite tight enough to choke, for some reason) and a sword was audibly raised and poised to strike him down. The sword began to take it's deadly path toward his heart, but, at the perfect moment, he sensed psychic energy envelope the sword and practically freeze the weapon in its tracks. Mere seconds later, the stolen weapons were ripped away from Dark Oak. This unexpectedly (and yet not) practically enraged the normally cool, calm, and collected Metarex. Sonic chose that moment to open his eyes. As soon as he had safely reclaimed the emeralds split seconds later, he broke free of Dark Oak's menacing grip by kicking the metal body attached to that arm, using the force and momentum to launch himself back. Almost immediately, he had to dodge multiple sword strokes and a beam or two of his son's stolen psychokinetic energy. Suddenly furious at the sight of the latter attack, Sonic unleashed a particularly hellish wave of Chaos-infused Dragonfire at Dark oak. Dark oak made a genuine attempt to dodge, but clearly wasn't as fast as he had been before. The fire hit, and Dark Oak's armored body was finally damaged more than just slightly. That, of course, pissed him off. Sonic hardly cared, though. _He can be pissed all he wants. He deserves to be defeated. It's the least of what he deserves for all he's done. _And, besides that, the sooner he defeated this enemy, the sooner Silver would have his powers back. That alone made this fight worth it. He would taste victory, if only to see his son smile again...

Then, suddenly, for only the third time ever, Kath suddenly decided to speak to him. "Sonic!" he called out to the young hero sharply. How the man knew his name, Sonic would never know. But, then again, Cosmo had made strong implications as to the man's intelligence... Not that Sonic had the time to think on that.

The hedgehog whipped around to face the old hawk just in time to see the last emerald, the white one, hurtle toward him from the very spot where Kath was currently flying. The emerald left a pure trail of light as it traveled at high speeds across the empty space between Sonic and Kath. Sonic caught the precious jewel in one hand and, slowly, he began to grin. "Thanks!" he called back quickly, suddenly feeling much more hopeful about the outcome of his battle than before. "You're a lifesaver!" he added, tone suddenly happy. "Probably literally!" Though he couldn't be sure, he thought he saw the corner of Kath's mouth twitch up in a very slight smirk for the barest of moments. Acting quickly, Sonic made a tenuous barrier of Chaos energy around himself (this was an ability he had next to _no_ practice with), closed his eyes again, and concentrated once more.

All around him, the other battles still raged. Shadow and Analia together worked on defeating what was left of the smaller Metarex by trying to finish destroying the mothership, though Kath alone had wiped out most of the army on his own already by this point. Amy and Jet aided each other in both fighting the army and defending the Blue Typhoon and everyone on it. Marthal, being the under-credited badass he was, fought alone from where he stood on an asteroid (which he moved around by using blasts of fire from his hands as propulsion), wiping out countless enemies with smoldering tides of fire. Kath continued to use his mysterious yellow energy attacks (which seemed capable of taking on all kinds of forms, such as beams). Those attacks alone were dealing unspeakable damage to the army, but Sonic continued to focus. He knew what he needed to do, and he simply didn't falter. Not even when Dark Oak's sword swung at him again, ready to free the blue hero's head from his shoulders. But, without warning, there was a golden explosion. Dark Oak was knocked back with great and perhaps undue force. Virtually all eyes turned to face the now golden hero.

Slowly, Sonic smirked.

****-ソニック~****

****1,691 words this time around. Not sure if that was the best ending ever, but whatevs (yes I really did just say that). I thought it was epic, so yeah. Posted (at around two-forty a.m. because I just happened to wake up now) 08-30-16.****


	282. End of It All

**I had help writing this chapter on Google Docs! Everyone give Blazing Winds a huge thanks! Without him, this chapter likely would have never been finished! He also helped with the review replies (because he wanted to for some reason XD). Everything in italics is what he wrote, not me. Enjoy!**

****-ソニック~****

**Hello, StarryMoon33! This is yasha speaking! Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed, and I'm really excited for that as well! Yes, I agree that it would be awesome, especially since we haven't done that since the Dark Gaia mess (or before then), but this definitely is Sonic's fight. Thanks again! _NOW, Blaze is speaking. Or Blazing. Anyways, I don't fully know how to reply to this since I don't remember chap. 281 if I read it.. so yeah. And it is Sonic's fight. So yeah. _[Amazing reply, dude. XD] _Shush_**

**Hello, Luna MoonSinger27! HE SO IS! LOL! AND YAAAS! Dude, what is with you and that BLT?! XD _And yep, though probably not in the way you think. He is gonna deh soon._**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yes, yes he has! :D I really was as well. I think things went alright mostly. :P If I can get this done by around 300 or before, then great. Dragging it out longer than that would probably be a bit much, if you ask me. ^-^" I will do my very best, Pyro-kun! _YEP! HE WENT SUPAH SA- Oh.. wrong Fandom.. Woops. You may like what we did here if you're looking forward to that. And I can't really comment on the last two parts, so bye!_**

****-ソニック~****

Without warning, there was a golden explosion. Dark Oak was knocked back with great and perhaps undue force. Virtually all eyes turned to face the now golden hero. Slowly, Sonic smirked. He remembered his own thought from less than an hour ago on that very day. _Our time is now. _Raising his hand, the golden hero let out a massive blast from his palm and hit Dark Oak dead-on. The dark being was visibly startled, and he was sent hurtling back into the remains of the mothership. A second golden blast was unleashed upon both Dark Oak and the ship. The mothership was obliterated, but Dark Oak was not. Damaged though he know was, he was clearly still ready to battle. Sonic snorted softly. _The Space Colony ARK was harder to deal with than this. _Granted, yes, everyone had gotten a lot stronger since then, truly, but it still sort of _disappointed_ Sonic, and he knew exactly why. He simply loved a good challenge. _I am my father's son. _Smirking to himself in amusement in spite of the admittedly still rather grim situation, Sonic too got ready to resume the fight.

As the Metarex armies floated, dull and lifeless, around them, both Kath and Analia herded Marthal, Shadow, Jet, Amy, and Knuckles back to the Blue Typhoon. The fight between Kaden, his brother, and Narcissus raged on. And, amidst it all, Sonic and Dark Oak warred furiously. Explosions ripped apart the fragile silence that had taken over their battlefield. Debris was sent hurtling in many different directions, if not vaporized entirely. Beams and blasts and waves of both golden and black lit up the darkness of the area they were in as the green sun was slowly overtaken by Narcissus's black magic. Sonic and Kaden both reacted quickly, neither wasting any time. Kaden immediately shot his enemy with Darkness so pure one could have easily assumed it was taken directly from the Realm of Darkness itself in that moment. At nearly the very same instant in time, Sonic rather ruthlessly kicked Dark Oak into Narcissus's attack. Afterward, everything he expected to happen happened. Narcissus was utterly obliterated and Kaden returned his attention to Kalin. Dark Oak was let both furious and wounded, but not severely so, and he rushed back into battle.

Caliburn parried a massive blow from Dark Oak's sword and knocked said sword back. After dodging a blast from Sonic, Dark Oak swiped at the young hero and for at least the second time that day drew blood across Sonic's torso. It was almost startling, in a way, as Sonic couldn't recall having ever been touched when in this form, let alone _injured. _In that moment, he recalled Marthal's words. _"Don't get cocky!" _Those were words to live by, he supposed, and rather literally, too. After all, if he got cocky one too many times... he'd die. And, of course, he had no interest in doing _that_. So he focused, really focused, and resumed attacking his enemy seriously.

Sonic released yet another golden blast at Dark Oak from the palm of his hand. In return, he countered with another dark blast of his own. Sonic inhaled sharply and dodged the attack, finally feeling concern for his own life while in this form. Dark Oak went more fully on the offensive and slashed out with his sword, forcing Sonic to parry the blow with Caliburn. He genuinely was thankful for having an unbreakable sword in times like these.

Dark Oak moved back nearly a foot and lashed out with his sword, sending a powerful wave of Planet Egg energy at Sonic. Sonic immediately countered with a wave of Chaos energy, and the wave grew in size the closer it got to his enemy. Dark Oak cloaked his own sword with the eggs' energies and cut into the Chaos energy, breaking it apart. Eyes widening just slightly, Sonic immediately decided that he needed to up his game. The problem was… he wasn't _sure_ how to in this situation. Dark Oak only smirked at this reaction, though as small as it was it could barely be seen. He tapped more fully into the Planet Egg energy and sent out a blast, this being much stronger than the others had been previously. Though he tried to dodge, Sonic found himself unable to successfully do so. He was struck nearly dead-on and he had to grit his teeth to stop himself from crying out in pain. Dark Oak pressed his attack, moving forward once more and slashing at Sonic once more with his claw-like fingers. Again, Sonic failed to dodge. His leg was promptly clawed open. Dark Oak kept on him, following with a sword slash and a beam of Planet Egg energy. Once more, Sonic tried to dodge but somehow failed. _Damn, he wasn't kidding when he implied that this Planet Egg power is immensely strong!_

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Kaden (who was very much still in his full Dark form), sent another huge blast of Darkness at his brother. Kalin rolled out of the way and launched a swift kick at Kaden's face. Kaden, with next to no effort (if any at all), caught Kalin's foot in his right hand. Kalin, in a quick act of retaliation pulled himself closer and punched at him. Turning his head quickly to the side, Kaden avoided the punch altogether. He then swiftly spun Kalin around and threw him with great force toward the sickly green sun of this dying solar system. Kalin caught himself on a Metarex head and jumped out of the way, dodging a blast of Darkness from Kaden by mere milliseconds. Kaden then did a rare move and formed a sword out of pure Darkness. Lunging forward, he slashed at his brother. Kalin's eyes widened marginally and he blocked the slash with his own sword, though the pure force behind the attack threw him backwards. Being that it was composed of nothing but pure Darkness, Kaden's blade began to effortlessly melt through Kalin's own sword. It would take milliseconds for Kalin's blade to break entirely.

At the event of his sword breaking, Kalin gritted his teeth, jumped from another piece of floating debris, and tried performing yet another kick. Kaden simply blocked the kick with a kick of his own, using literally enough force to break Kalin's shin. In the background of this, there was a golden explosion as Dark Oak and Sonic continued to fight. Kalin ground his teeth together so tightly that it hurt his jaw, but he bared through the pain and launched a punch at Kaden. Still with virtually no effort, Kaden caught his brother's attack with one hand and threw him back again. Then, out of nowhere, Dark energy enveloped countless Metarex parts and began hurling them toward Kalin at nearly impossible speeds. Kalin had absolutely no time to react as the countless parts stabbed through various parts of his body. The robotic debris surrounded Kalin on all sides and continued to stab him ruthlessly.

Elsewhere, Dark Oak merely watched his now heavily injured enemy send two more blasts of Chaos energy at him. Then, he slashed out in a powerful arc with his sword and broke through both, negating both of the blasts easily. Breathing heavily in mild exhaustion, Sonic tried again to send a Chaos Blast of some kind at Dark Oak, though he could barely muster up the energy to do so. Dark Oak took this opportunity and rushed forwards, lashing out with his fingers. Sonic wasn't able to move backward fast enough, and he was slashed across the stomach again. Dark Oak once more pressed the attack and lunged forwards with his sword. Sonic failed to get his sword up in time to block the attack properly and his arm was badly slashed. Smirking softly to himself, Dark Oak sent out an overwhelmingly strong blast of Planet Egg energy at Sonic. The golden hero failed to dodge at all and was sent hurtling backward.

Around this time, Cosmo had climbed onto the roof of the Blue Typhoon and used debris and asteroids and whatnot to get closer to the fight. Then, tears streaming down her face, she shouted to Dark Oak, "_Daddy, stop it_!"

Eyes widening from within his metallic body, he turned to her then frowned deeply. _What!? _

Sonic whipped around to face Cosmo in pure and utter shock. _C… Cosmo…? _He slowly turned back to face Dark Oak. _And… he's her… ?!_

Deciding it wasn't even worth it to be watching her, and seeing that his enemy was distracted, he sent out one final blast of Planet Egg energy at Sonic, hoping to finish him off. Cosmo, still crying both from long pent-up grief and from genuine fury, used some of her mother's power to counter Dark Oak's entire attack and render it into nothing. Dark Oak, in pure surprise at this sudden realization, whirled around to face Cosmo. Cosmo balled her hands into tight fists. "I said to stop it," she muttered.

Dark Oak gritted his teeth. _Damn… What do I do...?_

Cosmo prepared to attack him again, her power enveloping his tightly clenched fists in balls of pure energy. In a quick act to try and stop this, Dark Oak threw his hand up and fired a blast of Planet Egg energy at her. Sonic shielded his young friend, and she sent a huge attack back at her wicked father. Dark Oak tried, in a desperate attempt to shield himself, to slash out with his sword at the attack. The attack simply busted through all of his defenses with a brilliant flash of pure and perfect magic light. Dark Oak was truly afraid for the first time since he truly became a Metarex. Though she could sense this, Cosmo showed the man no sympathy and continued her attack until there was simply nothing of him left.

****-ソニック~****

****1,683 ******words this time. I had help writing this chapter, as you may recall! Everyone give Blazing Winds a _huge_ thanks! Without him, this chapter likely would ****have never been finished! Now, enjoy some fun we had down below. Everything not italicized is my writing, otherwise it's his.**

**"Smikking softly tp himself, Dakr Oak sent out an overwhelmin strong blast of egg eenergy at San [*deletes word and tries again*] Sonac." Blazing Winds's epic typo-ridden sentence. XD**

**_And, while typing that, she messed up and typed setence. _****[I fixed that typo before he typed this sassy little remark. XD]**

**_That's just her being butt-hurt. _****[Not even, dude. XD]**

**_Stop pretending. Anyways, see the other crappy typos of mine after the commercial break! _****[No need. I watched him make plenty of typos in writing this sentence. XD] _*Commercial plays*_**

**At one point, we called Dark Oak "Dark Oreo Cookie".**

**_And Dark Ostrich. And Omelette. And Oprah. And.. wait.. what was the other hilarious one..? And I accidentally typed in Drk. Then I made a joke about Professor Oak. That was fun._**

**Anyway, I may make future edits to this chapter but, until then, I just hope this was enjoyable for you all. Posted (at about five a.m.) 08-31-16.**


	283. True Peace At Last

**Hello, StarryMoon33! YEEESSS ITTT ISSS! Thanks a bunch! I'm so happy you enjoyed! :D That will be clarified more this chapter, don't worry. :)**

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Yooooooooooo, yourself (jk)! XD She did! And no, not _quite_ yet. I'm so super glad you enjoyed! And yes, that was epic, I thought. Oh, I am as well! :) I will do my very, very best, Pyro-kun!**

****-ソニック~****

Metarex parts, debris from ships, and ruined weapons were strewn about the now-silent battlefield. Some fires still burned upon a portion of the rubble. The sickly green sun was blotted out somewhat by a combination of smoke, debris, and a single black and glowing shape. A pair of golden eyes surrounded by an equally golden glow slowly looked over everything. The darkness, the destruction, the ruin, the girl who had shockingly ended it all... As it truly sank in what Cosmo had done, Sonic felt his eyes widen and he finally snapped out of his shock. Turning more fully toward the young girl, he started to ask, "How did you...?" only to trail off without ever completing his sentence.

Closing her truthfully rather pretty eyes, Cosmo turned her head and body away, still standing on a large sheet of debris from a ship all the while. "When I was very young," she murmured sadly, "I was gifted with my mother's True Life Magic. She told me on that day that dark trees can only be felled once their trunks have been weathered down. I never really understood what she meant by that until today." Her right hand moved to lightly grip her left arm, which was still dangling by her side. "You taking on my- Dark Oak crippled his defenses enough to allow me to defeat him."

Gaze sharpening as he caught on to what she had very nearly said, Sonic's expression gradually softened and took on a sympathetic frown. "Why didn't you ever tell us that he was your father?" he ventured to ask, voice low as though to keep anyone else from hearing, though no one else besides themselves and Kaden was near enough to do so anyway.

A few tears became visible in the corners of Cosmo's eyes as she squeeze said eyes shut tighter and her hands balled into somewhat tight fists. "He killed my mother," whispered shakily, "my aunts, my sisters, my cousins, my grandparents, my friends... Everyone I'd ever cared about is dead because of him. I just... I didn't ever want to think about how in the world I could _possibly_ be related to such a monster..."

Thinking it best to change the subject (and do so ASAP), Sonic posed a new and no less serious question. "What will you do now?" he murmured. "Where will you go?"

Slowly, Cosmo's young eyes opened again, though she still didn't look at nor turn to look at him at all. And yet... gradually, she began to smile. "I'm going home," she murmured in reply, "back to my planet." Her smile turned a bit sad but also... _hopeful_. "I may be alone for a while, maybe even a long while, but with the Planet Eggs all returned to their proper worlds, mine will revive and my people will eventually come back, as plants do."

Frowning a little in thought, Sonic looked at where Dark Oak had been mere minutes before. After a moment or two of quiet, he spoke up again. "_Did _they return?" he asked her. "I don't think I saw that happen at all at any point. ...Not that I was _entirely_ paying attention, either."

Cosmo nodded solemnly. "Yes, they did," she confirmed immediately. "I returned them with my magic during that final attack."

Sonic returned the nod to indicate his understanding, the briefly looked down to see that the most life-threatening of his wounds were slowly knitting back together within his golden aura. _Gotta love that Chaos energy, I guess. _He turned his attention back to Cosmo. "Do you need me to get you home?"

Smiling just a little again, Cosmo shook her head. "No, but thank you, Sonic," she responded, visibly cheering up a bit. "I already asked Kath to take me home after this was all over, and he agreed." With this in mind, it made sense why she'd cheered up. Many people could be easily cheered up when with friends.

This tine, Sonic found himself returning the smile, though his was a little sad. "So you're both leaving soon, then?"

With another nod, Cosmo finally turned back to face him again. "Yes." She glanced back to the Blue Typhoon, next to which Kath was hovering calmly with his back to them, waiting for her to be ready to go. "Probably now," she answered honestly. "The sooner I get home, the sooner he can do the same." Finally turning to face Sonic, she allowed her small smile to grow. "Please tell everyone that I said farewell?" she requested. There was a small pause, then she added, "...Especially Tails. I feel like he and I could have been good friends."

Somehow, in spite of _all_ that had happened today, Sonic found it in himself to return her smile. "Will do," he promised warmly. Cosmo moved to start heading back to the Typhoon, jumping on debris and asteroids and whatnot as she had done to get here, but Sonic stopped her by gently taking one of her small hands in his own. Together, they flew back and carefully set her on her feet on the roof of the ship. Then, turning to Kath (who had turned to face them), he said solemnly, "Thanks. For everything."

Though Kath initially inclined his head, he then, in a way, refuted Sonic's words by saying simply, "It is you whom the universe owes a great debt of gratitude, not I."

"Still." This response earned no outward response from the old hawk, but Sonic wasn't bothered. He continued to smile.

"Goodbye, Sonic," Cosmo murmured, finally wiping those tears away from her eyes. "I won't ever forget any of you."

Sonic's smile grew and a faint sting in his eyes threatened to form into tears. He didn't allow them to, though, and he watched as, seconds later, Kath and Cosmo together vanished with a flash of bright yellow. He looked at the now empty space where his two newest allies had only just been, then returned his attention to Tails's ship once more. Concentrating silently, he used whatever power he had left to teleport himself, the ship, and all his friends and family back to Mobius. Only then did he allow himself to power down and the emeralds to scatter. Bending over at the knees, he braced himself on said knees and took several tired breathes as his eyes closed. Slowly, he began to grin to himself. _We did it, _he thought almost giddily. _We actually did it. _A small tear of joy escaped his right eye. He didn't think he'd ever been happier in his life.

****-ソニック~****

Slowly, ever so slowly, Kaden also lowered to the ground and also powered down, very nearly passing out in the process. When he swayed uncertainly on his feet, hands placed themselves gently on his shoulders to steady him. Blinking open his eyes, he saw Analia's teary but smiling face looking back at him. Relief like nothing he thought he'd ever felt in his entire life washed over him, nearly crippling him with it's force. Seconds later, he allowed himself to be pulled into a light hug that he readily returned. "The twins?" he asked quietly as he watched people slowly disembark from the ship and walk out into the sunny grass land Sonic had deposited them all in.

"They're safe," Analia promised just as quietly, still not letting him go (not that he exactly wanted her to, anyway). "Vanilla has them right now." As she spoke, their grandson exited the ship by Blaze's left side. The younger hedgehog, the second he was outside, promptly jumped high into the air and did ecstatic loop-de-loops. Clearly, he was thrilled to have his powers back. Analia smiled at his antics before turning (perhaps to hold Kaden better), only to visibly pause when she saw Kalin lying motionless on the ground not very far away from herself and her partner. She looked to said partner, a silent question in her beautiful green eyes, and he just nodded. He didn't want to say the truth aloud, a fact which she seemed to understand. Reaching up to gently rub his right ear (an affectionate gesture that always made him relax whether he wanted to or not), she again smiled. "Even a man such as he deserves to a proper burial, don't you agree?" He noticed for the second time that she was actually using contractions in her sentences.

Emerald eyes traveled slowly across the lush green field and came to rest upon the battered form of his fallen brother. He felt something deep within his heart soften. _Family is family... no matter what happens. _"Yes," he replied softly. Barely a few seconds after he finished speaking, Kaden watched as Analia used her magic to carefully bury Kalin. Turning away again, Kaden spotted his eldest so. As he watched, Sonic was tackled in a hug by a certain pink hedgehog. Ever so slowly, Kaden felt himself truly begin to smile a small but no less genuine smile. The war was over. People were hurt, yes, but everyone was still alive and here. The evil had been properly vanquished. High in the sky, the sun continued to shine down upon them. For perhaps the first time ever...

He truly felt that things were going to be alright.

****-ソニック~****

****1,586 words this time. Hope ya'll enjoyed this last chapter of the Sonic X Arc! The Peace Arc shall now begin... For that arc, PyroShockZ, StarryMoon33, and Blazing Winds will be helping me out by writing scenes based off of ideas I have shared with them and ideas they themselves have come up with. You all are going to see different writing styles and whatnot, but that's okay! I have super high hopes for the outcomes of these chapters! And, of course, I will certainly give credit where credit is due. :) Posted (at about three-thirty a.m. because I just happened to wake up) 09-01-16.****


	284. Perfect Imperfection

**Hello, StarryMoon33! YES, IT IIISSS! And yay, Peace Arc! :D**

**Hello, Shadowstar146! Awesome! Great to hear from you! :D Aw, thanks a bunch! i'm so happy you enjoyed it that much, truly! Yeah, I kinda wish that, too, but I think it's for the best that he didn't. Still, at least he was given a nice and peaceful burial. :) Haha, yeah, the Cosmo and Tails ship was never gonna sail here. They only got away with that in the show because of that love potion thing. Sheesh. :l Yeah, I tried to largely do my own thing with this arc (partially because it's been so long since I've seen that season of Sonic X). I'm just glad it all worked out. :) And I knooow! He's my all-time second favorite Hero character, personally, and I'm so happy you enjoyed his involvement, too! :D Aww, thanks so much for saying that! And don't be sorry. Life happens. Believe me, I know. XD I'm so excited as well! The Peace Arc begins today! Yay! :D And yes, I am having help... none of these chapters are likely to get up on time without it, with my crazy work schedule. XD Anyway, about that last part, I sent you a PM about that. Dunno if you saw it. :P Welp, that's it for now! Bye, and thanks again!**

****-ソニック~****

For the first time in what genuinely felt like ages (about three days after the end of the war), everyone was gathered together in Amy's house in Apatos. It was early September (early enough that leaves weren't really changing yet and it wasn't chilly), and they were all in the large dining room together, talking, eating, laughing, and so on. All around Amy, her friends smiled and shared their plans for the future. She heard mentions of school, music, racing, art, traveling… Soon, she began to pick up on specifics of what people were saying.

Charmy, Bokkun, and Cream (and presumably Cheese), were all happily discussing the idea of starting real school while Vector and Espio were speaking about returning to the detective agency. Vanilla, Harold, and Marie were all speaking with one another about returning to their old jobs (growing and selling vegetables, acting, and cooking professionally, respectively). Locke and Knuckles, unsurprisingly, were talking about resuming their treasure hunting and maybe even beginning to work with museums to make proper careers out of their hobbies. Rouge managed to weed out of Shadow that he was thinking about working with the World Army in some way, and she admitted she would probably go back to being a jewel thief. Omega intoned that he would go wherever Shadow did.

Nearby where Shadow was sitting, Silver happily announced to Tails and Blaze that he wanted to try his hand at being an artist, Tails voiced his pleasure about being able to go back to inventing for a living, and Blaze murmured a tentative idea she had about training children how to defend themselves. Storm gruffly muttered his desire to continue racing and not do anything else while Wave voiced her wish to become a professional member of a water sports team of some kind. Jet admitted that he wasn't sure what to do, but that he wanted to continue racing. Sonic mentioned to his best friend that he wanted to do something involving music. Marthal and Keiri were talking as they usually did, and they (like Vanilla, Harold, and Marie) were planning to return to their former careers (Marthal ran a dojo and Keiri ran a small herb shop). Amy silently reflected right around then that she wanted to run her own floor at a hospital. No sooner than she thought that, she finally heard Analia and Kaden. Analia had voiced a similar desire to Amy's, and Kaden hesitantly mumbled something about _maybe_ wanting to pursue a career as an author.

Listening to all of this, hearing all of these genuine hopes and dreams and seeing everyone smile... It warmed Amy's heart and made her feel so, so happy. People began to notice her smile and, one by one, they looked a her as though they just knew that she had something to say. Smiling more than ever before, Amy looked over all of her friends and murmured, "Everyone, this is possibly the pinnacle of our lives." Tails and multiple others also began to smile more. "Let's not waste a single moment of this."

"Yeah!" Silver suddenly exclaimed. "We totally won the war and stuff! We deserve to relax and have some fun!"

People laughed, and no one disagreed. Truly, no one wanted to. Because, after all, it was just like Amy had said. This truly was the highest point of everything. The future could only get brighter from here.

****-ソニック~****

Five days after the end of the war, Kaden and Sonic somehow found themselves alone together in Kaden and Analia's house. She had gone out to visit Keiri, taking the twins with her. The two males stayed behind and, for a while, entertained themselves with simple and idle talk. But, eventually, the topics they brought up began getting more and more serious. The very peak of that serious streak in their conversation came when Kaden suddenly replied to something Sonic had said about how easy life already was now compared to how it once had been.

"You've grown and accomplished so much…" Kaden suddenly murmured, something genuine whining in his eyes. "You took all the terrible things that life threw at you and made them into something beautiful. You've changed the world more times than anyone may ever know, and you did it all for the sake of others, never for just yourself." He paused then and gave Sonic one of his rare, small but truly warm smiles. "I couldn't be more proud of you, Sonic," he said aloud for the first time ever. "I am proud of everything that you are, everything that you have become, everything that you have done, and everything that you have yet to do." At Sonic's expression, Kaden's smile grew a bit and he repeated, "I'm proud of you."

Sonic slowly began to smile, bit by bit, then soon began outright beaming at his father. Without thinking, he reached forward and initiated only about the third or so hug he and his father had ever shared. There was no hesitation this time, and Kaden hugged him back. Now, there was only silence. But, this time... it was okay. Each one knew without words that the other was happy, and that was all that mattered.

****-ソニック~****

Two weeks after the war ended, Sonic, Silver, and Jet were in the middle of a "family" race. Sonic glanced behind him as he ran, watching his "brother" and son fly close behind him. With a smile, he sped himself up and turned his head forward once more to watch where he was going. Silver, who wasn't too far behind Jet and Sonic, grinned a bit. "Hey, dad! You're not holding back on us, are you?" he asked, still following behind as he used his powers, which he was still very grateful to have back, to fly.

Sonic's smile morphed into a grin. "Maybe I am! Maybe I'm not!" He called to Silver in response. "Get up here and you'll find out!"

Rolling his eyes, Jet continued to fly after them. Though he said nothing aloud for the moment, he did make an internal comment, as he often did. _Show-off._

Silver laughed a little bit and sped up a little bit, getting closer to Jet. "Uncle Jet, you'd better not be holding back, too!" The silver hedgehog looked at the emerald hawk as he spoke.

Slowly, Jet smirked. "And if I am?" he replied, speeding up as he did so. His scarf flowed rather elegantly behind him as he went.

Silver grinned in response and sped up. "Then that wouldn't make my victory a genuine one!"

"And who says you're gonna win?" Jet called back as he flew closer to Sonic. His smirk had grown as his true love of racing began to show itself in him. His eyes betrayed his enjoyment of both flying and participating in this race.

Sonic, in an act of slight smugness, spun around and ran backwards, keeping his lead. "If you keep this up, I do," he said with a grin, happy to see them both having fun.

Again, Jet's smirk grew wider. "Oi, don't get cocky," he called. "I don't plan on letting you win, either!"

Sonic spun around quickly and returned his attention forward. "Gotta catch me to do that!" he called back to Jet as he sped up yet again. Silver laughed at the two "brothers" and continued to fly with the use of his powers. He slowly started to catch up to Jet, and his grin widened a little. Jet gave Silver a challenging yet somehow playful glance and sped up, pretty much closing the distance between himself and Sonic. He was now nearly right above the blue hedgehog. Sonic didn't even have to look to know Jet was there, and only poured on the speed, fully intent on making sure Jet wouldn't win that easily, if he did at all. Jet took immediate notice of this, of course, and he raised an eyebrow just a bit. But, of course, he said nothing and merely kept flying. He was being as calm as ever about this, which he supposed would have made Wave smirk if she was here to see this. He pushed that thought away so her could focus.

Seconds later, Silver poured on the speed, intent on not getting last in this race, and kept going until he was a few feet behind Jet. Glancing back, Jet gave his "nephew" another of those playfully challenging glances, this time accompanied with a small smirk. Taking notice of this (as he'd been looking up) Sonic gave Jet a challenging look of his own, dodging around a rock as he ran. "This all you got, dude?" he taunted. This earned an eye-roll.

"Hey, fight later, race now!" Silver laughed. "You two can spar after I win."

"Excuse me," Jet replied with false cockiness and a much more casual tone than he usual shared, "but _I'm_ going to win, thank you very much." Sonic chuckled a bit and suddenly passed by a rock made of mica, which shone brightly in the sun. He looked at it for a short moment before he was unable to see the shiny side, then returned his attention forward. Silver was about to reply to Jet when he saw the rock. Instantly filled with curiosity and an almost childish wonder, he slowed down and turned around to look at the shiny rock that had grabbed his attention. Jet honestly had to bite back a small laugh when he saw Silver go. _I swear… that kid will always remain a kid, even when he's older than all hell._

Sonic only rolled his eyes at Silver's short attention spun and childish curiosity. "Of course," he said to himself in amusement.

Silver studied the sparkly stone for several long moments before he glanced over in the direction of his father and "uncle". "H-hey!" he declared, flying back into the air. "No fair!" But neither Sonic nor Jet chose to listen this time around. They sped on ahead, leaving the poor pouting teenager in the dust. They went on for miles, traveling those distances in seconds, then inevitably began sparring as they raced. Around three-fourths of the way to the finish line the trio had earlier decided upon, a harmless blast of cool fire hit jet (courtesy of Sonic) and knocked him out of the sky and into a tree. As he cursed his luck, Sonic laughed and sped across the imaginary line that decided his victory.

****-ソニック~****

It was a warm and sunny day a mere two weeks and two days after the war had ended. It was as though summer hadn't quite ended yet, and the youngest kids of the group of heroes were taking full advantage of the warmth of the afternoon. All four of them were camped out in the lush grass outside the front of Cream's house, and all four of them had paper, crayons, markers, pencils, and lap desks with them. Fully colored pages rested in the grass around them, and new ones were being made all the time. For the most part, Charmy used all the crayons, Bokkun and Cheese shared all the markers, and Cream used all the pencils. In total, more than twenty-three drawings had been completed in about as many minutes, and the kids talked all the while. And, as they worked, Vanilla watched them from the nearby kitchen window with a warm smile. She had quite the busy little artists on her hands today... and she loved it.

****-ソニック~****

About three and a half weeks after the war, Locke took the twins to babysit them for the day, giving Kaden and Analia some much needed alone time. For the first time in a good seven months or better, the two of them went out on a genuine date. As with the last time they'd gone on a date, they had dinner at a nice restaurant (at one point, Analia joked about the food and Kaden claimed that he had "spoiled her taste for fine dining", earning a laugh), then they went to a club of sorts used just for playing music, serving drinks, and letting people dance. And dance they did, for at least a couple of hours or better. Neither could stop smiling the whole time, nor did either of them truly tire from their activities. But their night wasn't quite over yet.

At around ten o' clock that evening, the two ancient hedgehogs finally returned home to watch a movie, as they weren't expecting Locke back with the twins until sometime the next morning. Kaden let Analia choose the film, as he usually did when they watched a film together, and she put on a movie based on a true story of a warrior princess who ended a war by utilizing her love of nature to bring about peace. It was one of Analia's favorites, and Kaden found it to be fairly enjoyable. So, together, they settled down on their couch and began to watch the film. Barely a quarter of the way through the movie, though, Analia noticed that her partner was suddenly looking sleepy (a rather good thing, since his insomnia had been acting up the past few nights). Smiling to herself, she kept quiet and continued to watch the movie as though she'd seen nothing, lest she somehow inadvertently make him start fighting his need for sleep.

Less than halfway through the movie, Kaden finally fell asleep, his head ending up on her shoulder somehow in the process. Turning her head, movie now all but forgotten, Analia smiled at her peaceful-looking partner, the love of her life and more. She couldn't stop smiling at him for the life of her.

****-ソニック~****

Four weeks after the end of that dreadful war, Amy and Cream spent the day making flower crowns together. Everyone in their group of friends and family was gathered in a rather large park for the simple reason of celebrating four full weeks of genuine peace. In a way, Amy supposed, these crowns were a symbol of that, a tribute to the peace that they had all been willing to give their lives for. Smiling to her self just about as much as Cream was doing, the young pink hedgehog got up, gathered crowns into her arms, and began aiding her young friend in distributing their flowery tokens. In the end, even Shadow and Knuckles were persuaded to accept a crown (Shadow merely because Cream had pleaded and he never seemed to be able to say no to her, and Knuckles because Rouge elbowed him and gave him a glare that told him he had to do it). Granted, Knuckles did a fair bit of grumbling as he took the crown, but he did finally manage to return Cream's bright smile as she walked away to the next person.

That next person just so happened to be Sonic, and he knelt down as though receiving a gift from a princess herself. This made Cream giggle, and she placed the crown atop his head gently. "You're so funny, Mister Sonic."

Back to the formalities, it would seem, but Sonic was hardly bothered by it. Smiling back at her, he glanced at his father (who was talking with Locke about something nearby), then looked back at Cream. "Maybe you should go give my dad one next," he whispered with a small wink.

This comment did not go unnoticed. Kaden's sharp ears picked up on it easily, and he turned his head just as Cream gave Sonic the happy reply, "Okay!" then turned and skipped toward Kaden. Kaden huffed a little at Sonic's expression, but nonetheless accepted the child's gift, as everyone knew he would. Cream beamed and, as Sonic watched, his father found it in himself to smile back at her. That alone made this day all the more bright.

****-ソニック~****

Five and a half weeks after the war, Rouge shifted a little to get comfortable, her head resting on one of Knuckles's bent arms as she looked at the starry night sky. She then glanced to Knuckles. "So, you do this often? Watch the stars, I mean."

Knuckles turned his head away from the star filled sky and looked at her. "I guess. I do it quite a bit."

Rouge smiled a little and looked at a small constellation in the sky. "It's nice out here. I don't blame you for enjoying this at all."

Knuckles smiled slightly and looked up again. "It is nice," he agreed. He resumed looking at the stars, looking at the constellations they made."

"Do you know many constellations?" Rouge suddenly asked, eyes scanning the stars. "My grandfather used to tell me about them, but I don't remember much about them at all."

"I know some," Knuckles replied. He pulled his arm out from under the one Rouge was on and pointed upwards. "That one is Pegasus."

Looking over to where Knuckles was pointing, Rouge scanned the stars and tried to see the shape. She managed to see it a bit, enough to cause her to smile again. "It does look a bit like a winged horse."

Knuckles smiled a little more. "Yeah, it does." He moved his hand to the right a bit and pointed to a specific star. "That one is a part of Tolo Reid. It's at the very bottom of the constellation."

After a moment of thought, Rouge said, "From what I remember growing up… my grandfather used to say that that constellation was a sign of good luck for my people centuries ago. When it was in the sky, the bat thieves would have good heists. Supposedly."

Knuckles looked at her again and lowered his arm. "Do you think that's actually true? You don't sound so sure of it."

This question earned a casual shrug. "Heck if I know," Rouge replied honestly. "I like to believe in what I can prove is real, such as things I can actually see. Only people like Tails can potentially prove something silly like this to be right or wrong."

Knuckles looked up again and looked for another constellation as he spoke. "I wonder if there even is a way to prove something like that. It doesn't seem very likely."

"Leave it to Tails, though," Rouge said in amusement as she listened to some birds chirp in the trees nearby.

Knuckles shrugged as well as he could with her on his arm. "I suppose." A few seconds later, he pointed up again. "That one's supposed to look like a *insert here XD*. It's supposed to give good luck to couples or something like that."

A moment of pause, then Rouge said teasingly, "Too bad there's no one for them to help right here." The birds were steadily getting louder as she spoke, and a few were now flying around.

Knuckles looked at her once again, but this time with a raised eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, not paying attention to the birds.

Before she really had a chance to come up with a decent response that wouldn't make things awkward, one of the birds suddenly swooped down and pecked Knuckles on the head, hard, then swiftly flew away. Rouge busted up laughing.

Knuckles made a small sound of both surprise and pain, both of his hands flying up to the spot that was viciously pecked moments before. He glared at the bird and watched as it grew smaller and smaller as it fled. Rouge simply continued to laugh, feeling much happier now than she had been before. She wasn't sorry at all.

****-ソニック~****

Six weeks into the peace, Kath stepped out of the shower dressed in his usual clothes. His white shirt, as always, had a kimono-like sleeve on the left and an elbow-length normal sleeve on the right. His plain white pants were tucked into his dark brown boots, completing his normal look. He felt comfortable as he dried his hair, which was (as always) long enough to cover his heavenly blue eyes a great deal, though it covered his eyes a bit less when he was messing it up in an effort to dry it with his towel. While he worked on this task, he walked across his bedroom, listening as Azerel made comments that only the wolf and Kath could here. _Honestly, you were slimed more than a month ago. These daily showers are unnecessary. _

For once, Kath resisted the urge to roll his eyes. _I still felt gross, if you must know, _he retorted, lightly tossing the towel onto his bed as he did so. He idly combed the fingers of his right hand through his now tousled hair while he searched the room for a pen. Azerel seemed to huff, but Kath ignored it. He grabbed the first pen he could find and a notebook, then sat on his bed.

Azerel jumped onto the bed soon afterward and laid down right up against Kath's leg, as he often did. _For what it's worth... _he said slowly, _you getting severely grossed out had good results, so it's not like the experience was all bad. _Kath didn't reply, if only because he supposed his old friend had a point. They _had_ saved the universe, after all. Even though he couldn't _stand_ slime, the universe was probably worth that small sacrifice. Or more than probably. That was when Azerel chose to close his eyes. _And, for the record, I'm glad that you got slimed. _This earned a look that was ignored. _It could've been worse, after all... You could have not come back at all._

Expression softening into one of sympathy, Kath looked away. _...I'm sorry I worried you,_ he responded quietly after a long moment.

If Azerel could have smirked, he probably would have, judging by the shift in his tone. _Don't be, _he replied immediately. _You'll never stop being reckless, so I'll just keep dealing with it like I've always done. _

Somehow finding it in himself to smile one of his extremely rare smiles, Kath reached a hand over and briefly ruffled the fur atop Azerel's head, then turned his attention back to his pen and paper and set to work. He had a letter to write.

****-ソニック~****

Six and a half beautiful weeks of peace after the end of the war (around early-ish October) found Kaden in a makeshift forge he had built in a cave deep in the wilderness outside Empire City. Saika (which Sonic had at some point recovered for him) had been damaged during the fight he'd had with Kalin before said evil hedgehog had successfully knocked out and kidnapped him. That was why he'd made this forge: to repair his favorite blade. Looking it over, his highly trained eyes knew that it was no Caliburn. But, really, that didn't matter to him. There was beauty in imperfection, truly. And, if her were being perfectly honest with himself, it wasn't like Caliburn was truly perfect either. The blade that could never be broken had its own faults. Even Caliburn could not cut everything.

Life wasn't about its so-called perfections, anyway. That was something Kaden had always known. He had learned very early on to find beauty in the imperfect. The broken seashell, the shredded leaf, the dirt-stained kimono, the chipped mahjong tile... Those were all examples of things that could be found as beautiful when one had an open mind. This still-broken blade was no different. _Life_ itself was no different, and that thought made him smile to himself just a little bit. Because, in the end, he knew that, while this peace would never truly be _perfect_ (as life would always, _always_ have its ups and downs in various ways), it would still be beautiful. And he would enjoy every second of it.

****-ソニック~****

****4,082 ******words this time. I really hope you all enjoyed! I'm thinking that this arc will end in four chapters total, with this one being the first. I'll let'cha all know if plans change. Also, for those of you who don't recall, this is actuallythe second time I've described Kath's outfit. The first time was in the SA2 Arc chapter entitled "Eternal Hope". That chapter was just so long ago that I wasn't sure if people really remembered that italucized scene I introduced him in. Also! The "family" race was based off of some fanart by a similar title on DeviantArt, which was uploaded by LeoninBlossom33.**

**Now for some credits! **

**The first two scenes were written just by me. The first line of the third scene was written just by me, as were all the parts with Jet, all the Sonic parts were written by Blazing Winds, and all the Silver parts were written by StarryMoon33, though everything after the part where Silver says "No Fair" as written by me. Everything between the "family" race scene and the Knuckles and Rouge scene was written just by me. In the Knuckles and Rouge scene, StarryMoon33 wrote all the Knuckles parts. The last two scenes were written by me. Unfortunately, PyroShockZ was unable to join us this time around, but I'm sure you all will see his work next time. :)**

**Anyway, I really hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about three-thirty a.m.) 09-02-16.**


	285. Beautiful Times

**Hello, Sunny! THANKS! :D**

**Hello, Captain! Thank you! :D**

**Hello, StarryMoon33! No worries. :) Hahaha, lol! XD I'm super glad you liked it! I'm excited, too! :DD**

**-ソニック~**

On October tenth, a little bit more than a month after the end of the war, Kaden, Sonic, and Silver all embarked on a race through miles and miles of wilderness, ending with none of them actually winning. Silver was to blame for the collision that ended the race, but their spirits were all too high for any of them to be upset about it. To "celebrate" their shared humorous failure on this day, the trio went out to lunch together. Sonic and Silver wuickly proved themselves to be too loud and wound up for the management's liking, however, which got them all in trouble. It was the first time Kaden had ever been kicked out of a restaurant. To teach the boys a little lesson, he chased them around a bit.

**-ソニック~**

October twelfth found everyone gathered together in a park, enjoying the surprisingly warm day by having a huge group picnic. Everyone brought food and drinks, and the kids of course brought along toys. As Sonic unpacked some hotdog buns from a cooler he'd brought along, he happened to glance up into the rather blue sky. A spot of red attached to a string caught his eye. Emerald orbs slowly traveled down the length of that string, soon coming to rest on young Cream and Charmy. Smiling to himself at the picture the two of them made, he resumed unpacking the food.

****-ソニック~****

October twentieth was a nice, cool, and overcast day, the kind of day that both Jet and his somewhat aging (but still young looking) terrier absolutely loved the hell out of. For this reason, Jet grabbed Tanner's leash, Tanner himself, some water and toys, then set out with his dog, headed for the largest park Future City had to offer. The two spent the entire day there, playing chase and tug of war and fetch and "wrestling" and so on. When the afternoon began to turn late, the two of them sat down together in the crisp grass and Jet gave his dog a small sideways hug with one arm. _You're a good boy, Tanner. _Almost as if hearing and agreeing with this thought, Tanner quietly barked and wagged his tail happily. Jet smiled.

****-ソニック~****

Even heroes celebrated major holidays, Sonic and Amy reasoned. Using this logic as their fuel, they spent several hours on Halloween day painstakingly convincing every friend and family member they had to attend a Halloween party with them. Everyone did end up showing up, though a few (such as Kaden) had simply refused to dress up. Still, everyone was here, there was good food, great music (such as the song "Bump In the Night", a personal favorite of Amy's), and there were lots of harmless frights to be had. In the end, Amy considered it to be a great night, even if a certain red and black hedgehog _did_ decide to stand in a corner and sulk the whole time. She giggled as she walked into her house. _So worth it._

****-ソニック~****

November second was a rather cold day, prompting Sonic to where the very same icy blue scarf that Sen had donned when Tails and the others had left the ruined future on that bittersweet day. To complete the look, Sonic was also wearing the very same matching shoes that Sen had also worn with the very same scarf. Currently, those shoes were pounding across the hard-packed dirt and that scarf was flowing frantically behind him as he ran for his life in wide circles, desperate to avoid Amy and her cruel "Hammer of Doom" (as he liked to think of it). Just minutes ago, he had gently teased her about what he had (mistakenly) believed to be something harmless, and now it looked as though his life was about to end quite abruptly. His friends and family (all of whom were in the park with him and Amy) weren't at all helpful or sympathetic, either. As Sonic fought to escape his untimely demise, they just stood around and laughed.

****-ソニック~****

December first seemed to be a special day for some reason, even before the morning was through. Knuckles and Rouge trekked through the snow together, arms lightly brushing, scarves flowing gently, jackets blocking out most of the cold air... And as they walked, two of them talked at great length. They discussed everything from simple matters like how grey and overcast the sky looked to more complex subjects like how they'd met and when they had begun considering each other to be friends. When that latter subject was brought up, Rouge suddenly stopped walking. She gently took ahold of Knuckles's arm to turn him around to face her, much to his surprised confusion. Once he was facing her, she murmured something to shush him up. At exactly 10:01 a.m. just a moment later, she leaned forward and initiated their very first kiss.

****-ソニック~****

On December twenty-third, Tails, Silver, Blaze, Sonic, and Amy were all gathered at Amy's house, just hanging out. Silver had, at some point in the day, decided earlier to secretly hang mistletoe around the house to try to prank Sonic and Amy but, as with all best laid plans, everything ended up backfiring on him. Tails somehow managed to get Silver and Blaze facing each other while standing under a doorway. Only then did the young fox choose to point out the fact that they were standing under a mistletoe, one that Silver had most certainly _not_ placed so far as he could remember. The young hedgehog froze up and watched with a furious blush as Blaze awkwardly looked down and away, then back up at him. Suddenly, she began to slowly lean forward with her eyes closed, and he felt himself go even more still. Warm lips pressed into his cheek.

****-ソニック~****

On the very first day of the new year, Kaden, Analia, and Locke were all awakened very early in the morning by bright lights and oddly warm feelings. Almost instantly, they realized what was going on, and their beliefs were only confirmed when the enigmatic Voice made its presence known by speaking. _"Your lives have been fully restored... Sonic has at long last gathered enough Light to fully restore all three of you. Your lives are precious, heroes of old. Take care not to lose them again. Treat them well." _With that, the lights, the feelings, and the Voice all faded away.

****-ソニック~****

January fourteenth was the day. From here on and forevermore, this day would be a special one he would hold close in his heart. Kaden was quite uncharacteristically nervous, but he was also determined. His mind was set and he knew it was silly of him to be so anxious, anyway. Clutching in both hands behind his back his gift, he entered the living room, where Analia was currently sitting on the floor and playing with their precious babies on a blanket she'd spread across the floor. Once he gained her attention (which wasn't hard, really) and gotten her to stand, he steeled his nerves and prepared himself for what he was about to do. This wasn't strictly _necessary_, all things considered, but... he _wanted_ to do this. He really, really did. So, filled with fresh determination and hope, he moved the small box to where she could see it and got down on one knee.

****-ソニック~****

When January fifth came around, Jet, Wave, and Sonic hit the slopes. The guys snowboarded down the side of a mountain while Wave (who much preferred not to snowboard) went down with them on her skiis. They threw up plumes of snow as they rode, and Jet actually wore his goggles over his eyes (something he normally never did, as he rarely needed to due to being unaffected by winds). Sonic deliberately shifted his board, spraying the two Rogues with cold powder, and Wave responded by lightly whacking Sonic in the arm with one of her poles. All three of them were laughing. _With a girlfriend like this, guess my days of fighting Sonic or over, _Jet thought in amusement. He tried to convince himself that he actually felt remorse over this... but, truthfully, he didn't. This was much too funny.

****-ソニック~****

January sixteenth brought about not just cold days and long nights, but also snow deep enough to cover one's feet. Days like this, where the sun is out but the air is still fresh and cold, are perfect for one thing, and this thing only. Snowball wars. Kaden wasn't quite sure how he had been dragged into said war, but he was participating nonetheless. He dodged a well-aimed snowball from Locke, then threw one straight at Silver since he happened to be hiding behind the tree near the young hedgehog. That snowball nailed Silver in the back of the head, and he spun around, throwing a snowball in the direction he'd felt the cold projectile come from. Since the attacker was hiding, it went far past and right at Jet. Tails, who had formed a mini alliance of sorts with Silver, laughed at both the snow dotting his friend's silvery-grey head and the fact that Jet had been hit like that.

Jet huffed and wiped the snow off of his shoulder, then chucked two snowballs through the air. The first one smacked Sonic, and the other one sailed straight toward his young yellow student. Tails yelped a little and ducked behind the snow wall he had purposely made before the war began. Jet's "attack" hit the top and sprayed snow all over the young fox, who shivered slightly at it. Jet smirked at his slight victory against Tails, then turned his attention to Silver, who suddenly decided to pretend he was some sort of "Snowy War General". He tied his long quills over his upper lip like a moustache as he propped one foot up on a mound of snow. Then, quite dramatically, he pointed forward and yells "_Fire_!" Snowballs began to reign down on the opposing team (courtesy of his own powers), especially Jet. This was what he got for nearly hitting Tails.

Tails, who had peeked up to watch, laughed a little at how ridiculous his good friend busted up laughing as he watched Jet swiftly duck behind a tree for cover as the numerous snowballs rained upon him. Silver then untied his hair and began sneaking up on Blaze, snowball in hand and mischievous ideas in mind. He reared his arm back once he was situated in his "safe" spot and tossed it at her, hoping he wouldn't miss or get caught. Kaden peeked out of his hiding spot and looked at his grandson as well. Secretly, he was rooting for Blaze to whoop the boy's butt.

Blaze gasped softly when the snowball hit her backside, and she quickly whirled around, looking for where it had come from. She noticed Silver after a moment (it did take her a second to find him in his hiding spot and the environment he currently blended into), and she frowned softly at him before she managed a slight smile. She bent down briefly and scooped up a handful of snow that she shaped into a sphere. After taking a moment to aim, she threw it towards him before she started making another snowball, prepared to engage in a personal fight.

Silver laughed and tried to dodge, only for it to graze his stomach and splatter snow onto his body, making him laugh a bit more at his own failure. He quickly scooped up more snow, forming it into a ball and returned fire. Blaze managed to dodge this time, and she started running towards Silver to get a better shot. But, as luck would have it, her inexperience with snow and the plain fact that it was very slippery, made her slip.

Silver, in a quick act, rushed forward to try and save her, only to slip as well. Though this happened, he reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to himself before she had the chance to fall into the snow. Blaze blinked several times before she looked down at her childhood friend. When she realized what exactly had happened, and that his arm was still around her, she blushed brightly. Silver looked away a little with a bright blush of his own. "You alright?" he asked after a moment.

"Y-yes," she stammered out quietly, something she rarely did, further proving her embarrassment. Her blush deepened when she noticed his own red face. "I am fine. Thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome." He said after a moment, a smile forming on his face, just feeling glad that Blaze was alright. Even in this odd situation, he only felt happier to be near her.

Sonic watched off from the sideline, smiling at his son. _Nice job, kiddo. _

****-ソニック~****

Despite it being early February (the twelfth, to be precise), the day wasn't _too_ terribly cold, nor was fresh snow being contributed to the thick layer already coating the ground. This was fairly ideal weather for a winter sparring match, hence the reason why this random day was chosen for Sonic and Analia's equally random "fight". They clashed for over an hour before the match finally ended when one of Analia's attacks knocked Sonic back and into a snowdrift, chilling him to the bone near-instantly. She smiled at him. "You fight well, my son," she told him warmly. Then she unexpected winked, turned, and began walking away. "But not quite well enough, it would seem."

Though initially surprised and even a bit speechless, Sonic slowly began to smile as he sat up in the snow. _Now that was just cold._

****-ソニック~****

It was finally time. February twentieth was the day. Everything was ready. Everyone was waiting. Kaden was standing in a room with Locke (his best friend and, of course, best man), waiting rather restlessly for it to be the actual time he needed it to be time for him to go where he needed to be for the wedding ceremony to begin. As he waited, Locke continually teased him, making Kaden blush against his will (though only subtly so) entirely against his will. He his this reaction under a veil of feigned irritability or just plain indifference, but leave it to Locke see clean through the act. Then the new hour began, as revealed to them by the clock on the wall, and it was time for Kaden to go. Shooting his closest friend a sort of fake glare and earning the responding chuckle, he stepped out of the room and forward into his future.

****-ソニック~****

Shadow and Espio had been finding lately that they got along rather well most of the time, and they also had a good number of shared interests (including but not limited to mystery novels, poetry, knives, and fast ships). The two of them had been talking with each other a great deal over the past few weeks (though not anywhere near as much as Espio did with Kanari, whom he'd recently rekindled a friendship with). However, the twenty-fourth of February was the first day they two of them had ever really "hung out" (in the loosest sense of the word) together. Though they didn't exactly do much, they did get out of their houses for a while, and "hanging out" like this gave them a fairly legitimate excuse to continue talking like they normally would be, anyway. So, overall, Shadow found that he considered it to be a fairly enjoyable day.

****-ソニック~****

Nearly every couple had their arguments, but the huge blowout Jet and Wave had on March eleventh was worse than the average fight most people had with their significant others. Of course, nothing physical had happened, no, but some rather harsh words had certainly been traded, and there had been a great deal of yelling. This was their third such fight, and it left each of them miserable in the aftermath. But, at the end of the day, their love for each other still remained and they made up eventually as all good couples did. Still, Jet was left anxious. He hated yelling and being yelled at. He didn't want to fight with her ever again

****-ソニック~****

After a couple of days of planning, on the Morning of March thirtieth, Locke and Knuckles set out to explore the vast untamed jungles of Adabat together. They explored for hours, discovering hundreds of ancient artifacts as they went. Toward the end of the day, the duo pushed through an especially thick section of foliage and immediately stumbled upon a huge set of ruins. Grinning to each other, they walked on ahead.

****-ソニック~****

Today was the ultimate day for pranks: April first, also known as April Fools Day. Both Silver and Tails woke up that day just _knowing_ that they had to cash in fully on this day's hilarious action. The two joined forces together and became everyone's collective worst pranking nightmare. No one was spared from their mayhem, not even people like Shadow, Kaden, and Knuckles. Eventually, though, some people (even more mature people like Locke) began retaliating. What ensued was a prank war that lasted well into the next day.

****-ソニック~****

April third was Easter Sunday, and the group gathered together in a huge park in South City to hide and hunt for eggs, spend quality time together, and enjoy the beauty of this spring day. However, the casual nature of the day soon became more energetic. A giant game of tag somehow started up, dragging in more and more people every minute. In the end, even Shadow, Knuckles, Jet, and Kaden were persuaded to play. The one person who never got caught the whole time they played was Jet himself. The Rogue's stealth proved more than enough to save the hawk from ever becoming "It". Sonic laughed and jokingly called him a cheater. This earned an eye-roll and got him whacked in the head, but it was so worth it.

****-ソニック~****

On May twenty-first, for the first time ever, Sonic and Shadow were having a race together. Sonic had challenged his half-brother to a competition, and Shadow had found himself unable to refuse. But, of course, what was _supposed _to be a serious race was marred by Sonic himself. The blue hero simply could not seem to to resist taunting, teasing, and otherwise messing with Shadow the whole time they ran. It was all very annoying and childish... so Shadow put an end to it all by shoving Sonic, knocking him over, and then speeding away.

****-ソニック~****

Summer was the perfect time for surfing, something that the Rogues loved to do almost as much as racing. So, on June ninth, the trio hit the beaches and took to the waves, jumping on their boards and preparing for a day in the sun. Wave after wave they rode, and the real Wave eventually abandoned her own board in favor of jumping on the back of her boyfriend's, earning a glance and a small smile. She wrapped her arms around his middle to help maintain her balance and held on with a small smile of her own, quietly enjoying the light behind his eyes.

****-ソニック~****

It was the fourth month of July, which meant two good things. One, It was finally Blaze's birthday. Two, she was finally an adult. To celebrate both of these happy occasions, Silver had spent over a month secretly preparing a birthday gift to give her. On the morning of the party but before the duo and Sonic (whom Silver and Blaze were still living with, as they had been during the two-year separation) actually left for said party, Silver led Blaze outside to her gift and let her open it. Contained within the large wooden box she revealed under the wrapping paper was nothing but art. Paintings, sculptures, drawings, and more filled the box, and Blaze actually smiled. For the first time that he had ever seen, her eyes began to water dangerously. Then, without any proper warning, she reached forward and pulled him into a tight hug she had ever initiated. Glowing from head to toe with joy, Silver returned the hug.

****-ソニック~****

Though Sonic had never considered it to be, August second was a special day. It was his birthday, and Silver had insisted on celebrating it and throwing a party. Then he'd insisted on purchasing a needlessly large birthday cake to satisfied their shared sweet tooth. _Then_ he'd insisted on inviting _everyone_ over to celebrate with them. Then, finally, he'd insisted on Sonic opening his son's gift first. So, naturally, Sonic obliged and did as Silver wished. The gift he unwrapped was a truly gorgeous acoustic guitar, the very same one that his alternate self of the ruined future owned. Carefully engraved in a steady hand on the side was the very same inscription, too. The sight of it actually made Sonic smile widely with quiet happiness.

_Happy Birthday, Dad -Silver_

****-ソニック~****

August tenth was a day made perfect by beautiful weather. Perfect for certain things, that is. Things like running, for example. So run Shadow and Kaden did, all over the eastern side of the world. But, inevitably, what started off as a casual travel day eventually turned into some sort of crazy, impromptu race. Being the rather competitive souls they both were neither father nor son wanted to allow the other to win. Trading challenging smirks, the two darkly colored hedgehogs shot off into the distance.

****-ソニック~****

September twenty-second, while not the actual date the war had ended, was when Sonic and the others chose to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the start of the peace they had won. There was a party in the huge grassy area surrounding Cream's small village, but not quite _everyone_ participated. Shadow watched the group from afar, then eventually closed his eyes and, for _once_, actually smiled a real though small smile. After just a few minutes of walking there was a tell-tale gust of wind and Kaden is was suddenly leaning against a nearby boulder, a boulder, looking at his son. There was a silence, neither uncomfortable, awkward, nor tense, before Kaden decided to break it and speak. "So, you are leaving." It was technically a statement, but something about the way he said it made it seem like a question, thus warranting a reply from he younger hedgehog.

Shadow nodded once after a long moment. "...Yes," he admitted.

Kaden looked his son over for a long moment before asking, "May I venture to ask why?"

"As it is for now..." Shadow sighed, eyes closing as he turned his head away, "my path does not see me here. I have questions that need answers, questions that I don't even know to ask yet. There is still so much about myself I have yet to learn, and yet more that I wish to understand."

Unsurprisingly, Kaden understood and accepted Shadow's response. "Where will you go?" he inquired. looking away.

"...I am not sure," Shadow admitted reluctantly, "but this quest may very well take me off of the planet." He resumed walking.

Kaden didn't turn back to look at him, but he did speak. "Will you return?" he asked seriously.

The younger hedgehog stopped again, but also didn't turn back around. "I do not have the power of Clairvoyance," he responded with a small smirk. Then he added, "Perhaps if my quest so demands it, or if I find the answers I seek I shall return for a while. Perhaps even indefinitely." He resumed walking, but then continued. "However, if there comes a time where those that mean the most to me are called to defend the Light once more, I shall return to fight with my… with my family.

Though he gave nothing away in his aura, Kaden was fairly shocked to hear Shadows any these words. After a long moment, he slowly smirked. "I see," he murmured. "I feel the iron in those words." A moment passed, then he spoke again. "I have faith that I shall see you again.

That was when Shadow resumed walking. "Farwell, Father." Without waiting for a reply, Shadow vanishes in a yellow streak into the distance.

Kaden smiled softly as the wind whiped his hair around. "Godspeed, my son," he whispered to himself as he pushed off the boulder and walked back to the others.

****-ソニック~****

It was Friday the thirteenth of October, and the date just seemed to exist today to emphasize Silver's bad luck. He and Kaden were playing Mahjong, a strategy game that Kaden had always loved and that Silver was now learning to love. And yet, Silver kept losing every single round. He refused to quit until he was until he was victorious at least one time. His continued insistence to play until he won was causing their gaming session to drag on for hours, but it was all well worth it in his mind. He would win eventually. He just knew it. He smirked to himself as he made his next move. _Just you wait and see, Gramps._

****-ソニック~****

Kaden's afternoon on October twenty-ninth started rather badly when Locke apparently decided to be a cruel asshole to him. Locke accomplished this by a very realistic fake spider, tying it to the end of a stick (using a clear thread so Kaden wouldn't easily notice it), and then chasing the poor arachnophobic hedgehog around for over twenty minutes. When Kaden became aware of the fact that he had been tricked, he didn't take it too kindly. He decided right then and there to teach his friend a lesson. What was actually a friendly sparring match, though, didn't _look_ too friendly. Not that Kaden cared. All that mattered right now was wiping that damn smirk off of Locke's face.

****-ソニック~****

October thirtieth proved itself to be a miserable day. Tanner had come down with some sort of terrible illness a few weeks ago that couldn't be cured. His somewhat old immune system had still been strong, yes, but the illness had been too much for it. He died a little after six o'clock that day. Jet squeezed his eyes shut, and allowed Wave to pull him into a hug as he did so in spite of their multiple earlier arguments. He needed the comfort, because, in spite of how much he'd griped about Tanner throughout the years… he'd always loved that old dog.

****-ソニック~****

For Rouge's birthday on November Seventh, Knuckles surprised her with a rare and beautiful gem he had found more than a week before, and her immediate response was a smile and a kiss on his cheek, "Thanks, Knuckie," she murmured , leaning back. The moment was then ruined when she saw his not-so-secret blush and promptly laughed. He tried to glare at her, but couldn't muster up the irritation to do so. In the end, he just allowed himself to smile.

****-ソニック~****

Silver and Analia were out on a walk together on the afternoon of November twelfth. They rounded a corner, and Silver suddenly stopped. In the distance, he saw a mountain range he _knew_ from his homeworld. He had never noticed them here in this timeline before. They were so tall and covered in so many trees... the sight made him smile, as being reminded of his homeworld in such a good way was a rare occurrence. Still smiling to himself and having totally forgotten about the walk, he grabbed the sketchbook and pen he now always had with him, sat down, and began to draw those mountains. After realizing why his attention had switched so abruptly and completely, Analia also smiled. Feeling happy for him and just in general, she sat down and watched her grandson work.

****-ソニック~****

November twenty-third was a rather uneventful day for majority of it was spent with Analia. They didn't go anywhere or do anything in particular, merely talked and whatnot, but that hardly mattered to them. They enjoyed each other's company , and the conversation was pleasant for the both of them.

**-ソニック~**

November twenty-fourth was another horrible day. Wave and Jet had had yet another huge fight, and, because they'd both needed space from each other for a while, Jet had left the house. Wave was alone for right now, and she was fully miserable again now that she had been left to her own devices. She sighed to herself. _I just wish I knew why we were fighting in the first place._ Jet certainly didn't seem to have the answer, and she was really no better. She just hoped that they would make it through this period of turmoil. She didn't know what she would ever do without him.

**-ソニック~**

On November thirty- second, it was decided through mutual agreement that Jet and Wave needed a break from each other. Their tempers co-existing in the same home at the same time was just proving to be too much. They _needed_ a break. So they went their separate ways. It would only be for a few weeks... but they each left feeling more miserable than ever. Neither could wait for these weeks to pass them by and be over with for good.

**-ソニック~**

Omega chose the morning of December nineteenth to frankly inform everyone that he was leaving to begin working with the World Army to help prevent future tragedies like Ivo Robotnik. His flat, robot voice intoned his intention to leave that very day, and he also let them know that he did not see himself returning anytime soon. He left seconds later , never giving anyone much of a chance to reply. The rest of the day was colored with sadness.

****-ソニック~****

At exactly twelve a.m on January first of the second New Year, since the end of the war, Kaden found himself in a large, very cold and snowy park, being shouted at by every single person he knew and cared for. The cries of "Happy Birthday!" nearly deafened him due to the sheer volume. Even little Sarai yelled at him, though she couldn't speak yet. When the loud voices died down and his ears unflattened themselves, Analia (the very person who'd dragged him out of bed and led him to this little surprise) hugged him, somehow, in spite of having no interest in his own birthday (and even disliking it), he managed to find it in himself to return the smile.

******-ソニック~******

Eleven days after Kaden's birthday, on the twelfth of January, was Silver's own birthday. Truthfully, that was awesome in and of itself in his opinion (as celebrating birthdays was something neither him nor Blaze had ever experienced before coming to this world), but the day kept getting better and better. His grandfather baked him a cake, he was given great gifts, he was finally an adult… And, best of all… when he very nervously asked Blaze out on a date for the next day… she actually smiled and agreed.

**********-ソニック~**********

On February first, Silver and Blaze officially started a momentous task that would change their lives forever once it was finished. On this day, they began the construction of their dream home, the house they would one day share together. Every room was planned with artistic skill and logical understanding. They each contributed their own unique styles and flavors to the design, and the end result (while merely a drawing on a page) was among one of the most beautiful things Silver had ever seen.

**********-ソニック~**********

February second was yet another day that Kaden considered to be very special. It was Analia's birthday, something he found _very_ worth celebrating. After all, _he_ for one was very happy that she had been born. Besides, this day gave him an excuse to spoil her with gifts, something he loved to do but normally couldn't get away with due to her fairly modest nature. Today, he presented her with three gifts, all of which made her eyes tear up with happiness. The first was a perfect drawing he had completed of her sleeping on the couch with the twins in her arms. It may as well have been a photograph for how detailed it was, and it was depicting a real moment that had occurred as well. The second gift was a beautiful kimono he had bought for her, since the kimonos she had once owned had long since been lost (a fact which she lamented). The third and final gift was an ancient painting he had found in an antique shop mere days ago. It was a family portrait, depicting Koda, Temari, and their then infant daughter, Analia. The sight of the faces she had last seen so long ago was what finally made her start to cry, both out of grief... and joy.

**********-ソニック~**********

Truly, Marthal was at his happiest when with his girlfriend. Keiri never, never failed to make him smile, to get his heart racing, to make him feel giddy for absolutely no reason at all. That (among so many other reasons) was why, on March twelfth, he presented her with a special gift and got down on one knee. It was the first time her ever seen her cry.

**********-ソニック~**********

On March seventeenth, Sen and Sarai suddenly said their first words. They were both just babbling at their parents, being the talkative little things they were, but then Sen suddenly exclaimed, "Hap-_py_!"

Sarai, being the grumpy baby girl she was, immediately frowned and pouted as she responded, "_N__o_!"

Trading brief looks, Kaden and Analia slowly began to smile. Then they laughed. The twins weren't even walking yet, and they were already disagreeing and arguing. Oh, they were gonna be _fun_ to deal with in later years. But, for now, it was just funny to watch and listen to.

**********-ソニック~**********

March twenty-third was one of the worst days Jet and Wave had had in a while. So terrible, in fact, that the end of the morning found them teetering on the edge of their relationship. For the first time ever, they were truly on the verge of breaking up. One little thing would probably be enough to sever their relationship, at this point, but neither of them wanted to think like that. They _wanted_ to make this work. They still loved each other. But.. sometimes... it was just so hard to see how this had ever been a good idea.

**********-ソニック~**********

April twenty- fourth was the big day. Marthal and Keiri's wedding day. Keiri couldn't even remember the last time she'd worn a dress, let alone worn one willingly. She also couldn't remember ever seeing her guy is a tux before. It was all so, so beautiful… They were both smiling so much, their joy too large for the building. She could never possibly get enough of this feeling… But at least now she could share it with him for the rest of their lives.

**********-ソニック~**********

The stress of Amy's job was so terrible, all day every day. She spent every work day being yelled at, being told she wasn't good enough, being told she could never achieve the dream she'd had for so long... It got so bad that at the end of the workday on Monday, May first, she was ready to breakdown and cry. And she did (however unintentionally) after running to the top of a beautiful hill where she thought she could be alone. She ended up sitting on her knees and just crying, not noticing that her flight to this little spot had not gone unnoticed. A familiar voice suddenly said her name, startling her into opening her eyes and looking up. What she saw was a _beautiful_ white flower and equally beautiful and smiling emerald eyes that really and truly seemed to be trying to offer her comfort. Without even thinking, she threw herself into Sonic's arms. She was still deeply upset, yes... but his offering had touched her deep within her heart. In moments like these... she really felt loved.

**********-ソニック~**********

May twenty-first was the day Silver and Blaze finally moved out of Sonic's small home and into their own new house. Thanks to Kaden and Sonic's help, the house had been finished quickly. Now, it was moving day. Silver was so excited, and his girlfriend seemed to be sharing in his feeling (though more subtly, of course). Trading smiles of equal happiness yet differing size, the two of them took their first steps into their home.

**********-ソニック~**********

June first was the date of yet another date for Rouge and Knuckles. They had been dating for a few months now, and they had gotten very comfortable with each other. They had gone to movies together, been out dining, gone stargazing many a time, visited museums, and had, of course, gone treasure hunting together numerous times. Today, however, their date was something much more simple and relaxing. They went out on a walk, enjoying the cool midsummer breezes that colored the evening. As they walked, they chatted away about anything and everything they wanted to, and even held hands. Smiling, Rouge leaned her head on his shoulder for a bit. She loved feeling this happy.

**********-ソニック~**********

On June thirtieth, Kaden and Locke spent the full day together. Nothing at all serious happened that day. They spent their time exploring, talking, treasure hunting, reading, playing boards games, fishing, and so on together, just like they had when they were kids. It was so, so relaxing, and their day got more interesting when they decided to explore the ruins of Chun-nan, the place where they had made most of their childhood memories together. There, they relocated many of their old hangouts, the alley where Locke had often watched Kaden play Mahjong with random adults, the paint-stained street that had ended up stained due to a prank Kaden had once pulled, the zen garden where Locke had once caught Kaden writing a poem. So long as they ignored all the _bad_ memories this place held, they found that this city brought them great joy. That was why, even after they'd left, neither could quite stop smiling.

**********-ソニック~**********

A massive game of tag was started up on July twelfth sometime after the whole group gathered together for yet another social gathering in yet another large park. As usual, everyone was pretty swiftly convinced to join in on the game, but this one quickly proved itself to be very different from the other games of tag they had all played together. The reason why it was so different was simple: all powers were allowed. Teleportation, invisibility, fire, wind, it didn't matter. If a person had a power, so long as they were careful to not hurt _anyone_, they could use it. Tails's only complaint was that this meant people could teleport. But, being a fox, he was crafty. Using his wit, he somehow managed to catch Silver anyway and tag the young hedgehog. Relieved of the burden of being "It", Tails laughed and ran for his life.

**********-ソニック~**********

On July twenty-second, Sonic suddenly realized with a jolt that he loved Amy. He was in _love_ with _Amy, a_nd all he can think at first was, _Oh my god. _He turned this shocking revelation around and around in his mind until a new thought entered his mind. _When did that happen?_ he couldn't help but wonder almost numbly. The truth came to him quickly, and that truth was the simple fact that it hadn't happened happen all at once or even noticeably over time, much like with Wave and Jet, Silver and Blaze, and Rouge and Knuckles. All those little moments he had shared with Amy... every tiny second... they had all meant something. Every little thing they had shared together (be it a memory, a feeling, an experience, whatever) had built up over time and culminated into this. And he's just now realized it. He'd never felt so blind in his life... but at least now he could see.

**********-ソニック~**********

Sonic and Amy had run into each other on accident in South City, where Amy had been transferred for a while to work. They bumped into each other on the street on Saturday, August first, and this quickly resulted in the two of them walking together and talking. Somehow, someway, they ended up back on the hill where Sonic had given Amy that white flower seemingly so long ago. Being at this place inevitably caused one of them to bring up that little event, which caused Amy's eyes to brim with fresh tears. Desperate to make those tears go away forever and not being able to _think_ all of a sudden, Sonic did the only thing he could think of try to comfort her. Closing his eyes and taking a leap of faith, he leaned forward and he kissed her.

**********-ソニック~**********

September first marked the very first day of school for Cream (and, by extension, Cheese), Charmy, and Bokkun. The kids stood in the courtyard, bright and eager on that cool Monday morning. None of them had ever actually attended a school before, but they all were excited to begin this new chapter of their lives. They had such high hopes for their education, and they all just _knew_ they would have fun here. Maybe that was why none of them could stop laughing and smiling no matter how hard they happened to try.

**********-ソニック~**********

When, on September twenty-second, the next unofficial anniversary of the end of the war rolled around, Kaden suddenly found himself reflecting on the final fight he'd had against his brother. Kalin had asked him a question, then, one of many. Only this one had actually gained a response, though, if only because it was so... thought-provoking.

_"Why do you fight?"_ Kalin had demanded. _"Why do you not give in?"_

_Kaden had instantly been reminded of what Sonic had told him once, that the younger hedgehog had once been asked this very same question by Gerald Robotnik himself. Sonic's response then was and forever would be the perfect one to give, in his opinion, and it was most certainly applicable to the situation he had been in with Kalin. So, without no hesitation, Kaden had responded,_ _"Because... if we don't fight... who will?" _

Shaking his head a little, Kaden pulled out of the memory and resumed writing.

**********-ソニック~**********

It was October thirtieth when Shadow finally came home, nearly a full year after he had left on his solo journey. His quest certainly seemed to have changed him in subtle ways, as Kaden had expected it would, but some things would always remain the same. Shadow was still quiet, still reserved, and still not terribly forthcoming about his thoughts. He was still very much like Kaden, willful, determined, and ever-hopeful of the future. And, as with in the past, he and his father found that they could truly connect and bond through a good sparring match. They needed that, in a way, to restore their former connection. If only for that reason, they drew their weapons and clashed.

**********-ソニック~**********

On November thirtieth, Locke received some of the most joyous news he had ever heard in his life. As of that very morning, his son and Rouge had gotten engaged. Knuckles had gotten the most jewel-embedded ring he could find for her (after all, jewels were very special and important to her) and had, after six full weeks of hesitation, finally worked up the nerve to propose. The response from Rouge had been all positive, so now it was official. In no time at all, Locke would have a daughter-in-law, and maybe even grandchildren someday. He wasn't sure anymore who was happier... the young couple, or he himself.

**********-ソニック~**********

December thirty-first was a rather joyous occasion, as it was the first Christmas they had _all_ spent together as one giant group. Many gifts were shared, gingerbread and milk flowed, wrapping paper and ribbons and bows littered the floors... Kaden and Analia's home had never looked messier, but no one really cared (not even Kaden himself). This day was far too good to spoil by complaining over such little things, so no one did it. Instead, they all just focused on the happy things and continued to share their joy with everyone else. No one wanted this day to end.

**********-ソニック~**********

On January second, Sonic took another leap of faith that as rewarded with tears and a very loud and ecstatic exclamation. Minutes later, when Amy had calmed down, they walked together hand-in-hand back into the large restaurant everyone was eating together at for lunch. Jet, who happened to be standing (as he had gotten out of his seat a moment ago to help Cream with something), turned to them and asked Sonic, "What did you do?" he asked with a sort of concerned frown when he saw Amy's tears.

Sonic rubbed the back of his head almost sheepishly, feeling some warmth enter his face as he slowly admitted, "I kind of… proposed." As he said this, Amy gently pulled away from Sonic to go talk to Wave about the matter of her needing a Maid of Honor. Jet blinked several times out of surprise, and Sonic continued quickly before he could lose his nerve. "And, I was wondering... if... maybe you'd be okay with being my best man?" He silently cursed himself for sounding so uncertain and nervous.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Jet's expression shifted into one of his rare true smiles as all of this finally sank in and his happiness for his best friend began to show itself in him. In an exceptionally rare move, he reached out and placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "I'd be honored," he responded quietly.

Beaming at the young hawk, Sonic turned his head to look back at Amy and Wave, smiling even more when he saw the two of them hug each other and also smile. He didn't think his life could get any happier than this.

**********-ソニック~**********

**********7,959 words and fifty-four scenes later, this chapter is finally over! But this is not the end... two chapters remain, though they won't be anywhere near this long. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed!**********

* * *

**********CREDITS:**********

**********Shadowstar146 and StarryMoon33 helped me type up a lot of scenes I had written on paper!**********

**********StarryMoon33 is responsible for (but did not write) these ideas: _-The entire Silver, Blaze, and mistletoe scene_**********

_**********-The idea of Wave standing on the back of Jet's surfboard**********_

_**********-The idea of Sonic messing with Shadow while they race (though the race itself was not her idea)**********_

_**********-The idea of Silver insisting to "play to win" during the Mahjong game (though the game itself was not her idea)**********_

_**********-Silver seeing something while on his walk with Analia that reminds him of his homeworld in a good way (the walk was not her idea)**********_

_**********-The idea of Locke chasing Kaden with a spider on a stick before their sparring match (the sparring match was not her idea)**********_

_**********-The idea of Rouge calling Knuckles "Knuckie" and making him blush when he got her that jeweel for her birthday (though the jewel birthday surprise was not her idea0**********_

**********Blazing Winds is responsible for (but did not write) these ideas: _-The idea of the spider Locke chased Kaden with being fake, not real_**********

**********PyroShockZ is responsible for (but did not write) these ideas: _-Shadow leaving for a while and the entire conversation he had with Kaden leading up to him leaving_**********

_**********-The idea of Kaden remembering having a conversation with Kalin related to the quotes in the story description in Hero (including the chaning of the word "I" to "we")**********_

**********The snowball war scene was largely written by StarryMoon33 and Blazing Winds wrote every part of that scene, save for the parts with Jet and Kaden (which I wrote). Tails Blaze were written by Star, and Silver and Sonic were written by Blaze (the FF user). However, I wrote in the part where Silver pretended to be a "Snowy War General".**********

**********The original version of the picnic scene was written by Blazing Winds, but it was never completed and was thus discarded. **********

* * *

**Posted (at about 1:45 a.m.) 09-03-16.**


	286. Farewell, Old Friend

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Thanks! I'm super glad you enjoyed! I really liked those parts as well. I have to say that I loved the Kaden and Analia proposal scene and Knuckles and Rouge first kiss scene the most. :3 Anyway, thanks again for your help! Without you, Blaze, and Shadowstar, that chapter probably never would have been finished! :D**

**********-ソニック~**********

It was March thirtieth of the third year since the end of the war, two short months after Sonic and Amy had been wed back in January. In that time, Sonic had built himself and his wife their own house in the gorgeous Emerald Grasslands, which comprised much of the many, many miles of wilderness outside of Apatos. Amy was currently inside that house working on making lunch (since, in spite of Kaden's attempts to help, Sonic _still_ couldn't cook to save his own life). Sonic himself, meanwhile, was waiting rather impatiently outside the house, pacing a bit from time to time and even tapping his foot as though that would somehow make the seconds and minutes tick by faster. It was a foolish notion, he knew, but he couldn't be patient right now. Not when something this big was going on.

Finally, Jet arrived at the house, having flown all the way here from Future City. He landed lightly in the lush, emerald-colored grass that this massive area was known for. On his back, hanging off of one shoulder, was his grey ruined future backpack, which for once had more than just a couple things in it. What, exactly, was in it, Sonic didn't know, though he strongly suspected that some necessities like cash were certainly packed into the bag. The young hedgehog felt his expression soften with deep, deep sympathy as he took in how miserable Jet was, though Jet was clearly trying to keep that feeling a secret. "Please don't tell me it's true," Sonic murmured.

Jet sighed and looked away. "Don't ask me to lie, Sonic," he mumbled in reply.

Sonic's ears lowered a bit. "When did you two break up?" he found himself asking. "I only heard about it around an hour ago." This was why he'd messaged his friend to come here. He'd wanted to make sure that what he'd heard was actually true and not just a rumor. The last thing he'd wanted was to jump to a conclusion and needlessly upset his friend.

The emerald hawk shifted his weight a little from one foot to the other, still not looking at Sonic as he answered quietly, "It just happened this morning." A moment of silence passed, then he added, "It might be for the best, anyway. You know how much we were fighting."

Also looking away now, Sonic nodded a little and refrained from asking who had decided to dump the other, as it was truly none of his business. Instead he asked, "So... you're leaving for a while?"

"Yeah," Jet admitted. It did make sense to Sonic, and he wasn't surprised by what he'd been told. After all, the two lived together normally, but were now in the immediate aftermath of what seemed to have been a really nasty breakup. They would need their space from each other, and it wasn't in Jet's nature to try to make _Wave_ be the one to leave the house for a while to give them both that space. "I just need a few weeks," Jet continued, breaking into Sonic's thoughts. "Maybe a few months."

Somehow, Sonic managed a small smile, which he aimed at his friend. "I understand," he replied honestly. "Just... you know, try to stay in touch so I know you're still okay while you're gone."

Piercing blue eyes glanced at Sonic, and Jet forced a small smile after a long moment. "I'm not exactly going to die just because I'm going away for a while," he responded, tone falsely lightening, "but I'll shoot you a message once in a while or something."

That was all Sonic had wanted to hear, so he accepted it readily. "Good." He took a small risk and lightly put his hand on Jet's shoulder, finally prompting the hawk to fully look at him again. "Take as long as you need, Jet. We'll all still be here when you come back."

Amazingly, Jet didn't shy away from the touch nor did he even really tense very much. He did, however, carefully avoid making eye-contact with Sonic. Still, he _did_ keep looking at Sonic for more than a small moment for the first time in this conversation. A note of something genuine (appreciation, perhaps?) entered his voice and colored a portion of his tone, replacing some of the misery he had spent this whole time trying to hide. "Thanks," he murmured, saying nothing more.

When Jet shifted a little, Sonic took that as his cue and removed his hand. "You want to stay for lunch before you go?" Jet shook his head and looked away again, mumbling something about not being hungry. Sonic understood his friend's uncharacteristic lack of appetite, so he said nothing more about it. "Guess you're heading out now, then," he said instead. It came out sounding like a statement, but was meant as more of a question.

With a small sigh, Jet nodded. "Yeah. Guess so." He looked at Sonic briefly again. "I'll see you around."

"See you," Sonic murmured. No response was given to him. He watched in silence as Jet turned away, one of the grassland's many beautiful breezes blowing the scarf a bit as Jet moved. Then, without a sound, Jet took to the air and flew away. He was out of sight in minutes. Sighing to himself with a kind of sadness he really hadn't felt since the war or maybe even before, Sonic turned away from where his friend had just been and walked back inside. _Take care, Jet._

**********-ソニック~**********

**********957 words this time. This sad chapter is still not the end. The last chapter of Hero will be up tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed this one. Until next time, my lovelies. (Jk XD) Posted (at about 3:00 a.m.) 09-04-16.**********


	287. The Story

**Hello, StarryMoon33! I KNOOOOOWWW. ;_; But he doesn't, really! Sad though it is, he didn't _have_ to stay! D: HUHEwijflwkef**

**********-ソニック~**********

Many years ago on this very day, a tiny baby was left alone while his parents waged a war to save the world... and never returned. His only companion back then had been a single green emerald. It had kept him alive, negated his need for food and drink until he was old enough to fend for himself, protected him from harm and the elements... Eventually, however, that emerald no longer needed to care for him. He ventured out into the world on his own two feet, taking the gem along for the ride. Many seasons passed him by, bringing him loneliness and confusion and sadness. But then, one day, he found himself a home, the first home he'd ever truly had. There, he had one of his first real brushes with genuine joy.

More time passed, and he found himself the lone hero in a war against madness and destruction. Gerald Robotnik had been no child's enemy. Growing up that fast had never been part of his visions for the future, but he'd made do with what he'd been given in life, same as he'd always done. His isolation was shattered during that war when Locke stumbled upon him, forging a near-instant friendship with the lonely hero. During that period of time, he found himself really learning how to smile, how to accept the bad things in life without letting them drag him down. He'd felt... happy. But life still had yet another hard lesson to teach him. No good thing can truly last forever.

The day South Island fell was the day he felt at his lowest. Never before in his young life had he ever seen so much death and destruction. The loss of his closest friend had killed he himself, too, in a way. And yet, he'd lost so much more than just one precious life on that day. He'd lost his home, Locke's treasured hat, the entirety of Angel Island, all seven of the Chaos Emeralds, countless innocent people, and his own good emotions. The Darkness truly awoke in him on that day, though it remained too weak to surface. The bleakness of the landscape truly fit the state of his heart. And yet, not everything had been taken away from him on that day, he soon learned. Merry had survived. Hundreds of other people in that area alone had also survived. _Hope_ itself had somehow managed to live on. Through the years, he'd clung to that hope, swearing to himself that he would never let himself feel so utterly without it ever again.

More than two and a half centuries later found him in the midst of an unlikely friendship with a boy his age, a young hawk named Jet. The two had found each other at very low points in their lives, and each one had extended a hand to the other picked each other up out of the dirt. Sonic had been the hero of a now forever lost world. Jet had been a thief who couldn't escape. They had been so very, very different, and yet... somehow, they had taught each other how to live again. They went through so much together, both small and large. Fighting and escaping Ross, meeting Wave and Storm, competing in countless races, building a beautiful home and a fantastic city, watching Elsa die... Their friendship had seemingly ended on the day that the light faded from Elsa's eyes, but a flicker of it always remained with them, even long after Sonic had left the Rogues behind.

Fifty or more years had gone by before Sonic's life took yet another unexpected turn. With the arrival of Ivo Robotnik came the arrival of two new friends, Amy and Tails. A collection of small events brought the three of them closer, and brought even more people into his life. Cream, Cheese, Vanilla, and Knuckles all entered his life so suddenly that he barely had time to think. And with them came so, so much closer. He finally learned what had happened to his old friend, Merry. Angel Island was finally relocated. The Master Emerald was revealed to be safe on its alter where it was meant to be. And, perhaps most important of all, he learned of his true power, what he was capable of, and was given a tantalizing hint of the parents he had never actually met.

From then on out, there was so much Chaos in his life. A whirlwind of events saw him and all his friends through countless adventures. They saved the world and nearly saw it end more times than he had ever thought possible. There had been days where he had longed for the simplicity of his youth, never worrying about anything beyond the next meal, but the rest of him had never wanted to stop looking forward. With each new victory and each fresh defeat, his determination hope for the future grew. He saw and experienced so much. Life and death, love and loss, friendship and hatred, war and peace... And now, it seemed as though those times of turmoil were finally over. The greatest enemies he and those he loved had ever faced were long gone, and peace reigned over all. People were happy. But yet... not everything was so perfect. Life still did and forever would have its innumerable ups and downs. For every ounce of joy, there would be a drop of sadness. It was the way things were meant to be.

_Maybe... Maybe none of this was ever about the happy ending, anyway. _As he looked over the photo in his hands, picking out all the smiling faces and the happy eyes, he thought about everything that had led them to that point on that day. Everything hardship they'd faced, every tear they'd shed, every dear person they had lost or left behind... It had all gotten them here, to this period of peace, and that was all that had ever mattered. _Maybe... instead... this was all about the story. _Slowly, ever so slowly, Sonic felt himself begin to smile. _Every hero has a story. _Reaching up, he carefully hung the framed treasure back on the wall. _We just had to write ours._

**********-ソニック~**********

**********1,057 words long. Sonic's thoughts at the end were inspired by two quotes. 1.) "Maybe it's not about the happy ending. Maybe it's about the _story_." -Unknown (Credit for the idea of using this quote at the end of the story (though not for the idea of using the quote in general) goes to StarryMoon33)**********

**********2.) "Every hero has a story. You just have to write yours."**********

**********Anyway, this is it! Hero is officially done! Everyone keep a lookout for the very first chapter of the sequel, Eye of the Storm! I'll be posting it on Tuesday, September sixth... ;) Posted (at about 7:16 a.m.) 09-05-16.**********


End file.
